Headlines and 12th Man News with GREGG BELL (Tacoma News Tribune)- As far as regular-season games, this one is about as big as it gets! What the buzz at the VMAC about weather implications on Thursday? What’s the biggest challenge the Seahawks face? Will we see philosophical changes from the Seahawks because of the magnitude of the game and the opponent? What is Gregg’s key to the game this week? Latest injury report? Will Charles Cross be ready to go? Will Adams be out for the Rams? :30- The Mariners hot stove is simmering… Over the weekend, Jorge Polanco signed a 2-year, $40 million deal with the NY Mets. It sounds like the M’s made a competitive offer, but he followed the money to NY and we can’t fault him for that. So, now the team has to find someone to fill that hole left by Polanco. Who will it be? Is Brendan Donovan a good fit? :45- There’s a lot at stake on Thursday apparently… Do the rules need to change for field goals? It’s getting too easy for teams and kickers to take advantage of the current kicking rules.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Rogers will be in the gug Rogers may be seeing
the blitz. Here they come. They rush five, there's the
snap done, drive down and little Matt Pearlin gets made
at the fifteen metcap r to tackle up the ten
to five touchdown. Peckford medcap throwing bodies aside like the
rag dolls to break tackles and get a twenty of
(00:25):
yard touchdown reception from Aaron Rodgers on third and twelve
and they've gone up twenty to three over Miami. He
really is one of one, both Kevin Harlan and DK Metcalf.
There's no one liked Kevin Harlan on a call Westwood One.
(00:47):
Nobody quite liked DK Metcalf. I mean, I think we
made the right decision getting rid of him, and I
think JSN certainly has flourished being the undisputed number one
receiver in this lineup. That guy there's just some traits
that nobody else in the league can match. I mean,
he just caught that ball into the just stiff armed,
like six different dolphins just out of his way. Now,
(01:09):
they acted like they were frozen to the core. I
think that was part of it. But yeah, he's a monster.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, he's different. You can just see it when he
just steps out there. He's different. And yet it's still
even this year with Hall of Famer and Aaron Rodgers,
an old Hall of Famer in Aaron Rodgers, he still
hasn't kind of grown to be that thing that, yeah,
everybody thought he was going to be, at least while
he was here.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Pittsburgh won over Miami Monday Night football to wrap up
the week. Twenty eight to fifteen is the final score,
so the Steelers keep their game lead over the Baltimore
Ravens in the division. Miami was eliminated from the playoffs.
Of course, we are all preparing. We're well underway for
Thursday night football rams at Seahawks. We'll talk to Greg
(01:54):
Bell in a moment about Davonte Adams and many other things.
So our Seahawks insider is just a minute away. He
let me go through your Frost Brewed Corps light Choose
Chill headlines. Congratulations to you, dub national champions of the
soccer World. The men's team won last night over North
Carolina State three to two with a golden goal and overtime.
(02:17):
It was reviewed and so the delay or see me
the celebration got delayed, but it ended up being two
different celebrations for the Husky. So congratulations there on top
of the soccer world. Over there on Montlake National Champs
last night with their three to two win over North
Carolina State. College football playoff is this Friday. There'll be
(02:40):
three games on Saturday, and so the very first week
begins with Alabama and Oklahoma Friday night Crack inter inaction
against the Avalanche. Tonight it is a Crack and Ticket Tuesday.
Be listening for that piece of audio that will prompt
you to be the tenth caller and you might just
win tickets to see the Crack and take on Vancouver
(03:02):
on the twenty ninth of this month. Everitt Fitzhu's going
to join us today at eight thirty. Those are your headlines.
Let's talk some Seahawks with Greg Bell. With the bell tolls.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
It must be seven o'clock and time for twelfth Man
News with Greg Bell. Brought to you by Copola Diamond
Collection Prosecco Chris Sparkling with Bright Fruit flavors to make
every toast shine Game Day Bubbles only with Coppola Diamond Forsecco.
Now with twelk Man News. Here's Greg Bell with Chuck
and Bud.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Good morning, Greg, Good morning, huh Greg Bell or Siahucks
Insider joining us here today. What's the buzz over there?
I mean, you might not even know this yet, but
obviously weather could play a factor. It's been playing a
factor in all of our lives here for the last week.
But I just looked up the forecast eighty three percent
(03:53):
chance of rain Thursday night wins expected to possibly be
around twenty miles per hour, could be a factor in
this game. Does Mike McDonald feel they're better prepared for
Knights like this than anybody that comes into Seattle.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
Well, yes and no.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
The NFL game when it rains, the officials allow you
to swap out the ball every single down, and often
they aren't throwing a wet ball even in a downpour.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
Because of that. But it is a factor when you
got wind, and kickers and pass catchers and pass throwers
will tell you that's a bigger deal than rain or snow.
And if you get win, then there are a lot
of variables to change how far Jason Myers can kick
into the downtown open end the north end of the field,
for instance, that's the end where the wind comes in
(04:43):
from the sides the corners of the end zone, unlike
the south end, which is closed. And Myers, when we
talk to him, talks all the time about the winds
changing the Downtown end. If there's twenty minle hour winds
blowing through the stadium, no matter which direction you're going,
that is definitely going to change the limit that Mike
McDonald knows his kicker can go. Incidentally, he said Myers did,
(05:05):
and McDonald said that they were confident that Myers would
make the fifty six yard field goal to beat the
Colts into that open end because the win was not
a big factor in that game, and Myers got boosted
by the confidence of making a fifty two yard or
into the other end zone. At the end of the
first half, they thought the Colts kicker was beyond his line.
They had tagged him for less and fewer than sixty
(05:28):
yards to make his kick. Did he ended up making
from sixty. The kicking game in the passing game will
be affected if the wins are like you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Yeah, it's going to be interesting and it's going to
be wet, but we shall see how if it is.
Do you think that they continue to really marry themselves
to the idea that we're going to run more than
everybody else. Whether it works or not. I mean maybe
the weather dictates some of the play calls as well.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Yes, they need to against the Rams and forty nine
ers because their defensive fronts are so active so athletic.
Let's talk Jalen Sidell, the Seahawks center yesterday about the
Rams front. He said, what makes them so good is
when they're young. But they are all really good at
both speed and power. And he said for a center,
that's tough. Usually defensive offensive excuse me, defensive linemen are
(06:16):
one or the other, really strong or really fast, not
offering it, they both. And he said everybody across the front,
including the linebackers for the Rams are both strong and fast,
and you got to be fast off the snap. And
for him that's especially tough because he snapping the ball
and you got to be strong enough to push them
out of the holes. They have the Seahawks for years
(06:37):
of that hard time running the ball against the Rams.
That could be the reason why they've remade their defense
on the fly, of course, and they had a Hall
of Famer retire they traded Ernest Jones, their middle linebacker,
and they still haven't been They've missed a beat. Sadell
thinks that's the challenge for the Seahawks. The biggest one
is their strength and their size. We've seen it, Bucky,
(06:59):
We've talked about it. Just because the Seahawks aren't running
for effectiveness doesn't mean they won't run. They got just
two point three yards per carry against the Colts. They're
going to keep running it, especially for the elements. But
even if they aren't that bad, no matter what the weather,
they're going to keep running it. Well. I think you're
going to see Thursday night. You didn't see Sunday against
the Colts. Robbie Oots at fullback. He was a curious,
(07:22):
healthy scratch for the first time in his career. Against Indianapolis,
they had Brady Russell in a few times they used fullback,
and we saw Russell drop a pass in the flat
when he faked that he was walking and the Colts
didn't even guard him. If he had covered caught that pass,
he would probably run for at least forty yards. Oots
will be in the lineup. I think that was a
tactical air and especially against the Rams I think oots
(07:45):
will be in the lineup and you'll see more eye formation.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
Well, considering the quality of the opponent, greg and the
magnitude of the game, do they stick with it as
long as they have been? I mean, yes, you've gone
four and zero over your last four games, but it
just feels like you were trying to establish the run
for too long and the passing game has been the
(08:07):
team's bread and butter this year. So will we see
any sort of philosophical changes? And with the win settling
for field goals? It feels like, man, we're settling for
a lot of field goals these days, and then also
sticking with the run sometimes well into the third quarter,
even though it's not altogether working. Do you think we'll
see philosophical changes because of the magnitude of the opponent
(08:31):
and the game on Thursday?
