Tag Archives: sam-darnold

Thoughts On How Sam Darnold Takes The Next Positive Step Forward As A QB

Posted on by
Reply

As expected, the main talking points around the Seattle Seahawks this week has been about Sam Darnold’s awful day in LA against the Rams, and whether he will ever rise up big in big games be it in the regular season, or playoffs. As much as I have wanted to shy away these last few days from podcasts, articles, and on air personalities that I knew would have this be their big talking point, it has proved to be that milk carton in the fridge that I just had to sniff.

While I won’t say that I am necessarily glad that I did, I do feel like a few days away from the Darnold disaster in LA has settled the dust down quite a bit, and after following along with a few different national and local takes on the situation, I have even more conviction in my belief that Darnold and the Seahawks are going to be fine this year, and beyond.

In a sense, I feel like maybe this game in LA was the game they needed to have, and feel in repercussion of, in order to take the next step forward as a quarterback and offense. In fact, with the way defensive leader Ernest Jones quickly came to Darnold’s defense has been the viral F Bomb filled sensation that it has become this week, I feel like perhaps this is more likely going to be game that is going to turn the ship for Seattle in a further positive direction this season, instead of a negative one.

Sam Darnold is a talented young quarterback. He can make every throw required in the NFL with accuracy, he is well sized to play the position, and he has the athleticism to extend and make plays under duress. These are the reasons why he was taken third overall in the 2018 NFL Draft as a 21 year old junior coming out of USC, and why there were people in Seattle’s front office who had a high opinion about him as a prospect.

Physically, he has all the necessary intangibles to run a pro style offense at a high level, but as we know, the game of quarterbacking is not all physical. For many offensive coaches, it is what is between the ears that matters more for a quarterback in the league.

This is where limited athletes at the position, the Peyton Mannings, Tom Bradys, Drew Brees’s, and Brock Purdys have been able to elevate themselves above the pack. I think it is fair to say that, due to their limitations, all of these guys knew they had to become tireless workers in their mechanics, inside the film rooms, and they had to figure out ways in which they could box smart against good NFL defenses in order to thrive.

Sam Darnold is not a stupid person, and I am sure that he is more than aware of what the noise has been about him this week. I suspect that a huge part of the reason why he had the success he did in Minnesota last year, and through nine games in Seattle this year is that, after a year of stepping back as a starter and understudying Brock Purdy for a year in San Fransisco, he has learned to be a much better student of the NFL game, and quarterbacking, in general.

In fact, I think it is fair to say that in defense of Sam, he has learned to box smarter as a QB over the past two and a half years. I also think it is more than fair to say that there are negative tendencies of his that he will have to learn to massage through in order to go from good regular season quarterback status to really good post season quarterback status, which I think is what every Seattle Seahawk fan wants and needs to see out of him, if the team is to stay committed to him long term.

Personally, I think he can, and I am not dissuaded by the anonymous NFL coach who Mike Sando of The Athletic quoted as to say “Sam will always have that in his game” when talking about his latest debacle. This is the opinion of one person, and while it is a damning one, it is simply just an opinion, and nothing more.

Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees all had plenty of games where they have thrown four interceptions, or more. If Sando wants to get into the historic numbers in the bad games Darnold has had in his young career, I invite him to do it for all the big names of QBs over the years. For me, personally, I see a quarterback in Darnold who has only ever had one playoff outing, and while it was a bad one, I see a 28 year old player who still has plenty of playing years ahead of him to get over that particular hump, and he has all the tools to do it.

Darnold has always had a gun slinger mentality. YouTube football content creator Top Billin’ has followed him for years, all the way back to his USC days, and on his film breakdowns of Seattle, he has the nickname Yosemite Sam for Darnold because of this mentality. It is the same mentality that Brett Farve was very famous for in the nineties when he was tossing a bunch of interceptions, and it was the mentality that John Elway had in the eighties when he was tossing INTs to Seahawk great Kenny Easley (Rest in peace, Enforcer). Both quarterback eventually learned to box smarter as they got older, and their teams were better for it.

Sam needs to learn to accept the check down. It is really as simple as that. I could have simply written that sentence, and it could have concluded this piece.

Tom Brady won an absurd amount of Super Bowls because he was paired with great defenses, and he was quite egoless about taking the check downs when available, and needed. People will forever discuss Russell Wilson’s interception at the one yard line of Super Bowl XLIX as the reason why Seattle lost to the Patriots, but the deeper truth to that fateful game is that when New England trailed Seattle in the fourth quarter, Brady decided to take the small check down gains against Seattle’s dominant cover three defense. He struggled through most of the game, and then decided he needed to box smart in the end to win it. It was the right decision, and one that probably came with age and experience.

Against the Rams, I think Sam got caught up in his head again against a fierce pass rush, and the Rams felt like they knew where he was going to go with the ball over the middle. Rams players said as much post game. Okay, that is really good on them. They got to Yosemite Sam again. Now it is time for Yosemite to box different in the next matches down the line. He and Klint Kubiak should know what to expect, and outlet receivers should always be made available.

I think the truth about this game against these two divisional opponents is that had Seattle called a more conservative offense, if Darnold had been willing to avoid the downfield throws against contested coverages, taken more check downs, or tossed the ball away more, or even eaten some sacks, the Seahawks probably would have taken that game from the Rams. The drive charts, the time of possession, the defensive efforts all, more or less, favored Seattle.

I am not saying that the Seahawks need to turtle up on offense and play conservative the rest of the way through seven games in order to make the post season. I don’t think Mike Macdonald will ever want to take the playmaker aspect of Darnold away from him, and the offense.

I just think that it has to be clear to Sam how to box against certain opponents, and when to go for the kill shots. When we get into those games at home against Indianapolis, and the LA Rams again, when we finish the season out in Santa Clara against the 49ers in an opportunity for a rematch, taking what those defenses are willing to give underneath, or with the run game will be critical.

In tough matchups against really good teams, the Seattle Seahawks have the defense to prevail. They just need their veteran quarterback to demonstrate the unselfishness of vintage Tom Brady in those type of matches. For as prolific as Brady was as a passer, he never really was that much of a gunslinger. In actuality, I think it is fair to argue that he was the greatest game managing quarterback of all time.

I think this is where Darnold needs to go. He certainly has better physical tools than Brady ever had. If he can adopt more of Brady’s mentality in high duress situations, I think the sky is the limit for him as a passer.

Colin Cowherd has rightly compared Darnold to Andrew Luck on many occasions, and did so again this week in the wake of the LA debacle. They are similar physically in size, and athleticism, and arm talent, and as Cowherd demonstrated through graphs on his show, they have put up similar passing numbers throughout their careers in the league. The difference is that Luck had immediate success and Darnold has not.

Luck, as we know, decided to not have a long career, and shockingly retired early after getting severely banged up playing for the Colts. We never got the chance to truly see the superstar he could have been, sadly.

With Sam Darnold, however, there is still time. He can still get better. He should get better. He can rewrite this narrative about him in big games.

The truth of the matter is that for seven and a half years in the league, he really has not had a lot of big game moments yet. While I think it is fair to pump the breaks on crowning him the next big franchise quarterback for Seattle, I also think it is more than fair to say we should pump the breaks on declaring that he will never get there.

