December 4, 2025 • 37 mins
12th Man Roundtable with HUGH MILLEN & GREGG BELL (Tacoma News Tribune) We start off with a look at some of the concerns we have about this Seahawks team, particularly offensively. Will we see any changes on the O-line this week? :30- We continue with the roundtable and a look at all of the fun ways Mike MacDonald is using rookie Nick Emmanwori. :45- It’s time to wrap up the roundtable and we do so with keys to the game, predictions and one last thing from Hugh.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I know, I know, I what would you like? Not
this one? I'm going to play this one today? Oh okay.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Yeah, for the record, I never said that.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
I just said I like Christmas music.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
I'm calling you the expert, and I have a weird
ranking inclination. I just have to take the songs and
you know, you know, like, oh, Holy Night, Greg, I
just you know, I got to listen go to Spotify
and listen to twenty versions over the holiday season, and
that's it.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
That's the best.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
Yeah, holy Night, That's not what I would have picked.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
You versions of Bring Tears to your Eyes. Don't don't
underestimate that one.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
I know.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Yeah, but Dance Little Christmas I didn't think was gonna
make the Varsity cut for Hugh Millon from Elton John
here this morning, and I was, rush, that's not.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
What Elton John's bet. He's got a lot of good ones.
Saw iim in Madison Square Garden one time, but that's
not one of his best.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
It's not.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
But it makes me laugh every time. It's step into Christmas.
I don't know why it is. I don't know why
it makes me laugh, but it does. And so that's
why I was like, this one makes me laugh.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
So I'm playing it now.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I got Greg Bell's Christmas tree in the background on
the zoom call as well. It looks like he's eating
some Christmas porridge. I mean, we are in the holiday
spirit here, I'm eating porridge. Well, it's our twelve man roundtable,
our QB one. Hugh Millan is here, our Seahawks inside
of Greg Bell is here as well as we get
ready for the Falcons. But also certainly every single week
(01:30):
is sort of a you know, temperature check of just
how well this season's going for the Seahawks nine and
three record at this point. I think on Monday I
started with all the positive things and then we eventually
got in to conversations about some of the concerns. I
think I want to start with the concerns here today
and whether there are any, Hugh, I'll start with you.
(01:50):
The offense. I mean, Sam Darnold was just having an
MVP like season. And I know that these statistics don't
say everything, but here in the last three weeks two
touch downs to four interceptions. He'd only been sacked ten
times in the first nine games. He's been sacked six
times in the last three. He was completing seventy percent
of his passes. In the last three games, he's only
(02:10):
completing sixty one percent of his passes, and so I
would just I would just like to see if there's
any concern that you have about the Seahawks offense at
this point, and if all you're worried that maybe it's
on a little bit of a downward trajectory from that
high plateau it's spent for the first half of the season.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Well, it certainly is on a downward trajectory. I mean,
you played twelve games. The first six games, Sam Darnold
had one hundred and sixteen passer rating and in the
last six he's out in ninety three. So I think
the numbers are undisputable, your eyes telling you certainly last
week against Minnesota was tough in many ways, and thankfully
(02:49):
they were going against a feeble offense and they were
able to just kind of hang on in the second half.
But I think, you know, to some extent, I think,
what's the safest day to fly on the day after
plane crash? Right? And I think that I think that
this the Seahawks are likely to have spent a lot
of time in uh in in practice, in walkthroughs and
(03:16):
really reviewing their blitz pick up. And and now I
don't I don't think you know, people say, well, Minnesota,
they they showed a lot of things that are are
difficult that they were number one in in the UH
in the NFL going into the game in terms of
percent of snap with pressure, UH they were dead last
(03:37):
and Nickel number one.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
And used to the three four.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
There's a lot of things from a personnel standpoint, scheme standpoint,
a lot of UH zone pressures, you know, a lot
of different zones. And and so they they kind of
caught Seattle with their pants down a little bit. But
I think that Seattle have a renewed effort to UH
address that and and UH and and move forward.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Greg.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
Yeah, the concern with Sam Donald is to me, ball security.
I mean, Hugh knows the number one job of a
quarterback is to protect the ball and if he's going
to get hit, to not lose the ball. And he
loses quite a butt more than an average quarterback. And
just this season, and I've watched him every snap he
loses the ball in traffic, whether it's his own lineman
(04:21):
getting pushed into him or him throwing a ball off
of a lineman's helmet or blindside hit and he loses
the ball. He's second in the NFL and turnovers ten
interceptions and five lost fumbles. And guess who're the number
one team by far as Minnesota and blitze and guess
who number two is Atlanta. So they're going to challenge
(04:45):
the protection and they get the ball off quickly. And
every time after a game win or lose, Sam Donald
says the same thing. I got to get the ball
off more quickly. I got to get the ball more quickly.
