Best of Chuck & Buck 1-5

The Seahawks are NFC West Champs and we break it all down on this Victory Monday!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Morning class pleads and gentlemen who.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Introducing six one guard from Brighton, Illinois and former high
school basketball stand What the hell does that mean?

Speaker 3 (00:13):
Jumped any conclusions?

Speaker 4 (00:15):
Not a god, You've got to lower lower your expectations.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hard to believe he could once send a fastball to.

Speaker 5 (00:21):
Pluto getting some Bucky Jacobson vibes and form. I'll just
openly admit I'm a fat, out of shaped X athlete.

Speaker 6 (00:29):
Now there's been a noticeable spike in your blood pressure.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Five seven guard and a former college water polo national champions.

Speaker 3 (00:36):
A lot of useless crap up here.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Wow, this is Chuck and Buck in the Morning with
Ashley Ryan. What do you buy to La Look Casino
Resort and quill see The Creek Draft King sports Book
where the action never stopped.

Speaker 4 (01:07):
Hey, good morning and happy New Year from Sports Radio
ninety three point three kjr FM.

Speaker 3 (01:14):
Here we are on a Monday.

Speaker 4 (01:16):
Back to a full week, regular work week here on
Sports Radio ninety three point three KJRFM.

Speaker 3 (01:23):
Like so many of you out there driving around or.

Speaker 4 (01:26):
Just listening because you cann't wait to listen to us
here at six p' oh one on a Monday morning, Yes,
we get back to the daily grind, the ritual and
the routine, and I kind of am excited to be
here to do that and so welcome in Happy twenty
twenty six to all of you. And man, there are

(01:47):
a lot of reasons to celebrate. Ashley Ryan's here to
do it, Bucky Jacobson's here to do it.

Speaker 3 (01:53):
My name is Chuck Powell. I'm here to do it
as well.

Speaker 4 (01:55):
For the next four hours, we got a pack Monday
show for you where we're gonna talk all lot of
football today, Seattle Seahawks football. There's not anybody on this
show that their their team that they root for isn't a.

Speaker 3 (02:09):
Number one seed. It has a buye in the first round.

Speaker 5 (02:12):
Yeah yeah, we all of us get next weekend advance.
Everybody here were advance the Yeah yeah, you guys had
to earn it. You didn't play backups. But whatever it is,
what it is, We'll all take number one.

Speaker 3 (02:28):
Nothing but number ones.

Speaker 4 (02:29):
They don't support anybody but number ones on this show's
right that much. I'm not gonna clarify that any further.
I'm just gonna tell you this group follows one seed.

Speaker 3 (02:40):
That's right. Anything other than that and you're just a loser. Oh,
your team's a four seeds, two seed, first loser.

Speaker 4 (02:46):
There might be some radio shows out there that have
to root for a two seed losers.

Speaker 5 (02:52):
Oh yeah, but not this show, not in this town.

Speaker 3 (02:56):
Not right now. The Seahawks are going to be the
number one seed in so or the Broncos.

Speaker 4 (03:02):
As we get things started here postseason. We now go
into the post season officially, as the regular season came
to a close last night with one of the best
fourth quarters you'll ever see in football history. We'll talk
more about that with a cold turkey sandwich, but we
of course begin with the Seahawks getting done what they

(03:22):
needed to get done. Saturday night they roll into San Francisco.
I mean, this was a matchup where at first people
saw how aesthetically pleasing the forty nine Ers looked and
narrowly defeating the Bears the previous week, where the Seahawks
looked a little clunky offensively, and so initially the reaction was, oh.

Speaker 3 (03:45):
The forty nine ers and the way they're playing right now.

Speaker 4 (03:48):
And then all of a sudden, over the course of
seven days, the football experts were like, I don't care
how many points they put up against the Chicago Bears
that defense is for real in Seattle, and it went
for four and a half point favorite. It opened San
Francisco to By the time kickoff occurred, the Seahawks were
a two and a half point road favorite. The points

(04:10):
spread swung seven points because the wise guy money came
in as the week went along. They knew Vegas knew,
and they're really I mean, I realized the game was close,
and there was a moment where San Francisco the McCaffrey
interception that deflected off of his hands. But that would
have been rather unfortunate if San Francisco would have found

(04:32):
their way to win that game last night or excuse me,
Saturday night, because they got dominated from beginning to end.
That was a dominant performance by the Seahawks. The only
thing that kept it from being a blowout is that
the Seahawks did not execute offensively when it came time
to scoring points. But in terms of physicality, in terms
of winning the line of scrimmage, they were better offensively,

(04:54):
They were better defensively. They weren't as good on special
teams this time around. I don't know what happened, but
we can talk about that later. They actually ran the
football and kind of established that you're not going to
beat us this way, as both Charbonnet and ken Walker
had over seventy yards rushing in the game.

Speaker 3 (05:11):
So I mean in terms of I mean you kind
of joked about it a little bit. We got to
play backups in Denver. You did earn it.

Speaker 4 (05:20):
If you are a Seahawks team, you had to go
all the way to the end. Fourteen and three with
a two point cushion, a two game win cushion over
San Francisco and Los Angeles kind of looks on paper
now like he ran away with things, but you had
to take it all the way to the bitter end,
and boy, did you just absolutely earn it on Saturday night.

Speaker 3 (05:40):
Highly impressive from the Seattle Seahawks.

Speaker 5 (05:43):
Yeah, well, I mean the defense, We've been watching it
all year and it doesn't seem like they've even crescendoed.
I mean like it reached the mountaintop. They're still kind
of growing when it comes to that.

Speaker 3 (05:54):
Now.

Speaker 5 (05:55):
Yeah, the scorer kind of might lead you down the
path of man to be that dog minute and yet
still have it be kind of close for the majority
of the game. Was it's something that you I'm sure
that they're going to be talking about this week and
leading up to their first game when they they do
have to play, of like, we got to clean some
of that stuff up because it was they would just

(06:16):
drive the ball. I mean, the run game looked better
than it has looked and some year to some degree.
I mean maybe the Niners, all of their injuries and
the things that have, you know, the people that they're missing,
maybe that had something to do with it.

Speaker 3 (06:29):
But who cares.

Speaker 5 (06:30):
You're going out there and you're this is still a
team that is twelve and five. I mean, it was
twelve and four coming into the game. It's not like
it's it was a pushover whether you're not they have
the injuries or not. I think that that, yeah, you
want to clean some stuff up. You want to if
you get down there, you want to end up putting
up more points because their offense played better than thirteen points. Yes,
and but the defense, I mean did it matter. Did

(06:51):
you need more than four points? I think four points
would have got it done.

Speaker 3 (06:54):
Yea would have done it been quite the game. I
would love.

Speaker 4 (06:57):
That would have been in all some way to win
the division.

Speaker 3 (07:01):
Yeah, well it would have been a little bit.

Speaker 5 (07:03):
I think then we would be even a little bit
more critical of how the heck do you not score
any points if you only got two safeties offensively? Because
they did they looked. I mean, Donald was efficient. But
not all games are the same. I mean, thirteen to
three is not the same as just a thirteen to
three where you don't do anything, but you have, you know,
two long field goals and some you know, punt return

(07:23):
for a touchdown where you didn't do anything offensively. Sam
Darnald was efficient, the run game was spectacular, and the
defense just said, we're not going to give them anything.
I mean not anything. We're not going to give them.
I mean, every single blade of grass was fought for
and they took it from them. They said, Nope, all
that matters is that we get to win. Whether or
not we score thirteen or thirty three, it doesn't matter.

(07:45):
Just get the win. And they went out there and
absolutely dominated them.

Speaker 7 (07:47):
It's interesting too, though, because in a thirteen to three game,
ordinarily you'd be stressing out, like, oh god, because if
you know, at any moment, we can make a mistake
and they're right back in this game.

Speaker 3 (07:57):
But you did not.

Speaker 7 (07:58):
Get the impression that that defense was going to make
a mistake on Saturday night, like the thirteen to three
was not nearly as stressful as ordinarily I think it
would have.

Speaker 3 (08:06):
No, I think that's absolutely right now.

Speaker 4 (08:09):
There was that moment, the interception that bounced off McCaffrey's hands,
where there was certainly he had to give rise to
the thought of are you serious, Are you really gonna
let them have one touchdown? Drive this entire game and
make the close of this game excruciating? Because it certainly
didn't feel that way throughout the contest. But once Drake

(08:30):
Thomas got that interception, I might have even written that
down game. I think I wrote game over right at
that moment in the contest. But defensively, I mean considering
how well San Francisco looked like they were playing on
the offensive side of the ball. I mean, Christian McCaffrey
had twenty three yards rushing. It was like he was

(08:52):
running and putting, like every time he got the ball
it was just a wall there to greet him. And
I'm not sure I Brock Purty threw five passes where
he wasn't harassed in the game, and I thought he
got murdered on the last.

Speaker 3 (09:05):
Play of the game. I might like it.

Speaker 4 (09:06):
Oh that I mean, I actually was just like, oh gosh,
I was worried. I was worried for the opposing quarterback
that he wasn't going to get up from it.

Speaker 3 (09:15):
And he did, Thank goodness. He just kind of got,
you know, saying, are two different directions. Yeah, he kind of.

Speaker 4 (09:20):
Got lawn chaired in the middle of the field and
he was fine. And I'm glad that he is fine.
But man, you know, a guy that had been playing untouched,
unscathed the last couple of weeks. I think he was
responsible for ten touchdowns the previous two weeks, and once
again one against a playoff caliber team and the Bears,

(09:42):
for goodness sake, for Seattle to dominate defensively that much
shows you how phenomenal that Mike McDonald is and how
great a head coach that John Schneider picked. And I'll
tell you a couple of years ago, this organization was

(10:02):
admitted a crossroads, and I don't think it was a
slam dunk decision to get rid of Pete Carroll. I
understood why they did. I was surprised, though I was surprised.
I thought Pete Carroll had earned you have to bottom out,
you got to have like a four and thirteen season,
five and twelve season if you're going to get rid

(10:24):
of Pete Carroll, considering everything he'd accomplished here in Seattle.
But certainly the Seahawks were stuck in this almost Pittsburgh
Steelers mode of just kind of they're not bad, but
we're not getting any.

Speaker 3 (10:37):
Closer to great here in the last few years.

Speaker 4 (10:40):
And so for John Schneider to kind of make that
decision in twenty twenty four and then to just absolutely
pick a gym from that head coaching cycle to get
Mike McDonald at that point, and then ever since that time,
ever since Mike McDonald started letting John know the type
of player that he needed, has John Schneider missed anything.

(11:01):
I mean like it that I mean it has just
been a John Schneider masterpiece.

Speaker 3 (11:05):
In twenty twenty five, the.

Speaker 4 (11:07):
Quarterback decisions that he had to make, because again same situation,
Geno wasn't bad, but getting an upgrade at quarterbacks not
the easiest thing to do when you're not picking at
the top of the draft. Ever, and so for him
to not just make the not just find a trade partner,

(11:27):
but then have the counter move of getting Sam Darnold
in free agency and for that tool worked out as
well as it has, plus DeMarcus Lawrence plus all of
the draft picks that he's nailed the last three years.
I mean, this organization has just had a phenomenal year.
The poor Mariners had their best year in franchise history,
and hear the Seahawks the same year, maybe putting together

(11:51):
their masterpiece season. Now they still have the postseason to go,
but this was a masterpiece by John Schneider to put
this team together with this head coach who got this
kind of buy in from beginning of last season until now,
and for them to go from a little north of
mediocrity to statistically the best team in franchise history. I mean,

(12:15):
they are statistically the best team in franchise history, most
wins in a season in franchise history, and to go
into the playoffs as the one seed and I think
the undisputed favorite to win the Super Bowl right now,
I mean, in terms of the Vegas odds, just remarkable.
What a phenomenal twenty twenty five for the Seahawks organization.

Speaker 5 (12:37):
Well, I mean I think a lot of times when
you I'm not one and I don't think any of
us here on our show are one that are in
a hurry to lop off heads and fire people when
they're not doing very well. And yet I think there's
a lot of times that what you've done in the
past gives you credibility, and understandably so, and yet that'll
go too far. Sometimes the powers that be will just

(12:59):
stick with its status quo because well, he you know,
we will just win our super Bowl and you know,
really could have been two and and and yet there
comes a point in time where you just have to say,
are we okay with middling and mediocre?

Speaker 3 (13:12):
Are we okay with it?

Speaker 5 (13:13):
And a lot of people stick with it simply because
it's like, well, do we know the grass is greener
on the other side of the fence. Well, what John
Schneider said was, I don't care. Well, I do care,
but I don't know if the grass is going to
be greener. But I can't find out unless I jump
across the fence. And he basically, yeah, I got rid
of one of the you know, definitely the most decorated

(13:33):
coach in Seahawk's history. I mean, the only guy that
won a Super Bowl here and Pete carrolln said, I
need some new blood. I need something new, I need
a fresh voice. I need I need to probably go
with a new version of what is the next best defense?
What is the defense that can stop the Sean mcvays
and and the Kyle Shanahans. And we just basically watched

(13:54):
right down the stretch of this thing when when the
division was up up for grabs with the Rams and
the Niners. The coaching part of this thing I saw
before the game started. Did you guys see It was
on the telecast and all of a sudden, they're getting
ready to kick off, and you just saw this smile
from Mike McDonald. I don't know if you guys caught
that that little moment. It was almost like he knew,
like we're here, this is us, We're gonna take this.