We do not know the full story on Darnold simply because that story is not fully written yet. The anonymous coach that Sando used in his Athletic piece this week is free to have his negative views on Darnold. Sam Darnold is also free to further evolve as a passer and shake those views in the minds of his critics.

Take the check down, Sam. Take your shots downfield when you feel pretty good they are there against the mediocre to bad defenses in the league, but don’t be afraid to take the Brady check downs against the good ones when it really matters.

You’re a smart dude. You’re working hard, and I can see that out of you. Keep evolving and let the doubters continue doubting. You are the only one who can write the real story about yourself. I still like your chances.

Go Hawks.

Sam Darnold Gives His Pumpkin Watchers Victory Cigars As The Seahawks Fall To The Rams

Posted on by
Reply

It is quite curious to me how Sam Darnold has garnished so many haters over the past year and a half. He seems like genuinely one of the nicer dudes in the league, had a good year for himself in Minnesota last year up until the last two games, and has been enjoying an even better year in Seattle up until this one isolated game in LA against the Rams.

But people love to stroke the narratives of him being a pressure sensitive quarterback, an observer of ghosts on the football field, and the guy that they thought he was after a bad outing even though his analytics under pressure this year and last have actually been pretty good, for the most part. People in bars, on the job sites, and in the office don’t want to look at the nuanced data points, though. They want to watch Stephen A Smith rip him apart on ESPN, and then parrot off of him, afterwards.

After all, admit it. It is fun to say to your diehard Seahawks fan at work that the Seahawks will never win a Super Bowl with Sam Darnold. Deep down, there is a dark need for humanity to shit all over people’s hopes and dreams. This is why God created the internet. It helps him streamline the goats from the sheep with easy to read algorithms that the government tracks on its way to further authoritarianism.

So, I don’t know, just spit ballin’ here, but maybe folks don’t like Sam because he is an easy going So Cal kid who looks like his name should be Biff instead of Sam. Maybe, also, possibly some Seahawk fans don’t like him because they were huge Geno stans and don’t love that this sorta dorky white dude replaced their cool edgy guy quarterback.

Whatever the case might be, the truth of the matter is that Sam Darnold gave all of his haters and detractors reasons to light up their victory cigars this week, even though his late game quarterbacking against the Rams almost beat them in the finals seconds of the game. That last part won’t be much a talking point this week, though. His four interceptions most definitely will be.

Personally, I won’t put much stock in any of it. I will just keep the receipts for him to use at my discretion further down the line.

I fully get it that this lackluster performance of his was against the Rams, too, and that they were the team who did him dirty in the playoffs, but there is a lot of football left to be played this season, and a win or loss for either team coming out of this one isn’t going to make or break either of their seasons. If Seattle would have won yesterday, if Sam had played well, and Matthew Stafford had been the struggling quarterback, I would say the same exact thing, afterwards. Either way, I encourage pumping the breaks on declaring NFC West supremacy with seven games left to go on the season. Lots of football left to be played out there.

Aside from this poor outing of his, though, I suspect we will see much better versions of Sam in the games that remain on Seattle’s schedule, and he will guide his second team into the playoffs in two years come this January. I am also sure that should Seattle fall short in the playoffs, there will be a loud group of his detractors that will say “see, told ya, all so.”

This comes with the territory for any NFL quarterback who hasn’t won a lot of big moment games. This haunted Kirk Cousins, for years, in Minnesota, and it haunts Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, and Josh Allen all today, frankly.

So, I fully get it that until Sam gets his team into a deep playoff run, this will be his likely stigma. I just find it curious why so many people seem to love to shit all over this guy whenever he has a bad game. Is it just simply that he is a former Jets quarterback and getting drafted by the Jets is an instant death nail for young quarterbacks, and people just love to crap all over the Jets and their lackluster inept history?

In contrast, I have seen peak Russell Wilson loose badly on the road in Green Bay, throwing five interceptions, but because he was an instant winner in the league, most fans were reluctant to jump all over him even though his play clearly cost Seattle the ball game. It would be brushed aside as Russ just having “one of those games” and in the following week, against an inferior opponent, he would look like Good Ole DangerRuss again.

I can guarantee you that should Sam Darnold throw for 300 yards and three touchdowns against the Titans next Sunday, there will be people brushing those numbers off in a purely dismissive manner only reserved for those wait out the Sam Turning Into A Pumpkin games to return on Sundays. In fact, I can see a scenario where Seattle rattles off another impressive four game win streak, but loses at home against the Rams again, and folks will be saying “see, Sam just sees them ghosts against those Rams.”

So, yeah, I guess you can say that Sam saw those ghosts against the Rams defense on Sunday. I wasn’t all together surprised by it, to be honest. I just hoped that it would not have been the case.

The LA Rams legitimately have a top defense this year, and going into this game, it was tops in the league at creating turnovers. So, defenses that play to this level don’t generally happen by accident, and this was the same defense that wrecked Darnold in the playoffs last year. I would be foolish to think that this was going to be a cake walk game for him, and this offense.

Still, gotta take care of the ball better, Sammy.

A friend asked me what the keys were going to be for Seattle to pull out a victory and I said “run the ball, feed JSN, put pressure on Matt Stafford, and don’t turn the ball over.” I felt that these were the clearest keys, and because Seattle did three of the four things really well, they made it a battle all throughout. It was just those four fudging interceptions by Darnold that did them in. Blast it all.

And let me be clear when I say this that those interceptions from Darnold are the clear reason why Seattle lost this game, and I say this still being a big believer in his potential Seattle’s long term answer at quarterback. While I appreciate the passionate F bomb latent defense of Darnold that Ernest Jones gave in his post game press conference, at least three of those four interceptions on Darnold were really bad decisions that are solely on the quarterback, and two of those interceptions led to 14 points for the Rams. You do the math and figure out where to lay blame.

Can’t have that on the road against a really good football team, and expect to win, period, and if Seattle ends up a wildcard team in the playoffs having to travel on the road, guess what? They will be playing a really good team with probably a pretty good defense.

So, yeah. Hell, yeah Sam Darnold has to play better. The good news is that I think he will. I really do.

Here is why I am not too overly upset about this loss to the Rams yesterday. Darnold played poorly, but Seattle’s prowess on defense gave all worldly Matthew Stafford fits throughout most of the day, and it was also clear that Seattle’s defense was stressing Sean McVay out on the sidelines. The other big positive takeaway is that for two games in a row, Seattle offense has showed some really positive trends running the ball against good defenses, and this matters.

If defenses now play Seattle with more shell coverage, instead of loading the box, there will be opportunities for Seattle to get their run game going, and their quick passing game. We saw this against an elite Rams defense, and there was success with it. That is a moral victory that can be had out of this one even though I hate moral victories.

It also stands to reason that Sam Darnold and Rashid Shaheed are going to take some time developing their chemistry and understanding of each other. The sideline touchdown attempt from Darnold to Shaheed was a perfect example of that.

Sheed runs at a significantly faster clip than anyone else on this offense, and he and Darnold have had no offseason to get a rhythm with each other. I suspect as we get further into these games, we should see it clicking, and hone it does, that will be a lot of fun for Seattle fans, but it will take some games. When we see it take off, though, it is going to be a lot of fun.