Cooper Cup after the Vikings game, said we got to
run shorter routes if they're going to blitz us and
we get wish they got our back to the quarterback.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
This is I'm paraphrasing. We can't run twenty yard in.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Routes like Jackson Smith and Jiggers been feasting on teams
for most of the season. If the teams are gonna
blitz like the Vikings did and cause fake blitzing and
cause pressures. So that's a challenge this week, and the
Seahawks adjust on the fly to another blitz team and
Jackson Smith and jig but perhaps running hitch routes instead.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Of goes and in routes. They started to do it
in the second half. Of course, they were up by
three scores and they just ran the ball.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
The encouraging thing for the offense is they are starting
to get traction running the football and they are starting
to treat Kenneth Walker like a lead back.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Both in the.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Beginning of the first quarter and the beginning of the
third quarter against Minnesota, it looked like ken Walker was
a lead back. Finally they were giving him steady diets
of runs. They were actually throwing in the ball and
getting to the ball in the open field. He had
the preponderance of Carrie Now once again on third down
and in the red zones. Actually, reveren A comes in
sharp and ends up getting his knife touchdown of the
(06:03):
season on a run of seventeen yards at the ice
of the game. But they are now starting to assert
Kenneth Walker as a more consistent lead back and that's
helped them. They've averaged one hundred and forty yards rushing
the last four games. That will help them against the
Rams and forty nine ers. I would assert that they
need to have Kenneth Walker as running back one plus
(06:23):
against the Rams in two weeks to beat them because
they cannot rely on Sam Donald to throw it all
around the yard against the Rams and the team he
just threw four interceptions against. Kenneth Walker to me is
the key to the rest of the season, whether they
win the NFC. What I know Donald and Smith and
jigbeb and key to the season so far, Kenneth Walker
to me.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Will hold the key at whether they might win the
division or not.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Well, you know a couple things on the turnovers for
Sam Donald. Look, obviously, quarterbacks are going to come back
and address your ball security. There's certainly a difference between
are you fumbling in the process of throwing after your
hands have already separated. If your hands get hit there,
you're very likely to have a fumble.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
The two on.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Saturday, he was still in the pocket, not yet throwing,
so he has two hands on the ball.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
He's got to secure it.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
But I would say that his turnover worthy plays. You know,
he's under Pat Mahomes. He's got the same number as
bo Nicks. Prior to this last week, he had one
under Drake May. Now he's got one more than Drake May.
But that's and when you look at Pat Mahomes' entire career.
(07:42):
Pat Mahomes is at twenty nineteen point nine specifically, but
at twenty per season, and yet you live with it.
And who is number one in all of the NFL
in the big time throw percentage, Well it's Sam's Sam Donald.
(08:03):
So I think that, Yeah, Greg's absolutely right. You have
to address this hopefully moving forward. But I don't think
that you want to new to yourself so much that
you take away the big play making ability. I think
you talk about it, hey, ball security, if you're getting tackled,
try not to fumble, But I don't think you can.
(08:25):
You can paralyze yourself for fear of having turnovers. It
takes away you know. I mean I just decided Pat Mahomes.
You think Andy Reid is upset that he has twenty
turnover worthy plays? I mean right now Sam Donald has fourteen,
So he's on a pace to be under that for
under twenty under Pat mahomes entire average for his entire career.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Yeah, I think Greg Alison said at the end of
the game. We talked about it on Monday. I mean, yes,
you do have to reduce your turnovers. That's just an
obvious statistic. But I don't want it to come at
risks of what that offense looked like it was capable
of in the first half. I don't want them to
stop being aggressive. I kind of feel that Mike McDonald
feels that way as well. It certainly Greg was the
(09:11):
game in which Sam Donald was the most pressured, feel
like he had the least amount of time to throw
the football. Was that gonna warrant any kind of change
up front on the offensive line for Sunday?
Speaker 4 (09:23):
Not for Sunday because Jalen Sndell's not back from jured
reserve yet. The fourth consecutive game that Sundel has to
miss from IR is on Sunday in Atlanta. This time
next week, Sindell will be eligible to come off injured reserve.
And when I asked McDonald on Monday if he's how
Sundell was doing on his knee, and he said pretty good,
as so far as I understand, I said, well, Sundell
(09:44):
come back as a center or a guard. The reason
I asked that is that training camp began with Jalen
Sndell as a competitor at right guard with Anthony Bradford
and Christian Haynes. Then they moved Sundel to center, and
he proved to be better than Ola Timmy at center
and training camp and he won that job. But he's
on time last year practice as a guard as well.
