January 15, 2026 • 32 mins
Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks are joined by Seattle Sports host and friend of the show Brock Huard to discuss how Mike Macdonald has transformed the Seahawks into an NFC powerhouse in under two years (1:08). Brock opens up about the impact of GM John Schneider’s roster construction (4:50), the decision to bring in Sam Darnold (10:05), and the young players whose play has excelled this season (14:20). Plus, DJ and Bucky weigh in on Oregon QB Dante Moore’s decision to forgo the 2026 NFL Draft (21:57) and quickly preview the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs (25:32).
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up everybody? Welcome to move the sticks. DJ, Buck
with you and bringing on our good buddy to join
us today. Brock, you or Brock? What is going on? Man?
Speaker 2 (00:08):
This is kind of fun DJ. You know, for two
years it's reversal. You come on my show every Wednesday
or Tuesday. We kind of move it around up in Seattle.
You join if I remember, if I remember, no, no,
they've only been a couple of those, a couple of those.
So it's kind of fun to be on the other
end of this. So receiving and so look forward to it.
(00:28):
Good to see you Buck, Good.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Seeing you Brock. Long time, long time. Yeah, he's had
he's spoiled man. Like you know, I feel I'm with
Bucky's a Dodger fan, so he just wins every year. Now,
Brock's up in the sports capital of the world right now.
They got baseball, they got football, they're you know, kind
of crushing it up there. But uh, Brock, one reason
I wanted to have you on is because to me,
I think the Seahawks are a fascinating study. We always
(00:51):
talk about team building and you know, scouting and trying
to make this whole matrix come together and work, and
it seems like they have long had the right general manager.
We've known John for a long time. Bucky's been around
in more than I have, but there's, you know, tremendous
respect for him around the league. Tell I want to
learn more about about coach McDonald and how this thing,
(01:12):
how this marriage has worked with those two guys, and
how he's been able to be a perfect fit there.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Yeah. I think what John said, uh, just on and
off the record over the years in that process of
hiring Mike was and it's a business termy here and
it's popular and everybody loves to use that in the
terms of disruptor. He's a disruptor. And there were a
lot of folks and a lot of his buddies McVeigh
and Shanahan and the folks in the NFC and let's
(01:38):
need and the rest of them were like, come on, John,
you know, hire the next hied Liam, you know, hire
the next Kevin O'Connell, Hire the next offense guy, hired
somebody from our tree, you know, have them try to
tangle with us. And I just think John knew that
in this division to try to handle in the division that,
by the way, has just been unbelievable this season. He
(02:00):
just knew that in order to tackle Shanahan and McVeigh
that he was going to have to disrupt the operation
and disrupt their operation and do it with somebody that
I think in many ways from a process. The more
time I spend with Mike, I've always been around offensive guys.
I was an offensive guy, right, and he does the
exact same thing, but on the defensive side. And you know,
(02:22):
you guys would have loved this. I asked him one
time in one of our Monday mornings that we interview
him every week, and I said, do you do you
approach it like Gary Patterson used to approach it at TCU,
where you try to defeat every play, because I get
a sense that Ye're more about defeating that play caller
in that play than it is we just run our
(02:43):
system or just a quarter system, or we just run
you know, Camp two. And he said, yeah, I'm probably
more bent that way. And he's kind of bent like
an offensive guy and play caller, but doing it from
the defensive side and doing it in a way guys
that very few in the league I think have the horsepower.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
To Yeah, it's it's interesting brock Hevin watched the team
up close in person when they came down to Jacksonville,
being on field level, watching that defense, which is young
lett it, they're hungry, they have marquee players at key spots.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
How has he been able to.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Take young and old, blend them together and get them
to play on the same page, because that's not very
easy to do in this league.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
No, And I think one of the biggest surprises. And man,
we talked about this team every dale, all day, every
week and have so I don't want to, you know,
like get past some of the some of the details
or just make any assumptions. But the biggest surprise is
DeMarcus Lawrence. I just didn't think he had this much
(03:48):
in the tank, Bucky. Like I knew he's a great player,
He's a boise, he's long, he still looks like a giant.
I didn't know that he was this good and this
good is a teammate, this good in that room, this
good as a player, this much just juice, chasing down plays,
playing like he's on a first year contract, let alone
(04:08):
twelve years into this league. He is an enormous force
for them defensively. And Cooper Cup offensively like those two
guys there. I'll use that word horsepower again. You know,
DeMarcus got more on the field and Cooper has left.
Father times definitely caught Cooper's speed and some of that,
but not his brain and not his mind and not
the way he processes and works and shares that just
(04:31):
palatable information with those guys. Those two have been just
enormous ads to other than that, what is a remarkably young, young,
young football team.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
And your experience just been around the game as long
as you have the teams you've played on, the teams
you've been around, and then seeing this team, I'm curious
because talk to gms from other sports and I've had
a discussion about the trade deadline, and we've talked about how, look,
you have your nucleus, you have your key guys, and
then we like trying to find those little little pieces
of glue that can kind of put the whole thing together.
(05:03):
They did a phenomenal job with Rahiet Shihat and what
he's been able to add to this offense. But I
want to kind of couple that together with having the
nucleus of this roster. You mentioned Tank Lawrence and Cooper
cup it seems like to me, John's got a great
feel for finding the little pieces of glue to kind
of put this whole thing together.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Yeah, and I think he would be the first to
tell you, guys. A he would shower his analytics team,
his scouts, his personnel department. He never makes it about John,
which I think is a bit unique and has allowed
him to be there for two decades through different coaches
and owners and presidents and everything else, because he's egoists.
(05:41):
I think he would tell you, and this is back
to the McDonald acquisition, he would tell you that he
knew he was really good, that he knew he'd be
a disruptor, that he knew the process and all that
was remarkable. But what he has learned over these now
less still less than two years together is how he
knows exactly what he wants with the grocery lists. And
you guys were in organizations, and I don't think that's
(06:03):
always the case, you know, And it's fair or unfair
to the Joe Shane and the Giants and watching that
hard Knox, which I don't think any team will ever
do again in the off season, listening to like, oh,
you know, they hired a new decordinator, and he sat
in that room with all the scouts for forty minutes
and was like, I need this and I need this
and I need this. McDonald loves that stuff. That's why
(06:25):
he was at the senior ballts, why he was at
the Drought, It's why he always will be because he
wants to be right next to John, like, this is
what I'm looking for, this is what we need. This
is and there's a clarity there that you know. And
this is not to bash coach Carroll. He's wired differently.
Everyone's great, Oh Bucky could play outside, And for me,
look at the arms, look.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
At the lane.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
I'll make this guy great. I'll make everybody great. Everything's awesome.
Mike's not that way. It's like, no, this is what
I need, very blunt, very concise, very clear, just clear messaging.
And I think John would be the first to tell
you that those inputs are why they hit on the glue,
why they hit on the veterans, why they hit in
(07:03):
this draft at a rate that was remarkable this offseason.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
You know, it's so interesting to hear that, having worked
in Seattle under John when you were there playing, having
watched the evolution of the Seahawks, like look from Coach
Homegren to the legion to Boom to the iteration that
we have now.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
I always wanted about the changes in culture.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
So when you talk about Pete Carroll being super positive
in those things, and then the clarity with which Mike
McDonald operates and give us a little more insight in
terms of the culture that exists when in the locker
room or how it plays out on the field.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Yeah, I think that mob is a big deal. It's
not the lob but and it's internal and it's just
kind of come out as the years of all but
that mission over bs. You know, it's just it's about
the mission, man, it's not about any of this other stuff.
And your veterans have really laid that when DeMarcus plays
that hard Bucky, when he plays like he's an undrafted
(07:56):
free agent, truly like chasing things down, throwing his body.