Speaker 4 (08:33):
No, If they got back and just start throwing forty
times in a monsoon and win, or even in a
bright sunny day, the Rams will kill them. The Rams
defensive front will overwhelm the Seahawks offensive line if the
Seahawks don't run that. I have about ten years of
history to back me up on that. No matter who
the offensive coordinator is no matter who the offensive linemen are,
(08:54):
no matter who the Rams put out on defense, that's
been a consistent team. They got to run, and they'd
run also because their defense is so damn good. They
want to control field position, They want to control time
of possession. They want to keep Stafford's hands off the
ball by keeping them on the sidelines. If you can
run enough to at least make the third downs manageable,
maybe your quarterback doesn't throw four interceptions and hand them
(09:16):
three touchdowns. That to me is the key to the
game on Thursday. Run enough to let the Seahawks defense
dictate the game. We've talked about this many times. We'll
probably talk about the roundtable this week again. With two
three games, Mike McDonald has played Sean McVay well throwing
out the JV game at the end of last season
because the Rams didn't play anybody, including Stafford, because they
(09:38):
had everything clinched. The two other games, the Rams had
one offensive touchdown in regulation before it went to overtime,
and they wanted including the hundred and three yard interception
return for a touchdown by Kitchens, they've changed the game.
When Gino Smith threw the an zone and then the
last time they played the Rams in Inglewood, the Seahawks
quarterback gave the Rams three touchdowns with four interceptions. Did
(10:00):
Seahawks didn't? I think it was one of the three
touchdowns that the Rams had to drive more than half
the field and they won twenty one nineteen. So you
could say pretty plausibly that the see Mike McDonald's defense
has given up two in two games, eight quarters have
given up two touchdowns that the Rams have had to
drive the field to get two against the number one
(10:22):
quarterback who's the best passer rating and one of the
best offensive minds of his generation. I McDonald would never
say this, but I think McDonald's got McVeigh schematically, and
I think he's got a few things new McVeagh hasn't
seen either coming up on Thursday night. So can the
Seahawks offense stay out of its own way and let
the defense win the game? That's the key on Thursday?
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Do you know, I mean, do the injury reports and
stuff come out earlier since Thursday game?
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Do you so?
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Do we know how cross how injured people are? I
mean we didn't get to that yesterday.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
Yeah, cross is the concern. So the NFL requires that
they put out a Monday report for a third the game,
even though they don't practice. They were out on the
field just walking around the game plan for the Rams
and the Seahawks estimated a Cross was a non participant
in that he was standing there doing the walkthrough, but
they would have estimated had they practiced what the Cross
would not have. He got injured on the final play
(11:16):
the field goal. He got basically got smushed to the
ground and did the splits and injured his hamstring as
soon as the Colts blocker jumped on top of basically
jumped over him and then landed on him. He did
the splits, grabbed the left handstring and was rolling around
in pain. McDonald said they are working pretty hard to
(11:37):
try to make him available for Thursday night. He said
it's possible cross plays, but that is probably going to
be a game time announcement and he'll probably be questionable
at best going into the game, which means Josh Jones
their swing tackle that they signed for this role, it
would likely be the left tackle. He was the right
tackle for a few plays when maybe Lucas went out
(11:58):
and into the injury for a few minutes and the
game against the Colts. But McDonald and everybody's saying that
abe lu because it's fine. He finished the game, but
Josh Jones would be on deck, and then Josh Jones
is going to get the reps in practice on Wednesday,
the one full practice they have this week.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Well, the name that will get the most attention via
injury report this week is DeVante Adams. Sean McVay says
that it's not looking good for him to play on Thursday.
Last time they played, he only caught one ball. Now
he's a tremendous red zone threat and at one ball
for one yard ended up being a touchdown. But how
much easier does that make life for the Seahawks defense
(12:35):
if you don't have to face Nakua and Adams on Thursday?
Speaker 4 (12:39):
Well, certainly little hell. Then we've talked about this and
Jillian Low talked about it again yesterday. The Rams are
playing thirteen personnel quite a bit. What's that one running back,
three tight ends. Kobe Parkinson's been a big part of day.
Cut another touchdown pass against the Lions. I wasn't sure
that he was in the end zone, but they called
it a touchdown. But McVeigh has re invented himself, as Julian
(13:02):
Love aptly put it yesterday, and you'll hear from him
today when I'm filling in for Ian one to three.
I'm gonna talk to Julian Love. They recorded the interview yesterday.
He said the Rams, as the rest of the NFL
is going small and fast on offense, McVeigh has pivoted
to big and strong and put three tight ends on
the field at one time. And Love said, the way
the NFL is, the offenses will catch up the pade
(13:23):
next year and then start doing three tight ends all
the time. But the thing about the three tight ends
is it gives the Rams the ability to run the
ball with extra blockers. Yet McVeigh is still running his
full Smorgats board of past routes and horizontal across the field,
plays with the Kua and Parkinson. Parkinson's basically come the
third wide receiver for the Rams. So if Adams isn't
(13:45):
going to play, they're going to have even more thirteen
personnel I would expect, and Kobe Parkinson's becomes a big
part of this game. The Seahawks think, and there's reason
that there's reason justification for this. The Seahawks think they're
uniquely equipped to handle the Rams thirteen personnel because of
one guy in particular, our buddy Nick even Worry, and
(14:05):
the fact that Emon Worry, at two hundred and twenty
pounds and sixty three, can guard wide receivers and tight
ends and stop the run and rush the quarterback and
played defensive end. There's nobody else in the league that
has that weapon. The Seahawks are uniquely qualified to stop
thirteen personnel thres because of Nick even Worry.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
I'm heading into this game, man, I mean, I'm sure
there's been bigger regular season games. You know, when you
get into the final week and it's winning, you're in,
the losing you're out. But with all of this stuff,
the number one seed and the division all that stuff,
I mean, can you remember a game with a few
weeks after the season that's been bigger than this one?
Speaker 4 (14:44):
The only other one is when the Seahawks and forty
nine Ers played for the division title on Sunday night
on the last game of the season at Lewinfield. What
was that three? Was it pre pandemic or post pandemic?
I can't even remember, and I'm not mistaken. Yeah, the
Seahawks still made the playoffs that year. I can't believe.
I can't even remember what year there was. I think
(15:04):
it was twenty nineteen or so. They made the playoffs
that year, so that wasn't an all or nothing situation,
nor is this. But you're right, Bucky. They either going
to be the first seed or the fifth seed, depending
on largely on the result of this game. If the
Seahawks lose Thursday to win the division, they would need
the Rams to lose twice and they would have to
beat the forty nine ers. The Rams after this game
(15:27):
are playing Atlanta in Arizona. They're not losing those games.
They could put their C squad out and they'll be
either one of those two teams. So the Seahawks will
lose the division if they don't win this game. What's
that mean? That means a road game at Tampa Bay
and then they win that game in the wild Card,
a road game at probably Chicago or Green Bay. That's
no way to make the Super Bowl to go to
(15:49):
Chicago and Green Bay after Tampa Bay, and there'll be snowstorm.
Every time I've driven to Green Bay for a playoff game,
it's just been an absolute blizzard and blow out, whiteout conditions,
so they could really do themselves a favorite witting Thursday Night,
to say the least. But here's the thing. Even if
the Seahawks win Thursday Night, they still got to go
down to Santa Clair and win that game or they
(16:10):
won't win the division. The way the forty nine ers
are playing, the Niners have a tougher road. They've got
Chicago still to play after they go to Indianapolis and
the Grandpa Quarterback on Monday night. And so suffice to say,
the Seahawks can go from either having all the home
games come to the Seattle car Wash in January or
(16:30):
traveling all over the country. You have to win three
games on the road to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Greg Meller, Seahawks Insider, is with us, and I think
we just use our last minute because maybe we don't
talk about it enough. But Jason Myers deserves some love, Greg.