(14:17):
It was just like this, a very confident smile. And
I don't know if he was looking across looking at
Kyle Shanahan, but it just felt to me like I'm
the one that's I'm taking over this thing. I'm taking
over the division, and they went out there and did
exactly that.

Speaker 7 (14:29):
I did catch that moment, and the only reason I
remember it is because my two girlfriends that were at
our house were going on about how hot Kyle Shanahan was,
and then they showed Mike McDonald and they're.

Speaker 3 (14:39):
Like, whooh, but our coach is pretty hot too, And
so that's the only think of the same thing. And
that's the only.

Speaker 7 (14:44):
Reason it sticks in my mind because I was like, gosh,
you didn't catch that smile. Note wait, I remember that
part of the conversation. All the husbands and I were like, Okay,
we can be done talking about how hot the coaches
aren't good.

Speaker 3 (14:54):
I mean, that's all. I couldn't get over it either.

Speaker 7 (14:56):
Yeah, I know, I know you were having the same thoughts.

Speaker 3 (14:58):
I yeah, so.

Speaker 4 (14:59):
Hot, Shane Sdyke, And you didn't get knocked out of
the playoffs because you're.

Speaker 3 (15:03):
Ugly, Shane. You know it's because you're bad.

Speaker 7 (15:07):
Right right, not as attractive as apparently Kyle Shanahan and
my girlfriend night.

Speaker 4 (15:13):
All right, Well, the Seahawks don't have to play this week,
and we get to watch football just with joy on Saturday,
Sunday and Monday. We'll actually introduce a little competition as
well to the festivities this weekend.

Speaker 3 (15:29):
But today today is.

Speaker 4 (15:31):
About setting you all up for where we sit right
now in the National Football League season. What an exciting
time of the sports year. So let's find out what
is on tap for the rest of the show today.

Speaker 3 (15:46):
What's on TEP?

Speaker 2 (15:49):
What's on TEP?

Speaker 4 (15:50):
All right, So Seahawks went thirteen to three against the
forty nine Ers Saturday night to win the division, take
the buye and get the home field advantage throughout the
NFC playoffs, and of course the buys more valuable than
ever because you're the only team that gets it. So
a lot of people, i mean, Kyle Shanahan said going
into the game they were treating like a playoff game.

(16:10):
This is as important as a playoff game to try
to get the difference between a one seed and a
five seed or possibly a six seed in San Francisco's case,
which is what they ended up with. So we'll set
that scene for you in a moment. But Greg Bell,
I'll let you know we'll be joining us today at
seven oh five, so we'll recap the victory and also

(16:31):
Monday morning quarterback today, so Hugh Millan will be with
us at eight o'clock till ten o'clock. Mike Holmgren will
be with us from nine o'clock until ten o'clock. So
the NFL Wild Card schedule is set, including times and
dates for which the teams will play. Saturday at one
thirty is when the postseason gets underway. Did I mention
the Seahawks don't have to play this week? Carolina will

(16:55):
host the Los Angeles Rams starting at one thirty, So
that's the four And I had an interesting conversation with
my sushi guy and we're trying to like figure out
like the best path for the Seahawks, and he was
actually kind of hoping to avoid both the Rams and
the forty nine ers in the postseason.

Speaker 3 (17:18):
And you got to remember that they do reshuffle.

Speaker 4 (17:21):
They recede after the first round, so there is a
way that you could avoid both of them, but it
requires Green Bay to beat the Bears. So if the
Green Bay beats the Bears, you face the Packers. Seahawks
face face the Packers in round number two, and then
whatever else happens, they would have to square off against
one another. So not only I mean it sounds like

(17:43):
we're wanting our cake and eat it too. Not only
do we have the buye in the one seed in
the home field, and bad and and everything else. Now,
I got my sushi guy wanting us to face the
worst team in the NFC playoffs in round number two.

Speaker 3 (17:54):
So but there is a way, there is a way
that you.

Speaker 4 (17:56):
Don't face the Rams Panthers winner and round number two
because they receive Green Bay will play at Chicago at
five o'clock on Saturday night. The Sunday lineup is Buffalo
at Jacksonville, which I think is the best game of
the weekend.

Speaker 3 (18:11):
I think that's so fascinating.

Speaker 4 (18:13):
Then you got San Francisco at Philadelphia, as Nick Sirianni
decided it wasn't worth getting the two seed yesterday, which
we can talk about a little bit later on in
the show, so he didn't play a starters yesterday. And
the Chargers will be at New England to take on
the Patriots as well. That will be the seven in

(18:34):
the AFC versus the number two Denver getting the number
one seed. And then Monday night, Yes, there will be
a Monday night playoff game this week, Houston at Pittsburgh.
As the Steelers did take the North last night. If
you did not stay up to watch it or got distracted,
you missed.

Speaker 3 (18:55):
Like football history. That was unbelievable. That fourth quarter.

Speaker 4 (18:59):
We'll cover all that with cold Turkey Sandwich coming up
here at six point thirty a board of scores. It
is Black Monday. We've already have some victims. We know
that Raheem Morris and Terry Fontineau are out as head
coach in GM and Atlanta and the Falcons have already
announced their replacements in terms of the front office. They
have not announced their head coach, but Matt Ryan is

(19:21):
going to have a position in the front office with
the Atlanta Falcons. And they've also gotten rid of their
president as well, Rich McKay. They've reassigned him somewhere else
within the organization. Kevin Stefanski rumors started yesterday that he
wasn't going to keep his job. These rumors are usually
true when you start hearing him this time of the year.

(19:41):
So Kevin Stefanski is out as of this morning as
head coach of the Cleveland Browns, despite winning two Coach
of the Year honors as a member of the Cleveland Browns.
He is going to be a hot candidate for some
of these other vacancies this offseason, and it hasn't been
announced officially yet, but the expectation is that Pete Carroll

(20:02):
will also be let go by the Las Vegas Raiders
after just one year on the job and finishing with
the worst record in the National Football League. The draft
order is set. The Raiders will have the number one
selection in the draft. We'll go over the rest of
the top ten in cold Turkey sandwich here at the
bottom of the hour. College Football Playoff the final four

(20:25):
will be held Thursday and Friday of this week, and
so college football resumes with its three most important games
starting on Thursday. And of course, the transfer portal opened
as well since last week opened on the second, and
we had our most significant signing as Brandon Soresby, the

(20:46):
star quarterback at Cincinnati, was courted by several premier programs.
There were a couple of rumors that had him locked
in somewhere else over the weekend, but it is now official.
He's going to Texas Tech. So if you were watching
the Red Raiders facing the Ducks, and you were rooting
for the Red Raiders like Ashley and I were, then

(21:08):
you might have been saying, well, if they had a quarterback,
they could beat this team. That quarterback was terrible against Oregon,
and Oregon made him that way. But the Red Raiders
obviously saw the same thing, and they went out and
got the best quarterback in the transfer portal, at least
on paper. Brandon Soarsby College basketball. You dob lost to Indiana,

(21:28):
but it was kind of fun to watch them play
at Indiana's Assembly Hall. Ninety to eighty was the final
score last night, and the Kraken. We'll be at Calgary
tonight at six point thirty taking on the flames, all right,
A lot to do today coming up next though, a
board of scores.

Speaker 3 (21:45):
That's right, we'll eat.

Speaker 4 (21:46):
We'll feast on a cold turkey sandwich on Chuck and
Buck Sports Radio ninety three point three KJRFM.

Speaker 8 (21:53):
Pour down at the ballgame for San Francisco. Six yards
to go for their own twenty four trailing by Tana
five left forty of the gun shot gun.

Speaker 3 (22:02):
Staff four man rush five of the pattern.

Speaker 6 (22:04):
Nity throws right time, did Complaine let Seahawks stand? Seattle
is back on top of the NFT West Seahawks thirteen
forty nine ers three for the first time in eleven years.

Speaker 3 (22:20):
Seattle is the number one seed.

Speaker 4 (22:26):
Nice to Nate Gadder just gave the information there at
the end of that game.

Speaker 3 (22:32):
On Saturday on Westwood One and didn't just go, oh
my gosh, I hope rock Party is alive.

Speaker 4 (22:38):
Yeah, because that goes just a crushing hit at the
end of a really difficult night for him, and certainly
the Seahawks put the pressure on him all day long.
Speaking of pressure, I don't feel like Sam Donald's succumb
to it. I even add buddies nationally texting like, why
doesn't people get off Sam Donald's back?

Speaker 3 (22:57):
So this is just something that's been going on Nash.

Speaker 4 (23:01):
Apparently I'm supposed to believe that this, you know, redeems
Sam Donald. I just don't understand the criticism locally or
nationally about this guy. Four thousand passing yards this year
leads you to a fourteen and three record, second most
points in the National Football League. As a compliment to
your defense, I thought he was outstanding this year.

Speaker 3 (23:22):
I don't think that he had to redeem himself Saturday
night by winning that football game. But I'm glad for
a lot of reasons that the Seahawks won Saturday Night,
and certainly people criticizing Sam Darnald unnecessarily. At least we
don't have to deal with that for a couple of days. Oh,
I don't know.

Speaker 5 (23:41):
I mean I think we should find something to bitch about,
don't you.

Speaker 3 (23:44):
I mean yeah, we have to. I mean yeah, only
score thirteen points, score thirteen points?

Speaker 5 (23:49):
Sam, I mean Sam, we could have got like, I
don't know what's better than a number one seed.

Speaker 3 (23:55):
I mean what you or you Willie wonk a golden ticket? Yeah,
right to the You.

Speaker 5 (24:00):
Know you were only twenty for twenty six with no touchdowns.
I mean sure, you didn't have any picks, but Jeam,
you got to pick it up, man, I mean fourteen
and three.

Speaker 3 (24:11):
Sure, it's the best ever.

Speaker 5 (24:13):
It's the most wins ever for the Seahawks, But you
are trash and yeah, I mean no, I don't understand
how he needs to redeem himself from anything. It's his
first year here and they just went out and won
the number one seed. So yes, hopefully those that do
want to jump on him, don't get me wrong, this
room for criticism. You don't want him to have the turnovers.

(24:33):
To me, it's not even the interceptions that happens sometimes,
especially when you're trying to make big time plays and
throws like he does. To me, it's just hold on
to the ball when you're getting sacked and then you
don't have anything to worry about.

Speaker 3 (24:45):
Twenty years old.

Speaker 4 (24:46):
Came into the National Football League a lot of expectations,
joined a terrible organization and got off to a slow start,
and it took him a little while to get going.
But man, the last couple of years he's been. I
won't say as good as anybody. I think that there
are two three guys that have had have been better
the last couple of years, but there are many that
listen not very long the last two seasons.

Speaker 3 (25:06):
Always done is throwing touchdowns, put up wins.

Speaker 4 (25:10):
And here he is is the number one seed heading
into the NFL playoffs.

Speaker 3 (25:14):
Glad he is our quarterback. All right, here we are
on a Monday morning. Good to have you with us.

Speaker 4 (25:19):
Seven o'clock hour gets underway on a frost brewed corps
light Choose Chill Monday, counting you down to the playoffs, frankly,
because there is no Monday night football anymore.

Speaker 3 (25:32):
Well there is next week.

Speaker 4 (25:34):
But let's go ahead and take a look at those
frost brewed corps light Choose Chill headlines to get us
started this hour. Seahawks one of the forty nine ers
thirteen to three Saturday night. They have earned the one
seed home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs and a
bye in the opening week, the only team in the
NFC to get that buy now with a fourteen team field,

(25:54):
and so they'll just sit and watch some football this weekend.
The NFL Wildcard schedule is set. Carolina hosts the Rams
at one thirty on Saturday, Green Bay at Chicago at
five o'clock Saturday evening. Sunday a triple edter Buffalo at
Jacksonville gets it going at ten am. San Francisco at
Philadelphia is the afternoon game, and the Chargers at the

(26:16):
Patriots that will take place Sunday night. And then Monday, Yes,
there will be a Monday playoff game.

Speaker 3 (26:22):
Houston at Pittsburgh.

Speaker 4 (26:24):
Who defeated Baltimore in one of the more thrilling fourth
quarters you'll ever see in your life watching football. The
Steelers win, they survive. Tyler Loop, the rookie kicker for
the Ravens, misses a forty four yard game winning field goal,
and so it's the Steelers that win the North. And
we'll be playing next Monday at home against the Houston Texans.

(26:45):
Today is Black Monday, in the National Football League. We've
already seen the Atlanta Falcons decide we're moving on from
our head coach and general manager, so Raheem Morris and
Terry Fontina are out. Kevin Stefanski, two time Coach of
the Year in the NFL well as a member of
the Cleveland Browns, is now out as the head coach
of the Cleveland Browns. He's not expected to be unemployed

(27:07):
for long, and who knows what else might happen on
a Black Monday. People are wondering what Miami's gonna do
with Mike McDaniel, Tampa is gonna do with Todd Bowles,
And of course we've all heard the rumors that Pete
Carroll is going to be out as head coach of
the Las Vegas Raiders at some point today, the.

Speaker 3 (27:26):
Draft order is set.

Speaker 4 (27:27):
The Raiders will have the number one selection in the
draft for this upcoming year. College football playoff rezumes on Thursday,
with the final four one game on Thursday, one on Friday,
the transfer portals creating all sorts of crazy results.

Speaker 3 (27:42):
The UDAB Huskies.