When Byron and Leonard and Ernest and these guys and
some of them that do have seasoning play like NICKI
Min Worry and Devin with their hair on fire, it's like, man,
that's you know you got it right, you know you
got it. And I think it was Coach dunge. It's
been said many times, but and I firmly believe this
(08:18):
through my you know, years of watching it and watching
this group defined by defense like they were in the
previous iteration, and that is you know, you you don't
just see it, you hear it, you know, and you
see it, and you see great length, see great speed,
see great closing of space. That's very unique. I think
(08:39):
it's them and the Texans, maybe the Broncos, the Rams
up front, but like there was very few of the
close space the way that they do and as violently
as they do. But you hear them, man, you just
hear them talking. You hear them hang them with each other. Right.
I remember when Bob Whitsitt came in and some of
the friction with Mike and Bob wanted all the pictures down,
(09:01):
like it's gonna be a sterile environment. This is a
work environment. It's not a play environment, like we're here
to work, and it was like, okay, great, I'm working
to get out. I don't want to be here. This
Environment's one eight And that's continued from Coach Carol, like no,
I want guys to be here. We want to give
them every resource we want the best facilities. We want
the best of the best and those guys who care
(09:22):
about each other, and you hear it, hear it, it's genuine,
it's not just talk. And you also hear some violence.
These dudes are violent, violent violence on a football field,
and they like it that way.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
To me, like the underrated aspect of defense right now
is the physicality of the tackling. And you can do
it legally. You're not talking, you're not getting headshots, you're
not getting penalties. But when you watch a Texans game
or you watch a Seahawks game, it's different, Like the
testing is different. There is a physicality and a violence
to it, and I think it speaks to the culture
they've created there. I want to get to the other side.
(09:56):
Why we've got you. Can we go on the time machine,
go back to what the decision was at the time
that brought Sam Donald in there, What were the other
options and what led them to believe in and rightly so,
that Sam was the best way to go.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Yeah, I believe you were in Indianapolis, both the men
probably were, and I believe you heard some of those rumblings.
DJ and I think we talked about it off the
air a little more than on the air like well
this is this could go down like you know, this
is not and this is not a shot at Geno
in DK. But I think the reality is like for
their MB, like those were going to be pivots they
(10:32):
had to make. And you know when Geno's last training
camp not happy about his deal and maybe spends a
day popping about it and growing flared up or a
knee flared up, like huh, that's not MLB. You know,
when DK grabs the headset and puts it on and
the screaming in game at the offensive coordinator to get
in the ball like that's not MOB, you know. And
(10:56):
and I think as they as Mike, you know, first
year climbing the learning curve and all that he wanted
to do culturally and all the ways he wanted to go,
those are a couple of pivots that hey, if the
market was right and the conditions were right, we're going
to be willing to be bold. I mean John's bold.
He did it with Russell, Like if I could do
with Russell, what is Geno? And DK? You know? And
(11:17):
I think that embolded him and empowered him and built
equity and trust with Jody Allen and Chuck Arnold in
the organization, like, yeah, you know, we got to make
these hard pivots sometimes. Frankly, maybe we didn't pivot away
fast enough from some of that crew that aged right
in fifteen and sixteen and seventeen. So I think he
had a lot of equity in the bank to make
(11:38):
those moves, and when the market conditions were right. I
think playing against Sam late in the year as they did,
also helped. Right. Sam made an unbelievable throw getting hit
right in the mouth to Jefferson to win that game
and really knock the Seahawks out of the playoffs and
propelled Minnesota, And like, whoof this guy incubated well in
(12:00):
San Francisco. We kind of we kind of like this
kind of like this guy and uh and man has
that just paid obviously enormous dividends.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Let's continue to extend on the Sam Donald conversation because
Clint Kobe comes over, and what's interesting. Everyone talks about
Sam Donald and what has happened in terms of the
passing game, but this is a team that still runs
it more than they throw it. Let's just talk about
the system helping Sam Donald become the best version of
himself in Seattle.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
You know, Bucky DJ has gotten to know my co
host for the last couple of years, one Michael Salk,
and Michael may have, because of his upbringing and roots,
may have a little more citicism than the passive, passive, aggressive,
very non cynical Pacific Northwest guy. Right. So we've we've
worked and clashed and molded a lot more. I think
(12:51):
I've become more cynical. He's become a little less. But
you know, we heard for ten years about oh this
new A line coach. Oh yeah, this new scheme. Oh,
here comes Schottenheimer, Here comes Mike Hilario, here comes and
he's heard it like this is going to fix the line,
and it's going to fix the A line that's going
to It's like, I'm done. I'm just done. I'm not
going to believe anything you gotta say, I gotta I
gotta see it. And they got to go and produce and that.
(13:13):
And Might's not alone in that, by the way. That's
most Seahawk fans. It's a struggled for ten years. Oh
we'll take this d lineman, We'll make him an offensive guard,
and we'll take this scrap heap and we'll take go
cheap and we don't think there's enough value to draft
this guy this high end U D da da da
da da. And I'll tell you if you were to
go on the way back machine, I think one of
the most exciting things about this Kubiak higher was what
(13:36):
he brought with him. And equally what scared me as
if he goes to Atlanta and I think there's a
high prospect of that what he takes with him out
of Seattle, because that intellectual institutional knowledge of Rick Dennison,
of John Benton, of all those guys that are so
(13:57):
versed in it, so convicted in it. We had not
had that like this. You know, Shoty came in, but
it was working with the other pieces that were there.
He came in and brought his infantry with them, and man,
they done a phenomenal job. You know, this is this
is not the best offensive line in the league. But
when you want to talk about youngest and best and
(14:18):
merge those two, there's nobody nobody, right. Charles just got
his extension. Abe just got his extension. The last offseason,
Sables on a first year, Sundale's on a first year
Brafford's on the first year, Like, who has that in
the league? Playing also at this level at fourteen and
three at nobody does. And man, after a decade of
whining and complaining and crying about this offensive line, they
(14:42):
have turned the corner. And I think those men deserve
a ton of credit for it.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Absolutely. You know a lot of high picks in there
and hitting on those. So it's a compliment to John
the scouting department for being able to identify those guys,
and then a coaching staff that's been able to make
them work and fit in what they're doing. I was
I was thinking about this the other day. I'm going
through watching all these college guys and trying to get
all my draft prep and as it stands right now,
and I've got more to do, but I think four
(15:06):
of my top eight players are Ohio State buck guys.
And the Ohio State buck guys lost in the Big
Ten championship game and then they got bounced by Miami
in the playoff, and I'm sitting there thinking like, this
is where roster construction comes into play. They've got You've
got linebackers, receivers, safeties, they didn't have tackles, They could
(15:27):
not block those two guys at Miami and all the
other stuff is fantastic. You don't take that. I mean,
to me, it's a great and Seattle is another example
of that. It's I've always said it's hard to have
a bad team with a great offensive line, at least
a bad offense with a great offensive line. They seem
like their testament to that.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Well, it's half your offense, right, I mean, it's five
of the eleven guys right there. That group my favorite
teams that ever a part of my Husky team with
Olin Krutz and benji Olsen, Like, oh my gosh, it
was like, well, let's go right. You could feel you
break the huddle and you could field on the other side.