I think that he's going to compete with Anthony Bradford
(10:05):
as the right guard and he comes back next week.
I don't know if he's going to take the job
in the Colts game next week right guard, but I
think he's going to compete and maybe get there eventually.
I think their best line right now with Olo Timmy
and showing well the last two games is to keep
Ol Timmy where it's going well right now at center,
with the option to slide Sundell there if if Ol
(10:27):
Timmy starts faltering against the Rams. But I think the
better option is in Ol Timmy at center and Sundella
right guard when he gets back next week. But that's
not going to help him against Atlanta on Sunday. I
don't think Christian Haines is the answer over Anthony Bradford.
Haynes has tried three different times, two different coaching staff
to try to win this job and he hasn't done
it yet. He had a chance in training camp, but
(10:49):
he got beat up by Bradford, so it's going to
be appears Anthony Bradford. On Sunday in Atlanta. A couple
went outlined a whole bunch of things they need to
do against pressure, and he one of the things he
said is let's roll out some more. Let's run outside
the pressure. Not only did Donald get sacked four times
in the first half, which is season high against the Vikings,
(11:09):
six passes got knocked down by edge rushers.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Six That's a lot. Some guys don't have that in
a month.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
So Donald's or Hubs point is let's not just stand
in the pocket as much as we did. He didn't
quite call out Kubiak, but he did just not by
words a name, Let's roll out and make.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
Those guys chase him.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
Donald has shown the ability to get outside the pocket,
and they usually do it off bootlegs and play action passes.
But we may see more of that some bootlegs and
playoffs or maybe some straight sprintouts, so that straight line
blitzers can't have a straight line shot at a quarterback
in the pocket and you actually have to chase and
run outside of him. So yes, I think they're going
to be changes this week. From what Minnesota did. Yes,
(11:51):
I think Atlanta's going to look at the Minnesota game
tape and try to copy some of that, especially with
the fake blitzing that happened in the second quarter that
made Anthony Bradford and others look like guys standing waiting
on a light rail train to pull up blocking nobody
and the Rams are going to see all this. Forty
nine ers the cults. This is a copycat league. So
the Seahawks need to have an answer both in scheme
(12:11):
and in personnel for pressure that they're going to get,
probably inside up the middle starting on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Yeah, I think when you talk about okay, outside of
the pocket, what are we talking about? Are we talking
about naked bootlegs? Are we talking about sprint out?
Speaker 3 (12:27):
I'm talking about are.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
We talking about dash dash protection where you you start
the first three steps going straight back and then that
allows you to seal the end and then it becomes
a delayed sprint out like schematically one of the things
if you try and sprint out the quarterback too often.
Out of the pocket sounds great, right, let's do it
(12:50):
with let's hell, let's do it Demon Williams right, he's athletic.
He's short, that'll help the problem is you you have
a very limited amount of past concepts you can run
out of that everything has to be outbreaking because the quarterback.
Nobody designs any inbreaking routes on on sprintouts because now
(13:13):
the quarterback would be having to double lead throw across
his body see defenders that are flowing to the sprint out.
You just you do not throw in breaking routes on sprintouts.
So uh, I think if you just say, well, okay,
let's have a game plan where we're out out of
the pocket, I think that's gonna that's gonna fail in
(13:34):
a hurry. I think absolutely mixing it in your naked
bootlegs on first and second down, running away from the
stretch or running away from inside zone at get the
flow going one way, right handed, quarterback out the other. Actually, Uh,
Sam Donald's been more bootlegs to the left and he
has from the right. Uh this season And on certain
(13:57):
blitz looks. Yeah you can, you can have a sprint out, uh,
and and get a quick flat. But but the way
the Vikings were playing what's called a two catch or
palms coverage, they they were they weren't manning behind it
that those sprint out ideas they were they were zoning.
So if you if you sprint out and you want
to get something in the flat, those corners were reading
(14:21):
the release of of of number two the slot and
they would trigger to the flat if there was anything
in the flat. If there was nothing, they would sink
and give ground. So so I think schematically, Look, I
think Cooper Cup is the smartest receiver in the NFL.
When Cooper Cup talks, I listen, You listen, We all
(14:41):
should listen. In my opinion, Cooper Cup is brilliant. But
but I would hesitate. I think he has some ideas.
