December 18, 2025 • 35 mins
Managing editor for Seahawks Wire, Kole Musgrove joins the show to talk about the big game on Thursday Night Football. Kole shares what are his keys for this game versus the Los Angeles Rams, how will the absence of Charles Cross affect the Seahawks, plus much more. This is a big game but isn't a bigger game for Sam Darnold?? MJ also has a pick of the day ahead of the big game!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
At Lumenfield's Cole Muskrove from Seahawks Wire. Cole, we cannot
overstate the importance of this game, and I want to
throw something at you which tell me how surprised. Well,
I'm gonna I don't know if you were listening to
the last segment. If you were, then you'll have the
(00:21):
answers to the test. But if the Seahawks win tonight's game,
what would you think their percentage is on winning the
NFC West Division?
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Oh gosh, well, I wasn't listening, so I certainly don't
have the answers to the test here. I would probably
have to say upwards of eighty five percent of winning
the NFC West. You might just humble estimation.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
You, me and kid are all on the same page.
Would you believe if they win tonight and we all
hope that happens, forty eight percent chance to win the
division because of San Francisco?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Wow? I mean, that's that's Unfortunately, that's the problem. The
Niners just keep looming, and they're looming large. And I
kind of kept thinking that the wheels would fall off
for Sanfridisco if all their injuries are sustained, But they
just keep chugging along. They're lurking and it's unfortunate.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
It is it is.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
So this game tonight. What are the keys for you,
Cole Musgrove in terms of the Seahawks the most to
gimme three to five ten most important things that Clint
Kubiak and Mike McDonald, Aden Dirtey and John Benton need
to do tonight to slay this blue dragon known as
(01:34):
the La Rams and beat the Rams for the first
time in the Matthew Stafford era when he actually plays
in the game.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
What they need to do for I mean, it's gonna
be basic, but they have to be able to run
the football. This run game has just not materialized the
way I think Mike McDonald, Clint Kubiak, or pretty much
any twelfth man out there has wanted it to be.
I mean, there's been flashes of greatness here or there,
and there. It seems to be a point where it
looked like it was starting to get consistent, but against
the Colt it just cratered. I mean three rushing yards
(02:06):
in the first half and they only finished with fifty.
I mean, I know the Colts aren't exactly you know,
the Falcons or the Vikings but that's you have to
you simply have to do better than that, because without that,
this offense gets way to one dimensional and that's just
not how this unit is built. That's not how Clint
Kubiak coaches them, and it puts too much pressure on
(02:27):
Sam Darnald. Pressure is the issue with Donald and that's
that's the second point I want to bring up, is
once there is too much, you know, heavy pressure from
the defense, Donald unfortunately has shown he's still kind of
the same guy that we've seen from last year and
really throughout his career, you know, the the classics seeing
(02:47):
ghosts comments he had against the Patriots several years ago. Unfortunately,
that's kind of been the reality ever since that four
interception game against the Rants. So they got to be
able to run the football. They have to take pressure
off him. They have to keep him clean, which I
don't know how they're going to do that without Charles Cross. Unfortunately,
they're going to be without Cross because the injured is
hamstring on the last field goal of the game against
(03:10):
the Colts. So on offense, you gotta run the ball,
gotta keep Sam clean, and on defense they have to
find a way to generate a turnover here, just to
give the offense just a second chance, another opportunity steal
something away from Stafford, because they I mean, they held
Stafford only one hundred and thirty yards passing in the
first game they met, and really just shut the offense down.
(03:32):
But they didn't turn it. They didn't turn him over
and just kind of just left the Rams on the
field far too long.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
You know what, they didn't sack Matthew Stafford last game either,
coal they didn't get to him once.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
And I mean, moreover, let's go back five days ago.
They only hit Philip Rivers, a forty four year old grandpa,
four times, four times, and one of them was a
bad snap and he just tripped and fell down, so
you know, yeah, I mean it was just like like
he was getting out of his rocking chair and you know,
(04:05):
you just see this and it's like tonight they've got
to That's how you get to Matthew Stafford. Listen, if
you go back to where and the Rams had a
chance to win this game. The Rams were the only
team throughout last year's postseason who had a legitimate chance
to beat the team that went on to hoist the
Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
The Philadelphia Eagles. They got to Jalen Hurts.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
They were able to excuse me, they got to Matthew
Stafford and but they, you know, the Rams were holding in.
And then I want to say it was Zach Bond
or Brandon Graham. Somebody hit him late in the third
quarter and he fumbled the ball. Eagles recovered and and
that's what you have to do. You have to get
(04:49):
pressure without blitzing. Blitz do you know, mix up your
coverages and your packages. I'm okay with that, but you
gotta get pressure without blitzing whatsoever. And they got a
running game, you know, Kyron Williams. I mean, these guys,
they've they've got a running game and they've been able
to establish that more.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
How much do you think the weather favors the Seahawks tonight.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
I certainly think it favors them quite a bit. You know. Obviously,
heart goes out to all those communities affected by the flooding,
especially down at Auburn. Just just absolutely devastating. But I
do think obviously that this favors the team that plays
in the open air stadium in the Pacific Northwest versus
the Los Angeles team that plays in the dome. You know,
(05:34):
I know it's kind of technically an open air dome,
but you know, they don't get our weather at ever.
So I certainly think that this favors the Seahawks. And
as far as the defensive line goes, I do think
the Seats are gonna be able to get better get
at Matthew Stafford a little bit better than they did
Philip Rivers. I kind of feel like Mike McDonald's was
maybe rotating his defensive line a little more than he
usually does to try and save the big dogs like
(05:56):
Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy, Chinewosu, try and save them a
little more, keep a little more fresh for tonight's game.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Cole Musgrove from Seattle, excuse me, Seahawks wire here on
MJ in the midday. And how much now you mentioned
Charles Cross. Conversely, how much will the absence of DeVante Adams?
So they haven't announced it yet, he's not playing tonight,
There's no way he's playing tonight. How much he was
(06:25):
held in check the last time, but he did catch
a touchdown? How much does that hurt the Rams tonight
against this Seahawks defense.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Well, I don't know how much it's gonna hurt them overall,
because they still have Poop and Nakua on the other
side the throat, so they still have a really they
still have a really great weapon. Although Poop has been
pretty distracted lately with all his social media shenanigans that
couple of days, so who knows, maybe maybe he's too
busy focusing the streamers and the playbook, So let's just hope.
But unfortunately, assuming he has walked in, that's still a
(06:58):
tremendous weapon for them, and we're gonna be mint his
challenge for the Seahawks defense well to defend against. However,
Julian Love He's back. During Reid's back, the Seahawks defense
has never been healthier all season long. So just having
a little extra reinforcements, I do think that we'll have
a similar stout performance against the Rams offense this week.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, and and to me, you got to establish you
have to establish this running game. This is this is
imperative tonight. This running game needs to get going. I mean,
you know, they've been inconsistent all season long, coal but
at least you know, against the Rams they were able
(07:41):
to run the ball. They at a Buck thirty five
in that game. Probably gonna need more than that tonight
to win this game. And you're gonna need Sam darnold
lifetime career record against the Rams going back to Detroit
one and four, including the playoffs. You're gonna need him
to play turnover, free foot, no picks, no fumbles, nothing,
(08:03):
and that's going to be a tough thing for him
to do.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
When Sam Donald is confident and he's in rhythm and
the Seahawks are able to give him adequate protection, he
is just as surgical and just as efficient as any
quarterback in this league. He's won the most games out
of any quarterback in the last two years. He's tied
with some guy named Patrick Mahomes for most game winning
drives in the last two years. So we know what
Sam Donald can do. We know his ceiling is incredible. Unfortunately,
(08:33):
that confidence hasn't been there, that protection hasn't been there,
and we've started to see the wheels fall off a little.