Most of them are like, it's not gonna be fun,
you know, like you get that vibe even with the
(16:05):
Seahawks buckying you were around it when you had Hutch
and Walt. I'm like, oh, this is just not gonna
be fun. And I'm not gonna put Charles and Gray
in that category. You're talking about two of the greatest
to ever do it in the history of the game
in Hutch and Walt. But I will tell you behind
the scenes and maybe you guys already know this, but
like Steve Hutchinson, he's got Schneider's ear, and John really
(16:29):
leans into hutch He's worked and consulted for them for
a number of years. And when you talk about like
standing on the table, from my understanding is that hutch said, John,
don't you dare not draft Gray's abel, don't you dare
get cute? Don't you dare trade down? Don't you dare
you like this other kid out of Arizona. I get it,
But don't you dare pass on this guy if he
(16:50):
is sitting there at eighteen because I think in Gray, honestly,
hutch sees some of himself, Like this guy's really bright,
this guy really bends, this guy really roun this guy's
really fun. And he's going to work with this left
tackle like hutch did with Walt, who barely said two words,
Like he's going to work with Charles and he's going
to grow them and improve them. And these two man,
(17:12):
these two have a chance to dance now for a
bunch of years together. And it's going to be fun
to watch in Seattle. Yeah, it's fun to watch.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
It's really fun to watch your wide receiver one DJ
was talking about Ohio State. I don't know if there's
ever been a more underrated, underappreciated number one receiver in
the league than JSN. This dude had over seventeen hundred
yards and I believe watching his statement he made mask
some guys as number one. Just talk about his ascension,
(17:40):
his growth over a three year period to being the
player that he is right now.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
You know what's wild Bucky is I think he's younger
than almost every Indiana who's your starter current on their
current college football team. Seriously, I think he's twenty three.
I mean, it's incredible to do that, he would tell you.
And I've got a good buddy that knows him, has
known him a long time in their family and really
connected with the Seahawks, and he'd be the first to
(18:06):
say Cooper Cup was And I don't think John signed
Cooper Cup for JSN. I think he signed Cooper Cup
for the system and for all that he would bring.
But man like, if it was just for Cooper for
jsn's development, in jsn's development alone, you'd be like, that's
a great signing. Let alone some of the third down
(18:26):
conversions in the blocking and all the other impact he's
had on everybody, but for JSN to look at Cooper
and go, WHOA, WHOA, Like this guy did that? You know,
you look up at JSN season and what was it?
Top ten all time in the history of the league
and yardage, but up above him was a guy named
Cooper cup like from four years ago that doesn't move
(18:48):
quite like JSN and didn't have, you know, some of
the body control and the lower body strength of JASN,
yet had almost what nineteen hundred yards or eighteen hundred
yards and his MVP caliber season. So yeah, Cooper has
been enormous of all the intricacies, all the details, all
the nuances, all the elements, all of the study, all
of the high powered things that I don't think every
(19:10):
every talented receiver always grasped they don't have to I
don't have to do That's great, Cooper, you have to
do that, right, You run four seven like you have
to do that. I don't have to do that. But
if I run four, four or five and got my
body control and I do what you do, and I
take all those components and add it to my game,
I can be filthy, which is exactly what he's been
(19:31):
this year.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
It's been fun to watch man. You've been Jennerus with
your time, buddy. It's great to hang out with you.
Last one and then I'll let you run. Big Dumper.
Is he getting does he get over fifty next year?
Or are we looking at more of like a forty
tube jacks next year?
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Yeah, I think you're talking more mid forties.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
I think that's yeah. I don't.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
It's a big number, man, for a catcher. That was unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
It was insane, like insane, Like we talked about these
numbers and in Megatron's all time receiving record, right, and
these other guys got close. They got close. The all
time catcher home run record was Salvi at forty five
and he had sixty, Like, what are we doing?
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Well, look, he didn't even know this brock because he's
never watched anything except the last three any game. No, no, no, no, no,
no one one. I love the nickname.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
I just just where we go would Dumper it like,
I've loved it, and I like the fact that he
did it, But I'm.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Sorry to see it.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
My my baseball watching extends until late October.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
I'm just just so used to it. I'm so used
to it. I'm just so used to it, you know,
like shot fired. Well, you know, if we're gonna if
we're gonna extrapolate money to bodies. Remember the last time
you went to an open gym, Brock, and you're picking
teams and you say, I'll take these three, you get
those five. Yeah, that's kind of what it is, you know,
pretty much, pretty much, boy, This is what we devolve
(20:52):
into every time. All right, Brock, Hey, dude, we appreciate.
I know you're busy. I'm looking forward to watching these
Seahawks and and we'll have you on if we get
toward draft. I want to talk some quarterbacks once you
get that point.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
That'd be fun, man, I'll be violent. This Saturday night's
gonna move to your point. Like Houston and Pittsburgh Monday
night was. Yeah, yeah, Saturday night. These two don't like
each other at all. A lot of the players don't
like each other at all. And this is gonna be uh,
some fireworks in the moment.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
I stepped wrong on a curb about two months ago,
and my ankle still feels a little wobbly, and uh,
and I watched Fred Warner running it around like he's
just a yeah, yeah, it a little different, a little different. Yeah,
all right, thanks buddy, We'll see you next time you've
bat to see you boys. Well, there he goes Buck brockhured.
(21:41):
Phenomenal guy, and we will get a chance talking with
him because he knows a college game inside out too.
We'll get a chance to talk about what I was
going to say, all the quarterbacks, but are there any quarterbacks?
Which is another conversation for another day, as Dante Moore
has gone back to college. By the way, were quick
give me your give me your thirty second thought on
that one? Smart move?
Speaker 3 (21:58):
And I feel like it was gonna be necessary after
watching the Indiana game. Like we've talked about, like time
on task starts, twenty stars is not enough to get ready.
And if you look at the bust rate quarterbacks that
come in to the league with twenty or fewer stars,
like you just go down a list of names that
have had struggles in the NFL. If he's thinking about
long term success, this was the best move for him.
(22:18):
And give Oregon credit having another one in the pipeline
and Dylan Rayola to come in and red shirt sit
on the bench if you want to call it. To
watch down teymore go to set him up for some
long term success by having more time on task in college.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
I'll just hit you with this one, real quick one.
I would say an idea that's been thrown out there
or one of the criticisms of the decision was you
could have been the second quarterback second picking this draft,
and next year looks like we could have a boatload
of quarterbacks and you might you might be the fourth
or fifth quarterback. And I would just just refute that
real quickly. Josh Allen wasn't one of the top wasn't
(22:54):
the top quarterback picked in his class? Lamar Jackson in
that same draft class way down the line at the
bottom of the first round, Drake made likely MVP of
the league, was third in his group. Bo Nicks is
the number one seed. Broncos was down the line, was
the sixth quarterback. So to me, you're going to go
in the first round, You're going to go to a
you know, potentially a better team if you were just
going to slide in the first, second, third, fourth, it
(23:17):
doesn't matter, man, it doesn't matter. You're going to go
in the first round and you're going to have a
great opportunity yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
I think I think for him it is about understanding
it and listening and reading about him and what he
learned from UCLA. I think he felt like all the
pressure said I need to come over here to jump
on the field, and then what he realized is, oh, no, no,
I'm not quite ready for.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
The challenges that are here.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
Let me become better prepared, let me get better at
my craft. And I think the Indiana game was maybe
another reminder in terms of how far I need to
go to get ready, because I'm gonna tell you the
pictures that Indiana were showing when I went to the
game on Sunday to Jackson Buffalo, Buffalo was changing the picture.
And if you're a young quarterback having to deal with
that that change, you're not for me. It's going to
(23:58):
lead to some ugly football. So I applaud them for
being able to do that. Brim for other guys to
want to jump out and it's about ay, I want
to go early. That's great, but really it should be
about long term success. And I think this will give
him a chance at long term success as a pro.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
And in terms of this draft class, look, it's not
going to be sexy in terms of the number of quarterbacks,
it's still it's a solid draft. Again, a lot of
starters to be found in this draft. Of man, I'm
telling you next the twenty six college football season might
be the best we've we've had in a long time.
