December 19, 2024 • 27 mins
The Vikings come to town for a tough matchup with playoff implications for both teams. Jen Mueller and John Boyle preview Week 16 at Lumen Field. Today’s Show: Fantasy Insider Scott Engel (03:54), Sam Darnold’s play (07:09), Vikings wide receiver unit (09:25), Geno Smith update (11:28), Brian Flores defense (12:44), Laken Tomlinson snap counts (19:21), and two things we need to see (24:32).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to the Seahawks Insiders. Gino, look go lay
it up over the top.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Count of man out there.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Pitter fucker, he got it?
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Touch good, say Hawks, getting you ready for Seahawks football
every Sunday.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Hurts drops back, hastime, loads up pros AYJ Brown the defense?
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Don't you keep your feet in? Does seyhowk Ball?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Presented by Delta, the official airline of the Seahawks. Now
here's your host, Jen Mueller.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
We are broadcasting from the Seahawks Podcast Studio, presented by Sony,
an official partner of the Seattle Seahawks. We are also
counting down today, So Christmas, John Boyle, do want to sing? Oh?
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Next year?
Speaker 3 (00:45):
We should totally sing the entire podcast to Christmas too.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
You go right ahead.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
We could also put out a Christmas gift ideal list.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Okay, we could really own.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
This as you can't really own this as a holiday, John,
we could really own this as a holiday. Why do
I feel like you're not buying in on this? I
you know, I think we should start early. We can
get some sponsors involved and.
Speaker 5 (01:09):
Can I'll you lead that charge in Okay, right, I'll
just play along.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Well, okay, John, if you don't like that. You might
like this. I was reading something this morning. This is
not going to surprise you that people do not plan
their weddings in the fall on days where their team
is playing.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
That's smart, right, smart?
Speaker 5 (01:29):
Right?
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Did you know that the Washington Post has actually done
analysis on this really and found that in twenty twenty two,
So we're going back. You know a couple of years,
five point three percent of weddings for the year took
place on a weekend where.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Auburn and Alabama had to buy isn't that.
Speaker 5 (01:51):
Pretty chunk of weddings? Basically, the whole South plans their
weddings around the by.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Right, here's what I want to know, Like, I can't
even fathom planning a wedding in the follower went like,
I don't plan anything.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
My fitness instructor just came back from Hawaii.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
She's like, you should try it sometime this year. It's great,
nobody's there, And I'm like, when are we ever taking.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Time off during fall and winter?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Bye week?
Speaker 4 (02:11):
I guess I guess.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
My point is this, how many NFL fans do you
think are starting to sweat things out for January and February,
including Seahawks fans and Vikings fans not knowing how the
playoffs are going to play out. If you took a
chance and you scheduled like a January wedding, you might
have some in attention.
Speaker 5 (02:34):
I mean you mentioned that because I have a friend
from high school that got married in January.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
This is like homegren Ere.
Speaker 5 (02:38):
I forget what year, And it was on a wild
card Saturday if the Seahawks played, and I vividly remember
a bunch of us sneaking upstairs to this little room
in the wedding venu where they had a TV.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
Yeah, did you tell them first?
Speaker 5 (02:51):
I mean we'd go and then you know, someone would come, Hey,
they're gonna do the first dance, and we'd come down.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
I mean a lot of back and forth.
Speaker 4 (02:59):
So you got your step.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Sorry, Brian, you try not to.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
But also like you are taking a chance, and right now,
not only are the Seahawks in position. Look, you would
have liked to have won that game against Screen Bay,
but you still are in position to win the division.
The Vikings meanwhile, at twelve and two, they're going they're
looking at a number one seed.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Potentially they saw the Lions to end their season. So there.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
I mean, yeah, this is a team that had a
losing record last year. I think they expected to be better.
But I don't think a lot of people saw this coming.
And you know, we'll get into this, like Sam Darnold
is not a guy that people thought was going to
lead them to a potentially top seed, and he's been
great this year. So yeah, they're one of the one
of the bigger surprises in terms of how well they're performing.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Well, we don't want to look too far into the
future when it comes to playoffs for the Seahawks or
the Vikings for that matter. If you are playing fantasy football,
you were absolutely looking at the playoffs, because we're gonna
narrow down that field quite a bit this week and
get a little bit more from our fantasy insider, Scott Engel.
Speaker 6 (03:55):
Thanks jenn and John. Welcome to Week sixteen of fantasy football.
And this is the week when you could get to
your fantasy super Bowl, down to the final four in
most leagues. But don't overthink things. Go with the players
that have gotten you this far. If you overthink, things
could get dangerous and you could make movies like Benching
Lamar Jackson against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Don't overthink things based
(04:18):
on a matchup. We have some great recommendations view for
this all important Week sixteen. Starting at quarterback, Baker Mayfield
is top five play in a great matchup against the
Dallas Cowboys and running back to Roam fod taking over
the lead running back duties for the Cleveland Browns. The
Bengals have allowed the most fantasy points per game in
(04:41):
running backs over the last four weeks. Also check the
teams starting at running backs for the Titans between Tony
Pollo and Taji Spears. That's always a fine matchup for
running backs against the Indianapolis Colts. And wide receivers. Keep
the fantasy faith in dk Metcalf. The Vikings have allowed
the most fantasy points per game to wide receivers so
(05:03):
far this season, so he should have some upside this week.
Also a bounce back game for Cooper Cup against the
Jets defense that has allowed the fourth most fantasy points
per game to wide receivers over the last four weeks.
And it's tight end sleeper for you who's actually a
(05:25):
back end fantasy tight end one Chigaquono of the Tennessee Titans.
The Colts ranked thirtieth and fantasy points per game allowed
to tight Ends. For more of my information at recommendations
for this week, go to Seahawks Newstab on seahawks dot
com Fantasy Insider, and also check out my complete rankings
(05:50):
on rotobowler dot com. Back to you, Jen and John
for Week sixteen, and happy holidays everyone.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
Thank you Scott.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
We are broadcasting from the Seahawks Podcast Studio by Sony,
an official partner of the Seattle Seahawks.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
So let's get into this matchup just a little bit more.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
John, when you talk about exceeding expectations, I love the
conversation that you had with your counterpart at the Vikings
to try to get a little bit of insight on
what's going on with this team, because it is not
luck and it's not just scheme.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
There is something else happening in Minnesota.
Speaker 5 (06:24):
Yeah, I mean, I think it's just one of those
classic It's not one just oh my goodness, this one thing.