I think if we were to have a conversation, I
don't think he would disagree with anything I'm saying. I
think let's have a little bit of that. But let's
not get the idea of Seahawk fans. Oh, let's just
turned this into a sprint out game plan. That's not
(15:02):
gonna work. No, and that's not what he's suggesting. But
Donald was in the pocket a lot more against the Vikings,
and he was often a sitting duck for those inside Blitz,
especially the inside linebacker.
Speaker 4 (15:13):
Blitz's was Cup's point. Look we're a good Matt. We're
going on and on about Sam Donald. The most interesting
stats to me the old wins and losses, the old
Ken maccas story. I've always told you about wins and
f and losses, right, Chuck.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
If his next win, he will pass Tom Brady for
the most wins in consecutive seasons with two different teams.
Brady did it with the Patriots and the Buccaneers back
to back. Donald has twenty four wins. He will have
and this next win will be twenty four wins between
the Vikings last year and the Seahawks this year, which
would be an NFL record for two different teams back
(15:49):
to back seasons. And that's what his bottom line is,
wins and f and losses. He's got a defense that
now he's got the as they we said that the
team needed to be designed to coming into the season.
He's got a defense that'll win games. Just don't turn
the ball over. We're simplifying here, but just don't turn
the ball over and you're gonna win most of the games.
The way this defense is playing right now, including against
(16:11):
the Rams, that's how good Mike McDonald's defense has been.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Greg, I'm glad you brought that up, because I think
there's something really interesting. You really do a dive on
Sam Donald. He started as a twenty one year old,
twenty two year old, and twenty three year old with
the Jets. Then he goes straight to the Panthers and
he starts as a twenty four year old. Then, for
the first time in his career in the twenty twenty
two season, he's not the starter, but due to injuries,
(16:37):
he starts, so he sits and he watches for the
first time as a twenty five year old in the
twenty twenty two season, he gets his first start of
that year in Week twelve. So let's we're gonna say
week that was on a November twenty seventh, twenty twenty two,
a little over three years ago, right age twenty five.
Prior to that time, in forty nine starts, he had
(16:59):
won thirty four point seven percent of his games. Since then,
thirty six starts, he's won exactly seventy five percent. The
number of games that he had one hundred or more
passer rating he had sixteen point three percent prior to
that that Eureka date, since then sixty six point seven percent.
(17:20):
What does that mean Pat Mahomes since that date he
has thirty seven point three percent of like Sam Donald's
sixty seven percent one hundred passer ratings, Pat mahomes thirty
seven percent. Pat Mahomes in his entire career is exactly
fifty percent as far as and by the way, the wins,
(17:41):
where Donald has seventy five percent in the last three years,
Mahomes has seventy two percent. You mentioned Tom Brady. I'll
close with this. Tom Brady in is, in my entire
career won seventy five point four percent in the last
three years. Sam Donalds won seventy five point zero. And
what percent did Tom Brady have a one hundred no more,
forty six point eight called forty seven percent Sam Donald's
(18:05):
sixty seven percent in the last thirty six games. This
guy here, we talked about Pete Carroll had you know,
after the Jets failure and the Patriots failure, you know,
he went to Tibet, climbed some mountains, you know, smoked
some incense, whatever the hell, and and became a new man,
and he tried everything, worked at USC and what have you.
I don't know what Sam Donald did, but that one
(18:26):
time that he had to sit on the bench for
and watch for eleven weeks and then he got to play.
He has been a new man. The numbers are staggering.
And this year, you know, look he's he's won seventy
five percent of his games this year. Yeah, I know,
I'm fifty eight percent of the time. He's been over
one hundred passer rated. Now it's dipped a little bit lately,
but I think, big picture, this is a pre damn
(18:47):
good quarterback. And and uh, you know, until he fails,
I don't know, we're gonna, you know, we're gonna have
the big conversation on December nineteenth, on Friday after after
that game, and then then I'm gonna all shut up
about that. If he fails on that one, you know,
then I'll probably have to just kind of, you know,
you know, zip my lip. But I think for now,
(19:09):
I still have respect for what this guy has done.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Yeah, well, I know one guy that does. Wasn't happy
about him setting that Tom Brady record. That was justin Jefferson.
You could see it in his face on Sunday. I
didn't want you to break the Tom Brady two year
record of wins with two different teams. Please Why wouldn't
you Why aren't you still my quarterback? That was justin
Jefferson's reaction.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
Justin Jefferson also wasn't very happy that nick even worry
picked him up and pile drived him into the turf. Wow,
that was a ridiculous play that Rooky would make against
an all pro.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Well, we're gonna talk about nick Emon Warry. Is there
more ways? Are there more ways to use him? We'll
talk about that on the other side, plus b Jean Robinson,
the problem of the Seahawk defense will face this weekend.