Speaker 4 (27:43):
Lost on the hardwood to Indiana last night, ninety to eighty.
They will next play at Purdue Wednesday at five thirty.
That's one of the top ranked teams in the country
and the Crack in an action tonight at Calgary to
take on the Flames.

Speaker 3 (27:57):
They'll drop the puck at six thirty.

Speaker 4 (27:59):
Let's talk Seahawks football with our Seahawks insider Greg Bell.

Speaker 3 (28:02):
With the bell tolls.

Speaker 2 (28:04):
It must be seven o'clock and time for twelfth Man
News with Greg Bell. Brought to you by Copola Diamond
Collection Prosecco, Chris Sparkly with Bright Fruit Flavors to make
every toast shine Game Day Bubbles only with Copola Diamond Forseeco.
Now with twelf Man News, here's Greg Bell with Chuck and.

Speaker 4 (28:23):
Budd Coome Morning, Greg, Good morning, all right, good to
have you with us. And look, you got to cover
the top team in the NFC this year during the
regular season. Did it feel like as you were covering
this team this year? How much of the season did
you feel like you were covering a great football team
this year?

Speaker 9 (28:46):
Probably the latter half of it, and we talked about
it all season. They hadn't really done anything until they
beat the Rams at the forty nine ers and they've
done that here in the last three or four weeks.
And that's why the hired Mike McDonald, That's why they
signed Sam Donald, and those are validations that they needed

(29:08):
to be a division champion. I have home playoff games.

Speaker 10 (29:10):
Everything that they set out to do, they had to
do those two things. And so honestly, after they beat
the Rams, I started thinking, Okay, this is what they've
taken that next step.

Speaker 5 (29:21):
Yeah, well, sorry about that.

Speaker 3 (29:23):
I turned my mic on. I'm with you.

Speaker 5 (29:25):
It does feel like they've evolved into that. And maybe
it wasn't right off the bat, but it does evolve
into it. I mean, what is the most impressive part
of what you've watched in this evolution from beginning to now.

Speaker 9 (29:38):
Well, Bucky without it out the defense, and this is
why they hired Mike McDonald. I was sitting there in
Levi Stadium on Saturday night. I felt from the beginning
of the game that they were going to win. The
way it was gone. I had not seen a Seahawk
defense to be that dominant and that of affecting the

(29:59):
entire game, how the offense played and how the Seahawks
offensive approaches. I hadn't seen that since Super Bowl forty
eight against the Baiton Manning in the meadowlands. Never before
then I've seen the Seahawks defense perform like that and
be that dominant. And while everyone back here, I'm sure

(30:19):
was up in arms will make MacDonald was going for
it on fourth and goal with the four, and while
he would the Kuviak was running on second and goal
for me eleven and throwing on first time. I could
see then in the moment what they were doing. McDonald said,
even if we don't get a touchdown here, we're going
for it because the forty nine ers are not driving

(30:41):
the field in our defense. They're just not, so we're
gonna get a pun out of it and get a
second chance at the same points. So why not get
two chances to score down here? And that's basically what
he did. Let me maximize our chances to get seven
points twice, and after the game he said exactly that.
He said, we have a very aggressive model to go

(31:01):
for it there because the forty nine Ers all season
had been one of the best field position teams in
the league and a lot of their points are because
of field position. He said, we wanted to take advantage
of that advantageous plus field position that even if we
didn't score we would get the ball back in a
position to score again, and sure enough, a three and
out by the forty nine ers against their own goal

(31:22):
line after that stop on fourth down from the four, which,
by the way, they had Smith and Jigler wide open
one on one with Lenora. He didn't even Donald didn't
even look that way. That was a very curious choice.
But three and out by the defense and then the
drive star because of a fifteen yard penalty on the
punt by the forty nine ers. The drive star for
the Salts was that thirty five they were already in

(31:43):
scoring range when they got the ball back. So from
the very first drive of the game, McDonald played and
dictated like he knew his defense was going to do
what it did. That's why after the game I asked
him about his game plan, and the thirty eight year
old head coach again showed what a he was. He
shot me down and said, no, no, no, no, no, nothing

(32:04):
to do with the game plan. Our guys played an
incredible game, how they tackled, how aggressive they were, their attitude,
their assimilation to what the forty nine ers wanted to do.
He just threw it all on the players. I thought
it was a really cool moment, a glimpse of his leadership,
and he drives those guys hard. He's a very exacting guy,

(32:25):
but he he gives him the carrot quite a bit too.
And including the postgame scene of that locker room. I
walked in there and smoke with something I couldn't see
across the locker room. Who I was trying to talk to?

Speaker 3 (32:38):
Cigars? Yes, cigars, now that kind there before?

Speaker 9 (32:42):
Okay, oh yeah, what's cigars?

Speaker 1 (32:45):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (32:45):
Yeah yeah.

Speaker 4 (32:48):
Greg mell is with US Seahawks Insider. Of course, you
can follow myt g bel Seattle complete coverage of the
seahawks wins Saturday and their path end of the playoffs
there at the News Tribune dot com. So what do
we have to say here on this Monday morning, a
couple of days to think about what went down on
Saturday about an offense that doubled up the forty nine

(33:08):
ers in yards, didn't seem to be struggling really at
any time during the course of the evening, got its
running game going more than it has in seventeen games
this year during the regular season. That was our best
night running the football all year long, and yet still unfortunately.

Speaker 3 (33:28):
Caused a you know, kind of a tense moment.

Speaker 4 (33:31):
At the end, McCaffrey doesn't fumble that you throw and
you don't get the interception, and we got a down
to the wire football game against the team that you're dominating.
So what do we make of the offense just scoring
thirteen points despite not seemingly having a bad night at
all Saturday?

Speaker 9 (33:50):
They think, so what this is how we said, remember
in the summer, I told you that Jake Bob will
pull me aside and said, Greg, let me tell you
about this offense, how it's different. We're just going to
play offense so the defense can win games. And we
talked about this. He said, the running game is going
to play field position and put our defense in position

(34:11):
to win the game. He said, Now, as an offensive player,
we're kind of like, come on, we want to score
thirty points a game. He said, that's not how we're
designed to win. He said, there will be games we
need to win like that, but that's not how Mike
McDonald is recasting us. We're going to play enough offense
to win on defense. And that's exactly how they went
on Saturday night. Yes, without the fourth and the first

(34:34):
and goal, with the one malfunction in the first drive.
That's at least a pointy to nothing game in the
second quarter, so yes, and it wasn't, so therefore it
was by on the scoreboards, still a close game. At
no time did anyone on the Seattle sideline, and High
certainly didn't in the press Boks think that the forty
nine ers are going to score twice in that game.
And the game was dictated by the defense. And I

(34:55):
kept thinking of what Bobo told me during the game.
I was like, this is exactly what the play thought
they were gonna be all year. What's most encouraging for
the Seahawks is they are now playing exactly like they're
designed to play. In Week eighteen is the culmination of
what they've been building for since April. And there are
gonna be times that that doesn't look great on offense,

(35:16):
and there're gonna be times that fans are going, yeah,
but their offense, so what, That's exactly how McDonald wants
to play back a team up to its own goal line,
with your offense doing enough to get it down there,
and then the defense is gonna let them go anywhere,
and we're just gonna keep getting punched and receiving the
ball in midfield and eventually we're gonna score, and eventually
we're scoring enough points that the other team won't be

(35:38):
able to get close to us because our defense is
so good. I'm simplifying a lot, but that, in a nutshell,
is the approach they built this team when Jody Allen
decided to hire Mike McDonald and go with John Schneider's
way of pursuing a new head coach and rebuilding the defense.
This is what they bought and it eight team with

(36:01):
the division title on the line to fully realize what
they bought into two years ago. And it's somewhat remarkable
it only took them two years to get to this point.
I mean, come on, nobody expected Mike McDonald to be
the number one seed with a buy and two home
wins from the Super Bowl twenty three months ago when
they hired them. Did we? Yet they are exactly where

(36:23):
they were in their leads to Boon days as far
as number one seeds in the Super Bowl. I get
the there's always a glass half empty look at almost
any football game, and I get the concern about, well,
the offense did this and they scored just thirteen points.
This is how they were designed to win, and McDonald
will do it every single time. He'll take thirteen to

(36:43):
three all the way to the Super Bowl.

Speaker 5 (36:45):
Oh yeah, I will win the win, And yeah they
were more dominant than what the number on the scoreboard says.
I mean, is this a game as big as it
was for the number one seed and the buy and
all that stuff. Is this a game that Sam Donald
gets put in his back pocket and hopefully hushes up
some of the haters?

Speaker 9 (37:03):
I would think so, man, all he does is win
right now. And I keep thinking of my buddy Ken
Machat telling me when I was trying to decide who
to vote for the Cy Young Award. Wins an f
and loss is Greig and nobody else. But Tom Brady
has done what Sam Darnald's done the last two regular seasons,
fourteen wins in each, and unlike Brady, Donald's done with

(37:26):
two different teams. Eventually, you're gonna have to start thinking,
this guy's doing his job, which is to win football games.
And he didn't turn the ball over, which to me
is the key between now and Santa Clair and the
Super Bowl. Don't turn the ball over because your defense
is good enough to win a Super Bowl. We've talked
about that for a month now, and that's exactly how
it played out. The steadiness, the poise, the players all

(37:51):
saying how reassuring it is that he's always the same.
It's yeah, I hear you, Bucky, because there gonna be
people who still complain and say that he didn't do this,
he didn't do that, and why do he take a
second first and go yes, But you could look at
every quarterback in the history of the game, including Joe
Montana and the very best I've ever done it. They've

(38:13):
had plays and drives and turnovers. And I'm not apologizing
for him, but I do think that's the bottom line
of winning games. He's been pretty damn good at doing
that the last two years.

Speaker 3 (38:23):
I'll say.

Speaker 4 (38:23):
Greg Bell is with us our Seahawks insider from the
News Tribune. All right, what's what's the update on Charles Cross.
I mean, you get you get a bye, so you
get two weeks to heal up everybody, Kobe Bryant, all
of them. I mean, man, if they can get crossing
Brian back, this is about as healthy a playoff team
as you could possibly have, considering what these guys go

(38:44):
through for six months.

Speaker 9 (38:47):
Yeah, Tory Horton's probably gonna be the only guy recently
injured in the ones on injured reserve who doesn't have
a chance to play in the playoffs. Makes Doms said
that right before the duvet for Santa Clara and whatever
day that was Friday, it looks like his season is over.
We'll play them next year. And honestly, on top of
the shin injury, what happened to Tory Horton was Rashid Shaheit.

(39:08):
They don't need Tory Horton because of the trade for
Rashid Shaheed right now. But Charles Cross McDonald said, we'll
play in the first playoff game. That's the expectation I
should say. Anyway, he said that even before the forty
nine ers game. Now that they have to buy, that's
doubly true. And on Friday McDonald said that George Hallani

(39:28):
he has a chance to come back the third running
back off of injured reserve as well. We'll see how
many of those guys come back. They have three elevations.
They can make one left over from the regular season
and two elevations or return to place from ir in
the playoffs as well. But to your point. Yeah, in

(39:49):
that is one of the big big carrots of the
number one seed, the buye the rest playing one. We
were game to get to the super Bowl. But all
the players, even the ones who have been playing, are
going to benefit hugely from not having to play again
and getting the two weeks off.

Speaker 3 (40:05):
They even gave Cross some money.

Speaker 9 (40:07):
They did give some honey to him. Yeah, they've been
looking to give him some money for a while now.
And yeah, Abe Lucas maybe next it's they have an
interesting decision with Riek Wollen and Kenneth Walker. The way
Charbona is playing and the way they've used Walker, I'm
not sure they're going to resign Kenneth Walker, and it

(40:27):
doesn't have to be on their terms for maybe a
one year deal. Kobe Bryant is someone that sliding into
the radar. Is also his contract ending, and I think
they're going to make an effort to resign him as well.

Speaker 5 (40:39):
I mean, is there anything that at this point John
Schneider hasn't done perfectly? I mean, yeah, you're coming into
an offseason, like you said, there's multiple people that you're
gonna have to re up.

Speaker 3 (40:47):
But it was really he was really pitting out during
the game that was yeah, yeah, I mean he didn't
have a perfect year. That's true. That's true.

Speaker 5 (40:58):
So bad deodorant, but good per Snell decisions. I mean, really,
is he the executive year. It's hard to think he
wouldn't be.

Speaker 9 (41:05):
Well. Yeah, I mean everything he's done, of all the
things he's done right the last couple of years, hiring
Mike McDonald and drafting at the top of the first
two rounds. I mean, look at Gray's Abel and nick
emun Worry this year, Jackson Smith and Jiggler a couple
of years ago. When you hit Witherspoon across four years

(41:27):
ago and ninth overall, when you hit with your first
and second round picks, you're on your way because you
can win at bottom basement bargain basement price at rookie Pasco.
When you miss in the first and second round, it
sets you back for four or five six, maybe a
year's beyond that for the same reasons. Because you've invested

(41:48):
the biggest chips. You have to win cheap the wrong way,
and the league is full of teams that have done
this that way. The Emon Worry, We've been talking about
him since they drafted him, but he looked like I
hesitate to say it, but I will say it because

(42:08):
they conpared him to him the night to draft him
Sunday night, Saturday night. He looked like Cam Chancellor, both
in stature and play and how he tilted the field
and how he wiped out plays. He's just a supernatural
guy to what and now McDonald just maximizes every one

(42:30):
of his talents by moving him all over the field.
De Marcus Lawrence continues to play incredibly well. The fourth
down stop they had in the first half was because
of Lawrence's swim move. He looked like he was twenty
five years old instead of a twelve year veteran beating
the card off the snap and ruining the entire play.
I keep going on about the defense, but de Marcus

(42:53):
Lawrence was another John Schneider move right, eleven year veteran
in Dallas, and let's go sign this guy at thirty
two years old to a three year contract. And we
all said, what's he doing? Well, this is what he's doing.
He's got a veteran who knows the league and has
played in playoff games before, maybe their best player the
last month of the season. Yet Snyder gets a ton

(43:15):
of credit. Jody Allen chose his route over Carrol's and
look where it's gone.