It's not catastrophic, but we need to get the Seawks
need to find a way to get Donald back into
his groove, back into his rhythm, because he can dice
up anybody.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Yeah, he certainly can and Tonight's going to be obviously
a test because the Rams are almost a mirror image
of this Hawks team, not as good defensively, and the
Hawks are nowhere near good offensively. So it's gonna be
an interesting juxtaposition when these two teams get on the
field tonight, and I cole pretend we're not up here
(09:10):
in the PNW. How would you rate in terms of
the twenty twenty five NFL season, in my opinion, is
the biggest regular season game of the year.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Absolutely, I mean this is quite literally historic, as if
this is the first meeting between two eleven win teams
on Thursday Night football. Ever, I mean this Thursday Night
football has kind of always been considered a little bit
of a joke. This is kind of where the Jaguars
and Titans of the world live just to meet their
primetime game requirements. Here, every team's got to have one, right,
(09:44):
But the fact that we're starting off a week sixteen,
this late in the season with two Juggernauts, two teams
that many considered to be arguably the NFC favorites at
this point, Rams and then probably the Seahawks because the
Eagles certainly haven't been as dominant as they were last year.
No one really is paying much attention to the forty
nine ers. If we mentioned, I mean, this is a
(10:04):
heavyweight showdown for the agents here. So as far as
you know, in the NFL season, I can't think of
a game this year that has been bigger than this one,
especially when you consider that whoever wins this game. I know,
we just mentioned that the Selts only had forty eight
percent chance to win the NFC West. But whoever wins
this game is in the inside lane for getting the
(10:25):
number one seed in the NFC. And we all know
how important it is to get that first round by
because you know, you just got to win one game
and then boom, your one went away from the super Bowl.
I think this is it.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
This is it I think tonight.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
I mean, I don't care what the odds and the
percentage says. I don't care what that says. All I
know is that if the Hawks win this game tonight,
they're gonna win out, and they went out, they're getting
the one seed and they're gonna be sitting home wild
Card weekend waiting to the lowest seed to advance, and
(10:58):
then at that point they're gonna basically you're gonna be
in the cat bird seed to get to the Super
Bowl sixty in Santa Clara Stadium. So that's how huge
tonight's game is. I'm also find it interesting, and I'm
being a gambling guy that I am call how the
Hawks came out as a one and a half to
two point underdog at home and now it's swung and
(11:21):
now they're a one and a half point favorite. So
Vegas is all on Seattle and that to me. I
know it usually doesn't play out that way. But when
you see a pendulum swing of a line in Vegas
like that, and not even in a week. We're talking
(11:42):
four days since the line came out after the games
on Sunday, four days and the line has swung three points,
that's huge.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
It bodes well. I will give my.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Game winning pick coming up at I believe eleven forty
five to it. Next segment coming up, brought to you
by FanDuel Sportsbooks to Quamish Clearwater Casino Resort. Now, I
want to ask the other thing because we can talk
about obviously we're gonna name positive and what if this
team is unable to kind of break that glass ceiling
(12:18):
and beat Matthew Stafford and Sean McVeigh together with the Rams.
What does that do for this team going forward? Now
you're going from a potential one to a five or
a six.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
I mean, it's not the end of the world. But
if the Rams win tonight, this is essentially, yeah, the
NFC West championship game, because I mean essentially after tonight,
the Rams play at the Falcons and then their host
the Cardinals, not exactly to stout opponents, So those are
basically two wins baked in for the Rams right there.
(12:52):
Seahawks have to travel to Carolina, who beat the Rams
this year, so the Panthers are a real team, and
then they have to end the season obviously in San Francisco.
So losing this game for the Seahawks, it's it's not
you know, it's not devastating, but it really does put
a limit on what I think this ceiling can be
because at that point, winning the NFC West is kind
(13:12):
of out of the question and they will have to
start on the road for the playoffs. Now that being said,
the Seahawks center McDonald are better on the road, So
who no, spinzo, maybe they need to maybe they prefer
they would prefer the wildcards.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Yeah, I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I want, I want to buy, right.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
I want to know that you're playing a divisional playoff weekend.
You don't have to worry about a wild card. There's
only you know, one buy in the AFC and one
buy in the NFC.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
It's tough to get. I want to buy.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
And the way you get to buy, you go for
the hat trick. And the hat trick starts tonight with
the La Rams in town. This game is it's huge.
I believe I saw somewhere the average ticket price to
get in, depending on where you look to buy tickets,
is around three hundred and fifty four dollars.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
So obviously not achieved ticket.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
And and you know what, to be honest with you,
I Cole, I thought that was kind of low. I
really thought that was kind of low. I'm like, that's
a pretty good deal. That's not a bad deal. Now
you you better bring your blood, your you know, box
of cleanex issues with you. But to just to get
in the game, I think I thought, you know, hey,
but uh this and if you have covered this team,
(14:23):
you grew up here, Cole, I look at this, you know,
softy was talking about my show yesterday.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
This is the biggest.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
He said it too, and to hear him say it,
and I that's what I was thinking. And people can
go back to that twenty nineteen regular season finale against
San Francisco, which would have been for the division and
the number one seed in the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
This, though, is bigger than that.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
This might be the biggest regular season game in over
a decade, maybe going back to twenty thirteen.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
I don't disagree. I mean, yes, that's only nineteen game
was for the division against the forty nine ers. But
if you go back, the Seahawks were kind of reeling
at that point. They just lost to the Cardinals the
week before. Their running back situation was so dire. They
pulled the version of the Colts and they dragged Marshawn
Lynch out of retirement to just be a body to
run the ball. And everyone kind of knew, I don't know,
(15:20):
the forty nine Ers are looking really good. I mean,
they ended up in the super Bowl that year, and
everyone kind of had a feeling that the Seahawks maybe
weren't going to win that game, just based on how
the season was going at that point. This year, this
seems different. Seahawks are, you know, four game win streak.
They have looked dominant in every game except the Colts,
which I think you and I both agreed at the
game that was a bit of a look ahead week
(15:41):
for them, especially in that first half, no doubt. And
so I'm not terribly worried about them based on what
I saw in the Colts game because they still ended
up winning that game. That doesn't race the fact that
they just demolished the Vikings and the Falcons and were
in total control of the Titans the week before. So yeah,
I would have to agree. This is certainly the biggest
(16:02):
regular season game that I can think of.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
And when you talk about narrative, I mean, this is,
this is ever, this tonight is is huge for Sam
Darnold because he hasn't won a big game yet in
his career, and not only in the playoffs. But I mean,
you go back to last year and the divisional title
was on the line when the Vikings played the Lions
(16:25):
and he got ransacked. That was the probably arguably the
worst game of his career, maybe even worse than anything
he did with the Jets. And then of course we
saw what happened in the playoffs against the Rams, but
that was just due to the fact that he had
no o' lineman and Darren Saw was out, which tonight
kind of makes you feel, you know, who's gonna step
(16:47):
up for Charles Cross tonight? Who's gonna fill that position?
Can't be Great's Abel.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
No, it's gonna be Josh Jones. He's gonna swing backup tackle.
He's gonna be stilling in for Charles car Not the
end of the world, I think. I mean, it's a
fine backup. But again, it doesn't matter who you're replacing
him with. You don't have Charles Cross, and he's not
Charles Cross.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
No, it's not.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
And but tonight, Man, tonight, you could definitely and I
just feel that there's some karma in the air tonight,
some good karma. Richard Sherman's in the house with Prime broadcast,
and it just feels like, you know, it's setting up.
