On Monday morning, less than two hours after I posted an article on this blog stating my desire for the Seattle Seahawks to move away from Ryan Grubb (and other matters I would love to see them address such as offensive line and the future at quarterback), they did just that. They canned Grubb.

I was elated with the news. I felt saw it coming for a while, and the only thing I found surprising was the amount of pushback with fans and some in the media. It was way more than I expected it to be, and I get it if you are a big time Husky fan who had a deep attachment to Grubb, but it clearly was not working with him here this year, and I have listed many reasons why.

Could have Grubb gotten better at his job in year two? Sure, it’s possible. It is also very possible that he wouldn’t have, and then suddenly you have a young head coach in Mike Macdonald potentially feeling the hot seat along with maybe GM John Schneider because the offense couldn’t connect with the defense enough for two years in a row.

So, I just wanted a couple days let dust settle before sharing my thoughts on the firing, and offering up some of my favorite potential candidates to replace Grubb. Here are my quick thoughts after the firing, and then my dudes that I really dig for this gig.

Firstly, firing Grubb was absolutely the right thing for Mike Macdonald to do. It had been painfully obvious throughout the course of the season that Grubb and Macdonald did not see eye to eye on how the offense should function. It is not that Ryan Grubb is a bad coach, it is that Grubb proved bad for what Macdonald wanted, and needed of this team.

There are now some very strong implications that Macdonald had numerous talks with Grubb after games that were squandered by the offense (Giants, Packers, Vikings, etc) about how game management was handled, run to pass ratios were lopsided, and yet Grubb could never seem to get the memo from his boss outside of one game in Arizona where the offense looked like it had a functional balanced plan of attack. It is also kinda now out in the open that Macdonald had to get his more NFL experienced coaches on the staff to tutor Grubb on how NFL defenses and offenses work.

Imagine being the passing coordinator having to explain to the person who is your boss in charge of the offense what NFL defenses do in the red zones against NFL offenses that college defenses don’t do. Yikes.

I have seen reactions from fans and some folks on podcasts and radio waves in Seattle that this firing was unfair to Grubb, and he deserved another chance in 2025. Okay, then. To that, I ask why.

Why does Mike Macdonald owe Ryan Grubb a second chance when Grubb had seventeen games in a NFL season to get on the same page with his boss and he failed to consistently do so?

If you think it is unfair for Ryan Grubb to be given the boot, how come you don’t think it would be unfair for Mike Macdonald to have to work with him again for another season?

Where is your allegiance in this?

Do you think he needed another shot simply because you are a big time Husky fan such as Dave Mahler on Sports Radio KJR and his former Husky QB buddy Hugh Millen?

Did you have high visions of grandeur that your Husky fandom would marry with your Seahawk fandom with Grubb play calling here?

Or is it that simply are you a bigger bleeding heart than you are a football fan, and morally you just find this firing super unfair?

None of these questions are an attack on anyone who hated this decision from the Seahawks, by the way. They are just meant to cut to the source of why there was so much outcry over the decision.

The Seattle Seahawks narrowly missed the playoffs this year because the offense was imbalanced and not nearly as complimentary to the defense as Mike Macdonald would have preferred it to be. It was not connected to Macdonald’s defense, on any level, and Macdonald wasn’t really asking that much from Grubb to bend a bit more to a balanced approach.

And who says that Macdonald did not give Grubb ample chances through the course of the season to correct course?

By way of SI writer Corbin Smith, it sounds like Macdonald had many talks with Grubb to adjust his offense more to the his will, and Grubb just failed to do it, almost stubbornly so. If your boss requests you to do things a certain way, and you routinely fail to adapt, you do not deserve to keep your job. This is how the business world works and why should the high profile world of the NFL be any different?

Ryan Grubb has made millions of dollars playing calling in college and now in the NFL. I am pretty sure he is not destined to have to now live out of an old RV parked across from a Safeway in Ballard while he works a mail route for sixteen hours a day.

I kinda think he will be alright in this, and will probably land on his feet just fine coaching again. He could return to college as a coordinator again. He could also stay in the league as a potential pass game coordinator which maybe he should do.

So, yeah, I don’t really feel to the need to rehash all of my reasons why I felt it was time to move on from Grubb. I don’t feel like the state of the offensive line was a big enough excuse to defend him, as there were many examples in games where the line showed better run blocking abilities than it did pass blocking.

If anything the state of the line should be seen as a bigger reason why Grubb’s play calling needed to go. So maybe don’t listen so much to former Husky Hugh Millen railing on the radio about how John Schneider is washed up and failed Ryan Grubb with offensive line talent, and maybe listen more to former NFL offensive linemen Mike Schlereth and Ray Roberts when they say the Grubb just didn’t do enough to put his offensive linemen in better situations to succeed.

What I believe is most important for Mike Macdonald moving forward his to pair himself with a smart offensive play caller who really understands NFL football, and who will be perfectly aligned with what Macdonald wants this team to be in terms of physicality and connectedness. Listening to the way Macdonald described his ideal offense recently, being able to be physical running the ball, getting the ball out fast to playmakers in space does make me think of the west coast offenses deployed by the McVay/Shanahan schemes of today, and it also made me think of a few other offenses out there, as well.

The one commonality I have with all my preferred candidates is that they are all coaches who have been quarterbacks. At the end of the day, I think it is just so much of an important advantage to get someone play calling who sees the game through the lens of a quarterback whether it is pass plays or run schemes. I think this is especially important if the head coach is a defensive minded one such as Macdonald. Someone high up on this staff needs to see the bigger picture from a quarterback’s view. Therefore, everyone on this list is going to have that common thread.

So, that said, moving forward, here is the list of candidates for the Seattle Seahawk offensive coordinator gig that I really like a lot for this team right now. For each one, I will go over the pros and cons, and likelihoods. Maybe at the end of this exercise, we will have a couple really good and likely candidates narrowed down.

Frank Reich

When I started thinking of Grubb replacements about a month ago when I felt it was more likely that he was going to be one and done here, Frank Reich was the first coach out there who came to mind. He coached top ten defenses in Philadelphia and Indianapolis that were more run centric versions of the west coast offense, and I just liked the idea that maybe he would return to coaching as a coordinator again instead of being a head coach after his last two stints.

The pros of hiring Reich are very obvious. He has been around pro football for over three decades both as a backup quarterback and a coach. He has worked great with a variety of quarterbacks, and gotten high results. He coached an incredibly dynamic Super Bowl winning offense in Philly six years ago, and had a good offense going for a while in Indy for a while as a head coach. He is also a very even keel mature dude who, in addition to Leslie Frazier, can offer wisdom and insight for what is still a young head coach in Macdonald. Perhaps most important, his offenses have always been tough physical running ones. Also, players seem to really like him a lot. He’s very genuine, and that is what Mike Macdonald is, as well.

On the surface, I can think of very little cons of hiring Reich should he decide that he wants to get back into coaching as a coordinator again. My question would be whether he still has the juice and fire for it, or whether at age 63, he would only be interested in giving coaching another go as a head coach again, if there was an opportunity for it. He’s older, he’s made a lot of money as a head coach twice, and he has won a ring as a coordinator. Maybe he is good to walk away from coaching and pursue other aspects of life, but if he does have the zest for running a professional offense again, I would absolutely love this hire.

Doug Pederson

Personally, I would be shocked if Doug Pederson decided that he wanted to be an OC again after all of his years being a head coach and winning a Super Bowl as one, but if he did, and wanted the gig up here, I would be pretty jacked up about his hiring. I just don’t see this as very likely. I would have to think that at age 56, after this dumb firing in super dysfunctional Jacksonville, he could take a year off, and be a candidate again with another vacancy. Maybe the Arizona job opens up, or Dallas, or Miami, or Tennessee.

I have a bit of a personal connection with Pederson. We were both Ferndale boys and he worked for a spell on my dad’s farm when we were in high school. On a personal level, it would be awesome if my old high school quarterback became the Seahawk OC, and as I knew him from way back then, he was a pretty big Seahawk fan. So, because of this, I cannot fully rule out this idea. He might dig moving back to PNW with the pressure off from being a HC and just call plays again.

The pros of Pederson being the next Seahawk OC are that he is from this area and his success with the Seahawks would likely matter to him greatly, he has been around the league for decades as a backup quarterback and coach at the highest levels, he’s a Super Bowl wining head coach, and he’s shown a pretty strong ability to be balanced on offense running the football. He is another guy who players tend to like, and could offer a wealth of insight and wisdom to the much younger Macdonald.

I can think of very little cons to hiring Doug Pederson. The only thing I can think of is just how exhausted he looked this last season in Jacksonville. If I were him, I would take another year off and really decide in that time if coaching is something that I would want to continue with, or whether I want to enjoy life was all the millions that I have made, and the fact that I won a title and never need to do it again. That’s what I think he will do. I think he takes this year off in 2025 to decide if coaching is still something for him.

Tee Martin

Tee Martin is a guy who I didn’t think about initially when I thought maybe they would move on from Grubb, but he is a name that I am seeing mentioned a lot. In case you are unaware, he is the current quarterbacks coach in Baltimore working with the greatest quarterback in the game in Lamar Jackson. I gotta admit it, I dig the idea of Martin a lot in Seattle, and let me explain.

There are huge pros to hiring Tee Martin. He is from Baltimore, knows Macdonald really well, and would probably know exactly what Macdonald means when describing his ideal offense. He has spent years in the league as a backup quarterback and a coach, and he has coordinating experience from his days at USC play calling for Sam Darnold. In fact, if the Seahawks wanted to pursue Darnold in the offseason, having Martin here as the OC could be a big selling factor. Martin can be viewed as responsible for transforming Lamar Jackson into a more complete quarterback capable of beating you as easily from the pocket as he is as a runner, and Lamar absolutely loves Tee Martin.

I cannot find any cons at about about bringing in Martin outside of the fact that he is only ever coordinated in college, but that doesn’t concern me because he has been around the league for six years as an assistant and he spent six years in the league as a backup quarterback. I think it is safe to say the Martin probably knows NFL football pretty well. Right now, I rate Tee Martin as one of the most likely coaches out there to land this gig. It makes that much sense.

Josh McCown

This is the guy who I think he getting a lot of buzz amongst the fans and other bloggers who hover around the Seattle Seahawks. He is the quarterback coach in Minnesota where we have seen Sam Darnold resurrect his career this year in ways in which nobody saw coming. Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has a track record out of getting great results out of quarterbacks in his system from his time spent in Los Angeles with Sean McVay, and his time currently in Minnie, but I think it is fair to wonder how much of Darnold’s success this year is also due to McCown who spent 18 years in the league as a quarterback on 13 different teams giving him insight and pointers on how to elevate his game.

The pros to bring McCown are very obvious. Look what he has done with Darnold this year in his one year as the quarterback coach of the Vikings. Throw out the last game played against the Lions, and there has been a significant case for Sam Darnold being the MVP of the league this year much less Comeback Player. Should Seattle have a deep interest in bringing Darnold here to become the next franchise quarterback, then landing McCown would make all the sense in the world. The same would be very much equal if they wanted to instead trade for JJ McCarthy. It can also be said the if Seattle likes the offense the Pederson and Reich ran in Philadelphia a number of years ago, McCown was in that offense as a backup and therefore, would be pretty good familiarity.

The biggest con with hiring McCown as the OC would be that he has simply never done it before. That might not be a super big deal though because his familiarity with the league spans 18 years as a quarterback who has had to learn 13 different systems, and backup quarterbacks have a tendency of transitioning well to coordinating. It is very possible that McCown could interview with Macdonald and have a great grasp on what exact offense he wants for the Seahawks.

Another con for hiring McCown is that he could simply be such a hot coaching commodity that Macdonald loses him in a year or two for a head coaching gig, and we are left searching for candidates again in 2026 or 2027, but perhaps that would also probably be a good problem to have because that means that 2025 was that successful for the team.

Right now, I would say the hype for Josh McCown is super intriguing. Like Martin, I wouldn’t be surprised if he is one of the few coaches out there that are high on Macdonald’s list. We shall see.

Tanner Engstrand

This guy interviewed for the OC job last year in Seattle after Macdonald got hired, and seemingly lost out to Ryan Grubb. Given the fact that he is the pass game coordinator for the Detroit Lions, the team with the best offense in football right now, and a team that plays offense exactly like Macdonald’s describes his ideal offense playing, it is fair to imagine Seattle circling back to this guy.

