GREGG BELL joins the show for the next hour for an extended 12th Man News. What did he think of last night’s episode of Hard Knocks and what were his biggest takeaways from the first show? :30- More with Gregg Bell as we continue to discuss thoughts and impressions from Hard Knocks, including Cooper Kupp’s role and the Michael Jordan reference. Is coaching in Cooper Kupp’s future? How is Brian Fleury going to incorporate all of the offensive talent? How about all the buzz Jadarian Price is getting? :45- We close out the show with one last thing!
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Speaker 1 (00:19):
All right, nine o'clock here on this hump day, and yeah,
we called it a little bit of audible here today.
Normally it's Greg Bell joining us at seven oh five
every single day. But I wanted a little more time
with Greg here this morning. So I thought, you know,
your show starts at ten o'clock. Could we do an
hour with you if we started at nine o'clock? And
(00:42):
Greg reluctantly agreed.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I thought I was honored. My wife's never asked me
for an hour in the morning.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
She's like, Oh, it's gonna be a different kind of hour, Greg,
It's gonna be a different kind of hour here.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Maybe not.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Fun is your keyword to start the hour? Entered at
ninety three to three KJR dot com for your shot
at one thousand dollars in bonus bucks fun at ninety
three to three KJR dot com. All right, so, Greg Bell,
News Tribune been on the Seahawks beat for over twenty years.
But for the first time you had to watch a
Hard Knocks episode last night in your Seahawks writing career,
(01:25):
And how did you enjoy it? Let's start there, just
as just as somebody watching the show, did you have
some enjoyments?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
In it like I did. I thought it was well structured,
well edited. I liked how they began very it's how
the Seahawks beat. The Seahawks were purposeful in getting their
Super Bowl rings when they did at the very close
of the offseason program in June, at the end of
the mini camp, and that was a good way to
start the series. Right, here's the rings of the Super
(01:54):
Bowl champion. Because Hard Knocks has not featured a Super
Bowl champion in twenty five years, since the very first one,
the Baltimore Ravens in two thousand and one. The league
recently relaxed the rule. It used to be that if
you made the playoffs the previous season, you were exempt
from having to go through this hard dah Sinanigan's but
now twenty five years later, yeah, they that was the
(02:16):
underscore that the start of the I thought that was
well done to start that way. It showed Mike McDonald's personality,
which we knew it would. It featured Devin Witherspoon, which
we knew it would because he's so energetic on the
field and magnetic to cameras and microphones. If they're allowed
to be there, we can We'll get to the news
(02:37):
of it. But I thought the Witherspoon contract and John
Schneider's comments on it for beat writers who can I'm
not allowed to talk to the GM or the player
concerned in this case, that that was the news of
it that I wrote for the News Tribune. But entertaining,
I mean Derek Halls Truck. Yeah, Cooper Cup surprising Sam
(02:57):
Donald that he attended Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey's wedding.
I thought it was a very cool dead pan when
I think.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Cooper was more surprised that he had than Sam was surprised.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, when Darnold said you were invited and went to
the wedding and he just said, I did, very deadpan.
I thought that was pretty good delivery, almost like acting.
And Thomas Hammock, the running backs coach. Yeah, and we
don't hear that out on the field. Oh and I'm
standing five or ten feet from his running back drills
(03:31):
and he's not nearly that way on the field. Maybe
he knows there are fans and kids a few feet away.
But yes, he's a former college Last year, last season,
in fact, he was the Northern Illinois coach beat Notre
Dame in South bend and now he's the running backs
coach with very colorful language to describe how those guys
need to Passbuck in particular and get into the f
(03:51):
and hole. He was kind of the inn sung surprise
star of last Night.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Yeah, yeah, I liked everything you said. I did want
to before we start getting into some of the noteworthy
items that you dove into. Ashley and I discussed this earlier,
and it's something that you and I have discussed in
the past. This facility, this region really was the star
last Mike McDonald was certainly featured and in a very
interesting way, and there were other guys that were standouts,
(04:18):
from Hall to Witherspoon to others. Brady Russell, who I
find funny that I asked him yesterday we had him
on the show if he thinks he's going to be
and he goes, I don't know if there's anything that
they would use, and they used him the whole show.
He got his handpeede on by a goat for goodness sake.
But this entire region, you know, I mean they started
(04:39):
it with the Eagles, they ended it with the Blue Angels.
I mean they the people that are putting together the
show are very impressed by this facility and the region
at large.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
And vice versa. I was told that one of the
production staff, one of the top producers of the show,
has been told by the Seahawks and some of the
longtime Seahawks people that you're part of the team now
and we trust you and we like you being here.
And the hard Knocks people said they've never been told
that in twenty six years of doing this show. Wow,
that a team has embraced them like the Seahawks have. Yeah,
(05:14):
the space needle scenes, the lake, we take it for
granted because we're out here every day.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
That was so cool seeing stuff that I see every
day during training camp and you see it all year,
and it's unique.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
It's not like this everywhere. I remember when TJ. Housmanzada
signed and he said one of the reasons he signed
is was Paul Allen fetched a floatplane for him that
landed right at the dock here about thirty yards to
our right on Lake Washington. This is unusual, it's unique.
There is an off actor of just a Summer in
Seattle in Lake Washington, and the I thought with you,
(05:50):
I thought it was really smart to end it with
the blue Angels because how many times my son was
watching with me? Twenty three year old son said, how
many times has Hard Knocks been able to film a
Blue Angels crew? Right, they don't because they don't come
to see the NFL training camps. Yeah, that was showcasing
the Pacific Northwest summer for sure.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Yeah, yeah, I love that part of it. All right,
let's get into some of those items then. So what
did you learn during the show since the show about
this Witherspoon contract situation.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Well, one is it's no doubt that he is thinking
about it and that he wants to be the highest
paid player. And his comments as he's driving, saying, we
have the hardest job beside quarterback. We'd have to card
these guys, these receivers and were't allowed to not touch
them within five yards or after five yards. And if
you got one as versatile as good as I am,
you pay him. And the implication is clear, you don't
(06:41):
just pay him the middle of the roads. Now, you
pay him top dollar, which now is and.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
They know that though they're prepared to do that.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Right, Yeah they are. Yeah, that was the first time
Witherspoon's commented they won't let us talk to him this
time of year for fans who don't know. In the
regular season, we can go into the locker room and
we can wait for Witherspoon come out of is the
pigeonhole hiding places that they have in the locker room,
the meeting in the training room, the food room, the
yogurt room, the video game room, all these places. We
(07:10):
can't go to shower room, the hot tub, and we
can in regular season and be in the locker room
waiting for him, but not so in the preseason. There's
ninety players, so they don't allow the media in there,
but they do allow the hard Knocks cameras in there.
So we have to take whoever they give us. Preseason wise,
we can request, but they control who we get to
talk to. And they have not allowed us to interview
(07:31):
Devin Witherspoon for obvious reasons. They don't want to contract
being the story of training camp, which it is. The
other thing that was very interesting to that whole thing
is I thought the news of it actually was John
Schneider a little behind the sea, pulling the curtain, behind
the scenes of how the sausage is made in the
NFL and the world of perception in national media when
this scene of McDonald meeting in John Schneider's office and
(07:55):
Schneider voicing his concern that Devin Witherspoon would be upset
with the Rappaport report that the Seahawks have offered Witherspoon
the largest salary ever for a cornerback, which would be
north of thirty one now thirty one point one million,
with Denzel Ward's deal with Cleveland last week, and that
Witherspoon refused it, did not accept it, and Snyder said
(08:18):
that he told rest assured to Mike McDonald that he
called Ian Rapaport of the NFL network and said, you
make sure Witherspoon's agent knows that did not come from us,
with the incomplaintent implication being there are things that come
from us that we leak to you, but this wasn't
one of them. Make sure the agent knows that. And
(08:38):
that was the Rappaport carrying the water for Schneider in
exchange for later on down the road when they do
sign Witherspoon. Guess who's probably going to break that story. Yeah,
not the people who are out here every day for
twenty years. It's a guy who has never been here
in the last twenty years. That's a good that's a
little behind it. I mean, that's inside ball stuff for
journalists and writers, and but it's it shows how the
(09:01):
narrative and how perception is controlled within the league by
teams with national media members. And I thought that was
pretty I just kind of rolled my eyes and said, well,
of course that happened. Of course that's how it went down.