It's like a lot of things came out that they
did well in free agency. They added a bunch of
pieces to that defense, and they have, you know, great
scheme on both sides of the ball. And then I
mean obviously big Pieces has to be the quarterback. That's
I mean, that's true for any NFL team, But you know,
people think McCarthy's probably going to come in and eventually
(06:45):
take over that job, and then he gets hurt and
it's like Sam Darnold's kind of you know, he obviously
came in as a highly drafted guy, number three overall pick,
but you know, things didn't work out with the Jets,
which has been true with a lot of quarterbacks we've
gone to that franchise, So maybe we don't put it
all on him. But yeah, I mean, not entirely the
same path as Gino Smith, but a lot of similarities
of you know, a hyped guy early doesn't work out,
(07:06):
a lot of people have given up on him, and
he gets in the right situation and he's playing some
really good football.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
He is, and that is a scary thing for the
Seahawks to think about, and it's also kind of interesting
the way it shows up on tape.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
According to Mike McDonald.
Speaker 7 (07:19):
I've only gone against Sam and since he like in
backup duty where he hasn't been the main, the main starter,
just he just feels like he's playing really really decisive,
really confident. You can see all the talent coming to life.
So I think he's I think he's doing a heck.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Of a job.
Speaker 7 (07:33):
I mean, their their offense is playing a high level
and the arm talent is there. Being able to hit
all the you know, all the all the throws in
all the areas of the field. Seems like he can
get it there pretty seamlessly and it's on time. And
then you know, one thing about his game that that
we respect is just the ability to extend the play.
So that's something we're gonna have to account for.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
As well well.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
And when you look at some of these numbers, he's
got a nine game streak where he has passed for
at least two hundred yards. It's the longest active streak
in the NFL. You want to know who has the
longest streak of those games this year? You know, Gino
Smith went twelve straight games with two hundred or more yards.
That ended on Sunday when he was not able to
(08:11):
finish the game against the Packers. The good news, kind
of the side note that I'm sure you've all heard about,
Gino did participate in practice this week. He is trending
the right direction towards Sunday will get more into that
in just a minute.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
But the other kind of part of Sam Darnold. You
can look at the number.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Of explosive plays fifty five passes of twenty or more
yards that leads the league, and he's got a passer
rating of one hundred plus in eleven of fourteen games
this season. This is a totally different guy than we've
ever seen.
Speaker 5 (08:42):
Yeah, I mean he's again, sometimes for quarterbacks, it's like
they get given up on and you forget this guy
was drafted very highly for a reason. There's a lot
of talent there, and you put him in the right
situation where you know, the weapons they have in that
team are pretty nuts.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
They've got, you know, an offensive.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
Coordinator or a former quarterback who's a head coach out
and got that offensive coordinator play caller mindset. So it's yeah,
I think he just got himself into a really good
situation and he's taken full advantage.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
And you talk about the weapons that he has around him,
there's some pretty good ones. I mean, Justin Jefferson by
himself is pretty good, but Jordan Addison adds another dimension
and does create some complications on the back end of
the defense.
Speaker 7 (09:26):
Those guys they play all the positions, so you got
to count for him and.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
All the spots.
Speaker 7 (09:30):
Probably the most averse route tree that we're going to
get from a duo yet this year, and they deserve
a lot of credit for that because that's not easy
to learn all the spots, learn all the routes, and
then having the timing with the quarterback so you can
still play on time. So easier said than done. Yeah,
just two really dynamic players that we're going to have
to count for. Can't double everybody all the time, so
(09:51):
we're gonna have singles and our guys will be matched
up and let's go to work.
Speaker 5 (09:55):
The Seahawks really like the cornerbacks they have, you know,
led by Spoon and Riku Wollen. Yeah, as he said,
you can't double everybody every play. Sometimes a guy is
going to be on island and have to make a
play and that's no easy task for those guys.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
Well, and Kobe Bryant was saying this week that part
of what those two do is force you to play
a little tighter, a little closer. You're not going to
be able to have that same sort of like pad
and safety in the back end. But justin Jefferson with
twenty four receptions of twenty or more yards that leads
the league. Almost nineteen percent of the Vikings offensive plays
(10:32):
are explosive, so you really you have to play tight,
you have to play smart. And I would say this, John,
maybe the blessing and disguise of last week's game and
a couple of those DPIs whether you agree with the
defensive pass interference calls or not. It has been in
the conversation and a point of emphasis this week because
you know it's going to come into play on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Oh for sure.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
A team that's going to throw downfield a lot that
puts a lot of stress on a defensive back who's covering.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
And I mean both those EP has lost.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
Those are so hard, those underthrown beat balls where it's like,
especially the one that called on Josh Job was like,
you're playing that perfectly, You're right there, you're running side
for stride and then the receiver throws on the brakes
and it's I mean, by the rule, it's a penalty,
but that's such a tough call on the DV.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
It is and I don't know that you have any
different coaching points on that one. However, when you emphasize
something in practice, and I'm not saying that they don't
always do that, but I am sure that it is
a bigger part of the conversation this week. The huge
conversation taking place for Seattle is what offensive weapons will
they have at their disposal. It's not just Gino that
(11:36):
we were looking at. It's Ken Walker, it's Olu Oluwa, Timmy,
There's there's been a number of guys that we're checking
in on, and I think everybody can kind of breathe
just a little bit of a sigh of a relief
on Gino.
Speaker 7 (11:48):
Gino feels good, did walk through today. We'll see how
many reps. We got a plan for practice, We'll see
how it kind of alters as practice arts is a clare,
but he'll be out there for a significant capacity today.
We'll see how many reps he takes.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
And that was before Wednesday's practice, and then Gino Smith
was a full participant on the injury report. So yeah,
I mean, you can't guarantee anything this early in the week,
but it would sure seem like they're going to have
their quarterback, which it's an obvious point, but that's a
pretty damn big deal for the Seahawks have Gino Smith
out there. After you see him, you know, limping off
the field and not able to return. You know, your
(12:23):
mind can go to bad places there. But going to
this very important three game stretch, they should have their quarterback.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
Well. I also think it's not just having Geno out there.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
It is having his playmaking ability to get the ball
down field. It is also just dealing with the pressure
that the Vikings are going to bring. I mean that
that is kind of characteristic of Brian Flores and you
look at him and it looks like they're going to blitz.
It's not necessarily the case, but it is unique in
the way that he attacks an offense.
Speaker 7 (12:53):
I think they're They're roster is designed where guys can
do multiple things, getting out of different fronts and structures
without having to declare their personnel. So that helps the
stats and like the pressures and the zeros. That's that's evolved,
and it kind of it's for week to week type deal,
but you kind of know what they can get to
at any given point and not afraid to come after
you at any given point in the game, you know,
(13:13):
which is not as common as you might think.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
He got me with a pause there.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
I was almost talked over, just tried to cut him off,
just like a press conference.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
I like how he.