The only real bummer about this game, for me, is the knee injury that happened to rookie sensation Grey Zabel at left guard. If he is lost for the season, it is going to be tough for Seattle to win this division this year, I fear. They could still well make the playoffs as a wildcard team, but losing the talents of Zabel on the offensive line would definitely be a massive blow. I really hope that injury isn’t very serious.

So, as it stands now, Seattle dropped to 7-3, and they share this record in the NFL with the mighty Buffalo Bills. They have a better record than the Lions, the Packers, the Bucs, Steelers, Chiefs, and Chargers, who were all playoff teams last year. There exists winnable games on their schedule, and with this badass defense of theirs, I like them to win a lot of these remaining games even with the potential loss of Zabel at left guard.

When the schedule came out months ago, I looked at it, and figured that Seattle would probably land on a 11-6 season and a playoff birth. I still see this as the floor of this team this year.

The Sam Darnold Pumpkin Watchers can light up their cigars with Stephen A Smith this week, have their fun, and enjoy their victory laps on the internet. Let the Darnold Seeing Ghosts memes and comments have their cake and ice cream, too. I get it. Enjoy it, if you must. Vikings fans can rejoice in the false sense of security that their I Told You Sos will provide them as they use it to mask their anxieties about the development of JJ McCarthy. It is all good.

Just know that for every time you rag on Sam Darnold, a little puppy dog dies somewhere, and makes a young child cry in mourning. So, have that one your conscious, if you choose to partake. God is watching. God knows all.

I still think this team can be pretty special this year, and I think Darnold can still play a big part of that going forward. In fact, I am looking forward to that.

Go Hawks.

Why I Like The Quarterback Room Of The Seattle Seahawks This Year

Posted on by
Reply

As I sat down, and watched the John Harbaugh vs Pete Carroll on Monday Night Football, as I am sure a high percentage of other Seahawk fans did, I was left with the distinct impression of PTSD watching Geno Smith, on the very first play of the game, force a bad throw into coverage for an interception. Geno would go on through this game forcing numerous other passes into unfavorable coverage, ending the game with 3 interceptions, 0 touchdowns on 24 of 43 passing attempts for 180 yards and the league’s worst passer rating over the weekend. He could have had even more interceptions on the night with the amount of turnover worthy throws he tossed.

Now, I do not want to put too much into one game, and I think it is possible that this could be the year that Justin Herbert and the Chargers finally overtake Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs for the AFC West division, and Geno Smith could have a nice bounce back game this weekend, but I will also say that I have watched a lot of Geno Smith over the past few years, and the game he had on Monday Night was symbolic of why I was okay with Seattle trading him off into the loving arms of Pete Carroll. That game felt like the type of Geno Smith game he has when things go awry against a quality defense.

When things get tough against a good defenses, I’ve often seen him get impatient with the football, wanting to force things downfield instead of taking the simple underneaths, and when turnovers and sacks generate through the course of the game, and they are losing badly in the fourth quarter, I’ve seen many camera shots showing him sulking on the bench in a manner that maybe you don’t want to see out of your team leader, as was the case last night in Vegas, yet again. This is what Geno is prone to in games against strong opponents.

Now, I don’t know about you, different people are into different things, but one of the things I really loved about watching peak Russell Wilson in Seattle was his innate ability to stay calm and neutral under immense pressure packed situations. He wasn’t always perfect as a passer in games such as this, but I think his ability to keep his emotions in check helped Seattle win a bunch of high pressure games through the course of his time here. In the three years that I watched Geno as his replacement, I never got that same sense, and often times, I saw the exact opposite, and I say this as a person who regularly defended Geno on this blog.

Geno Smith has world class abilities to throw a football. His arm talent is elite, and he is one of the most athletic quarterbacks in the league, even at age 34. There is just an inner composition about him, though, that gives me a lot of pause.

I think the truth about Geno Smith is that, while he might be one of the best pure passers in the league, he comes with maybe the largest scale of arm arrogance; this belief that he can make every highlight level throw he attempts against dicey coverage. Then when shit goes south in games as a result, so does his demeanor, and leadership. The Raiders will win numerous games this year because of his arm talent, but they will, no question, lose games this year because of his tendencies, too.

Conversely, I think the QB situation here in Seattle is an interesting one for the Seahawks, and it is one that I will be willing to stay patient with as the season unfolds. I am not willing to say that Sam Darnold is definitively an upgrade over Geno Smith, or Jalen Milroe is destined to develop into the next Jalen Hurts, but I will say that I really like Seattle’s processing of making a shift at quarterback with the hopes of finding a longer termed solution than the probably felt they had with Geno Smith.

And I totally get it if you are not overly enthusiastic about Sam Darnold, if you have doubts about whether Jalen Milroe can ever blossom into a quality NFL starter, and Drew Lock is an after thought. I understand it if you are going to have a strong eye on the quarterbacks in college this year with a belief that if Seattle ends up with a losing record in 2025, it wouldn’t be the worst thing.

I am not here to sway doubters of Darnold and company as to whether Seattle has their long term quarterback already rostered. I am just here to say that I find the quarterback room of these three guys kind of a cool one, and I do have some optimism that someone can emerge, and fit what Mike Macdonald wants at the position long term. All three guys have athletic traits that can work well in a run heavy play action offensive attack. All three guys have some variance of youth on their side. All three guys have multiple years on their deals.

Let me quick profile each one to help explain why I dig ’em as much as I do.

Sam Darnold; his floor is Derek Carr, and his ceiling is Jared Goff

Talent wise, I think Sam Darnold is, in many ways, fairly similar to what Derek Carr was in this league. He’s tall, with a good arm, good mobility, he throws a pretty deep ball, and he can get the ball out on time. With good pieces around him, he can win you games, and get you into the playoffs, and that was proven pretty decisively last season in Minnesota.

Carr never got enough credit that I think he deserved as a NFL quarterback, and I think a lot of that was due to injuries, and being part of a bad Raiders organization. If Carr had been drafted by a better organization with great coaching, like the Rams with McVay, and the 49ers with Shanahan, he could have had a very different outcome in his career, I believe.

At the very least, for a few years, anyways, I think Darnold can have Seattle clicking in a quality game manager role much like Carr was in 2022 with the Raiders when he led them into the playoffs. I also think he can be a lot more here if things really do take off for him in terms of further development, which they might, in fact, do.

As I wrote this, I was very tempted to make the ceiling comp for Darnold that of one Matthew Hasselbeck. Hass was at the same age of 27 in Seattle when the game finally clicked for him after years of struggling. As we know, once the lights came, he enjoyed long a nice run as Seattle’s franchise quarterback, and part of me definitely believes this sort of success can be had for Darnold here with a good support cast around him, and proper coaching.

For the purposes of what Mike Macdonald wants this offense to truly be, however, I think a very fair ceiling comp for Darnold is present day Jared Goff, who I would label as perhaps the best game managing quarterback in the league right now. I think peak Jared Goff is exactly who and what Darnold can be here, if all goes well, with the caveat that Darnold possesses more athleticism that what Goff offers and can therefore do a bit more as a runner.