There are so many good teams with key players and
key roles, and it's going to lead us to the
(24:34):
twenty seven draft, which is going to be star studded.
And it is not just quarterbacks every it's all you
guys OVERRTE the quarterbacks. No, no, not just quarterbacks. We're talking
Jeremiah Smith. We're talking pass rushers out in the Wazoo,
from Texas and from South Carolina. Like we are going
to have a show in the nation's Capitol in Washington,
d C. So I'm excited about this draft. We'll get
some good players. We'll talk about him over the next
(24:56):
several months, Buck, but I'm already geeked up for the
twenty six college season. Of the twenty seven draft, well, yeah,
this is a byproduct of revenue share in IL.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
We're guys, not only the timing where some of these
guys are going to be true three year players that
are coming out, but some guys are electing to stay,
which is a better thing because more experience at least
to better expercise, which should lead to an easier transition
when you get to the pros. I'm excited about not
only this class, but next year's class is absolutely loaded,
and it's not just a quarterback.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
All right, buck.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Before we get out here, we don't have a ton
of time left, but preview real quick, just a couple
of thoughts here. We talked a lot about Seattle and
what to anticipate in a very physical matchup against San
Francisco with Rock Huer. But let's get to these other
games here. Let's start first of all, what you're looking
forward to Buffalo Denver in the AFC. Look Man, Josh Allen,
(25:45):
the company? Can it take the show on the road.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Coming out of the Jacksonville game, I feel like either
one of the teams a team that won, was gonna
have a great chance to go to the Super Bowl.
I came away more impressed with Buffalo than I have
the entire season, not only because of the way Josh
Allen played. People will talk about a he was at
an MVP level during that game. I would say the
reason he performed at a high level is because he
really leaned into taking care of the football, playing smart football,
(26:11):
I would say even managing the game. And then Sean
McDermott is defensive wizardry, being able to change the picture
and make things really difficult for Trevor Lawrence. I think
he can take that same game plan and do a
lot to mess up bow knicks and that rhythm. And
you have to remember this about the Broncos. Their offense
has been scatter shot throughout the year. If this is
a game that is not like a shootout, I don't
(26:33):
know if they can get to a point where they
can catch up with Josh Allen. If Josh Allen has
this offense rolling, I think the magic number is twenty four.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
It's a Buffalo Bills get to twenty four. I think
the Buffalo Bill's advanced. There's a lot of speed over
there on Denver's defense. You look at the receiver depletion
for the Bills. I don't love that. To me. This
is a cook game, man. You got to let get cooked,
get that ground game going. I think this could be
an aggressive Josh Allen run game. I'll pull out all
(27:01):
the stops there. I think they want to make this
a physical a physical fight on that side of the ball,
and then you flip it over to the other side
defending the second play. If you can defend the second
play with bow Knicks, it's not the initial play as
it's called. It's his ability to get outside of structure,
scramble for first downs, you know, make plays on the move.
That's going to be the key. If they're gonna somehow
(27:22):
go up there and knock off Denver, Denver's gonna be
well rested, They're going to be fast on that defensive
side of the ball. So it's physicality on offense for
Buffalo and then on the other side, it's defending that
second play. In my opinion, yeah, get in the second
play because bo Nicks is terrific.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Also, maybe a little tempo, because the Bills are shurehanded
on offense and defense. Maybe the Broncos play a little
faster than they've played traditionally. Throughout the course of the
regular season, bow Knicks has been at his best when
they've operated no huddle at a breakneck speed. Maybe the
Broncos utilized a little bit of that. Given the extra
week to prepare.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
All right, how about let's go the final game There
in the AFC Texans Patriots. Man, this is this is
ahead knocker.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
I mean, this is everything that Brock talked about, physicality
and violence. This Texans defense, to me, is the best
in the league. And they can do it in simplistic
fashion from a scheme standpoint. But because they're so good
pass rushers, corners, mike linebackers, safety, they're good all over.
To me, this defense is going to have to play well.
They have to make life miserable for Drake May. They
(28:21):
have to keep the score down because I don't know
how many points theyre gonna be able to score.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
CJ.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
Strout has been off a little bit. I think this
defense is going to have to do the heavy lifting
for him to win in New England.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
Don't want to be in third lungs, which is going
to put a huge emphasis on their ability to stay
ahead of the sticks on first down, and that's trying
to get some quick rhythm throws for Drake May. That's
getting the run game going. I think you'll know how
this game is going early on. If they're able to
get into second and five, second and six, Okay, New
England's you know, they have a chance to stay in
(28:52):
this thing. It sounds weird as the home team with
the higher seed. But if they if they are getting
one yard or they're losing a yard on first down,
and they're gonna pin the rears back and guess what
the screen game. The screen game is not gonna work.
But because they're only rushing four, they're only rushing four,
there's another whole layer of the defense to take care
of the screen game. So you've got to stay ahead,
and that might be throwing the ball on first down.
(29:13):
Like just trying to stay ahead on first down. I
think that's huge, huge emphasis for New England. Yeah, Stefan
Diggs needs to be big for the New England Pagers.
They gonna need him to be able to win some
of those one on one matchups.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
And this is a big out Nico Collins not being
able to play for the Texans out with the concussion.
How are they going to manufacture points without their number
one receiver there? So we talk about another low scoring affair.
This plays right into the Texans hands, even though I
still tend to think that might be able to find
a way to get it done at home.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Well, you look at the Patriots defense played great last
week against the Chargers. They've got to turn Stroud over.
Stroud's done it. I mean he turned over. If Stroud's
got to play better than he did against Pittsburgh, he
can't give them those opportunities because Drake mail Cash those
in Pittsburgh was unable to do so. To me, Shorter
Fields turning him over, I think that's going to be key.
And Stroud's got play a lot better on the Houston
side of things. So really looking forward to that matchup
(30:03):
should be a fun one. How about this one? Weather
could be gnarly in Chicago. I did not know I was.
I don't know why I was unaware of the Stafford
you know, poor weather game stats that have all been
floating around the internet here. I don't know if I'm
one hundred percent buying in on that, you know, telling
us what's going to happen in this game, because I
think they are going to be able to run the
ball and have some balance against the Bears. Yeah, like
(30:25):
balance is everything.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
I mean, DJ, we can talk about all the previews
of the game, but what matters is the fourth quarter.
Will the Rams be able to stop Caleb Williams and
the Bears in the fourth quarter? No matter what the
margin is. The Bears are going to find a way
to creep back into the game, and will they be
able to get stops When Caleb Williams is doing what
he does well seven game winning drive, fourth quarter comebacks.
When he is able to play off schedule and just
(30:48):
kind of get in the backyard and do a little
sandlote football, this is when the Bears are their most dangerous.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
I like the fact that.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
Ben Johnson has been practicing the team outside no heaters.
Let's get acclimated to the weather. The weather is a fact.
Outn't care how much you prepare for it. Nothing in
southern California can make you prepare for.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
The Windy City in these environments.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
But Matthew Stafford also being a great close This could
be great two quarterbacks that can close down in the
fourth quarter.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
That's what I want to see, the duel between Stafford
and Willians and the fourth Yeah, I'm looking forward to
seeing it.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Man.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
It'll be interested to see. Can the Bears can they
block the Rams up front? That's going to be the
challenge for them in the past game. I think they'll
be able to run it a little bit with their
backs and their physicality, again, can they block them? And
then you know if it's close in the fourth quarter,
it's hard to know. If you're the Bears, you're like, Okay,
we got them right where we want them. We didn't
been able to close things out, But I hope it is.
(31:39):
I hope it comes down to the end because I'm
looking forward to seeing that matchup there in the NFC.
