October 22, 2024 • 46 mins
Back for another episode, Lofa Tatupu joins Steve Raible and Jim Zorn to share about his NFL career, journey to the Super Bowl, and family life. Today’s show: rookie season in Seattle (06:48), evolution to becoming an All-Pro (12:11), three interception game (20:02), 2005 season (24:38), Lofa’s one rule (27:58), playing with great players (31:59), family life (37:31), and grateful for all the support along the way (36:18).
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Seahawks Stories, teaking you behind the scenes
with your favorite Seahawks.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Set back to behind, Zorn, who's back to pass as
time looks for the left sideline, throws.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
A bomb down there.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
He's got a man in front. He makes the crab
a travel at a thirty down to the twenty. Don't
never get him. He scores touched out.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Seahawks powered by Seahawks dot Com.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
And Zorn later in perfectly a Rabel who goes in
to score on an eighty yard pass and run play.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Now, here's your host, the voice of the Seahawks, Steve
Raebol and Seahawks legend Jim Zorn.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Well, hi, everybody, welcome to Seahawks Stories. Along with jim's Orn,
our guest today Lofaitupu, one of the great linebackers in
the history of this franchise, who kind of looked at
me inquisitively when he was listening to the open. Oh,
you really caught a pass when you were with the
Sea York. That was sort of what the question looked
like on your face.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
No, it was forty times.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
Yeah, I knew you have Oh yeah, yeah, we he
caught it at the thirty and went in. It was
a I think how they put it, a fifty five
yard screamer.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
That's what that's John Facenda. Remember John Facenda? Do you
remember the name Johnson? Do you who was the guy
who did the NFL films? And they talked like this
and a brisk breeze is blowing over. And when you
when John Facenda said your name in a highlight package,
now you you got used to it. But when he
said my name on that throws a fifty odd scream
(01:25):
of the Steve.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
I could retire, be cut pass away. I've lived my
life to the fullest because John Facenda said my name?
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Did you? Uh?
Speaker 4 (01:36):
When did you start watching your highlight films? Not so
much personally, but did you have team films when you
played here? Team highlight films?
Speaker 3 (01:47):
I don't think so. Is that like fairly new? Because
I don't remember. I still can't find any MO film.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
I would say it's fairly old. Oh yeah, yeah, not
fairly new.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Yeah. What they used to do would be every team
would then get a half hour highlight film at the
end of the season. So whether you were two and
in our case, two and twelve, our first year or
twelve and two and the Super Bowl champion. They all
kind of look the same. You're highlighting all the best plays.
So you'd have thought our first year that we went
to the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (02:15):
We nearly went to the playoffs, and I could have
probably won the Super Bowl two and twelve exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
But you know, you focus on and in those days,
the PR folks would sit down with the producers of
these videos and say, here are the guys. You know,
so Zee and Yoda, those guys got, you know, the
bulk of it because they were the bulk of our offense.
And then then you mentioned a few of the rookies
who played well because you think they're going to be back,
(02:41):
and that would be me and a couple of other
guys who were back. And then some of the veterans.
You know, we had guys like Mike Curtis on our
defense in those days.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
I love watching him play.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Oh my god, oh he he was a different cat,
as they say. He was as hard a hit her
as as you could ever find. He just lay well.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
He laid a fan out.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Remember a fan ran on it on the field Baltimore
and he said, you're you're in my place of work. Now,
and he belted the guy and dropped him like a
sack of hammers and they had to literally help this
guy off the field, and then they just went on
with the game.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
But he was not one of the guys that would
uh uh just sort of walk, you know, walk with
everybody else and I'm going to do everything else. He
would call the NFLPA office to see if it was legal,
if we had to if we had to practice in
one hundred and five degree, whether hey, is hey, should
we walk out or is this going to be okay?
Speaker 1 (03:36):
You know, he was kind of special. We have no water,
you know, we had no water either.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Very smart guy.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Yeah, he was a pretty smart guy.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
That's a different level of toughness, you guys.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
It was just it was a different level of knowledge,
is what it was. I mean we did stuff that
everybody else did in those days. I mean Jack came
from the Bud Grant tree, and that's the way Bud
did it.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
And and so you just and.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Quite frankly, and I think Jim would agree, once you
did a few times, you got used to it. That's
just kind of the way it was. You drank a
lot of water before practice, and then you hydrated afterwards
in my case with beer. But then then thank you
very yes, And Jimmy, I think now has actually found
that a taste of the vine.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Once in a while. Fine, that's exactly right.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
I don't know if it's a you know, public knowledge,
I mean.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Or a.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
What a spot that people use, but I've drank Beginness
beer and oh my gosh, it's pretty good.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Yeah, exactly exactly. I don't know how the hell we
got on.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
That's something fun. Mike Curtis, he was the Cults before, right, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
Yeah, we got him in the expansion Dravet exactly. That's
that's how he got to Seattle through the expansion in
nineteen seventy six.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Right, So we had most of our expansion guys and
fat well, no, we had someone on the offensive line,
Nick Bebout, Mardy Kune, Norm Evans on defense. What was
Bradley's name? Our middle linebacker ed Ed Bradley came from
the Steelers middle linebacker Mike was outside ken Getty's.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Was the other about Dave Brown? Dave Brown, he was
a first first round draft choice. Yeah, and he was
in the expansion draft. Wasn't protected.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
And that's how you know you get the guys in
the expansion is you can only protect so many guys,
and then you have a pool of guys. That's how
we got Sam McCullum. That's how we got from Minnesota.
Autrey Beaman came the next year. Beaman came in seventy seven.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Steve Priest.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Steve was in the expansion draft as a safety with US.
Al Matthews was. So we played a lot of those
veterans that first year. But I'll never forget it. We're
coming back from our last game of the season was
somewhere back east. It was maybe New York or Philadelphia.
The very first season. We're flying back and the coaches
used to sit in the back of the plane and
(05:52):
the older players sat up front, so we were I
was the rookie, so we sat behind the bulkhead and
Jack was bringing players back. He had a seat next
to him open, and the entire flight he'd bring a
player back and sit him down and talk to him.
And so I don't know if he did you do
that to you, he did it to me, and he
brought me back there and he said, hey, first of all,
(06:12):
he said, here's what you need to improve on. When
are you coming back. You know, you don't wait until
May or June to come back to get ready. But
he said the thing that hit me the most was
he said, take a look up there. See all the
old guys that are up there, they're not going to
be here. This is going to be your guys team.
And that's what we're got, that's what we're preparing for now.
And he was right.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
The vast majority of.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
The expansion draft guys were gone after that first year,
and that's how then you start building that that first
franchise on on those young players.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Well, that's all the time we have.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Look what was your first year here, two thousand and five.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Rookie starting middle linebacker for a super Bowl team?
Speaker 1 (06:56):
What was that like?
Speaker 3 (06:58):
It was incredible, And honestly, I'm not gonna say I
expected it, but I know it's just college just came
off of two straight national titles. So I hadn't lost
the game until we lost to Jacksonville opening day down
there in like a year and a half, two years.
And I had a good cry after that game. And
I don't know if people like remember Moe Kelly actually
(07:20):
consoled me. It's great, dude, but I just remember from
that game. It was very hot, yep, but we had
something like four or five turnovers and we still only
lost twenty six to fourteen. You're supposed to get blown
out when you give the ball up that much. And
we didn't get anything on defense, Like we didn't stop
Fred Taylor, didn't stop Jimmy Smith like they It was ugly.
(07:42):
But you know, after I wiped my tears away, I
just went around and told everybody's like, hey, man, like
we got something specially here, like if we just keep
going and believe in it, because you got that many
things that go against you in terms of like that game,
you should have You hadn't even have been in the game.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Mind Folks who some of those defensive players were with
you in that that year?
Speaker 1 (08:04):
This was Mike Holmgren's job. Were you I was here? Yeah? Yeah,
I was on the stage.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Yeah, Grant Wistrom, Bryce Fisher, Chuck Darby, Rocky Bernard, Marcus Tubbs,
Craig Tarrell, and then safeties we had bow Where and
Kenny Hammlon and then Markwan, Manuel Corner, Dyson Herndon and Trufon.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Yeah, that's a good crew.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
And then the linebackers did that stay the same you
and Leroy Roy. Yeah, yeah, did.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
That stay the same throughout the year with you guys.
I mean you can name all those guys. But how
did it change?
Speaker 1 (08:45):
How did it?
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Yeah, Well, Kenny got into an incident and Mark Wan
ended up filling his spot. And you know, it's like, Kenny,
we're talking about a Pro Bowl player, so those are
big shoes to fill. And I remember Mark Kwan just
coming in and just kind of sitting back and you know,
(09:07):
not really taking authority. He became one of our leaders,
but at the time he was just kind of like, Hey,
I'm just going to do my job. And then we
just got together watching film and he really helped with
the communication aspect, which is huge, Like there's no secrets
on defense. You see something, say something, And so that's
(09:27):
the biggest part is, you know, we found our groove
and because I think we're probably like a fourteen or
sixteen ranked defense. It wasn't like awesome, but we were
top in rush defense, top in sacks and takeaways. We
lived off the big play to give that high powered
offense more opportunity.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Was just gonna say, you had a pretty good offense
across the way from you over there, starting with that
big offensive front. I mean, they were as good as
any group together in my recollection, certainly with this franchise.
But the left side of the line was Hall of Fame.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
I mean.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Remember Robbie Tobek and he would say, you know, after
I learned all, you know what the rules were? He goes,
I never studied. You know, I wanted to back keep
slap him. What do you mean you never saidy? He said.
He said, in Tom Levat's program of of of identifying
what's in front of you, all you had to do
(10:21):
is know where the middle linebacker was, and all.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
The rules took place. He said, So any times he goes,
I didn't, he goes, where's the middle linebacker? He's right there.
I know what to do. And so he said he
never studied.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
But knowing what to do and physically being able to
do something. There's a lot of guys who played against
this guy right here said, oh, we need to get
to him. He's not a very big inside linebacker.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
We need to get to him.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
But was he able to shed him? Were they able
to block him? Did he get around the block? Did
he run right through them to make the tackle. So
the physical part of it. I mean that that to
me is is.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
Also well and I think with lofa, you know, the
thing that's special. One of the things that's special about
him was you you can learn your assignment and you
can even learn a little technique, but if you don't
have the instinct of not wasting motion, I mean, that's
the whole thing is like I'm going to take this
step there, and if you take that step before the
(11:17):
guy can get up on you, you've already beat him.