I mean, has he turned into the best kicker in
the National Football League right before our eyes.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
He might be the best kicker of the Seawks I've
ever had, and I really liked Steven Hauska for them.
He's twenty three of his last twenty four. You guys,
remember what the one miss was right.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
If I had time to think about it, but you
better answer it for us.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
It was like from Hollywood Hills against the Rams from
sixty nine thousand yards to try to win the game
at the very end of desperate kick. That's the only
one he's missed in months. He's thirty seven of forty
two on the season. Thirty seven is now a team record,
the most field goals ever by a Seahawks kicker, and
they still have three games left. Now, the Seahawks would
rather than him not be setting records for most field
(17:27):
goals because it means they're malfunctioning in the red zone.
And that's another key to Thursday Night's game is they
need some seven points instead of three points on all
those drives to get Meyers in position for field goals.
But yes, when they get to the opposing forty five
yard line, they think they can get Jason Myers. It
can get him three points. That's a powerful weapon in
(17:48):
your play calling. In your approach. You don't have to
drop back to pass necessarily on third and long of
the opposing the plus forty five because you know you
have a kicker can bang it from fifty six plus.
Now the weather Thursday might mitigate some of that distance,
but his accuracy, Yeah, that's a huge weapon. And in
this league, when games are this close and you have
(18:11):
a kicker who's going to kick three through the uprights
almost every time, that's a massive advantage. And I'll tell
you what between Michael Dixon, I don't care what the
stats say about Michael Dixon. He's a magician. And sometimes
he doesn't kick it seventy yards, but often he kicks
it exactly where he wants to to the side. He
makes balls go ninety degrees out of bounds. And the
(18:31):
other thing Jason Myers has been really good in is
the kickoffs. Lately, he's been a little bit shorter and
or too deep and putting it in the end zone
for touchbacks, but most of the season he has pinned
returners on their own goal line in the corner where
the guys have to catch it and then they get
nothing on the return. He's been really good at nailing
that target zone and making the receiver have to bring
(18:54):
it out right at the goal line and usually at
one side of the field where the covers can hem
him in. The Seahawks have two excellent kicker punters that
give them a huge advantage.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Yeah, I better kick returner now too, since the trade down.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Yeah yeah, Shi going straight up the field with little
time on the clock really helped them. If he went
to the far side of the field, that would have
taken a longer time and he wou would not have
gotten to the thirty seven yard line, which is the
second best drive start against the Colts that they had.
I asked McDonald about that. He said, part of it
was that the return call was to that side, but
(19:27):
part of it was because of the decisiveness of shihed
to just run a straight line up the field, knowing
that they had needed every one of those forty two seconds.
He didn't mess around with trying to go across the field.
He went straight up the field and got thirty five
plus yards on that return. Those are a little unhidden
type of decisions as people don't you know, and you'll
obviously get I mean, he runs around a little bit
(19:48):
and they only have like twenty eight seconds instead of
thirty seven to start that drive.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
That stuff matters, all right, Greg, excellent stuff. We will
do it.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
Again tomorrow, Yes, sir, that's a Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Greg Bell follow m at gmailc on X and of course,
complete coverage of the Seahawks at Thenewstribune dot com. His
segment with US is brought to you by Coppola Diamond
Collection Prosecco. Bring Bubbles to the game. That's Copla Diamond
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(20:21):
That's what I said, and celebrate every win with game
day bubbles only with Copola Diamond Prosecco coming up next. Yeah,
we got Seahawks and Rams to prepare for, but the
hot stove will not be ignored. Sports Radio ninety three
point three KJARFM also Gene Sterator stops bys for his
weekly eight o'clock visit and Rick new isil for his
(20:42):
weekly nine o'clock visit to talk about the college football
playoff or playoff that is happening this weekend. But I
do want to find some times at some point this
week to talk about Mariners hot stove. We did have
a big story over the weekend that we still really
haven'ts taken much time to discuss, and the pending move
that keeps just hanging over the city. That might be
(21:04):
the corresponding move to losing Jorge Polonco, which I'll get
to in a moment, but let's start with Polonco. We
touched on it yesterday. I didn't really get to dive
into it. But he's now in New York Met two years,
forty million dollars. They stole him away from Seattle. It
sounds like the Mariners had made a very competitive offer
that Polonko was torn between the two, a less financial
(21:28):
offer and yet the ability to stay in a place
that he's comfortable in that he likes with an organization
that's a winner, and he decided to take the money.
So Jae Polonco is now a Met and we are
Polonko less.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Yeah, I mean it's bummer considering how he bounced back
last year. But I mean there's a there's a number
that's somewhere in there, and I don't know if it's
twenty million dollars is crazy far off. I think the
way he played last year, he probably was somewhere around
fifteen and maybe a little bit more than that. Now
if he didn't want to match the forty million bucks
two years, twenty million bucks a year, if you didn't
(22:04):
want to match that, Then you got to figure out
something because he would have been a guy that could
be at second base if if Cole Young or whoever,
one of your youngsters doesn't fulfill that spot and kind
of come to fruition truly and or your dh if
if one of those youngsters does do that, even play
some third base, possibly I think with a little bit
more work that could happen this year.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Being injured and had his side thing.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
That that whole thing kind of threw it off a
little bit. But yeah, now you got to figure out
something because I liked what he did for you last year.
At the same time, you only have so much you
can spend. Apparently, you know they have a budget and
that wasn't in it to be able to fill that
and the other holes they feel they need to hope fill.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Yeah, there's no cap in Major League Baseball, but we
know that the Mariners operate under a budget. And for
those that just like it's not my money, just spend it.
You know you have it, just spend it, They're just
not going to operate that way. So if you're just
gonna every year, expect them to spend whatever it takes
to get a player that you desire to have, you're
(23:05):
just gonna end up disappointed every year. The market, I
think a lot of people have misread it, and I
think the Blue Jays are partly responsible for blowing it
out of the water. They are overpaying for everything that
moves in Toronto right now. And I don't know if
the Mariners or anybody else saw Hore Polonko reaching twenty
million dollars per year this offseason, but the Braves just
(23:28):
signed Hassan Kim coming off a bad year, to a
twenty million dollars a year contract last night, So obviously
the market is playing is we're having a lot hotter
than what a lot of people were forecasting at the
beginning of this process. Still, I think that they had
a number for Polonko. It sounds like it was competitive.
(23:48):
But Jorge just used this opportunity, probably his last opportunity,
at age thirty two, to get as much money as
he possibly could out of this sport, and that's what
he did. He took a little extra money to go
play for the New York Mets. And it stinks, but
I do respect an organization that says, hey, here's where
(24:08):
we value you. And we think it's bad business to
start just spending whatever it takes because it means we're
going to have to sacrifice something else at another position.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Or at another time, right, I mean in another position
at this point in time, because they are they're only
going to spend what they feel comfortable doing. You can
agree with that or disagree with that. You just should
understand it. Or and or if you all of a
sudden start paying you know, longer deals. Next thing, you know,
you find yourself in a position where you're on the
edge of being still a contender, and yet you need
(24:42):
to get rid of some bad contracts so that you
can kind of redo the thing, kind of rebuild the
whole thing.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
We're not anywhere near that.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
We just kind of got done with the rebuild right now,
and now it's just figuring out what you need to
add to solidify this thing to finish the job and
go win a World Series. But yeah, there's a number
basically what you think he's worth, and you can maybe
extend that a little bit, but there comes a point
when you're like, I can't compete with the Mets dude,
the Cone dude. If he want him and he's willing
(25:08):
to go way over what you're willing to pay, and
I don't think.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
It's way over, but it's over, I do, and I
do think it's important to point out. As much as
I like Jorge Polonko, I'm pretty sure I liked him
more this entire time than just about anybody listening right now.