The pros are that he is the pass coordinator for a quarterback in Jared Goff who comps pretty favorably to Geno Smith, he is a coach from the Jim Harbaugh tree where Macdonald partly springs from, and therefore it is probably safe to assume that he will be naturally more aligned with a physical running offense that Macdonald likely prefers. He is a former college quarterback who has a position coach for both quarterbacks and running backs. He has offensive coordinator experience from a brief stint in the XFL.

I can’t think of many cons about this guy outside of the fact that he interviewed for OC gigs last year with New England and Seattle and landed neither, but in terms of Seattle, I kinda have a sneaking suspicion that John Schneider was super in on Ryan Grubb becoming the coordinator here and with all things equal in interviews between Engstrand and Grubb, Macdonald got more swayed to take a shot with the candidate that the GM was pushing for, but that is just my own wild speculation. It could also be that maybe Engstrand wasn’t seriously interested in this gig thinking he could stick around longer in Detroit and wait for their OC Ben Johnson to leave and he would take over. With some rumblings out there now that Johnson is no longer desiring being a head coach and maybe wants to just continue on in Detroit play calling, Engstrand will feel a stronger need to move on for advancement elsewhere, and Seattle can come calling again.

On the surface, I like him as a candidate for the Seahawks. It is exciting to think of someone coming here and building an offense here that plays like the one in Detroit; tough, grinding run blocking that wears teams down, and builds lethal play action pass plays off of it. It is just such ultimate big boy football, and Seattle’s offense has very similar skill players to what the Lions have. For these reasons, I have to have Engstrand on this list.

Marcus Brady

Marcus Brady is a guy who I heard mentioned on a podcast the other day that really got my ears perked up when I heard the hosts discussing, and that led me to dig around a bit on the internet. First off, he was a quarterback who played small college ball in California and he had to venture up into Canada to spend a bunch of years playing in the CFL, and then he spent time coaching up there before landing coaching gigs in the NFL. In the NFL, he landed on the Indianapolis Colts coaching staff under Frank Reich where he worked as a quarterbacks coach, and eventually he became their offensive coordinator. Today, he is the pass game coordinator for Jim Harbaugh with the Chargers.

The pros with Brady are that he has spent time as an offensive coordinator in the CFL and the NFL, and he is a guy that Jim Harbaugh who is a mentor to Mike Macdonald thinks pretty highly about. You can chuckle about all the CFL background but Canadian football actually produces a lot of high end passing concepts, and has for decades. Current NFL offensive coaches have spent time studying their league. Brady has spent time working for both Reich and Harbaugh who are two offensive coaches known to be heavy leaners in the run game. This year under Harbaugh, the Chargers quietly had one of the more efficient offenses in the league. Justin Herbert threw 23 touchdowns and ONLY 3 INTERCEPTIONS. If what Macdonald craves most is a balanced offense that is physical in the run, and doesn’t make many mistakes, then I would imagine Marcus Brady is a very likely person to be interviewed here.

What are the cons and drawbacks and concerns with Brady? I don’t know. His stint as the OC in Indianapolis only last a year and a half as he was fired mid season in 2022 when Frank Reich was impulsively let go by Jim Irsay. His lone full year as OC there was when they replaced Phillip Rivers with Carson Wentz, and Wentz sucked, and they narrowly missed the playoffs after going 11-5 the year before. I guess on the surface, one could look at his stint there, and have a meh attitude about it.

I just think there is potentially something very interesting about this guy. After he was let go in Indy, he joined the Philly staff as an offensive consultant, and then he was highly sought after by Harbaugh in LA. Harbaugh, as much of a whack job as he can kinda come across as, is also sort of an idiot savant as a coach, and has a very good eye for coaching talent. The Chargers were a really well coached team this year, and Herbert was crazy efficient with the football. Something tells me that Brady could be a hot name for Seattle given what it feels like Macdonald wants. I kinda like him a lot. He’s an idea that is growing on me.

In Summary

These are the dudes out there externally that get me excited most for the Seattle Seahawks OC gig. I am sure that I left a lot of names out of other quality coaching candidates that folks are championing for. There is Klint Kubiak who is from the Shanahan school down in New Orleans that people seem to dig. Some people might think Mike Kafka with the Giants who Seattle was interested in as a head coach last year could be a great candidate because Andy Reid really loves him as a coach and so does Patrick Mahomes. I have seen some in the Seahawks media championing a bit for the return of Brian Schottenheimer who had Seattle as a top ten offense here for a while with Russell Wilson. I have seen some odd suggestions for Jon Gruden to be a consideration.

In the end, I think Seattle has to be really careful about getting this fit right for Macdonald. Is Mike Macdonald going to want someone from the Andy Reid or MacVay/Shanahan branches, or does he just want a Harbaugh guy who speaks his football love language?

Macdonald wants physical football here, and ball control. He wants to shrink the game and make things easier on his vaunted defense. That sounds a heck of a lot like Harbaugh football, both Harbaugh brothers, and his other old boss John Harbaugh is an Andy Reid guy. Frank Reich and Doug Pederson are Reid coaches.

That is why I kinda put Reich and Pederson at the very top of my list. They are guys sharing similar DNA with John Harbaugh. Both of them long time former NFL backup quarterbacks, both of them huge believers in the run game, highly successful coordinators and head coaches. Both of them currently out of the league right now and maybe wondering if there is a way back in.

A huge part of me believes that if either would genuinely consider the OC gig here, whether that could be a game changer for this franchise that we have not felt for over ten years. To pair the bright young defensive mind with Mike Macdonald with a sharp offensive mind in someone a couple decades older who has absolutely been there and done it all at super high levels that he can fully trust to run the offense to the point where he just does not need to think about much of it at all?

Yeah, sign me right up for that idea.

Conversely, all these other candidates super intrigue me, as well. If they can’t convince either former head coach to sniff out this gig here (very possible), the I really kinda think that Tee Martin, Josh McCown, Tanner Engstrand, and Markus Brady are all very likely candidates. Martin, Engstrand and Brady all have direct Harbaugh Brother tie ins to Macdonald, and Martin coached together with him.

McCown is just such an intriguing wildcard and a certain hot name in the coaching searches with what he has done with Sam Darnold this year. He might be a head coaching candidate very soon, depending on what the Vikings do in the playoffs. He has worked with Reich and Pederson, and other brilliant offensive minds. He could be a very strong lure for Darnold should the Viking quarterback be made available in free agency or trade, if Seattle wants him. He’s the biggest unknown in terms of a coordinator type, but something tells me that with long background as a quarterback, he will be well suited for the leap.

But at the end of the day, I think our guy may boil down to Tee Martin, Engstrand, and Marcus Brady. Unless behind close doors they really think in house Jake Peetz can be a serous candidate, I sorta think that this process may boil down to one of these three guys.

I would be down, but man would I ever love to see them land Reich or Pederson. I’m going to hang onto that until I have to let it go.

Go Hawks.

Through fifteen games this year, I have seen enough of the Seattle Seahawks under Mike Macdonald to know who and what they are. In many ways, I see a talented football team, not too far from the talented teams that have just beaten them in the last two weeks, and not really much less talented than the NFC West leading Los Angeles Rams.

They are rich at the skilled positions on offense. Jaxon Smith Njigba is an ascending star in this league. Ken Walker and DK Metcalf offer elite physical talents even if they are not wholly consistent as players. Zach Charbonnet, Tyler Lockett, Noah Fant, and maybe now even AJ Barner could probably flourish in several offenses in the league.

They have depth and talent on their defensive line. Their defensive tackles are stout run stoppers and they can rush the quarterback. Boye Mafe and Derick Hall can be pro bowl edge rushers together for years.

They have a good middle linebacker and talent in their secondary.

They have a capable veteran quarterback who can win them games, as he almost did it yesterday against a very good Viking defense.

They need to build up the interior of their offensive line this offseason. It is an absolute must. This, you would think, should be the priority number one for this team moving forward.

Or is it?

Hm..

Well, let me say that, as I sat through this game against the Vikings at Lumen Field watching Seattle drop yet another close winnable game, I reached a definitive conclusion about what is preventing these Seahawks from actually becoming the Vikings, Packers, and Rams. I don’t believe they have a quality NFL offensive coordinator, and I am now more than ready to move on from Ryan Grubb.

These are my feelings today, and they can certainly change if they go out on the road on Thursday Night Football and smoke the Bears in Chicago with an efficient offensive outing, and then they march down into LA on the following week, and upset the Rams on their home field in a similar manner. If this happens, I will probably fall victim to a blinding recency bias, and believe that Grubb is the man to continue with.

Right now, however, I do not believe he is the guy to pair with Mike Macdonald and his defense. I do not feel Grubb is up to coaching quality NFL offensive football. It isn’t just about a problematic offensive and erratic quarterback play. Too often we see receivers lining up illegally, and other piss poor procedures. They are a sloppy lot that oozes with talent, but they cannot consistently put it together, and I think that is solely a reflection of Ryan Grubb. Lack of sound fundamental details is a coaching issue.

But that is not the worst of it for me.

Grubb’s approach to the run game is killing my soul as a diehard Seattle Seahawk fan who knows full well the long traditional history of this being a running team in the scenic Pacific Northwest. They ran the snot out of the ball under a decade and a half of Pete Carroll, they ran it hard under pass happy Mike Holmgren, and in the 1980’s they were coached by a dude nicknamed Ground Chuck.

Seattle Seahawk football is about running the holy snot out of the football. This is who and what we are as a people as much as it is that people in Southern California surf, people in Russia drink vodka, and people in Canada drink beer and ice fish. People in the PNW watch run centric football. This is our birthright, and Ryan Grubb is pissing all over it.

When Mike Macdonald was hired last winter, the first thing he said when asked about what his vision was for this team was that he said he wants a tough program that plays hard, and runs the football. So, excuse me if I feel like Ryan Grubb is perhaps now the only person in the Pacific Northwest who doesn’t understand what this current head coach wants, and what the tradition of this team is all about.

I will also just say this again. I don’t want to hear another utterance about what their offensive line is right now, so zip it around me, they actually played surprisingly decent enough against a dominant Vikings defensive front. They just needed to, yet again, run the ball more.

If you have Ken Walker and Zach Charbonnet in your backfield, and you cannot figure out ways to consistently and properly utilize their talents as running backs, then you do not belong coaching in this league, period. If Grubb cannot commit to this, he should go back to college and coach in the Big 12 where coordinators make millions of dollars chucking it all over the place against soft college defenses.

Running the football takes a commitment to it, and the easiest way to build consistency on even a porous offensive line is to get the five so-so guys building chemistry run blocking together. Find something you do well, and do it over and over again out of different formations that disguise it. Once you master that, add a new wrinkle, and then you got a couple fun cords to play a decent Ramones song on your guitar with. It is not rocket science, but it takes fucking discipline, and determination.

It is literally that simple. The more you run, the better your offensive line grows together, blocks together, and the more balanced and cohesive your offense then becomes. Simple as pie, and I honestly now miss the good old Schotty days of Seahawk football four years ago.

Let us just look at this Minnesota team that just came into Lumen Field and beat us.

The Minnesota Vikings are 13-2 right now, and they are playing without their starting left tackle, have similar pass blocking issues as Seattle does (it showed in this game, by the way), and yet Kevin O’Connell is very committed to his running attack (even if it is not prolific), and building play action off of it that Sam Darnold is executing at an impressive rate. He has paired this offensive approach with the wonders that Brian Flores is doing with their aggressive defense. Imagine what Seattle could be right now if Mike Macdonald was paired with a similar offensive mind.

Could Grubb morph into a similar play-caller?

Sure, I guess he could. I guess that I could also be discovered by a Hollywood filmmaker while I am mowing a parking strip, end up in the next Jurassic World movie being chased by a gigantic Allosaurus Maximus, but I am not going to hold my breath on that.

I think in his heart, Grubb would love to play call for vintage Payton Manning and Marvin Harrison and that stellar offensive line Manning had to work with in Indy. Grubb just lives for shotgun plays with loads of drop back passing, and just enough run to keep defenders honest.

As you step back and really take a big long look at this animal, it really is a stupid beast to look at, don’t you think?