And the instincts that he had of movement. And I
don't know if was that video or you know, it's
just video. Knowing how to who to look at, what
to look.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
At the physical aspect of it came very natural to
me when I was young, Like you could turn on
my pop Waterer tape and you can just see one
little dude running around just cranking heads, just like like
he's about that life.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Was that did that come down genetically? I mean almost
it came from family.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Dad.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Yeah, I feel like my dad would have been a
really good linebacker, you know, but they were using fullbacks
and he thought he was a tailback, and as soon
as he got to college, they moved to full back.
So it's like because they had a lot of good tailbacks.
But so that part that came very easy to me.
Everything else I had to learn. And you know, like
I try to tell all these kids that I'm blessed
to talk to, you know, I didn't. I wasn't born
(12:11):
an all Pro linebacker. In fact, I had like no
offers to play linebacker. Leaving high school. I had won,
and I took that opportunity right. Everybody else wanted me
to play quarterback. I was a quarterback by default. One
of my buddies he quit to play hoops, you know,
he had hoop dreams. And so my dad I asked him,
why did you move me to, you know, quarterback. He's like, well,
(12:32):
because you're the only one can remember the place. How's
that works? But you know, even then, there's things in
today's game that I'm sure you guys see as offensive players,
Like guys are leaving college as quarterbacks and they've never
called a huddle, they've never called a play, they've never
got under center, they've never used their voice, they've just
like I can't imagine that transition because everywhere I went
(12:54):
speaking to the instinct part I got to watch and
learn from the guy in front of me, because I
wasn't always the starter, and then just keep graduating that
that level of education and love for the game you put.
You love the game you're gonna put in the time.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Yeah, talk about the the other part of what you
brought to this defense. Where did the leadership instincts come from?
Did they grow as well by watching other guys or
was that something that was innate in you.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
I felt like it was in me somewhat. But I
had a lot of great examples of leadership, like you know,
from high school to college everywhere I went Maine to
USC and that's even coaches too, and how they handle
themselves and carry themselves. So you're just a student of everything.
You're very observant. You're going to pick up the good
habits and see who the good leaders are and gravitate
(13:40):
towards them. Right. And so because you can leave for bad,
you can leave for good. And so I just always remember, Hey,
if I ever get the honor of being a captain,
and I'm going to take the best of everybody and
just but be myself. And so I think I was
able to become a captain and a rookie year we
voted again, and I got to be captain six years
six six years in the NFL.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
That's what happened.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
That's what Mike wanted. He wanted the players themselves to
vote and to elect guys like this to lead teams.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
And this question just popped into my pee brain. And
I'm looking at you as a former head coach, how
important was it for you to have guys like a
lofa Tatupu as a captain, somebody who you could depend
on when talking to the team, when trying to get
points across that sort of thing.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
It's invaluable, especially in the locker room, because they can
control what message we're trying to convey, what direction we're
trying to go. And captains take responsibility because it's not
that they love the you know, love the head coach
and gosh, I'm just going to do everything he wants
me to do. But they've been elected by their teammates
(14:52):
and they kind of had the vision on and the
goals committed to the season, and they're the ones outside
of coaching that take control of the team. So it's invaluable.
So and I will tell you later what some of
the you know, some of the struggles are as a
head coach wanting to have your captains convey that message
(15:15):
and take charge when you're not when nobody else is around.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Yeah, that's hard, I'm sure it is.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
What was that chemistry like on your team that not
only the Super Bowl team, but and then after that
the team started to kind of players went different directions
and all that. You could almost feel that that that
was a maybe not a one time deal, but certainly
that opportunity sort of went away after a couple of years.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Oh yeah, windows are very real in the NFL in
terms of like what you can do and and win,
you know, and so yeah, we still felt like ours open,
but you lose key players, hall of famer, like we
mentioned the Hutch and just it was a great mixture
of young guys, you know, with the rookie class we
got that year, and and the veterans and every Boddy
(16:00):
just they love football and they love their brothers.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
Right.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
It really a family environment, and you know, we went
to battle for each other, right, and it was like
when all the teams, you'll have that common factor that
you see playing in the postseason. They're a tight team.
That's a very close group.
Speaker 4 (16:18):
When you think of all the you know, the plays,
the games that you've been in. H I think it's
really hard to describe one play, right, one favorite play?
Can you describe either like this, this moment that you
had playing here for the Seahawks that you remember you
(16:39):
talk about all the time because you can really see
it was an outstanding performance or play.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
You know, it's funny you say that we talked about highlights.
I only remember the bad plays that.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
I think most of us have played.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Relate to that as a competitor, right.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Difference is Jim remembers my bad plays too. When you
catch that ball, right.
Speaker 4 (17:02):
I still think what's foggy is being on this hit.
You know, when he ran out, I completed it and
then he ran into the yard marker.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Now I'm partured? Is long? Not all?
Speaker 4 (17:12):
I was thinking if somebody said, oh, Ravees punctured his lung,
and I thought somebody highat at him, you know, and
punctured him with the with the standard And no, you
just laid into it.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
He ben flew out of bounds and the guy put
instead of dropping it like they're supposed to drop it,
the guy put his leg behind it and stood there.
So I wrapped around it like a tree.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
He reinforced it.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Yeah, and it and I ended up going back on
the field and playing for about three plays. And I was,
but I was.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
I couldn't read. I was too dumb to know what
I had done. It happened.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
So I come off the field. This is this was
in pre season, and I come off the field against
the Raiders, I think. We come off the field and
Jimmy Whitzel, our trainer, uh and I go over to him.
I'm breathing like I can't hardly breathe, and he says,
what's wrong, And I said, can't catch my breath and
everything hurts. He and looked at me and says, well,
you just out of shape, that's what he And I said, no, jim,
(18:07):
I don't think so. And then pretty soon I started
to get a little little blood in my mouth and
I had I had, I hadn't broken a rib, but
it popped. The concussion popped a hole in my love.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
And so I'm thinking, where the game's going on?
Speaker 4 (18:21):
I mean, you don't stop the game because he he
hit the yard marker, So the game's going on. But
I heard, oh my gosh, Steve punctured his lung and
I swear I still. I was trying to visualize how
this guy had this poker up there and you ran
into it and it just went right through your ribs
into your lunge.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
You remember, you've seen the pictures of the Knights with
the jousting.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Jim Oh my gosh, and you know they put me in.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
They finally took me to the ambulance and said, we
gotta get you to the hospital because you're hung as
collapsing on you. And so I get in just the
ambulance ready to pull out. I hear somebody yell wait
a minute, and the doors open again and Joe Norman
limps on. He had just blown his knee out and
so the two of us. He had knee surgery. I
had chest tubes put in that night to reinflate my love,
(19:15):
and it just kind of part of the game. Did
you ever have those kinds of injury? Well, I know
you had an injury ultimately that said I can't play anymore,
But did you have one.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Of those types?
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Not anything I can that comes to mind a lot
of surgeries, concussions. But like to speak to the highlights
that everyone brings up the Philly game, which I did
have that torn obleaque. Yeah, and it's different for everybody.
I remember Matt played I think that same game with
it because I tried to throw a ball and I
(19:46):
just couldn't breathe. I was like, and I just looking,
how are you going to play this week? Because I
can run? He's like, well, it doesn't hurt when I turned,
but like when I run or get hit, like that's
when I feel. So it's it's crazy everybody's paying and
just mechanically made up differently. But everybody brings that game
up in terms of highlights because the three interceptions and.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
Three interceptions in one game, yeah, I mean that's that's
that's incredible.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Wasn't it a snowy night too? A cold night?
Speaker 3 (20:13):
It was? I think that was just a cold night.
The five was the Monday Night Massacre they labeled it,
and that you know, I was a good one too.
But both those games I saw Wyman after and he
was like talking about the game, and you know, it
was a good game. But I missed a tackle which
was a sack.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
And he reminded you of that.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
I reminded now because he was asking me like he's like,
thirteen tackles three interceptions one hundred yards returned, so I
had a one hundred yard receiving Again. I thought we
were like right there with the one hundred yard games.
We are, but and so all I can remember was
I should have had another pick. Oh, and then I
(20:54):
should have had a sack.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
And so I was just amazing.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
I was still like I'd never been happy with any game. Yeah, like, yeah,
I was happy. Happy we won, right, as long as
we win, right, because I've had games where I had
like two tackles and hey, communication was solid. We got
out of there with the W. That's all I care about.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
So you moved, you moved from playing and you you
actually were an assistant coach here. Yeah, okay, So how
was that experience? And why are you not a coach today?
Because it's been year what year.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
Were you fifteen and sixteen? So it's been about eight
years yea.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
So eight years.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
So you started, you said I want to do this,
I want to get out there and start coaching, and
you stopped.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Yeah. I was newly retired, right, and just stay at
home dad, right, which is awesome. But and I was
just going to like high school games. I was living
back in Massachusetts at the time when they called me,
but they're like, hey, we have an opportunity, you know,
And I was like, well, I love football and I
wanted that ring, and I knew we still had that
that window still open, right, And so I talked to John,
(22:01):
talked to Pete, and you know, I was like, was
there anything on like maybe the scouting side. I really
loved the player of valuation and like finding like value
because talent jumps off the film, right, But who are
the guys that get overlooked? Right? And then you look
up later and they got a Pro Bowl or two
and you're like, who saw that? I've seen it a
couple of times. And so but I honored the contract,
(22:24):
did coaching, and I got to coach Bobby and kJ. Right,
So it's I don't know how good of a coach
I really was. Bobby already had two Pro Bowls, kJ
made his Pro Bowl.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
What what was the thing that that said it's not
for me?
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Uh So I have two boys, they were three and six,
and we had them around the football schedule, right because
my my first one was born during my last year,
and and then the other one just happened to be
in July. And so February. I missed the birthday because
of combine, and then a lot I missed it because
of camp, and so I missed third and sixth and
(23:02):
fourth and seventh birthdays. And I was like, I don't
know if I'm ready to make this kind of sacrifice.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Yeah, but in it's long hours.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Is it goes my fast. It's fun, you know, like
you're back part of the team and like something bigger
than yourself. And just I fell in love with it.
It was just commitment was a little too great in
terms of sacrifice for you know, because the kids they're
now they're ten and thirteen, could be getting closer to
return to football because they don't want to hang out
(23:32):
with dad anymore. They know everything right, right.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
So but you stayed here, you didn't go back to me?
Speaker 3 (23:39):
Now, Yeah, I love it out here. I was back there.
Me and my wife are both from back there, Rachel,
and so we were back there for two or three
years and then came back here and got some businesses here,
and just I love Seattle, right and Washington in general.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Well, and you're obviously you're you're an institution back here,
and you're a you're a podcast star. You've got what
fifteen podcasters or something. You do some incredible stuff. I
just I like to do things that are fun. Yeah, right,
your passion.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Have you been on his podcast?