But you know, like I said, tomorrow, the narrative will be,
you know, one of two things Seattle, no doubt, world
(17:36):
title contenders or just pretenders tomorrow. If they don't take
care of business, tonight will be taught. It'll be one
of those two things. And everybody. And the thing I
love about it the most, Cole, and I say this,
there's no truer meritocracy. Then the final score when the
game is over, and we will find out tonight, and
(17:57):
then all verdicts are then rend It's not about narratives,
it's not about agendas. It's about Okay, you know this
team is ready to step up to that level or
guess what still not at that level of McVeigh and Stafford.
And this is the reason John Schneider decided to move
(18:18):
on from Pete Carroll and go with Mike McDonald. This
is the reason John Schneider decided to move on from
Geno Smith and go with Sam Darnold, and also from
DK Metcalf to JSN.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
And we'll see if JSN.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
He had a big game a month ago, he'll have
to be big tonight. But everybody else is gonna step up.
And how great would it be?
Speaker 3 (18:41):
You know what? How great would it be tonight?
Speaker 4 (18:44):
Cole?
Speaker 1 (18:45):
If Cooper Cup is a guy that is deciding X
factor for the Hawks versus his former.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Team, I would love that more than anything I could
describe into words. I was actually a classmate of Cooper
Cups back at Eastern Washingon University etho to see my
favorite college player dominate for the Seahawks against the Rams.
Just Christmas comes early.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
If that's the case, no doubt about it, no doubt
about it.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
And we'll see what happens coming up tonight. I will
you what time you're gonna be on over there?
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Right?
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Oh yeah, I'll be there sometimes late afternoon, a little
before four, but I'll be there all right.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Good kick off five point fifteen. So it's still getting
used to that.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
I like it. Uh, it's just getting used to it.
It's it's you know what best coast I know? I
like it.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
So there he is. Cole must grove from Seahawks Wire.
We appreciate you taking the time. What will you think
coming up next? I'm gonna ask you in and I've
got you know tonight it's gonna go one of two ways.
I'm gonna pretty much ensure there will not be a tie.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
But what will you think tonight?
Speaker 1 (19:58):
How much does to night's result change the way that
you will feel about Sam Donald and whether or not
he is the guy, or whether or not he's just
a jag, just another guy. How much does this game
tonight change? Will it change or not change your opinion
(20:21):
on Sam Donald. We'll get to that next MJ in
the midday Live at Jimmy's on First getting ready for
the Seahawks Rams tonight on Sports Radio ninety three to
three KJRFM. All right, that was not in a Sam
Donald's finest moment in his second season or no, actually,
I'm sorry, I think there was his Yeah, was it
second season with the Jets against the Patriots on Monday
(20:43):
Night football and that was not a.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
Good night for him? Or it might have been third
season exactly.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
I love how you played the music there, kid, because
that group that that song Living Color, they're just here
outside my window at Jimmy's on First.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
And they're walking across the street to the WAMU Theater.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Now I don't know if they're playing tonight prior to
the game. I don't know, but how we were talking
about Triple H or whatever. I don't know if they're playing,
you know, if they have an appearance. But that band
was literally just right in front of me about ten
minutes ago during the cole Musgrove interview. So that would
(21:28):
be cool if they were playing live tonight. And to
the Cult of Personality, that would be epic. That would
be cool. I'm more I like the Triple H game
music by Motorhead. Unfortunately, Lemmy from Motorhead is no longer
with us, so it's gonna be tough for them to
do any live appearances anytime soon without their lead singer.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
But Living Color was.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Just right here in front of me, and I recognized
the lead singer and I was like, oh my.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
God, I you know, I like that is That's Grant's
the cmpunk song.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
So it's awesome. We're getting ready tonight. And you know,
I mentioned prior to the end of last segment, what
would tonight.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Be for you?
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Would it alter your opinion of Sam Darnold if the
Seahawks are able to win this game, And for me,
if they win this game, then for me, it definitely
would alter my opinion on him that he's ready to
take that next step. Where at the end of last year,
(22:33):
and I've never seen a guy get more heat whatsoever
in terms of like a guy who was horrible in
his final regular season game against the Detroit Lions, I
mean just got you know, absolutely molly wopped, and then
of course in the playoff game against the Rams, so
(22:54):
that was also not his finest moment.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
It wasn't his fault, but he.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
Got sacked I believe, like nine times in that game.
So to me, uh, this this is huge tonight Like tonight,
this is everything for the Seattle Seahawks. And we talked
about them having a forty eight percent chance to win
the division after even if they win tonight. So that's
(23:19):
not even a shoeing because the San Francisco forty nine
ers are right there. They're the sixth seed that can
flip flop, that will flip flop tonight if the Seahawks
don't cap take care of business. But for Sam Darnold,
he was in the draft with Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen,
and a guy by the name of Lamar Jackson now
(23:41):
Lamar Jackson. He's won a couple MVPs. Josh Allen is
the reigning MVP. Baker Mayfield, he's had a nice comeback
in Tampa. It hasn't been good over the course of
the last few weeks, but he's found a home there
with the Bucks. Baker Mayfield and in Sam Darnald to
(24:02):
me are very similar. I think Baker Mayfield has better
in terms of like his overall athleticism and his ability
to improvise and create plays out of nothing. But the
one thing I do know, neither one of them. The
next time either one of them wins a big game
in the postseason will be the first time. So for me,
(24:25):
this is the Sam Darnald game tonight. This is the
same you know last week was the JMI game. That
was the Jason Myers game. He had to bail this
team out because they couldn't get in the end zone.
Not gonna be able to win this game tonight. If
you cannot get in that end zone against this Rams team,
it won't happen. So tonight this is the gotta be
(24:45):
if the Seahawks are gonna win to night. I know
the defense is gonna come and do their thing, and
I believe, and I'm gonna give you my prediction coming
up next in the MJ winning Pick of the Day
brought to you by fan Duel Sportsbooks, su Quamash Clearwater
because a resort. I'm going to give you the pick
coming up next. After going through this and analyzing it
(25:07):
with you know, talked about it with Lee Sterling from
Paramount sports dot com. But another guy and I talked
about what the narrative will be after the game. If
the Seahawks don't take care of business, the onus is
going to fall on Sam Darnold. Even if Sam Darnold
doesn't turn the ball over tonight and the defense does
(25:28):
a job, but somehow, some way, the Rams find a
way to pull it out because they've done it. They've
done it the entire Matthew Stafford era in LA when
he plays. That's what they've done to this Seahawks team,
and they've got to basically break that glass ceiling so tonight.
This not only dictates what the Seahawks seed will be
in January.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
Kid to me, it.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Also shows me how far this team will go in January.
Tonight's game. That's how much stock I'm putting into it.
Speaker 4 (25:59):
What about you, I'm looking forward to just see how
they react, because win or lose, they still have a
chance to do something special. I'm not gonna say they
are less than if they lose or they're better than
if they win, because the playoffs, they still are in it.
That's not gonna change.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
And all they need to do is just get hot.