The problem is that Geno Smith (bless his heart) is not Payton Manning, and this offensive line is not anything close to being geared towards pass blocking in that sort of chuck it all over the place scheme. Laken Tomlinson, Olu Oluwatimi, and Sataoa Laumea are all run blockers suited for run centric schemes. Geno Smith is, in many ways, an ideal play action quarterback.

If you want to run a Kevin Stefanski or Kyle Shanahan run centric offense, Geno is probably a very capable quarterback to game manage those sort of attacks, guiding his team towards the playoffs. If Seattle did move on from Geno in the offseason, and he ended up in Cleveland playing for Stefanski, I would honestly not be surprised if we saw them become a pretty decent playoff contending team there again.

But Grubb does not seem to have any designs to do any of this.

When he does start games with a run and play action approach, and it is effective, as was the case in this one, he quickly abandons the approach in the following series to dial up drop back shotgun passes. It is mind numbing how often this scenario has occurred this season.

This has happened far too often this season, and far too often, the results end in a three and out series that kills away any momentum previously gained by the offense. Far too often this places more pressure on Geno Smith to be perfect on the next series once the defense has sorta figured out what is coming. Honestly, it is not fair what he has been doing to Geno Smith.

Seattle had one game this year in Arizona a couple weeks back where they leaned into the run, stayed consistently with it, and Geno wonderfully game managed, and as a result, they played perfectly complimentary ball with their defense. After that game, it felt like Grubb had finally graduated into being a proper NFL coordinator, but then that ass-hatted game against Green Bay happened, and then this game was pissed away at home against the Vikings.

So, I am really kinda done with Ryan Grubb. Sorry Husky Fan person who thinks I am not giving him a fair shake, but I want Seattle to have an offensive approach that pairs well with a promising defense. I just do. That is what I am ready for moving in the 2025 offseason as it now feels more unlikely that Seattle will see the playoffs.

I fully get it if you want to blame Geno Smith for the terrible interception in the first half that led to Minnesota points, and the interception at the end that effectively killed any chance of a miracle come from behind finish. I will see that, and add that he also threw two other balls that should have been picked, and he could have easily had four interceptions on the afternoon, and we could have seen a more lopsided loss in result. Geno also took a terrible sack that brought us out of much needed field goal range in the closing minutes that could have tied the game and brought us to overtime. I will also just say, again, that I don’t think he was helped by Grubb’s play calling nearly enough as he should have been.

You can also blame DK Metcalf for a poorly ran route that led to Geno’s final INT. I will give you that. Seeing it live, it looked like Geno threw a dumbass pass into double coverage, but the replays I watched afterwards showed what was supposed to be a simple corner route to the sideline that DK decided not to break off on, for some inexplicable reason. Who the fuck even knows what that was about, maybe it is a sign of him growing frustrated in the offense and maybe no longer being the favored target with JSN coming on, but maybe you could also ask the question as to why JSN or Lockett wasn’t running that pattern in the first place.

You could also blame Byron Murphy for inadvertently grabbing Sam Darnold’s face mask on a sack that gave the Vikings new life during their go ahead drive. Sure, maybe that was a rookie mistake, but I feel like next year, perhaps with more NFL savvy, he makes the sack without grabbing the mask. So, really, lay off of Murphy for Christ’s sake.

You can blame Tre Brown for lining up offsides as a corner, which I don’t believe that I have even seen before in a game. WTF????

Speaking of cornerbacks, you can most certainly blame Riq Woolen for giving up the big time go ahead touchdown thrown to Justin Jefferson (although it sounds like he was expecting better help from the safety in a cover two look). There are some justified concerns about Woolen regressing that I think are warranted, and news that he was benched at the top of the game for breaking team rules doesn’t help his imagine these days. It is all currently a shame because he is such a physical talent, but at the end of the day, Seattle needs dependable players at key positions and not players oozing with potential but not living up to any of it enough.

So, yeah, there was a lot of slop in this game, and I suppose there will be those who will point directly towards rookie head coach Macdonald as the one chiefly responsible for it all. Go ahead and point there, if you need to do it. He is the head coach and ultimately the one in charge of the whole inconsistent ship.

But at the end of the day, I don’t know how any fan looks at this game, and the game a month ago against the Rams, the game last week against the Pack, and the gawd awful game against the Giants in early October, and not think that Ryan Grubb out thought common sense for the sake of throwing the mother fudging football. I just don’t.

So, yeah, maybe there are changes coming to this roster this offseason. Maybe Woolen isn’t a fit for what Macdonald needs at cornerback in his defense. Maybe DK could get dealt. Maybe they do move on from Geno Smith, instead of extending, and maybe the very quarterback we just saw play against them comes to Seattle through free agency this Spring and takes over.

None of any of this will matter, in my opinion, until they fix the offensive play-calling, and they invest more into the offensive line.

But really, fix the fudge-nugget-ed mother-fudging fudge-mudging play-calling.

Drafting a good offensive guard in round one next Spring, and signing a pro bowl center in free agency will not alleviate my concerns about this offense if the theme continues to be a pass happy Grubb offense in 2025. Unless Geno Smith suddenly does turn into Tom Brady or Peyton Manning next Fall, I would be bracing for more frustration as a Seahawk fan if this approach continues on.

So, please, Seattle. Don’t make me brace for that.

These are my thoughts, and feels. It is a shame that Seattle did not seize the day and pull off this upset win. Now, in order to make the playoffs, they will need to win in Chicago, have the Rams lose to the Cardinals this weekend, and then they will have to beat the Rams in ten days. It is what it is.

That said, merry Christmas, onto Chicago, and go Hawks!

Another week, and another victory for the Seattle Seahawks. In the event you haven’t noticed because you are too busy watching videos about people licking melted chocolate off of each other’s toes, wins are beginning to become a standard for Seattle. They are winners of four in the row, and are sitting atop a tight NFC West Division at 8-5.

A month ago, they lost a close game at home against the LA Rams, fell to 4-5, and it felt all but certain that their season would be lost. At that time, I started bracing for writing articles about whether or not Seattle should bench Geno Smith in favor of Sam Howell, whether they should trade DK Metcalf in the offseason, and whether or not they made the right coaching hire with Mike Macdonald. In hindsight, I am glad that I held off on all of those.

The other week, I asserted my deep belief in Macdonald, and it is now a belief that is only growing stronger. With this win against Arizona, a team that many national talking heads felt would win this rematch, I feel like Seattle has, indeed, found a coach who has the potential to be well ahead of the competition in terms or strategy, and execution.

Without using a bunch of football jargon, I just get a sense that Macdonald is figuring out with his defense how to match each opponent they play, and he will adjust scheme accordingly. It is fitting the he spent his early childhood in Boston watching the Patriots because the one head coach who I would now comp him to is Bill Belichick minus the grumpy demeanor.

In terms of example, against Arizona, Macdonald’s D seems to have very detailed plan for how to limit Kyler Murray. His rush plan for using his defensive ends to not allow Murray to do his Sonic The Hedgehog type things on the perimeters should be studied by others. Last week, against Aaron Rodgers, he found ways to take away what Rodgers prefers to do as a passer. A few weeks ago, against the 49ers, he seemed to be well inside Kyle Shanahan’s run game playbook.

I did not watch this game against the Cardinals, but I caught a key moments version of it afterwards. I would have loved to have seen it in its entirety, but I had a very special event to attend. So, for what it is worth here is my overriding thought about this game, and moving forward with the Seahawks this year in the final month of games.

It is entirely okay for you to start getting excited about this team now. I give you permission.

I get it if you are reluctant to climb on board, and you need to see more. They still have to play the Rams again, and also have a couple tough games left at home against the Packers, and Vikings.

While it frustrates me a bit why there seems to be some continued fan apathy for this team, and I want to point out that Seattle is only one of the few teams in the league that continually play meaningful football in December for well over a decade now, I also sorta get it. I think this is a fanbase that has gotten spoiled, and simply being competitive for the playoffs isn’t enough. Also, Seattle doesn’t have a marquee quarterback who will move a lot of needles for the average fan as some other teams have, and while I think there are a handful of teams who would probably take Geno Smith right now, a decade of Russell Wilson has also spoiled this fanbase.

Still, I think it is now time for the fair weather folks to climb back on board with this club, and just enjoy what they have been able to do this last month, and how they might finish this season. Over the past month, they beat a 49er team who was in the Super Bowl last year and just murdered the Bears, they swept the improved Arizona Cardinals, and they found a way to win on the road against the Jets despite shitting all over themselves on special teams. A year ago, they would have lost that game in New Jersey, badly.

Seattle may not win the division this year. They have a tougher final stretch of games in front of them than the Rams do, and it feels possible that they will have to beat the Rams down in LA at the end of the season in order to secure the division. While the Rams do not have Aaron Donald anymore, they still have Matthew Stafford and all those fancy weapons that Sean McVay loves to use. Personally, though, with the way Seattle is now playing, I cannot wait for this matchup to close the season, and I cannot wait for future seasons to come.

I think Seattle is trending very positively, on the whole. I’m getting really excited now, and I invite you to join the party.

In this game against Arizona, the Seattle offensive line felt more settled it, finally, and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb felt more dialed into his playbook. Defenses have adjusted to his tendencies of throwing deep over the past month, offering for two deep shell looks, and in this game against the Cardinals, Grubb finally got Seattle successfully countering it with a strong commitment to the run and using runners as receivers in the flats. He had this offense ready to play against a good run stopping AZ defense that also came in ready to limit DK Metcalf. He got coordinated counter runs going, and it was glorious. Now he has given defensive coordinators something else to think about in terms of targeting any of his potential tendencies.

It is imperative for the wellness of this franchise that Grubb and his offensive line coach Scott Huff grow to how NFL defenses play against them as opposed to what they saw in college at UW, and that they can be answers to the riddle of making this team great again instead of being two coaches that they will need to replace. The most important thing in this decisive win against AZ is that they seem to be stepping up as coaches, and this is HUGE for this team moving forward.

In all of that, I also love the way Zach Charbonnet and Kenny McIntosh ran decisively and hard. This was an important game for Charbonnet to answer the call with Ken Walker down, and it is really encouraging that he delivered as a runner and receiver. At UW, Grubb had a physical playmaking runner in Dillion Johnson that he leaned on when he needed to run, and I think Charbonnet fits that mold. I want to see more of it during this last stretch of games.

Many fans have been bemoaning Charbonnet, but I was excited to see him get this start. I haven’t been fully happy with Ken Walker, lately. I know K9 has big play potential, but I have just felt for a while that he wasn’t attacking holes very hard, and had become more indecisive as a runner. Perhaps it is because he hasn’t been healthy, and fans can certainly blame a poor offensive line, but sometimes, you just got to hit it as a runner, and this had felt less of a thing for his willingness to do, perhaps.

Enter Charbonnet and McIntosh, and rookie sixth round steel Sataoa Laumea. I get it if Charbonnet is your player of the game, but for my money, it is Laumea at right guard who offered solid pass protection, and athleticism kicking out on counter runs, stoning linebackers and defensive ends.

After this game against Arizona, I want to see Charbonnet and McIntosh more involved. I want to turn on the heat behind K9. My hope is that K9 will look at the tape of this game, and he will take it to heart to mimic their efforts. K9 is, by far, the most physically talented runner on this team, but in a league full of tough defenses, offenses need runners willing to be physical, especially with spotty offensive lines.

Charbonnet and McIntosh feel like those type of guys now that this offensive line is settling in better with its blocking scheme. Seattle will need this to continue for the next four games. If it does, I do think that they can win this division, and if K9 gets healthy enough, and takes to heart some hard decisive running on his own, then watch out. Seattle could be the surprise team of the league should they make the playoffs.

In fact, after this game, I think Seattle can beat any team left on their schedule. I absolutely believe they can. Why not?

Geno Smith is playing more efficient and protective with the ball, lately, and being a good game manager with these perimeter weapons is a more important secret sauce than any hero ball that he might have been plagued with a month ago. Sataoa Laumea feels like a guy who is the answer at right guard instead of the fill in. JSN continues to prove to be an ascending wide receiver. Big Cat Williams and others feel dominant on the defensive line, and Seattle is now getting very solid linebacker play to go along with their deep secondary. For as good as Devon Witherspoon and Riq Woolen are as corners, and Coby Bryant and Jullian Love feel as safeties, Ernest Jones and Tyrice Knight are becoming a dynamic linebacking duo together.