As we know, Detroit runs a very run heavy offense that relies mostly on building play action passes off of the run. It will be scorched into Seahawk fans’ minds for a long time that MNF game last Fall when Seattle went to Detroit and Goff was a perfect 18 for 18 for 292 yards and 2 TDs.. ALL OFF OF PLAY ACTION PASSES while the Lions ran for 120 yards on the night (talk about PTSD).

Like Goff, Darnold very much wants to function in a play action offense. At this stage, Goff is, by far, the more polished passer, but Darnold probably has the stronger arm, and he definitely has the superior athleticism. All he might need now is a coaching staff who believes in him, and an offense that is tailor built for what he does best as a passer.

While fans can fantasize about the upside of Jalen Milroe, it is very possible that Darnold’s scars in the league are very good scars at this point, nicely built up calluses that help him properly process against the league’s defenses, and he will only get better over time, seeing the game faster, and being more in command of this offense year to year. With an offensive philosophy that suits his strengths, there is a distinct reality out there that he grabs hold of an opportunity, he doesn’t look back, and he has a nice long-ish tenure here.

Drew Lock; his floor is Drew Stanton, and his ceiling is Ryan Tannehill

Drew Lock isn’t much on the mind of most Seattle fans these days. Most are probably more likely to be day dreaming of Jalen Milroe being ready to take over in a year or two, or they are slowly warming up to Darnold more after this nice win on the road against the Steelers, or they are just day dreaming about drafting Arch Manning.

That said, Lock has fans inside the front office of Seattle, and he has a big fan in GM John Schneider. If you were to watch all three of these passers throw in gym shorts throwing against air to receivers, it would be more easy to see why he has front office fans. He very well might have the best pure arm talent out of the three, and he has athletic traits to match it, as well.

The throw he made two years ago, in the fourth quarter against the Eagles, down the sideline to Jaxson Smith Njigba against tight coverage, was high level NFL stuff. He might not ever materialize into a starter again, but I will always remember that throw from him.

It is throws like that one that can have a GM and a coaching staff believing that there is something there in him that can be further developed. It is just that, in his few times as a starter, he can also make throws that leave you wondering what he was even thinking about.

As it stands, I would say that it is a long shot that Drew Lock ever develops into a quality NFL starter, but I do think he can have a long Drew Stanton type of career as a quality backup. This would be a very safe and reasonable floor comp for him.

Years ago, the Arizona Cardinals ended up with Carson Palmer as their QB and they were a royal pain in the ass for the Seahawks and others in the division. Palmer bounced around from Cincinnati to Oakland to AZ before finally having some quality success, and Stanton proved a great backup for him. In games when Stanton played, he played pretty admirably in place of Palmer, I thought. I can see Darnold and Lock having a similar dynamic in Seattle for a while.

I can also see a wee bit of a scenario where Lock takes over for maybe a injured Darnold, and plays well enough in this run centric play action scheme where the coach wants to stick it out with him, and suddenly we have a Tennessee Titan Ryan Tannehill situation from a few years back when free agent Tannehill took over for presumptive starter Marcus Mariota, and then didn’t look back. While I don’t think this is a very likely scenario, you never know.

In 2012, we all know that John Schneider was into drafting Russell Wilson, but he was supposedly also very enamored with Tannehill, and was hoping to draft him in round one, if he fell to Seattle. Tannehill wasn’t the greatest pro, but he had very similar toolsy traits to Lock. He was tall, athletic, with a live arm that could effortlessly flick it downfield.

We know Schneider likes Lock a lot, and he is a great locker room guy. What happens if Darnold gets seriously injured, and Lock steps in and plays well enough to make Seattle a quality playoff team? I dunno, but I suspect that it could make for an interesting offseason.

Jalen Milroe; his floor is Taysom Hill, and his ceiling is Jalen Hurts

I would love to make Jalen Milroe’s ceiling comp that of one Lamar Jackson. It would be really fun to say that, and then try to dream that glorious ceiling into existence. I think we have to be realistic about this rookie, however.

I appreciate it that Milroe appears to have a fan in the head coach, and Mike Macdonald knows what a quality duo threat quarterback does to any defense. Macdonald has seen first hand what Lamar does on Sundays, and he just watched what Jalen Hurts did in the Super Bowl with top defense and run game.

I also think it is somewhat fair to suggest that Milroe could grow to become a quarterback like Jalen Hurts, someday, but it will likely take a lot of work in terms of his development for him to get there. I think it is highly unrealistic to think of him someday becoming Lamar Jackson, however. It would be like me saying that ceiling comp for Sam Darnold is Josh Allen, and that ceiling comp for Drew Lock is Justin Herbert.

I also am dubious to believe that the Kubiak scheme would ever be a proper fit for Milroe. This is a scheme entirely built on timing, accuracy, and anticipation throwing, and I don’t know how much Milroe can consistently ever do that. Peak Russell Wilson had problems doing that, and I think Super Bowl winning Hurts has issues with that, as well.

If he was thrust into the QB1 role right now, Seattle would have to depend even more so on the run game to stay ahead of the chains and away from third and long. Kubiak would probably have to limit his playbook, significantly.

In fact, I sorta believe that, for Milroe to ascend to QB1 in Seattle, and excel at it, the most realistic path might be for Kubiak to leave for a head coaching gig with perhaps Sam Darnold following him via a trade. Maybe then Macdonald would look towards Milroe, and decides to bring in a new offensive coaching staff who would run a Hurts style offense with more emphasis on designed QB runs and run pass option stuff to get Milroe comfortable doing what he naturally does best. In a situation such as this, maybe Milroe excels much like Hurts, and this becomes very exciting stuff for all Seahawk fans moving forward.

I would say, at the very least, while he develops behind the scenes, Milroe can carve out a very vital role in the Seahawks offense as a Taysom Hill style quarterback who comes on the field in short yardage situations, and in change of pace moments. In that, however, I think Kubiak and Macdonald must be smart about it.

I didn’t love how quickly they rolled out with the Milroe Package in the first offensive series against San Fransisco, and his QB draw was immediately snuffed out in result. It felt very forced to me, and ill timed.

I also found it interesting that Seattle chose to make him an inactive player against the Steelers this weekend, opting for tight end AJ Barner to serve in the tush push QB role, instead. It could be a sign that Milroe needs further behind the scenes development just to dependably become a Taysom Hill player for Seattle.

If Seattle someday does simply get Taysom Hill like production out of Milroe, and nothing more, then his selection in the third round last Spring will have been a good one. If he actually does blossom into a quality NFL quarterback, however, then that puts John Schneider into the Hall Of Fame for being able to find two starting quarterbacks for this franchise in round three.

Right now, I think the jury is needs to be appropriately out on him. If Darnold gets unfortunately injured, Drew Lock will be the starter in his place. The team is very clear on that. This is the right way to handle Milroe. He needs a proper redshirting.

But for now, it is fun to dream about what Milroe could someday become here in Seattle, if the window of opportunity ever opens for him, and he grabs hold of it, and never lets go of it. Until then, however, a whole lot of things need to line up for him to get there. We should be real about that.

Closing thoughts

Nobody knows what is going to materialize out of this quarterback room, and I think that is perfectly fine. Seattle is not tied long term to any of these guys, and that is smart.