Speaker 5 (13:22):
Did reference to stats, how they're not always quite right,
because it was funny. And DK Metcalf's press conference. Brady
Henderson of ESPN great at what he does. He asks
a question about their blitz right being high, and he's,
you know, referencing in the ESPN stats. And DK's point
was like, well, that's not exactly accurate because they're a
team much like the Seahawks, not the same scheme, but
one thing they have in common is they like those
simulated pressures where it's we're only sending for, but you
(13:45):
don't know which for. And that's where it gets tricky
for a defense or for an offense. Excuse me where
you got. You know, you might have eight guys mugg
and the line of scrimmagines four going to drop, four
gonna come, and you don't know who it's going to be,
and that that can be a big challenge for everybody.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Yes, And you know, as I was talking to Ken
Walker yesterday, he said, look, your communication happens before the snap.
Once that ball is snapped, you're not talking to the
guys next to you, right, So like you're trying to
identify on your own and hoping that everybody is seeing
the same thing that you're seeing, which is how it
ends up breaking down. You know what's funny because I
was kind of chuckling about that exchange yesterday with DK
(14:19):
and Brady, and I totally get it because then I'm
reading on the Viking's own website, and the Viking's website
in their article that's written about the matchup this week,
says that Minnesota's thirty eight point nine blitz percentage on
dropbacks is higher than five and a half percent higher
than Kansas City. And I started to think about that
and wondered, wait a minute, are they counting it the
(14:40):
same way that we're counting it? And yeah, maybe they're
getting fooled on what they're seeing.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
Yeah, it's all these I mean, they're great tools. I mean,
this is a whole other conversation, but yes, all these
different forms of analytics they're great tools, but they're not
an exact science. You have people who aren't in the
meeting rooms, who aren't part of the game plan, making
somewhat subjective decisions when they're evaluating it. So it's imperfect,
but it's good data. But yeah, I just kind of
(15:05):
find here DK be like, where are you getting that?
Speaker 4 (15:07):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
And then also to hear him rattle off all the
numbers and he's like, Nope, it's this, this, this and this,
and you're like, wow, I know that you guys game prep,
but to know the tendencies that specific now.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Only on Wednesday. He's got three more days.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
I mean, imagine what else he's learning it. It will
probably blow my mind.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
You know, here's the number that is not in question though,
the sixty hurries that have been forced by that Vikings defense.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
They're the most in the NFL this year.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
And when you take a look at Seattle and what's
happening on the other side of the ball, Gino Smith
is being pressured on a lot of his dropbacks, in fact,
the highest rate of any quarterback in the league.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
And right now I'm looking at that number.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
I'm trying to find the number quick pressure on eighteen
point nine percent of his dropbacks.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
So you need a healthy.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Gino Smith and you also need an offensive line to
come together a little better than life.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Last week, Yeah, it was.
Speaker 5 (16:01):
It was tough because the Arizona game two weeks ago,
we're talking about the best performance that lines had all year.
No sacks, two quarterback hits, season high rushing yards. To me,
so much of this goes back to game situations, how
the game's unfolding. You're playing from behind the whole way
against Green Bay and you can't run the ball, or
(16:22):
I shouldn't say you can't. They had some success right
the all, but you're just not running the ball much
a lot because of the game situation, and you're getting
behind the sticks and they know you're throwing, and that's
just where it becomes so much harder for an offensive line.
So that's why, you know, as cliche as it sounds,
if you get that running game going, if you're succeeding
on first and second down, that's why we saw in
Arizona there just weren't as many chances for the Cardinals
to get after it.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
Right.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
It is also starting fast, right, and the defense said
the same thing. The coaching staff said the same thing. Right,
It is tough when you go down two scores. I
did talk to a couple of guys on the offensive
line because the number, when you say, it's hard to
put stock in the ratings absolutely true.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
When you are.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Grading an offensive line, there is no I'm really sorry
for the fans of PFF and I have talked to
the guys at PFF and I've said, look, I really
appreciate you trying to quantify it. Those numbers mean nothing,
right unless you're sitting in the room with the offensive
line coach for that team, they mean nothing.
Speaker 4 (17:15):
I say that Stawelamea did not have a great game
based on the numbers.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
Yeah, and you talk to some of those guys on
the on line and go, look, he's a rookie. He
had a rookie game. We've all had one of those
games where you get your butt kicked and you can't
It's like having a bad day at work, right, Like
it just snowballs. You have one bad thing happened, and
then the next bad thing.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
And you can't pull yourself out.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
It's unfortunate that it happened in that game, but it's
all part of that growth and that learning curve. And
it's nice to have consistency and start the same unit
that does not make up for experience.
Speaker 5 (17:49):
No, and that's hopefully he learns from it. And you know,
he played really well. A couple weeks ago, I would
expect him to bounce back and be better. So yeah,
but again, I think the best thing you can do
for that offensive line is, as you said, startle faster,
keep the game balanced where it's not just these situations
where the Vikings can bring that pass rush, whether we're
calling it a blitz or not right exactly, they can
do these things that make it tough on the offensive
(18:11):
line and on the quarterback.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
I also really just liked I always liked the perspective
of Abe Lucas, and so I was asking, you know, like, oh, so, so,
like does the game plan need to look different with
more he goes. Look, you can game plan all you want,
and it very rarely goes according to plan. I was like, Oh,
that's kind of like life, Like that sea goes. Yeah,
it's pretty much a metaphor for life. You think you've
got it all worked out and it is not even
(18:34):
the case.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
We are broadcasting from the Seahawks Podcast Studio, presented by Sony,
an official partner of the Seattle Seahawks. We've got a
little bit more offensive line conversation. Some kudos we're going
to give out right after a word from our presenting sponsor.
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Speaker 3 (19:21):
I promise some kudos to the offensive line. I had
no idea that this was a stat of Lake and
Tomlinson until you and I were talking to him in
the locker room this week. John, what is the milestone
that he passed against the Green Bay Packers.
Speaker 5 (19:38):
So, first, for some background, Laken, Tomlinson's wife, Rachel is
smarter than.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
All of us.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
She's combined.
Speaker 5 (19:44):
Yes, he's a PhD. Who I'm not even to try
to explain what she does because it's just way too,
way too advanced for us. But in addition to her
real job, she also likes to get really nerdy with
the football stuff, you know, especially when supporting her husband,
which is lovely to see. Earlier this year, she pointed
out how rare it is for a player to get
to one hundred and fifty starts, which he did earlier
this season, and this week it was he went over
(20:06):
the ten thousand snap threshold, which of players he was
a twenty fifteen draft pick, of players from his draft class,
and more recent he has played the most snaps of
any offensive player and he's in I think it's fourteenth
from this chart, she tweeted, of every active player. So yeah,
I mean he's had a heck of a career just
in terms of being a really good player. The combination
(20:28):
of being good and durable to be on the field
that long like he has.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
It's it's pretty commendable.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
And so just for reference, because we were also trying
to look up Jason Peters numbers to figure out like, okay,
wait a minute, Like this is impressive, but where does
he rate according to Jason Peters. Poor Jason Peters is
okay for the day, folks, Yeah, Jason Peters has crashed
the forty.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
Year old threshold.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
He's forty two and the I think he's actually forty three.