And also the corollary to that was that John Schneider
took the extra step to call Maurice Kelly. Mo Kelly
(09:21):
the most trusted man in this building to the players.
He's been here for twenty two years. He's the vice
president of I think his player relations is the title.
He's basically the confidant and mo Kelly. John Schneider enlisted
mo Kelly to, hey, you call Witherspoon and tell him
or call him in and tell him we had nothing
to do with that, and make sure he's cool with
all this. And John Schneider reported to his coach Mike
(09:43):
McDonald that mo Kelly did talk to Witherspoon and all
was good. And to Medtherspoon's credit, he's out here every day. Yeah,
he's not doing the hold in thing. He's not poundy.
He's the same player that he's been every year for
this team. He's outgoing, he's talking crap, he's playing we well,
he's a guy like he's been for the other.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
And that comes with risk. Let's face it, when you
are sitting potentially on a mountain of money.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Here, it does an injury. Players hold in or hold
out because they don't want to get injured and lose
their value. Now, the relationship is such that, frankly, if
Witherspoon did get hurt out here, Schneider would make every
effort to still pay him. The question, of course, would
be how much would you pay, depending on how much
the injury, how serious the injury was. But yes, it
certainly bears repeating that Devin Witherspoon has been just like
(10:31):
he would be as if he already had signed the contract.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
On the field, Well, Mike's toddler is wearing a Spoon
jersey for goodness sake, So I think.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
I thought that was some product placement there.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
I think Mike weighed in on how important Spoon is
to him.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Yes, yes he did, And yes, Jack McDonald and his
wife Stephanie were part of in the Dog we're part
of the show as well. The other newsy thing Chuck
was the Nicky mon Worre scene. Yeah, which I was
okay with everything until night.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
I mean that suddenly asked me a little bit worried
that he's gonna miss games, meaningful games.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Well, to be clear, McDonald was fearful of that. At
four days before the Super Bowl. He said he couldn't
sleep the night after the night of Emon Worri getting
injured at San Jose State and spraining the ankle. Then
two days later he comes back to practice, and then
two days after that he plays seventy of seventy two snaps.
But McDonald is hyper worried about him because he as
(11:28):
he's articulated last night, He's so central to what they
do on defense. The multiplicity, the versatility, the different defensive
back sets, the blitzes, the stopping the run in extra
defensive backs. That's nick emon worry. He would prove just
last year to be maybe the best in the league
of doing all that. At the same time, he's indispensable
(11:49):
to what McDonald wants to do. They're trying the Anthony Bell.
They've had rookie Bud Clark in there since but Emon
Worry is absolutely dispensable and McDonald fears missing him for
any amount of time. He was on a crutches on
Saturday signing for Fins. You heard last night during the
Hard Knocks episode that Emon Worry was commiserating with Donald
(12:09):
and should I come out there. I want to be
with the team, but I don't want to make a scene. Well,
Saturday was the first time that I'd seen him out
with the fans autographing at the end of practice. He
did it with a crutch, but the crutch was propped
over his shoulder. He wasn't using it, and it was
a crutch that had a little round hook at the
end of the top of it. And he was wearing
(12:31):
a low, smaller right ankle brace kindie might wear. A
basketball player might wear a softer braise, not the walking
boot that they showed him in last night that he
had been wearing last week. So that's in a sense progress,
and he's gone from a walking boot to a softer brace,
a lower brace. But I will say in his gate
(12:52):
it's at the Newstribute dot com and you can see
for yourself. His gait was not one that would suggest
he's coming back in a matter of days, but perhaps week.
It's a week to week thing, Freeman worry, not day
to day. It's perhaps a little more serious than portrayed
at the start. And I think there's some validity and
not just protecting, but validity to McDonald when I kept
asking him you expect him to play in the opener
(13:14):
and he said, I don't know, because I can see
he truly doesn't know.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Yeah, how many players do you think?
Speaker 2 (13:20):
And I know I'm catching you off guard with this.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
He would say that there was that scene where he
was like, we need this guy, that scene with his coaches,
like do I need to stress this to you how
valuable he is to our team. We cannot not have
this guy for games at a time. How many players
on the Seahawks would he have that emotion about in
(13:46):
terms of how integral they are to this thing functioning
the way he does it?
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Like two or three, fifteen or twenty one other? Just
one two total? Ernest Jones, Oh, I think Ernest Jones
is the coach, probably Sam quarterback. You can game planner
if you know your quarterback. Yes, that would be a
huge loss. Yeah, but you can actually function because you
can game plan around that right, you have Drew Locke
(14:11):
as your backup quarterback who's experienced and has come in
and won the games for this team when the starter
has been hurt in the last couple of years, and
you could game plan around with Smith and Jigba and
a quicker, shorter passing game and let's rely on the
run more. You can compensate for that. You can't run
the same things without even worry. McDonald can't and won't.
(14:32):
And that's the concern is that he wants. He doesn't.
He wants to be as absolutely multifaceted and confusing to
an offense as could possibly be, and he can't be
nearly that without even worry. I say Ernest Jones because
I think he's the second most valuable, most important, most
critical player on this team because he traffic cops all
of that. He traffick cops the movement and changes right
(14:54):
before the snat. He's the guy who screams the one
word command that McDonald has put into his headset to
change everybody at the snap. The way the Seahawks work
and confuse offenses is they line up in a look
to make the offense give their calls and audibles and
protection calls and then right before the snap, Jones yells
(15:15):
whatever word that McDonald has given him, gold or avalanche,
and that means that players go in and come completely
different direction and where they're lined up. Their responsibilities changed
from what they were showing. The offense at all changes
at the snap. If I was going against Mike McDonald's defense,
I would go no. I would go quick count or
(15:37):
silent count every time I would catch them in the
transition of doing that movement at the snap. Instead offenses,
because coordinators get paid millions of dollars and coaches think
to the smartest thing ever in the quarterbacks of brains,
they spend all this time trying to dissect what McDonald's
doing pre snap with these calls and audibles and changes
and motions and shifts that McDonald takes advantage of the
(16:00):
time at the snap to move and change. I get
up to the line and go. And it's happened a
few times, including with Sean McVay, that they have done
that and caught the Seahawks out of position. I've watched
ram Seahawks games last year that Jones was. His back
was to the line of scrimmage when the snap happened
because McVeigh went fast. I would do it every single
(16:20):
time because it would really handcuff what McDonald's trying to do.
And Ernest Jones is the orchestrator.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
That it's very interesting just to wrap up the hard knocks,
but just to wrap up the conversation. I was just
thinking about when you were explaining that the off season
where people are going to study the Rams because they're
the only team offensively along with Tampa. I guess that
had success against McDonald's defense. And yet you know, McDonald's
(16:47):
studying what did they do to us? Why are we
not able to stop it? And so he's had an
entire off season to try to figure out what we
need to do. Differently, Shanahan can't figure out McDonald's defense,
and so he's studying the Rams, like what are they doing,
and just this whole chess match of you know, people
(17:08):
trying to figure it out and probably studying what worked.
And meanwhile McDonald's changing everything to make sure that that
doesn't work against them.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Ever, it's counters to the counters, that's exactly right, and
McDonald is changing his fronts. He is had put new
blitzes in. I won't specify how but they are changed.