Speaker 4 (26:18):
Sam dark could play his worst game again and I
would still believe that they have a chance to still
do something special. Now you would need to your point,
Sam to deliver in a big game, but I don't
think it would be end all be our winner loss
tonight because a couple of things aren't gonna change the
fact that the defense is still gonna be the best
defense in the NFL, if not second back behind the
Houston Texans. They have a really good head coach and
(26:40):
Mike McDonald that has the team locked in belief in
what they can do, So when you look at everything else,
it really just doesn't matter. So yes, you'd want them
to win tonight, but for me, a winner loss doesn't
change how I see them moving forward because they're still
gonna be in the playoffs. Whereas last season they lost
the final game, they won the final game, it didn't matter,
they weren't going to the playoffs. So this year, yeah,
(27:03):
the stakes are higher and you can put on a
really big showcase and prove that you're better than this
RAMS team. But what if you see the Rams in
the playoffs? What if some crazy scenario that you can
see them again. So I'm just saying I don't want
to put too much stock into it because it is
a big game, But it won't change the way I
view this team. Now winning the super Bowl, that might
be able to something that can change. Like, hey, if
(27:23):
they lose tonight, do they still have a chance to
win the Super Bowl?
Speaker 3 (27:27):
Maybe? Maybe not.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
But I will say that the Rams aren't just gonna
come in and lay over. I think anybody realizes this
Rams team is a good football team. They have been
working together really well for the last few seasons. Hell,
they lost in the snow last year to the Eagles.
They were very close to being in the super Bowl,
so they're wanting another opportunity to get that. This is
probably what Stafford's last year. He's he's at the point
(27:53):
where he's probably about to retire. But seeing what Philip.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Philips, I don't know, kidd, would you retire if you're
gonna win the MVP.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
You know, we were talking about in the offseason where
you were talking about him having a bad back in how.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
You know, yeah, by the way, how that age it's.
Speaker 4 (28:09):
Not about that aging poorly, but can his body go
through that again per se?
Speaker 3 (28:12):
You know?
Speaker 4 (28:13):
So that's kind of where I'm looking at it, like
this is his best opportunity to win a super Bowl.
He's not gonna be guaranteed that opportunity next season. So
it's gonna be a fun and great game. I don't
want to put too much on the Seahawks win or lose,
but I know that they are riding on winning this
game and showing the national media that we are the
best team in the NFC and they can represent the
(28:34):
NFC in the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
Yeah, how about this for Vegas Wise, the team totals
tonight Rams twenty and a half. Team total for the
Rams tonight, it's minus one fifteen. For the Seahawks, it's
twenty one and a half at minus one fifteen. So,
and I mentioned yesterday I said about twenty one and
(28:57):
a half, twenty two points if the Hawks are gonna
win Night's game, And I'm gonna have my pick coming
up that you can put money on, but make sure
you bet responsibly. I will give that pickout coming up next,
brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort.
They're gonna have to be I believe under twenty one points.
(29:18):
That's a key number tonight, and if it is, then
the Seattle Seahawks will win this game.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
If the Rams are able.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
To get above that threshold right there and get to
twenty two to twenty three points, it's not gonna go well.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
I mean, that's the key.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
So the defense tonight, no turnovers, establish the run, stop
the run, consistent pressure on Stafford without blitzing, but also
mix in some coverages, throw some blitzes in there every
now and then on you know, NICKI Min Warre. You
know he's gonna be a key factor tonight, and they
gotta account for him. And I mean, Mike McDonald, to me,
(29:56):
this is going to be the battle of two of
the bet brains in the NFL, Mike McDonald, Sean McVay,
Mono Imano and and tonight we're gonna find out if
the Seahawks are ready to take the next step. Like
you said, I'll give you a number. You might, you might,
This might shock you too, kid. If the Seahawks lose tonight,
(30:18):
guess what their percentage is just to make the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
Oh, you almost nailed it.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
N So, so losing tonight is not a death sentence
by any stretch of the imagination, like they're.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
Might be in the postseason.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
There's no there's no way this team is missing the postseason.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
No way, But tonight you have a chance to go
from a.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Good season to a great season and then capitalize on that.
In January, my MJ winning pick of the Day on
this game. Coming up next, George Sodano ESPN LA will
join us at noon live from Jimmy's on First on.
Speaker 3 (31:06):
MJ in the midday, and he said quote.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
When I appeared the other day on a social media
live stream, it was suggested to me to perform a
specific movement as part of my next touchdown celebration. At
the time, I had no idea this act was anti
Semitic in nature and perpetuated harmful stereotypes against Jewish people.
I deeply apologize to anyone who was offended by my actions,
(31:33):
as I do not stand for any form of racism, bigotry,
or hate of another group of people. End quote. Okay,
I believe him. I don't believe Pukinnakua. I don't believe
him to be a racist. The one thing, whoever your
publicist is, Puka, you gotta work on this. All you
(31:54):
do is just say, I deeply apologize to everyone, not
to anyone who is offended by my actions. Just say, everyone,
your pr publicist, I don't know if it's your personal
one or with the Rams should be fired because when
you say I apologize to anyone who was offended, it
(32:17):
comes across as a little disingenuous and insincere. So I
don't think he is at all. Again, you know, you're
not Kanye. You're not gonna go that route, you know.
So nonetheless, not a good look. And there's no tolerance
whatsoever for any anti Semitism, racism, bigotry, anti LGBTQ in
(32:43):
this world today.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
There's just no tolerance for that. I believe them.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
And and here's the thing, Puka, two, why are you
on a freaking live stream with some knuckleheads? Why why
are you doing it? There's no need for you can
only hurt your brand and now you see the residual
effects of that. So I mean, just be better. I
don't think he is, but again, probably not something that
Sean McVay and the Rams and less sneed wanted to
(33:11):
deal with. Okay, just saying all right, here we go,
Here we go, kid, you wanna go ahead, and I'm
giving out pick for tonight's game.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
You want to hit music, we can do it.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
You can do it without it, all right, I've vacillated
back and forth.
Speaker 3 (33:26):
Tonight's it.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Tonight is put up or shut up time for the
Seattle Seahawks. They started off when this line came out
back after the game, they were actually one and a
half point dog at home. As of right now, they're
a one and a half point favorite. That's a big
(33:48):
swing in spite the over under total there's forty two
and a half.
Speaker 3 (33:53):
I'm gonna give you a bonus on that. I like
the under. I like the under tonight.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
I'm gonna go with the I think with the weather
and everything, tonight's an undergame.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Two great defenses going at it.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Hope, it's not just gonna be Jason Myers and it's
gonna be the Seahawks getting into the end zone.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
But tonight, tonight's tonight.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
This is the night for Mike McDonald and Sam Darnold
to break on through to the other side. According to
the late great Jim Morrison, the doors, I think the
Seattle Seahawks win this game tonight. I'm gonna go with
the score. Hawks twenty three rams seventeen over. Seahawks take
over the division tonight, and then we'll go on and
(34:35):
beat the Panthers. And the forty nine ers the remaining
two regular season games and get the not only the
divisional title, but the one seed.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
Tonight's to night. Book it.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
I've already bet it. Bet responsibly. Only bet what you
can afford to lose. Seahawks tonight minus the one and
a half. I don't even care if it gets to two.
They will win the game tonight by more than one
and a half to two points. So I'm going Seahawks
twenty three to seventeen. Kid, I want your pick, give
me a score.
Speaker 4 (35:03):
I got Rams twenty one Seahawks seventeen, all right.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
So we're in there. You like the under, so we're
both on the same page. Under just flipped in reverse.
Fair enough.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
I respect that, And again I think we're in the
ballpark on the score. Points will be very tough to
come by tonight. There it is, Seahawks get it done tonight.
We will have a great, hopeful celebration. Talk about tomorrow.
Gotta play turnover free football, Gotta run the ball. Coming
up next from ESPN LA longtime friend going back twenty
(35:35):
one years, George Sodano will come on MJ in the midday.