Speaker 3 (43:21):
And congratulations to you as well. You don't have to
fly to Carolina again.

Speaker 9 (43:25):
So I will say we're not supposed to root in
a press box, but I will say the entire Seahawks
traveling beat what's rooting one way? Ivan Biker said De
guard I had a funny now that Dugar has two
small kids, we have some self rooting interest at times.
If the Seahawks had lost that game, they were staring,

(43:47):
we were all staring at the real possibility of five
straight weeks on the road, five straight game. They were
going to probably win the first two rounds at least
certainly the first round if they were the five seed,
and then they'd have a rematch within the rams fours
in the second round. And if they had won that,
they were looking at five straight game two in the
regular season at three to begin the playoffs. We were

(44:07):
all thinking that during the.

Speaker 4 (44:08):
Game, well you got your wish, all right, Well here
we go and we look forward to a more conversation tomorrow.

Speaker 3 (44:16):
Sir, Thank you very much, appreciate.

Speaker 9 (44:18):
You all right, Happy Monday, Thank you, Greg.

Speaker 4 (44:20):
Bell I see Hawks inside of joining us right here
nearly every day at this time on Chuck and Buck.
Thanks to our friends at Coppola Diamond Prosecco kick Off
or Countdown Prosecco's always in the lineup. Copola Diamond Collection
Prosecco is crisp, bright and bursting with apple, citrus and peach.
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(44:42):
only with Copoala Diamond Prosecco coming up next, it is
Black Monday. We'll give you the latest chalking' Buck Sports
Radio ninety three point three KJARFM.

Speaker 2 (44:52):
VI. This is the Monday Morning quarterback on your Home
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(45:38):
Morning Quarterback with Mike Holmgrin and Hugh Millin. Here's Chuck
and Buck.

Speaker 3 (45:43):
Oh, good morning and happy New Year. Great to have
you with us here.

Speaker 4 (45:48):
So many cool things to discuss here on this Monday morning,
and our Monday Morning quarterback experts are here. Mike Holmgren
at nine o'clock. You Millon joining us here in a
matter of seconds. I told you I made nine hundred
and forty six New Year's resolutions this year, some of
them achievable and some really far fetched. But I can
check another one off my list. I resolved this year that.

Speaker 3 (46:09):
I was only going to talk about one seeds locally. Yeah,
it's a really good New Year's resolution.

Speaker 4 (46:16):
Only really going to cover the Seahawks if they're a
one seed and if they've earned the one seed.

Speaker 5 (46:21):
Yeah, so yeah, so checking off the box. All right, Wow,
look at you with all these resolutions coming.

Speaker 7 (46:27):
Yeah, I feel fulfilled, good the whole week into the
New Years.

Speaker 3 (46:31):
You know what I'm going to do the same thing.

Speaker 5 (46:33):
I don't know if I can make a news resolution
at this point because we're already a couple few days
into this bad boy, but I'm going to do the
same thing.

Speaker 3 (46:39):
I'm just going to cheer for one Seeds.

Speaker 4 (46:42):
Okay, okay, very good joining us now is our QB
one to talk about the Seahawks thirteen to three went
over the forty nine ers, their division championship, their home
field advantage they'll.

Speaker 3 (46:54):
Carry throughout the playoffs. Oh, we got a wonderful session
ahead of you. Hi Hue. What's happening boys? Happy New
Year with you? Good morning, happy new You're very happy
New Year. Yeah, all right, Well they did it.

Speaker 4 (47:07):
They got it done Saturday night, and the rather dominant fashion,
even if the score doesn't indicate that what is it
about Saturday and you've had forty eight hours now to
think about it?

Speaker 11 (47:19):
That leaps out to Hugh milling about this, Well, I
usually reserve it for quarterbacks. But the defense was just
football porn. Didn't even need Biagar. That was just that
was just so simile. It was It was fun to
watch obviously live thrilling them to watch the tape, and
and I just you know, they say, well, against forty

(47:40):
nine ers, it's going to be a rock fight. But
I think Seahawks they brought their rock and they brought
bats with nails on the end of them, like they
came to bloody the forty nine ers. And really, you know,
in my view, they out forty nine ered the forty
nine ers.

Speaker 3 (47:59):
What do you mean by that?

Speaker 11 (48:01):
Well, I mean, let's say, who are the forty nine ers?
So you have Kyle Shanahan got the job in twenty seventeen.
The forty nine ers had been a two win team
the year before. It took him a couple of years,
but in his thirty year twenty nineteen, they went to
the Super Bowl thirteen and three. They since twenty nineteen,
the forty nine ers have the most wins in the

(48:22):
NFC against Seattle at home they have under Kyle Shanahan
since twenty nineteen. They rush for one hundred and fifty
one yards on thirty one attempts, and hell, they rush
for one hundred and thirty four yards in Seattle. They
got a six and three record. And who they are
is when you consider twenty one personnel. They play with

(48:43):
the fullback, they play with the tight end and you know,
some of the best that we've ever seen in Yusef
and George Kittle, how they block. To give you an
idea on that they since twenty nineteen, they have run
two thousand and four and forty nine play out of
twenty one personnel. The next closest is fourteen seventy nine

(49:05):
and the average is five to sixteen. Right, so they're
almost one thousand plays more than second place. And so
Seattle against Seattle, they come up, they have two running
backs in the game nineteen times. That's to us, that's
us Jeff. But he was only in the backfield one time,

(49:26):
one freaking time, like they were trying to do these
bells and was they were splitting him out, you know,
motion around, trying to create this magic show.

Speaker 3 (49:35):
That is just not like them.

Speaker 11 (49:37):
And Seattle had seventeen plays where they had Robbie Utz
on the on the field, second most of Oots's career,
and he was in the backfield sixteen out of seventeen.
They ran in those situations eleven runs sixty six yards
six yards average. That's forty nine er like and the

(49:57):
forty nine ers of they had ten runs to their
running backs, they had thirty two yards Christian McCaffrey. We
know it wasn't just the running that he was under
three yards per attempt, but you know, yes, here's a
guy that he had six catches fifteen yards after catch.

(50:18):
This is a guy that for his career averages seven
point seven yards after the catch. He had two and
a half. So I think just what they did to
Christian McCaffrey, what they did to that running game, they
you know, only three running plays from under center first
for the forty nine ers. The Seahawks had thirty three.

(50:40):
They ten xed them at what is their brand? And
then and by the way, when Seattle shut down their defense,
there was only one play. Like when you say there's
a binary nature to offensive football, got me. It's either
a runner or a pass. Correct, there's a binary nature

(51:04):
if you want to just strip it down to defense.
In the same regard, one high is a run defense,
two eyes of pass deef. That's a general rule.

Speaker 3 (51:16):
We had.

Speaker 11 (51:17):
Howard Mudd, the famous offensive line coach, was the offensive
line coach for for the Seahawks once and for all
of Peyton Manning's career at Indianapolis. He was on our
mount side staff. You know, spend a lot of time
with him. We've spent time at his house watching tape.
He told me how simple that Coal offense was. It
was just peyton man at the line. Hey, you got

(51:38):
too high run the ball, you got one high, throw
it and seattle. What they did against the forty nine
ers running They only had one defensive play where they
played with one high. They played with a two high shell,
a pass defense, and they were able to stop the
run with the front seven. And oh, by the way,

(52:00):
a nickel front seven em and warrior doesn't come off
the field, so they they were able to play with
a light box in nickel, not base against all those
plays with a heavy personnel by San Francisco and everywhere
you turn, you just go, wait a minute. The forty
nine ers. You guys have been doing shows with me

(52:21):
a long time. You know I've expressed you know, and
it's not a hot take. Everybody who watches football, you
say that forty nine team is really physical on both
sides of the ball. You know, they got guys like
Deebo Samuel. You know, the receivers block like tight ends,
The tight ends block like linemen.

Speaker 3 (52:37):
They got a fullback the whole thing. They're physical on
both sides of the ball.

Speaker 11 (52:41):
Well, Seattle took it to them in that way, and
oh man, there's so much to talk about, but that
would be where I would start.

Speaker 5 (52:49):
Yeah, well, I mean there is a ton to talk
about it. I mean, I don't even know where you
want to start. Where it's they took it to them.
Obviously on the defense side of it, there's you know,
some folks I think will maybe look at well, you
dominated them and yet you only did you only scored
thirteen points. Is there anything critical because I don't really
want to go critical they not locked up the number
one seed. Is there anything that that is disappointing about

(53:12):
the way in which the scoreboard read considering how much
they kind of bent them over their knee?

Speaker 11 (53:17):
Well, I don't have a lot of bandwidth in my
my brain for criticizing this football team. But but obviously,
you know, the red zone, the red zone fringe. You know,
I think you know, I saw a text string, or
not text string, but a fan site with a lot
about six pages that just wanted to break down that

(53:38):
that first down sack when they when Seattle had that
beautiful drive down to the one yard line in the
first quarter, right, yeap remember the sack. Yeah, and and
I'll just say we haven't. There's an analyst in town
here that said, it's spider too, wide banana, It's it's
it was not spider too. That the Seahawks they got
down to first and goal at the one, they go

(54:00):
play action. Now, the the concept that they have with
the corner to the tight end of the corner and
the back in the flat, that is ubiquitous. I guarantee
you that that Sam Darnold has been running that since
Sant Clementi High School and certainly at USC everybody has that.
But there was a little bit of a wrinkle that
Seattle had. Normally spider two.

Speaker 3 (54:22):
Whye banana.

Speaker 11 (54:23):
If you're if you're into football, and John Gruden gets
all excited, there's teaching.

Speaker 3 (54:26):
Here to man, Yeah you got it.

Speaker 11 (54:29):
Yeah right, yeah, that's what the that's what the full
back bluffing and the full backs in the flat. What
Seattle did here is they they had Robbie Utes blocking,
and they had the tailback in in charbon eye in
the flat that that just takes longer to get there.
And I went in the NFL stat port uh and

(54:52):
and I I looked up twenty three play action passes
by uh BY teams on the one yard line, and Tennessee,
Houston and Cincinnati did that same thing on one play
where they block with the fullback and they have the
tailback in the flat. But most teams it's the other

(55:13):
way around. It's the full back in the flat. He
gets there quicker. And by the way, for those who questioned,
I thought that they should have run the ball. I
was saying, run the ball. But the NFL this year
first and goal at the one yard line, three hundred
and fifty two plays, there's been eighty five passes us
a little over twenty five percent, and there's only been

(55:36):
two sacks and Sam Donald took one of them.

Speaker 3 (55:38):
So I think as a general I wanted them to
run the ball.

Speaker 11 (55:42):
But there is a rule or excuse me, every offensive
coach will say, well, if we never throw the ball
on the goal line, it's going to be a lot
tougher to run. So I just gave you the numbers.
One out of four times teams are gonna throw on
first and goal at the one. Now, what happened because

(56:03):
it's a little late, you know, you watch the tape,
it's really easy to see on the TV that the
back is as wide open charbonnay. But if you look
at at the block where you've got Robby ots on
the end man on line of scrimmage, it's it's it's
right in line with where he wants to throw.

Speaker 3 (56:22):
So you know what it is.

Speaker 11 (56:23):
I'm just certain Sam Donald didn't see it. Hey, he
might have seen the back, but there was a portion
of his vision he didn't know if there was a defender,
because remember there's a play action, he turns his back
to the defense, then he looks out to the flat.
At any rate, spider two white banana also involves a
crossing rounte from the backside, and usually a front side
crosser as well. So it wasn't exactly spider two banana,

(56:45):
but it has elements of that. But there's a critical
difference that running back the tailback in the flat, you know,
just it jams up the quarterbacks tim and you're like,
where's that backwards back and you get off of it
quicker because it takes longer the back to get there.
So in any rate, but you know what, they played
the field position game. When Seattle scored on the next ride,

(57:06):
they forced the punt and they got the ball. I
gotta look it up, but they at where thirty five?
Yeah yeah, I thought, well that that really is like
we got the touchdown. We got the touchdown that you
didn't get on the opening drive.

Speaker 4 (57:23):
So in rate, yeah, I think that's one of the
under reported, under discussed aspects of being aggressive on fourth down.

Speaker 3 (57:31):
And look, I would have taken the points.

Speaker 4 (57:33):
I didn't go through all of that on that beautiful
first drive and then have the sack and not come
away with points. I would have taken the points in
that situation. And you know how much I like going
for it on fourth down. But this is one thing
that people don't discuss enough is when you have a
great defensive team and you can pen the other team
inside their own five, the advantage that you get from

(57:56):
the from the field position if you stop there, if
you have faith that you can stop them there, it
does pretty much give you two bites at that touchdown apple.
And they ended up eating the apple. Now it took
him two drives to do with you, but they ended
up getting the seven points.