Hang on a second, I have his page up. Let
me tell you how old he is. This is really exciting.
Great radio, great radio.
Speaker 6 (21:05):
Right here.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
They don't have it in front of me. It doesn't
matter he's over forty. Here's here's the problem.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
The numbers only go back to two thousand and thirteen,
and we only have half of his stats because he
entered the league in two thousand four.
Speaker 5 (21:24):
Yeah, so half his career. He's played eight thousand snaps.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
Right, regular season snaps.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
But when I was going to point out, like what
this means, so when he was playing a full sixteen
games as a left tackle for the Eagles, he was
getting over one thousand snaps in the regular season. That's
we're not counting playoffs in Super Bowl runs. So Laken,
just kind of you. If you use that, you're getting
like nine hundred to one thousand snaps a year. That's
(21:51):
really impressive. Yeah, that also feels like a car wreck
every Monday morning.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Well, especially that position.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
Yes, like no offense to quarterbacks or kickers or whatever,
but like a lot of them come out of a
game pretty healthy. Quarterback to get hit, but if things
go well for quarterback, you come out of the game
feel pretty good. Offensive lineman, you can play the best
game of your life and you're going to come out
of game hurting.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
It is true, and yet he's always smiling. I would
also say you are treading very close to a hot
button topic in the locker room. Job.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
What's that?
Speaker 4 (22:18):
Well, you've heard the guys debating who has the harder job?
Have you ever?
Speaker 3 (22:22):
You've heard the DB's debating like if your job is
harder than linebackers? And then the linebackers are like, but
every time I hit somebody, it's like a car wreck,
and the dbs are like, yeah, but I'm on an
island back here.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
I am not taking sides on this one.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
I'm just telling you this is a hotly debated topic
in the locker room.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
Yeah, I'm not going to just depend on how you like.
Quarterback is the most mentally demanding, like what you have
to process?
Speaker 4 (22:45):
A center's probably pretty close.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
Yeah, but I think anyone would give you that quarterback
has the most on their plate. You could say cornerback
maybe is the most physically demanding in terms of movement, skills, speed,
all things you have to do. But it's not the
as you said, not the car that linemen and linebackers.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Is like, okay, we're the double team or do you
like eight hundred pounds pressing on you?
Speaker 5 (23:05):
Yes, so then it's okay, what's the most physically you know?
So this is how you want to look at They're
all hard. Look this is you don't get to this
level of this sport without being really freaking good at
what you're doing.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
And they're all very challenging jobs in their own right.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
By the way, you probably only have six hundred pounds
pushing on you because I don't think you have four
hundred pound line Then I just this is why I
don't do numbers, spreadsheets or math on that one. This
NFL season, feel every play, every hit, every moment with
a Sony one thousand XM five noise canceling headphones, the
official headphones of the Seattle Seahawks. With premium noise cancelation,
(23:39):
you were in the zone, no distractions, just pure football.
Whether you are in your living room or on the go,
you will never miss a beat with Sony headphones. I
feel like we've spent a lot of time just talking
about the Seahawks and what they need to do, because
quite honestly, John, it really comes down to them. You
can talk about the weapons that the Vikings have.
Speaker 4 (23:58):
We haven't even touched on.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
The running game with Aaron Jones, and we haven't mentioned
the specific playmakers on defense. But to me, everything comes
back to how Seattle executes. And I would have thought
we're getting close to our two things that I need
to see. I would have thought with the energy and
the building on Sunday, it would have been a different start.
And I would have thought, just based on how some
(24:20):
of these games have gone, that the record would.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
Show a home field advantage. It hasn't, but we still
need the twelves on Sunday.
Speaker 5 (24:28):
Absolutely, And I think, you know, are we to our
things we want yet?
Speaker 4 (24:33):
That let's transition. That was not a smooth segue, John, but.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
It's it's a segue, hey, you know it'll take you know,
a little plunky.
Speaker 5 (24:40):
So I was going to say, one of the things
I really want to see, and you touch on this earlier,
is a fast start.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
And I don't care how it looks.
Speaker 5 (24:48):
It could be the defense gets some turnovers even if
the offense isn't on its game, or maybe the offense
starts out in course two touchdowns, But that's going to
get the crowd going. That's going to pump up the
energy in that building. And I mean, we've seen how
much better this team operates, especially offensively, when they're not
having to chase a game from behind. So let's just
say I don't care how they get there. Was going
(25:08):
to the halftime with the lead. That's what I want
to see.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Okay. Secondly, I wasn't really ready for a second one, but.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
Wait a transition before being ready, John, let me.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Just make something up.
Speaker 5 (25:19):
No, stop turning the ball over, especially in the red zone.
But just we've you know, they went two straight games
without an offensive turnover. We don't need to talk about
special teams against the Jets, but they win a couple
games without an offensive turnover, and we saw what that
did for him. And then you turn over a couple
of times and it gets you in a lot of trouble.
So both those interceptions very costly. One cost you a
(25:39):
potential touchdown, one set up a touchdown for your opponent.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
So take care of the football.
Speaker 4 (25:43):
Yeah, I'm going to be on your side with scoring fast.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
And I would also say be consistent in your scoring
because the Vikings have held opponents scoreless in twenty one
quarters this season.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
That is the most of any team in the league.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
So it's nice to get out to an early start,
but you're gonna have to keep the foot when they
get out exactly so that.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
You can keep the pressure on.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
We did not talk too much about the running game
outside of the fact that ken Walker is trending towards plane,
which would be good.
Speaker 4 (26:10):
This number blew my mind.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
The Vikings defense has contacted opposing rushers behind the line
of scrimmage on over forty four percent of their carries,
and they've allowed less than three hundred yards before contact.
That is the second lowest in the league. That means, folks,
that they are busting through. They're playing on the other
side of the line of scrimmage and you are going
to have to get up ahead of steam to get
(26:33):
some positive yards against this line. So I want to
see ken Walker after a couple of weeks not being
on the field, I want to see him use that
power and his ability to avoid defenders and get that
ground game going.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
Does that sound like a plan? Sounds great? Okay, I
like that point.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
Well, we'll see, We'll see how that plays out, and
I'm going to work to get John on board with
our holiday plans for next week. We're going to be
on a short week next week. There's still going to
be stuff to talk about. That's the next time you
will hear from us on the Seahawk Insiders podcast
You're listening to the Seahawks Insiders. Gino, look go lay
it up over the top.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Count of man out there.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Pitter fucker, he got it?