We're live at Jimmy's on first stop on By. They
got great drink specials, the Cup of Coffee for Cooper Cup,
the JSN tilman here, come on out and join us.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
They got great food. We'll be here. I'll be here
till one.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
Ian'll be here one to three, Softy in Dick three
to seven right here on Sports Radio ninety three to
three KGr TA
At Lumenfield's Cole Muskrove from Seahawks Wire. Cole, we cannot
overstate the importance of this game, and I want to
throw something at you which tell me how surprised. Well,
I'm gonna I don't know if you were listening to
the last segment. If you were, then you'll have the
(00:21):
answers to the test. But if the Seahawks win tonight's game,
what would you think their percentage is on winning the
NFC West Division?
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Oh gosh, well, I wasn't listening, so I certainly don't
have the answers to the test here. I would probably
have to say upwards of eighty five percent of winning
the NFC West. You might just humble estimation.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
You, me and kid are all on the same page.
Would you believe if they win tonight and we all
hope that happens, forty eight percent chance to win the
division because of San Francisco?
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Wow? I mean, that's that's Unfortunately, that's the problem. The
Niners just keep looming, and they're looming large. And I
kind of kept thinking that the wheels would fall off
for Sanfridisco if all their injuries are sustained, But they
just keep chugging along. They're lurking and it's unfortunate.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
It is it is.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
So this game tonight. What are the keys for you,
Cole Musgrove in terms of the Seahawks the most to
gimme three to five ten most important things that Clint
Kubiak and Mike McDonald, Aden Dirtey and John Benton need
to do tonight to slay this blue dragon known as
(01:34):
the La Rams and beat the Rams for the first
time in the Matthew Stafford era when he actually plays
in the game.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
What they need to do for I mean, it's gonna
be basic, but they have to be able to run
the football. This run game has just not materialized the
way I think Mike McDonald, Clint Kubiak, or pretty much
any twelfth man out there has wanted it to be.
I mean, there's been flashes of greatness here or there,
and there. It seems to be a point where it
looked like it was starting to get consistent, but against
the Colt it just cratered. I mean three rushing yards
(02:06):
in the first half and they only finished with fifty.
I mean, I know the Colts aren't exactly you know,
the Falcons or the Vikings but that's you have to
you simply have to do better than that, because without that,
this offense gets way to one dimensional and that's just
not how this unit is built. That's not how Clint
Kubiak coaches them, and it puts too much pressure on
(02:27):
Sam Darnald. Pressure is the issue with Donald and that's
that's the second point I want to bring up, is
once there is too much, you know, heavy pressure from
the defense, Donald unfortunately has shown he's still kind of
the same guy that we've seen from last year and
really throughout his career, you know, the the classics seeing
(02:47):
ghosts comments he had against the Patriots several years ago. Unfortunately,
that's kind of been the reality ever since that four
interception game against the Rants. So they got to be
able to run the football. They have to take pressure
off him. They have to keep him clean, which I
don't know how they're going to do that without Charles Cross. Unfortunately,
they're going to be without Cross because the injured is
hamstring on the last field goal of the game against
(03:10):
the Colts. So on offense, you gotta run the ball,
gotta keep Sam clean, and on defense they have to
find a way to generate a turnover here, just to
give the offense just a second chance, another opportunity steal
something away from Stafford, because they I mean, they held
Stafford only one hundred and thirty yards passing in the
first game they met, and really just shut the offense down.
(03:32):
But they didn't turn it. They didn't turn him over
and just kind of just left the Rams on the
field far too long.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
You know what, they didn't sack Matthew Stafford last game either,
coal they didn't get to him once.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
And I mean, moreover, let's go back five days ago.
They only hit Philip Rivers, a forty four year old grandpa,
four times, four times, and one of them was a
bad snap and he just tripped and fell down, so
you know, yeah, I mean it was just like like
he was getting out of his rocking chair and you know,
(04:05):
you just see this and it's like tonight they've got
to That's how you get to Matthew Stafford. Listen, if
you go back to where and the Rams had a
chance to win this game. The Rams were the only
team throughout last year's postseason who had a legitimate chance
to beat the team that went on to hoist the
Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
The Philadelphia Eagles. They got to Jalen Hurts.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
They were able to excuse me, they got to Matthew
Stafford and but they, you know, the Rams were holding in.
And then I want to say it was Zach Bond
or Brandon Graham. Somebody hit him late in the third
quarter and he fumbled the ball. Eagles recovered and and
that's what you have to do. You have to get
(04:49):
pressure without blitzing. Blitz do you know, mix up your
coverages and your packages. I'm okay with that, but you
gotta get pressure without blitzing whatsoever. And they got a
running game, you know, Kyron Williams. I mean, these guys,
they've they've got a running game and they've been able
to establish that more.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
How much do you think the weather favors the Seahawks tonight.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
I certainly think it favors them quite a bit. You know. Obviously,
heart goes out to all those communities affected by the flooding,
especially down at Auburn. Just just absolutely devastating. But I
do think obviously that this favors the team that plays
in the open air stadium in the Pacific Northwest versus
the Los Angeles team that plays in the dome. You know,
(05:34):
I know it's kind of technically an open air dome,
but you know, they don't get our weather at ever.
So I certainly think that this favors the Seahawks. And
as far as the defensive line goes, I do think
the Seats are gonna be able to get better get
at Matthew Stafford a little bit better than they did
Philip Rivers. I kind of feel like Mike McDonald's was
maybe rotating his defensive line a little more than he
usually does to try and save the big dogs like
(05:56):
Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy, Chinewosu, try and save them a
little more, keep a little more fresh for tonight's game.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Cole Musgrove from Seattle, excuse me, Seahawks wire here on
MJ in the midday. And how much now you mentioned
Charles Cross. Conversely, how much will the absence of DeVante Adams?
So they haven't announced it yet, he's not playing tonight,
There's no way he's playing tonight. How much he was
(06:25):
held in check the last time, but he did catch
a touchdown? How much does that hurt the Rams tonight
against this Seahawks defense.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Well, I don't know how much it's gonna hurt them overall,
because they still have Poop and Nakua on the other
side the throat, so they still have a really they
still have a really great weapon. Although Poop has been
pretty distracted lately with all his social media shenanigans that
couple of days, so who knows, maybe maybe he's too
busy focusing the streamers and the playbook, So let's just hope.
But unfortunately, assuming he has walked in, that's still a
(06:58):
tremendous weapon for them, and we're gonna be mint his
challenge for the Seahawks defense well to defend against. However,
Julian Love He's back. During Reid's back, the Seahawks defense
has never been healthier all season long. So just having
a little extra reinforcements, I do think that we'll have
a similar stout performance against the Rams offense this week.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, and and to me, you got to establish you
have to establish this running game. This is this is
imperative tonight. This running game needs to get going. I mean,
you know, they've been inconsistent all season long, coal but
at least you know, against the Rams they were able
(07:41):
to run the ball. They at a Buck thirty five
in that game. Probably gonna need more than that tonight
to win this game. And you're gonna need Sam darnold
lifetime career record against the Rams going back to Detroit
one and four, including the playoffs. You're gonna need him
to play turnover, free foot, no picks, no fumbles, nothing,
(08:03):
and that's going to be a tough thing for him
to do.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
When Sam Donald is confident and he's in rhythm and
the Seahawks are able to give him adequate protection, he
is just as surgical and just as efficient as any
quarterback in this league. He's won the most games out
of any quarterback in the last two years. He's tied
with some guy named Patrick Mahomes for most game winning
drives in the last two years. So we know what
Sam Donald can do. We know his ceiling is incredible. Unfortunately,
(08:33):
that confidence hasn't been there, that protection hasn't been there,
and we've started to see the wheels fall off a little.