Yeah, man. Seattle can do some damage.

I am looking more forward to these remaining four games that I can remember in recent years, and this is still with a belief that Seattle is still likely another season or two away from being a true contender.

So, I will just say that maybe now more fans should start jumping on board. Go ahead. Go for the plunge of positivity. What is the worst that can happen?

A month ago, Mike Macdonald got this defense turned around, and now maybe after this game against the Cards, Grubb is finally getting the offense settled back in. I am excited to see if that can be the case. I think it could be!

I am not expecting perfection. I don’t need all these games to be neat and tidy. I just really want to see them land at least a couple more wins, and I think that they can.

Do you?

Go Hawks.

Sometimes, my homer tendencies get the better of me. Actually, this happens quite a bit. As much as I try to safe guard against this, my eternal optimism about the Seattle Seahawks can lead me to some pretty ridiculous assertions.

For example, heading into this Monday Night Football game in Detroit, I had myself convinced that, even though we were minus what was essentially our starting defensive line, we were going to win this game. I tried to bury these thoughts deep inside me, but a couple hours before kickoff, I started messaging friends that I thought we were winning this game.

I thought Geno Smith was going to be a hot hand at quarterback (he was).

I thought Ken Walker was going to have a night, as well (he did).

I thought DK Metcalf was also going to show up big (he mostly did).

I thought we were going to cool down hot pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson (we did that).

I thought the defense minus Big Cat Williams, Boye Mafe, Byron Murphy II, and Uchenna Nwuso, and Jerome Baker was going to be fine (holy fuck balls was I ever wrong about that).

I’m not going to cry over spilled milk about this game. The Detroit Lions are a very good football team, and the nucleus of them has been growing together for a few years now. They are the fourth favored NFL team to win the Super Bowl this year by Vegas odds. They have good coaches, a good veteran quarterback, playmakers, and a special player on defense who poses a problem every Sunday. Losing 29-42 to this team on the road without five of your best players on defense is not the end of the world for what Seattle can positively be this year.

In fact, in some ways, I found things in this loss pretty damn encouraging.

For the first time this season, I felt Ryan Grubb’s playbook really open up, and as Seattle got themselves into a deep hole in the first half, I thought Geno Smith executed this offense really well fighting from behind. They were able to make it a competitive game heading into the fourth quarter, which considering the big point deficit, was impressive.

I know some people are going to judge Geno’s stat line in this one, and note that he only threw one touchdown and had a questionable pick in the end, but I felt Geno Smith played really, really well under the circumstances of having no defense stepping up to stop Jared Goff and company. He was in full command of every play, played valiant under pressure, and was completely surgical spreading the ball around, and attacking a good defense. There were other stars on offense, though.

The power trio of DK, JSN, and Tyler Lockett at receiver had themselves a game, but for my money, with K9 back in this offense, you could sense his unique cheat code potential as an explosive runner and receiver. I think he is the true X factor for Grubb’s play calling moving forward, and I really, really truly hope he stays healthy enough this season because we are about to have tons of fun watching him play.

You could also feel other young players like Zach Charbonnet, Jake Bobo, rookie tight end AJ Barner, and Laviska Shenault find themselves making plays, as well. Seattle is ripe with talent at the offensive skill positions, and for the first time this season, we witnessed the full quality of their depth, and it was against a good team. This is encouraging.

I thought the offensive line started to gel better in this game. They’re still a work in progress, but I felt their progress. Stone Forysthe was constantly attacked by Aidan Hutchinson, and he held him in check. Anthony Bradford played a clean game. Rookie Christian Haynes was shown putting Hutch on his ass on Ford Field in one pass blocking play.

Circling back to Seahawk QB1, I get the sense from Geno Smith that there is going to be a game around the corner where he’s due to throw about four or five touchdowns. Right now, he has only thrown one touchdown per game, and he’s also had four interceptions against him. It’s a weird stat line considering how good he has looked, but this game against the Lions made me think that this offense is right on the cusp of seeing him explode as a passer.

A few things got in the way for him, and the offense in Detroit. Mainly, the fucking refs got in the way.

In my opinion, this was one of the worst lopsided officiated games going against Seattle that I have seen in some time. The botched two point conversion that DK got that would have made it a six point game. The bogus interference call against Tyler Lockett the negated a crucial first down, my god did that ever suck dog dung. The defensive pass interference no call with DK Metcalf in the end zone. All of this took crucial points off of the board for Seattle that they desperately needed in the end.

But while the refs clearly interfered with Seattle’s ability to pull off an improbable upset, Seattle, themselves, often could not get out of their own way. This is the big step back for this team that now falls on Mike Macdonald and his coaches to correct.

DK Metcalf, as brilliant as he was in moments, needed to not fumble the ball heading towards the red zone early in the first half while fighting through contact against multiple defenders trying to take him down and strip out the ball. I appreciate his fight, and DK critics can eat my dirty landscaping socks, but he needs to protect that damn football at all costs.

Devon Witherspoon needed to wrap up David Montgomery in the backfield, instead of trying to throw his 180 pound body at a 220 running back for a knockout blow. I don’t think he had his best game in coverage, either, as he later found himself getting twisted a round on a big slant pass downfield, and gave up an easy touchdown.

This defense was minus it’s two best interior pass rushers, and two best edge rushers, it’s starting WILL linebacker, and free safety when Julian Love got knocked out of the game, and this made things very hard on the day. However, under these circumstances, you need your best players playing their best ball, not their worst. Spoon is probably the best player on defense, and he needed to play this one like it.

He’s young, talented, and I think a pretty serious minded football player. Expect him to bounce back big this Sunday against the Giants. I think this entire defense will.

On one positive plus side of a dismal night of defense, it was cool seeing second year edge rusher Derick Hall collect his fourth sack in four games. I think there is a talented young nucleus brewing up front with Hall, Boye Mafe, and Byron Murphy, and this has me very excited about the future of this team. This is what we want to see in the early portions of the Macdonald era.

So, in the end, I am not really all that upset about this loss. I like how this offense stepped up its game substantially, and I think the mistakes made on defense are largely correctable.

Mike Macdonald said it himself postgame. The proper angles and good tackling that the back end of this defense had demonstrated for the first three games of the year did not show up in Detroit, and they intend to work on it this week.

Here is my vibe on this moving forward. If the New York Giants thought this Sunday was going to be a good time to venture into Lumen Field to catch the Seattle Seahawks off guard, I think they’re pretty much going to be royally hosed now.

This Sunday is going to be Mike Macdonald’s first real get right game to get his defenders refocused on the fundamentals. They are going to be extremely motivated to correct coarse against the Giants with San Francisco looming next Thursday for them.

But as for Ryan Grubb and what he’s got cooking with Geno and K9 now?

Yeah, I am really exciting about seeing where all that might go. I am perfectly willing to put this game in Detroit away fast for what I think might be down the horizon.

Go Hawks

Here are a few wishlist items I was hoping I would see from the Seattle Seahawks as they were to defend their home turf against a Tua-less Miami Dolphins football team.

I needed to see a dominant defensive effort against an offense playing with a backup quarterback.

Check.

I needed to see continued efficient quarterback play from Geno Smith.

Check, again.

I wanted to see better running production from backup Zach Charbonnet.

Yet, another check.

I needed to see some semblance of a lopsided victory for Seattle in front of the Twelves.

Checkmate.

On the surface, Seattle pretty much gave me the type of victory that I was hoping for, are now 3-0, and solidly in first place in their division. Yet, at the same time, they did not make this an easy affair for me.

It was fitting that the refs tossed as many yellow flags in the air on the same day that the Seattle Seahawks organization decided to honor girl athletes playing flag football throughout the region. If I were to write a feature film comedy centered around a NFL franchise, I might be inspired to use this game as inspiration for a game played in the storyline.

I have been watching the Seattle Seahawks regularly for over forty years of my life. Since 1983, I have watched almost every game. I cannot remember a more stress inducing blowout victory in favor of the Seahawks than this one against the hapless Miami Dolphins on this date of September 22nd, 2024. Holy fucking flag fest.

I get it that Seattle has a banged up offensive line, and is missing their most explosive offensive weapon who isn’t DK Metcalf in Ken Walker, but holy crap-fest was this ever a hard watch throughout most of the game. Seattle played a great first quarter of football, and then for the next two and a half quarters, they could not stop crapping all over themselves, offensively.

They played such an offensive slop fest through much of this game that it could have easily led to a loss, if Miami had a quality starting quarterback playing for them. Fortunately, they did not, and the end result was a box score that showed a good old fashioned ass whooping against an inferior opponent, which is something, for sure.

Seattle’s revamped defense played against a backup quarterback, and they whooped his ass all over the field, knocked him out, and then they whooped up on the backup to the backup. They effectively did what any quality defense would and should do, and that is definitely a thing worth praising.

In this regard, I think we should absolutely celebrate Seattle, and their new defensive minded head coach for getting the Seahawk defense to play at a high enough level to make this a very difficult day for an explosive Miami offense. To be honest, even without Tua Tagovailoa, I expected Mike McDaniel to still cook up an explosive enough of an offense attack against Mike Macdonald’s defense to make this an interesting match. In fact, in days leading up to kick off, I was anticipating Seattle with Geno Smith winning a shootout.

But in the end, our Coach Mike handily beat their Coach Mike, and we won the Coach Mike Battle with a punishing defense. In an ideal football world, this is the way that I prefer winning, so I guess I should be happy.

In many ways, I am damn happy about this style of victory. Seattle, despite the constant offensive line screw ups, was still the much more explosive offense, and they were, by far, the more intimidating defense on the field.

But they got so much more work to do, if they want to be a real contender this year, which is what I would really like them to be. It all centers around figuring out their offensive line. They must get better up front on offense moving forward.

As much as it is great to soak in a lopsided victory for your favorite team, I’m supremely annoyed that, within the stat sheets, Geno Smith tossed two picks and only one touchdown in what was otherwise another very efficient outing for him. Both picks involved instant pressure up the middle, and I don’t believe there was much more he could have done outside of eating a sack.

Seattle’s guard play is currently trending towards crisis status, and if they want to be the offense that they are capable of, something needs to radically change right now. If they do not have the players on the roster capable of playing better, I highly encourage an aggressive approach from the front office to bring someone in who will.

Ryan Grubb’s offense is predicated on an aggressive mindset, but the amount of inside pressure Seattle’s guards are giving up is hair-pulling-ly frustrating, on top of their penalties. This offense, as he would like to call it, is not sustainable playing like this.

At this rate, Anthony Bradford is becoming the most unpopular Seattle offensive lineman since Germain Ifedi ever wore an Action Green uniform. Something has to change. Either Grubb opts for more of a conservative ball control attack, or his interior linemen suddenly figure out how to play better within this aggressive passing attack, or this team does something bold to shake up its starting offensive line for the better.

At the very least, I would say let’s give rookie Christian Haynes more of a chance to compete with Bradford because, at the very least, he’s a badass run blocker. The truth of the matter, however, is that I feel destined over the next few weeks to write about how much I want John Schneider to trade for a quality guard.

I mean, seriously, if the Dallas Cowboys are now in free fall, and they wouldn’t mind a day two draft pick from us, I wouldn’t mind taking right guard Zach Martin off of their hands for them. They aren’t going to be able to keep that whole team together anyways after paying Dak and CeeDee.

This is kinda what I want Seattle to do moving forward. I feel like, with Geno Smith, they got the quarterback Grubb needs to get to the whole of his playbook, and have it executed properly. I think they are blessed with all sorts of weapons on offense, but they need a functional offensive line. This should be the main agenda for John Schneider now that this team is 3-0 to start the season.

Mike Macdonald’s defense is starting to gel. You can feel it. Players like Big Cat Williams, Jarran Reed, Boye Mafe, Derick Hall, Tyrel Dodson, Riq Woolen, Julian Love, Rayshawn Jenkins, Byron Murphy, Spoon, and many others are starting to feel each other. Through three weeks now, you can feel the dynamic qualities of these guys meshing together, and they now have Uchenna Nwosu set to return. Buy stock in this Seahawk defense.

This offense, also, is close to being special, if they can just sort out of their offensive line. There is no reason why they should not be aggressive making this happen.