All right, Buck, that's gonna do it for us. I
hope you guys have enjoyed this one again, our thanks
to Brock hewar and appreciate his time today, and we'll
see you next week right here on movie sticks.
What's up everybody? Welcome to move the sticks. DJ, Buck
with you and bringing on our good buddy to join
us today. Brock, you or Brock? What is going on? Man?
Speaker 2 (00:08):
This is kind of fun DJ. You know, for two
years it's reversal. You come on my show every Wednesday
or Tuesday. We kind of move it around up in Seattle.
You join if I remember, if I remember, no, no,
they've only been a couple of those, a couple of those.
So it's kind of fun to be on the other
end of this. So receiving and so look forward to it.
(00:28):
Good to see you Buck, Good.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Seeing you Brock. Long time, long time. Yeah, he's had
he's spoiled man. Like you know, I feel I'm with
Bucky's a Dodger fan, so he just wins every year. Now,
Brock's up in the sports capital of the world right now.
They got baseball, they got football, they're you know, kind
of crushing it up there. But uh, Brock, one reason
I wanted to have you on is because to me,
I think the Seahawks are a fascinating study. We always
(00:51):
talk about team building and you know, scouting and trying
to make this whole matrix come together and work, and
it seems like they have long had the right general manager.
We've known John for a long time. Bucky's been around
in more than I have, but there's, you know, tremendous
respect for him around the league. Tell I want to
learn more about about coach McDonald and how this thing,
(01:12):
how this marriage has worked with those two guys, and
how he's been able to be a perfect fit there.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Yeah. I think what John said, uh, just on and
off the record over the years in that process of
hiring Mike was and it's a business termy here and
it's popular and everybody loves to use that in the
terms of disruptor. He's a disruptor. And there were a
lot of folks and a lot of his buddies McVeigh
and Shanahan and the folks in the NFC and let's
(01:38):
need and the rest of them were like, come on, John,
you know, hire the next hied Liam, you know, hire
the next Kevin O'Connell, Hire the next offense guy, hired
somebody from our tree, you know, have them try to
tangle with us. And I just think John knew that
in this division to try to handle in the division that,
by the way, has just been unbelievable this season. He
(02:00):
just knew that in order to tackle Shanahan and McVeigh
that he was going to have to disrupt the operation
and disrupt their operation and do it with somebody that
I think in many ways from a process. The more
time I spend with Mike, I've always been around offensive guys.
I was an offensive guy, right, and he does the
exact same thing, but on the defensive side. And you know,
(02:22):
you guys would have loved this. I asked him one
time in one of our Monday mornings that we interview
him every week, and I said, do you do you
approach it like Gary Patterson used to approach it at TCU,
where you try to defeat every play, because I get
a sense that Ye're more about defeating that play caller
in that play than it is we just run our
(02:43):
system or just a quarter system, or we just run
you know, Camp two. And he said, yeah, I'm probably
more bent that way. And he's kind of bent like
an offensive guy and play caller, but doing it from
the defensive side and doing it in a way guys
that very few in the league I think have the horsepower.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
To Yeah, it's it's interesting brock Hevin watched the team
up close in person when they came down to Jacksonville,
being on field level, watching that defense, which is young
lett it, they're hungry, they have marquee players at key spots.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
How has he been able to.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Take young and old, blend them together and get them
to play on the same page, because that's not very
easy to do in this league.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
No, And I think one of the biggest surprises. And man,
we talked about this team every dale, all day, every
week and have so I don't want to, you know,
like get past some of the some of the details
or just make any assumptions. But the biggest surprise is
DeMarcus Lawrence. I just didn't think he had this much
(03:48):
in the tank, Bucky. Like I knew he's a great player,
He's a boise, he's long, he still looks like a giant.
I didn't know that he was this good and this
good is a teammate, this good in that room, this
good as a player, this much just juice, chasing down plays,
playing like he's on a first year contract, let alone
(04:08):
twelve years into this league. He is an enormous force
for them defensively. And Cooper Cup offensively like those two
guys there. I'll use that word horsepower again. You know,
DeMarcus got more on the field and Cooper has left.
Father times definitely caught Cooper's speed and some of that,
but not his brain and not his mind and not
the way he processes and works and shares that just
(04:31):
palatable information with those guys. Those two have been just
enormous ads to other than that, what is a remarkably young, young,
young football team.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
And your experience just been around the game as long
as you have the teams you've played on, the teams
you've been around, and then seeing this team, I'm curious
because talk to gms from other sports and I've had
a discussion about the trade deadline, and we've talked about how, look,
you have your nucleus, you have your key guys, and
then we like trying to find those little little pieces
of glue that can kind of put the whole thing together.
(05:03):
They did a phenomenal job with Rahiet Shihat and what
he's been able to add to this offense. But I
want to kind of couple that together with having the
nucleus of this roster. You mentioned Tank Lawrence and Cooper
cup it seems like to me, John's got a great
feel for finding the little pieces of glue to kind
of put this whole thing together.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Yeah, and I think he would be the first to
tell you, guys. A he would shower his analytics team,
his scouts, his personnel department. He never makes it about John,
which I think is a bit unique and has allowed
him to be there for two decades through different coaches
and owners and presidents and everything else, because he's egoists.
(05:41):
I think he would tell you, and this is back
to the McDonald acquisition, he would tell you that he
knew he was really good, that he knew he'd be
a disruptor, that he knew the process and all that
was remarkable. But what he has learned over these now
less still less than two years together is how he
knows exactly what he wants with the grocery lists. And
you guys were in organizations, and I don't think that's
(06:03):
always the case, you know, And it's fair or unfair
to the Joe Shane and the Giants and watching that
hard Knox, which I don't think any team will ever
do again in the off season, listening to like, oh,
you know, they hired a new decordinator, and he sat
in that room with all the scouts for forty minutes
and was like, I need this and I need this
and I need this. McDonald loves that stuff. That's why
(06:25):
he was at the senior ballts, why he was at
the Drought, It's why he always will be because he
wants to be right next to John, like, this is
what I'm looking for, this is what we need. This
is and there's a clarity there that you know. And
this is not to bash coach Carroll. He's wired differently.
Everyone's great, Oh Bucky could play outside, And for me,
look at the arms, look.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
At the lane.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
I'll make this guy great. I'll make everybody great. Everything's awesome.
Mike's not that way. It's like, no, this is what
I need, very blunt, very concise, very clear, just clear messaging.
And I think John would be the first to tell
you that those inputs are why they hit on the glue,
why they hit on the veterans, why they hit in
(07:03):
this draft at a rate that was remarkable this offseason.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
You know, it's so interesting to hear that, having worked
in Seattle under John when you were there playing, having
watched the evolution of the Seahawks, like look from Coach
Homegren to the legion to Boom to the iteration that
we have now.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
I always wanted about the changes in culture.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
So when you talk about Pete Carroll being super positive
in those things, and then the clarity with which Mike
McDonald operates and give us a little more insight in
terms of the culture that exists when in the locker
room or how it plays out on the field.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Yeah, I think that mob is a big deal. It's
not the lob but and it's internal and it's just
kind of come out as the years of all but
that mission over bs. You know, it's just it's about
the mission, man, it's not about any of this other stuff.
And your veterans have really laid that when DeMarcus plays
that hard Bucky, when he plays like he's an undrafted
(07:56):
free agent, truly like chasing things down, throwing his body.