They're different. The players are talking about that, and there
are guys in different roles. I think Byron Murphy is
going to have far more impact across the entire defensive
(17:36):
line than he did last year. He may line up
as a defensive end at times, and he may line
up as a nose tackle one playing defensive end at
the other. Yeah, you're right. McDonald's going to have counters
to what he knows are McVeigh and Shanahan's counter.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Yeah, he's thinking about Okay, Sean knows I'm going to
change this, So what is he going to do to
counter my change? I mean, that's true, it's.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Absurd, that's true. It's why these guys get paid millions
of dollars, and it's why the Seahawks hired McDonald as
a defensive mastermind, chiefly to do what he did last year,
which was to beat Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
I would love for nothing else to execute the charbonnat
two point conversion last year and execute it exactly.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
The way that you did it. Well, that will never
happen in the NFL again, because every loose ball ever
is now going to be covered because of that part.
That's true.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
All right, Greg's here for an hour. I talked him
into showing up an hour before his show. He got
to blow off the seven h five segments, so I
thought that was going to be a nice little trade.
But he's been working all morning on his show anyway.
So we got one more, actually two more segments with
him here on the program. So we'll get into some
other stuff about the Seahawks training camp with our Seahawks
(18:48):
insider Greig Bell. Next Sports Radio ninety three point three KHARFM,
our own Greg Bill, brought to you by Emerald Queen Casino,
bringing you the best in live music, entertainment and gaming.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Emerald Queen Casino. Oh, it's entertaining.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
For more info, visit Emerald Queen dot com. Yes, it's
an odd time to play our Greg Bell opened because
normally we have him on at seven oh five every day.
Today we've had him on for the entire nine o'clock hour.
So thank you to Greg, our Seahawks insider Newstribune dot com.
Also at g Bell Seattle if you want to follow
(19:25):
his coverage of Seahawks training camp in the entire Seahawk
calendar year and he's joining us here today. I'm turning
it into a three hour Greg Bell show here today
on KJAR, because he's coming up next with his own
material from ten to twelve every day here on KJAR.
So yeah, I mean, I didn't want to do two
(19:46):
hard Knock segments, but there's still a lot of information
from the hard Knock segment yesterday. I wanted to at
least run this one by you. My favorite moment in
the entire thing was the Cooper Cup stuff, because I've
heard that he's a coach on the field, and then
you see it and that whole Mike McDonald exchange where
Coop just points casually out something that he missed in
(20:08):
film study and McDonald's just like blown away, like why
didn't I see it? You're a genius. I love you.
You made me hate myself. I don't know what to
say right now. You're the best, buddy. Don't ever leave me.
But I should have known that, Like that whole little exchange,
that was my favorite part of the entire show. And
so it's nice to you hear that stuff about Cooper Cup,
(20:30):
but to actually see tangible examples. You don't understand it
until you actually visualize it.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
It's true, and the players say the same thing. Smith
and Jigba really really thinks he was instrumental for the
seventeen hundred yards and All Pro and Offensive Player of
the Year that he got in one hundred and sixty
eight million dollars contract on the heels of that. The
coach on the field thing is what Smith and Jigbab
really talks about with Cooper Cup And he's been like
(20:57):
that from Rams people tell me from when he started
at the Rams, even as a rookie at Eastern Washington
he was that way. Wow. Yeah, and he's well beyond
just his own job and I'm gonna do what I
need to do. He he understands blocking schemes, he understands
the run game, he understands what defensive looks. He understands
(21:17):
leveraging of corners and how to beat the leverage. He's
a confidant and an advisor to Sam Darnold at quarterback.
He is he is a very vital part that people
last year were criticizing his lack of numbers, that he's
way more valuable than just that. And I know people
(21:38):
fantasy football people in such want production, and right right,
that's not the entire Cooper Cup responsibility here, He's does
so much more than meets the eye. And really, how
many more numbers can you get when you got Smith
and Jigger with eighteen hundred yards and one hundred and
twenty catches and I mean they yeah, Ups' role is very,
(22:01):
very vital to what they do and it's not just
catches the numbers.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Was the Jordan thing that you brought up a week
or two ago? Was that at all about JSN? Was
that a message to JSN, like, Hey, your numbers are
probably gonna come down here this year, Bud, So just
you know, wrap your brain around that, but we should
be better for it.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Maybe subtly, but it was an overarching twelve is one
message and it was McDonald reinforcing the twelve and twelve
is one works. And when I talked to players about
that team meeting, Julian Love in particular Chicago guy loved
it about the Jordan analogy. But his takeaway was, hey,
twelve is one really does work. Team first does work,
(22:41):
and don't be so concerned about getting yours and that
everyone will get paid and everyone will get rings and
everyone will be winning if we all do a team
first twelve is one, and that really was seemed to
be the takeaway. That was, of course McDonald's intent. But yeah,
I could see Smith and Jig was sitting in that meeting. Okay,
let's see what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
So it's Cup a coach of the future.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
I've asked him that, and he's kind of laughs because
he says, Oh, I got four kids now, and they're
all still young enough that I want to be their
dad and do dad things with them, and a lot
of money. And he's back home, and it doesn't strike
me that he would retire and go straight into football.
It would strike me that he would retire and go
be a family man and enjoy being back home in
(23:22):
the Northwest.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
So are his numbers going to take an even bigger dip?
I mean, I mean, I know I've asked you this
a couple of times, but every day you learn a
little bit more about what Flory intends to do. How
is he going to incorporate all of this talent?
Speaker 2 (23:36):
Well, it stands the reason that the wide receivers are
going to get less because the tight ends are going
to get more and the running backs are going to
get more. You mentioned that Emmanuel Wilson from Green Bay
said this is the largest route tree he's ever seen
for running backs. Tight Ends are going down the field
far more regularly and getting thrown to by Darnald far
more regularly than last year. At this time, AJ Barner
(23:59):
and such should have bigger than I've said. I think
Barner's gonna be a Pro Bowls potentially all Pro tight
end this year in this offense. So unless they throw
it fifty times a game, that means fewer numbers for somebody.
And how realistic is it that Smith and jibb catches
for eighteen hundred yards the eighth most in NFL history
(24:19):
last year and one hundred and twenty catches and what
was it, one to fifty targets or whatever. That's not
realistic that he's going to do that every single year.
He's not Jerry Rice, nor is this offense like that.
They're still going around the ball fifty percent of the time,
which is why Flurry is here. So that takes away
a few more opportunities in the modern NFL that other
teams receivers get. But to answer your question, I don't
(24:40):
think the Seahawks offense is not functioning properly. This year
if Smith and Jigbis and Cups numbers are.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Lower Jadarian Price, I mean he was certain. I mean,
we've certainly discussed him a lot since training camp coverage began.
But I always consider that camp buzz is when you
do get players or coaches standing in a huddle and
they can't stop talking about a guy, and you can't
(25:07):
be everywhere at once. Apparently hard knocks cameras, you know,
are so for them to have caught as many different
clusters of players talking about how impressed they are by him,
I mean, surely, first round draft pick, he got the headlines,
You're probably got your eye, you're probably checking him out
more than you are Bo Stevens. But for him to
(25:31):
be getting that much praise from his beers and the
coaching staff one week into training camps pretty impressive.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Yes, it was, and it was noticeable, and it underscored
to me that Price will be the starter week one. Yeah,
And McDonald pays attention to that, what the players say,
what the cachet is of a player, what the attitude is,
and the effort and performance on the field. He rewards
practice performance. That's Drake Thomas, that's Tyle Katta. He rewards
(25:58):
guys who do it the right way and impress their
teammates with how they do it. And Price has done that,
and I think it's a matter of time. He's been
slowly getting more reps with the ones. He's still splitting
time with George Halani. But that to me right now
seems a little bit like a nod to Jlani's seniority
than anything else. Yeah, it would be I say it again,
(26:19):
it would be something wrong between now and September ninth
if Jedarian Price wasn't the number one back.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
In the opener, they're not worried about his skinny legs.
He's got skinny legs.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
You is, you is? It's funny you comes up here
and he picks out one or two things because now
he sees it in person, and then he just sticks
with him and he won't shake it. He just he
rides in it. Yeah, Okay, I'm sure they measured his legs.
That doesn't mean he can't play football. But yeah, he looks.