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Touch good, say Hawks, getting you ready for Seahawks football
every Sunday.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Hurts drops back, hastime, loads up pros AYJ Brown the defense?
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Don't you keep your feet in? Does seyhowk Ball?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Presented by Delta, the official airline of the Seahawks. Now
here's your host, Jen Mueller.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
We are broadcasting from the Seahawks Podcast Studio, presented by Sony,
an official partner of the Seattle Seahawks. We are also
counting down today, So Christmas, John Boyle, do want to sing? Oh?
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Next year?
Speaker 3 (00:45):
We should totally sing the entire podcast to Christmas too.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
You go right ahead.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
We could also put out a Christmas gift ideal list.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Okay, we could really own.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
This as you can't really own this as a holiday, John,
we could really own this as a holiday. Why do
I feel like you're not buying in on this? I
you know, I think we should start early. We can
get some sponsors involved and.
Speaker 5 (01:09):
Can I'll you lead that charge in Okay, right, I'll
just play along.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Well, okay, John, if you don't like that. You might
like this. I was reading something this morning. This is
not going to surprise you that people do not plan
their weddings in the fall on days where their team
is playing.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
That's smart, right, smart?
Speaker 5 (01:29):
Right?
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Did you know that the Washington Post has actually done
analysis on this really and found that in twenty twenty two,
So we're going back. You know a couple of years,
five point three percent of weddings for the year took
place on a weekend where.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
Auburn and Alabama had to buy isn't that.
Speaker 5 (01:51):
Pretty chunk of weddings? Basically, the whole South plans their
weddings around the by.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Right, here's what I want to know, Like, I can't
even fathom planning a wedding in the follower went like,
I don't plan anything.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
My fitness instructor just came back from Hawaii.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
She's like, you should try it sometime this year. It's great,
nobody's there, And I'm like, when are we ever taking.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Time off during fall and winter?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Bye week?
Speaker 4 (02:11):
I guess I guess.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
My point is this, how many NFL fans do you
think are starting to sweat things out for January and February,
including Seahawks fans and Vikings fans not knowing how the
playoffs are going to play out. If you took a
chance and you scheduled like a January wedding, you might
have some in attention.
Speaker 5 (02:34):
I mean you mentioned that because I have a friend
from high school that got married in January.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
This is like homegren Ere.
Speaker 5 (02:38):
I forget what year, And it was on a wild
card Saturday if the Seahawks played, and I vividly remember
a bunch of us sneaking upstairs to this little room
in the wedding venu where they had a TV.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
Yeah, did you tell them first?
Speaker 5 (02:51):
I mean we'd go and then you know, someone would come, Hey,
they're gonna do the first dance, and we'd come down.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
I mean a lot of back and forth.
Speaker 4 (02:59):
So you got your step.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Sorry, Brian, you try not to.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
But also like you are taking a chance, and right now,
not only are the Seahawks in position. Look, you would
have liked to have won that game against Screen Bay,
but you still are in position to win the division.
The Vikings meanwhile, at twelve and two, they're going they're
looking at a number one seed.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Potentially they saw the Lions to end their season. So there.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
I mean, yeah, this is a team that had a
losing record last year. I think they expected to be better.
But I don't think a lot of people saw this coming.
And you know, we'll get into this, like Sam Darnold
is not a guy that people thought was going to
lead them to a potentially top seed, and he's been
great this year. So yeah, they're one of the one
of the bigger surprises in terms of how well they're performing.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Well, we don't want to look too far into the
future when it comes to playoffs for the Seahawks or
the Vikings for that matter. If you are playing fantasy football,
you were absolutely looking at the playoffs, because we're gonna
narrow down that field quite a bit this week and
get a little bit more from our fantasy insider, Scott Engel.
Speaker 6 (03:55):
Thanks jenn and John. Welcome to Week sixteen of fantasy football.
And this is the week when you could get to
your fantasy super Bowl, down to the final four in
most leagues. But don't overthink things. Go with the players
that have gotten you this far. If you overthink, things
could get dangerous and you could make movies like Benching
Lamar Jackson against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Don't overthink things based
(04:18):
on a matchup. We have some great recommendations view for
this all important Week sixteen. Starting at quarterback, Baker Mayfield
is top five play in a great matchup against the
Dallas Cowboys and running back to Roam fod taking over
the lead running back duties for the Cleveland Browns. The
Bengals have allowed the most fantasy points per game in
(04:41):
running backs over the last four weeks. Also check the
teams starting at running backs for the Titans between Tony
Pollo and Taji Spears. That's always a fine matchup for
running backs against the Indianapolis Colts. And wide receivers. Keep
the fantasy faith in dk Metcalf. The Vikings have allowed
the most fantasy points per game to wide receivers so
(05:03):
far this season, so he should have some upside this week.
Also a bounce back game for Cooper Cup against the
Jets defense that has allowed the fourth most fantasy points
per game to wide receivers over the last four weeks.
And it's tight end sleeper for you who's actually a
(05:25):
back end fantasy tight end one Chigaquono of the Tennessee Titans.
The Colts ranked thirtieth and fantasy points per game allowed
to tight Ends. For more of my information at recommendations
for this week, go to Seahawks Newstab on seahawks dot
com Fantasy Insider, and also check out my complete rankings
(05:50):
on rotobowler dot com. Back to you, Jen and John
for Week sixteen, and happy holidays everyone.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
Thank you Scott.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
We are broadcasting from the Seahawks Podcast Studio by Sony,
an official partner of the Seattle Seahawks.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
So let's get into this matchup just a little bit more.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
John, when you talk about exceeding expectations, I love the
conversation that you had with your counterpart at the Vikings
to try to get a little bit of insight on
what's going on with this team, because it is not
luck and it's not just scheme.
Speaker 4 (06:22):
There is something else happening in Minnesota.
Speaker 5 (06:24):
Yeah, I mean, I think it's just one of those
classic It's not one just oh my goodness, this one thing.
It's like a lot of things came out that they
did well in free agency. They added a bunch of
pieces to that defense, and they have, you know, great
scheme on both sides of the ball. And then I
mean obviously big Pieces has to be the quarterback. That's
I mean, that's true for any NFL team, But you know,
people think McCarthy's probably going to come in and eventually
(06:45):
take over that job, and then he gets hurt and
it's like Sam Darnold's kind of you know, he obviously
came in as a highly drafted guy, number three overall pick,
but you know, things didn't work out with the Jets,
which has been true with a lot of quarterbacks we've
gone to that franchise, So maybe we don't put it
all on him. But yeah, I mean, not entirely the
same path as Gino Smith, but a lot of similarities
of you know, a hyped guy early doesn't work out,
(07:06):
a lot of people have given up on him, and
he gets in the right situation and he's playing some
really good football.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
He is, and that is a scary thing for the
Seahawks to think about, and it's also kind of interesting
the way it shows up on tape.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
According to Mike McDonald.