Speaker 10 (58:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (58:13):
And you know with the.

Speaker 11 (58:14):
Kickoffs, now, the starting field position is you know, pushing
up over the thirty yard line.

Speaker 3 (58:21):
So the field goal has less value. It just flat
out does.

Speaker 11 (58:26):
It has less value because of the field position you
turn around after you kick off.

Speaker 4 (58:31):
Hugh Mellinis with us Monday morning Quarterback Session brought to
you by Muckle Shoot beingo North Creek Roofing, Washington Center
for Sleep and Core Construction. I know we have a
lot more things to discuss on the defensive side of
the ball, but since we're on the offensive side of
the ball. Sam Darnold and his performance, what did you
think about it? Only put thirteen points on the board,

(58:52):
but got himself a running game yesterday or Saturday night,
And certainly I thought he played well.

Speaker 3 (59:00):
Even if you didn't score more than thirteen.

Speaker 11 (59:04):
Yeah, I think you look in you say, okay, that
was the context of that game, and and it was
important for him. I bet internally I'm not in his head,
but you know, he's talked about, hey, I I want
to limit the turnovers, and everybody has been putting spotlights
on him. You know, it seems like no matter how
many big games he wins, you know, you know, people

(59:27):
who don't really want to peel the next layer of
the onion. They want to say, well, he's never won
a big game, which is just absurd and nonsense. But
but I think he he realized what he needed to do.
He made He made a few big time throws. He played,
made some plays off script. Uh, he got to his
fourth receiver on on on some third down conversions that

(59:47):
uh you know in the fourth quarter when he scrambled
out and hit Cup on that crosser. Uh uh, that
was a huge play. Uh you know, I think that
that uh there. You know, there was a lot he
had to do, so it was probably more just you know,
run the offense.

Speaker 7 (01:00:05):
So I.

Speaker 3 (01:00:08):
Commend what he did.

Speaker 11 (01:00:09):
And as you said, when you lean on when you
have that glaring of a discrepancy in the running game,
you know, how you're running the football, how they're they're
not running the football, and how they're banging around the
passing game for the forty nine as well, I think
he just took the temperature of the game and executed.
I think I think what Bob Candota game a B plus.

(01:00:30):
I would agree with that.

Speaker 5 (01:00:32):
All right, Well, that's good. I mean when it comes
to the run game, maybe him not having to do
as much I mean no touchdowns, but obviously that who cares.
You just go out and win the ball game. And
large part is because of the run game. I mean,
what did you see is that a depleted defensive front
or was that just where the Ken Walker and Zack

(01:00:52):
Sarburney and the and the blocking.

Speaker 3 (01:00:54):
Was as good as we've seen.

Speaker 11 (01:00:57):
Well, I think they they started off the first play
the game with a stretch and they were particularly going
off that right side and getting the flow of This
is what we talked about last summer. Okay, with the
wide zone. When you run that wide zone and you
get that thing working, then the defense flows and then

(01:01:19):
then you get those cutbacks up in the middle, and
I just the middle of that field was just really great,
great movement inside. I think certainly the forty nine ers
are hurting inside. They don't have the d tackles they
used to have. They don't have Fred Warner inside. I mean,
there was a play we talked about Robby Uts and

(01:01:40):
how he had the second most plays on a twenty
yard run by Knine. D Winters was the linebacker who
had to take on on Robby Utes, and he just
ollayed like a matador, like he wanted no part of

(01:02:01):
that Robbie Oots, smoke whatsoever. Right at the point of attack,
just completely running around a block like I can't tell
you how uncommon that is for a linebacker in the
NFL to try and handle a block in that situation. Yeah,
maybe in a you know, a wide play where you think, okay,
I got to slip a guy. No, not at the

(01:02:22):
point of the attack. Dee Winners said, no thanks, And
that is not the forty nine you know, that's that's
not NFL is certainly not the forty nine ers. I mean,
I think that they just uh they played they they
only ran power what's called gap scheme where you're pulling
from the backside. They ran a power left and they
got shut down with Anthony Bradford. I don't know why

(01:02:43):
they don't know power right with Greys Abel that that
didn't work, and so they they didn't run one more
gap scheme. I don't believe the rest of the game
they had a They did have one trap where uh,
Gray's Abel was gonna go left to right on a trap,
which is different than but other than that, it was
all zone blocking lead zone blocking, as I said with

(01:03:04):
Robbi Uotz, and another a play called duo where it's
when you look at where the running back looks like
he's just blasting it straight up in the middle. Chances
are it's a play called duo where you got heavy
double teams. It's always a strong side play. And they
were just moving guys, and I thought there was a
great you know, tandem with the Charbonne and CA nine. Obviously,

(01:03:27):
I know you're gonna ask me about the third and
seventeen and the nineteen yard run there, but yeah, I
would say schematically relatively simple. Not they didn't try a
lot of stuff, not a lot of bells and whistles,
whereas the forty nine ers were trying to do all
this misdirection. As I said, you know, the idea that
I know that wasn't your question, but I just want

(01:03:47):
to make the contrast Seattle's running game versus San Francisco.
The idea that you'd have Yusteff on the field for
nineteen plays, but you'd only put him in the backfield once.

Speaker 3 (01:03:57):
That ain't forty nine a ball?

Speaker 9 (01:03:58):
What is this?

Speaker 11 (01:04:00):
And so so yeah, you're just all over Seattle just uh,
you know, they said rock fight my ass. You know,
here here's a freaking Louisville slugger. That your freaking cranium.
I mean it just that's the mentality, Like like the
the two things that you hear coaches talk about the
most in my in my experience is execution and physicality.

(01:04:21):
Execution can be everything, right, offensive line have to execute,
the you know, obviously quarterbacks and receivers ext execute. But
but that's a part that you don't have to appeal
to a player viscerally.

Speaker 7 (01:04:35):
Uh.

Speaker 11 (01:04:36):
But but the physicality, you gotta freaking dig deep. You
gotta appeal to these guys like you go out there
and you dominate, and and that's where the motivation all
the you know, the you know, the Danzel Washington movies
and everything. If you've ever heard a a a really
fiery speech, either a pregame speech, it has it's a

(01:05:00):
appealing to physicality. How determined are you to be physical?
And the Seahawks just they just they took a team
that has had the reputation, as they said, winning his
team in the NFC since twenty nineteen, with a reputation
of being the most physical, and Seattle said, no, it's over,
it's over. Those days are gone. And oh, just I mean, damn,

(01:05:25):
you gotta you don't love I don't care if it's
thirteen to three, you missed two field goals. I don't
care thirteen to three.

Speaker 2 (01:05:30):
You know what.

Speaker 11 (01:05:30):
I liked that it was only thirteen to three because
that just rubs their freaking nose.

Speaker 3 (01:05:34):
In it more.

Speaker 4 (01:05:36):
You meling with us Monday morning quarterback session. We do
have a little bit of breaking news. I think we
should mention here and I'll get just a quick reaction
from you, Hugh on it as Pete Carroll has in
fact been fired this morning by the Las Vegas Raiders.
So Pete Carroll got another shot in the National Football League.
He lasted just one season, posted the worst record in

(01:05:58):
the NFL this year. He got thirty seconds for me
on Pete Carroll's demise there in Vegas.

Speaker 11 (01:06:04):
No schordenfreud for me or whatever however you pronounce it.
You know, I just kind of look at he's probably
done coaching, may you know, probably in the Hall of
Fame at the college level, maybe at the Hall of
Fame at the NFL level. And you know, he's the coach.
This is a franchise, has been around fifty years. He's

(01:06:24):
the coach that brought the one Lombardi Trophy. So and
an innovator in terms of bringing a college mentality of
Hey how do we support the players. He was a
cover two guys shell guy at USC. He was totally
different at Seattle with a single high cover three. Very

(01:06:48):
influential for for you know, the better part of a
decade in terms of the schematics around the NFL, and
you know, and won a lot of games. So I
think that you can have two truths. John Schneider did
the right thing at the right time relative to Pete Carroll,
and we can we can stop for a minute and

(01:07:10):
tip our hat and be appreciative.

Speaker 3 (01:07:12):
Of what he brought. That would be my thought. Yeah, absolutely,
all right.

Speaker 4 (01:07:15):
We continue a lot more to discuss about Saturday Night,
the path moving forward, the season at large as a whole.
We'll discuss at all with our top analyst, Hugh Millineck
Sports Radio ninety three point three kJ RFM, Niners.

Speaker 8 (01:07:31):
Half second dout and go with a six yard let
of Seattle super receivers left and one right shot step party,
he looks right, he grows short, caught five.

Speaker 9 (01:07:37):
McCaffrey.

Speaker 3 (01:07:38):
No, he juggle it and it's picked off. What let's
pull away? Frake Thomas picks it up.

Speaker 9 (01:07:47):
Man.

Speaker 3 (01:07:48):
Drake Thomas has turned out to be a solid player.
It's Chuck Buck, it's Ashley. Yes, it's Chucking Buck.

Speaker 4 (01:07:53):
In the mornings, Monday Morning Quarterback session, we're talking about
the seahawks thirteen to three win over San Francisco that
locked up the division.

Speaker 3 (01:08:01):
The number one seed, home field advantage, the bye.

Speaker 4 (01:08:05):
Everything, everything in the world all at once, and we've
got our QB one with us Hugh Millen to discuss it.
We wanted to dive further into the defense and just
to kind of set the backdrop for this question here.
I mean, Rock Party had been just absolutely on fire
coming into this game, over nine hundred yards passing over
the course of the last three games combined. He was

(01:08:26):
responsible for thirteen touchdowns over those last three games combined.
I mean, he was doing no wrong really for San Francisco.
And Hugh, he runs into Mike McDonald, felt like he
didn't get a clean pocket the entire game, throughout the contest,
all the way up to the very last snap of
the game. So what did Mike McDonald and the defense

(01:08:49):
do so well to confuse him?

Speaker 11 (01:08:51):
Yeah, and he had been averaging two hundred and ninety
seven yards as you said, in one hundred and forty
three passerwaying over the last three weeks and he gets
one hundred and twenty seven yards and a sixty four
point nine passer rating just literally more than halved what
his performance had been. And you know what what impresses
me is just how Seattle was so on point on

(01:09:16):
eleven guys when they wanted to play cover four Mike McDonald,
which is a four deep three under zone, six plays
nineteen yards three point two yard average. For the forty
nine ers when they want to play a two deep
cover a two deep five under they had four plays
fifteen yards. That's three point seven yards. The three deep

(01:09:38):
that Pete Carroll had four plays nineteen yards under five yards.
These were talking past. These not running stats. These you know,
these are passed under five yards the uh.

Speaker 3 (01:09:52):
But what probably when when they.

Speaker 11 (01:09:54):
Rest five they had eight plays. Forty nineers had thirty
two yards exactly four yard cards, so they were sound.
They only brought six guys one time. It was the
fourth down and Seattle played a two deep three under zone.
Now let me just try and express to you what
that means. If you're the usually if you rush you

(01:10:15):
have four guys, you got seven guys playing zero. If
you're gonna play a two deep you gotta have five under.
Seattle played two deep three under, and yet they still
were able to glove up the uh. The route combination
where they're trying to get George Kittle on a sale,
the safety in the corner in the position to squeeze
on it. Uh.

Speaker 3 (01:10:35):
The pressure came fast.

Speaker 11 (01:10:37):
Like there if you played, if you played a grease
board argument with an offensive coordinator a defensive coordinator, and
a defensive coordinator goes up and says, well, here's a
two D three under. The offensive coordinator laugh, and it
just start drawing up. Let you all, you can't cover this.
You can't cover this. Look at these holes, like, what
are you talking about? Two deep three under? And yet
they did that on the fourth down. The probably what

(01:10:59):
I like the best when they played mandom Many. They
played nine on plays of Manda Man. The forty nine
ers had eighteen yards two yards per play in Mando Man,
and every single time they kept us a post safety
in the middle. They didn't they didn't play any cover zero,

(01:11:19):
they didn't get crazy casino and leave the middle exposed.
But a couple of plays I loved the play where
they they ran a bunch of misdirection.

Speaker 3 (01:11:29):
We got we got.

Speaker 11 (01:11:32):
Us Jeff going in motion. We're gonna fake fly sweep.
There was there was all these things buzzing around, and
I know that Kyle Shanhan was going, oh, I love this,
I love this because he's gonna put Juwan Jennings running
behind the line of script some people called a submarine route,
and he Shanahan was looking, go oh yeah, yeah, man,

(01:11:54):
we got cover one.

Speaker 3 (01:11:55):
Great, great great.

Speaker 11 (01:11:56):
And Rik Wollen went from one slot and he sprinted
across and they had and Drake Thomas didn't pick him.
I know Kyle Sander was hoping Drake Thomas they had it.
They had it scattered out and Riek Wollen. When you
see a coat when the players watch the all twenty two,
the zoom lens is pulled back and so all the

(01:12:19):
players like you got twenty two little ants. I mean
that's an exaggeration. But when you see like real speed,
it just you just go whoa because the camera lens
is so far. And Rik Wollan sprinted all the way
across and took Juwan Jennings and he grabbed him and
he freaking threw him on the ground for a one
yard loss and Kyle Sandan is going, what whiskey tango

(01:12:42):
foxtrot is going on around here? Other plays in Man
and Man, a throwback screen, all this misdirection. They wanted
to put on a magic show every damn play with
with all the different things going, and Seattle just said,
do your little magic show. At some point you got
advanced the football, pass the line scrimmage. They were so
disciplined in their eyes. They have a throwback screen to

(01:13:04):
uh to Uh. George Kittle in Man to Man and
Nicky Man Worry he sniffs this thing out. There's three
linemen to block him. Uh uh, Emon Worry just sniffed.
You know, I went around those guys dropped him for
six yard loss.