But I like their processing of punting on Geno Smith and bringing in these guys for a good long look. It seems, tactically, very smart by John Schneider to do this, taking educated gambles that don’t hinder the franchise long term until someone emerges as The Guy.

Personally, I think it would be a huge boost for this team if one of these QBs emerges as the long term answer, though, and I don’t really care which one it is. If I were a betting man right now, I think I would be more apt to wager on Darnold than the others, but let’s see how the whole season goes first.

At the end of the day, I just think it would just be great if we have the position settled, and are annually picking impact players in round one of each draft either for the trenches, or elite skill player athletes. I think this is as good of a way as any to succeed in this league.

Not every great NFL organization is built around a young quarterback who was a high first round pick. Kyle Shanahan has never turned the keys of his offensive off to this type of player. Philly didn’t just win a Super Bowl with one. The Lions are relying on a quality retread QB, and the Rams have never drafted a QB high with McVay as their coach. Coach Holmgren never had one in Green Bay or Seattle with all of his successes. Peak eighties 49ers had a former third round pick leading their team, and nineties 49ers had a first round pick bust who they traded for leading them to titles.

And we all know what happened for the Patriots decades ago when they turned to little known sixth round pick Tom Brady in favor of injured established starter Drew Bledsoe. Rewind to nearly a quarter century ago, and virtually nobody saw that coming.

This is my food for thoughts about Sam, Drew, and Jalen, though, however which way this shakes out. I think these are all pretty likable dudes who will be easy for most fans to root for.

Each guy has talent, and question marks. It is what it is, and while it might not be an ideal situation for fans because of the unknowns, I am comfortable with not knowing what we really have right now.

One thing is for sure, however; whoever sits at the QB1 situation for Seattle long term is destined to play with a kick ass defense under Mike Macdonald. Maybe that is what we really should all be getting excited about more and more. It’s a fun thought.

Go Hawks.

Thank God Seahawks Training Camp Is Here

Posted on by
Reply

This last Tuesday was a rough one for me, I won’t lie. The news of Ozzy Osbourne passing away hit me, quite unexpectedly, like a runaway locomotive. People who know me well, know how much of an old school metalhead I am, and how much this guy meant to me. Therefore, I had a hard time holding back emotion when folks reached out to me, and after a few different back and forths, I didn’t really want to talk much with folks.

Ozzy was such a unique soul, and heavy metal is still such a polarizing genre of music that I feel when I am forced to share my views on the music to people who are not fans of it, it puts me in a very defensive position to which I derive very little enjoyment out of, if I am being perfectly honest. I feel the same way when talking about football to people who don’t much like American football, and feel it is too barbaric, and beneath them to understand it.

“You don’t like football.. cool.. please, there is absolutely no need on my end to have a discussion with you about why you don’t like it.”

“Okay, you don’t get the fanfare of Ozzy Osbourne.. cool, cool.. cool.”

Yeah, the passing of Ozzy put me in a spot, but instead of wallowing in mourning, I very much wanted to spend Tuesday evening with my family at Climate Pledge Arena watching some quality Summertime WNBA basketball with the upstart Seattle Storm hosting the inferior Dallas Wings. A quality Storm win was exactly what my soul yearned for that night.

Well, the Storm laid an absolute egg in front of me, woefully losing in a blowout, and as I walked out of the arena, out about $350 dollars, having to reassure a young grade schooler that the Storm have beaten the Wings before, many times over, I had an overwhelming thought in my head that had become my singular beacon of hope in this sea of darkness.

Thank God that the Seattle Seahawks are starting training camp.

For many months now, I think the news cycle has been a continual masterclass shit show in global and national news. This is not a blog that weighs into social issues and politics, but if I ever needed sports and entertainment to provide pleasant distractions, this would definitely be the time, and the place for it.

The Seattle Mariners have proved to be a fun story this year, and more than a pleasant distraction for even for the more skeptical M’s fans. How can one not get wrapped up in the Cal Raleigh magic, and the thought that if this team makes the postseason, they would be poised to make perhaps historic damage?

That said, heart of hearts, I am a pure football fella, and this is a pure football blog devoted to the Seattle Seahawks, the team that I love in almost unnatural and in very irrational ways. So, let’s fucking go with this training camp, preseason games, and the 2025 season. I need it like I need a water fountain in the desert in late July.

I have no idea how 2025 will go for the Seahawks, but I am more excited about them this year than I have been in quite some time. It is not so much an excitement built on the belief that Seattle can be a top contender this year, but a gleeful excitement in seeing how well they can transform into being a quality team with a clear identity that will prove to be a very tough out on Sundays.

It is more than fair to be skeptical about them this year, and I don’t get bent up about any pessimistic national takes. Nobody knows how good (or bad) Sam Darnold will be as the new QB1, and we don’t know how quickly new coordinator Klint Kubiak will positively transform the offensive line, and get this offense moving in the right steadfast direction that head coach Mike Macdonald would like to see it become as a compliment to his defense. If you are skeptical that Seattle doesn’t have enough at receiver after trading away DK Metcalf, I am not going to waste any breath trying to convince you they will be fine. Let’s just see where all this goes.

I have genuine optimism that Macdonald’s defense will be elite this year, and history shows that if an offense can crack near the top ten in rushing yards and it is matched with a top five defense, that is generally good for 10 or 11 wins, regardless of who the quarterback is on the team.

So the mission for the Seattle Seahawks in 2025 is clear as daylight on a mid Summer day. Run the snot out of the ball in a “fuck the pass game” sorta offensive scheme, and play great defense. Sounds like something pleasantly familiar in the Pacific Northwest. I’m ready for it. I need it.

Here are a few things that I am really excited to see this preseason.

General Sam Darnold And Commando Jalen Milroe

I get it that many fans are nervous about how things will go for the Seattle Seahawks at quarterback this year. However, I am not one of them.

I am genuinely more excited about Seattle’s quarterback room than I have been since peak Russell Wilson, and I say this knowing full well that it is a total mystery how well this room will be in 2025. I like the vibe of Darnold, Milroe, and Drew Lock, though. They are young, athletic, and they all appear to be genuinely good dudes who are going to be working hard to push each other, and make a potentially good room a great one.

The guy that I think most fans are nervous about appears to be QB1. That’s fine, I guess. Personally, I don’t get why, and I have heard all the narratives around Darnold about how he handles pressure (or doesn’t). In my opinion, I think a lot of that is overblown, and the people who are the loudest about it are also self professed huge Geno Smith fans, which I have no problem with, but it does paint a picture of how dug in people can be with their prior views.

In the world of social media darlings, content creators on YouTube, and people who get paid handsomely on sports media platforms, it becomes harder to back down off of takes, I believe. I can easily see a reality where Darnold guides Seattle into the playoffs, and there will be people saying that had they stuck with Geno Smith, they would have gone even farther, or done better. I would be willing to lay sizable cheddar on that being a thing.

For me, however, being a Geno Smith fan, I find the decision to not pay Geno and move onto Darnard a very interesting one, and have stated so on this blog multiple times over. What is the gamble really?

Do diehard Geno Smith fans honestly believe that he is going to out duel Patrick Mahomes and the the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC West division this year, or next?