Speaker 3 (24:12):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Yeah, goody.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
He didn't invite you.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
No, I haven't it.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
I don't have Remember that, I don't have Jim's number.
Maybe you can give you. I'm not gonna get it.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
I don't want are you kidding? I still want to
be one of the few guys from the old.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
That's good team.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
That's all.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
Well, yeah, and he's kind of all over the place
because not only player, but the way you know he
is the Seahawks.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Seahawks. Yeah, that's that's fun.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
That's I can't I can't lie to you.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
Love it though, right, I do.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
I'll tell you something else when when you were talking
and I started thinking about that two thousand and five season,
and of course, you know, Jim worked for Mike and
we're we're all really good friends and we love seeing
each other again. But I remember that game that won
the NFC championship at home Carolina, and I remember Sharon
was in the booth, my bride. Forty three years we've
(24:58):
been married, she was in the booth. So now anytime
we play in an NFC championship, if it's here, the
kind of the rule is she's got to be here
because we won every time she's been in the booth,
So that's that's one of the rules. But I just remember,
this is our We're going to the super Bowl, right,
I mean, I had to say it to myself a
few times that we're going. We you know, I'm sitting
(25:20):
upstairs in the booth. These are the guys that actually
did it. You guys actually did it. But it was
just such a moment for the franchise, and I know
for Jim, for me as well, coming here in seventy
six when there was you know, it was kind of
bleak those first few years, but the fans they weren't
even known as the Twelves then, but fans hung in
(25:41):
there with us, and pretty soon you started building that
that team around some players and some coaches, and here
we go, We're going to the super Bowl. Now, what
happened on that Sunday in Detroit is a whole nother story, right,
as we so well know. But uh, and then you
mentioned Markwan Markwan, Manuel doesn't get hurt, and I think
we're in a pretty good shape to win that game.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
Mar Kwang got hurt, Rock got hurt, you know, so
hey got you give credit to them, they won, right,
And I understand, you know the what happened in that game,
But if it happened the other way for us, I'm
not giving that ring back. So mad at Steelers, No, man,
I just don't like refs. But do you remember how
much fun that season was? Like we got on that
(26:23):
roll of like ten or eleven games straight.
Speaker 4 (26:25):
Do you remember what was on the back of the
team meeting room. Remember we had ed he Climb and
either Todd or Mike had the whole wall covered in
Mount Rainier in a photo of Mount Rainier. And every
week we won, we had we were climbing the mountains,
and every week we won we had care Beaners. Yeah,
(26:47):
and I still have those things hanging in my garage,
you know, because and I thought, and I always think
about how tough it was to win. And you guys
had to go out there and do it. You're the
ones that went out and performed, but we we had
to also give you ammunition as coaches and hoping that
they would play consistently. And so we had a I mean,
(27:09):
the consistency week in and week out.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
And I would say the easiest coaching job is when
a team makes the playoffs because the players take over.
You hardly have to say anything and everybody's so willing.
You're not pulling, You're not pulling anymore. You're you're you're
actually viewing guys and they're going give me the info.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Okay, got it. You know you don't have to say
anything more. I got it.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
And all of a sudden, Uh, these guys come together.
It's a really tight knit. The chemistry, chemistry.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Even me Dede and Leroy because it started off me
d and Jamie Sharper. So we went through a versity.
We lost Jamie, we lost Ken Hammon, we lost guys
in and out of the roster, Dice and d Jack.
But the next man stepped up and did their job.
Like and it was just no one cared about any credit.
But like the chemistry with like Lero, I remember him.
(28:01):
We were in Saint Louis and Z was like getting
on us because like we were not messing up fits.
But I was like, dude, the only rule I have
playing with me? I did ever rule like you beat
me to the ball, I'll play off for you, but
I'm going to beat you to the ball, so you're
gonna have to play off me. But one time, man,
I just saw blur. It was like Lero's first start
and I was like, what was that? Oh that was
(28:22):
Leroy hell And so I was like, oh, he he
spilled it instead of boxing it, so he forced it
to go outside instead of knocking it back to me.
So I was I'm just gonna go over the top
make the tackle on Steven Jackson and like it was like, man,
thank you for saving me. I was like, nah, dude,
Like those are the rules, Like we have fits, but
if they know, if an offense knows where you're going
to be every time, then it's to their advantage, right right,
(28:44):
So like you got to be a little.
Speaker 4 (28:45):
Unpredictable, especially with alignment. Yeah, yes, we can predict your alignment.
Speaker 3 (28:49):
Oh yeah, that's becomes a long day. Or if they
can sit on the double team and then climb up.
You know, did you.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
Have any communication between d line and you as linebackers
to know whether it was going to be a pass
or a run based on how an offensive lineman was
sitting and stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
Rabbit or run A rabbit meant run and the bird
meant passed, So like you would just get either a
hand signal or someone just turning. Yeah, hey you know, rabbit,
rab a rabbit. I look at the formation. It's near eye.
I was like, yoh, they're eighty five percent power out
of this formation.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
So think about it.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
That's that's that if you knew fifty percent of the
plays and the fifty percent is it's a run or
it's a pass. I mean you got a you've got
an advantage. And so the communication, uh, that's not It
may be a coaching tip, but you actually have to
do it in a game. Yeah, and uh, it makes
a huge difference.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
It's more difficult in today's game, I would assume because
of things like motion and different formation groups and all
those kinds of things. Right, my wrong.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
I think RPO makes it because it really literally is
a run pass option, right. So, and but that's you
see like is getting penalized for illegal lineman downfield because
they don't have the timing down yet, like between the
quarterback and the throw and like, okays, he's open, I
can throw it now, anticipate it, right, they're kind of
waiting till they're.
Speaker 4 (30:10):
RPO is easier in college football because of the lineman
can be down the field three yards and in the
NFL yard and a half, so you can't be inside
the box, no, and so I just have to make that.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
Discissie, and especially if they climb to that second level
like the zone block, which I still think the zone
block is the toughest scheme, but you can beat it
strategically with your d lineman. Like I would just say, hey,
you have to win front side, and I'm gonna come
downhill on that first double team and I'm gonna pick
that guard off, like he will not stay on the
double team after that play, trust me, because you you
(30:45):
lay one of them on their backs. They're going back
to the huddle like, hey, you're not getting any help
to the center. They're like, next time we call nineteen
or whatever, I'm going to fifty one. And so now
all of a sudden, he climbs. I just tell them
win front side. I'm going to loop back around the
other side. We're both going to be free.
Speaker 4 (30:59):
Because what happens as you start that double team on
that guy and both guys want to get the linebacker,
so so he uh this guard. The guard thinks, hey,
I've got to come off or the Yeah, the backside guard,
they got to come off and get the linebacker, and
the center is going I got to come off and
get him coming over the top and they go boo,
(31:19):
and then that d lineman is unblocked and you're just
pulling your.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
Hand and rolling basketball.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Really is my broadcast partner, Dave Linman uh talks about
it a fair amount, and that is as another middle linebacker.
So you guys obviously know each other so well. But
he always used to say, I would get the most
comfort by looking directly in front of me and see
Cortes's Kennedy's big butt right in front of me. He said,
(31:45):
cause I knew that Cortes was going to like envelop
two or three offensive linemen and he he wasn't going
to move, and if they missed him, he was in
the backfield. He said, that was the most comfort he
ever got. And to with great other great Hall of
Famer Cortez Kennedy, to play with great players like that
really must be something terrific for guys like you.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
Yeah, and I mean on that team like Argus Hubbs
three thirty.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
And move and Craig Tarrell could get skinny.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
Craig Tarrel never got reached. Yeah, I proby. You can
go back and watch all the clips. I don't think
he ever got reached. And that was just the rule.
I was like, hey, I give you freedom, like to
you know, make a play right, because you don't want
them to even be in the same position where the
offense knows, okay, he's always in the nose and they're
doing this, like so you can stunt and get around
(32:38):
and I'll play off of you, but you know, if
you get double reached, we got problems, like real problems.
Speaker 4 (32:43):
What's really cool is to hear Lofa talk about, hey,
these are our rules, like they had rules and the
rules in his in his mind made a difference, but
I would I would also say he also learned how
to fund how to have good fundamentals playing in a
good position with good technique, so he could follow his rules,
(33:06):
you know what I mean. And those are the things
that the coaches can help. It's like and you can
see it on video and you can train it because
everything's filmed now and you can tell. It really disturbs
me when I see quarterbacks in the gun just standing
straight up and the first thing they do is is
sink down when they get the ball and everybody else
has taken a step, they haven't taken anything. And so
(33:29):
you know, those are the things that I want to
train guys and little things.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
Well, because that's a trigger to me for my blitz.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
I'm like, oh, okay, he stands up, doesn't even like
even on a dummy count. He doesn't get down like
it's coming, like the ball's coming. So if he does
this and then all of a sudden the next one,
I'm taking off on that.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
And I learned that with Largent and probably you.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
No, I'm sure not me.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
Come on, because.
Speaker 4 (33:58):
Steve would always be down in a position where he
could just take off. He wouldn't be down in a
position where he'd sink and then take off. Efficiency that
you talked about, Yeah, it's it's it is efficiency. And
if you get half a step, oh you got it,
you got it made, and then you've then hey, we
got our rules.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
I love that, you know.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
And I was gonna mention when you when you talk
our rules, when you're talking about the defense out there,
did they ever kind of go either counter to or
you're not making it up on the fly. But you're
realizing in the situation, I know what you what we
talked about, and so you said it to the coach, Hey,
that ain't working.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
We got our rules.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
I don't know if Mike knew about the rules. So
let's let's not show them this tape cutting you out
of this one. But it was like it was literally unset,
unspoken set of rules of like how we take advantage
because again, if we're just sitting, all we did was
play quarters, like and we were so aggressive with our safeties.
They were so good that it looked it was like
(34:58):
nine in the box. We didn't get a whole lot
of eleven looks until it was obvious passing downs right,
so then we would bring pressure or change it up,
but like we would play the seven man front, but
it was more like nine. That's why we're so good
against the run. And like people were looking at us
like how do they play quarters?
Speaker 1 (35:15):
And stopped the runs and those and those quarters players,
those inside safeties they had gap control, they had they
had a gap assignment at the edge.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
Yeah, and so you have to read that quickly. I'm
asking the question. You have to read that quickly, and
if it is passed you still have to get back
to your quarter.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
No, but see we ran them underneath. Yeah, so you
were about to say it. Yeah, so we ran the
corners over the top and so now.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
So be careful. So that's what.