Simply put, they should show Seattle fans, once again, that they are not akin to the Seattle Mariners resting on laurels, but are the Seahawks willing to be aggressive to get over the top. Nobody will fault them for sending a high draft pick to a struggling team who will be sellers before the trade deadline, if that player is a quality guard.

I also do not care if their move is to simply sign some cagey older vet out there like Duane Brown to come in and play guard, but I need to see these sort of moves, if they cannot get a guy like Bradford to settle down, and play better ball. By restructuring DK Metcalf’s contract, Seattle has the funds to go get better players up front, if need be.

Therefore, I need to feel like this organization is determined to hold onto, and build off of their lead in this tough NFC West division. I mean, I neeeeeeed it to happen.

I feel this way because I think that contention for the division title is right there for them, this year, if they want it. So many pieces on this team are there, and so many young pieces are stepping up, and playing really well.. accept for their guards. Even third string tackle Stone Forsythe is subbing in decently enough at right tackle.

I do not mean to highjack the feel good nature of kicking the absolute snot balls out of the Miami Dolphins, but fucking hell do I ever need to see better offensive line play. I just do. Please.

Pretty please.

Great win, otherwise, though. I oddly believe that, too, despite the stress load.

Admittedly, in prior years, this would have been the type of game to make me nervous about losing to a backup quarterback, anyways. Pete Carroll teams developed a nasty habit of playing down to an inferior opponent, loosing to backups, and I tried really hard to shake nerves heading into this one. I will be the first to admit that watching the offensive line mishaps in this one gave me PTSD fits at times.

Agro texts from my friend Matt didn’t help settle these vibes, either. Even though I recognize that he is an absolute tin hatter conspiracy enthusiast about NFL refs, the flags that flew anytime Seattle was on offense for two and a half quarters felt like the first thirty minutes of Saving Private Ryan to me, and made me question the amount of coffee I drank throughout the morning.

Never mind the fact that Boye Mafe, Derick Hall, Tyrel Dodson, and Dre’Mont Jones made me fear for Skylar Thompson’s life at moments. Never mind that Seattle’s tight ends came to life, Charbonnet played a great game, and DK Metcalf continues to prove that he is as unique of a talent as there is in this league.

Optimistically, I was wishing for a very clean game, but the reality hit me in the face yet again that NFL football is often really hard to win at. In this league, the talent discrepancies are often razor thin between most clubs, and different teams match up against other opponents differently than others.

Look what the Denver Broncos did to the Tampa Bay Bucs on the road, and what Carolina did to the Raiders. I bet Baker Mayfield and Gardner Minshew didn’t see those beatdowns against them coming moments before kickoff.

I dunno, football stirs up emotions inside me unlike any other sport. Sometimes, I feel like it is that perfect girlfriend who is amazing in every way until she’s into her third glass of champaign.

In this one, against the Fins, she drank too much after not eating enough to sustain good offensive line play, I think. Maybe better offensive guard play, and a dry month is just the thing she needs. Either way, I’m here for her.

Go Hawks.

No matter what happens with the Seahawks this year, whether they struggle and miss the playoffs, or become a surprising contender, one aspect about this team will be certain to happen. Seahawk fans will be divided when it comes to Geno Smith.

Seattle could take an improbable path to the Super Bowl, and there will probably be certain fans who will be “thanks, Geno!.. time to draft a quarterback.”

Seattle could also struggle playing through a tough division, and end up with a losing record. If that happens, there will most certainly be load cries to see what we have in Sam Howell, and cut bait with Geno.

But on the flip side, this fanbase also has loads of people who are staunchly in Geno Smith’s corner. They believe that not only is he rightly the QB1 for now, but should be looked to be the future, as well.

Curiously, from the observations I have made online, podcasts I follow, some national takes that I see, the people who tend to be very pro Geno Smith seem to be the ones who demonstrate knowing ball pretty well. These people are mainly the analytics crowd of the fanbase, and the league, and football film junkies who break down plays and coverages.

These people are comfy with Geno about to turn 34 years old, and have a “so what” attitude about having an older quarterback who took an unorthodox path to becoming QB1 here in the PNW. They study the tape, look at his numbers compared to other quarterbacks spread across the league, and they are confident in their projections that Geno’s got some good years left out of him.

I get it. Positive numbers are alluring.

As of right now, Geno projects to have a pretty good QBR rating, on the whole, over the last two year span, even if there were up and down trends with his game. Analytics also support that he is one of the best quarterbacks when making plays under pressure, one of the best play action passers in the league, and he is one of the best deep ball passing quarterbacks, as well.

At the start of the season last year, the anti Geno crowd used the argument that he hadn’t proven that he could win games in the fourth quarter, but then he went on to prove to be one of the best fourth quarter quarterbacks in the league last season. In fact, the more games he plays in, the more the anti Geno crowd is running out of excuses as to why he shouldn’t be the starter here much longer. The best that they can muster up is that he is older and therefore, cannot be expected to be the future.

Because of these numbers, and what my own eye test has sorta told me about Geno, and the support he has gotten from sharp football minds I respect like Brian Nemhauser of Hawkblogger, Mina Kimes, the Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar, Cigar Thoughts thinker Jacson Bevens, and others, I land pretty firmly on the Pro Geno Smith side of the argument. I get it that his story is unusual, he’s older, and at some point, Seattle needs to draft and develop a young quarterback. I also believe that the way league rules protect quarterbacks these days, it has become more common for quarterbacks to play longer and still find success.

That said, even in the most stubborn pro Geno position I could take, I still see certain writings on the wall for him in Seattle that make me believe that his future with this team is a murky one, at best. I am not blind to the tea leaves that I read.

Let’s look at this team’s roster financials.

Over The Cap, an online source that calculates and tracks roster spending, projects Seattle to be $19 million over their salary cap at the start of the 2025. No matter what this team does in 2024, make the playoffs, or not make them, they will need to cut some talented players, and/or restructure contracts to get their finances right next Spring in order to sign back key free agents, dip into free agency, and also have enough money to sign their rookie class. This is the grim financial future waiting for this team after the season.

Popular players who could be at risk to be cut or dealt could include Tyler Lockett, Leonard Williams, Uchenna Nwosu, Dre’Mont Jones, and Noah Fant. Of all the players who could open up the most money if cut or traded would be Geno Smith.

Hypothetically, if Seattle moved off of him for Sam Howell (and possibly a rookie, or cheap vet), Seattle would free up $25 million and be effectively under their cap. If they also moved off of Tyler Lockett, they would free up an additional $17 million. For sake of argument, let’s say they cut lose Dre Jones, and that frees up over $11 million.

These three actions would net them roughly $34 million in effective cap space to sign back center Connor Williams and maybe starting linebackers Tyrel Dodson and Jerome Baker. After these signings, they would have probably enough cap to sign a player or two in free agency on minimum deals and then sign there draft class.

This is the cold honest truth about Seattle’s roster structure in terms of its salary cap. As much as it might seem that Geno is the guy, it kinda feels like this roster has been under construction for a QB on a rookie contract to eventually take over, at least in terms of salary cap management. If you went onto the Over The Cap website, and looked at this team’s financial outlooks for 2025 and 2026, you would immediately get this vibe.

In my mind, I imagine Seattle would probably love to find a talented young quarterback playing on a cheap rookie contract. That player just hasn’t landed to them yet, and right now, they possess a talented older quarterback who is essentially playing for his future to remain here in Seattle this year.

It is certainly very possible that Geno Smith catches fire this season, guides Seattle back into the playoffs, makes the pro bowl for a third straight year, ingratiates himself with Ryan Grubb and Mike Macdonald, and they work out an extension in the following offseason. With an extension, they can convert money into the form of a signing bonus, drop is 2025 salary number significantly down, cut a few other expensive veterans, and maybe restructure a couple other contracts.

With each restructure, though, that is financially kicking money down the line, inflating future salary caps, and making it financially more difficult to sign back good players coming off of their cheap rookie contracts. You can be the biggest pro Geno person out there, and still recognize this particular salary cap quandary.

So, if this teams elects to pay Geno Smith $50 million APY, you most certainly not see Tyler Lockett staying here, and the team would also have to part ways with other talented vets. After the 2025 season, the team would also be hard pressed to keep together all of Boye Mafe, Riq Woolen, Ken Walker, Abe Lucas, and Charles Cross. After 2026, they will have a chore figuring out ways to keep Jaxon Smith Ngijba, Devon Witherspoon, Derek Hall, and Zach Charbonnet. Tough decisions would be inevitable.

I am not arguing against paying Geno Smith the value he would be worth, if he has truly ascended into top tier quarterback status, but I am showing you what it means to pay someone who will be well into his mid thirties this kind of money down the road. Seattle is building a talented young core, and it would be hard to keep them together for a quarterback who may only be a three to five year plan, at best, beyond 2024.

This is why I believe we have never seen this team fully embrace Geno Smith as their franchise quarterback this year. I think they are being very purposefully pulled back from doing that, and there are numerous examples.

Go down and have a walk around their stadium. Geno Smith is this team’s highest paid player, and yet he does not have his own individual mural picture on the outside of the stadium like other key players have. What does that tell you?

That tells me that he is playing this season for his own future on this team.

After all, it was just around five months ago that John Schneider was asked whether Geno is their starting quarterback, and he answered “he is until isn’t.”

That lack of endorsement set off alarm bells with Geno fans, and people got pissed. Schneider got asked a very pointed question, and yet he elected to be candid instead of sugar coating it.

Frankly, it didn’t really bother me much. After all, he didn’t know if they would be able to draft a guy like Michael Penix Junior, or not, and Schneider wouldn’t have had any idea how this new coaching staff would ultimately take to Geno. It sort of struck me as maybe something he wanted to say to prep people for potential quarterback move around the corner.

Let us remember that when Schneider came to town with Pete Carroll in 2010, the Seahawks had Matt Hasselbeck, arguably the best quarterback in franchise history at the time, on it’s roster, and they traded for Charlie Whitehurst to develop behind him much like they trade for Howell this year.

After seeing Hasselbeck play well enough to guide this team into the playoffs, and win a playoff against the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints, Pete Carroll and John Schneider said “thank you and goodbye” to Hass that following offseason. It’s safe to assume that Pete and John were looking for something different at quarterback. Eventually, they landed on Russell Wilson.

So, saying Geno is the starter until he isn’t shouldn’t really be that shocking, if you look at this team’s history. It should simply be a vivid tea leaf to read.

The organization might really like Geno Smith a lot, and appreciate who and what he is for this team right now, but they ultimately might be building this roster up for eventually a young gun to step in, just like I mentioned above. This feels real enough for me.

It makes sense, given the players that they have extended, and the players that they are looking to extend in a few short years, to have a cheap solution at quarterback for the length of a rookie contract. This is probably their ideal scenario.

But many times in life, ideal scenarios don’t always present themselves. Good teams do not reach on quarterbacks in the draft just to take one. They stay true to their draft boards.

Therefore, I don’t think we see John Schneider next Spring draft a quarterback in round one just for the sake of it in order to prepare for life without Geno. After all, in 2023, he had two opportunities in the first round to draft Will Levis and passed both times. Anyone watching Tennessee last Sunday can see that Levis is still very much a work in progress player.

So, here is ultimately where I sorta land in all of this Geno debate in Seattle. I really like Geno Smith a lot. I like what he is as a player, and I dig who I think he is as a person. If he plays well in 2024, like I think he is fully capable of playing, I wouldn’t be upset at all if this team worked out an extension with him for a few more years. I would actually be excited about it.

Therefore, as of right now, I still believe that this is a likely enough of a scenario. As this season wears on, I can see Geno Smith clicking in this new offense with Ryan Grubb’s play calling, and further winning over this new coaching staff.

Would I be shocked if it didn’t happened and they turned to Sam Howell in 2025 with potentially a rookie competing with him?

No, I would not be shocked. Geno could play well, and just like with Hasselbeck years ago, they could still elect to move on. This could most certainly happen.

But I still think that Geno stands a strong chance to endear himself to his new coaches with good enough play, and leadership to where they are going to want to keep rolling with him. It’s just an unshakable vibe I get. It makes me reluctant to bet against him staying in Seattle.

Those who know Grubb pretty well have noted that he prefers a very specific personality at quarterback. He wants an alpha personality who will command a huddle, make smart decisions, and possess the ability to accurately push the ball downfield. Geno Smith is all of this right now. That is why they never intended to open up competition between him and Howell.