Even if you are a big time Sam Darnold skeptic, it is not like Seattle has committed anything long term to him, at all, and I think his mostly solid play of 2024 more than warrants a good long look to see if he can be the franchise quarterback here. I am not going to say one way or the other whether Darnold will be a hit, but if he does prove this year that his campaign last season wasn’t a fluke, you would have to feel pretty damn good about that moving forward, wouldn’t you? I know I would.

I would also just simply say that everything Klint Kubiak wants this offense to be fits the things Darnold has shown to do very well. It’s playing under center, mixing run plays with play action, and motion. If you were to dig into the metrics of how well Darnold plays under center, throwing out of play action, you would be pleasantly surprised, and this isn’t just isolated by his one solid year last year with the Vikings.

During the second half of a lost season in Carolina back in 2022, when their coach got fired and their interim coach took over, Darnold was reinserted into the starting lineup over none other than one Baker Mayfield, and they went on a nice stretch of winning football running the piss out of the ball with Darnold during what he does best; play action passing. You might remember the Panthers coming to Seattle and running the snot out of the football against Pete Carroll’s defense and Darnold handily game managing them to victory. I remember it well.

So, yeah, I do have confidence in Darnold this year, and possibly beyond. The style of offense that they will be going after is probably only going to ask him (or any other quarterback) to throw 25 times a game, and out of those 25 passes, the vast bulk will ideally be play action. This is what Brock Purdy does for San Francisco, and this is what Jared Goff does for the Lions. That’s it.

But neither the Lions nor the 49ers have an intriguing ace up their sleeve that Seattle appears to have with Jalen Milroe, and it is this ace that Seattle could play in each and every game that has me most excited. I have said it before, and I will say it again, Jalen Milroe was one of two QBs in last year’s draft that I was interested in them drafting. I liked Jaxson Dart, and I liked Milroe. Of the two, Milroe had me the most excited because of his immense upside as a runner and deep ball passer.

Every time Milroe steps onto the field for the Seattle Seahawks this year, he will potentially be a nightmare inducing runner on third and short, fourth and short, and in goal line situations. It isn’t just his freakish athleticism and speed, either.

His running instincts feel on par with Lamar Jackson, and I can see scenarios, as the season advances, where Kubiak just randomly throws him into games midfield when it isn’t third and short, but first down, just to fuck with defensive coordinators. I can also see scenarios where he badly beats defenses with his arm rather than legs when everyone is sucking up to stop his running prowess.

The single most exciting news that came out of June mini camp was the last two days of practices where Jalen Milroe looked noticeably improved as a passer to all media eyes watching. So much so that, by some reports, he looked like the best player practicing on both of those days.

Jalen Milroe has always had a good deep ball to his game, and he has shown through college an ability to go through progressions from the pocket, but if he successfully improves his footwork mechanics as a passer, and thus improves his short to intermediate accuracy, then I do believe that Darnold’s tenure in Seattle could be a short one even if he play well in this scheme.

Milroe has superstar potential, that is his upside. It is not franchise quarterback upside, it is superstar quarterback upside, and it is not a crazy thought to think he couldn’t develop into a franchise quarterback in the quality of a Lamar Jackson, or a slight notch below, if his accuracy improves and it sounds like he is working his ass of to improve it.

So, yeah. I am excited about Seattle’s QB room. This is top of my list of intrigue.

Young talented offensive linemen emerging with proper NFL coaching, finally

I will push back on any suggestions that Seattle didn’t do enough this offseason to fix their offseason line, even with drafting Grey Zabel in the first round. Zabel was the right player to pick in round one, no question, but I don’t think this was a great free agent class to throw money at guards and center outside of one center who seemed determined to sign elsewhere and one guard with a questionable knee injury who balked at coming to Seattle for a physical before signing with the Vikings.

I am going to take a contrarian view that says Seattle did more than enough to address their offensive line by bringing in veteran offensive line coaches John Benton and Rick Dennison in addition to drafting Zabel. There is talent on Seattle’s offensive line that has not been fully tapped, I strongly believe that. Most of this issue has to do with prior coordinators not committing enough to the run, and not committing enough to specific blocking scheme.

You do not improve an offensive line by throwing big money at marginal veteran talent just because they are out there and you have a need at the position. You improve your offensive line by drafting well and coaching the talent up in ways that fit what they do best. This is what I think Seattle is now set to do this year. They hired really good veteran offensive line coaches, and they are committing to a scheme that will better serve the talent that they drafted the past few years. I am excited to see how it comes together, and I say that knowing that it might take until the midway point in the season where we see it all gelling.

Seattle has offensive tackles perfectly built to run outside zone concepts, and last year, they drafted a guard in Christian Haynes who was one of the best pure zone blocking guards in college football. What did former coordinator Ryan Grubb do? He passed the fuck out of the ball instead of running it, and then he adopted gap scheme concepts to mix in with zone, never really letting his young as original sin offensive linemen to gain confidence and chemistry together.

Those horseshit days of offensive coaching are over with in Seattle. Kubiak may not win personality contests, but he will make damn sure that his offensive line wins with a fuck ton of run blocking down the stretch of the 2025 season. I am all about it. I could print a blue and green t-shirt that reads “run the damn ball” and wear it every Sunday this Fall.

This offensive line may not be tops in the league this year, but they sure as shit won’t be bottom. Bank on it.

A Heavy Metal headbangingly fun ground attack

“Run to the hills. Run for your lives!”

Ah, the sweet sounds of Bruce Dickinson’s voice souring high above Steve Harris’s galloping bass line of the epic 1982 heavy metal classic Run To The Hills by Iron Maiden. This song should firmly be in my brain every time Seattle is on offense this year. Run early, run often, hit some easy play action gimmes, and fucking run it some more, gosh darn dang it all.

I could give two flying fucks if whether Ken Walker has the big breakout year fans have been pining for out of him. It would be awesome if he did, and he finally lives up to his superstar potential, but Seattle feels especially loaded up at running back this year, and that is what landing Damien Martinez late in the draft does to my thoughts and feels. I think Martinez is legit RB1 potential in the league, and most definitely Zach Charbonnet is that already. I am also very high on Kenny McIntosh and feel like this zone blocking scheme is really going to fit his style well.

Seattle is going to keep all four of these talented backs. I expect them all to play, and play well. If K9 finally puts together a full healthy season, awesome, but if not, I don’t have a lot of worries here. Just an overwhelming dose of optimism for this unit that will also feature rookie fullback Robbie Outz who played with Milroe at Alabama, and would know immediately how to play with his unique skillset. Keep that in mind as you watch these preseason games unfold.

I need that Run The Damn Ball t-shirt printed. I might need several of them for every other day of the week this Fall.

Mike Macdonald’s Seal Team Six Defense

You fair weathers want to know what the difference is between Pete Carroll’s legendary Legion Of Boom defense, and the one that Mike Macdonald has designs on building here is?

Pete put together a very simple scheme but he collected smart, talented badass men to pull it off who were a fascinating combination of bigger, stronger, and faster at different spots. Offenses knew what to expect, but they still had to face it, and it was like a legion of jacked up berserkers coming at them with every snap of the ball. It was truly terrifying with terrifyingly bad intentioned players, but it had a shelf life. The league changed its rules that prohibited much of its style, and its star players eventually started to breakdown physically from all the years of ultra violence that it played with.