Speaker 4 (35:40):
So now you've got Cover two invert. Yes, right, you
got Cover two invert. The safety is going outside to
contain pushing everything back into him so he can have
glory and make tackles. But the corner actually is the
deep sake. He's the Cover two safety. He would never
go too far inside. If number one went vertical, you know,
(36:02):
he would would be inside, but he's not going to
show you. So you you think it's a safety zone.
So you have to really see how the how the
safeties uh connect with these and cover four or quarters. Uh,
that's that's different than a Cover two invert. Uh because
the safeties now they can jump and it's tough to
(36:24):
throw a slant. And we used to always say, if
you're seeing quarters, be careful because uh, because the number
the the will linebacker or the inside linebacker, he's gonna
he's gonna wall this guy, the number two receiver. But man,
that safety is gonna come hard because when he sees
him walling and you set up on a three step drop.
(36:46):
All he has to do is go get that slant
and he's gonna blow the guy up. And then the
you know, the corner. Can you know I always say
the corners always get they can always p I slants
because gosh it's bang bang.
Speaker 3 (37:00):
Yeah inside of yeah, yeah, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
Oh my gosh, you.
Speaker 3 (37:04):
Got to give us something. Many everything's going towards all.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
Okay, we've so now we've talked. We've talked really intricate football.
Actually more than I was gonna say, more than maybe
a lot of people out there. No, it was more
than I know, when you start talking about inverts and
things like that, I'm still I'm still with Sky and Cora.
That's how far back I go.
Speaker 3 (37:26):
Cora.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
Corner pressure, safety pressure, that kind of simple in those days.
What is lofa TATUPU? Now with two sons thirteen and ten?
You said, thirteen and ten, what do you guys and Rachel?
What do you guys do for fun? What's what's your
idea of a great day if it doesn't involve football.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
Yeah, it's mostly centered around what the kids want to do, right,
and so coaching the flag football team. Right now, I
have to go back and look at a Green Bay
Packers team that they really got after my defense and
because you know why the kids weren't listening. It wasn't
my fun. Oh like, let's get honest. So now I'm
just gonna play all man because you know, I got
(38:05):
these guys. Well, he entered my zone and then he
took off. I was like, hey, it's zoned to man,
and I've taught you that, So I go, now we're
just going to play straight up man. So we're gonna
find out who the real players.
Speaker 1 (38:15):
What is your thirteen year old and ten year old
play when they.
Speaker 3 (38:19):
Yeah, my youngest, he's right starting to get into sports.
We had him in basketball and it was it was
just comedy hour, like oh my god, like it should
be a Netflix special like off the videos. I have
a lot of traveling, a lot of personal fouls. But
but the older he got, he was late into sports.
(38:40):
I've worked with him a lot when he was younger,
like I was like, oh, you're gonna play baseball, football,
and he just he loves music and the youngest loves art,
and so we got him into Yeah, like my my
youngest plays on the computer and like drawing and the
tablet with shrink the computer generated art and stuff like that.
And so we got him into a coding and I
just I've never seen him happier, right, yeah, because he
(39:03):
was miserable when I took him to the ball field.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
You see him concentrate on those he wanted.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
To go back. It was a two hour lesson. I
was like, it might be a little long for like
what he's displayed for attention span, and he loved it
and went back the next day and the next day.
Speaker 4 (39:16):
So and what type of music is it producing or
is it an instrumental everything?
Speaker 3 (39:21):
He started with the drums, Thanks Mom. That was a
Christmas present like that Grandma gave him. And just whiling
away on the drums and then went to guitar. He's
doing vocals now at School of Rock and Isequi. So
he's done that, you know, and like they have concerts
and it's probably the most fun kid event I've ever
been to. Like the parents are partying at the bar
(39:43):
and the kids are rocking out. It's a lively atmosphere.
Speaker 4 (39:46):
And so so he's learning a lot, oh yeah, a
lot of different instruments.
Speaker 3 (39:51):
He's into everything, and I'm just trying to teach him
to follow through with one thing, right, like, hey, dude,
just come on, finish what you started. And like my youngest,
he's only trying a couple of things, but he masters everything.
So I got my work cut We got our work
cut out with each of them. But just I think
they've they've learned a lot from each other because they're
kind of close in age.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
The biggest lesson that football sports, But because we're all
football players here, the biggest lesson that you've learned that
you've that you've applied to your life well past your
playing time.
Speaker 3 (40:25):
Ah, it's a great question. I mean so many, but
no one does anything great by themselves, Like it takes
a team. And you know, just being able to trust
and show care and love for your team like that
was for me as a leader. That's what I've learned
from some of the great leaders I had that they
(40:45):
cared about what we were doing. They loved what we
were doing the sport, right, they loved ball, and then
they love their brothers, right, They loved the team, and
they would go out of their way if they saw
someone struggling. Hey, you know, what can I help you with?
How do you know? And so? But just being part
of a team and something.
Speaker 4 (41:00):
There are you do you staying connect in contact with
teammates and hang with these guys and have relationships deepened?
Speaker 3 (41:09):
Or yes, you know and you know because it's crazy.
I talked to some of my friends that have Super
Bowl rings and right, and I'm like, hey, you keep
in touch with I mean, I must have been a
tight group. We were, but just now it's not kind
of but you notice a lot of us stayed up here, right,
truthfout's from here, Babs. You know, there's so many guys.
Speaker 1 (41:28):
You have to work at it too.
Speaker 4 (41:29):
You have to work at those friendships because it's it's
not forced anymore, Right, it's not practice. And what are
you doing all day at practice? Well, I'm hanging out
with you? It's not like that. And plus you're married.
There's different relationships. There's skill involved with developing a friendship
with your old teammates.
Speaker 3 (41:48):
Right, takes time and effort, right, But anything you love,
you're going to put in the time in that.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
It's interesting because you know, again, next year will be
fifty years for us. That's the birth of the franchise
fifty years ago next season and just in the last
year and a half. And I think part of it
started around COVID time. But one of our former teammates
from back in those early days started doing a zoom
call and we get a bunch of guys, we have
(42:13):
one tonight.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
Did you know that? I do know that?
Speaker 3 (42:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
I tried to get pop a Fig to.
Speaker 2 (42:18):
Hey, he's going to be He's going to supposed to
be there?
Speaker 1 (42:19):
Is he? Yeahause, I gave I don't know that he
can talk computer.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
I think that's his biggest problem is it can't make
it work on the computer. But then that's the case
for a lot of us.
Speaker 1 (42:27):
I tried to be on but I couldn't click the.
Speaker 2 (42:29):
Right hit the right button. I don't know what's wrong
with this thing. Can I do it?
Speaker 1 (42:33):
You know?
Speaker 2 (42:33):
Can I call you on a on a telegraph? No, Fig,
that's not going to work either. But it has been
so much fun for us, And you know, I still
see all these guys. I mean, I still see Jim
wearing the number ten jersey and you know, got the
page boy haircut, and he looked like he, you know,
just fell out a l magazine or something. And and
(42:54):
yet we're now in our seventies and it's so amazing
to just sit and listen and everybody talks and we
all still laugh.
Speaker 3 (43:02):
We laugh with each other as.
Speaker 2 (43:04):
Friends, and we we you know, we commiserate, and we
we mourn when we lose one of our own, and
we've lost a number of them over the years. But
that may be the best part. It's what you're talking about.
It might be the best part of what we did
back in the day. Was now we can still enjoy
all those guys.
Speaker 3 (43:21):
The memories just come flooding back. I was down this
is the twentieth year for my national championship, when Many
and my team and I went down to the nil
dinner and you know, I saw one of my bodies.
He's like, man, it's you know, it's been a while.
I was like, yeah, twenty years. I haven't seen you
since Miami when we played Oklahoma. How's it really? I
was like, and like, I can't remember what I had
(43:44):
yesterday for dinner or but like I'll remember details of
meetings and where we were, what happened.
Speaker 4 (43:51):
And like Lofa, you know, we had our alumni game
and I always see Lofa at the alumni game as yes,
you do as well. But what's interesting, I know you
because we you know, I'm I'm a fan and I
was a coach when you were on the team, and
so it's easy. But there's a lot of guys that
(44:11):
are in that in different generations of retirement that have
been Seahawks players that I don't even recognize. How about you?
Speaker 1 (44:20):
Do you? Uh?
Speaker 4 (44:21):
Do you know every single guy that or do you are?
There's some guys that you don't recognize.
Speaker 3 (44:26):
I try to, but everybody I played with, like yeah, yeah,
you know, sure my memory hasn't gotten that bad yet.
Speaker 1 (44:33):
Well yeah, but it's hard to know who played and who.
Speaker 3 (44:36):
Had guys look different like yeah, Tobeck and hot you
wouldn't right, Yeah, and still hilarious though. Yeah that that
was a fun group to hang out.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
Yeah yeah, well offensive linemen usually are. We had our
nick bebouts and our rd qs. We had the fun
guys too.
Speaker 3 (44:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (44:53):
Listen, Well, we know you've got something you've got to do.
We all have other things to do. But I just
want to say thanks you. You invited me, You were
gracing us gracious enough to have me on your on
your podcast, and it was great fun talking to you guys,
and we always enjoyed And one day when you're like
you don't have anything else to do, you can invite
Jim and.
Speaker 4 (45:13):
Uh, yeah, who's your partner in crime on your podcast?
Speaker 1 (45:17):
Is it just you? Oh?
Speaker 3 (45:19):
My boy, Brett Davern he's he grew up in Edmonds
up here in Washington and it's a long time Hawk
fan and like so he comes to a lot of
all the home games. But then he'll like he'll he'll
come around and like we were into the suite one
time and he walked up. He was going to ask,
you know, a gentleman a question, and then he goes,
oh my god, it's Mario Bailey because he's a big
Washington Husky fan, and uh he like forgot like having
(45:41):
to talk. And I was like, I was like, yeah,
it's Mario. Like he's like Mario Bailey and I was like, yes,
it's Mario Bailey. He's a cool dude. Ask him a question.
What were you going to ask?
Speaker 2 (45:52):
Well, it's it's it's always great catching up with with you.
Speaker 1 (45:57):
And uh, we we love.
Speaker 2 (45:59):
Seeing you when you're around on Sundays, always making a
point stop by, you know, either down on the field
or upstairs. And Zee, you know you and I get
see each other almost every Sunday as well, so we
appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (46:11):
Uh. Best of racial based.
Speaker 2 (46:12):
To the kids, and thank you as always, LOFA and
to all of you out there, thanks so much for
joining us as a part of our Seahawks stories this week.
I will have another episode coming up for you, probably
in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, Go Hawks.