I will say another thing about Geno and Sam Howell. If Howell was quarterbacking in the final minutes against the Broncos and attempting that crucial third down pass to the tightly covered Tyler Lockett, I don’t think he makes that throw. I don’t think he even attempts that throw.

All throughout training camp, Geno demonstrated vast superiority of accuracy with the football over Sam Howell. It wasn’t close. Do not underestimate how much that means to Ryan Grubb when he is calling plays.

Therefore, I think that if Seattle does make the playoffs this year, and Geno plays well, he and the team will likely find middle ground on an extension. He will probably have his coaches (and teammates) pushing for this. Maybe it’s only a short two year extension, or three at the most, but extending a quality Geno Smith a few more years gives this team the luxury of staying competitive until they find a player in the draft that they believe will be the franchise. There is tons of value in this.

I think this is the solid middle ground for the player and the organization. Give him some more money and a couple extra years, and keep your options open for drafting a quarterback that you really like.

I would not be so quick to assume that Geno will want Dak Prescott dollars, either. If he does, than this whole situation becomes a very different discussion, but I suspect that he will want to be compensated better than he is now, and with probably a little more in guaranteed money tossed into the deal. At the same time, however, I believe he will recognize that giving the team a friendlier contract deal than other quarterbacks probably assures that the team will better fit talent around him.

Maybe I am wrong about this. I could be, but I wouldn’t, at this point, bet against it. Things are presently murky, but one really good season out of Geno Smith this year can clear a lot of that up.

John Schneider likely genuinely appreciates Geno, but he also knows all too well that finding a bright young quarterback to play on a rookie contract is a golden ticket for any franchise in this league. Any good general manager in his position, of having a decent QB1 entering his mid thirties with a new coaching staff, would be thinking the same exact thing. At some point, you have got to get younger, if you can.

But at the same time, I think John likes to operate by having a strong working relationship with his coaches, and he takes in their input. If they bang the table loudly for Geno, I don’t see him ignoring that.

This is why I am not at all stressing this truth between Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks. Having a good quarterback now, and an eye for another one in the future is exactly how this team should be operating. This is how they have set themselves up to operate, I believe.

This is the very last thing I will land on with Geno Smith the quarterback. This dude has been through a lot of shit as a professional football player, and against many odds, he stayed with it, and overcame what most others in his position have not been able to do. Don’t think for a second that he looking at this trial year, and doesn’t have the inner fortitude stay strong against any adversity and doubt.

You can be put off by his age, and his path to being QB1 in Seattle. If you are under the age of thirty, you probably only really know quarterback success in Seattle coming from some dude who won a Super Bowl game managing on a cheap rookie contract. That’s fine.

But I think only a fool underestimates how much the players on this team love him, how strongly he commands the huddle, and how determined he is to prove all the hating fuckos out there wrong all over again.

Go Hawks

Due to family obligations over the next couple weeks, this the only preseason game review of the Seahawks that I am going to publish this Summer. Therefore, I am going to give it my best to make this a good one. Here we go.

From a Seattle perspective, I saw a lot of things to be encouraged about in this game, but let me start with the most important position in football.

The other week, my heart sank into my stomach with the news that Geno Smith got hurt at practice, was going to miss some days, and was getting imaging work done on his knee and hip. This wasn’t the news I wanted to hear about on any level. It was like the dread I felt in high school when someone told me that the girl I was dating was in the bathroom making out with the wrestler dude who never bathes. Fuck.

You see, a few days before that, I was at practice, and what I witnessed from Geno was an absolute marvelous day of crisp downfield passes. I mean, I am talking flawless stuff, and I have been going to Seahawk practices for years, and I cannot recall seeing a better day of passing from a Seahawk quarterback. Not from Russell Wilson, nor peak Matt Hasselbeck. Geno looked that sharp.

What I saw at that practice from Sam Howell was okay. He made some cool plays with his arm and legs, and yet he was also a bit inaccurate at other times. It was no contest, though. Geno Smith looked vastly superior.

So, when this news broke about Geno getting hurt, the Seahawks’ season flashed before my eyes. My gut told me that if Seattle had to rely on Sam Howell through a stretch of games in 2024, they would be hard pressed to make it to the playoffs in Mike Macdonald’s first year as head coach.

One preseason game does not a season make or break for any team, but after watching what Howell did in this game against the Herbert-less Chargers of Los Angeles, my confidence meter about these Seahawks has elevated. This is exciting.

I figured Macdonald would get this Seahawk defense turned around, and in this game against the Chargers, they showed boat loads of promise (more gushing later). Tacklers tackled, and coverage players covered, and pass rushers like rookie defensive tackle Byron Murphy, Boye Mafe, and Derick Hall made plays. I am fully confident that Seattle is going to see a major defensive turnaround this year, and this game has deepened those thoughts.

What I had major questions about is whether the offensive line could effectively block, and whether Sam Howell could play within himself to find his plays, and be protective with the ball. I think Howell and the offensive line (when run blocking) acquitted themselves well in this one.

In my training camp observations the other week, I wrote that if Seattle were to rely on Howell to win meaningful games, they would need to lean further into the run. Apparently, Seattle agreed with this assessment.

When they leaned into the run against the Chargers, Howell’s game opened up. Success on the ground allowed Howell to roll out, scramble, and make plays with his arm and legs. It was fun to watch.

This is how you are going to best roll with Sam Howell. He’s got a niftiness to him as a scrambler, and like Russell Wilson, with a lower center of gravity and a strong arm, he throws well on the run. His best throws came when it looked like he was potentially going to scramble for yards, and also off of play action. When he throws strictly from the pocket, that’s where it can be more of an adventure with him.

In watching this game, it felt like offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb knew this about Howell, and he dialed up an impressive ground game to compliment him. Honestly, I might be more excited about Grubb’s ability to adjust to the talent he has a quarterback than I am at the quarterback, himself, and that is taking nothing away from Howell. In fact, I am more impressed with Howell after this live outing than I was at training camp the other week.

With Howell, it could be entirely possible Seattle has a young QB2 who might be better on game days that at times during practice. That is not hugely uncommon, but it is something to keep in mind now that we saw him in his first preseason game for Seattle.

Some people want to comp Sam Howell to Baker Mayfield because of his size and the number on his jersey, but looking at him in this game and at practice, I see a different QB in the league to compare him towards. While it is possible that Baker might be his ceiling, I kinda see Gardner Minshew as his potential floor, and that isn’t a bad thing, in my view.

Minshew was an absolute gamer in college for Washington State who, just like Sam Howell, didn’t impress at the scouting combine, and fell in the draft. Since then, he has fluctuated between being a good backup to serviceable starter on and off over the years. This sorta fells like potentially the career Howell might be destined for. I think he could start for a team and do some fun things, but he may never reach more than a middling status, and whatever team he is the QB1 for, might be looking to replace him through the draft or whatever.

This is sorta what I felt I watched with him against the Chargers. He made good throws, made good decisions, but also perhaps displayed some limitations with accuracy a bit, and it felt like Grubb kept the offense simple. I would happily take that in a QB2 for my team. Currently, he looks like a much better backup option than Drew Lock did.

In fact, with the toughness the Seattle offensive line showed in its run blocking against the Chargers, and the speed and strength, and discipline the defense showed, if Sam Howell had to start the majority of the games this year, I think Seattle could still be a surprise team. I think Howell has just enough talent, and Seattle has enough around him on this roster, that they finally have an offensive coordinator to maximize it all in a way that suits Howell.

This is what this preseason game sorta showed me.

Guards like Anthony Bradford and rookie Christian Haynes moved big bodies to clear running lanes for running backs Kenny McIntosh and rookie George Holani, who both looked solid. There was an unmistakable physicality to Seattle’s ability to run the ball inside with power and speed, and Grubb used just enough motion in his plays to keep the Charger defense guessing.

There was also an unmistakable ability for Seattle’s defensive line to play with aggression and toughness. Byron Murphy looks destined to become a star, but rotational players like Mike Morris, and Derick Hall, and Myles Adams looked pretty damn good, as well.

In fact, of all the second year players who might make the biggest positive leap forward this year, I would pick edge rusher Hall as my guy to watch out for. His bend, and power and speed was on display in this game just as I saw it in practice.

But the thing that probably has me most excited about the Seahawks in watching this preseason game is the discipline shown on defense. Collectively, I sensed a unit playing together. I did not expect this so early from these guys who are picking up a complex scheme that Macdonald is bringing over from Baltimore.

Even though Macdonald didn’t show anything super complex, you still felt the allusion of complexity, at times. Mike Morris, for example, would flex out from defensive tackle to being a stand up edge rusher, and properly make a play in coverage at 300 pounds, for goodness sake.

Tacklers met ball carriers and receivers for routine small gains, or limit run after catch opportunities. You don’t have to have a deep understanding of all the nuances of American football to see players in the right places making routine plays.

One of these tacklers who really impressed me in this game was rookie middle linebacker Tyrice Knight. He looked fast and efficient in coverage and in angling up to meet a ball carrier. He impressed me in camp as well, and it was encouraging to see him carry it forward in this game.

Outside of Murphy, he might be the one rookie on defense that Seattle really needs to see positive net gains from, and so far, things look positive. Depth at middle linebacker still feels like a major concern for me, but Knight is doing stuff to mitigate that right now. I need to see this trend continue.

In terms of the secondary and defensive line, I think Seattle looks to have an assortment of riches. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if they use nickel and dime packages predominantly.

Backup safeties Coby Bryant and K’Von Wallace played like quality starters. Riq Woolen looks like he has regained his 2022 pro bowl form and has improved upon it. Seattle’s defensive tackle rotation looks tough as nails, and is ready to fuck shit up this year. The young edge rushing talents of Boye Mafe and Derick Hall feel excitingly bright, and I will repeat what I said above; I think Derick Hall is destined to be the breakout player this year.

We just need competent play at middle linebacker, and there were signs in this game that it could be there this year. Tyrel Dodson looked very capable at MIKE linebacker, Knight looked like he belongs in this defense, and, surprisingly, so did journeyman Jon Rhattigan. To me, this is all a sign that Seattle’s defense is being coached up well.

I do not mean this to be a huge knock on Pete Carroll and his great legacy in Seattle, but it has been years since I have seen a Seahawk defense look this fundamentally sound and on point in a preseason game, much less a game midseason. This basic level display of play, of see ball carrier, tackle ball carrier, drop into proper zone, and tackle pass catcher, has me really excited about the potential for the Seahawks this year.

If they can keep Geno Smith healthy enough, Ryan Grubb can fully maximize his playbook much like he did for two years at Washington. I mean, open this sucker up like a 1970’s muscle car on open roads in Montana, not the let’s play it safe stuff that was on display with Howell in this match.

You pair that with this sort of early preseason defensive effort shown from Mike Macdonald’s defense, and it is super easy for me to dream bigger this year for the Seahawks, and what they could do.

I think they now have the play callers in place on both sides of the ball with schemes to get the most out of the players on this roster. That can easily be good for eleven wins barring a bad rash of injuries to key players.

Are they on the same level as the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, and such?

I’m not going to anoint them yet, but I am intrigued to find out how far the gap is between them and these more heavily anticipated NFC teams. I have optimism they might be on their way to closing in.

This Seattle team honestly feels like it isn’t just destined to become the Baltimore Ravens out West. It feels like it has the potential to be a hybrid of the teams that just played in the national championship game last January.

With Grubb running the offense, and Macdonald (who was also the mastermind of a dominant defense in college at Michigan as well as a dominant defense in Baltimore) calling the defense, I do dare to dream about Seattle becoming a perfect balanced mix of 2023 Washington and 2023 Michigan at the NFL level. The resulting effects of that union being an offense that aggressively attacks defenses married to a defense that’s number one goal is to confuse and disorient quarterbacks with relentless pass rush and tricky coverages.

What a marriage that would be. If they can gel towards that this year, this is going to be a fun season of football.

This one simple little preseason game against a Chargers team that didn’t have a lot of starters playing (Seattle rested a bunch of starters as well) has elevated my hopes. There is still a lot of work for Seattle to do to get to this perfect unified state of tying its offense to its defense and special teams, and Mike Macdonald acknowledged afterwards, but this was a positive step forward, no doubt about it.