I really like him, and I was glad that he
had a bounce back season this past year, There's no
question about that, and he helped us achieve some pretty
cool things. But he's not the guy to go all
(25:32):
in on. You know, he's he's good, but he's also
thirty going to be thirty three, with a history of injuries,
doesn't really play great defense anywhere, and I just don't
think he's the guy to break your budget for. So
if he's, you know, going for five six million dollars
more than you think he's worth, then you move on
(25:54):
from him. And there are We're early enough in the
offseason process that there are other op out there, and
I think Brendan Donovan, who's a name that keeps coming up.
The Cardinals are looking to move on from Brendan Donovan,
who won a Gold Glove as a utility player that
doesn't mean he's an elite defender. It just means he's
pretty good at a few different things. He's available, he
(26:16):
can hit a little bit. He's got two years left
on his original contract, so he's still a couple of
years away from making his bank. And so you could
get Brendan Donovan. I think it would be a nice
pivot from losing Horgete Polanco. I think that he gives
you what Horte Polonco was giving you that said man Bucky.
(26:38):
The names they're throwing around, and I'm not just talking
about Cardinal Baseball fans who have a you know, newsletter.
I mean the names they're throwing around that Brendan Donovan
is worth, or that the Cardinals are asking for you
are flat out of your minds. There is no way
(26:58):
on Earth I would trade Las Montes straight up for
Brendan Donovan. And yet there are deals involving multiple top
prospects from the Mariners that some people are trying to
play off as fair trade value. I want him, and
I'll I'll give up a prospect or two to get him.
I mean be happy to have him. I think he'd
(27:19):
be an asset on this team. But it better he
better not cost what some of these people are speculating
that he costs in terms of trade value.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Oh, I mean I saw one that said it was
actually lance Lynn, right, the former pitcher, saying, wow, we're
not just giving away. We'd want like Bryce Miller and
a prospect. And I'm like, okay, I don't know for
sure about that, but no way, I don't want to
give up Las Montees either.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
But you're it.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
The beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right,
whether you behold him now or you're the one that
wants to be beholding him, however you want to look
at it. I mean, it's Brendan Donovan in his four
years at time, he's a two to eighty hitter. That's
like hitting three ninety nowadays. That I mean, the dude
gets on base. He's got good plate discipline, he can
play a bunch of places and he does it well.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
He also has no power and no speed. I mean,
there is a limited player. He could be an asset,
but he's not gonna hit twenty five home runs like
Polanco did.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
No, No, I agree, I mean, but if hit fifteen,
but you're getting on base at a similar clip. I
mean there, he's not. He's not gonna be the power guy.
I agree with you. And yet if you find another
spot for that power, or you get that power, you
get full season of Josh Naylor. And you know, if
Cal Rowley still has good years, even if he's not
hitting sixty, he's gonna have some good years. We still
(28:37):
haven't seen Julio break out for like a full blown
Julio season, which when that comes, that's gonna be a
fun thing to watch. So getting more guys on base
for when those guys come up, or the you know
singles that drive in guys, I'm all for it too,
But yes it, I don't know where it is to me.
I might give up a prospect, sure, I don't want
to give up last month as though, just because that's
(28:57):
what I've been waiting for, is a big power guy
that we've developed ourselves.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
But give up a couple of prospects, good prospects. But
I'm not giving up one single elite prospect in the organization,
not even one. Give Montes straight up for Donovan, no
chance I hear for a pudgy middle infielder who can't
run or hit for power. No way am I giving
(29:22):
up a guy even with the potential to be your
Dan Alvarez, even in the neighborhood of being Jordan Alvarez.
Speaker 4 (29:28):
No, I hear you.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
I'm not wanting to do that either.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
It's just the idea of you getting a guy that
is a proven big league player that can play do
what he does well. He can do it well at
the big league level now versus and you have him
for like three more years this year and two more
years after that before he fulfills his arbitration.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
And the moment the Cardinals start being reasonable, I'm interested,
but we're going to make a reasonable deal. You gotta
start being reasonable about what it is that you're dangling
out there, all right? Coming up next, more on the Seahawks,
Rams out of a factor. Will the kicking game be
on the on Sunday or excuse me Thursday? Sports Radio
ninety three point three kJ R f M. A lot
(30:08):
of things to discuss with Gene as we get ready
for Thursday. And I fought balls, Hey octipiers as Rams.
Everything is on the line, the freedom of mankind.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
That's on the line.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
Yes on Thursday, Yes, two days yes, and mankind. Mankind
is a four and a half point underdog by the way, Yeah,
so exactly, so maybe start taking seriously Ashley, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
To get points then at least.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Yeah, we get points four and a half point underdog.
So so yes, a huge game A lot at Steak
on Thursday, we were talking off the air with Coach
Holmgren about how easy it is to kick field goals.
And this is not taking away from Jason Myers. I
think Jason Myers turns out that we've got the best
kicker in the world right now, and that's going to
be a tremendous asset because I'm pretty sure they're not
(30:56):
going to change the kicking rules between now and the
end of the season. But we did chat you and
I with coach off the air about whether or not
that is something they need to adjust in the future,
and Coach is all for it, because as good as
these guys are now, and as strong as their legs are,
and then we've changed the kick return rules to all
(31:17):
of it, it's just way too easy to kick a
field goal right now in the game. I suggested to
Coach that the only thing you got to do is
just narrow the goalposts, just bring them in to make
it a little trickier. To kick that field goal. I
don't know of the NFL. I don't know if this
was unforeseen for the NFL or if this is exactly
(31:38):
what they were trying to achieve, to have a game
in doubt within a minute and a half and you
could have three different scores in a minute and a
half because it's so easy to kick a field goal. Now.
I don't know what they had in mind, but coach
doesn't like it. I don't think I do either. I
think we got to change this a little bit because
it's way too easy to get three points right.
Speaker 5 (31:57):
Now in the way.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Well I don't want okay, yeah, we were having that convererce.
I don't want to make it more difficult to make
the field goal. I want to make it to where
it's more that it's back to the way it was
of where you can make field goals from. I don't
want seventy yard field goals because you should have to
earn getting close enough to earn three points. The idea
of a field goal to me was you had a
(32:19):
drive and then you got down somewhere past like the forty, say,
into your opponent's territory, into the forty You typically used
to I really like to get to the thirty five,
maybe even the thirty, because that's a thirty. If it's
a thirty, that's a forty seven yard field goal. That
used to be like, should make that that's a I
got to the thirty and we stalled out.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
It's fourth and ten.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
I'm going to take the three points, like, and you
feel good that you're gonna get three points. I don't
want it to wear like we got to the forty
seven yard line, we might kick it from here, like
that's my midfield.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
It's easy. You're a midfield. That's not where you're supposed
to be.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
You know, you're not supposed to be just booting sixty
five yarders like left and right. So to me, it
was when they allowed them to change the kicking balls
to where they can smooth them out so there's less
friction and that thing they can kick them further. It's
not like over the course of one year every kicker
just got way stronger legs. You've made it easier for
them to kick it, and then the different spin when
(33:17):
it comes off their foot is what makes that thing
veer off. And that's where there used to be more
misses too. You'd hook one just a little bit, and
the hook more. Now you'll see somebody kick one and
it looks like it's going to hook, and then what's
it do? Stays straight and stays true for the most part.
So I don't want to necessarily change the entirety of
the kicking. I just want to get it back to
where you had to earn getting close enough to be
in three points.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
Yeah, I agree with you. Yeah, so one of the other.
Either you have to kick lopsided balls from now on
and not smooth ones that you get to take home
and baby and put oil on and everything else, and
make sure that they have the right kind of ability
to fly through the air. Maybe we take that away
from them. Or if you can't do that, I do
(33:57):
think you got I mean, it wouldn't change anything about game.
You just narrow the goalposts a little bit, and it
make it more difficult. So the coach has to at
least think about whether or not they want to attempt
a sixty one yard field goal or give the ball
to the other team past the fifty yard line. Yeah.
I do think it takes away some of the excitement
when you're like, oh, they only have to get ten yards.
(34:19):
Once they got the ball, you're yeah, well that's not
as fun. I don't know if they saw that. I mean,
I would like to think that they did the calculations
on that maybe, And I don't know if they saw
it and decided, yeah, that'll be fun, or if they
just didn't see it coming at all. But that's where
we are right now. Yeah, if you get the ball
with six seconds left in regulation play, you have to
(34:41):
complete one deep pass and if you can get out
of bounds, you got a chance to win the game.