Speaker 1 (46:25):
And thanks for being with us all right, see you later.
Speaker 3 (46:28):
Appreciate you. I love you guys listen, love you too,
and
You're listening to Seahawks Stories, teaking you behind the scenes
with your favorite Seahawks.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Set back to behind, Zorn, who's back to pass as
time looks for the left sideline, throws.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
A bomb down there.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
He's got a man in front. He makes the crab
a travel at a thirty down to the twenty. Don't
never get him. He scores touched out.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Seahawks powered by Seahawks dot Com.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
And Zorn later in perfectly a Rabel who goes in
to score on an eighty yard pass and run play.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Now, here's your host, the voice of the Seahawks, Steve
Raebol and Seahawks legend Jim Zorn.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Well, hi, everybody, welcome to Seahawks Stories. Along with jim's Orn,
our guest today Lofaitupu, one of the great linebackers in
the history of this franchise, who kind of looked at
me inquisitively when he was listening to the open. Oh,
you really caught a pass when you were with the
Sea York. That was sort of what the question looked
like on your face.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
No, it was forty times.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
Yeah, I knew you have Oh yeah, yeah, we he
caught it at the thirty and went in. It was
a I think how they put it, a fifty five
yard screamer.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
That's what that's John Facenda. Remember John Facenda? Do you
remember the name Johnson? Do you who was the guy
who did the NFL films? And they talked like this
and a brisk breeze is blowing over. And when you
when John Facenda said your name in a highlight package,
now you you got used to it. But when he
said my name on that throws a fifty odd scream
(01:25):
of the Steve.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
I could retire, be cut pass away. I've lived my
life to the fullest because John Facenda said my name?
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Did you? Uh?
Speaker 4 (01:36):
When did you start watching your highlight films? Not so
much personally, but did you have team films when you
played here? Team highlight films?
Speaker 3 (01:47):
I don't think so. Is that like fairly new? Because
I don't remember. I still can't find any MO film.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
I would say it's fairly old. Oh yeah, yeah, not
fairly new.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Yeah. What they used to do would be every team
would then get a half hour highlight film at the
end of the season. So whether you were two and
in our case, two and twelve, our first year or
twelve and two and the Super Bowl champion. They all
kind of look the same. You're highlighting all the best plays.
So you'd have thought our first year that we went
to the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (02:15):
We nearly went to the playoffs, and I could have
probably won the Super Bowl two and twelve exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
But you know, you focus on and in those days,
the PR folks would sit down with the producers of
these videos and say, here are the guys. You know,
so Zee and Yoda, those guys got, you know, the
bulk of it because they were the bulk of our offense.
And then then you mentioned a few of the rookies
who played well because you think they're going to be back,
(02:41):
and that would be me and a couple of other
guys who were back. And then some of the veterans.
You know, we had guys like Mike Curtis on our
defense in those days.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
I love watching him play.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Oh my god, oh he he was a different cat,
as they say. He was as hard a hit her
as as you could ever find. He just lay well.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
He laid a fan out.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Remember a fan ran on it on the field Baltimore
and he said, you're you're in my place of work. Now,
and he belted the guy and dropped him like a
sack of hammers and they had to literally help this
guy off the field, and then they just went on
with the game.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
But he was not one of the guys that would
uh uh just sort of walk, you know, walk with
everybody else and I'm going to do everything else. He
would call the NFLPA office to see if it was legal,
if we had to if we had to practice in
one hundred and five degree, whether hey, is hey, should
we walk out or is this going to be okay?
Speaker 1 (03:36):
You know, he was kind of special. We have no water,
you know, we had no water either.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Very smart guy.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
Yeah, he was a pretty smart guy.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
That's a different level of toughness, you guys.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
It was just it was a different level of knowledge,
is what it was. I mean we did stuff that
everybody else did in those days. I mean Jack came
from the Bud Grant tree, and that's the way Bud
did it.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
And and so you just and.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Quite frankly, and I think Jim would agree, once you
did a few times, you got used to it. That's
just kind of the way it was. You drank a
lot of water before practice, and then you hydrated afterwards
in my case with beer. But then then thank you
very yes, And Jimmy, I think now has actually found
that a taste of the vine.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Once in a while. Fine, that's exactly right.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
I don't know if it's a you know, public knowledge,
I mean.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Or a.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
What a spot that people use, but I've drank Beginness
beer and oh my gosh, it's pretty good.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Yeah, exactly exactly. I don't know how the hell we
got on.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
That's something fun. Mike Curtis, he was the Cults before, right, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
Yeah, we got him in the expansion Dravet exactly. That's
that's how he got to Seattle through the expansion in
nineteen seventy six.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Right, So we had most of our expansion guys and
fat well, no, we had someone on the offensive line,
Nick Bebout, Mardy Kune, Norm Evans on defense. What was
Bradley's name? Our middle linebacker ed Ed Bradley came from
the Steelers middle linebacker Mike was outside ken Getty's.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Was the other about Dave Brown? Dave Brown, he was
a first first round draft choice. Yeah, and he was
in the expansion draft. Wasn't protected.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
And that's how you know you get the guys in
the expansion is you can only protect so many guys,
and then you have a pool of guys. That's how
we got Sam McCullum. That's how we got from Minnesota.
Autrey Beaman came the next year. Beaman came in seventy seven.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
Steve Priest.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Steve was in the expansion draft as a safety with US.
Al Matthews was. So we played a lot of those
veterans that first year. But I'll never forget it. We're
coming back from our last game of the season was
somewhere back east. It was maybe New York or Philadelphia.
The very first season. We're flying back and the coaches
used to sit in the back of the plane and
(05:52):
the older players sat up front, so we were I
was the rookie, so we sat behind the bulkhead and
Jack was bringing players back. He had a seat next
to him open, and the entire flight he'd bring a
player back and sit him down and talk to him.
And so I don't know if he did you do
that to you, he did it to me, and he
brought me back there and he said, hey, first of all,
(06:12):
he said, here's what you need to improve on. When
are you coming back. You know, you don't wait until
May or June to come back to get ready. But
he said the thing that hit me the most was
he said, take a look up there. See all the
old guys that are up there, they're not going to
be here. This is going to be your guys team.
And that's what we're got, that's what we're preparing for now.
And he was right.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
The vast majority of.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
The expansion draft guys were gone after that first year,
and that's how then you start building that that first
franchise on on those young players.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Well, that's all the time we have.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Look what was your first year here, two thousand and five.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Rookie starting middle linebacker for a super Bowl team?
Speaker 1 (06:56):
What was that like?
Speaker 3 (06:58):
It was incredible, And honestly, I'm not gonna say I
expected it, but I know it's just college just came
off of two straight national titles. So I hadn't lost
the game until we lost to Jacksonville opening day down
there in like a year and a half, two years.
And I had a good cry after that game. And
I don't know if people like remember Moe Kelly actually
(07:20):
consoled me. It's great, dude, but I just remember from
that game. It was very hot, yep, but we had
something like four or five turnovers and we still only
lost twenty six to fourteen. You're supposed to get blown
out when you give the ball up that much. And
we didn't get anything on defense, Like we didn't stop
Fred Taylor, didn't stop Jimmy Smith like they It was ugly.
(07:42):
But you know, after I wiped my tears away, I
just went around and told everybody's like, hey, man, like
we got something specially here, like if we just keep
going and believe in it, because you got that many
things that go against you in terms of like that game,
you should have You hadn't even have been in the game.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Mind Folks who some of those defensive players were with
you in that that year?
Speaker 1 (08:04):
This was Mike Holmgren's job. Were you I was here? Yeah? Yeah,
I was on the stage.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Yeah, Grant Wistrom, Bryce Fisher, Chuck Darby, Rocky Bernard, Marcus Tubbs,
Craig Tarrell, and then safeties we had bow Where and
Kenny Hammlon and then Markwan, Manuel Corner, Dyson Herndon and Trufon.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Yeah, that's a good crew.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
And then the linebackers did that stay the same you
and Leroy Roy. Yeah, yeah, did.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
That stay the same throughout the year with you guys.
I mean you can name all those guys. But how
did it change?
Speaker 1 (08:45):
How did it?
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Yeah, Well, Kenny got into an incident and Mark Wan
ended up filling his spot. And you know, it's like, Kenny,
we're talking about a Pro Bowl player, so those are
big shoes to fill. And I remember Mark Kwan just
coming in and just kind of sitting back and you know,
(09:07):
not really taking authority. He became one of our leaders,
but at the time he was just kind of like, Hey,
I'm just going to do my job. And then we
just got together watching film and he really helped with
the communication aspect, which is huge, Like there's no secrets
on defense. You see something, say something, And so that's
(09:27):
the biggest part is, you know, we found our groove
and because I think we're probably like a fourteen or
sixteen ranked defense. It wasn't like awesome, but we were
top in rush defense, top in sacks and takeaways. We
lived off the big play to give that high powered
offense more opportunity.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Was just gonna say, you had a pretty good offense
across the way from you over there, starting with that
big offensive front. I mean, they were as good as
any group together in my recollection, certainly with this franchise.
But the left side of the line was Hall of Fame.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
I mean.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Remember Robbie Tobek and he would say, you know, after
I learned all, you know what the rules were? He goes,
I never studied. You know, I wanted to back keep
slap him. What do you mean you never saidy? He said.
He said, in Tom Levat's program of of of identifying
what's in front of you, all you had to do
(10:21):
is know where the middle linebacker was, and all.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
The rules took place. He said, So any times he goes,
I didn't, he goes, where's the middle linebacker? He's right there.
I know what to do. And so he said he
never studied.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
But knowing what to do and physically being able to
do something. There's a lot of guys who played against
this guy right here said, oh, we need to get
to him. He's not a very big inside linebacker.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
We need to get to him.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
But was he able to shed him? Were they able
to block him? Did he get around the block? Did
he run right through them to make the tackle. So
the physical part of it. I mean that that to
me is is.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
Also well and I think with lofa, you know, the
thing that's special. One of the things that's special about
him was you you can learn your assignment and you
can even learn a little technique, but if you don't
have the instinct of not wasting motion, I mean, that's
the whole thing is like I'm going to take this
step there, and if you take that step before the
(11:17):
guy can get up on you, you've already beat him.
And the instincts that he had of movement. And I
don't know if was that video or you know, it's
just video. Knowing how to who to look at, what
to look.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
At the physical aspect of it came very natural to
me when I was young, Like you could turn on
my pop Waterer tape and you can just see one
little dude running around just cranking heads, just like like
he's about that life.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Was that did that come down genetically? I mean almost
it came from family.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Dad.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Yeah, I feel like my dad would have been a
really good linebacker, you know, but they were using fullbacks
and he thought he was a tailback, and as soon
as he got to college, they moved to full back.