Speaker 7 (07:19):
I've only gone against Sam and since he like in
backup duty where he hasn't been the main, the main starter,
just he just feels like he's playing really really decisive,
really confident. You can see all the talent coming to life.
So I think he's I think he's doing a heck.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Of a job.
Speaker 7 (07:33):
I mean, their their offense is playing a high level
and the arm talent is there. Being able to hit
all the you know, all the all the throws in
all the areas of the field. Seems like he can
get it there pretty seamlessly and it's on time. And
then you know, one thing about his game that that
we respect is just the ability to extend the play.
So that's something we're gonna have to account for.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
As well well.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
And when you look at some of these numbers, he's
got a nine game streak where he has passed for
at least two hundred yards. It's the longest active streak
in the NFL. You want to know who has the
longest streak of those games this year? You know, Gino
Smith went twelve straight games with two hundred or more yards.
That ended on Sunday when he was not able to
(08:11):
finish the game against the Packers. The good news, kind
of the side note that I'm sure you've all heard about,
Gino did participate in practice this week. He is trending
the right direction towards Sunday will get more into that
in just a minute.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
But the other kind of part of Sam Darnold. You
can look at the number.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
Of explosive plays fifty five passes of twenty or more
yards that leads the league, and he's got a passer
rating of one hundred plus in eleven of fourteen games
this season. This is a totally different guy than we've
ever seen.
Speaker 5 (08:42):
Yeah, I mean he's again, sometimes for quarterbacks, it's like
they get given up on and you forget this guy
was drafted very highly for a reason. There's a lot
of talent there, and you put him in the right
situation where you know, the weapons they have in that
team are pretty nuts.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
They've got, you know, an offensive.
Speaker 5 (08:57):
Coordinator or a former quarterback who's a head coach out
and got that offensive coordinator play caller mindset. So it's yeah,
I think he just got himself into a really good
situation and he's taken full advantage.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
And you talk about the weapons that he has around him,
there's some pretty good ones. I mean, Justin Jefferson by
himself is pretty good, but Jordan Addison adds another dimension
and does create some complications on the back end of
the defense.
Speaker 7 (09:26):
Those guys they play all the positions, so you got
to count for him and.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
All the spots.
Speaker 7 (09:30):
Probably the most averse route tree that we're going to
get from a duo yet this year, and they deserve
a lot of credit for that because that's not easy
to learn all the spots, learn all the routes, and
then having the timing with the quarterback so you can
still play on time. So easier said than done. Yeah,
just two really dynamic players that we're going to have
to count for. Can't double everybody all the time, so
(09:51):
we're gonna have singles and our guys will be matched
up and let's go to work.
Speaker 5 (09:55):
The Seahawks really like the cornerbacks they have, you know,
led by Spoon and Riku Wollen. Yeah, as he said,
you can't double everybody every play. Sometimes a guy is
going to be on island and have to make a
play and that's no easy task for those guys.
Speaker 3 (10:09):
Well, and Kobe Bryant was saying this week that part
of what those two do is force you to play
a little tighter, a little closer. You're not going to
be able to have that same sort of like pad
and safety in the back end. But justin Jefferson with
twenty four receptions of twenty or more yards that leads
the league. Almost nineteen percent of the Vikings offensive plays
(10:32):
are explosive, so you really you have to play tight,
you have to play smart. And I would say this, John,
maybe the blessing and disguise of last week's game and
a couple of those DPIs whether you agree with the
defensive pass interference calls or not. It has been in
the conversation and a point of emphasis this week because
you know it's going to come into play on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Oh for sure.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
A team that's going to throw downfield a lot that
puts a lot of stress on a defensive back who's covering.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
And I mean both those EP has lost.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
Those are so hard, those underthrown beat balls where it's like,
especially the one that called on Josh Job was like,
you're playing that perfectly, You're right there, you're running side
for stride and then the receiver throws on the brakes
and it's I mean, by the rule, it's a penalty,
but that's such a tough call on the DV.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
It is and I don't know that you have any
different coaching points on that one. However, when you emphasize
something in practice, and I'm not saying that they don't
always do that, but I am sure that it is
a bigger part of the conversation this week. The huge
conversation taking place for Seattle is what offensive weapons will
they have at their disposal. It's not just Gino that
(11:36):
we were looking at. It's Ken Walker, it's Olu Oluwa, Timmy,
There's there's been a number of guys that we're checking
in on, and I think everybody can kind of breathe
just a little bit of a sigh of a relief
on Gino.
Speaker 7 (11:48):
Gino feels good, did walk through today. We'll see how
many reps. We got a plan for practice, We'll see
how it kind of alters as practice arts is a clare,
but he'll be out there for a significant capacity today.
We'll see how many reps he takes.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
And that was before Wednesday's practice, and then Gino Smith
was a full participant on the injury report. So yeah,
I mean, you can't guarantee anything this early in the week,
but it would sure seem like they're going to have
their quarterback, which it's an obvious point, but that's a
pretty damn big deal for the Seahawks have Gino Smith
out there. After you see him, you know, limping off
the field and not able to return. You know, your
(12:23):
mind can go to bad places there. But going to
this very important three game stretch, they should have their quarterback.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
Well. I also think it's not just having Geno out there.
Speaker 3 (12:32):
It is having his playmaking ability to get the ball
down field. It is also just dealing with the pressure
that the Vikings are going to bring. I mean that
that is kind of characteristic of Brian Flores and you
look at him and it looks like they're going to blitz.
It's not necessarily the case, but it is unique in
the way that he attacks an offense.
Speaker 7 (12:53):
I think they're They're roster is designed where guys can
do multiple things, getting out of different fronts and structures
without having to declare their personnel. So that helps the
stats and like the pressures and the zeros. That's that's evolved,
and it kind of it's for week to week type deal,
but you kind of know what they can get to
at any given point and not afraid to come after
you at any given point in the game, you know,
(13:13):
which is not as common as you might think.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
He got me with a pause there.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
I was almost talked over, just tried to cut him off,
just like a press conference.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
I like how he.