Mike Macdonald doesn’t ask his players to play with the same reckless abandon. He wants them to be physical, but he insists upon them to be schematically very smart and versatile. He wants every player to know what every other player does on every play so that they can also fill those roles if called upon with a given play to do so. His defense is all about disguise and confusion for quarterbacks. He wants his guys to play fast, and forceful, and smart, and completely connected together. He doesn’t want marines, or viking berserker warriors, he wants his players to be elite special forces on the football field. He wants delta force guys, navy seals.

This style of defense takes time to mold. It took him two years to mold it in Baltimore before it became the best unit in the league without a bunch of big named players.

We got a good glimpse of this defense turning the corner during the second half of the season last year. I am excited to see it fully take hold this season.

There is a lot of national buzz and expectation that we finally see the return of a great NFL defense in Seattle, Washington this year, even with those who are reluctant to buy into Darnold, and Kubiak, and the state of the offensive line. I guess that the old adage of defense winning championships isn’t what it used to be.

It will be fun watching Seattle remind the world that without a great defense, offensive stats are for losers, and fantasy football owners. Ask Joe Burrow his thoughts and feels about having a good defense. Joe knows.

Of all the things that I am most ready and excited for in 2025, it is this defense in Seattle to come in an ruin Sundays for quarterbacks and receivers. That’s heavy metal.

In closing..

It is preseason. Fans in 32 markets across America are excited and optimistic.

There will inevitably be disappointment when the regular comes along and concludes. There will be teams that were in the playoffs last year that will not make it back this year. There will be teams nobody is taking seriously right now that will surprise. There will be at least one serious contender who will fall disappointingly flat, probably due to injuries, and maybe even age.

The AFC is, by far, the harder conference to play through than the NFC is. It is not a given that Pete Carroll and Geno Smith will fair well together in Vegas. The team is not devoid of talent, but that is going to be a tough division that they will be in, and it’s inside a tough conference. This is why I don’t totally understand the Raider fanfare and hype is seemingly this big this year, but if it does work out for them, it would be pretty cool. I would enjoy seeing them do well.

Seattle, on the other hand, gets much less fanfare, and I actually kinda like that. There is not a lot of flash with these Seahawks right now. There is no big chiseled x receiver, there is no quarterback who is going to provide juicy soundbites and be active online, there is no big named pass rusher, or superstar middle linebacker.

Still, there is talent, and more importantly, there seems to be a connectedness with the players unlike anything we have seen here in a long time. Everyone showed up to mini camp, and I cannot remember the last time that ever happened here in Seattle, even at the height of Carroll, or Mike Holmgren.

I think these guys really dig Macdonald, they believe, and they want to put in the work. This is why I think this is the real year one for Macdonald here. Last year, it wasn’t his preferred offensive coordinator, and there were guys here that proved to be more Carroll holdovers that fellas buying in. They are gone, and what remains are solely Macdonald dudes.

The Macdonald commandos and seal team sixes. That is what we are about it see unfold.

I am very excited for that.

Go Hawks!

Why I Dig Sam Darnold To The Seahawks

Posted on by
Reply

For what feels like months now, I have been sorta sideways projecting Sam Darnold to the Seattle Seahawks for this offseason. Now, it is officially a feather in my cab.

For me, I just made too much sense. If Geno Smith and Sam Darnold are essentially parallel with each other as NFL quarterbacks, as many believe, Sam Darnold is seven years younger, and that flips the scales for me as a Seattle Seahawk fan, and I say this being a fan of Geno Smith.

It further made sense to me after the news broke about Klint Kubiak taking over the offensive coordinator job here in Seattle. Kubiak runs a very similar system to what the Vikings do, and he was Darnold’s QB coach for a year in San Francisco. When Seattle hired Kubiak, the dots connecting to Darnold felt significantly stronger.

But I have pining for, and projecting Sam Darnold to Seattle long before Kubiak landed here.

I started calling it back in December when the Minnesota Vikings game to town and Darnold had an absolute kick ass game against an ascending Seahawk defense. He out dueled Geno Smith in a very competitive game with tons of playoff implications for both teams.

There was a young Vikings fan sitting behind me, very polite young sir, and every time Darnold made a badass throw under pressure, I turned to him, and said “I want your quarterback.”

He just smiled and nodded and politely said “sure, maybe, but I think Minnesota is going to want to hang onto him.”

Indeed, in days leading up to free agency, the Vikings were trying to make a push to get Sam back on a well compensated short term deal, but he wanted bigger commitment. He earned that.

From the Vikings perspective, it makes sense to want him back because of the uncertainty of JJ McCarthy’s health, perhaps his durability, and his stage of development. Despite the late stage two game collapse that critics of Darnold love to point at, he played very well for them in 2024. Like, really, really well.. MVP consideration well.

Personally, I don’t think his 2024 play was a fluke. As he spent a year in San Francisco soaking up the Shanahan offense from the perspective of backing up Brock Purdy, I suspect Sam Darnold got much needed perspective after rough tours of duty in dysfunctional Carolina and even more dysfunctional New York Jets Land. I think it is entirely possible that his year off from starting allowed him to figure out better how to be a quality NFL quarterback in a proper offensive scheme that suits his abilities.

Viking head coach Kevin O’Connell made a shrewd move signing Darnold last year as a bridge starter to the quarterback they were determined to draft. O’Connell coaches essentially the same system as Kyle Shanahan, and I suspect he had a pretty good idea that a year of Darnold interning for Kyle was going to make him a better quarterback for it. The Vikings were very quick to sign Darnold last year, and I am sure it was a move that many in the media and fans across the league giggled at.

“Sam Darnold (snort).. yeah, right.”

When will fans, and media ever learn that we should never judge a quarterback for whatever they did, or did not do when playing for the New York Jets. Seahawk fans, of all people, should know not to lay judgement after three years of Geno Smith.

If you want to bring up the “I’m seeing ghosts” moment that Darnold had on the sidelines back in 2019 when playing against a dominant New England Patriot defense, go for it. For me, I think Bill Belichick has had a lot of quality NFL quarterbacks seeing ghosts in games over the years, and the only thing I would criticize Darnold for is perhaps being a bit too honest with teammates in the heat of the battle. A more seasoned quarterback might have kept those thoughts to himself in that moment.

Truth be known, I have been a Sam Darnold fan for many years now, going back to a cold wet miserable night in Seattle, Washington, in the late Fall of 2016, when the underdog USC Trojans came into Husky Stadium and put an absolute ass whooping on a Husky football team that some thought could go after a national title. I watched that game in my little TV den, and what I saw was this big, tall, sophomore quarterback stare down pressure against a very fierce front seven of the Washington Husky defense, and just throw laser guided darts downfield in the cold windy rain, hitting receiver after receiver in the process. I mean, this walk on sophomore kid was Tom Brady-like badass in that game. It was disappointing as a Husky fan, but objectively as a football fan, it was an impressive display of quarterbacking against very tough conditions on the road.

When I was at Lumen Field watching the Seahawks duke it out against the Vikings, that 2024 version of Sam Darnold looked exactly like that sophomore USC version eight years prior. So, I turned to this young Viking fan, and I told him that I wanted his quarterback.

I did. I really wanted him, and I am happy I got him.