It's like we put college football in charge of kicking. Yeah,
who would have made that decision?
Speaker 4 (34:51):
All right?
Speaker 1 (34:51):
Jeans Terrator is going to join us next Sports Radio
ninety three point three KJRFM
Rogers will be in the gug Rogers may be seeing
the blitz. Here they come. They rush five, there's the
snap done, drive down and little Matt Pearlin gets made
at the fifteen metcap r to tackle up the ten
to five touchdown. Peckford medcap throwing bodies aside like the
rag dolls to break tackles and get a twenty of
(00:25):
yard touchdown reception from Aaron Rodgers on third and twelve
and they've gone up twenty to three over Miami. He
really is one of one, both Kevin Harlan and DK Metcalf.
There's no one liked Kevin Harlan on a call Westwood One.
(00:47):
Nobody quite liked DK Metcalf. I mean, I think we
made the right decision getting rid of him, and I
think JSN certainly has flourished being the undisputed number one
receiver in this lineup. That guy there's just some traits
that nobody else in the league can match. I mean,
he just caught that ball into the just stiff armed,
like six different dolphins just out of his way. Now,
(01:09):
they acted like they were frozen to the core. I
think that was part of it. But yeah, he's a monster.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, he's different. You can just see it when he
just steps out there. He's different. And yet it's still
even this year with Hall of Famer and Aaron Rodgers,
an old Hall of Famer in Aaron Rodgers, he still
hasn't kind of grown to be that thing that, yeah,
everybody thought he was going to be, at least while
he was here.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Pittsburgh won over Miami Monday Night football to wrap up
the week. Twenty eight to fifteen is the final score,
so the Steelers keep their game lead over the Baltimore
Ravens in the division. Miami was eliminated from the playoffs.
Of course, we are all preparing. We're well underway for
Thursday night football rams at Seahawks. We'll talk to Greg
(01:54):
Bell in a moment about Davonte Adams and many other things.
So our Seahawks insider is just a minute away. He
let me go through your Frost Brewed Corps light Choose
Chill headlines. Congratulations to you, dub national champions of the
soccer World. The men's team won last night over North
Carolina State three to two with a golden goal and overtime.
(02:17):
It was reviewed and so the delay or see me
the celebration got delayed, but it ended up being two
different celebrations for the Husky. So congratulations there on top
of the soccer world. Over there on Montlake National Champs
last night with their three to two win over North
Carolina State. College football playoff is this Friday. There'll be
(02:40):
three games on Saturday, and so the very first week
begins with Alabama and Oklahoma Friday night Crack inter inaction
against the Avalanche. Tonight it is a Crack and Ticket Tuesday.
Be listening for that piece of audio that will prompt
you to be the tenth caller and you might just
win tickets to see the Crack and take on Vancouver
(03:02):
on the twenty ninth of this month. Everitt Fitzhu's going
to join us today at eight thirty. Those are your headlines.
Let's talk some Seahawks with Greg Bell. With the bell tolls.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
It must be seven o'clock and time for twelfth Man
News with Greg Bell. Brought to you by Copola Diamond
Collection Prosecco Chris Sparkling with Bright Fruit flavors to make
every toast shine Game Day Bubbles only with Coppola Diamond Forsecco.
Now with twelk Man News. Here's Greg Bell with Chuck
and Bud.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Good morning, Greg, Good morning, huh Greg Bell or Siahucks
Insider joining us here today. What's the buzz over there?
I mean, you might not even know this yet, but
obviously weather could play a factor. It's been playing a
factor in all of our lives here for the last week.
But I just looked up the forecast eighty three percent
(03:53):
chance of rain Thursday night wins expected to possibly be
around twenty miles per hour, could be a factor in
this game. Does Mike McDonald feel they're better prepared for
Knights like this than anybody that comes into Seattle.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
Well, yes and no.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
The NFL game when it rains, the officials allow you
to swap out the ball every single down, and often
they aren't throwing a wet ball even in a downpour.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
Because of that. But it is a factor when you
got wind, and kickers and pass catchers and pass throwers
will tell you that's a bigger deal than rain or snow.
And if you get win, then there are a lot
of variables to change how far Jason Myers can kick
into the downtown open end the north end of the field,
for instance, that's the end where the wind comes in
(04:43):
from the sides the corners of the end zone, unlike
the south end, which is closed. And Myers, when we
talk to him, talks all the time about the winds
changing the Downtown end. If there's twenty minle hour winds
blowing through the stadium, no matter which direction you're going,
that is definitely going to change the limit that Mike
McDonald knows his kicker can go. Incidentally, he said Myers did,
(05:05):
and McDonald said that they were confident that Myers would
make the fifty six yard field goal to beat the
Colts into that open end because the win was not
a big factor in that game, and Myers got boosted
by the confidence of making a fifty two yard or
into the other end zone. At the end of the
first half, they thought the Colts kicker was beyond his line.
They had tagged him for less and fewer than sixty
(05:28):
yards to make his kick. Did he ended up making
from sixty. The kicking game in the passing game will
be affected if the wins are like you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Yeah, it's going to be interesting and it's going to
be wet, but we shall see how if it is.
Do you think that they continue to really marry themselves
to the idea that we're going to run more than
everybody else. Whether it works or not. I mean maybe
the weather dictates some of the play calls as well.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Yes, they need to against the Rams and forty nine
ers because their defensive fronts are so active so athletic.
Let's talk Jalen Sidell, the Seahawks center yesterday about the
Rams front. He said, what makes them so good is
when they're young. But they are all really good at
both speed and power. And he said for a center,
that's tough. Usually defensive offensive excuse me, defensive linemen are
(06:16):
one or the other, really strong or really fast, not
offering it, they both. And he said everybody across the front,
including the linebackers for the Rams are both strong and fast,
and you got to be fast off the snap. And
for him that's especially tough because he snapping the ball
and you got to be strong enough to push them
out of the holes. They have the Seahawks for years
(06:37):
of that hard time running the ball against the Rams.
That could be the reason why they've remade their defense
on the fly, of course, and they had a Hall
of Famer retire they traded Ernest Jones, their middle linebacker,
and they still haven't been They've missed a beat. Sadell
thinks that's the challenge for the Seahawks. The biggest one
is their strength and their size. We've seen it, Bucky,
(06:59):
We've talked about it. Just because the Seahawks aren't running
for effectiveness doesn't mean they won't run. They got just
two point three yards per carry against the Colts. They're
going to keep running it, especially for the elements. But
even if they aren't that bad, no matter what the weather,
they're going to keep running it. Well. I think you're
going to see Thursday night. You didn't see Sunday against
the Colts. Robbie Oots at fullback. He was a curious,
(07:22):
healthy scratch for the first time in his career. Against Indianapolis,
they had Brady Russell in a few times they used fullback,
and we saw Russell drop a pass in the flat
when he faked that he was walking and the Colts
didn't even guard him. If he had covered caught that pass,
he would probably run for at least forty yards. Oots
will be in the lineup. I think that was a
tactical air and especially against the Rams I think oots
(07:45):
will be in the lineup and you'll see more eye formation.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
Well, considering the quality of the opponent, greg and the
magnitude of the game, do they stick with it as
long as they have been? I mean, yes, you've gone
four and zero over your last four games, but it
just feels like you were trying to establish the run
for too long and the passing game has been the
(08:07):
team's bread and butter this year. So will we see
any sort of philosophical changes? And with the win settling
for field goals? It feels like, man, we're settling for
a lot of field goals these days, and then also
sticking with the run sometimes well into the third quarter,
even though it's not altogether working. Do you think we'll
see philosophical changes because of the magnitude of the opponent
(08:31):
and the game on Thursday?