Speaker 8 (01:13:19):
Uh.

Speaker 11 (01:13:19):
Misdirection in some sense, a little whip route where you
start the shell across and then snap back out. You
try and take an advantage of a over aggressive corner.
Witherspoon is out there. He follows the shell across with
that beautiful athleticism. He sprints back. Uh uh, party, throws
it out on the flat, throws it high and and

(01:13:41):
Witherspoon just buries the receiver in the chest minus one yard,
like like these are the things. These are soul crushing
when they're just their reaction the uh uh? What are
what are some other ones that I love?

Speaker 10 (01:13:57):
The uh uh?

Speaker 11 (01:13:59):
How the uh there's okay, here's another part of their
pass defense that I love. So coaches, when you play
every team in the NFL has a drill called the
seven on seven. It's a pass only drill. So if
the quarterback so they're oftentimes the linebackers are getting deep
and sometimes you have to throw a check down that
you want don't want to and then the defensive coach

(01:14:22):
is always woofed. They go, yeah, five yards plus a headache,
five yards plus a headache. You know you want to
check down in zone, We're gonna come and wrap your ass. Well,
guess what Fourteen times that brock Purty through where the
air yards are one to six, those are in that
that's generally where you go with a checkdown.

Speaker 3 (01:14:41):
What does that mean? That means brock perty has been
given a play, he wants to throw the.

Speaker 11 (01:14:45):
Ball down the field, the Seahawks are defending the play
and he's got to go to his checkdown. He gets
ten completions out of it because they forced some incompletions,
and twenty three yards after the catch twenty three yards
after the cat on ten completions, that's two point three
well two point three. Wait a minute, if you're six

(01:15:07):
feet tall, that's two yards already. That means if you
just stopped and you just fell forward with your with
the football above your helmet, that's that's the yards after
the catch that see they're tackling was crazy five yards Aheadache,
how about the time? Oh, let me do all this,
you know, bells and whistles, and let me go a
flea flicker, and we're gonna try and go post wheel.

Speaker 3 (01:15:30):
So we're gonna post. Nope, riek Wilan's got the post.
We're gonna go a wheel route.

Speaker 11 (01:15:35):
We're gonna kind of stutter and stutter try and get
George Kittle on a wheel route up the sideline which
has burned the sea X. By the way, I mentioned that,
Uh this forty nine ers since twenty nineteen rush for
what I say, one one hundred and fifty one yards
per game. They throw for two hundred and fifty six.
Like I've seen him hit these wheels. Guess what Julian

(01:15:56):
love is.

Speaker 3 (01:15:56):
Just like it's like he was in the huddle. No no,
no post, no wheel.

Speaker 11 (01:16:00):
Let's check it down to Christian McCaffrey. Well, there's Emn
Worry and Ernest Jones to just smack the hell out
of three yards and Kyle Shanhan's going. We practiced that.
We got a fleet flicker, we got post wheel, we
didn't practice getting three yards and a headache. Like so
it's it's just all over this damn tape. It's just

(01:16:20):
they're so tied together. They only played man man as
I said, when I say nine times eighteen yards. The
rest of the time their zone and there's and different zones.
As I describe, they are so tied together they have
an awareness of where everybody is and where their help is.

(01:16:41):
Drake Thomas had a hell of a game. Oh man,
just my eyes get watery just thinking about what a
freaking bootstomp that was against your arch rival.

Speaker 5 (01:16:52):
Well, yeah, I mean you mentioned Drake Thomas. I mean,
this defense doesn't need a lot of luck. They create
some of it. And then there's like you said, we're
just smothering and their tackling was unbelievable. But all of
a sudden you do get some with that. I mean
kind of the drive that they're getting ready to go
down there and possibly turn it into a one score game,
and I think the wall was tipped a little bit.

(01:17:14):
Then it makes him go behind Christian McCaffrey and it
goes off his hands right into Drake Thomas's belly. I mean,
you can't help but get a little bit lucky in
a situation like that, right.

Speaker 3 (01:17:25):
Yeah, I would say.

Speaker 11 (01:17:26):
So, you know, it's a second and six and the
forty nine ers have a bunch left and Seattle's playing
what's called a cover four with a component to what's
called poach. What that means, it's a four deep three
under Well, if you only have three guys underneath, you
have to play what's called man concepts within a zone,

(01:17:49):
and that's really critical. Yeah, Drake Thomas against Christian McCaffrey,
it's like man to man because the safety to his
side is the term poach is let's brock here, rock party.
And I am sitting there and I'm looking at I
got three receivers to my left, three man concept. Originally

(01:18:09):
I thought it was an option route to Christian McCaffrey
on the right, but you got an inbreaking route coming
from the opposite place, So so McCaffrey was only going
to break to the flat. He was not going to
break inside. He did not have that option. But Drake
Thomas doesn't know that, so he plays inside out. He's

(01:18:31):
got a guard what's called the Texas route, the angle
route inside, he's got a block. He's got to cover
that first. Kittle had been on that side to clear
out the corner. So you got a one on one.
If you're San Francisco, you like that matchup. The safety
to that side was poaching, meaning he's looking even though
he's on the side away from the bunch, he's looking

(01:18:52):
over to any crossing route to that side. And so
but I thought Drake Thomas had pretty good coverage. He was,
you know, in a position where you're right a perfect throw,
it's gonna be a touchdown. But boy Mafy gets his
hand up. And that's one of the things that's another
part of this past defense. I thought the edge rushers

(01:19:15):
they were converting speed to power all night.

Speaker 3 (01:19:19):
What do I mean?

Speaker 11 (01:19:20):
They were getting a what what's called a wide nine
technique wide and then they were bursting up, but they
weren't trying to go around the tackles they were they
were they were running and then they would convert that
speed and then bullrushing late. So they were squeezing the
brock Purty all night. And then I thought there was
good pressure from the inside. Maybe not elite, but there

(01:19:43):
was just constant pressure. And there was a few times
you saw it. Purdy got whipsawed and but but I
thought the ends, you know, a Hall was just you know,
he got suspended. He came back like a man who
was suspended and pissed the hell off. He he had
a hell of game and and Mafey got his hand
up and yeah, there's a little bit of luck. But

(01:20:04):
you know what, Drake Thomas, that was a that was
an unbelievable athletic play. You know, if JSN caught a
tipball like that, you'd go, WHOA. That just shows the
type of hands, hand eye coordination that JSN had for
Thomas to make that interception.

Speaker 3 (01:20:20):
Yeah, that was that was that was a hell of
a play.

Speaker 11 (01:20:23):
But you know what he he diagnosed in the running
game and in the passing game. He was part of
those five yards and a headache crowd. Uh wow. So
so yeah, they got fortunate there play the game. But
but just credit his athleticism to be able to have
the hands and somehow turn that into his interception.

Speaker 4 (01:20:43):
Beautiful Monday Morning Quarterback brought to you by Muckle Shoot Bingo,
North Creek Roofing, Washington Center for Sleep and Core Construction.
We got one more segment with Hugh and then joining
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little homework during the break. Look up Rock Purdy all
you during the break and tell me that that isn't
a spitting image of a young John Harbaugh. By the way,

(01:21:06):
somebody might want to find out if John Harball was
in Gilbert, Arizona.

Speaker 3 (01:21:09):
In nineteen ninety six, because I think that's his son.

Speaker 4 (01:21:12):
We'll talk about things other than Brock parties, birth rights.
Next Sports Radio ninety three point three KJRFM.

Speaker 2 (01:21:21):
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(01:22:04):
LLC dot com. Now the Monday Morning Quarterback with Mike
hom Grin and Hugh Millin. Here's Chuck and Buck.

Speaker 3 (01:22:13):
All right, nine o'clock hour here on this Monday. Happy
New Year to everyone.

Speaker 4 (01:22:16):
Great to have you with us as we get back
into the daily routine around these here parts. It's Chuck Powle,
Bucky Jacobs, and Ashley Ryan with you here, and of
course our Monday Morning Quarterback stars Hugh Millan who's been
with us since eight o'clock, and Mike Homer who now
joins us here in studio at nine o'clock. I do
want to mention because there's a lot of news on

(01:22:37):
Monday after the season ends. Turns out we will have
a new head coach in the division next year. The
Arizona Cardinals have decided to let go Jonathan Gannon, despite
reports here in the last few days saying that he
was safe and that they were going to bring him back.
They have let young Jonathan Gannon go there in Arizona.

(01:22:58):
So a new direction starting with the Cardinals going forward.
All Right, we've got great things to talk about around here.
Number one seed, a thirteen to three win over the
San Francisco forty nine ers to lock that up on
Saturday night, and Mike Homeran now joins the conversation, Happy.

Speaker 3 (01:23:16):
New Year, Happy New Year. Guy's good to be here,
great to have you, great to see you.

Speaker 4 (01:23:20):
And man, I mean, I can't imagine that there were
many times in your career where you're like this defensive
guy's got my number, And I can't imagine that Kyle
Shanahan's had too many experiences with that. But coach, I mean,
what was Mike McDonald doing to take everything away from
Kyle Shanahan Saturday night?

Speaker 1 (01:23:39):
You know what, It's a little bit of a puzzle
because the forty nine ers had looked so good offensively
prior to the game, and so I was a little surprised,
quite honestly. How many games where you score thirteen do
you win?

Speaker 3 (01:23:56):
You know?

Speaker 1 (01:23:56):
And they won, and San Francisco they dominated, They dominated
the forty nine ers. I think Uh and Hugh touched
on it earlier about what they chose to do defensively
in their lineup the Seahawks and and then how Kyle responded,
and that was that I would have responded differently. I'm

(01:24:21):
not saying it would have worked, but I'm saying, if
you're all of a sudden playing against more nickel and
dime people, a smaller guys a little bit, you know,
then I'm gonna go power. I'm not going to be
messing around with a lot of different different formations and
and different personnels. Necessarily, I'm going to keep that fullback.

(01:24:42):
We're gonna we're gonna run at you and then see
how you handle that. Because that defense, I'm sorry you
no please, but the defense the way that the way
it was set up. You know, obviously they have aggressive
guys in the secondary, and Uh, it worked. But I
thought Kyle kind of on played into the Seahawks hands
just a little bit.

Speaker 9 (01:25:03):
You know.

Speaker 11 (01:25:04):
I think what Mike might say, Mike McDonald might say
is that he says, hey, we're nickel. But you know,
last year we had Witherspoon, who was one hundred and
eighty one pounds at the combine. This year we have
Nick and Wory as Nicol who was exactly two hundred
and twenty pounds at the combine. So we've gained thirty

(01:25:24):
nine pounds there. And so when they play him Mike,
you know, terminology, I think we'd use as just Nicol Sam.
He's just the Nicol Sam, right, like a Sam backer.
And and yet so I think he would say, we
feel like we almost have linebacker type of size, you know,
at two twenty. But then how about Mike forty nine ers?

(01:25:47):
This is not forty nine or football. They had Kyle
Yushchev on the field for nineteen plays, but they only
had him in the backfield once they were doing this
thing where were he'd started the wing. When the balls
snapped with the wing, he try and run backwards and
then try and be a lead blocker. But you know it,

(01:26:07):
you know, probably something looked good on a whiteboard, but
they never really got to the physicality part that you
suggest that you would have tried to get to.

Speaker 1 (01:26:15):
Yeah, and your point about looking good on the whiteboard,
you know, you you get in the room and you
start creating, and you're with your coaching staff and you're
you got all these great plays and all these things. Well,
that's all well and good. That's all well and good,
until you try and do that in the game and
it doesn't work. We've talked about it how many times
this year that it's not working.

Speaker 3 (01:26:35):
Go to plan B. What's plan B.

Speaker 1 (01:26:37):
Put put you in the backfield, Let him be the
lead blocker and see if that works. See what happens there,
you know, because it's worked for us in the past.
So having said all that, however, you can't take anything
away from what Mike Mike McDonald has put together defensively
and how that defensive team plays. I got a feeling

(01:26:58):
watching the game, you guys, that emotionally it wasn't even close.
Forget about the x'es and o's and all that stuff.
It just seemed like there was a lot more fire
on the Seoux side to me than the forty nine
er side.

Speaker 5 (01:27:14):
Does it look like their peeking at the right time?
And defensively they most certainly are. But offensively, you know,
they did enough, and it never felt like the game
was really in question because of what you said, just
the overall atmosphere and the way in which the defense
was playing. But does it feel like this team is
kind of you know, rising at the right time. I

(01:27:36):
think so, Buck, and I think the although, like I said,
thirteen points usually doesn't win for you, you know. So
there's still some hope, I mean, still some feeling about
the offensive team offensive side of the ball. Although the
running game was look good, you know, and that that
seems to be there, that seems to be getting better,

(01:27:59):
and how they they're using Walker and Sharbonne, and because
we've talked about it again all year that some games
they didn't do much and then we go, why are
they doing this? But that that seems to be clicking
a little bit better now and that will help Sam Darnold,
you know.

Speaker 10 (01:28:17):
And so.