He looks sleek, I would say, not slender, small, but sleek,
(26:50):
and I think that adds to his speed. They had
him back at kickoff return yesterday. Something he did to
a national leading level at Notre Dame. Wow, I don't
think they're going to have their lead running back as
back up. I wouldn't think that they are. Also had
Tory Horton back there. They had no Igmanoghany, who was
on our show yesterday back there. But yeah, Price has impressed.
(27:12):
Let's see him in preseason games and blitz pick up
and pass protection and catching the ball, the things that
they really need to see out. They know he can
run the outside zone. He that was his specialty at
Notre Dame. That's what he did.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Look like he's got any trouble catching the football.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
Well, he's sure as hell has got enough chances. Man.
I can tell you he's like a bullpen catcher out here.
He just gets catch after catchup. They just keep throwing
and throwing, and Thomas Hammock throws and there's no pitch
count on Thomas Hammock out here. I mean he just
throws and throws and throws to Jadari Price every day. Yeah,
well how many what?
Speaker 1 (27:44):
What will he get more reps or f bombs thrown
his way by Thomas.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Ham Probably f.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
Shove more into more efficient with those. I mean think
it'd be used as an adjective, an ad verb, a verb, and.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
About thirty times in a minute and a half clip,
you know I want to dress something On the text
line four nine four to five. One at the Komodad's
text line that for two five says I believe Derek
Hall is a good guy, and he shared his amazing,
amazing store and air. He was great on air. He
was on my show last week and we had a
great conversation about his background and premature birth and how
he is devoted to his mother. But am I the
(28:22):
only one the fort two five says who thought he
looked like a d bag in that episode? His shorts
are ridiculous, his truck look ridiculous, just begging for attention,
and then the cheap shot during the practice fight taking
out a teammate from first of all, the respond to that,
that is who Derek Hall is. He makes his own trucks,
he puts in and design. He and his dad working
(28:43):
his driveway. We had a UPS driver on the show
and the text line say, I'm a UPS driver and
I seen him and his dad working on that truck.
The hydraulics. Yeah, that's what he does. He loves that stuff.
His hobby Yeah, he did that before the contract, before
hard Knarks cameras came on the shorts. He've always done
that too. The teammates have ridden him about his short
since he was a rookie here a few years ago.
(29:05):
That's his thing.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
Luke Wilson had his shorts thing that he did here too.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
Right, Wilson did it for wanted to be a seventies
retro Casey in the Sunshine Band guy. And Hall does
it because of his physique. But yeah, his teammates. Hall's
teammates have given him a hard time about that for
a while. I wrote about the day that the Hall
fight with Bryce Cable Doo. That was a cheap shot.
He flew at him from behind with an elbow in
the back of the head. And you heard in the
(29:31):
episode last night that McDonald didn't appreciate the cheapsht nature
that he also didn't appreciate Brady Russell mentioning his contract
changing Hall, and I thought that was another interesting leadership
moment from McDonald saying, hey, that wasn't cool, and you
don't go after a guy's contract that wasn't that was
not fair and above bounds. And by the end of
the conversation. You smooth it over and say hey, okay,
(29:54):
we're cool. And yeah, Russell and McDonald were cool. But
that's as McDonald said, that's a line you don't cross
on the field talking to about a guy's money. And
Hall earned that and he has to respect in the
locker room for earning that. I don't think he looked
like a d bag in the episode. I see Derek
Hall like that for the last four years. Yeah, but
(30:14):
I did think it was a d bag move to
elbow a teammate from behind.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Yeah yeah, all right, Greg, so with us for one
more so you get to participate in one last thing
with Ashley and you've never done this before entire career.
All right, So we'll do that next to close out
the hour and then hand this sucker off to Greg.
Sports Radio ninety three point three kJ RFN. All right,
(30:40):
final segment of the radio program. Greg Bell, out of
the goodness of his hardest, joined us for a full hour,
and now he gets the joy of participating in one
last thing for the first time in his illustrious career.
Ashley show him out. It's done, Okay.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
I came across this report today from Yahoo Sports that
for the first game of the year for the Rams
and the forty nine Ers, our division rivals. The Rams
are gonna arrive in Australia the day before and the
that's a good idea, right, and the forty nine Ers
are going a full week earlier so they can adjust
to the time differences and be comfortable.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
The Rams are flying in the.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
Day before and leaving immediately after the game.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
Wow, there's a theory of that. Some players do the
same thing as teams do the same thing for Europe,
which isn't quite as far. But there's the theory that
you get in and out before your body gets affected.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
By Oh really, I just feel like a fifteen hour
plane ride, whether you're in and out like, that's gonna
be the hardest.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Part, exactly.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
You need time to recover from that.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
It's not so much the time zone as to travel.
Speaker 1 (31:38):
Yeah, I flew to New Zealand and back. I don't
remember ever having that much of an impact. But then again,
I wasn't going there to play a football game, right,
so I don't know what kind of impact that would
have on a football player. I hope it. I hope
Miles Garrett gains like one hundred pounds.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
Yeah, that's what I'm hoping, right, Yeah, like maybe the
forty nine ers can steal one from them.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
Or loses one hundred, might even even be better. Yeah yeah,
gets bit by some sort of tetz fly or something
like that and sucks all of his energy and strength
and power.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
From him tech by Kahlbar. That'd be great.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
If Miles Garrett's lining up at six seven, one hundred
and fifteen pounds for the opener, that'd be hilarious. All right,
nicely done. What do you got for one last thing?
Speaker 2 (32:24):
Greg? Well, my one last thing is I've been covering
the end. I start covering the NFL twenty five years ago,
and this is only the second time I've covered a
defending Super Bowl champion. It doesn't happen very often. And
I know we'll get wrapped around the details, and is
what's Witherspoon's contract? And is Emo Warri coming back his
(32:44):
hoots out for the year? Why did Flurry run the
ball in third and eighth? I would just remind everyone
that this is as good as it gets in the NFL,
that it's rare. It doesn't happen a lot. This team's
window is still there's no reason why they shouldn't be
winning the division or competing to win the division the
(33:05):
home playoff games in the Super Bowl, again because of
how young they are, but the way they've structured this
with the coach, they have, the players, they have the
quarterback who's still only twenty nine years old in the
second year of a three year deal at mid market value.
This is as good as it may ever get for football.
And see, I agree.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
And they're all likable too, Yeah they are. This is
not just good, they're great and they're likable.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
This is a really different locker room than the Legion
of Boom. I like covering the Legion of Boom. They
were great for stories, intertaining. Sherman and I had our bouts.
One time, he told me, if Bell comes up to
a scrum, I'm done talking for the rest of the year.
I'm not talking at Bell's around. But this team is
different in that way. They don't have they have alpha personalities,
(33:47):
but they don't have the dominant personalities that those teams.
It's much more of a collective. And McDonald once a time.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
Yep, good group, great group, great group, no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
All Right, I'm gonna close with this.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
I brought up garb earlier. I did not up Rob Refsnyder.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
You went to a whole show without mentioning that.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
It just didn't work. I don't know what to say.
I don't know why this is such a mystery. I
think in theory it was a good idea to sign
Rob Refsnyder. But I thought Pollock was a good idea
at the time, and I thought Garver was a fine
idea at the time. None of them have worked out.
I don't know why this organization can't find a veteran,
(34:26):
proven right handed hitter that hits left handed pitching. And
maybe it is the backdrop, as Taoscar Hernandez suggested after
he left to Seattle. But obviously there's an issue here.
I'll say this. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna kill
them for signing ref Snyder, but I would have killed
him if they kept him any longer. It was time
(34:47):
for him to be let go at least. I mean,
I'm not gonna say it was a mistake to sign him,
but it would have been a mistake to stick with
him during this crucial stretch of games that are upcoming,
all right, coming up next. Craig Bell's gonna take over
the radio airwaves for you. We'll talk to you again
tomorrow at six o'clock. Thank you, sir, appreciate you, Thank you,
and we'll talk to you tomorrow. So keep it here
(35:10):
at Sports Radio ninety three point three kh A R
f M. You can't miss a thing from today's show
because we're on demand. Their podcast will be up right
after the show. Just click on demand on our website
at ninety three three KJR dot com and click on
checking Bug podcast to replay anytime anywhere from Sports Radio
ninety three point three kJ R FL
All right, nine o'clock here on this hump day, and yeah,
we called it a little bit of audible here today.