I am looking forward to watching Sam Darnold quarterbacking the Seahawks. This is something that I have been hoping on and off for a few years now, actually.

I remember it well back in 2021 when it was reported that Russell Wilson wanted out and we reportedly had a deal in place with Chicago to send him there for two first round picks and maybe Khalil Mack. In that trade scenario, some were reporting that Seattle was going to try to trade for Darnold who was still with the Jets. Feeling more disenchanted with Russ, my buddy Daniel and I were messaging each other back and forth almost daily about it, and how cool it would be to get Pete Carroll this talented young USC kid who was getting fucked over by the Jets.

But that trade with Chicago never happened and we never got Darnold. He got shipped to Carolina instead, and got kinda screwed over there, as well.

We got him now, though, and on a three year Baker Mayfield style contract that feels very reasonable for him, and Seattle. He has three years to prove 2024 wasn’t a fluke, and Seattle has three years to see if he is the longer termed solution, or if they should draft and develop behind him. I think this is ideal for both sides.

And look, I get if you are skeptical about this move, or if you’re annoyed that they moved on from Geno, and replaced him with a very similar quarterback. I even get it if you think Sam Darnold isn’t as good as Geno Smith. Everyone is welcome to their views, and I think in this Darnold signing, we are apt to see a wide range of them.

Long time NFL Draft analyst and Seahawk insider Rob Rang believes that Darnold is an upgrade over Geno Smith, and has said as much. He studied both players through college, has watched them both as pros, and he thinks Darnold is the more talented guy.

Richard Sherman, on the other hand, called this a lateral move by the Seahawks, and noted that Geno Smith has better moves in the pocket to extend out of pressure.

Big time Seahawks fan and ESPN personality Mina Kimes voiced her skepticism over Darnold in Seattle, echoing concerns about his ability to play in the face of pressure. She believes Darnold is great when he has protection, but struggles in the face of pressure, and that it is essential that Seattle to improve their offensive line for this bet on Darnold to pay off (duh).

I like Mina Kimes a lot, but I decided to test her assertion of Darnold in pressure situations in 2024. According to quick internet search, it appears that Darnold had one of the best under pressure passer ratings of out of any quarterback in the 2024, second only to Joe Burrow, in fact. Under pressure, he completed 80 or 151 passes for 1,157 yards, 13 touchdowns with only 5 interceptions for a QB rating of 93.1. I think I would take those numbers in Seattle.

I felt the need to test Kimes take on Darnold. I am not calling her takes lazy, but they didn’t match what I saw close in person against the Seahawks last December when he was decidedly the better quarterback, throwing an absolute spectacular, game winning, touchdown bomb down the left sideline when he rolled left out of pressure to make the throw. It was an absolute MVP worthy throw, and it was an absolute dagger in the heart of Seahawk fans because we almost had that game in the bag until he made that late fourth quarter play.

Let me throw a couple more factoids your way about what Darnold did in 2024 for the Vikes, if you are a strong skeptic of this signing.

He was the 8th best red zone performing quarterback in 2024, completing 70% of his passes for 24 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions. In contrast, Geno Smith was the 23rd best passer with a 48% competition rate, and only 10 touchdowns along with 5 interceptions.

Sam Darnold was significantly better at red zone quarterbacking over Geno Smith, and this is indisputable. I am not using this platform to trash Geno and say Sam Darnold is light years better, but I am showing you reasons why I believe this move for Darnold was a smart one for Seattle, and why I am glad they did it.

Now, you will hear a very lazy narrative out there that Sam was supported by a way better offensive line than what Geno had to deal with and had better weapons. While I do think that the Vikings receivers were collectively better, I think Seattle had a way better backfield of runner, and they just were not used nearly enough (don’t get me started on Ryan Grubb again).

But as for the offensive lines of Seattle and Minnesota, was Minnie’s really significantly better? You sure you want to die on that hill arguing that?

According to Brian Nemhauser (AKA Hawkblogger Dude), Seattle’s offensive line had the worst pass blocking efficiency rate in the league last year, but Minnosota’s efficiency was actually third worst in the league. This flies in the face of the narrative that Darnold was working with a great offensive line.

He wasn’t. Not even close. He was just working with a better play caller than Geno was, and a guy aligned with Klint Kubiak’s philosophy.

Some other nice 2024 numbers for Sam. While Minnesota functions as a quick passing Shanahan style offense reliant on short to intermediate throws over the middle, he led the league in deep passing throwing yards, led the league in deep throw completions, and he was tied for the most deep throw touchdowns.

Sam Darnold was not some check down Charlie Jimmy G quarterback in 2024. He successfully attacked defenses at all three levels of the field, big time.

So what about those last two games against Detroit and the LA Rams in the playoffs?

I won’t excuse the poor play of Darnold, but the whole Viking team played bad in both of those games on both sides of the ball, and I also think O’Connell got out coached, as well. Darnold played bad, the offensive line played bad, the defense played bad, and O’Connell arrogantly called a pass happy game against defenses selling out to get to Darnold.

There were plenty of opportunities for the young head coach to adjust and lean into the run in order to stabilize his offense, but he failed to do it. When teams send the house, that’s when you start hitting them with the draws, you adjust, and force them to play honest.

I don’t know what was in the head of O’Connell against the Lions, and the Rams, but maybe Darnold’s jaw dropping game against the Packers in Week 16 when he threw for over 377 yard and 3 touchdowns had something to do with it. Perhaps O’Connell got too caught up in the sudden Darnold MVP hype, and a desperate Lions team in week 17 caught them with their pants down by selling out with the blitz, and gave the blue print to the Rams in the wildcard round of the playoffs to do the same.

If you are nervous about Darnold in those two games, I am not going to try to convince you to not be nervous. I am just going to say that I am confident that, here in Seattle, in similar circumstances, Mike Macdonald is likely not going to allow for that sort of reckless pass happiness. He fired his last offensive coordinator for having that ailment.

So, do I think Sam Darnold is going to lead us to the promise land, and get us a Super Bowl ring in the next three years?

I don’t know, but I think he can be pretty good. I get the sense that things are finally clicking for him at age 27 much like things finally clicked for Matt Hasselbeck when he got a second shot at starting at age 27 over twenty years ago. Sometimes it takes quarterbacks a while.

It too Hasselbeck a while, backing up Brett Farve, getting an opportunity to be a starter in Seattle, struggling, getting benched, being a backup again, and then finally getting an opportunity to start again. Seattle had a nice little seven year run with Hass starting, and they did get to a Super Bowl with him.

I don’t think Matt Hasselbeck twenty years ago is determinably better than Sam Darnold is now. In fact, I think Darnold is a significanlty better athlete with a strong arm than vintage mid 2000’s Hass.

I can see the argument that this is a lateral move towards Darnold for Seattle, but I also cannot shake the fact that he is seven years younger than Geno Smith, and in that, probably does have greater upside.

I’m very curious about how this could go for him here in Seattle, reunited with Klint Kubiak who was his QB coach in San Francisco and is his play caller here now. These two know each other, and can speak the language of the offense together. I think that matters a lot.

So, yeah. I really dig this move a lot. I’m excited.

Now go build up that offensive line, and maybe bring in Cooper Kupp.

Go Hawks.