It's not catastrophic, but we need to get the Seawks
need to find a way to get Donald back into
his groove, back into his rhythm, because he can dice
up anybody.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Yeah, he certainly can and Tonight's going to be obviously
a test because the Rams are almost a mirror image
of this Hawks team, not as good defensively, and the
Hawks are nowhere near good offensively. So it's gonna be
an interesting juxtaposition when these two teams get on the
field tonight, and I cole pretend we're not up here
(09:10):
in the PNW. How would you rate in terms of
the twenty twenty five NFL season, in my opinion, is
the biggest regular season game of the year.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Absolutely, I mean this is quite literally historic, as if
this is the first meeting between two eleven win teams
on Thursday Night football. Ever, I mean this Thursday Night
football has kind of always been considered a little bit
of a joke. This is kind of where the Jaguars
and Titans of the world live just to meet their
primetime game requirements. Here, every team's got to have one, right,
(09:44):
But the fact that we're starting off a week sixteen,
this late in the season with two Juggernauts, two teams
that many considered to be arguably the NFC favorites at
this point, Rams and then probably the Seahawks because the
Eagles certainly haven't been as dominant as they were last year.
No one really is paying much attention to the forty
nine ers. If we mentioned, I mean, this is a
(10:04):
heavyweight showdown for the agents here. So as far as
you know, in the NFL season, I can't think of
a game this year that has been bigger than this one,
especially when you consider that whoever wins this game. I know,
we just mentioned that the Selts only had forty eight
percent chance to win the NFC West. But whoever wins
this game is in the inside lane for getting the
(10:25):
number one seed in the NFC. And we all know
how important it is to get that first round by
because you know, you just got to win one game
and then boom, your one went away from the super Bowl.
I think this is it.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
This is it I think tonight.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
I mean, I don't care what the odds and the
percentage says. I don't care what that says. All I
know is that if the Hawks win this game tonight,
they're gonna win out, and they went out, they're getting
the one seed and they're gonna be sitting home wild
Card weekend waiting to the lowest seed to advance, and
(10:58):
then at that point they're gonna basically you're gonna be
in the cat bird seed to get to the Super
Bowl sixty in Santa Clara Stadium. So that's how huge
tonight's game is. I'm also find it interesting, and I'm
being a gambling guy that I am call how the
Hawks came out as a one and a half to
two point underdog at home and now it's swung and
(11:21):
now they're a one and a half point favorite. So
Vegas is all on Seattle and that to me. I
know it usually doesn't play out that way. But when
you see a pendulum swing of a line in Vegas
like that, and not even in a week. We're talking
(11:42):
four days since the line came out after the games
on Sunday, four days and the line has swung three points,
that's huge.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
It bodes well. I will give my.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Game winning pick coming up at I believe eleven forty
five to it. Next segment coming up, brought to you
by FanDuel Sportsbooks to Quamish Clearwater Casino Resort. Now, I
want to ask the other thing because we can talk
about obviously we're gonna name positive and what if this
team is unable to kind of break that glass ceiling
(12:18):
and beat Matthew Stafford and Sean McVeigh together with the Rams.
What does that do for this team going forward? Now
you're going from a potential one to a five or
a six.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
I mean, it's not the end of the world. But
if the Rams win tonight, this is essentially, yeah, the
NFC West championship game, because I mean essentially after tonight,
the Rams play at the Falcons and then their host
the Cardinals, not exactly to stout opponents, So those are
basically two wins baked in for the Rams right there.
(12:52):
Seahawks have to travel to Carolina, who beat the Rams
this year, so the Panthers are a real team, and
then they have to end the season obviously in San Francisco.
So losing this game for the Seahawks, it's it's not
you know, it's not devastating, but it really does put
a limit on what I think this ceiling can be
because at that point, winning the NFC West is kind
(13:12):
of out of the question and they will have to
start on the road for the playoffs. Now that being said,
the Seahawks center McDonald are better on the road, So
who no, spinzo, maybe they need to maybe they prefer
they would prefer the wildcards.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Yeah, I wouldn't. I wouldn't. I want, I want to buy, right.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
I want to know that you're playing a divisional playoff weekend.
You don't have to worry about a wild card. There's
only you know, one buy in the AFC and one
buy in the NFC.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
It's tough to get. I want to buy.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
And the way you get to buy, you go for
the hat trick. And the hat trick starts tonight with
the La Rams in town. This game is it's huge.
I believe I saw somewhere the average ticket price to
get in, depending on where you look to buy tickets,
is around three hundred and fifty four dollars.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
So obviously not achieved ticket.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
And and you know what, to be honest with you,
I Cole, I thought that was kind of low. I
really thought that was kind of low. I'm like, that's
a pretty good deal. That's not a bad deal. Now
you you better bring your blood, your you know, box
of cleanex issues with you. But to just to get
in the game, I think I thought, you know, hey,
but uh this and if you have covered this team,
(14:23):
you grew up here, Cole, I look at this, you know,
softy was talking about my show yesterday.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
This is the biggest.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
He said it too, and to hear him say it,
and I that's what I was thinking. And people can
go back to that twenty nineteen regular season finale against
San Francisco, which would have been for the division and
the number one seed in the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
This, though, is bigger than that.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
This might be the biggest regular season game in over
a decade, maybe going back to twenty thirteen.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
I don't disagree. I mean, yes, that's only nineteen game
was for the division against the forty nine ers. But
if you go back, the Seahawks were kind of reeling
at that point. They just lost to the Cardinals the
week before. Their running back situation was so dire. They
pulled the version of the Colts and they dragged Marshawn
Lynch out of retirement to just be a body to
run the ball. And everyone kind of knew, I don't know,
(15:20):
the forty nine Ers are looking really good. I mean,
they ended up in the super Bowl that year, and
everyone kind of had a feeling that the Seahawks maybe
weren't going to win that game, just based on how
the season was going at that point. This year, this
seems different. Seahawks are, you know, four game win streak.
They have looked dominant in every game except the Colts,
which I think you and I both agreed at the
game that was a bit of a look ahead week
(15:41):
for them, especially in that first half, no doubt. And
so I'm not terribly worried about them based on what
I saw in the Colts game because they still ended
up winning that game. That doesn't race the fact that
they just demolished the Vikings and the Falcons and were
in total control of the Titans the week before. So yeah,
I would have to agree. This is certainly the biggest
(16:02):
regular season game that I can think of.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
And when you talk about narrative, I mean, this is,
this is ever, this tonight is is huge for Sam
Darnold because he hasn't won a big game yet in
his career, and not only in the playoffs. But I mean,
you go back to last year and the divisional title
was on the line when the Vikings played the Lions
(16:25):
and he got ransacked. That was the probably arguably the
worst game of his career, maybe even worse than anything
he did with the Jets. And then of course we
saw what happened in the playoffs against the Rams, but
that was just due to the fact that he had
no o' lineman and Darren Saw was out, which tonight
kind of makes you feel, you know, who's gonna step
(16:47):
up for Charles Cross tonight? Who's gonna fill that position?
Can't be Great's Abel.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
No, it's gonna be Josh Jones. He's gonna swing backup tackle.
He's gonna be stilling in for Charles car Not the
end of the world, I think. I mean, it's a
fine backup. But again, it doesn't matter who you're replacing
him with. You don't have Charles Cross, and he's not
Charles Cross.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
No, it's not.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
And but tonight, Man, tonight, you could definitely and I
just feel that there's some karma in the air tonight,
some good karma. Richard Sherman's in the house with Prime broadcast,
and it just feels like, you know, it's setting up.