Speaker 1 (01:28:21):
You get into the playoffs, you're playing the best teams
that finish the season, and you just have to be
at your best. And I think offensively, I'm not sure
we've seen that yet. We saw it a couple times
during the season, but consistently it hasn't been exactly the same.

Speaker 4 (01:28:38):
I would ask you that because I certainly wanted to
discuss this before our time expired here today, and so Hugh,
I want to ask you the same conversation. I mean,
all the Hayes in the barn fourteen to three, got
the number one seed. You get to a week to
rest up, get healthy. Looks like they're going to be
the healthiest team in the league two weeks from now.

(01:28:59):
What concerns, if any, do you have as they get
ready for this postseason run? And he I'll start with you,
and maybe they don't have any. Maybe you're just like,
just keep doing what you're doing. That's the only the
advice that I would give.

Speaker 3 (01:29:13):
Well, I think they got to work on the red
zone and the red zone fringe.

Speaker 11 (01:29:18):
You know that the fringe being you know that area
you don't call it the thirty five forty, you know,
just kind of like you're almost in in Myers field
goal territory. I think that they they've installed there and
I think the big play standpoint. I almost wonder if Sam,
like there was a play. Now, I know, I'm gonna
say this on the radio, I'm gonna give the impression
that this was happening all over.

Speaker 3 (01:29:39):
It was not happening all over.

Speaker 11 (01:29:40):
But there was a play Mike where they're trying to
get Jackson Smith and Jigba on a you know, deep
angle cross right to left. Guys, that's an intermediate crossing
route and you gotta check down. But you can have
a clear out generally, and then you know, it can
be a post, it can be a go. Well on
this case, you got resits. You heed on a high
angle corner. So he's on Sam Darnold's left. He lines

(01:30:02):
up on the left, he starts like he's going to
the middle field, and then he goes high to the back,
piling on the left a flag you know, high flag route,
and then you're gonna have JSN schematically from the right
side fit into that area intermediate under But but you've
got Rashichi he clearing that out.

Speaker 3 (01:30:20):
Man, I'm looking at that.

Speaker 11 (01:30:22):
I would tell fourteen Mike, I'd say, hey, crank that
thing up, just throw it high to the sideline. Give
him a chance, you might, you know, it looks like
he's got a step, maybe a step and a half.
Just go let him go, you know, get the ball.
Maybe you get a pass interference or you're loosen him up.
So I think maybe, just like, let's let's take a
couple of big shots. What's the last time we saw

(01:30:43):
a go route up the sideline, you know, or a
post route where you try and beat quarters coverage, so
that would be a couple of things I'd want to
get out of the offense.

Speaker 1 (01:30:52):
Yeah, and I think that because of how everyone's been
talking about Sam all year and for the last two years,
probably there might be a little part of him that
doesn't want to take that chance. I'm not saying that,
but I'm guessing here. But here, you know what an
interesting thing, Chuck to your point about having number one seed,

(01:31:16):
the experience I had with the forty nine ers with
coach Walsh. We had a great year, Dominated had had
the first round by so we had two weeks to prepare.
Then we played Minnesota in that game and they beat us.
They came in and beat us in San Francisco, and
it was horrible, and we tried to analyze why for

(01:31:39):
those two weeks we prepared for two teams. We didn't
know who we were going to play, so you're prepared.
And Bill later said, I made a mistake, you know,
because we prepared for and we practiced like crazy for
two weeks, and we practiced. By the time we got
to the game, we didn't have any It seemed like

(01:32:01):
you left. And then we practiced for against two teams,
two different teams. You know, it just was the preparation
and how they do it now is going to be huge.
I don't know how much is going to do it,
but it's.

Speaker 3 (01:32:14):
On Kadia's take the whole team to Don Kadia. Yeah,
oh no, they can all fit in that seater. Yeah
that's right. No, but I think no, but that's gonna
be huge. How he does that.

Speaker 4 (01:32:24):
Monday morning quarterback session with Hugh and with coach here
this morning, as we have a lot of sea our
things to discuss, and look, you brought it up a
couple of times, so let's dive into this topic of conversation,
and that is the offense having only scored thirteen points
even though they played well, felt like they were moving

(01:32:45):
the ball. They had a couple of really impressive drives,
one at the beginning of the game and an eight
minute drive at the end of the game.

Speaker 3 (01:32:51):
So what is it?

Speaker 4 (01:32:52):
What are the finer two points that you felt that
they had an issue with. Does it just boil down
to Jason Myers having a bad game?

Speaker 3 (01:33:00):
Was there more to it?

Speaker 2 (01:33:00):
No?

Speaker 1 (01:33:01):
Well, he that was unusual, you know where that's automatic.
So there's yeah, usually six points, you know, I mean,
so then instead of thirteen. It's nineteen, but it's still
field goals. There's still field goals instead of touchdowns. And
you brought it up earlier. You know the red zone
and what you do down there and have the plan
for the red zone, and you know, again that was

(01:33:24):
my baby. So if we came away with field goals
instead of touchdowns, I blame myself. I don't know how
they set it up, but there was a couple of
fourth down situations there that they didn't convert. I thought
Sam missed a touchdown and an easy touchdown throw down
in there close and took a sack that got him
out of position. So the fourth down, the red zone,

(01:33:47):
red zone, to answer your question, and then if you're
gonna go for it on fourth down instead of taking
the points, it better be the play on your sheet.
This is guaranteed to win. This is guaranteed to happen,
and it's they've struggled with that just a little bit.

Speaker 11 (01:34:03):
Let's talk about what you said there, the playdown on
the goal line. I think a lot of fans are
you know, just talking about the philosophy. And of course
nobody wants to see Donald take a sack. I couldn't
believe Anthony Bradford Mike on a turn protection they got uh,
you know, full right guard turn and left. There's only
three guys to block. There's a delayed blitz. I don't

(01:34:25):
know how Anthony Bradford doesn't see that guy and come
off of him. But it was like he had blinders on.
But at any rate, not absolving Sam Donald. If I'm
coaching them, as you said, you know, you'll get at
least one minus on that. But but but just the
philosophy of what happened down there, not taking the field goals,
the decision to throw the ball on first and goal

(01:34:47):
from the one.

Speaker 3 (01:34:47):
What you make of all that sequence early on in
the game, Well, they're done.

Speaker 1 (01:34:51):
They had a great drive and they're on the one
yard line. So I'm not a post to them throwing
on first down. It survives me a little bit the
way they were running, you know, but you have downs
and you're on the one yard line. You're thinking, okay,
I could run four quarterback snakes and get it in.
You know, somehow I got to get it in. But
they went for a pass on first down, which is
the down to do it. That's the down to do it.

(01:35:13):
If you're gonna throw the ball because everyone's geared up,
everyone's kind of got their tail up, and they're gonna
stop you from getting that one yard. I thought that
type of play we used to run a lot, and
the throw was not I'm not talking about the play
they ran, the play we used to run, well, very similar.
The throw was to the guy in the flat.

Speaker 3 (01:35:34):
That was the guy.

Speaker 1 (01:35:36):
You design the play to get that guy open, and
you're not looking anyplace else, really, or you don't have
time for that, and it's first down. If you don't
have me throw it away, come back second down on
the one. You know, and to me, I guess he
couldn't see him, but on the TV he looked to
be open. I mean, that was that was the guy

(01:35:58):
I thought he was supposed to throw the ball to.
So and I'm going on no, and then the sack
just adds on to that. So you either hit that
guy in the flat or you throw it away and
you come back second and goal from the one. That
was what bothered me more than anything else.

Speaker 11 (01:36:15):
Well, Mike, let's talk about the scheme there, because because
I always say the precisions in the details, right, and
and Kubiak elected schematically is it fair to say that
usually on that play they're in ifirmation green right your
your green formation? Yes, that the full back from the ifirmation,

(01:36:35):
and you would often set it to green strong where
the fullback is a little bit offset to the play side.
But but the fullback's gonna bluff and the he's in
the flat is how it's typically done right right, But Seattle,
and I know we have Fox two and Hound two
and Hound four and all that stuff, But just for
the for the listeners, the decision, am I gonna have

(01:36:57):
the full back in the flat or am I gonna
have the full back block and then the tailback from
the I formation he's gonna run a flat obviously affects
the timing.

Speaker 3 (01:37:09):
I think you're right. I sent a photo.

Speaker 11 (01:37:11):
Maybe Chuck and Buck can show you the photo of
of where it was from Donald's perspective. The block just
happened to line up in his vision, I think. And
it just, you know, one of those things that happens
where it's clearly wide open, but the block blocks his vision.
And and and maybe Donald is quick to get off

(01:37:32):
because that it's the tailback, not the fullback who's in
the flat. A little bit later, messes with your your
timing a little bit.

Speaker 1 (01:37:40):
Yeah, you know, I I understand what you're saying, but
I would say, just if if that's the play, stay
with it a little longer. You got to move out
of there, stay with it a little longer if you
might still have him. I think they. I think he
still would have had him, but he decided to stop.
And I'm trying to remember exactly what his footwork was.

(01:38:03):
But and you know that, but I just say, stay
with it, you know, and then if you don't get it,
you come back and you got another play on that one.

Speaker 5 (01:38:11):
Do you agree with the not taking the points right there?
I mean, you have them backed up with your defense,
like I think they were at the four yard line
when they went forward on fourth down, and so it's like, well,
if we don't get it, then you know, if we
can stop them down here, if our defense comes out
in places. But this is before you'd seen what your
defense was going to do to their offense. Do you
take the points there? Or do you like, we'll find

(01:38:32):
we'll pin them if we turned it over on downs?

Speaker 1 (01:38:34):
I think I probably I probably disagree with my friends
sitting across from me here, but I take the points
you know I would take the points.

Speaker 3 (01:38:41):
I would have taken them, and that's you would. Yeah,
And that's the guestion.

Speaker 4 (01:38:44):
But I do understand the logic of what he's accomplishing, Like, hey,
even if we don't get it, we've got him pinned
back and get the ball back.

Speaker 3 (01:38:52):
And that's an interesting look at it, you know, just
the wrong one.

Speaker 1 (01:38:59):
Look for you to agree with me much. You were
good to the first one and then you know that
you don't have to add that a little.

Speaker 3 (01:39:06):
Well, let me ask you this. I mean, you were
an offensive guy.

Speaker 4 (01:39:11):
My guess is you don't have a lot of pillows
that are you know that are monogram defense wins championships.

Speaker 3 (01:39:16):
No, yeah, And yet there have been a few over
the years. Eighty five Bears, Ravens, Ravens, they add a
team defense, one champion. There have been a few that
have won championships. When you look at this Mike McDonald defense,
do you think that can win the championship? Right there?
That defense they're good enough to win the championship? Can

(01:39:37):
they do it by themselves? I don't think so.

Speaker 1 (01:39:41):
I Well, let's go, that's the offensive guy talking now,
you know, because you got to have you got to
score more than thirteen points. You got to score more
than sixteen points. I think when you get into the
playoffs and you play, start playing the teams that have
a little bit more juice than some teams.

Speaker 11 (01:40:00):
All right, yeah, So do you think from a standpoint
of how that play calling went. Do you just keep
leaning on the running game and be you know, content,
you know, keeping it in the teams type of thing.
As you said, you make the field goals, it's nineteen
to three, or does that do you say, hey, the

(01:40:22):
running game is going to really give us an opportunity
to go play pass on first down and try and
get some chunk plays. How would you balance that? Do
you think that they have the right balance right now?

Speaker 3 (01:40:35):
I think they do.

Speaker 2 (01:40:37):
You know.

Speaker 1 (01:40:38):
There it's as a game, every game is different. So
as this game went along, look at the RAMS go
alad go back to the Rams game thirty eight, thirty
seven or whatever it was, you know, and then this
game is different. So you're going through the game and
you're on the sideline. You're thinking, these guys can't score,
they can't do anything against us. So you start thinking

(01:40:59):
about how reckless or how how exaggerated you want to
be on offense as opposed to let's just we'll kick
the field goals. We can get to sixteen nineteen. They're
not going to do anything, so that enters in. But yeah,
the way the running game was going, I run the ball,
stay with it, but then play pass screen. I'm always

(01:41:23):
you got to do that too, and that those should work.

Speaker 3 (01:41:26):
Yeah, yeah, and take the points when you get them. Yeah,
that's right, Thank you, thank you. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:41:31):
Mikel Imgrin, you melan with us some more. Monday Morning
Quarterback on the other side. Sports Radio ninety three point
three KJRFM.

Speaker 2 (01:41:40):
Now back to the Monday Morning Quarterback, brought to you
by Michael schut Bingo by North Creek roofed the Washington
Center for Sleep, and by Court Construction on your home.

Speaker 3 (01:41:50):
For the twelfth man. Sports Radio ninety three point three
kJ r FM.

Speaker 8 (01:41:56):
Forty of the gun shot gun staff four man rush
five of the pattern edity right.

Speaker 6 (01:42:00):
Son did complaint? Let Seahawks stand. Seattle is back on
top of the NFT West Seahawks thirteen forty nine ers three.

Speaker 4 (01:42:16):
It's Monday Morning quarterback, so much more to discuss, so
we're just going to discuss at all.

Speaker 3 (01:42:21):
How about that Hugh Millan is with us.

Speaker 4 (01:42:23):
We've also got Mike homerun with us, Ashley Bucky Chuck
with you here on this Monday, Happy New Year, do everyone.
Your football team's really good and they've accomplished what they
set out to accomplish as far as the regular season goes.
And I know we got a lot of different areas
to cover, but I didn't want to get through the
hour without talking about your friend John Schneider. Man two seasons,

(01:42:47):
two big decisions head coach and quarterback.