When Byron and Leonard and Ernest and these guys and
some of them that do have seasoning play like NICKI
Min Worry and Devin with their hair on fire, it's like, man,
that's you know you got it right, you know you
got it. And I think it was Coach dunge. It's
been said many times, but and I firmly believe this
(08:18):
through my you know, years of watching it and watching
this group defined by defense like they were in the
previous iteration, and that is you know, you you don't
just see it, you hear it, you know, and you
see it, and you see great length, see great speed,
see great closing of space. That's very unique. I think
(08:39):
it's them and the Texans, maybe the Broncos, the Rams
up front, but like there was very few of the
close space the way that they do and as violently
as they do. But you hear them, man, you just
hear them talking. You hear them hang them with each other. Right.
I remember when Bob Whitsitt came in and some of
the friction with Mike and Bob wanted all the pictures down,
(09:01):
like it's gonna be a sterile environment. This is a
work environment. It's not a play environment, like we're here
to work, and it was like, okay, great, I'm working
to get out. I don't want to be here. This
Environment's one eight And that's continued from Coach Carol, like no,
I want guys to be here. We want to give
them every resource we want the best facilities. We want
the best of the best and those guys who care
(09:22):
about each other, and you hear it, hear it, it's genuine,
it's not just talk. And you also hear some violence.
These dudes are violent, violent violence on a football field,
and they like it that way.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
To me, like the underrated aspect of defense right now
is the physicality of the tackling. And you can do
it legally. You're not talking, you're not getting headshots, you're
not getting penalties. But when you watch a Texans game
or you watch a Seahawks game, it's different, Like the
testing is different. There is a physicality and a violence
to it, and I think it speaks to the culture
they've created there. I want to get to the other side.
(09:56):
Why we've got you. Can we go on the time machine,
go back to what the decision was at the time
that brought Sam Donald in there, What were the other
options and what led them to believe in and rightly so,
that Sam was the best way to go.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Yeah, I believe you were in Indianapolis, both the men
probably were, and I believe you heard some of those rumblings.
DJ and I think we talked about it off the
air a little more than on the air like well
this is this could go down like you know, this
is not and this is not a shot at Geno
in DK. But I think the reality is like for
their MB, like those were going to be pivots they
(10:32):
had to make. And you know when Geno's last training
camp not happy about his deal and maybe spends a
day popping about it and growing flared up or a
knee flared up, like huh, that's not MLB. You know,
when DK grabs the headset and puts it on and
the screaming in game at the offensive coordinator to get
in the ball like that's not MOB, you know. And
(10:56):
and I think as they as Mike, you know, first
year climbing the learning curve and all that he wanted
to do culturally and all the ways he wanted to go,
those are a couple of pivots that hey, if the
market was right and the conditions were right, we're going
to be willing to be bold. I mean John's bold.
He did it with Russell, Like if I could do
with Russell, what is Geno? And DK? You know? And
(11:17):
I think that embolded him and empowered him and built
equity and trust with Jody Allen and Chuck Arnold in
the organization, like, yeah, you know, we got to make
these hard pivots sometimes. Frankly, maybe we didn't pivot away
fast enough from some of that crew that aged right
in fifteen and sixteen and seventeen. So I think he
had a lot of equity in the bank to make
(11:38):
those moves, and when the market conditions were right. I
think playing against Sam late in the year as they did,
also helped. Right. Sam made an unbelievable throw getting hit
right in the mouth to Jefferson to win that game
and really knock the Seahawks out of the playoffs and
propelled Minnesota, And like, whoof this guy incubated well in
(12:00):
San Francisco. We kind of we kind of like this
kind of like this guy and uh and man has
that just paid obviously enormous dividends.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Let's continue to extend on the Sam Donald conversation because
Clint Kobe comes over, and what's interesting. Everyone talks about
Sam Donald and what has happened in terms of the
passing game, but this is a team that still runs
it more than they throw it. Let's just talk about
the system helping Sam Donald become the best version of
himself in Seattle.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
You know, Bucky DJ has gotten to know my co
host for the last couple of years, one Michael Salk,
and Michael may have, because of his upbringing and roots,
may have a little more citicism than the passive, passive, aggressive,
very non cynical Pacific Northwest guy. Right. So we've we've
worked and clashed and molded a lot more. I think
(12:51):
I've become more cynical. He's become a little less. But
you know, we heard for ten years about oh this
new A line coach. Oh yeah, this new scheme. Oh,
here comes Schottenheimer, Here comes Mike Hilario, here comes and
he's heard it like this is going to fix the line,
and it's going to fix the A line that's going
to It's like, I'm done. I'm just done. I'm not
going to believe anything you gotta say, I gotta I
gotta see it. And they got to go and produce and that.
(13:13):
And Might's not alone in that, by the way. That's
most Seahawk fans. It's a struggled for ten years. Oh
we'll take this d lineman, We'll make him an offensive guard,
and we'll take this scrap heap and we'll take go
cheap and we don't think there's enough value to draft
this guy this high end U D da da da
da da. And I'll tell you if you were to
go on the way back machine, I think one of
the most exciting things about this Kubiak higher was what
(13:36):
he brought with him. And equally what scared me as
if he goes to Atlanta and I think there's a
high prospect of that what he takes with him out
of Seattle, because that intellectual institutional knowledge of Rick Dennison,
of John Benton, of all those guys that are so
(13:57):
versed in it, so convicted in it. We had not
had that like this. You know, Shoty came in, but
it was working with the other pieces that were there.
He came in and brought his infantry with them, and man,
they done a phenomenal job. You know, this is this
is not the best offensive line in the league. But
when you want to talk about youngest and best and
(14:18):
merge those two, there's nobody nobody, right. Charles just got
his extension. Abe just got his extension. The last offseason,
Sables on a first year, Sundale's on a first year
Brafford's on the first year, Like, who has that in
the league? Playing also at this level at fourteen and
three at nobody does. And man, after a decade of
whining and complaining and crying about this offensive line, they
(14:42):
have turned the corner. And I think those men deserve
a ton of credit for it.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Absolutely. You know a lot of high picks in there
and hitting on those. So it's a compliment to John
the scouting department for being able to identify those guys,
and then a coaching staff that's been able to make
them work and fit in what they're doing. I was
I was thinking about this the other day. I'm going
through watching all these college guys and trying to get
all my draft prep and as it stands right now,
and I've got more to do, but I think four
(15:06):
of my top eight players are Ohio State buck guys.
And the Ohio State buck guys lost in the Big
Ten championship game and then they got bounced by Miami
in the playoff, and I'm sitting there thinking like, this
is where roster construction comes into play. They've got You've
got linebackers, receivers, safeties, they didn't have tackles, They could
(15:27):
not block those two guys at Miami and all the
other stuff is fantastic. You don't take that. I mean,
to me, it's a great and Seattle is another example
of that. It's I've always said it's hard to have
a bad team with a great offensive line, at least
a bad offense with a great offensive line. They seem
like their testament to that.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Well, it's half your offense, right, I mean, it's five
of the eleven guys right there. That group my favorite
teams that ever a part of my Husky team with
Olin Krutz and benji Olsen, Like, oh my gosh, it
was like, well, let's go right. You could feel you
break the huddle and you could field on the other side.