This is going to be a very different Seahawks team than what we have seen in the last several years. You are going to feel them more up front more on both sides of the ball. You will see stronger fundamentals.

Mike Macdonald is not going to likely wow you with his personality. You won’t see him animated on sidelines like we have gotten to enjoy from Carroll for a decade and a half. Instead, you will see a stoic straight forward dude who will not allow his players to get ahead of themselves. Praises will be there from him, but it will be more measured. He will push them in ways in which many have not been pushed yet in their careers.

It was fitting that his very first preseason game was coached against his old Michigan boss Jim Harbaugh. The culture and vibe of this team on Sundays will be more Harbaugh-esque, and I support that with every fiber of my Seahawk fanaticism.

This is the change that I wanted to see happen for the Seattle Seahawks, and I think this game was a good step forward in that direct.

I want to see more of it.

Go Hawks.

This is my good friend Ashley. Look how goofy this stoned assed motherf***er is!

We had so much fun from the berm watching training camp this weekend. I enjoyed watching tight spirals, and he enjoyed watching a couple middled aged bar hags in Daisey Dukes sitting ten feet away from us.

I got a lot of thoughts to tie into this. So, barrel down, Snowflakes. I am giving it to you straight.

Let me start this whole thing off by saying that I am not going to be delusional and proclaim that the Seattle Seahawks are going to be a top contending team this year. I think they can be a surprise team, and if they can stay healthy enough, I can see them back in the playoffs in Mike Macdonald’s first year as head coach, possibly wrecking the joy of other fanbases.

To say that the new schemes could uncork exciting potentials on this roster is an understatement. I felt all of last year that Seattle had talent on their roster that was not being maximized. What I viewed on the berm felt like a very positive step forward for a lot of those players.

I saw a lot of encouraging signs on Saturday that suggested to me they are on track to be that sort of team.

That said, there still exists a couple things that prevent me from fully buying into them becoming a truly dominant team this year. It really just boils down to two things.

For one, I believe that they play in one of the toughest divisions in the league with a ridiculously talented team in the Bay Area, a talented Rams team, and a team in Arizona that could be on the rise. While I think it is fool’s gold to buy into any hype that Kyler Murray and the Cardinals are going to finally have their shit together this year, I sense the potential of the Rams being on the upswing again, and the ridiculously talented San Francisco F*ck Faces are going to have all kinds of incentive to win it all this year before they have to pony up to make Brock Purdy the highest paid quarterback in the league in 2025.

The other issue is that, at least on paper, while I see a lot of talent spread across this Seattle roster, I see the wee potential of disaster on their offensive line, and at middle linebacker. In short, having your starting right tackle on the Physically Unable To Perform list at the start of this training camp is not the greatest omen to start things off this Summer. Additionally, Mike Macdonald needs middle linebackers Jerome Baker and Tyrel Dodson to stay healthy this, or we could see him forced to use a raw rookie fourth round pick linebacker starting in meaningful games (more on this rook later).

So, as I sit here and type out my thoughts in anticipation for real NFL football to begin, I got one thing I really need to see out these Seattle Seahawks this year.

I need to see some badass, go for the throat, toughness on both sides of the ball.

They got skill players who will make things interesting in games. I have already written about how I think Geno Smith continues to be vastly underrated as a quarterback. We all know Seattle is pretty loaded at receiver and running back. We know they have pretty good talent at corner, and there is some interesting potential on the defensive line. Barring massive amounts of injuries accruing at these spots, we should see Seattle hang with teams this year.

But I need to see a tough, aggressive, badass mentality like we haven’t seen here in a really long ass time.

Here are some of the impressions I came away with from what I saw at practice this Saturday from my seat on the berm that give me hope that Seattle can, in fact, be a pretty damn badass team this year, if they can stay relatively healthy enough.

Watching Geno Smith run this Ryan Grubb coached offense made me feel like I was watching Michael Penix Junior in the Washington Husky offense from the past two years. In fact, Geno looked just like a right handed version of Penix, and this should excite most Seahawk fans.

He was in full command of this attack, throwing perfect spirals to spots on the field where his receiver could easily catch against good coverages. Just like watching Penix in college, Geno wasn’t tossing easy gimme throws, either, but rather putting great passes downfield into windows. Everything from him was pretty damn crisp. This was a lot of fun to watch.

Barring injury, Seattle feels like they have not only their quarterback for now, but it feels possible that they got their guy for a good while, as well. I write this as a person who has been somewhat reluctant to say that Geno can be the long term fixture here, too, but after seeing it in person, I am more sold on Geno than ever. I never seen him look this sharp in Shane Waldron’s offense at this stage of training camp. I’m sold.

In terms of Sam Howell, from what I saw on Saturday, he looked much better than I was anticipating based on negative reviews through the first view days of camp when he apparently struggled. To my eye, he looked interesting, but I think we need to make important distinctions between him and Geno Smith in order to gain a realistic grasp of the Seattle QB situation.

For me, Sam and Geno are two very different styled quarterbacks and it almost isn’t fair to compare them. In fact, they are so different that I think each requires their own specific offense tailored to each of them.

Geno is a classic, tall, drop back passer who works well inside a pocket, but has enough athleticism to make plays outside the pocket, as well. He seems tailor made for the play-calling Grubb used at Washington that took the Huskies to the national title game. Penix was often compared to Geno and now I see why.

Sam, on the other hand, being shorter, I feel needs to be more on the move to find his groove (a la Russell Wilson). He threw on the run well on Saturday, at times, but the times he stayed in the pocket, it felt like he was a bit more hesitant. If Seattle were to operate out of a run heavy play action offense that used a bunch roll outs, I think Sam would be a natural fit for that style of attack. That’s not the Ryan Grubb offense we saw at Washington, however, and I think that if Geno were to get injured to the point of missing a view games, it would be up to Grubb to adjust his attack to better fit Howell.

I still like Howell as a developmental player, but I don’t see this as any contest between him and Geno Smith right now, and now I actually wonder if he would be better served in a different offense, elsewhere. I also wonder whether Seattle should look to the draft to find someone more with Geno’s attributes to groom behind him, eventually, if the Grubb Attack is something they want to ride with as their offensive identity, long term.

These are just my initial thoughts on the QB front for Seattle. Onto some other cool things.

Seattle is loaded with ridiculous levels of talent at receiver, Grubb appears ready to maximize it, and teams with iffy pass defenses are totally going to get royally hosed when they have to play them this year. Jaxon Smith Njigba feels extra in this offense, and DK Metcalf is about to do things that I don’t even want to spoil on this blog. Tyler Lockett had the day off, but depth players like Jake Bobo, Easop Winston, and Dareke Young stepped up and looked sharp. There are good players on this unit who will not make this team, and should probably end up on other rosters.

Ken Walker, Zach Charbonnet, and Kenny McIntosh should show big as runners, and receivers. K9 will probably be the star, but he will be complimented with rock solid talents mixing in behind him. Expect Seattle to use these backs in ways very foreign to what we have been used to in the fourteen years under Pete Carroll. Just wait for it.

Defensively, it felt like players got some good pressures on a few occasions, and I enjoyed seeing that. I think Jarran Reed, Uchenna Nwosu, and rookie Byron Murphy all got pressures for would be sacks (can’t hit QBs in practice), along with undrafted rookie Nelson Ceasar (badass name, by the way), but it was interesting to hear Coach Macdonald say after practice that the pass rush isn’t where they would like it to be at this point.

I wasn’t as alarmed by this as much as I was excited. Macdonald is going to run this side of the ball with very high standards, and I am more than here for seeing the defensive line continually coached up.

They will be coached harder than they likely ever were before in their lives. In that process, they will uncork their chemistry. I have no doubt about that. There is a lot of potential within the defensive tackles and edge rushers to be really, really good this year.

To the naked eye, I expect second year edge rusher Derrick Hall, in particular, to take a big step forward. His bend around the corner seems noticeably evolved from last year, and it stood out at practice.

I thought rookie linebacker Tyrice Knight looked surprising good in coverages, at times. I recall when he was drafted in the fourth round, a few folks labeled that a painful reach. He looks like he belongs in this defense, however, and perhaps this is the biggest reason why we haven’t seen the team make a move to add an addition veteran middle linebacker. Fingers crossed he continues to trend well through training camp and preseason games.

I thought cornerback Lance Boykin looked like he belonged, as well. Boykin was a bottom of the roster player last year who might make things interesting as camp progresses. He is a longer player who found himself well in position at times to make things harder on the quarterback. Make a mental note on him as you watch preseason games.

I really liked how cornerback Tre Brown looked in practice. Seattle feels like it has enough quality depth at corner where I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a trade happen in a few weeks time.

In terms of negatives, I can’t think of a lot. Training camp felt very crisp for the most part.

It was very interesting that they brought talented free agent center Connor Williams in for a workout earlier this week, and are reportedly discussing a contract with him. Given the way the offensive line gave up a few inside pressures, it scans more now. They might see a genuine opportunity to further fortify themselves on the interior of the offensive line.

I would love to see this deal get done. If they cannot rely on Abe Lucas to play a full season, and George Fant is likely going to see a lot of time at right tackle, and McClendon Curtis (massive f’ing dude) is going to be looked at more as a backup tackle than guard, the trickle down effect from this is going to impact the interior depth of the offensive line. That’s not great for an attack that probably wants to beat defenses from the pocket more now than at any point since the Mike Holmgren era.

Getting Williams to lock down center would allow Olu Oluwatimi to serve as a valuable swing interior player who can play center, and potentially kick over to guard. He has enough size to do both.

If they can add a healthy Connor Williams to this offensive line, I am going to go from cautiously optimistic about this team towards being all in on the expectations that they should be a pretty kick-ass this year. This is why I need this deal to get done.

So, just get this motherf***ing deal done, and let’s f’ing go.

Go Hawks!

Good lord, I need football back. These dog days of Summer are wearing thin, and if God wanted baseball to be the greatest sport in America, he would have infielders tackling base runners.

So, I need training camp to happen now, and I don’t know about you, but I am kinda more intrigued about the Seattle Seahawks than I have been in many years. Call it Mike Macdonald and his new coaching staff, and the chance for the team to field an exciting new defense. Call it the fact that I think the Seahawks are more talented than some national projections are indicating, and I am ready for them to be a surprise team.

Call it the fact that I think their quarterback situation is one of the more underrated ones in the league, and one that critics are grossly overlooking. Here are my thoughts on that.

There exists perhaps no other position in sports that creates greater division amongst fans than that of the NFL quarterback. Unless your team is blessed with having Patrick Mahomes, or peak Tom Brady, your fanbase is probably somewhat split about the quarterback, even if it’s a slight one.

No other example is better than this than when the Seattle Seahawks had Russell Wilson in his prime. Wilson had fans who were so devoted to him that they wanted to see Pete Carroll canned in favor of a more innovative offensive minded dude. At the same time, Russ also had loud detractors who felt it was a major mistake for the organization to invest so much in him in the first place, and that his sandlot style would only get this team so far. Both fronts were extremely dug in, much like people just are these days (unfortunately).

When it comes to this most important position, this sorta division amongst fans exists all over the league. If team aren’t winning Super Bowls, either expensive quarterbacks get judged with a high degree of scrutiny, or struggling quarterbacks on rookie deals get discarded way too soon.

Dallas fans are probably very split over Dak Prescott, even though he is perfectly in his prime, and was a leading MVP candidate last year. Critics say he doesn’t win enough in the post season, but to that I would say neither did Matthew Stafford when he was in Detroit. Something to keep in mind, if Dak does hit free agency in 2025.

Dolphin fans are probably very torn over Tua even though he is one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the league. Charger fans (if there are any), might start losing patience in Justin Herbert if Jim Harbaugh doesn’t get that team off to a fast start.

If the Eagles don’t have a big bounce back season, Jalen Hurts will surely be further scrutinized after he signed his mega contract. So will Lamar Jackson, if the Ravens don’t make a deep playoff run.

If the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals disappoint again, the narratives around Josh Allen and Joe Burrow will start to shift, just you wait. Two years ago, these two guys were thought of as the second and third best passers in the league. Now there are slight murmurings of either regression (Allen) or injury proneness (Burrow).

Also, pressure is going to be on Doug Pederson in Jacksonville to get that team back in the playoffs with Trevor Lawrence. It won’t be enough to make the playoffs, either, as fans are going to need to see Lawrence finally playing at a high level after they just penned him to his monster deal.