Speaker 4 (08:33):
No, If they got back and just start throwing forty
times in a monsoon and win, or even in a
bright sunny day, the Rams will kill them. The Rams
defensive front will overwhelm the Seahawks offensive line if the
Seahawks don't run that. I have about ten years of
history to back me up on that. No matter who
the offensive coordinator is no matter who the offensive linemen are,
(08:54):
no matter who the Rams put out on defense, that's
been a consistent team. They got to run, and they'd
run also because their defense is so damn good. They
want to control field position, They want to control time
of possession. They want to keep Stafford's hands off the
ball by keeping them on the sidelines. If you can
run enough to at least make the third downs manageable,
maybe your quarterback doesn't throw four interceptions and hand them
(09:16):
three touchdowns. That to me is the key to the
game on Thursday. Run enough to let the Seahawks defense
dictate the game. We've talked about this many times. We'll
probably talk about the roundtable this week again. With two
three games, Mike McDonald has played Sean McVay well throwing
out the JV game at the end of last season
because the Rams didn't play anybody, including Stafford, because they
(09:38):
had everything clinched. The two other games, the Rams had
one offensive touchdown in regulation before it went to overtime,
and they wanted including the hundred and three yard interception
return for a touchdown by Kitchens, they've changed the game.
When Gino Smith threw the an zone and then the
last time they played the Rams in Inglewood, the Seahawks
quarterback gave the Rams three touchdowns with four interceptions. Did
(10:00):
Seahawks didn't? I think it was one of the three
touchdowns that the Rams had to drive more than half
the field and they won twenty one nineteen. So you
could say pretty plausibly that the see Mike McDonald's defense
has given up two in two games, eight quarters have
given up two touchdowns that the Rams have had to
drive the field to get two against the number one
(10:22):
quarterback who's the best passer rating and one of the
best offensive minds of his generation. I McDonald would never
say this, but I think McDonald's got McVeigh schematically, and
I think he's got a few things new McVeagh hasn't
seen either coming up on Thursday night. So can the
Seahawks offense stay out of its own way and let
the defense win the game? That's the key on Thursday?
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Do you know, I mean, do the injury reports and
stuff come out earlier since Thursday game?
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Do you so?
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Do we know how cross how injured people are? I
mean we didn't get to that yesterday.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
Yeah, cross is the concern. So the NFL requires that
they put out a Monday report for a third the game,
even though they don't practice. They were out on the
field just walking around the game plan for the Rams
and the Seahawks estimated a Cross was a non participant
in that he was standing there doing the walkthrough, but
they would have estimated had they practiced what the Cross
would not have. He got injured on the final play
(11:16):
the field goal. He got basically got smushed to the
ground and did the splits and injured his hamstring as
soon as the Colts blocker jumped on top of basically
jumped over him and then landed on him. He did
the splits, grabbed the left handstring and was rolling around
in pain. McDonald said they are working pretty hard to
(11:37):
try to make him available for Thursday night. He said
it's possible cross plays, but that is probably going to
be a game time announcement and he'll probably be questionable
at best going into the game, which means Josh Jones
their swing tackle that they signed for this role, it
would likely be the left tackle. He was the right
tackle for a few plays when maybe Lucas went out
(11:58):
and into the injury for a few minutes and the
game against the Colts. But McDonald and everybody's saying that
abe lu because it's fine. He finished the game, but
Josh Jones would be on deck, and then Josh Jones
is going to get the reps in practice on Wednesday,
the one full practice they have this week.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Well, the name that will get the most attention via
injury report this week is DeVante Adams. Sean McVay says
that it's not looking good for him to play on Thursday.
Last time they played, he only caught one ball. Now
he's a tremendous red zone threat and at one ball
for one yard ended up being a touchdown. But how
much easier does that make life for the Seahawks defense
(12:35):
if you don't have to face Nakua and Adams on Thursday?
Speaker 4 (12:39):
Well, certainly little hell. Then we've talked about this and
Jillian Low talked about it again yesterday. The Rams are
playing thirteen personnel quite a bit. What's that one running back,
three tight ends. Kobe Parkinson's been a big part of day.
Cut another touchdown pass against the Lions. I wasn't sure
that he was in the end zone, but they called
it a touchdown. But McVeigh has re invented himself, as Julian
(13:02):
Love aptly put it yesterday, and you'll hear from him
today when I'm filling in for Ian one to three.
I'm gonna talk to Julian Love. They recorded the interview yesterday.
He said the Rams, as the rest of the NFL
is going small and fast on offense, McVeigh has pivoted
to big and strong and put three tight ends on
the field at one time. And Love said, the way
the NFL is, the offenses will catch up the pade
(13:23):
next year and then start doing three tight ends all
the time. But the thing about the three tight ends
is it gives the Rams the ability to run the
ball with extra blockers. Yet McVeigh is still running his
full Smorgats board of past routes and horizontal across the field,
plays with the Kua and Parkinson. Parkinson's basically come the
third wide receiver for the Rams. So if Adams isn't
(13:45):
going to play, they're going to have even more thirteen
personnel I would expect, and Kobe Parkinson's becomes a big
part of this game. The Seahawks think, and there's reason
that there's reason justification for this. The Seahawks think they're
uniquely equipped to handle the Rams thirteen personnel because of
one guy in particular, our buddy Nick even Worry, and
(14:05):
the fact that Emon Worry, at two hundred and twenty
pounds and sixty three, can guard wide receivers and tight
ends and stop the run and rush the quarterback and
played defensive end. There's nobody else in the league that
has that weapon. The Seahawks are uniquely qualified to stop
thirteen personnel thres because of Nick even Worry.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
I'm heading into this game, man, I mean, I'm sure
there's been bigger regular season games. You know, when you
get into the final week and it's winning, you're in,
the losing you're out. But with all of this stuff,
the number one seed and the division all that stuff,
I mean, can you remember a game with a few
weeks after the season that's been bigger than this one?
Speaker 4 (14:44):
The only other one is when the Seahawks and forty
nine Ers played for the division title on Sunday night
on the last game of the season at Lewinfield. What
was that three? Was it pre pandemic or post pandemic?
I can't even remember, and I'm not mistaken. Yeah, the
Seahawks still made the playoffs that year. I can't believe.
I can't even remember what year there was. I think
(15:04):
it was twenty nineteen or so. They made the playoffs
that year, so that wasn't an all or nothing situation,
nor is this. But you're right, Bucky. They either going
to be the first seed or the fifth seed, depending
on largely on the result of this game. If the
Seahawks lose Thursday to win the division, they would need
the Rams to lose twice and they would have to
beat the forty nine ers. The Rams after this game
(15:27):
are playing Atlanta in Arizona. They're not losing those games.
They could put their C squad out and they'll be
either one of those two teams. So the Seahawks will
lose the division if they don't win this game. What's
that mean? That means a road game at Tampa Bay
and then they win that game in the wild Card,
a road game at probably Chicago or Green Bay. That's
no way to make the Super Bowl to go to
(15:49):
Chicago and Green Bay after Tampa Bay, and there'll be snowstorm.
Every time I've driven to Green Bay for a playoff game,
it's just been an absolute blizzard and blow out, whiteout conditions,
so they could really do themselves a favorite witting Thursday Night,
to say the least. But here's the thing. Even if
the Seahawks win Thursday Night, they still got to go
down to Santa Clair and win that game or they
(16:10):
won't win the division. The way the forty nine ers
are playing, the Niners have a tougher road. They've got
Chicago still to play after they go to Indianapolis and
the Grandpa Quarterback on Monday night. And so suffice to say,
the Seahawks can go from either having all the home
games come to the Seattle car Wash in January or
(16:30):
traveling all over the country. You have to win three
games on the road to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
Greg Meller, Seahawks Insider, is with us, and I think
we just use our last minute because maybe we don't
talk about it enough. But Jason Myers deserves some love, Greg.
I mean, has he turned into the best kicker in
the National Football League right before our eyes.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
He might be the best kicker of the Seawks I've
ever had, and I really liked Steven Hauska for them.