Most of them are like, it's not gonna be fun,
you know, like you get that vibe even with the
(16:05):
Seahawks buckying you were around it when you had Hutch
and Walt. I'm like, oh, this is just not gonna
be fun. And I'm not gonna put Charles and Gray
in that category. You're talking about two of the greatest
to ever do it in the history of the game
in Hutch and Walt. But I will tell you behind
the scenes and maybe you guys already know this, but
like Steve Hutchinson, he's got Schneider's ear, and John really
(16:29):
leans into hutch He's worked and consulted for them for
a number of years. And when you talk about like
standing on the table, from my understanding is that hutch said, John,
don't you dare not draft Gray's abel, don't you dare
get cute? Don't you dare trade down? Don't you dare
you like this other kid out of Arizona. I get it,
But don't you dare pass on this guy if he
(16:50):
is sitting there at eighteen because I think in Gray, honestly,
hutch sees some of himself, Like this guy's really bright,
this guy really bends, this guy really roun this guy's
really fun. And he's going to work with this left
tackle like hutch did with Walt, who barely said two words,
Like he's going to work with Charles and he's going
to grow them and improve them. And these two man,
(17:12):
these two have a chance to dance now for a
bunch of years together. And it's going to be fun
to watch in Seattle. Yeah, it's fun to watch.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
It's really fun to watch your wide receiver one DJ
was talking about Ohio State. I don't know if there's
ever been a more underrated, underappreciated number one receiver in
the league than JSN. This dude had over seventeen hundred
yards and I believe watching his statement he made mask
some guys as number one. Just talk about his ascension,
(17:40):
his growth over a three year period to being the
player that he is right now.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
You know what's wild Bucky is I think he's younger
than almost every Indiana who's your starter current on their
current college football team. Seriously, I think he's twenty three.
I mean, it's incredible to do that, he would tell you.
And I've got a good buddy that knows him, has
known him a long time in their family and really
connected with the Seahawks, and he'd be the first to
(18:06):
say Cooper Cup was And I don't think John signed
Cooper Cup for JSN. I think he signed Cooper Cup
for the system and for all that he would bring.
But man like, if it was just for Cooper for
jsn's development, in jsn's development alone, you'd be like, that's
a great signing. Let alone some of the third down
(18:26):
conversions in the blocking and all the other impact he's
had on everybody, but for JSN to look at Cooper
and go, WHOA, WHOA, Like this guy did that? You know,
you look up at JSN season and what was it?
Top ten all time in the history of the league
and yardage, but up above him was a guy named
Cooper cup like from four years ago that doesn't move
(18:48):
quite like JSN and didn't have, you know, some of
the body control and the lower body strength of JASN,
yet had almost what nineteen hundred yards or eighteen hundred
yards and his MVP caliber season. So yeah, Cooper has
been enormous of all the intricacies, all the details, all
the nuances, all the elements, all of the study, all
of the high powered things that I don't think every
(19:10):
every talented receiver always grasped they don't have to I
don't have to do That's great, Cooper, you have to
do that, right, You run four seven like you have
to do that. I don't have to do that. But
if I run four, four or five and got my
body control and I do what you do, and I
take all those components and add it to my game,
I can be filthy, which is exactly what he's been
(19:31):
this year.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
It's been fun to watch man. You've been Jennerus with
your time, buddy. It's great to hang out with you.
Last one and then I'll let you run. Big Dumper.
Is he getting does he get over fifty next year?
Or are we looking at more of like a forty
tube jacks next year?
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Yeah, I think you're talking more mid forties.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
I think that's yeah. I don't.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
It's a big number, man, for a catcher. That was unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
It was insane, like insane, Like we talked about these
numbers and in Megatron's all time receiving record, right, and
these other guys got close. They got close. The all
time catcher home run record was Salvi at forty five
and he had sixty, Like, what are we doing?
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Well, look, he didn't even know this brock because he's
never watched anything except the last three any game. No, no, no, no, no,
no one one. I love the nickname.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
I just just where we go would Dumper it like,
I've loved it, and I like the fact that he
did it, But I'm.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Sorry to see it.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
My my baseball watching extends until late October.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
I'm just just so used to it. I'm so used
to it. I'm just so used to it, you know,
like shot fired. Well, you know, if we're gonna if
we're gonna extrapolate money to bodies. Remember the last time
you went to an open gym, Brock, and you're picking
teams and you say, I'll take these three, you get
those five. Yeah, that's kind of what it is, you know,
pretty much, pretty much, boy, This is what we devolve
(20:52):
into every time. All right, Brock, Hey, dude, we appreciate.
I know you're busy. I'm looking forward to watching these
Seahawks and and we'll have you on if we get
toward draft. I want to talk some quarterbacks once you
get that point.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
That'd be fun, man, I'll be violent. This Saturday night's
gonna move to your point. Like Houston and Pittsburgh Monday
night was. Yeah, yeah, Saturday night. These two don't like
each other at all. A lot of the players don't
like each other at all. And this is gonna be uh,
some fireworks in the moment.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
I stepped wrong on a curb about two months ago,
and my ankle still feels a little wobbly, and uh,
and I watched Fred Warner running it around like he's
just a yeah, yeah, it a little different, a little different. Yeah,
all right, thanks buddy, We'll see you next time you've
bat to see you boys. Well, there he goes Buck brockhured.
(21:41):
Phenomenal guy, and we will get a chance talking with
him because he knows a college game inside out too.
We'll get a chance to talk about what I was
going to say, all the quarterbacks, but are there any quarterbacks?
Which is another conversation for another day, as Dante Moore
has gone back to college. By the way, were quick
give me your give me your thirty second thought on
that one? Smart move?
Speaker 3 (21:58):
And I feel like it was gonna be necessary after
watching the Indiana game. Like we've talked about, like time
on task starts, twenty stars is not enough to get ready.
And if you look at the bust rate quarterbacks that
come in to the league with twenty or fewer stars,
like you just go down a list of names that
have had struggles in the NFL. If he's thinking about
long term success, this was the best move for him.
(22:18):
And give Oregon credit having another one in the pipeline
and Dylan Rayola to come in and red shirt sit
on the bench if you want to call it. To
watch down teymore go to set him up for some
long term success by having more time on task in college.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
I'll just hit you with this one, real quick one.
I would say an idea that's been thrown out there
or one of the criticisms of the decision was you
could have been the second quarterback second picking this draft,
and next year looks like we could have a boatload
of quarterbacks and you might you might be the fourth
or fifth quarterback. And I would just just refute that
real quickly. Josh Allen wasn't one of the top wasn't
(22:54):
the top quarterback picked in his class? Lamar Jackson in
that same draft class way down the line at the
bottom of the first round, Drake made likely MVP of
the league, was third in his group. Bo Nicks is
the number one seed. Broncos was down the line, was
the sixth quarterback. So to me, you're going to go
in the first round, You're going to go to a
you know, potentially a better team if you were just
going to slide in the first, second, third, fourth, it
(23:17):
doesn't matter, man, it doesn't matter. You're going to go
in the first round and you're going to have a
great opportunity yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
I think I think for him it is about understanding
it and listening and reading about him and what he
learned from UCLA. I think he felt like all the
pressure said I need to come over here to jump
on the field, and then what he realized is, oh, no, no,
I'm not quite ready for.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
The challenges that are here.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
Let me become better prepared, let me get better at
my craft. And I think the Indiana game was maybe
another reminder in terms of how far I need to
go to get ready, because I'm gonna tell you the
pictures that Indiana were showing when I went to the
game on Sunday to Jackson Buffalo, Buffalo was changing the picture.
And if you're a young quarterback having to deal with
that that change, you're not for me. It's going to
(23:58):
lead to some ugly football. So I applaud them for
being able to do that. Brim for other guys to
want to jump out and it's about ay, I want
to go early. That's great, but really it should be
about long term success. And I think this will give
him a chance at long term success as a pro.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
And in terms of this draft class, look, it's not
going to be sexy in terms of the number of quarterbacks,
it's still it's a solid draft. Again, a lot of
starters to be found in this draft. Of man, I'm
telling you next the twenty six college football season might
be the best we've we've had in a long time.
There are so many good teams with key players and
key roles, and it's going to lead us to the
(24:34):
twenty seven draft, which is going to be star studded.