So it's like because they had a lot of good tailbacks.
But so that part that came very easy to me.
Everything else I had to learn. And you know, like
I try to tell all these kids that I'm blessed
to talk to, you know, I didn't. I wasn't born
(12:11):
an all Pro linebacker. In fact, I had like no
offers to play linebacker. Leaving high school. I had won,
and I took that opportunity right. Everybody else wanted me
to play quarterback. I was a quarterback by default. One
of my buddies he quit to play hoops, you know,
he had hoop dreams. And so my dad I asked him,
why did you move me to, you know, quarterback. He's like, well,
(12:32):
because you're the only one can remember the place. How's
that works? But you know, even then, there's things in
today's game that I'm sure you guys see as offensive players,
Like guys are leaving college as quarterbacks and they've never
called a huddle, they've never called a play, they've never
got under center, they've never used their voice, they've just
like I can't imagine that transition because everywhere I went
(12:54):
speaking to the instinct part I got to watch and
learn from the guy in front of me, because I
wasn't always the starter, and then just keep graduating that
that level of education and love for the game you put.
You love the game you're gonna put in the time.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Yeah, talk about the the other part of what you
brought to this defense. Where did the leadership instincts come from?
Did they grow as well by watching other guys or
was that something that was innate in you.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
I felt like it was in me somewhat. But I
had a lot of great examples of leadership, like you know,
from high school to college everywhere I went Maine to
USC and that's even coaches too, and how they handle
themselves and carry themselves. So you're just a student of everything.
You're very observant. You're going to pick up the good
habits and see who the good leaders are and gravitate
(13:40):
towards them. Right. And so because you can leave for bad,
you can leave for good. And so I just always remember, Hey,
if I ever get the honor of being a captain,
and I'm going to take the best of everybody and
just but be myself. And so I think I was
able to become a captain and a rookie year we
voted again, and I got to be captain six years
six six years in the NFL.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
That's what happened.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
That's what Mike wanted. He wanted the players themselves to
vote and to elect guys like this to lead teams.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
And this question just popped into my pee brain. And
I'm looking at you as a former head coach, how
important was it for you to have guys like a
lofa Tatupu as a captain, somebody who you could depend
on when talking to the team, when trying to get
points across that sort of thing.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
It's invaluable, especially in the locker room, because they can
control what message we're trying to convey, what direction we're
trying to go. And captains take responsibility because it's not
that they love the you know, love the head coach
and gosh, I'm just going to do everything he wants
me to do. But they've been elected by their teammates
(14:52):
and they kind of had the vision on and the
goals committed to the season, and they're the ones outside
of coaching that take control of the team. So it's invaluable.
So and I will tell you later what some of
the you know, some of the struggles are as a
head coach wanting to have your captains convey that message
(15:15):
and take charge when you're not when nobody else is around.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Yeah, that's hard, I'm sure it is.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
What was that chemistry like on your team that not
only the Super Bowl team, but and then after that
the team started to kind of players went different directions
and all that. You could almost feel that that that
was a maybe not a one time deal, but certainly
that opportunity sort of went away after a couple of years.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Oh yeah, windows are very real in the NFL in
terms of like what you can do and and win,
you know, and so yeah, we still felt like ours open,
but you lose key players, hall of famer, like we
mentioned the Hutch and just it was a great mixture
of young guys, you know, with the rookie class we
got that year, and and the veterans and every Boddy
(16:00):
just they love football and they love their brothers.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
Right.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
It really a family environment, and you know, we went
to battle for each other, right, and it was like
when all the teams, you'll have that common factor that
you see playing in the postseason. They're a tight team.
That's a very close group.
Speaker 4 (16:18):
When you think of all the you know, the plays,
the games that you've been in. H I think it's
really hard to describe one play, right, one favorite play?
Can you describe either like this, this moment that you
had playing here for the Seahawks that you remember you
(16:39):
talk about all the time because you can really see
it was an outstanding performance or play.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
You know, it's funny you say that we talked about highlights.
I only remember the bad plays that.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
I think most of us have played.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Relate to that as a competitor, right.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Difference is Jim remembers my bad plays too. When you
catch that ball, right.
Speaker 4 (17:02):
I still think what's foggy is being on this hit.
You know, when he ran out, I completed it and
then he ran into the yard marker.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Now I'm partured? Is long? Not all?
Speaker 4 (17:12):
I was thinking if somebody said, oh, Ravees punctured his lung,
and I thought somebody highat at him, you know, and
punctured him with the with the standard And no, you
just laid into it.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
He ben flew out of bounds and the guy put
instead of dropping it like they're supposed to drop it,
the guy put his leg behind it and stood there.
So I wrapped around it like a tree.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
He reinforced it.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Yeah, and it and I ended up going back on
the field and playing for about three plays. And I was,
but I was.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
I couldn't read. I was too dumb to know what
I had done. It happened.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
So I come off the field. This is this was
in pre season, and I come off the field against
the Raiders, I think. We come off the field and
Jimmy Whitzel, our trainer, uh and I go over to him.
I'm breathing like I can't hardly breathe, and he says,
what's wrong, And I said, can't catch my breath and
everything hurts. He and looked at me and says, well,
you just out of shape, that's what he And I said, no, jim,
(18:07):
I don't think so. And then pretty soon I started
to get a little little blood in my mouth and
I had I had, I hadn't broken a rib, but
it popped. The concussion popped a hole in my love.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
And so I'm thinking, where the game's going on?
Speaker 4 (18:21):
I mean, you don't stop the game because he he
hit the yard marker, So the game's going on. But
I heard, oh my gosh, Steve punctured his lung and
I swear I still. I was trying to visualize how
this guy had this poker up there and you ran
into it and it just went right through your ribs
into your lunge.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
You remember, you've seen the pictures of the Knights with
the jousting.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
Jim Oh my gosh, and you know they put me in.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
They finally took me to the ambulance and said, we
gotta get you to the hospital because you're hung as
collapsing on you. And so I get in just the
ambulance ready to pull out. I hear somebody yell wait
a minute, and the doors open again and Joe Norman
limps on. He had just blown his knee out and
so the two of us. He had knee surgery. I
had chest tubes put in that night to reinflate my love,
(19:15):
and it just kind of part of the game. Did
you ever have those kinds of injury? Well, I know
you had an injury ultimately that said I can't play anymore,
But did you have one.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Of those types?
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Not anything I can that comes to mind a lot
of surgeries, concussions. But like to speak to the highlights
that everyone brings up the Philly game, which I did
have that torn obleaque. Yeah, and it's different for everybody.
I remember Matt played I think that same game with
it because I tried to throw a ball and I
(19:46):
just couldn't breathe. I was like, and I just looking,
how are you going to play this week? Because I
can run? He's like, well, it doesn't hurt when I turned,
but like when I run or get hit, like that's
when I feel. So it's it's crazy everybody's paying and
just mechanically made up differently. But everybody brings that game
up in terms of highlights because the three interceptions and.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
Three interceptions in one game, yeah, I mean that's that's
that's incredible.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Wasn't it a snowy night too? A cold night?
Speaker 3 (20:13):
It was? I think that was just a cold night.
The five was the Monday Night Massacre they labeled it,
and that you know, I was a good one too.
But both those games I saw Wyman after and he
was like talking about the game, and you know, it
was a good game. But I missed a tackle which
was a sack.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
And he reminded you of that.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
I reminded now because he was asking me like he's like,
thirteen tackles three interceptions one hundred yards returned, so I
had a one hundred yard receiving Again. I thought we
were like right there with the one hundred yard games.
We are, but and so all I can remember was
I should have had another pick. Oh, and then I
(20:54):
should have had a sack.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
And so I was just amazing.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
I was still like I'd never been happy with any game. Yeah, like, yeah,
I was happy. Happy we won, right, as long as
we win, right, because I've had games where I had
like two tackles and hey, communication was solid. We got
out of there with the W. That's all I care about.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
So you moved, you moved from playing and you you
actually were an assistant coach here. Yeah, okay, So how
was that experience? And why are you not a coach today?
Because it's been year what year.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
Were you fifteen and sixteen? So it's been about eight
years yea.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
So eight years.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
So you started, you said I want to do this,
I want to get out there and start coaching, and
you stopped.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
Yeah. I was newly retired, right, and just stay at
home dad, right, which is awesome. But and I was
just going to like high school games. I was living
back in Massachusetts at the time when they called me,
but they're like, hey, we have an opportunity, you know,
And I was like, well, I love football and I
wanted that ring, and I knew we still had that
that window still open, right, And so I talked to John,
(22:01):
talked to Pete, and you know, I was like, was
there anything on like maybe the scouting side. I really
loved the player of valuation and like finding like value
because talent jumps off the film, right, But who are
the guys that get overlooked? Right? And then you look
up later and they got a Pro Bowl or two
and you're like, who saw that? I've seen it a
couple of times. And so but I honored the contract,
(22:24):
did coaching, and I got to coach Bobby and kJ. Right,
So it's I don't know how good of a coach
I really was. Bobby already had two Pro Bowls, kJ
made his Pro Bowl.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
What what was the thing that that said it's not
for me?
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Uh So I have two boys, they were three and six,
and we had them around the football schedule, right because
my my first one was born during my last year,
and and then the other one just happened to be
in July. And so February. I missed the birthday because
of combine, and then a lot I missed it because
of camp, and so I missed third and sixth and
(23:02):
fourth and seventh birthdays. And I was like, I don't
know if I'm ready to make this kind of sacrifice.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Yeah, but in it's long hours.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Is it goes my fast. It's fun, you know, like
you're back part of the team and like something bigger
than yourself. And just I fell in love with it.
It was just commitment was a little too great in
terms of sacrifice for you know, because the kids they're
now they're ten and thirteen, could be getting closer to
return to football because they don't want to hang out
(23:32):
with dad anymore. They know everything right, right.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
So but you stayed here, you didn't go back to me?
Speaker 3 (23:39):
Now, Yeah, I love it out here. I was back there.
Me and my wife are both from back there, Rachel,
and so we were back there for two or three
years and then came back here and got some businesses here,
and just I love Seattle, right and Washington in general.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Well, and you're obviously you're you're an institution back here,
and you're a you're a podcast star. You've got what
fifteen podcasters or something. You do some incredible stuff. I
just I like to do things that are fun. Yeah, right,
your passion.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Have you been on his podcast?
Speaker 3 (24:12):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Yeah, goody.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
He didn't invite you.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
No, I haven't it.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
I don't have Remember that, I don't have Jim's number.