And mark my words on this; with perhaps the most talented team in the entire NFL, if the San Francisco 49ers don’t win the Super Bowl this year, you will see division amongst 49er fans as to whether the team should make Brock Purdy one of the richest quarterbacks in the league at the expense of breaking up that roster. It will happen. The pressure on that team to win it all this year (or next) will be like no other pressure in the league.

Then you have this somewhat curious, and under the radar situation wedged up here in the Pacific Northwest with the Seattle Seahawks, and Geno Smith, and Sam Howell.

If you are a big time talking head for EPSN, or Fox Sports, I imagine it is easy to forget about who Seattle even has as a starter even though Geno Smith was the NFL Comeback Player of the Year two years ago, and has been a Pro Bowl player in most recent back to back years. Geno isn’t a superstar veteran, nor is he a young gun with youthful upside generating interesting talking points. He was a fun novelty story two years ago when he beat out Drew Lock for the starter gig and played much better than everyone expected, but novelties wear off quickly.

Way up here amongst the Twelves, however, Geno has both his highly devoted fans, and sharp critics, as any second tier starter would. He has football film junky fans who believe he is solidly a top ten quarterback, and he has some extreme critics who think he is so bad that he is holding this team back (what is it about our society that few people can ever find a solid middle ground anymore?).

In terms of Sam Howell, while perhaps most fans probably see him as nothing more than a backup, there are some NFL insiders who believe in his potential to develop into a quality starter given his youth, strong arm, playmaking potential, and toughness. Count me in with the few who see sunnier horizons with him down the road.

Both of these quarterbacks I find interesting, to be honest.

With Geno, I’ve always liked him as far back as his college days in West Virginia. He threw then, and still throws to this day, one of the prettiest downfield passes that you will see. Give him time, and a proper scheme, and Geno can deliver positive results.

I would say that if Seattle had at least a competent defensive coordinator last year, with Geno’s late season play, they would have probably won that shoot out match in Dallas, and taken that game at home a few weeks later against the Steelers, ended up 11-6, and in the playoffs. Perhaps they would have met another quick exit, but we would still be talking about Pete Carroll coaching this team today.

This is what I believe Geno Smith is good for as the QB1 for this team with this talent, and now perhaps better competency on this coaching staff. 11-6, and a playoff run, and likely another Pro Bowl nod. Geno Smith feels destined to be the new Kansas City Chief version of Alex Smith. I will take that.

He’s a stable veteran presence who understands NFL defenses, and how to attack them. He has a strong, accurate arm, and enough athleticism to extend plays under pressure, which is kinda what you’re hoping for in this modern league of football. Most importantly, he still has a feisty chip on his shoulder to continue proving detractors wrong.

When I look at all of these variables, and the fact that new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb is installing an offense tailor made for his exact skillsets, I honestly laugh at Geno’s critics, and how they are overlooking him Seattle. Former Washington State local kid Colin Cowherd can dismiss Geno Smith as much as he feels like he needs to do it, but I would be perfectly willing to bet that Geno finds more success this year in this offense than he has had the last two years with Shane Waldron calling plays, barring injury.

In fact, I think Seattle is poised to catch the league off guard, and I am here for it.

Nobody knows what this team will be in terms of schemes. Grubb has already said that he’s going to change it up a bit from what he did for the Washington Huskies. With Mike McDonald building his defense, he has continued to say that he is going to morph the scheme towards the strengths of the players on this roster, so it stands to reason that simply looking at Baltimore tape over the past two years may not be enough for Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan.

While it might be really easy to write off Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks from an outsider’s perspective, the truth of the matter is that Seattle has the distinct advantage of the unknown in this league. This is the same unknown that rookie head coach Sean McVay had in LA back in 2016 when he inherited a young talented roster that was a hot mess because of the previous coaching staff.

General Manager John Schneider is banking on the innovative and analytic mind of McDonald coming in to take the league by storm. It’s not unreasonable to imagine seeing positive results in year one of his regime, either.

Some NFL insiders see Seattle’s defensive roster as having perhaps better overall talent on it than what McDonald had in Baltimore when he took over their defense two years ago. On offense, while the offensive line feels suspect, they are littered with skill players. Grubb’s DNA is coaching up good offensive lines, so all he needs to do is to improve that unit towards the middle of the pack, and Seattle can probably let it loose on teams.

I feel confidence in this scenario because of Geno Smith. I think Seattle can win games this year because of him, not inspite of him. You are free to scoff at this suggestion. I am free to hold receipts of doubters.

Onto Sam Howell.

I’m intrigued!

Heading into the 2021 college football season, Sam Howell was projected to potentially be the first overall pick of the NFL draft that following Spring. Scouts loved his arm strength, his ability to extend plays with his legs, and throw on the run. Some felt he had a Brett Farve vibe about him with the toughness that he played with. Toughness was the first thing John Schneider mentioned about Sam after they made the trade for him.

The 2021 season didn’t bode well for Sam after a very promising 2020 sophomore campaign that saw him as a Manning Award finalist. Having lost talent around him, his numbers dipped in competition percentage, touchdowns, yardage, and his interceptions trended up.

Then at the NFL combine, he ran a much slower than expected forty yard dash. Being a bit shorter at 6-1, a slower forty can be detrimental to a passer’s draft stock, especially if that dude didn’t live up to the hype during his last season of college football (Brock Purdy is the same height and didn’t put up impressive testing numbers at the combine, either, and was the last player drafted).

Because of all these factors, sure enough, Sam Howell fell to round five where Washington took a flyer on him, and Purdy to the bottom of round seven. I think it is reasonable to assert that Purdy fell to the perfect team who’s situation was unsettled enough at quarterback for him to step forward. I think it’s also reasonable to assert that Howell fell into a situation in DC that was an absolute clown circus from the top down.

Personally, at the time, I thought Howell was a good pickup for the Commanders. I was honestly expecting Seattle to grab in round three, much like they did with Russell Wilson. In fact, he was the one QB in that draft who had the most Wilson-esque vibes to me; a pure passer, with a big arm, who could buy time, and make plays with his legs.

In fact, when the Commanders came into Seattle last November, Sam Howell scared the crap out of me during that game. He wasn’t intimidated playing in front of a large loud crowd. He showed toughness and resourcefulness, and he made necessary plays that almost pulled out an upset.

So, I wasn’t surprised at all that Seattle made this move for him. In fact, I had suggested this very idea on this blog a few weeks before it went down. I loved the move then, and I like it even more now.

The cost of getting Sam Howell was peanuts for this team, and he has two years left on his rookie contract to see what they can develop with him behind Geno Smith. I think he’s potentially a great fit for what Ryan Grubb likes to do with his quarterbacks, too.

What Sam needs to do is demonstrate full command of the playbook, make smart, decisive decisions with the ball, and get the hero ball mentality out of his game. That’s the hurtle he needs to clear to become a quality starter. By what he has said in interviews, he seems very determined to prove that he can do exactly that, and he has the benefit of having some time to grow within this offensive scheme to do so.

So, while it is easy to look at his up and down stats with Washington in 2023, and believe he’s not the quarterback in the future here, I think it’s well worth considering that it was his first season starting in the league, and his results were not dissimilar to numerous first time starters of yesteryear; a list that would include Peyton Manning, Brett Farve, Drew Brees, and Josh Allen. There are other circumstances surrounding his year starting in DC that I think are well worth considering, as well.

Sam Howell was purposefully thrown into the fire as a starter. He wasn’t protected by any sort of balanced attack with a run game. In fact, he threw at a higher volume than any other QB in the league, and most of those throws came off of straight drop backs without the threat of handing the ball off with play action. He started out the season in a promising way, but it all came crashing down in a dismal way by December.

It was like Washington’s agenda was to make it as difficult as it could possibly be for him to see if he could rise above the flaming pits of Hell itself before deciding to go into the following draft targeting a quarterback. He wasn’t protected by any quarterback friendly system like Purdy enjoys in San Francisco. He wasn’t even protected the way Russell Wilson was his rookie year in Seattle with a scheme that leaned heavy on the run, either. Nope, instead, Washington decided to throw him into a pit of hungry wolves with a stick of driftwood to see if he could fight his way out.

Because of this bullshit handling of Howell in DC, I have a strong rooting interest in him now in Seattle, even more so than just than a hopeful shot at nothing to see if we have found our next long term starter. There are a lot of variables that I love to see in a quarterback, but perhaps my favorite is the natural sense of toughness and resolve to battle through adversity. If Sam Howell makes something for himself down the road in Seattle, it will be because of those very traits.

When you look at Seattle’s long history at quarterback, Howell finding success here feels perfectly on brand for this team from Jim Zorn, to Dave Krieg, Jon Kitna, Matt Hasslebeck, Russell Wilson, and Geno Smith. This team finds its quarterbacks under rocks while other teams blow first round picks on them (see New York Jets).

Ultimately, I want Sam Howell to push Geno Smith. I think it’s best for the team if he does this, and I think there’s a very reasonable to expect that it makes Geno better because of it.

After all, Geno didn’t struggle for years trying to convince a coaching staff to believe in him after his flame out with the Jets, only to finally get a QB1 gig again, make the Pro Bowl in back to back years, and then be automatically replaced in the second year of his extension here. He is going to be more determined than ever to prove himself all over again to Macdonald and Ryan Grubb. Bank on that.

This is why I believe it is fool’s gold to think Howell could usurp him this year with this staff. I just think it is more likely that Geno is going to be too good through camp to beat out. He won’t be outworked in this camp.

Why am I so confident in projecting al of this?

Because Sam Howell isn’t going to just idle back, either, and just accept the backup role out of the gates. He had last year to taste the QB1 role in DC, and he didn’t likely endure being thrown into a den of hungry wolves just to wilt into a backup role somewhere else. For the first time in ages, we might actually see iron sharpening iron at the most important position for this team. I can not wait for this.

I am very good with riding with Geno this season (and next year if he balls out big time). I will be honest, however, and say that I am ultimately more intrigued with Sam Howell, given his youth and upside as a potential long term starter.

Right now, the best thing for Sam is to show these coaches and players he’s well worth developing. He does that by showing solid through training camp and preseason games, and continuing to push Geno through the course of the season. He does this by being serious minded, digging deep into the playbook, and studying his ass off looking at tape against opponents. It’s his job to make this quarterback room in Seattle an outstanding one by becoming the best backup in the league.

However this QB situation ultimately shakes out long term, for now, I am just excited to see what this team can be in 2024. I’m feeling a lot of rosy optimism creeping in.

I think they are well positioned to surprise people. I see all the disrespect floating out there, projecting them to either be in third or fourth place within the division. I cannot help but laugh at it all. Hubris is naturally a very funny thing.

It was just the other month when Colin Cowherd called them a talented team without a quarterback. He then went on local airwaves and plainly stated his disbelief in Geno Smith, saying that he is essentially the same guy who flamed out years ago with the Jets, even though Geno has been a Pro Bowler in consecutive seasons, and quarterbacked this team to nine wins in back to back years with good efficiency numbers, all the while having to endure horrible schemes on both sides of the ball.

I can never tell what motivates Cowherd as a talking head, whether because he is from the State of Washington, he feels like he purposefully has to detach himself from the Seahawks with any sort of rooting interest, or if he just simply doesn’t care about sports in the region he grew up on because that doesn’t feed his brand, or if he just simply doesn’t track the teams up here because he’s a big shot down in LA rubbing elbows with the stars. Who knows, but I do know one thing; anyone watching Geno Smith on Sundays over the past two years calling him the same exact player he was with the Jets is a certifiable lunatic, and their opinions should not be trusted. It’s that plain and simple.

Could I be wrong on this stuff with Geno and could Colin Cowherd be correct?

Sure, anything is possible. Maybe Geno, with all of his experiences and life lessons, reverts back to when he was 24 years old and was a loose cannon trying to play hero ball.

I don’t think I’m going to be wrong, though. I think Cowherd is going to be eating crow once again regarding his “home team.”

The Seattle Seahawks have enough interesting talent on both sides of the ball for a seasoned, mature quarterback with a good arm and accuracy step in and find success this year, even if this division is a tough one. This team is built for a guy like Geno to guide it now. This is what I believe.

And that is what I think we are going to see.

Go Hawks.