Normally it's Greg Bell joining us at seven oh five
every single day. But I wanted a little more time
with Greg here this morning. So I thought, you know,
your show starts at ten o'clock. Could we do an
hour with you if we started at nine o'clock? And
(00:42):
Greg reluctantly agreed.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I thought I was honored. My wife's never asked me
for an hour in the morning.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
She's like, Oh, it's gonna be a different kind of hour, Greg,
It's gonna be a different kind of hour here.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Maybe not.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Fun is your keyword to start the hour? Entered at
ninety three to three KJR dot com for your shot
at one thousand dollars in bonus bucks fun at ninety
three to three KJR dot com. All right, so, Greg Bell,
News Tribune been on the Seahawks beat for over twenty years.
But for the first time you had to watch a
Hard Knocks episode last night in your Seahawks writing career,
(01:25):
And how did you enjoy it? Let's start there, just
as just as somebody watching the show, did you have
some enjoyments?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
In it like I did. I thought it was well structured,
well edited. I liked how they began very it's how
the Seahawks beat. The Seahawks were purposeful in getting their
Super Bowl rings when they did at the very close
of the offseason program in June, at the end of
the mini camp, and that was a good way to
start the series. Right, here's the rings of the Super
(01:54):
Bowl champion. Because Hard Knocks has not featured a Super
Bowl champion in twenty five years, since the very first one,
the Baltimore Ravens in two thousand and one. The league
recently relaxed the rule. It used to be that if
you made the playoffs the previous season, you were exempt
from having to go through this hard dah Sinanigan's but
now twenty five years later, yeah, they that was the
(02:16):
underscore that the start of the I thought that was
well done to start that way. It showed Mike McDonald's personality,
which we knew it would. It featured Devin Witherspoon, which
we knew it would because he's so energetic on the
field and magnetic to cameras and microphones. If they're allowed
to be there, we can We'll get to the news
(02:37):
of it. But I thought the Witherspoon contract and John
Schneider's comments on it for beat writers who can I'm
not allowed to talk to the GM or the player
concerned in this case, that that was the news of
it that I wrote for the News Tribune. But entertaining,
I mean Derek Halls Truck. Yeah, Cooper Cup surprising Sam
(02:57):
Donald that he attended Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey's wedding.
I thought it was a very cool dead pan when
I think.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Cooper was more surprised that he had than Sam was surprised.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, when Darnold said you were invited and went to
the wedding and he just said, I did, very deadpan.
I thought that was pretty good delivery, almost like acting.
And Thomas Hammock, the running backs coach. Yeah, and we
don't hear that out on the field. Oh and I'm
standing five or ten feet from his running back drills
(03:31):
and he's not nearly that way on the field. Maybe
he knows there are fans and kids a few feet away.
But yes, he's a former college Last year, last season,
in fact, he was the Northern Illinois coach beat Notre
Dame in South bend and now he's the running backs
coach with very colorful language to describe how those guys
need to Passbuck in particular and get into the f
(03:51):
and hole. He was kind of the inn sung surprise
star of last Night.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Yeah, yeah, I liked everything you said. I did want
to before we start getting into some of the noteworthy
items that you dove into. Ashley and I discussed this earlier,
and it's something that you and I have discussed in
the past. This facility, this region really was the star
last Mike McDonald was certainly featured and in a very
interesting way, and there were other guys that were standouts,
(04:18):
from Hall to Witherspoon to others. Brady Russell, who I
find funny that I asked him yesterday we had him
on the show if he thinks he's going to be
and he goes, I don't know if there's anything that
they would use, and they used him the whole show.
He got his handpeede on by a goat for goodness sake.
But this entire region, you know, I mean they started
(04:39):
it with the Eagles, they ended it with the Blue Angels.
I mean they the people that are putting together the
show are very impressed by this facility and the region
at large.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
And vice versa. I was told that one of the
production staff, one of the top producers of the show,
has been told by the Seahawks and some of the
longtime Seahawks people that you're part of the team now
and we trust you and we like you being here.
And the hard Knocks people said they've never been told
that in twenty six years of doing this show. Wow,
that a team has embraced them like the Seahawks have. Yeah,
(05:14):
the space needle scenes, the lake, we take it for
granted because we're out here every day.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
That was so cool seeing stuff that I see every
day during training camp and you see it all year,
and it's unique.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
It's not like this everywhere. I remember when TJ. Housmanzada
signed and he said one of the reasons he signed
is was Paul Allen fetched a floatplane for him that
landed right at the dock here about thirty yards to
our right on Lake Washington. This is unusual, it's unique.
There is an off actor of just a Summer in
Seattle in Lake Washington, and the I thought with you,
(05:50):
I thought it was really smart to end it with
the blue Angels because how many times my son was
watching with me? Twenty three year old son said, how
many times has Hard Knocks been able to film a
Blue Angels crew? Right, they don't because they don't come
to see the NFL training camps. Yeah, that was showcasing
the Pacific Northwest summer for sure.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Yeah, yeah, I love that part of it. All right,
let's get into some of those items then. So what
did you learn during the show since the show about
this Witherspoon contract situation.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Well, one is it's no doubt that he is thinking
about it and that he wants to be the highest
paid player. And his comments as he's driving, saying, we
have the hardest job beside quarterback. We'd have to card
these guys, these receivers and were't allowed to not touch
them within five yards or after five yards. And if
you got one as versatile as good as I am,
you pay him. And the implication is clear, you don't
(06:41):
just pay him the middle of the roads. Now, you
pay him top dollar, which now is and.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
They know that though they're prepared to do that.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Right, Yeah they are. Yeah, that was the first time
Witherspoon's commented they won't let us talk to him this
time of year for fans who don't know. In the
regular season, we can go into the locker room and
we can wait for Witherspoon come out of is the
pigeonhole hiding places that they have in the locker room,
the meeting in the training room, the food room, the
yogurt room, the video game room, all these places. We
(07:10):
can't go to shower room, the hot tub, and we
can in regular season and be in the locker room
waiting for him, but not so in the preseason. There's
ninety players, so they don't allow the media in there,
but they do allow the hard Knocks cameras in there.
So we have to take whoever they give us. Preseason wise,
we can request, but they control who we get to
talk to. And they have not allowed us to interview
(07:31):
Devin Witherspoon for obvious reasons. They don't want to contract
being the story of training camp, which it is. The
other thing that was very interesting to that whole thing
is I thought the news of it actually was John
Schneider a little behind the sea, pulling the curtain, behind
the scenes of how the sausage is made in the
NFL and the world of perception in national media when
this scene of McDonald meeting in John Schneider's office and
(07:55):
Schneider voicing his concern that Devin Witherspoon would be upset
with the Rappaport report that the Seahawks have offered Witherspoon
the largest salary ever for a cornerback, which would be
north of thirty one now thirty one point one million,
with Denzel Ward's deal with Cleveland last week, and that
Witherspoon refused it, did not accept it, and Snyder said
(08:18):
that he told rest assured to Mike McDonald that he
called Ian Rapaport of the NFL network and said, you
make sure Witherspoon's agent knows that did not come from us,
with the incomplaintent implication being there are things that come
from us that we leak to you, but this wasn't
one of them. Make sure the agent knows that. And
(08:38):
that was the Rappaport carrying the water for Schneider in
exchange for later on down the road when they do
sign Witherspoon. Guess who's probably going to break that story. Yeah,
not the people who are out here every day for
twenty years. It's a guy who has never been here
in the last twenty years. That's a good that's a
little behind it. I mean, that's inside ball stuff for
journalists and writers, and but it's it shows how the
(09:01):
narrative and how perception is controlled within the league by
teams with national media members. And I thought that was
pretty I just kind of rolled my eyes and said, well,
of course that happened. Of course that's how it went down.