Maybe you can give you. I'm not gonna get it.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
I don't want are you kidding? I still want to
be one of the few guys from the old.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
That's good team.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
That's all.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
Well, yeah, and he's kind of all over the place
because not only player, but the way you know he
is the Seahawks.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
Seahawks. Yeah, that's that's fun.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
That's I can't I can't lie to you.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
Love it though, right, I do.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
I'll tell you something else when when you were talking
and I started thinking about that two thousand and five season,
and of course, you know, Jim worked for Mike and
we're we're all really good friends and we love seeing
each other again. But I remember that game that won
the NFC championship at home Carolina, and I remember Sharon
was in the booth, my bride. Forty three years we've
(24:58):
been married, she was in the booth. So now anytime
we play in an NFC championship, if it's here, the
kind of the rule is she's got to be here
because we won every time she's been in the booth,
So that's that's one of the rules. But I just remember,
this is our We're going to the super Bowl, right,
I mean, I had to say it to myself a
few times that we're going. We you know, I'm sitting
(25:20):
upstairs in the booth. These are the guys that actually
did it. You guys actually did it. But it was
just such a moment for the franchise, and I know
for Jim, for me as well, coming here in seventy
six when there was you know, it was kind of
bleak those first few years, but the fans they weren't
even known as the Twelves then, but fans hung in
(25:41):
there with us, and pretty soon you started building that
that team around some players and some coaches, and here
we go, We're going to the super Bowl. Now, what
happened on that Sunday in Detroit is a whole nother story, right,
as we so well know. But uh, and then you
mentioned Markwan Markwan, Manuel doesn't get hurt, and I think
we're in a pretty good shape to win that game.
Speaker 3 (26:02):
Mar Kwang got hurt, Rock got hurt, you know, so
hey got you give credit to them, they won, right,
And I understand, you know the what happened in that game,
But if it happened the other way for us, I'm
not giving that ring back. So mad at Steelers, No, man,
I just don't like refs. But do you remember how
much fun that season was? Like we got on that
(26:23):
roll of like ten or eleven games straight.
Speaker 4 (26:25):
Do you remember what was on the back of the
team meeting room. Remember we had ed he Climb and
either Todd or Mike had the whole wall covered in
Mount Rainier in a photo of Mount Rainier. And every
week we won, we had we were climbing the mountains,
and every week we won we had care Beaners. Yeah,
(26:47):
and I still have those things hanging in my garage,
you know, because and I thought, and I always think
about how tough it was to win. And you guys
had to go out there and do it. You're the
ones that went out and performed, but we we had
to also give you ammunition as coaches and hoping that
they would play consistently. And so we had a I mean,
(27:09):
the consistency week in and week out.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
And I would say the easiest coaching job is when
a team makes the playoffs because the players take over.
You hardly have to say anything and everybody's so willing.
You're not pulling, You're not pulling anymore. You're you're you're
actually viewing guys and they're going give me the info.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Okay, got it. You know you don't have to say
anything more. I got it.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
And all of a sudden, Uh, these guys come together.
It's a really tight knit. The chemistry, chemistry.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Even me Dede and Leroy because it started off me
d and Jamie Sharper. So we went through a versity.
We lost Jamie, we lost Ken Hammon, we lost guys
in and out of the roster, Dice and d Jack.
But the next man stepped up and did their job.
Like and it was just no one cared about any credit.
But like the chemistry with like Lero, I remember him.
(28:01):
We were in Saint Louis and Z was like getting
on us because like we were not messing up fits.
But I was like, dude, the only rule I have
playing with me? I did ever rule like you beat
me to the ball, I'll play off for you, but
I'm going to beat you to the ball, so you're
gonna have to play off me. But one time, man,
I just saw blur. It was like Lero's first start
and I was like, what was that? Oh that was
(28:22):
Leroy hell And so I was like, oh, he he
spilled it instead of boxing it, so he forced it
to go outside instead of knocking it back to me.
So I was I'm just gonna go over the top
make the tackle on Steven Jackson and like it was like, man,
thank you for saving me. I was like, nah, dude,
Like those are the rules, Like we have fits, but
if they know, if an offense knows where you're going
to be every time, then it's to their advantage, right right,
(28:44):
So like you got to be a little.
Speaker 4 (28:45):
Unpredictable, especially with alignment. Yeah, yes, we can predict your alignment.
Speaker 3 (28:49):
Oh yeah, that's becomes a long day. Or if they
can sit on the double team and then climb up.
You know, did you.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
Have any communication between d line and you as linebackers
to know whether it was going to be a pass
or a run based on how an offensive lineman was
sitting and stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
Rabbit or run A rabbit meant run and the bird
meant passed, So like you would just get either a
hand signal or someone just turning. Yeah, hey you know, rabbit,
rab a rabbit. I look at the formation. It's near eye.
I was like, yoh, they're eighty five percent power out
of this formation.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
So think about it.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
That's that's that if you knew fifty percent of the
plays and the fifty percent is it's a run or
it's a pass. I mean you got a you've got
an advantage. And so the communication, uh, that's not It
may be a coaching tip, but you actually have to
do it in a game. Yeah, and uh, it makes
a huge difference.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
It's more difficult in today's game, I would assume because
of things like motion and different formation groups and all
those kinds of things. Right, my wrong.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
I think RPO makes it because it really literally is
a run pass option, right. So, and but that's you
see like is getting penalized for illegal lineman downfield because
they don't have the timing down yet, like between the
quarterback and the throw and like, okays, he's open, I
can throw it now, anticipate it, right, they're kind of
waiting till they're.
Speaker 4 (30:10):
RPO is easier in college football because of the lineman
can be down the field three yards and in the
NFL yard and a half, so you can't be inside
the box, no, and so I just have to make that.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
Discissie, and especially if they climb to that second level
like the zone block, which I still think the zone
block is the toughest scheme, but you can beat it
strategically with your d lineman. Like I would just say, hey,
you have to win front side, and I'm gonna come
downhill on that first double team and I'm gonna pick
that guard off, like he will not stay on the
double team after that play, trust me, because you you
(30:45):
lay one of them on their backs. They're going back
to the huddle like, hey, you're not getting any help
to the center. They're like, next time we call nineteen
or whatever, I'm going to fifty one. And so now
all of a sudden, he climbs. I just tell them
win front side. I'm going to loop back around the
other side. We're both going to be free.
Speaker 4 (30:59):
Because what happens as you start that double team on
that guy and both guys want to get the linebacker,
so so he uh this guard. The guard thinks, hey,
I've got to come off or the Yeah, the backside guard,
they got to come off and get the linebacker, and
the center is going I got to come off and
get him coming over the top and they go boo,
(31:19):
and then that d lineman is unblocked and you're just
pulling your.
Speaker 3 (31:23):
Hand and rolling basketball.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Really is my broadcast partner, Dave Linman uh talks about
it a fair amount, and that is as another middle linebacker.
So you guys obviously know each other so well. But
he always used to say, I would get the most
comfort by looking directly in front of me and see
Cortes's Kennedy's big butt right in front of me. He said,
(31:45):
cause I knew that Cortes was going to like envelop
two or three offensive linemen and he he wasn't going
to move, and if they missed him, he was in
the backfield. He said, that was the most comfort he
ever got. And to with great other great Hall of
Famer Cortez Kennedy, to play with great players like that
really must be something terrific for guys like you.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
Yeah, and I mean on that team like Argus Hubbs
three thirty.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
And move and Craig Tarrell could get skinny.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
Craig Tarrel never got reached. Yeah, I proby. You can
go back and watch all the clips. I don't think
he ever got reached. And that was just the rule.
I was like, hey, I give you freedom, like to
you know, make a play right, because you don't want
them to even be in the same position where the
offense knows, okay, he's always in the nose and they're
doing this, like so you can stunt and get around
(32:38):
and I'll play off of you, but you know, if
you get double reached, we got problems, like real problems.
Speaker 4 (32:43):
What's really cool is to hear Lofa talk about, hey,
these are our rules, like they had rules and the
rules in his in his mind made a difference, but
I would I would also say he also learned how
to fund how to have good fundamentals playing in a
good position with good technique, so he could follow his rules,
(33:06):
you know what I mean. And those are the things
that the coaches can help. It's like and you can
see it on video and you can train it because
everything's filmed now and you can tell. It really disturbs
me when I see quarterbacks in the gun just standing
straight up and the first thing they do is is
sink down when they get the ball and everybody else
has taken a step, they haven't taken anything. And so
(33:29):
you know, those are the things that I want to
train guys and little things.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
Well, because that's a trigger to me for my blitz.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
I'm like, oh, okay, he stands up, doesn't even like
even on a dummy count. He doesn't get down like
it's coming, like the ball's coming. So if he does
this and then all of a sudden the next one,
I'm taking off on that.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
And I learned that with Largent and probably you.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
No, I'm sure not me.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
Come on, because.
Speaker 4 (33:58):
Steve would always be down in a position where he
could just take off. He wouldn't be down in a
position where he'd sink and then take off. Efficiency that
you talked about, Yeah, it's it's it is efficiency. And
if you get half a step, oh you got it,
you got it made, and then you've then hey, we
got our rules.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
I love that, you know.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
And I was gonna mention when you when you talk
our rules, when you're talking about the defense out there,
did they ever kind of go either counter to or
you're not making it up on the fly. But you're
realizing in the situation, I know what you what we
talked about, and so you said it to the coach, Hey,
that ain't working.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
We got our rules.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
I don't know if Mike knew about the rules. So
let's let's not show them this tape cutting you out
of this one. But it was like it was literally unset,
unspoken set of rules of like how we take advantage
because again, if we're just sitting, all we did was
play quarters, like and we were so aggressive with our safeties.
They were so good that it looked it was like
(34:58):
nine in the box. We didn't get a whole lot
of eleven looks until it was obvious passing downs right,
so then we would bring pressure or change it up,
but like we would play the seven man front, but
it was more like nine. That's why we're so good
against the run. And like people were looking at us
like how do they play quarters?
Speaker 1 (35:15):
And stopped the runs and those and those quarters players,
those inside safeties they had gap control, they had they
had a gap assignment at the edge.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
Yeah, and so you have to read that quickly. I'm
asking the question. You have to read that quickly, and
if it is passed you still have to get back
to your quarter.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
No, but see we ran them underneath. Yeah, so you
were about to say it. Yeah, so we ran the
corners over the top and so now.
Speaker 1 (35:38):
So be careful. So that's what.