Speaker 3 (01:42:51):
And it couldn't have been easy.

Speaker 4 (01:42:52):
I mean, it's not like Pete was doing a terrible
job and Gino was a terrible quarterback. It wasn't easy decisions.
And yet he pulls the trigger coach on both of
those decisions, and they couldn't have worked out better in
my estimation anyway. I mean, just talk about the job
John Schneider's done here in the last eighteen months to
get this team to where it is right now.

Speaker 1 (01:43:13):
Well, you know, he's he's really done a great job.
You know, those are big, big decisions to make, and
usually if it doesn't work, then you're you're in a
little trouble, you know, But you can't worry about that
you got, you know, and I would say Leonard Williams,
I would say Jones. I would say he's made the
moves he's made in the last couple of years, you know,
have gotten the team to where they are. I remember

(01:43:35):
going in telling him before you hired Mike, I said,
I think you ought to hire an offensive coach, and
so he thought, you know, we had we had a
nice discussion. I've known him forever and uh, unfortunately he
didn't listen to me, you know, and he hired Mike.
But he sent me John was in San Francisco and
he sent me a really nice text. He was he
was at the hotel and he said, I'm at the hotel.

(01:43:59):
We're about ready to to go to the stadium. And
I was just reflecting on thirty years ago and Green Bay.
We came in to play San Francisco there and you
let Regie McKenzie and I come with you on the
plane and you won the game. And he thanked ron
Wolf and me and all this. It was just really nice,
nice way to start the new year. But I'm so

(01:44:20):
very happy for him because he was finally I don't
know exactly how they worked it when he and Pete
were together. I'm sure there was a lot of give
and take and all that, but I don't know who
made the final call. But now john is in a
position now and they gave him the final call and
it's paid off.

Speaker 3 (01:44:39):
He's done a great job. Mike, that's a great story.
You deserve that.

Speaker 11 (01:44:43):
But I want to pick up on that. Why did
you say that he should get an offensive coach? Obviously
Pete had been a defensive coach, and just as a review,
I think that what they wanted was to get a
brilliant mind and they they really had their mind on

(01:45:03):
on Ben Johnson on the offensive side of the ball,
and then Mike McDaniel on the Mike McDonald on the
defensive side of the ball. And they, you know, once
they interviewed McDonald, they just said, this guy's got the juice,
this is the this is the dude.

Speaker 3 (01:45:17):
But you know there are some people.

Speaker 11 (01:45:19):
Say, well, if you if if you hire a defensive
coach and then your quarterback and your offense really hums,
you're going to lose your coordinator in this case Kubiak,
and then that's going to really set the offense back.
But why did you want them to have an offensive
coach and and and what about that component of it.

Speaker 1 (01:45:40):
Well, again, I was thinking from my own history and
how you know, I thought it was easier for me
to do, you know, if I wanted to call the
players who offensively to find the right defensive coordinator, to
find that guy and then hand it to him, which
I did, And I thought that was an easier path.

(01:46:02):
And then based on what they had gone through for
the last couple of years with the offense in Seattle,
I thought.

Speaker 3 (01:46:13):
It was my own It was my own feeling that
enter into that, you know.

Speaker 1 (01:46:16):
And and John, I think if if John the Chicago
Bear coach, Ben John Johnson, I believe they hired, they
interviewed him as well. And my my feeling was that
that that did not go well. I don't know what
that means exactly, but so it has turned out. I
told you, I'm glad he didn't listen to me, you know,

(01:46:40):
but he was going to do his own thing. I
was just kind of thing having some fun with him
and saying, you know, you know what, you need a
guy that really called the plays and do all that
kind of stuff. And so it was more like one
of those conversations coach.

Speaker 5 (01:46:52):
I mean with the playoffs, you know, they get to
take this week offensive back and get healed up and
rest and see who they're gonna play. Of the teams
in the NFC, which would be the one that you
think they maybe would want to avoid in the first round? U, Rams, Niners?

Speaker 3 (01:47:10):
Is it that easy? Or is it just it doesn't matter?
Bring on all comers?

Speaker 7 (01:47:14):
Is it?

Speaker 9 (01:47:15):
Eagles?

Speaker 3 (01:47:15):
Bears, Packers? Do you worry about them?

Speaker 9 (01:47:17):
Well?

Speaker 3 (01:47:17):
I think they've played.

Speaker 1 (01:47:19):
You know, I'm not so worried about the Packers right
now because there they seem to be struggling.

Speaker 3 (01:47:23):
To me, well, they've lost five in a row. I mean,
it's it's not.

Speaker 1 (01:47:27):
But I think the Eagles will will cause problems for
anybody they play. Yeah, but I think the Rams, to me,
the Rams, the Rams are right up there at the top.
I think they're They're the the Seahawks and the Rams are,
in my opinion, the two best teams in the NFC.

Speaker 3 (01:47:48):
Do we have the quarterback to win at all?

Speaker 4 (01:47:51):
I mean, there seem to be a lot of critics
out there of Sam Darnold and they.

Speaker 3 (01:47:55):
Won't go away.

Speaker 4 (01:47:57):
I had buddies nationally texting, why is Sam Donald always
get criticized, and I'm like, I don't know.

Speaker 3 (01:48:03):
I get it early in his career because he wasn't
playing well.

Speaker 4 (01:48:06):
He's played really well the last two years, but he
certainly hasn't proven he can win a super Bowl. To
this point in his NFL career, he hasn't even proven
he can have playoff success. So what makes this Sam
different than the one that we've seen in the past.

Speaker 3 (01:48:21):
Well, I think he is different.

Speaker 1 (01:48:22):
I think he's I think he's played very well this year,
and everyone will point to that four interception game, but
that hasn't happened since he's and he's been sacked a
couple of times that play in the game. I didn't like,
you know, but I don't think Sam. There are some
teams I refer to my friend Andy Reid in Kansas
City the last few years that mahomes kind of won

(01:48:45):
the games for them, and I don't think Sam Donald.
I don't think they're asking him to do that. I
think we've got this great defense we got now establishing
a really pretty good running game. He has proved and
he can do, but he doesn't have to win it
by himself, and so I think that's the difference. Then

(01:49:05):
some of the teams that have won Super Bowls in
the past.

Speaker 3 (01:49:08):
But he won't get in the way of them. When no,
I don't think so. I think you know I'm gonna
stick with him all the way. Yeah, Mike.

Speaker 11 (01:49:17):
Is part of the calculus for Sam Darnold that at
thirty three and a half million, which you know, it's
hard to say that's a bargain, but the fact is
it's the eighteenth highest paid on an average basis, and
to have him under contracted that in those terms, I'll
give you a couple of guys to Marcus Lawrence. You
pick him up, he goes to the Pro Bowl. And

(01:49:39):
I can't overstate that the Josh Jones playing left tackle
in the last three weeks, two of the two biggest
games of the year. You haven't had Charles Cross right,
it's been Josh Jones and and it's been very quiet
over there at left tackle, which is a good thing.
And he was four million, his predecessor was one point

(01:50:00):
two million. You could maybe infer that that the money
you're saving with Donald, you can get guys like DeMarcus
Lawrence and backups like Josh Jones. How much of that
component do you when you kind of think of the
team and how it's structured. Then you say, okay, that
enters into how we evaluate Sam Darnold.

Speaker 1 (01:50:19):
Well, I think you know, like you said, it's hard
to say he's only making thirty three million. I mean,
you know, uh, but but you're right, and some teams
that have to pop huge for the quarterback. You you,
you lose some good players at other positions because the

(01:50:41):
way that salarycap is set up, so he he's going
to be who he is, and if he continues to
be who he is, his next deal, because he's not
that his next deal.

Speaker 3 (01:50:54):
Now you're gonna have to make this crappy thirty three million.

Speaker 1 (01:50:57):
No, no, no, he can eat you know, he doesn't.
He can he can eat it a nice restaurant instead
of a coffee shop.

Speaker 9 (01:51:02):
You know.

Speaker 1 (01:51:03):
But no, But then then we'll see how it gets juggled.
Because we've talked about it before on the show. You know,
every once in a while, the Super Bowl timing and
your roster timing gets different once that quarterback gets paid
fifty million, And so you're.

Speaker 4 (01:51:22):
Gonna reference to your friend Andy Reid again, that's right there,
you go. I mean, look at how dominant they were
when they weren't having to pay him, and even though
he gives them a little bit of a break, I
don't think it's a coincidence. You know, it's not the
tire equation, but I don't think it's a coincidence that
they're not as good since they've had to actually pay them.

Speaker 1 (01:51:41):
Well, didn't they talk about that Brady doing that for
a long time in New England. I think they're probably
they were probably stashing something somewhere, probably, you know, yeah,
I mean.

Speaker 3 (01:51:51):
No, I could be right. Atriot's never no, of course
they don't.

Speaker 1 (01:51:55):
Yeah, no, but you know they Yeah, if a quarterback's
willing to do that, most of them are not. Certainly
their agents are not.

Speaker 5 (01:52:05):
Yeah, Coach, I mean there's been a lot of talk
about Sam and then the turnovers, and understandably so, and
yet I think that all of us agree in order
to make that thing go, you're gonna have to sometimes
try to fit it in windows and interception are gonna happen.
To me, my bigger concern is the fumbles, right, and
so I'm wondering a couple of things that he almost
had a fumble when it was a ten to three game.

(01:52:25):
He did have a fumble he got stepped on, and
then it's going down and the handoff went south and
luckily Charbonnay.

Speaker 3 (01:52:32):
Got on that ball.

Speaker 5 (01:52:33):
Otherwise they're right in position to possibly tie the game up,
even after dominating the way that they had all the
way into the fourth quarter when that happened.

Speaker 3 (01:52:41):
What do you teach a guy about.

Speaker 5 (01:52:43):
I mean, sometimes it's just as possible if you don't
see the guy coming from behind you and he, you know,
hits your arm and you knocks it out.

Speaker 3 (01:52:49):
That's what it is.

Speaker 5 (01:52:50):
But is there something that you taught a guy of, Hey,
we really got to do this to make sure when
I get hit that it's not dislodging the ball, because
I think that could be a bugaboo that would come
back to haunt them if it happens in the playoffs.

Speaker 3 (01:53:03):
Yeah, I think yes.

Speaker 1 (01:53:06):
First of all, you talk about it, and there are
drills that you do to get his mind thinking, Okay,
I get this kind of pressure, I'm getting squeezed. This
is what I do with the ball. There are drills
to do that. Now, how he processes that and does
it help him or does I keep seeing the same
thing or what? I can't answer that for him? But

(01:53:29):
absolutely absolutely. There are things you talk about and then
there are drills to help fix that. But you know what, guys,
I think until he wins the Super Bowl, ye, people
are going to be talking about Sam Dnoald in a
in a kind of a question different way.

Speaker 3 (01:53:46):
Yes, ye hear. What your thoughts on the fumbles situation?

Speaker 11 (01:53:52):
Yeah, you'd rather not fumble than fumble. I think that
there's they're not all created equal. I mean, I think
if you're draw if you separate your hands and you're
in the process of throwing and your eyes are taking
to you to a certain portion of the field in
one angle of your field of view, and somebody from

(01:54:13):
an area you couldn't expect to see, he hits you.
You know, I think that that's absolvable, right. I do
think that it's you know, the turnover worthy plays that
Pro football focus on tracks they try and you know
they say that that kind of takes some of the
luck out of it. So Sam Donald, as we know,

(01:54:37):
he has twenty turnovers, he's judged to have nineteen turnover
worthy plays. So of all the quarterbacks, there's only three
quarterbacks who are at one hundred percent or more. The
most unlucky guy this year is Jared Goff. He's got
one hundred and eight percent of them. But Sam Donald's
out one hundred and five percent. The average you take

(01:55:01):
out the Donald, the average is seventy one percent of
your turnover worthy plays are going to result in turnovers,
you know. And for example Caleb Williams, only half of
his turnover worthy plays has resulted. So I think he's
been a little bit unlucky. And then the other part
of it is, Mike that the ratio of big time

(01:55:21):
throws to UH to turnover worthy on plays, Sam Donald
is well above the median, and he's above Drake may
who's supposed to be, you know, first or second in
the MVP. He's above Justin Herbert, he's above Trevor Lawrence,
he's above Patrick Mahomes, c J. Stroud, Lamar Jackson like so,

(01:55:43):
so yes, he's got more turnover worthy plays than you'd like.
He has been lucky in the way I've said it,
But Mike, he's offsetting that with with you know, these
these categories where he's number one in the NFL and
in deep throws and passer rating when deep and as
I said, the racial big time throw to turnover worthy
plays is very favorable compared to some of those guys

(01:56:06):
I just mentioned.

Speaker 3 (01:56:07):
Yeah, that's what excuse me. That's why.

Speaker 1 (01:56:12):
I think I understood what you said. You know, every
once in a while he has to, you know, coach
me up a little bit. But no, that's why I'm
in his corner. And and and you know what, it's
he he's not going to have to do this by himself.

Speaker 3 (01:56:28):
Though with this team. I don't think, Yeah, he's saying
the big play Sam Donald makes makes up for the
additional seven, the additional.

Speaker 4 (01:56:41):
Risk that he you know, yeah, all right, we're going
to close it out with one last thing. Next Sports
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