And also the corollary to that was that John Schneider
took the extra step to call Maurice Kelly. Mo Kelly
(09:21):
the most trusted man in this building to the players.
He's been here for twenty two years. He's the vice
president of I think his player relations is the title.
He's basically the confidant and mo Kelly. John Schneider enlisted
mo Kelly to, hey, you call Witherspoon and tell him
or call him in and tell him we had nothing
to do with that, and make sure he's cool with
all this. And John Schneider reported to his coach Mike
(09:43):
McDonald that mo Kelly did talk to Witherspoon and all
was good. And to Medtherspoon's credit, he's out here every day. Yeah,
he's not doing the hold in thing. He's not poundy.
He's the same player that he's been every year for
this team. He's outgoing, he's talking crap, he's playing we well,
he's a guy like he's been for the other.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
And that comes with risk. Let's face it, when you
are sitting potentially on a mountain of money.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Here, it does an injury. Players hold in or hold
out because they don't want to get injured and lose
their value. Now, the relationship is such that, frankly, if
Witherspoon did get hurt out here, Schneider would make every
effort to still pay him. The question, of course, would
be how much would you pay, depending on how much
the injury, how serious the injury was. But yes, it
certainly bears repeating that Devin Witherspoon has been just like
(10:31):
he would be as if he already had signed the contract.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
On the field, Well, Mike's toddler is wearing a Spoon
jersey for goodness sake, So I think.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
I thought that was some product placement there.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
I think Mike weighed in on how important Spoon is
to him.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Yes, yes he did, And yes, Jack McDonald and his
wife Stephanie were part of in the Dog we're part
of the show as well. The other newsy thing Chuck
was the Nicky mon Worre scene. Yeah, which I was
okay with everything until night.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
I mean that suddenly asked me a little bit worried
that he's gonna miss games, meaningful games.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Well, to be clear, McDonald was fearful of that. At
four days before the Super Bowl. He said he couldn't
sleep the night after the night of Emon Worri getting
injured at San Jose State and spraining the ankle. Then
two days later he comes back to practice, and then
two days after that he plays seventy of seventy two snaps.
But McDonald is hyper worried about him because he as
(11:28):
he's articulated last night, He's so central to what they
do on defense. The multiplicity, the versatility, the different defensive
back sets, the blitzes, the stopping the run in extra
defensive backs. That's nick emon worry. He would prove just
last year to be maybe the best in the league
of doing all that. At the same time, he's indispensable
(11:49):
to what McDonald wants to do. They're trying the Anthony Bell.
They've had rookie Bud Clark in there since but Emon
Worry is absolutely dispensable and McDonald fears missing him for
any amount of time. He was on a crutches on
Saturday signing for Fins. You heard last night during the
Hard Knocks episode that Emon Worry was commiserating with Donald
(12:09):
and should I come out there. I want to be
with the team, but I don't want to make a scene. Well,
Saturday was the first time that I'd seen him out
with the fans autographing at the end of practice. He
did it with a crutch, but the crutch was propped
over his shoulder. He wasn't using it, and it was
a crutch that had a little round hook at the
end of the top of it. And he was wearing
(12:31):
a low, smaller right ankle brace kindie might wear. A
basketball player might wear a softer braise, not the walking
boot that they showed him in last night that he
had been wearing last week. So that's in a sense progress,
and he's gone from a walking boot to a softer brace,
a lower brace. But I will say in his gate
(12:52):
it's at the Newstribute dot com and you can see
for yourself. His gait was not one that would suggest
he's coming back in a matter of days, but perhaps week.
It's a week to week thing, Freeman worry, not day
to day. It's perhaps a little more serious than portrayed
at the start. And I think there's some validity and
not just protecting, but validity to McDonald when I kept
asking him you expect him to play in the opener
(13:14):
and he said, I don't know, because I can see
he truly doesn't know.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Yeah, how many players do you think?
Speaker 2 (13:20):
And I know I'm catching you off guard with this.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
He would say that there was that scene where he
was like, we need this guy, that scene with his coaches,
like do I need to stress this to you how
valuable he is to our team. We cannot not have
this guy for games at a time. How many players
on the Seahawks would he have that emotion about in
(13:46):
terms of how integral they are to this thing functioning
the way he does it?
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Like two or three, fifteen or twenty one other? Just
one two total? Ernest Jones, Oh, I think Ernest Jones
is the coach, probably Sam quarterback. You can game planner
if you know your quarterback. Yes, that would be a
huge loss. Yeah, but you can actually function because you
can game plan around that right, you have Drew Locke
(14:11):
as your backup quarterback who's experienced and has come in
and won the games for this team when the starter
has been hurt in the last couple of years, and
you could game plan around with Smith and Jigba and
a quicker, shorter passing game and let's rely on the
run more. You can compensate for that. You can't run
the same things without even worry. McDonald can't and won't.
(14:32):
And that's the concern is that he wants. He doesn't.
He wants to be as absolutely multifaceted and confusing to
an offense as could possibly be, and he can't be
nearly that without even worry. I say Ernest Jones because
I think he's the second most valuable, most important, most
critical player on this team because he traffic cops all
of that. He traffick cops the movement and changes right
(14:54):
before the snat. He's the guy who screams the one
word command that McDonald has put into his headset to
change everybody at the snap. The way the Seahawks work
and confuse offenses is they line up in a look
to make the offense give their calls and audibles and
protection calls and then right before the snap, Jones yells
(15:15):
whatever word that McDonald has given him, gold or avalanche,
and that means that players go in and come completely
different direction and where they're lined up. Their responsibilities changed
from what they were showing. The offense at all changes
at the snap. If I was going against Mike McDonald's defense,
I would go no. I would go quick count or
(15:37):
silent count every time I would catch them in the
transition of doing that movement at the snap. Instead offenses,
because coordinators get paid millions of dollars and coaches think
to the smartest thing ever in the quarterbacks of brains,
they spend all this time trying to dissect what McDonald's
doing pre snap with these calls and audibles and changes
and motions and shifts that McDonald takes advantage of the
(16:00):
time at the snap to move and change. I get
up to the line and go. And it's happened a
few times, including with Sean McVay, that they have done
that and caught the Seahawks out of position. I've watched
ram Seahawks games last year that Jones was. His back
was to the line of scrimmage when the snap happened
because McVeigh went fast. I would do it every single
(16:20):
time because it would really handcuff what McDonald's trying to do.
And Ernest Jones is the orchestrator.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
That it's very interesting just to wrap up the hard knocks,
but just to wrap up the conversation. I was just
thinking about when you were explaining that the off season
where people are going to study the Rams because they're
the only team offensively along with Tampa. I guess that
had success against McDonald's defense. And yet you know, McDonald's
(16:47):
studying what did they do to us? Why are we
not able to stop it? And so he's had an
entire off season to try to figure out what we
need to do. Differently, Shanahan can't figure out McDonald's defense,
and so he's studying the Rams, like what are they doing,
and just this whole chess match of you know, people
(17:08):
trying to figure it out and probably studying what worked.
And meanwhile McDonald's changing everything to make sure that that
doesn't work against them.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Ever, it's counters to the counters, that's exactly right, and
McDonald is changing his fronts. He is had put new
blitzes in. I won't specify how but they are changed.
They're different. The players are talking about that, and there
are guys in different roles. I think Byron Murphy is
going to have far more impact across the entire defensive
(17:36):
line than he did last year. He may line up
as a defensive end at times, and he may line
up as a nose tackle one playing defensive end at
the other. Yeah, you're right. McDonald's going to have counters
to what he knows are McVeigh and Shanahan's counter.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Yeah, he's thinking about Okay, Sean knows I'm going to
change this, So what is he going to do to
counter my change? I mean, that's true, it's.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Absurd, that's true. It's why these guys get paid millions
of dollars, and it's why the Seahawks hired McDonald as
a defensive mastermind, chiefly to do what he did last year,
which was to beat Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
I would love for nothing else to execute the charbonnat
two point conversion last year and execute it exactly.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
The way that you did it. Well, that will never
happen in the NFL again, because every loose ball ever
is now going to be covered because of that part.