He's twenty three of his last twenty four. You guys,
remember what the one miss was right.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
If I had time to think about it, but you
better answer it for us.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
It was like from Hollywood Hills against the Rams from
sixty nine thousand yards to try to win the game
at the very end of desperate kick. That's the only
one he's missed in months. He's thirty seven of forty
two on the season. Thirty seven is now a team record,
the most field goals ever by a Seahawks kicker, and
they still have three games left. Now, the Seahawks would
rather than him not be setting records for most field
(17:27):
goals because it means they're malfunctioning in the red zone.
And that's another key to Thursday Night's game is they
need some seven points instead of three points on all
those drives to get Meyers in position for field goals.
But yes, when they get to the opposing forty five
yard line, they think they can get Jason Myers. It
can get him three points. That's a powerful weapon in
(17:48):
your play calling. In your approach. You don't have to
drop back to pass necessarily on third and long of
the opposing the plus forty five because you know you
have a kicker can bang it from fifty six plus.
Now the weather Thursday might mitigate some of that distance,
but his accuracy, Yeah, that's a huge weapon. And in
this league, when games are this close and you have
(18:11):
a kicker who's going to kick three through the uprights
almost every time, that's a massive advantage. And I'll tell
you what between Michael Dixon, I don't care what the
stats say about Michael Dixon. He's a magician. And sometimes
he doesn't kick it seventy yards, but often he kicks
it exactly where he wants to to the side. He
makes balls go ninety degrees out of bounds. And the
(18:31):
other thing Jason Myers has been really good in is
the kickoffs. Lately, he's been a little bit shorter and
or too deep and putting it in the end zone
for touchbacks, but most of the season he has pinned
returners on their own goal line in the corner where
the guys have to catch it and then they get
nothing on the return. He's been really good at nailing
that target zone and making the receiver have to bring
(18:54):
it out right at the goal line and usually at
one side of the field where the covers can hem
him in. The Seahawks have two excellent kicker punters that
give them a huge advantage.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Yeah, I better kick returner now too, since the trade down.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Yeah yeah, Shi going straight up the field with little
time on the clock really helped them. If he went
to the far side of the field, that would have
taken a longer time and he wou would not have
gotten to the thirty seven yard line, which is the
second best drive start against the Colts that they had.
I asked McDonald about that. He said, part of it
was that the return call was to that side, but
(19:27):
part of it was because of the decisiveness of shihed
to just run a straight line up the field, knowing
that they had needed every one of those forty two seconds.
He didn't mess around with trying to go across the field.
He went straight up the field and got thirty five
plus yards on that return. Those are a little unhidden
type of decisions as people don't you know, and you'll
obviously get I mean, he runs around a little bit
(19:48):
and they only have like twenty eight seconds instead of
thirty seven to start that drive.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
That stuff matters, all right, Greg, excellent stuff. We will
do it.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
Again tomorrow, Yes, sir, that's a Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Greg Bell follow m at gmailc on X and of course,
complete coverage of the Seahawks at Thenewstribune dot com. His
segment with US is brought to you by Coppola Diamond
Collection Prosecco. Bring Bubbles to the game. That's Copla Diamond
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(20:21):
That's what I said, and celebrate every win with game
day bubbles only with Copola Diamond Prosecco coming up next. Yeah,
we got Seahawks and Rams to prepare for, but the
hot stove will not be ignored. Sports Radio ninety three
point three KJARFM also Gene Sterator stops bys for his
weekly eight o'clock visit and Rick new isil for his
(20:42):
weekly nine o'clock visit to talk about the college football
playoff or playoff that is happening this weekend. But I
do want to find some times at some point this
week to talk about Mariners hot stove. We did have
a big story over the weekend that we still really
haven'ts taken much time to discuss, and the pending move
that keeps just hanging over the city. That might be
(21:04):
the corresponding move to losing Jorge Polonco, which I'll get
to in a moment, but let's start with Polonco. We
touched on it yesterday. I didn't really get to dive
into it. But he's now in New York Met two years,
forty million dollars. They stole him away from Seattle. It
sounds like the Mariners had made a very competitive offer
that Polonko was torn between the two, a less financial
(21:28):
offer and yet the ability to stay in a place
that he's comfortable in that he likes with an organization
that's a winner, and he decided to take the money.
So Jae Polonco is now a Met and we are
Polonko less.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Yeah, I mean it's bummer considering how he bounced back
last year. But I mean there's a there's a number
that's somewhere in there, and I don't know if it's
twenty million dollars is crazy far off. I think the
way he played last year, he probably was somewhere around
fifteen and maybe a little bit more than that. Now
if he didn't want to match the forty million bucks
two years, twenty million bucks a year, if you didn't
(22:04):
want to match that, Then you got to figure out
something because he would have been a guy that could
be at second base if if Cole Young or whoever,
one of your youngsters doesn't fulfill that spot and kind
of come to fruition truly and or your dh if
if one of those youngsters does do that, even play
some third base, possibly I think with a little bit
more work that could happen this year.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Being injured and had his side thing.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
That that whole thing kind of threw it off a
little bit. But yeah, now you got to figure out
something because I liked what he did for you last year.
At the same time, you only have so much you
can spend. Apparently, you know they have a budget and
that wasn't in it to be able to fill that
and the other holes they feel they need to hope fill.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Yeah, there's no cap in Major League Baseball, but we
know that the Mariners operate under a budget. And for
those that just like it's not my money, just spend it.
You know you have it, just spend it, They're just
not going to operate that way. So if you're just
gonna every year, expect them to spend whatever it takes
to get a player that you desire to have, you're
(23:05):
just gonna end up disappointed every year. The market, I
think a lot of people have misread it, and I
think the Blue Jays are partly responsible for blowing it
out of the water. They are overpaying for everything that
moves in Toronto right now. And I don't know if
the Mariners or anybody else saw Hore Polonko reaching twenty
million dollars per year this offseason, but the Braves just
(23:28):
signed Hassan Kim coming off a bad year, to a
twenty million dollars a year contract last night, So obviously
the market is playing is we're having a lot hotter
than what a lot of people were forecasting at the
beginning of this process. Still, I think that they had
a number for Polonko. It sounds like it was competitive.
(23:48):
But Jorge just used this opportunity, probably his last opportunity,
at age thirty two, to get as much money as
he possibly could out of this sport, and that's what
he did. He took a little extra money to go
play for the New York Mets. And it stinks, but
I do respect an organization that says, hey, here's where
(24:08):
we value you. And we think it's bad business to
start just spending whatever it takes because it means we're
going to have to sacrifice something else at another position.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Or at another time, right, I mean in another position
at this point in time, because they are they're only
going to spend what they feel comfortable doing. You can
agree with that or disagree with that. You just should
understand it. Or and or if you all of a
sudden start paying you know, longer deals. Next thing, you know,
you find yourself in a position where you're on the
edge of being still a contender, and yet you need
(24:42):
to get rid of some bad contracts so that you
can kind of redo the thing, kind of rebuild the
whole thing.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
We're not anywhere near that.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
We just kind of got done with the rebuild right now,
and now it's just figuring out what you need to
add to solidify this thing to finish the job and
go win a World Series. But yeah, there's a number
basically what you think he's worth, and you can maybe
extend that a little bit, but there comes a point
when you're like, I can't compete with the Mets dude,
the Cone dude. If he want him and he's willing
(25:08):
to go way over what you're willing to pay, and
I don't think.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
It's way over, but it's over, I do, and I
do think it's important to point out. As much as
I like Jorge Polonko, I'm pretty sure I liked him
more this entire time than just about anybody listening right now.
I really like him, and I was glad that he
had a bounce back season this past year, There's no
question about that, and he helped us achieve some pretty
cool things. But he's not the guy to go all
(25:32):
in on. You know, he's he's good, but he's also
thirty going to be thirty three, with a history of injuries,
doesn't really play great defense anywhere, and I just don't
think he's the guy to break your budget for. So
if he's, you know, going for five six million dollars
more than you think he's worth, then you move on
(25:54):
from him. And there are We're early enough in the
offseason process that there are other op out there, and
I think Brendan Donovan, who's a name that keeps coming up.