Speaker 5 (13:22):
Did reference to stats, how they're not always quite right,
because it was funny. And DK Metcalf's press conference. Brady
Henderson of ESPN great at what he does. He asks
a question about their blitz right being high, and he's,
you know, referencing in the ESPN stats. And DK's point
was like, well, that's not exactly accurate because they're a
team much like the Seahawks, not the same scheme, but
one thing they have in common is they like those
simulated pressures where it's we're only sending for, but you
(13:45):
don't know which for. And that's where it gets tricky
for a defense or for an offense. Excuse me where
you got. You know, you might have eight guys mugg
and the line of scrimmagines four going to drop, four
gonna come, and you don't know who it's going to be,
and that that can be a big challenge for everybody.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Yes, And you know, as I was talking to Ken
Walker yesterday, he said, look, your communication happens before the snap.
Once that ball is snapped, you're not talking to the
guys next to you, right, So like you're trying to
identify on your own and hoping that everybody is seeing
the same thing that you're seeing, which is how it
ends up breaking down. You know what's funny because I
was kind of chuckling about that exchange yesterday with DK
(14:19):
and Brady, and I totally get it because then I'm
reading on the Viking's own website, and the Viking's website
in their article that's written about the matchup this week,
says that Minnesota's thirty eight point nine blitz percentage on
dropbacks is higher than five and a half percent higher
than Kansas City. And I started to think about that
and wondered, wait a minute, are they counting it the
(14:40):
same way that we're counting it? And yeah, maybe they're
getting fooled on what they're seeing.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
Yeah, it's all these I mean, they're great tools. I mean,
this is a whole other conversation, but yes, all these
different forms of analytics they're great tools, but they're not
an exact science. You have people who aren't in the
meeting rooms, who aren't part of the game plan, making
somewhat subjective decisions when they're evaluating it. So it's imperfect,
but it's good data. But yeah, I just kind of
(15:05):
find here DK be like, where are you getting that?
Speaker 4 (15:07):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
And then also to hear him rattle off all the
numbers and he's like, Nope, it's this, this, this and this,
and you're like, wow, I know that you guys game prep,
but to know the tendencies that specific now.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Only on Wednesday. He's got three more days.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
I mean, imagine what else he's learning it. It will
probably blow my mind.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
You know, here's the number that is not in question though,
the sixty hurries that have been forced by that Vikings defense.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
They're the most in the NFL this year.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
And when you take a look at Seattle and what's
happening on the other side of the ball, Gino Smith
is being pressured on a lot of his dropbacks, in fact,
the highest rate of any quarterback in the league.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
And right now I'm looking at that number.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
I'm trying to find the number quick pressure on eighteen
point nine percent of his dropbacks.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
So you need a healthy.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Gino Smith and you also need an offensive line to
come together a little better than life.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
Last week, Yeah, it was.
Speaker 5 (16:01):
It was tough because the Arizona game two weeks ago,
we're talking about the best performance that lines had all year.
No sacks, two quarterback hits, season high rushing yards. To me,
so much of this goes back to game situations, how
the game's unfolding. You're playing from behind the whole way
against Green Bay and you can't run the ball, or
(16:22):
I shouldn't say you can't. They had some success right
the all, but you're just not running the ball much
a lot because of the game situation, and you're getting
behind the sticks and they know you're throwing, and that's
just where it becomes so much harder for an offensive line.
So that's why, you know, as cliche as it sounds,
if you get that running game going, if you're succeeding
on first and second down, that's why we saw in
Arizona there just weren't as many chances for the Cardinals
to get after it.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
Right.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
It is also starting fast, right, and the defense said
the same thing. The coaching staff said the same thing. Right,
It is tough when you go down two scores. I
did talk to a couple of guys on the offensive
line because the number, when you say, it's hard to
put stock in the ratings absolutely true.
Speaker 4 (16:58):
When you are.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Grading an offensive line, there is no I'm really sorry
for the fans of PFF and I have talked to
the guys at PFF and I've said, look, I really
appreciate you trying to quantify it. Those numbers mean nothing,
right unless you're sitting in the room with the offensive
line coach for that team, they mean nothing.
Speaker 4 (17:15):
I say that Stawelamea did not have a great game
based on the numbers.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
Yeah, and you talk to some of those guys on
the on line and go, look, he's a rookie. He
had a rookie game. We've all had one of those
games where you get your butt kicked and you can't
It's like having a bad day at work, right, Like
it just snowballs. You have one bad thing happened, and
then the next bad thing.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
And you can't pull yourself out.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
It's unfortunate that it happened in that game, but it's
all part of that growth and that learning curve. And
it's nice to have consistency and start the same unit
that does not make up for experience.
Speaker 5 (17:49):
No, and that's hopefully he learns from it. And you know,
he played really well. A couple weeks ago, I would
expect him to bounce back and be better. So yeah,
but again, I think the best thing you can do
for that offensive line is, as you said, startle faster,
keep the game balanced where it's not just these situations
where the Vikings can bring that pass rush, whether we're
calling it a blitz or not right exactly, they can
do these things that make it tough on the offensive
(18:11):
line and on the quarterback.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
I also really just liked I always liked the perspective
of Abe Lucas, and so I was asking, you know, like, oh, so, so,
like does the game plan need to look different with
more he goes. Look, you can game plan all you want,
and it very rarely goes according to plan. I was like, Oh,
that's kind of like life, Like that sea goes. Yeah,
it's pretty much a metaphor for life. You think you've
got it all worked out and it is not even
(18:34):
the case.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
We are broadcasting from the Seahawks Podcast Studio, presented by Sony,
an official partner of the Seattle Seahawks. We've got a
little bit more offensive line conversation. Some kudos we're going
to give out right after a word from our presenting sponsor.
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Speaker 3 (19:21):
I promise some kudos to the offensive line. I had
no idea that this was a stat of Lake and
Tomlinson until you and I were talking to him in
the locker room this week. John, what is the milestone
that he passed against the Green Bay Packers.
Speaker 5 (19:38):
So, first, for some background, Laken, Tomlinson's wife, Rachel is
smarter than.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
All of us.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
She's combined.
Speaker 5 (19:44):
Yes, he's a PhD. Who I'm not even to try
to explain what she does because it's just way too,
way too advanced for us. But in addition to her
real job, she also likes to get really nerdy with
the football stuff, you know, especially when supporting her husband,
which is lovely to see. Earlier this year, she pointed
out how rare it is for a player to get
to one hundred and fifty starts, which he did earlier
this season, and this week it was he went over
(20:06):
the ten thousand snap threshold, which of players he was
a twenty fifteen draft pick, of players from his draft class,
and more recent he has played the most snaps of
any offensive player and he's in I think it's fourteenth
from this chart, she tweeted, of every active player. So yeah,
I mean he's had a heck of a career just
in terms of being a really good player. The combination
(20:28):
of being good and durable to be on the field
that long like he has.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
It's it's pretty commendable.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
And so just for reference, because we were also trying
to look up Jason Peters numbers to figure out like, okay,
wait a minute, Like this is impressive, but where does
he rate according to Jason Peters. Poor Jason Peters is
okay for the day, folks, Yeah, Jason Peters has crashed
the forty.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
Year old threshold.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
He's forty two and the I think he's actually forty three.