That's true.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
All right, Greg's here for an hour. I talked him
into showing up an hour before his show. He got
to blow off the seven h five segments, so I
thought that was going to be a nice little trade.
But he's been working all morning on his show anyway.
So we got one more, actually two more segments with
him here on the program. So we'll get into some
other stuff about the Seahawks training camp with our Seahawks
(18:48):
insider Greig Bell. Next Sports Radio ninety three point three KHARFM,
our own Greg Bill, brought to you by Emerald Queen Casino,
bringing you the best in live music, entertainment and gaming.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Emerald Queen Casino. Oh, it's entertaining.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
For more info, visit Emerald Queen dot com. Yes, it's
an odd time to play our Greg Bell opened because
normally we have him on at seven oh five every day.
Today we've had him on for the entire nine o'clock hour.
So thank you to Greg, our Seahawks insider Newstribune dot com.
Also at g Bell Seattle if you want to follow
(19:25):
his coverage of Seahawks training camp in the entire Seahawk
calendar year and he's joining us here today. I'm turning
it into a three hour Greg Bell show here today
on KJAR, because he's coming up next with his own
material from ten to twelve every day here on KJAR.
So yeah, I mean, I didn't want to do two
(19:46):
hard Knock segments, but there's still a lot of information
from the hard Knock segment yesterday. I wanted to at
least run this one by you. My favorite moment in
the entire thing was the Cooper Cup stuff, because I've
heard that he's a coach on the field, and then
you see it and that whole Mike McDonald exchange where
Coop just points casually out something that he missed in
(20:08):
film study and McDonald's just like blown away, like why
didn't I see it? You're a genius. I love you.
You made me hate myself. I don't know what to
say right now. You're the best, buddy. Don't ever leave me.
But I should have known that, Like that whole little exchange,
that was my favorite part of the entire show. And
so it's nice to you hear that stuff about Cooper Cup,
(20:30):
but to actually see tangible examples. You don't understand it
until you actually visualize it.
Speaker 2 (20:35):
It's true, and the players say the same thing. Smith
and Jigba really really thinks he was instrumental for the
seventeen hundred yards and All Pro and Offensive Player of
the Year that he got in one hundred and sixty
eight million dollars contract on the heels of that. The
coach on the field thing is what Smith and Jigbab
really talks about with Cooper Cup And he's been like
(20:57):
that from Rams people tell me from when he started
at the Rams, even as a rookie at Eastern Washington
he was that way. Wow. Yeah, and he's well beyond
just his own job and I'm gonna do what I
need to do. He he understands blocking schemes, he understands
the run game, he understands what defensive looks. He understands
(21:17):
leveraging of corners and how to beat the leverage. He's
a confidant and an advisor to Sam Darnold at quarterback.
He is he is a very vital part that people
last year were criticizing his lack of numbers, that he's
way more valuable than just that. And I know people
(21:38):
fantasy football people in such want production, and right right,
that's not the entire Cooper Cup responsibility here, He's does
so much more than meets the eye. And really, how
many more numbers can you get when you got Smith
and Jigger with eighteen hundred yards and one hundred and
twenty catches and I mean they yeah, Ups' role is very,
(22:01):
very vital to what they do and it's not just
catches the numbers.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Was the Jordan thing that you brought up a week
or two ago? Was that at all about JSN? Was
that a message to JSN, like, Hey, your numbers are
probably gonna come down here this year, Bud, So just
you know, wrap your brain around that, but we should
be better for it.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Maybe subtly, but it was an overarching twelve is one
message and it was McDonald reinforcing the twelve and twelve
is one works. And when I talked to players about
that team meeting, Julian Love in particular Chicago guy loved
it about the Jordan analogy. But his takeaway was, hey,
twelve is one really does work. Team first does work,
(22:41):
and don't be so concerned about getting yours and that
everyone will get paid and everyone will get rings and
everyone will be winning if we all do a team
first twelve is one, and that really was seemed to
be the takeaway. That was, of course McDonald's intent. But yeah,
I could see Smith and Jig was sitting in that meeting. Okay,
let's see what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
So it's Cup a coach of the future.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
I've asked him that, and he's kind of laughs because
he says, Oh, I got four kids now, and they're
all still young enough that I want to be their
dad and do dad things with them, and a lot
of money. And he's back home, and it doesn't strike
me that he would retire and go straight into football.
It would strike me that he would retire and go
be a family man and enjoy being back home in
(23:22):
the Northwest.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
So are his numbers going to take an even bigger dip?
I mean, I mean, I know I've asked you this
a couple of times, but every day you learn a
little bit more about what Flory intends to do. How
is he going to incorporate all of this talent?
Speaker 2 (23:36):
Well, it stands the reason that the wide receivers are
going to get less because the tight ends are going
to get more and the running backs are going to
get more. You mentioned that Emmanuel Wilson from Green Bay
said this is the largest route tree he's ever seen
for running backs. Tight Ends are going down the field
far more regularly and getting thrown to by Darnald far
more regularly than last year. At this time, AJ Barner
(23:59):
and such should have bigger than I've said. I think
Barner's gonna be a Pro Bowls potentially all Pro tight
end this year in this offense. So unless they throw
it fifty times a game, that means fewer numbers for somebody.
And how realistic is it that Smith and jibb catches
for eighteen hundred yards the eighth most in NFL history
(24:19):
last year and one hundred and twenty catches and what
was it, one to fifty targets or whatever. That's not
realistic that he's going to do that every single year.
He's not Jerry Rice, nor is this offense like that.
They're still going around the ball fifty percent of the time,
which is why Flurry is here. So that takes away
a few more opportunities in the modern NFL that other
teams receivers get. But to answer your question, I don't
(24:40):
think the Seahawks offense is not functioning properly. This year
if Smith and Jigbis and Cups numbers are.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Lower Jadarian Price, I mean he was certain. I mean,
we've certainly discussed him a lot since training camp coverage began.
But I always consider that camp buzz is when you
do get players or coaches standing in a huddle and
they can't stop talking about a guy, and you can't
(25:07):
be everywhere at once. Apparently hard knocks cameras, you know,
are so for them to have caught as many different
clusters of players talking about how impressed they are by him,
I mean, surely, first round draft pick, he got the headlines,
You're probably got your eye, you're probably checking him out
more than you are Bo Stevens. But for him to
(25:31):
be getting that much praise from his beers and the
coaching staff one week into training camps pretty impressive.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Yes, it was, and it was noticeable, and it underscored
to me that Price will be the starter week one. Yeah,
And McDonald pays attention to that, what the players say,
what the cachet is of a player, what the attitude is,
and the effort and performance on the field. He rewards
practice performance. That's Drake Thomas, that's Tyle Katta. He rewards
(25:58):
guys who do it the right way and impress their
teammates with how they do it. And Price has done that,
and I think it's a matter of time. He's been
slowly getting more reps with the ones. He's still splitting
time with George Halani. But that to me right now
seems a little bit like a nod to Jlani's seniority
than anything else. Yeah, it would be I say it again,
(26:19):
it would be something wrong between now and September ninth
if Jedarian Price wasn't the number one back.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
In the opener, they're not worried about his skinny legs.
He's got skinny legs.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
You is, you is? It's funny you comes up here
and he picks out one or two things because now
he sees it in person, and then he just sticks
with him and he won't shake it. He just he
rides in it. Yeah, Okay, I'm sure they measured his legs.
That doesn't mean he can't play football. But yeah, he looks.
He looks sleek, I would say, not slender, small, but sleek,
(26:50):
and I think that adds to his speed. They had
him back at kickoff return yesterday. Something he did to
a national leading level at Notre Dame. Wow, I don't
think they're going to have their lead running back as
back up. I wouldn't think that they are. Also had
Tory Horton back there. They had no Igmanoghany, who was
on our show yesterday back there. But yeah, Price has impressed.