But you know, like I said, tomorrow, the narrative will be,
you know, one of two things Seattle, no doubt, world
(17:36):
title contenders or just pretenders tomorrow. If they don't take
care of business, tonight will be taught. It'll be one
of those two things. And everybody. And the thing I
love about it the most, Cole, and I say this,
there's no truer meritocracy. Then the final score when the
game is over, and we will find out tonight, and
(17:57):
then all verdicts are then rend It's not about narratives,
it's not about agendas. It's about Okay, you know this
team is ready to step up to that level or
guess what still not at that level of McVeigh and Stafford.
And this is the reason John Schneider decided to move
(18:18):
on from Pete Carroll and go with Mike McDonald. This
is the reason John Schneider decided to move on from
Geno Smith and go with Sam Darnold, and also from
DK Metcalf to JSN.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
And we'll see if JSN.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
He had a big game a month ago, he'll have
to be big tonight. But everybody else is gonna step up.
And how great would it be?
Speaker 3 (18:41):
You know what? How great would it be tonight?
Speaker 4 (18:44):
Cole?
Speaker 1 (18:45):
If Cooper Cup is a guy that is deciding X
factor for the Hawks versus his former.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Team, I would love that more than anything I could
describe into words. I was actually a classmate of Cooper
Cups back at Eastern Washingon University etho to see my
favorite college player dominate for the Seahawks against the Rams.
Just Christmas comes early.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
If that's the case, no doubt about it, no doubt
about it.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
And we'll see what happens coming up tonight. I will
you what time you're gonna be on over there?
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Right?
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Oh yeah, I'll be there sometimes late afternoon, a little
before four, but I'll be there all right.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
Good kick off five point fifteen. So it's still getting
used to that.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
I like it. Uh, it's just getting used to it.
It's it's you know what best coast I know? I
like it.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
So there he is. Cole must grove from Seahawks Wire.
We appreciate you taking the time. What will you think
coming up next? I'm gonna ask you in and I've
got you know tonight it's gonna go one of two ways.
I'm gonna pretty much ensure there will not be a tie.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
But what will you think tonight?
Speaker 1 (19:58):
How much does to night's result change the way that
you will feel about Sam Donald and whether or not
he is the guy, or whether or not he's just
a jag, just another guy. How much does this game
tonight change? Will it change or not change your opinion
(20:21):
on Sam Donald. We'll get to that next MJ in
the midday Live at Jimmy's on First getting ready for
the Seahawks Rams tonight on Sports Radio ninety three to
three KJRFM. All right, that was not in a Sam
Donald's finest moment in his second season or no, actually,
I'm sorry, I think there was his Yeah, was it
second season with the Jets against the Patriots on Monday
(20:43):
Night football and that was not a.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
Good night for him? Or it might have been third
season exactly.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
I love how you played the music there, kid, because
that group that that song Living Color, they're just here
outside my window at Jimmy's on First.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
And they're walking across the street to the WAMU Theater.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Now I don't know if they're playing tonight prior to
the game. I don't know, but how we were talking
about Triple H or whatever. I don't know if they're playing,
you know, if they have an appearance. But that band
was literally just right in front of me about ten
minutes ago during the cole Musgrove interview. So that would
(21:28):
be cool if they were playing live tonight. And to
the Cult of Personality, that would be epic. That would
be cool. I'm more I like the Triple H game
music by Motorhead. Unfortunately, Lemmy from Motorhead is no longer
with us, so it's gonna be tough for them to
do any live appearances anytime soon without their lead singer.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
But Living Color was.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Just right here in front of me, and I recognized
the lead singer and I was like, oh my.
Speaker 3 (21:51):
God, I you know, I like that is That's Grant's
the cmpunk song.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
So it's awesome. We're getting ready tonight. And you know,
I mentioned prior to the end of last segment, what
would tonight.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Be for you?
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Would it alter your opinion of Sam Darnold if the
Seahawks are able to win this game, And for me,
if they win this game, then for me, it definitely
would alter my opinion on him that he's ready to
take that next step. Where at the end of last year,
(22:33):
and I've never seen a guy get more heat whatsoever
in terms of like a guy who was horrible in
his final regular season game against the Detroit Lions, I
mean just got you know, absolutely molly wopped, and then
of course in the playoff game against the Rams, so
(22:54):
that was also not his finest moment.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
It wasn't his fault, but he.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
Got sacked I believe, like nine times in that game.
So to me, uh, this this is huge tonight Like tonight,
this is everything for the Seattle Seahawks. And we talked
about them having a forty eight percent chance to win
the division after even if they win tonight. So that's
(23:19):
not even a shoeing because the San Francisco forty nine
ers are right there. They're the sixth seed that can
flip flop, that will flip flop tonight if the Seahawks
don't cap take care of business. But for Sam Darnold,
he was in the draft with Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen,
and a guy by the name of Lamar Jackson now
(23:41):
Lamar Jackson. He's won a couple MVPs. Josh Allen is
the reigning MVP. Baker Mayfield, he's had a nice comeback
in Tampa. It hasn't been good over the course of
the last few weeks, but he's found a home there
with the Bucks. Baker Mayfield and in Sam Darnald to
(24:02):
me are very similar. I think Baker Mayfield has better
in terms of like his overall athleticism and his ability
to improvise and create plays out of nothing. But the
one thing I do know, neither one of them. The
next time either one of them wins a big game
in the postseason will be the first time. So for me,
(24:25):
this is the Sam Darnald game tonight. This is the
same you know last week was the JMI game. That
was the Jason Myers game. He had to bail this
team out because they couldn't get in the end zone.
Not gonna be able to win this game tonight. If
you cannot get in that end zone against this Rams team,
it won't happen. So tonight this is the gotta be
(24:45):
if the Seahawks are gonna win to night. I know
the defense is gonna come and do their thing, and
I believe, and I'm gonna give you my prediction coming
up next in the MJ winning Pick of the Day
brought to you by fan Duel Sportsbooks, su Quamash Clearwater
because a resort. I'm going to give you the pick
coming up next. After going through this and analyzing it
(25:07):
with you know, talked about it with Lee Sterling from
Paramount sports dot com. But another guy and I talked
about what the narrative will be after the game. If
the Seahawks don't take care of business, the onus is
going to fall on Sam Darnold. Even if Sam Darnold
doesn't turn the ball over tonight and the defense does
(25:28):
a job, but somehow, some way, the Rams find a
way to pull it out because they've done it. They've
done it the entire Matthew Stafford era in LA when
he plays. That's what they've done to this Seahawks team,
and they've got to basically break that glass ceiling so tonight.
This not only dictates what the Seahawks seed will be
in January.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
Kid to me, it.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Also shows me how far this team will go in January.
Tonight's game. That's how much stock I'm putting into it.
Speaker 4 (25:59):
What about you, I'm looking forward to just see how
they react, because win or lose, they still have a
chance to do something special. I'm not gonna say they
are less than if they lose or they're better than
if they win, because the playoffs, they still are in it.
That's not gonna change.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
And all they need to do is just get hot.
Speaker 4 (26:18):
Sam dark could play his worst game again and I
would still believe that they have a chance to still
do something special. Now you would need to your point,
Sam to deliver in a big game, but I don't
think it would be end all be our winner loss
tonight because a couple of things aren't gonna change the
fact that the defense is still gonna be the best
defense in the NFL, if not second back behind the
Houston Texans. They have a really good head coach and
(26:40):
Mike McDonald that has the team locked in belief in
what they can do, So when you look at everything else,
it really just doesn't matter. So yes, you'd want them
to win tonight, but for me, a winner loss doesn't
change how I see them moving forward because they're still
gonna be in the playoffs. Whereas last season they lost
the final game, they won the final game, it didn't matter,
they weren't going to the playoffs. So this year, yeah,
(27:03):
the stakes are higher and you can put on a
really big showcase and prove that you're better than this
RAMS team. But what if you see the Rams in
the playoffs? What if some crazy scenario that you can
see them again. So I'm just saying I don't want
to put too much stock into it because it is
a big game, But it won't change the way I
view this team. Now winning the super Bowl, that might
be able to something that can change. Like, hey, if
(27:23):
they lose tonight, do they still have a chance to
win the Super Bowl?