Hang on a second, I have his page up. Let
me tell you how old he is. This is really exciting.
Great radio, great radio.
Speaker 6 (21:05):
Right here.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
They don't have it in front of me. It doesn't
matter he's over forty. Here's here's the problem.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
The numbers only go back to two thousand and thirteen,
and we only have half of his stats because he
entered the league in two thousand four.
Speaker 5 (21:24):
Yeah, so half his career. He's played eight thousand snaps.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
Right, regular season snaps.
Speaker 3 (21:30):
But when I was going to point out, like what
this means, so when he was playing a full sixteen
games as a left tackle for the Eagles, he was
getting over one thousand snaps in the regular season. That's
we're not counting playoffs in Super Bowl runs. So Laken,
just kind of you. If you use that, you're getting
like nine hundred to one thousand snaps a year. That's
(21:51):
really impressive. Yeah, that also feels like a car wreck
every Monday morning.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Well, especially that position.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
Yes, like no offense to quarterbacks or kickers or whatever,
but like a lot of them come out of a
game pretty healthy. Quarterback to get hit, but if things
go well for quarterback, you come out of the game
feel pretty good. Offensive lineman, you can play the best
game of your life and you're going to come out
of game hurting.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
It is true, and yet he's always smiling. I would
also say you are treading very close to a hot
button topic in the locker room. Job.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
What's that?
Speaker 4 (22:18):
Well, you've heard the guys debating who has the harder job?
Have you ever?
Speaker 3 (22:22):
You've heard the DB's debating like if your job is
harder than linebackers? And then the linebackers are like, but
every time I hit somebody, it's like a car wreck,
and the dbs are like, yeah, but I'm on an
island back here.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
I am not taking sides on this one.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
I'm just telling you this is a hotly debated topic
in the locker room.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
Yeah, I'm not going to just depend on how you like.
Quarterback is the most mentally demanding, like what you have
to process?
Speaker 4 (22:45):
A center's probably pretty close.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
Yeah, but I think anyone would give you that quarterback
has the most on their plate. You could say cornerback
maybe is the most physically demanding in terms of movement, skills, speed,
all things you have to do. But it's not the
as you said, not the car that linemen and linebackers.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Is like, okay, we're the double team or do you
like eight hundred pounds pressing on you?
Speaker 5 (23:05):
Yes, so then it's okay, what's the most physically you know?
So this is how you want to look at They're
all hard. Look this is you don't get to this
level of this sport without being really freaking good at
what you're doing.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
And they're all very challenging jobs in their own right.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
By the way, you probably only have six hundred pounds
pushing on you because I don't think you have four
hundred pound line Then I just this is why I
don't do numbers, spreadsheets or math on that one. This
NFL season, feel every play, every hit, every moment with
a Sony one thousand XM five noise canceling headphones, the
official headphones of the Seattle Seahawks. With premium noise cancelation,
(23:39):
you were in the zone, no distractions, just pure football.
Whether you are in your living room or on the go,
you will never miss a beat with Sony headphones. I
feel like we've spent a lot of time just talking
about the Seahawks and what they need to do, because
quite honestly, John, it really comes down to them. You
can talk about the weapons that the Vikings have.
Speaker 4 (23:58):
We haven't even touched on.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
The running game with Aaron Jones, and we haven't mentioned
the specific playmakers on defense. But to me, everything comes
back to how Seattle executes. And I would have thought
we're getting close to our two things that I need
to see. I would have thought with the energy and
the building on Sunday, it would have been a different start.
And I would have thought, just based on how some
(24:20):
of these games have gone, that the record would.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
Show a home field advantage. It hasn't, but we still
need the twelves on Sunday.
Speaker 5 (24:28):
Absolutely, And I think, you know, are we to our
things we want yet?
Speaker 4 (24:33):
That let's transition. That was not a smooth segue, John, but.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
It's it's a segue, hey, you know it'll take you know,
a little plunky.
Speaker 5 (24:40):
So I was going to say, one of the things
I really want to see, and you touch on this earlier,
is a fast start.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
And I don't care how it looks.
Speaker 5 (24:48):
It could be the defense gets some turnovers even if
the offense isn't on its game, or maybe the offense
starts out in course two touchdowns, But that's going to
get the crowd going. That's going to pump up the
energy in that building. And I mean, we've seen how
much better this team operates, especially offensively, when they're not
having to chase a game from behind. So let's just
say I don't care how they get there. Was going
(25:08):
to the halftime with the lead. That's what I want
to see.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Okay. Secondly, I wasn't really ready for a second one, but.
Speaker 4 (25:16):
Wait a transition before being ready, John, let me.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Just make something up.
Speaker 5 (25:19):
No, stop turning the ball over, especially in the red zone.
But just we've you know, they went two straight games
without an offensive turnover. We don't need to talk about
special teams against the Jets, but they win a couple
games without an offensive turnover, and we saw what that
did for him. And then you turn over a couple
of times and it gets you in a lot of trouble.
So both those interceptions very costly. One cost you a
(25:39):
potential touchdown, one set up a touchdown for your opponent.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
So take care of the football.
Speaker 4 (25:43):
Yeah, I'm going to be on your side with scoring fast.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
And I would also say be consistent in your scoring
because the Vikings have held opponents scoreless in twenty one
quarters this season.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
That is the most of any team in the league.
Speaker 3 (25:55):
So it's nice to get out to an early start,
but you're gonna have to keep the foot when they
get out exactly so that.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
You can keep the pressure on.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
We did not talk too much about the running game
outside of the fact that ken Walker is trending towards plane,
which would be good.
Speaker 4 (26:10):
This number blew my mind.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
The Vikings defense has contacted opposing rushers behind the line
of scrimmage on over forty four percent of their carries,
and they've allowed less than three hundred yards before contact.
That is the second lowest in the league. That means, folks,
that they are busting through. They're playing on the other
side of the line of scrimmage and you are going
to have to get up ahead of steam to get
(26:33):
some positive yards against this line. So I want to
see ken Walker after a couple of weeks not being
on the field, I want to see him use that
power and his ability to avoid defenders and get that
ground game going.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
Does that sound like a plan? Sounds great? Okay, I
like that point.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
Well, we'll see, We'll see how that plays out, and
I'm going to work to get John on board with
our holiday plans for next week. We're going to be
on a short week next week. There's still going to
be stuff to talk about. That's the next time you
will hear from us on the Seahawk Insiders podcast
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