(27:12):
Let's see him in preseason games and blitz pick up
and pass protection and catching the ball, the things that
they really need to see out. They know he can
run the outside zone. He that was his specialty at
Notre Dame. That's what he did.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Look like he's got any trouble catching the football.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
Well, he's sure as hell has got enough chances. Man.
I can tell you he's like a bullpen catcher out here.
He just gets catch after catchup. They just keep throwing
and throwing, and Thomas Hammock throws and there's no pitch
count on Thomas Hammock out here. I mean he just
throws and throws and throws to Jadari Price every day. Yeah,
well how many what?
Speaker 1 (27:44):
What will he get more reps or f bombs thrown
his way by Thomas.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Ham Probably f.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
Shove more into more efficient with those. I mean think
it'd be used as an adjective, an ad verb, a verb, and.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
About thirty times in a minute and a half clip,
you know I want to dress something On the text
line four nine four to five. One at the Komodad's
text line that for two five says I believe Derek
Hall is a good guy, and he shared his amazing,
amazing store and air. He was great on air. He
was on my show last week and we had a
great conversation about his background and premature birth and how
he is devoted to his mother. But am I the
(28:22):
only one the fort two five says who thought he
looked like a d bag in that episode? His shorts
are ridiculous, his truck look ridiculous, just begging for attention,
and then the cheap shot during the practice fight taking
out a teammate from first of all, the respond to that,
that is who Derek Hall is. He makes his own trucks,
he puts in and design. He and his dad working
(28:43):
his driveway. We had a UPS driver on the show
and the text line say, I'm a UPS driver and
I seen him and his dad working on that truck.
The hydraulics. Yeah, that's what he does. He loves that stuff.
His hobby Yeah, he did that before the contract, before
hard Knarks cameras came on the shorts. He've always done
that too. The teammates have ridden him about his short
since he was a rookie here a few years ago.
(29:05):
That's his thing.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
Luke Wilson had his shorts thing that he did here too.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
Right, Wilson did it for wanted to be a seventies
retro Casey in the Sunshine Band guy. And Hall does
it because of his physique. But yeah, his teammates. Hall's
teammates have given him a hard time about that for
a while. I wrote about the day that the Hall
fight with Bryce Cable Doo. That was a cheap shot.
He flew at him from behind with an elbow in
the back of the head. And you heard in the
(29:31):
episode last night that McDonald didn't appreciate the cheapsht nature
that he also didn't appreciate Brady Russell mentioning his contract
changing Hall, and I thought that was another interesting leadership
moment from McDonald saying, hey, that wasn't cool, and you
don't go after a guy's contract that wasn't that was
not fair and above bounds. And by the end of
the conversation. You smooth it over and say hey, okay,
(29:54):
we're cool. And yeah, Russell and McDonald were cool. But
that's as McDonald said, that's a line you don't cross
on the field talking to about a guy's money. And
Hall earned that and he has to respect in the
locker room for earning that. I don't think he looked
like a d bag in the episode. I see Derek
Hall like that for the last four years. Yeah, but
(30:14):
I did think it was a d bag move to
elbow a teammate from behind.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Yeah yeah, all right, Greg, so with us for one
more so you get to participate in one last thing
with Ashley and you've never done this before entire career.
All right, So we'll do that next to close out
the hour and then hand this sucker off to Greg.
Sports Radio ninety three point three kJ RFN. All right,
(30:40):
final segment of the radio program. Greg Bell, out of
the goodness of his hardest, joined us for a full hour,
and now he gets the joy of participating in one
last thing for the first time in his illustrious career.
Ashley show him out. It's done, Okay.
Speaker 3 (30:53):
I came across this report today from Yahoo Sports that
for the first game of the year for the Rams
and the forty nine Ers, our division rivals. The Rams
are gonna arrive in Australia the day before and the
that's a good idea, right, and the forty nine Ers
are going a full week earlier so they can adjust
to the time differences and be comfortable.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
The Rams are flying in the.
Speaker 3 (31:14):
Day before and leaving immediately after the game.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
Wow, there's a theory of that. Some players do the
same thing as teams do the same thing for Europe,
which isn't quite as far. But there's the theory that
you get in and out before your body gets affected.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
By Oh really, I just feel like a fifteen hour
plane ride, whether you're in and out like, that's gonna
be the hardest.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Part, exactly.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
You need time to recover from that.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
It's not so much the time zone as to travel.
Speaker 1 (31:38):
Yeah, I flew to New Zealand and back. I don't
remember ever having that much of an impact. But then again,
I wasn't going there to play a football game, right,
so I don't know what kind of impact that would
have on a football player. I hope it. I hope
Miles Garrett gains like one hundred pounds.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
Yeah, that's what I'm hoping, right, Yeah, like maybe the
forty nine ers can steal one from them.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
Or loses one hundred, might even even be better. Yeah yeah,
gets bit by some sort of tetz fly or something
like that and sucks all of his energy and strength
and power.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
From him tech by Kahlbar. That'd be great.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
If Miles Garrett's lining up at six seven, one hundred
and fifteen pounds for the opener, that'd be hilarious. All right,
nicely done. What do you got for one last thing?
Speaker 2 (32:24):
Greg? Well, my one last thing is I've been covering
the end. I start covering the NFL twenty five years ago,
and this is only the second time I've covered a
defending Super Bowl champion. It doesn't happen very often. And
I know we'll get wrapped around the details, and is
what's Witherspoon's contract? And is Emo Warri coming back his
(32:44):
hoots out for the year? Why did Flurry run the
ball in third and eighth? I would just remind everyone
that this is as good as it gets in the NFL,
that it's rare. It doesn't happen a lot. This team's
window is still there's no reason why they shouldn't be
winning the division or competing to win the division the
(33:05):
home playoff games in the Super Bowl, again because of
how young they are, but the way they've structured this
with the coach, they have, the players, they have the
quarterback who's still only twenty nine years old in the
second year of a three year deal at mid market value.
This is as good as it may ever get for football.
And see, I agree.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
And they're all likable too, Yeah they are. This is
not just good, they're great and they're likable.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
This is a really different locker room than the Legion
of Boom. I like covering the Legion of Boom. They
were great for stories, intertaining. Sherman and I had our bouts.
One time, he told me, if Bell comes up to
a scrum, I'm done talking for the rest of the year.
I'm not talking at Bell's around. But this team is
different in that way. They don't have they have alpha personalities,
(33:47):
but they don't have the dominant personalities that those teams.
It's much more of a collective. And McDonald once a time.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
Yep, good group, great group, great group, no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
All Right, I'm gonna close with this.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
I brought up garb earlier. I did not up Rob Refsnyder.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
You went to a whole show without mentioning that.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
It just didn't work. I don't know what to say.
I don't know why this is such a mystery. I
think in theory it was a good idea to sign
Rob Refsnyder. But I thought Pollock was a good idea
at the time, and I thought Garver was a fine
idea at the time. None of them have worked out.
I don't know why this organization can't find a veteran,
(34:26):
proven right handed hitter that hits left handed pitching. And
maybe it is the backdrop, as Taoscar Hernandez suggested after
he left to Seattle. But obviously there's an issue here.
I'll say this. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna kill
them for signing ref Snyder, but I would have killed
him if they kept him any longer. It was time
(34:47):
for him to be let go at least. I mean,
I'm not gonna say it was a mistake to sign him,
but it would have been a mistake to stick with
him during this crucial stretch of games that are upcoming,
all right, coming up next. Craig Bell's gonna take over
the radio airwaves for you. We'll talk to you again
tomorrow at six o'clock. Thank you, sir, appreciate you, Thank you,
and we'll talk to you tomorrow. So keep it here
(35:10):
at Sports Radio ninety three point three kh A R
f M. You can't miss a thing from today's show
because we're on demand. Their podcast will be up right
after the show. Just click on demand on our website
at ninety three three KJR dot com and click on
checking Bug podcast to replay anytime anywhere from Sports Radio
ninety three point three kJ R FL
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