Speaker 3 (27:27):
Maybe? Maybe not.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
But I will say that the Rams aren't just gonna
come in and lay over. I think anybody realizes this
Rams team is a good football team. They have been
working together really well for the last few seasons. Hell,
they lost in the snow last year to the Eagles.
They were very close to being in the super Bowl,
so they're wanting another opportunity to get that. This is
probably what Stafford's last year. He's he's at the point
(27:53):
where he's probably about to retire. But seeing what Philip.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Philips, I don't know, kidd, would you retire if you're
gonna win the MVP.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
You know, we were talking about in the offseason where
you were talking about him having a bad back in how.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
You know, yeah, by the way, how that age it's.
Speaker 4 (28:09):
Not about that aging poorly, but can his body go
through that again per se?
Speaker 3 (28:12):
You know?
Speaker 4 (28:13):
So that's kind of where I'm looking at it, like
this is his best opportunity to win a super Bowl.
He's not gonna be guaranteed that opportunity next season. So
it's gonna be a fun and great game. I don't
want to put too much on the Seahawks win or lose,
but I know that they are riding on winning this
game and showing the national media that we are the
best team in the NFC and they can represent the
(28:34):
NFC in the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
Yeah, how about this for Vegas Wise, the team totals
tonight Rams twenty and a half. Team total for the
Rams tonight, it's minus one fifteen. For the Seahawks, it's
twenty one and a half at minus one fifteen. So,
and I mentioned yesterday I said about twenty one and
(28:57):
a half, twenty two points if the Hawks are gonna
win Night's game, And I'm gonna have my pick coming
up that you can put money on, but make sure
you bet responsibly. I will give that pickout coming up next,
brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort.
They're gonna have to be I believe under twenty one points.
(29:18):
That's a key number tonight, and if it is, then
the Seattle Seahawks will win this game.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
If the Rams are able.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
To get above that threshold right there and get to
twenty two to twenty three points, it's not gonna go well.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
I mean, that's the key.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
So the defense tonight, no turnovers, establish the run, stop
the run, consistent pressure on Stafford without blitzing, but also
mix in some coverages, throw some blitzes in there every
now and then on you know, NICKI Min Warre. You
know he's gonna be a key factor tonight, and they
gotta account for him. And I mean, Mike McDonald, to me,
(29:56):
this is going to be the battle of two of
the bet brains in the NFL, Mike McDonald, Sean McVay,
Mono Imano and and tonight we're gonna find out if
the Seahawks are ready to take the next step. Like
you said, I'll give you a number. You might, you might,
This might shock you too, kid. If the Seahawks lose tonight,
(30:18):
guess what their percentage is just to make the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
Oh, you almost nailed it.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
N So, so losing tonight is not a death sentence
by any stretch of the imagination, like they're.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
Might be in the postseason.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
There's no there's no way this team is missing the postseason.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
No way, But tonight you have a chance to go
from a.
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Good season to a great season and then capitalize on that.
In January, my MJ winning pick of the Day on
this game. Coming up next, George Sodano ESPN LA will
join us at noon live from Jimmy's on First on.
Speaker 3 (31:06):
MJ in the midday, and he said quote.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
When I appeared the other day on a social media
live stream, it was suggested to me to perform a
specific movement as part of my next touchdown celebration. At
the time, I had no idea this act was anti
Semitic in nature and perpetuated harmful stereotypes against Jewish people.
I deeply apologize to anyone who was offended by my actions,
(31:33):
as I do not stand for any form of racism, bigotry,
or hate of another group of people. End quote. Okay,
I believe him. I don't believe Pukinnakua. I don't believe
him to be a racist. The one thing, whoever your
publicist is, Puka, you gotta work on this. All you
(31:54):
do is just say, I deeply apologize to everyone, not
to anyone who is offended by my actions. Just say, everyone,
your pr publicist, I don't know if it's your personal
one or with the Rams should be fired because when
you say I apologize to anyone who was offended, it
(32:17):
comes across as a little disingenuous and insincere. So I
don't think he is at all. Again, you know, you're
not Kanye. You're not gonna go that route, you know.
So nonetheless, not a good look. And there's no tolerance
whatsoever for any anti Semitism, racism, bigotry, anti LGBTQ in
(32:43):
this world today.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
There's just no tolerance for that. I believe them.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
And and here's the thing, Puka, two, why are you
on a freaking live stream with some knuckleheads? Why why
are you doing it? There's no need for you can
only hurt your brand and now you see the residual
effects of that. So I mean, just be better. I
don't think he is, but again, probably not something that
Sean McVay and the Rams and less sneed wanted to
(33:11):
deal with. Okay, just saying all right, here we go,
Here we go, kid, you wanna go ahead, and I'm
giving out pick for tonight's game.
Speaker 3 (33:20):
You want to hit music, we can do it.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
You can do it without it, all right, I've vacillated
back and forth.
Speaker 3 (33:26):
Tonight's it.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Tonight is put up or shut up time for the
Seattle Seahawks. They started off when this line came out
back after the game, they were actually one and a
half point dog at home. As of right now, they're
a one and a half point favorite. That's a big
(33:48):
swing in spite the over under total there's forty two
and a half.
Speaker 3 (33:53):
I'm gonna give you a bonus on that. I like
the under. I like the under tonight.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
I'm gonna go with the I think with the weather
and everything, tonight's an undergame.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
Two great defenses going at it.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Hope, it's not just gonna be Jason Myers and it's
gonna be the Seahawks getting into the end zone.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
But tonight, tonight's tonight.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
This is the night for Mike McDonald and Sam Darnold
to break on through to the other side. According to
the late great Jim Morrison, the doors, I think the
Seattle Seahawks win this game tonight. I'm gonna go with
the score. Hawks twenty three rams seventeen over. Seahawks take
over the division tonight, and then we'll go on and
(34:35):
beat the Panthers. And the forty nine ers the remaining
two regular season games and get the not only the
divisional title, but the one seed.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
Tonight's to night. Book it.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
I've already bet it. Bet responsibly. Only bet what you
can afford to lose. Seahawks tonight minus the one and
a half. I don't even care if it gets to two.
They will win the game tonight by more than one
and a half to two points. So I'm going Seahawks
twenty three to seventeen. Kid, I want your pick, give
me a score.
Speaker 4 (35:03):
I got Rams twenty one Seahawks seventeen, all right.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
So we're in there. You like the under, so we're
both on the same page. Under just flipped in reverse.
Fair enough.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
I respect that, And again I think we're in the
ballpark on the score. Points will be very tough to
come by tonight. There it is, Seahawks get it done tonight.
We will have a great, hopeful celebration. Talk about tomorrow.
Gotta play turnover free football, Gotta run the ball. Coming
up next from ESPN LA longtime friend going back twenty
(35:35):
one years, George Sodano will come on MJ in the midday.
We're live at Jimmy's on first stop on By. They
got great drink specials, the Cup of Coffee for Cooper Cup,
the JSN tilman here, come on out and join us.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
They got great food. We'll be here. I'll be here
till one.
Speaker 1 (35:53):
Ian'll be here one to three, Softy in Dick three
to seven right here on Sports Radio ninety three to
three KGr TA
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