And it is not just quarterbacks every it's all you
guys OVERRTE the quarterbacks. No, no, not just quarterbacks. We're talking
Jeremiah Smith. We're talking pass rushers out in the Wazoo,
from Texas and from South Carolina. Like we are going
to have a show in the nation's Capitol in Washington,
d C. So I'm excited about this draft. We'll get
some good players. We'll talk about him over the next
(24:56):
several months, Buck, but I'm already geeked up for the
twenty six college season. Of the twenty seven draft, well, yeah,
this is a byproduct of revenue share in IL.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
We're guys, not only the timing where some of these
guys are going to be true three year players that
are coming out, but some guys are electing to stay,
which is a better thing because more experience at least
to better expercise, which should lead to an easier transition
when you get to the pros. I'm excited about not
only this class, but next year's class is absolutely loaded,
and it's not just a quarterback.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
All right, buck.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Before we get out here, we don't have a ton
of time left, but preview real quick, just a couple
of thoughts here. We talked a lot about Seattle and
what to anticipate in a very physical matchup against San
Francisco with Rock Huer. But let's get to these other
games here. Let's start first of all, what you're looking
forward to Buffalo Denver in the AFC. Look Man, Josh Allen,
(25:45):
the company? Can it take the show on the road.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Coming out of the Jacksonville game, I feel like either
one of the teams a team that won, was gonna
have a great chance to go to the Super Bowl.
I came away more impressed with Buffalo than I have
the entire season, not only because of the way Josh
Allen played. People will talk about a he was at
an MVP level during that game. I would say the
reason he performed at a high level is because he
really leaned into taking care of the football, playing smart football,
(26:11):
I would say even managing the game. And then Sean
McDermott is defensive wizardry, being able to change the picture
and make things really difficult for Trevor Lawrence. I think
he can take that same game plan and do a
lot to mess up bow knicks and that rhythm. And
you have to remember this about the Broncos. Their offense
has been scatter shot throughout the year. If this is
a game that is not like a shootout, I don't
(26:33):
know if they can get to a point where they
can catch up with Josh Allen. If Josh Allen has
this offense rolling, I think the magic number is twenty four.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
It's a Buffalo Bills get to twenty four. I think
the Buffalo Bill's advanced. There's a lot of speed over
there on Denver's defense. You look at the receiver depletion
for the Bills. I don't love that. To me. This
is a cook game, man. You got to let get cooked,
get that ground game going. I think this could be
an aggressive Josh Allen run game. I'll pull out all
(27:01):
the stops there. I think they want to make this
a physical a physical fight on that side of the ball,
and then you flip it over to the other side
defending the second play. If you can defend the second
play with bow Knicks, it's not the initial play as
it's called. It's his ability to get outside of structure,
scramble for first downs, you know, make plays on the move.
That's going to be the key. If they're gonna somehow
(27:22):
go up there and knock off Denver, Denver's gonna be
well rested, They're going to be fast on that defensive
side of the ball. So it's physicality on offense for
Buffalo and then on the other side, it's defending that
second play. In my opinion, yeah, get in the second
play because bo Nicks is terrific.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Also, maybe a little tempo, because the Bills are shurehanded
on offense and defense. Maybe the Broncos play a little
faster than they've played traditionally. Throughout the course of the
regular season, bow Knicks has been at his best when
they've operated no huddle at a breakneck speed. Maybe the
Broncos utilized a little bit of that. Given the extra
week to prepare.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
All right, how about let's go the final game There
in the AFC Texans Patriots. Man, this is this is
ahead knocker.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
I mean, this is everything that Brock talked about, physicality
and violence. This Texans defense, to me, is the best
in the league. And they can do it in simplistic
fashion from a scheme standpoint. But because they're so good
pass rushers, corners, mike linebackers, safety, they're good all over.
To me, this defense is going to have to play well.
They have to make life miserable for Drake May. They
(28:21):
have to keep the score down because I don't know
how many points theyre gonna be able to score.
Speaker 1 (28:26):
CJ.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
Strout has been off a little bit. I think this
defense is going to have to do the heavy lifting
for him to win in New England.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
Don't want to be in third lungs, which is going
to put a huge emphasis on their ability to stay
ahead of the sticks on first down, and that's trying
to get some quick rhythm throws for Drake May. That's
getting the run game going. I think you'll know how
this game is going early on. If they're able to
get into second and five, second and six, Okay, New
England's you know, they have a chance to stay in
(28:52):
this thing. It sounds weird as the home team with
the higher seed. But if they if they are getting
one yard or they're losing a yard on first down,
and they're gonna pin the rears back and guess what
the screen game. The screen game is not gonna work.
But because they're only rushing four, they're only rushing four,
there's another whole layer of the defense to take care
of the screen game. So you've got to stay ahead,
and that might be throwing the ball on first down.
(29:13):
Like just trying to stay ahead on first down. I
think that's huge, huge emphasis for New England. Yeah, Stefan
Diggs needs to be big for the New England Pagers.
They gonna need him to be able to win some
of those one on one matchups.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
And this is a big out Nico Collins not being
able to play for the Texans out with the concussion.
How are they going to manufacture points without their number
one receiver there? So we talk about another low scoring affair.
This plays right into the Texans hands, even though I
still tend to think that might be able to find
a way to get it done at home.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
Well, you look at the Patriots defense played great last
week against the Chargers. They've got to turn Stroud over.
Stroud's done it. I mean he turned over. If Stroud's
got to play better than he did against Pittsburgh, he
can't give them those opportunities because Drake mail Cash those
in Pittsburgh was unable to do so. To me, Shorter
Fields turning him over, I think that's going to be key.
And Stroud's got play a lot better on the Houston
side of things. So really looking forward to that matchup
(30:03):
should be a fun one. How about this one? Weather
could be gnarly in Chicago. I did not know I was.
I don't know why I was unaware of the Stafford
you know, poor weather game stats that have all been
floating around the internet here. I don't know if I'm
one hundred percent buying in on that, you know, telling
us what's going to happen in this game, because I
think they are going to be able to run the
ball and have some balance against the Bears. Yeah, like
(30:25):
balance is everything.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
I mean, DJ, we can talk about all the previews
of the game, but what matters is the fourth quarter.
Will the Rams be able to stop Caleb Williams and
the Bears in the fourth quarter? No matter what the
margin is. The Bears are going to find a way
to creep back into the game, and will they be
able to get stops When Caleb Williams is doing what
he does well seven game winning drive, fourth quarter comebacks.
When he is able to play off schedule and just
(30:48):
kind of get in the backyard and do a little
sandlote football, this is when the Bears are their most dangerous.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
I like the fact that.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
Ben Johnson has been practicing the team outside no heaters.
Let's get acclimated to the weather. The weather is a fact.
Outn't care how much you prepare for it. Nothing in
southern California can make you prepare for.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
The Windy City in these environments.
Speaker 3 (31:08):
But Matthew Stafford also being a great close This could
be great two quarterbacks that can close down in the
fourth quarter.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
That's what I want to see, the duel between Stafford
and Willians and the fourth Yeah, I'm looking forward to
seeing it.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Man.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
It'll be interested to see. Can the Bears can they
block the Rams up front? That's going to be the
challenge for them in the past game. I think they'll
be able to run it a little bit with their
backs and their physicality, again, can they block them? And
then you know if it's close in the fourth quarter,
it's hard to know. If you're the Bears, you're like, Okay,
we got them right where we want them. We didn't
been able to close things out, But I hope it is.
(31:39):
I hope it comes down to the end because I'm
looking forward to seeing that matchup there in the NFC.
All right, Buck, that's gonna do it for us. I
hope you guys have enjoyed this one again, our thanks
to Brock hewar and appreciate his time today, and we'll
see you next week right here on movie sticks.
Hosts And Creators
Daniel Jeremiah
Bucky Brooks
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