Speaker 4 (35:40):
So now you've got Cover two invert. Yes, right, you
got Cover two invert. The safety is going outside to
contain pushing everything back into him so he can have
glory and make tackles. But the corner actually is the
deep sake. He's the Cover two safety. He would never
go too far inside. If number one went vertical, you know,
(36:02):
he would would be inside, but he's not going to
show you. So you you think it's a safety zone.
So you have to really see how the how the
safeties uh connect with these and cover four or quarters. Uh,
that's that's different than a Cover two invert. Uh because
the safeties now they can jump and it's tough to
(36:24):
throw a slant. And we used to always say, if
you're seeing quarters, be careful because uh, because the number
the the will linebacker or the inside linebacker, he's gonna
he's gonna wall this guy, the number two receiver. But man,
that safety is gonna come hard because when he sees
him walling and you set up on a three step drop.
(36:46):
All he has to do is go get that slant
and he's gonna blow the guy up. And then the
you know, the corner. Can you know I always say
the corners always get they can always p I slants
because gosh it's bang bang.
Speaker 3 (37:00):
Yeah inside of yeah, yeah, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (37:03):
Oh my gosh, you.
Speaker 3 (37:04):
Got to give us something. Many everything's going towards all.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
Okay, we've so now we've talked. We've talked really intricate football.
Actually more than I was gonna say, more than maybe
a lot of people out there. No, it was more
than I know, when you start talking about inverts and
things like that, I'm still I'm still with Sky and Cora.
That's how far back I go.
Speaker 3 (37:26):
Cora.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
Corner pressure, safety pressure, that kind of simple in those days.
What is lofa TATUPU? Now with two sons thirteen and ten?
You said, thirteen and ten, what do you guys and Rachel?
What do you guys do for fun? What's what's your
idea of a great day if it doesn't involve football.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
Yeah, it's mostly centered around what the kids want to do, right,
and so coaching the flag football team. Right now, I
have to go back and look at a Green Bay
Packers team that they really got after my defense and
because you know why the kids weren't listening. It wasn't
my fun. Oh like, let's get honest. So now I'm
just gonna play all man because you know, I got
(38:05):
these guys. Well, he entered my zone and then he
took off. I was like, hey, it's zoned to man,
and I've taught you that, So I go, now we're
just going to play straight up man. So we're gonna
find out who the real players.
Speaker 1 (38:15):
What is your thirteen year old and ten year old
play when they.
Speaker 3 (38:19):
Yeah, my youngest, he's right starting to get into sports.
We had him in basketball and it was it was
just comedy hour, like oh my god, like it should
be a Netflix special like off the videos. I have
a lot of traveling, a lot of personal fouls. But
but the older he got, he was late into sports.
(38:40):
I've worked with him a lot when he was younger,
like I was like, oh, you're gonna play baseball, football,
and he just he loves music and the youngest loves art,
and so we got him into Yeah, like my my
youngest plays on the computer and like drawing and the
tablet with shrink the computer generated art and stuff like that.
And so we got him into a coding and I
just I've never seen him happier, right, yeah, because he
(39:03):
was miserable when I took him to the ball field.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
You see him concentrate on those he wanted.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
To go back. It was a two hour lesson. I
was like, it might be a little long for like
what he's displayed for attention span, and he loved it
and went back the next day and the next day.
Speaker 4 (39:16):
So and what type of music is it producing or
is it an instrumental everything?
Speaker 3 (39:21):
He started with the drums, Thanks Mom. That was a
Christmas present like that Grandma gave him. And just whiling
away on the drums and then went to guitar. He's
doing vocals now at School of Rock and Isequi. So
he's done that, you know, and like they have concerts
and it's probably the most fun kid event I've ever
been to. Like the parents are partying at the bar
(39:43):
and the kids are rocking out. It's a lively atmosphere.
Speaker 4 (39:46):
And so so he's learning a lot, oh yeah, a
lot of different instruments.
Speaker 3 (39:51):
He's into everything, and I'm just trying to teach him
to follow through with one thing, right, like, hey, dude,
just come on, finish what you started. And like my youngest,
he's only trying a couple of things, but he masters everything.
So I got my work cut We got our work
cut out with each of them. But just I think
they've they've learned a lot from each other because they're
kind of close in age.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
The biggest lesson that football sports, But because we're all
football players here, the biggest lesson that you've learned that
you've that you've applied to your life well past your
playing time.
Speaker 3 (40:25):
Ah, it's a great question. I mean so many, but
no one does anything great by themselves, Like it takes
a team. And you know, just being able to trust
and show care and love for your team like that
was for me as a leader. That's what I've learned
from some of the great leaders I had that they
(40:45):
cared about what we were doing. They loved what we
were doing the sport, right, they loved ball, and then
they love their brothers, right, They loved the team, and
they would go out of their way if they saw
someone struggling. Hey, you know, what can I help you with?
How do you know? And so? But just being part
of a team and something.
Speaker 4 (41:00):
There are you do you staying connect in contact with
teammates and hang with these guys and have relationships deepened?
Speaker 3 (41:09):
Or yes, you know and you know because it's crazy.
I talked to some of my friends that have Super
Bowl rings and right, and I'm like, hey, you keep
in touch with I mean, I must have been a
tight group. We were, but just now it's not kind
of but you notice a lot of us stayed up here, right,
truthfout's from here, Babs. You know, there's so many guys.
Speaker 1 (41:28):
You have to work at it too.
Speaker 4 (41:29):
You have to work at those friendships because it's it's
not forced anymore, Right, it's not practice. And what are
you doing all day at practice? Well, I'm hanging out
with you? It's not like that. And plus you're married.
There's different relationships. There's skill involved with developing a friendship
with your old teammates.
Speaker 3 (41:48):
Right, takes time and effort, right, But anything you love,
you're going to put in the time in that.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
It's interesting because you know, again, next year will be
fifty years for us. That's the birth of the franchise
fifty years ago next season and just in the last
year and a half. And I think part of it
started around COVID time. But one of our former teammates
from back in those early days started doing a zoom
call and we get a bunch of guys, we have
(42:13):
one tonight.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
Did you know that? I do know that?
Speaker 3 (42:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
I tried to get pop a Fig to.
Speaker 2 (42:18):
Hey, he's going to be He's going to supposed to
be there?
Speaker 1 (42:19):
Is he? Yeahause, I gave I don't know that he
can talk computer.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
I think that's his biggest problem is it can't make
it work on the computer. But then that's the case
for a lot of us.
Speaker 1 (42:27):
I tried to be on but I couldn't click the.
Speaker 2 (42:29):
Right hit the right button. I don't know what's wrong
with this thing. Can I do it?
Speaker 1 (42:33):
You know?
Speaker 2 (42:33):
Can I call you on a on a telegraph? No, Fig,
that's not going to work either. But it has been
so much fun for us, And you know, I still
see all these guys. I mean, I still see Jim
wearing the number ten jersey and you know, got the
page boy haircut, and he looked like he, you know,
just fell out a l magazine or something. And and
(42:54):
yet we're now in our seventies and it's so amazing
to just sit and listen and everybody talks and we
all still laugh.
Speaker 3 (43:02):
We laugh with each other as.
Speaker 2 (43:04):
Friends, and we we you know, we commiserate, and we
we mourn when we lose one of our own, and
we've lost a number of them over the years. But
that may be the best part. It's what you're talking about.
It might be the best part of what we did
back in the day. Was now we can still enjoy
all those guys.
Speaker 3 (43:21):
The memories just come flooding back. I was down this
is the twentieth year for my national championship, when Many
and my team and I went down to the nil
dinner and you know, I saw one of my bodies.
He's like, man, it's you know, it's been a while.
I was like, yeah, twenty years. I haven't seen you
since Miami when we played Oklahoma. How's it really? I
was like, and like, I can't remember what I had
(43:44):
yesterday for dinner or but like I'll remember details of
meetings and where we were, what happened.
Speaker 4 (43:51):
And like Lofa, you know, we had our alumni game
and I always see Lofa at the alumni game as yes,
you do as well. But what's interesting, I know you
because we you know, I'm I'm a fan and I
was a coach when you were on the team, and
so it's easy. But there's a lot of guys that
(44:11):
are in that in different generations of retirement that have
been Seahawks players that I don't even recognize. How about you?
Speaker 1 (44:20):
Do you? Uh?
Speaker 4 (44:21):
Do you know every single guy that or do you are?
There's some guys that you don't recognize.
Speaker 3 (44:26):
I try to, but everybody I played with, like yeah, yeah,
you know, sure my memory hasn't gotten that bad yet.
Speaker 1 (44:33):
Well yeah, but it's hard to know who played and who.
Speaker 3 (44:36):
Had guys look different like yeah, Tobeck and hot you
wouldn't right, Yeah, and still hilarious though. Yeah that that
was a fun group to hang out.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
Yeah yeah, well offensive linemen usually are. We had our
nick bebouts and our rd qs. We had the fun
guys too.
Speaker 3 (44:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (44:53):
Listen, Well, we know you've got something you've got to do.
We all have other things to do. But I just
want to say thanks you. You invited me, You were
gracing us gracious enough to have me on your on
your podcast, and it was great fun talking to you guys,
and we always enjoyed And one day when you're like
you don't have anything else to do, you can invite
Jim and.
Speaker 4 (45:13):
Uh, yeah, who's your partner in crime on your podcast?
Speaker 1 (45:17):
Is it just you? Oh?
Speaker 3 (45:19):
My boy, Brett Davern he's he grew up in Edmonds
up here in Washington and it's a long time Hawk
fan and like so he comes to a lot of
all the home games. But then he'll like he'll he'll
come around and like we were into the suite one
time and he walked up. He was going to ask,
you know, a gentleman a question, and then he goes,
oh my god, it's Mario Bailey because he's a big
Washington Husky fan, and uh he like forgot like having
(45:41):
to talk. And I was like, I was like, yeah,
it's Mario. Like he's like Mario Bailey and I was like, yes,
it's Mario Bailey. He's a cool dude. Ask him a question.
What were you going to ask?
Speaker 2 (45:52):
Well, it's it's it's always great catching up with with you.
Speaker 1 (45:57):
And uh, we we love.
Speaker 2 (45:59):
Seeing you when you're around on Sundays, always making a
point stop by, you know, either down on the field
or upstairs. And Zee, you know you and I get
see each other almost every Sunday as well, so we
appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (46:11):
Uh. Best of racial based.
Speaker 2 (46:12):
To the kids, and thank you as always, LOFA and
to all of you out there, thanks so much for
joining us as a part of our Seahawks stories this week.
I will have another episode coming up for you, probably
in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, Go Hawks.
Speaker 1 (46:25):
And thanks for being with us all right, see you later.
Speaker 3 (46:28):
Appreciate you. I love you guys listen, love you too,
and
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.