The Cardinals are looking to move on from Brendan Donovan,
who won a Gold Glove as a utility player that
doesn't mean he's an elite defender. It just means he's
pretty good at a few different things. He's available, he
(26:16):
can hit a little bit. He's got two years left
on his original contract, so he's still a couple of
years away from making his bank. And so you could
get Brendan Donovan. I think it would be a nice
pivot from losing Horgete Polanco. I think that he gives
you what Horte Polonco was giving you that said man Bucky.
(26:38):
The names they're throwing around, and I'm not just talking
about Cardinal Baseball fans who have a you know, newsletter.
I mean the names they're throwing around that Brendan Donovan
is worth, or that the Cardinals are asking for you
are flat out of your minds. There is no way
(26:58):
on Earth I would trade Las Montes straight up for
Brendan Donovan. And yet there are deals involving multiple top
prospects from the Mariners that some people are trying to
play off as fair trade value. I want him, and
I'll I'll give up a prospect or two to get him.
I mean be happy to have him. I think he'd
(27:19):
be an asset on this team. But it better he
better not cost what some of these people are speculating
that he costs in terms of trade value.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Oh, I mean I saw one that said it was
actually lance Lynn, right, the former pitcher, saying, wow, we're
not just giving away. We'd want like Bryce Miller and
a prospect. And I'm like, okay, I don't know for
sure about that, but no way, I don't want to
give up Las Montees either.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
But you're it.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
The beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right,
whether you behold him now or you're the one that
wants to be beholding him, however you want to look
at it. I mean, it's Brendan Donovan in his four
years at time, he's a two to eighty hitter. That's
like hitting three ninety nowadays. That I mean, the dude
gets on base. He's got good plate discipline, he can
play a bunch of places and he does it well.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
He also has no power and no speed. I mean,
there is a limited player. He could be an asset,
but he's not gonna hit twenty five home runs like
Polanco did.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
No, No, I agree, I mean, but if hit fifteen,
but you're getting on base at a similar clip. I
mean there, he's not. He's not gonna be the power guy.
I agree with you. And yet if you find another
spot for that power, or you get that power, you
get full season of Josh Naylor. And you know, if
Cal Rowley still has good years, even if he's not
hitting sixty, he's gonna have some good years. We still
(28:37):
haven't seen Julio break out for like a full blown
Julio season, which when that comes, that's gonna be a
fun thing to watch. So getting more guys on base
for when those guys come up, or the you know
singles that drive in guys, I'm all for it too,
But yes it, I don't know where it is to me.
I might give up a prospect, sure, I don't want
to give up last month as though, just because that's
(28:57):
what I've been waiting for, is a big power guy
that we've developed ourselves.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
But give up a couple of prospects, good prospects. But
I'm not giving up one single elite prospect in the organization,
not even one. Give Montes straight up for Donovan, no
chance I hear for a pudgy middle infielder who can't
run or hit for power. No way am I giving
(29:22):
up a guy even with the potential to be your
Dan Alvarez, even in the neighborhood of being Jordan Alvarez.
Speaker 4 (29:28):
No, I hear you.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
I'm not wanting to do that either.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
It's just the idea of you getting a guy that
is a proven big league player that can play do
what he does well. He can do it well at
the big league level now versus and you have him
for like three more years this year and two more
years after that before he fulfills his arbitration.
Speaker 1 (29:46):
And the moment the Cardinals start being reasonable, I'm interested,
but we're going to make a reasonable deal. You gotta
start being reasonable about what it is that you're dangling
out there, all right? Coming up next, more on the Seahawks,
Rams out of a factor. Will the kicking game be
on the on Sunday or excuse me Thursday? Sports Radio
ninety three point three kJ R f M. A lot
(30:08):
of things to discuss with Gene as we get ready
for Thursday. And I fought balls, Hey octipiers as Rams.
Everything is on the line, the freedom of mankind.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
That's on the line.
Speaker 1 (30:17):
Yes on Thursday, Yes, two days yes, and mankind. Mankind
is a four and a half point underdog by the way, Yeah,
so exactly, so maybe start taking seriously Ashley, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
To get points then at least.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Yeah, we get points four and a half point underdog.
So so yes, a huge game A lot at Steak
on Thursday, we were talking off the air with Coach
Holmgren about how easy it is to kick field goals.
And this is not taking away from Jason Myers. I
think Jason Myers turns out that we've got the best
kicker in the world right now, and that's going to
be a tremendous asset because I'm pretty sure they're not
(30:56):
going to change the kicking rules between now and the
end of the season. But we did chat you and
I with coach off the air about whether or not
that is something they need to adjust in the future,
and Coach is all for it, because as good as
these guys are now, and as strong as their legs are,
and then we've changed the kick return rules to all
(31:17):
of it, it's just way too easy to kick a
field goal right now in the game. I suggested to
Coach that the only thing you got to do is
just narrow the goalposts, just bring them in to make
it a little trickier. To kick that field goal. I
don't know of the NFL. I don't know if this
was unforeseen for the NFL or if this is exactly
(31:38):
what they were trying to achieve, to have a game
in doubt within a minute and a half and you
could have three different scores in a minute and a
half because it's so easy to kick a field goal. Now.
I don't know what they had in mind, but coach
doesn't like it. I don't think I do either. I
think we got to change this a little bit because
it's way too easy to get three points right.
Speaker 5 (31:57):
Now in the way.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Well I don't want okay, yeah, we were having that convererce.
I don't want to make it more difficult to make
the field goal. I want to make it to where
it's more that it's back to the way it was
of where you can make field goals from. I don't
want seventy yard field goals because you should have to
earn getting close enough to earn three points. The idea
of a field goal to me was you had a
(32:19):
drive and then you got down somewhere past like the forty, say,
into your opponent's territory, into the forty You typically used
to I really like to get to the thirty five,
maybe even the thirty, because that's a thirty. If it's
a thirty, that's a forty seven yard field goal. That
used to be like, should make that that's a I
got to the thirty and we stalled out.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
It's fourth and ten.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
I'm going to take the three points, like, and you
feel good that you're gonna get three points. I don't
want it to wear like we got to the forty
seven yard line, we might kick it from here, like
that's my midfield.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
It's easy. You're a midfield. That's not where you're supposed
to be.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
You know, you're not supposed to be just booting sixty
five yarders like left and right. So to me, it
was when they allowed them to change the kicking balls
to where they can smooth them out so there's less
friction and that thing they can kick them further. It's
not like over the course of one year every kicker
just got way stronger legs. You've made it easier for
them to kick it, and then the different spin when
(33:17):
it comes off their foot is what makes that thing
veer off. And that's where there used to be more
misses too. You'd hook one just a little bit, and
the hook more. Now you'll see somebody kick one and
it looks like it's going to hook, and then what's
it do? Stays straight and stays true for the most part.
So I don't want to necessarily change the entirety of
the kicking. I just want to get it back to
where you had to earn getting close enough to be
in three points.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
Yeah, I agree with you. Yeah, so one of the other.
Either you have to kick lopsided balls from now on
and not smooth ones that you get to take home
and baby and put oil on and everything else, and
make sure that they have the right kind of ability
to fly through the air. Maybe we take that away
from them. Or if you can't do that, I do
(33:57):
think you got I mean, it wouldn't change anything about game.
You just narrow the goalposts a little bit, and it
make it more difficult. So the coach has to at
least think about whether or not they want to attempt
a sixty one yard field goal or give the ball
to the other team past the fifty yard line. Yeah.
I do think it takes away some of the excitement
when you're like, oh, they only have to get ten yards.
(34:19):
Once they got the ball, you're yeah, well that's not
as fun. I don't know if they saw that. I mean,
I would like to think that they did the calculations
on that maybe, And I don't know if they saw
it and decided, yeah, that'll be fun, or if they
just didn't see it coming at all. But that's where
we are right now. Yeah, if you get the ball
with six seconds left in regulation play, you have to
(34:41):
complete one deep pass and if you can get out
of bounds, you got a chance to win the game.
It's like we put college football in charge of kicking. Yeah,
who would have made that decision?
Speaker 4 (34:51):
All right?
Speaker 1 (34:51):
Jeans Terrator is going to join us next Sports Radio
ninety three point three KJRFM
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