We'll talk about those things next. Sports Radio ninety three
point three kh A RFM. But we're talking to some
Seahawk football. Of course, coming off a twenty six nothing
(20:03):
shutout went over the Minnesota Vikings in anticipation of their
matchup Sunday with the Atlanta Falcons defense certainly on a
roll right now, no doubt Mike McDonald loves putting that
donut on the scoreboard for the Vikings on Sunday, and man,
Nicki Minori. Greg has just been amazing this year. Thirty
(20:24):
fifth pick in the draft, what a steal, and his
versatility is certainly one of the unique traits about him,
and yet Mike McDonald sees that there's more than I
can do with this freak, doesn't.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
He He said, he's making it up as we go.
He said, I hate to admit that, but we're making
it up as we go because this guy everything we
think of to possibly do, he's mastering.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
And said, yeah, what else you.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
Got when they drafted him?
Speaker 3 (20:49):
The night they draft him, he was there.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
They've traded up seventeen spots.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
To get him out of South Carolina at the top
of round two.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
In the first two games, they said, when they drafted
Nick emand Worri cam Chancellor and Kyle Hamilton and those
of us have been around the game a day or two,
We're like, who wha, wha wait, whoa. This guy hadn't
even had a practice in the NFL yet. And McDonald said,
I'm going to use him like I did Hamilton in Baltimore.
What did he do with Hamilton? And Hughan knows and
he'd talked a lot about Hamilton's use used him as
(21:18):
he was listed as a safety. They used him as
an in the box linebacker, they used him as an
outside linebacker, edge rusher. They'd use him as a cover guy.
They used him as a pass rusher. He became an
All Pro from Mike McDonald using him that way. They
are using nick emon Worry in just eight games. He
missed three games with the high ankle sprain he got
in the opener five games five plays into it, remember,
and just eight games they're using McDonald is using Emon
(21:42):
Worry in more ways than he ever used Hamilton. He
had him playing nine tech and five tech defensive end
against Minnesota. I when I was in the I had
the binoculars on him because I watched him a lot,
because I'm fascinated by watching the different places McDonald puts him.
And I was like, wait a minute, he's got his
hand on the ground on the line of scrimmage. And
(22:03):
so I went back Monday and relooked at it, and
sure enough, he was outside the tight end at nine
tech six times, and I counted one time he was
a five tech outside the shoulder of the tackle. And
so I asked him specifically, wait a minute, what's this
defensive end stuff?
Speaker 3 (22:20):
He says, We're just making up as we go.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
We thought, Hey, if you got edge wretching, speed and power,
let's see if we can translate that by putting him
one on one against the tackle on the edge instead
of bringing them from the way outside as an outside linebacker,
and it's worked. He can also do zone blitzes and
fake blitzer and fake brass rush and drop him into
coverage out of the defensive end. Nicki Minwore played fifty
(22:42):
snaps against the Vikings. He had twenty eight as a safety,
and not all those safety were the same. Sometimes he
was in the box safety against the run. Sometimes he
was a post safety in coverage. Sometimes he was a
nickel safety in the slot. He was an outside linebacker
for about a dozen plays, and then he was an
inside linebacker with Ernest Jones, is the only two off
(23:03):
ball linebackers on the field about another dozen times, and
then he's been an outside linebacker on the edge, and
then he's been now a five and nine tech.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
What else can he may end up being a new
right guard.
Speaker 4 (23:15):
Nicki mund worry has exceeded what McDonald thought he could
do with them already in eight games. And he says,
I'm gonna keep tinkering and doing stuff with this guy
because he's so good at absorbing everything. The guys in
the team love him. They think he acts like a veteran.
They love that he asked a ton of questions and
meetings that they love that he's sixty four and two
hundred and sixty three and two hundred and twenty pounds.
(23:38):
If the speed yet with the strength, this guy on
the trajectory he's in with the coach, he has has
a chance to be an All Pro in a year
or two. And again we're only eight games into his career.
I can tell you this without even being in the
film rooms. Every offensive cording that plays the Seahawks are like,
where are they putting three? Do we have a plan
(24:00):
to combat him?
Speaker 3 (24:01):
To? This guy's everywhere.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
He's gonna be TJ.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Watt this week?
Speaker 1 (24:04):
It sounds like Hugh defensively, Obviously things are going well.
I mean Max Brosmer looked like a undrafted rookie making
a staff start last week against this team, and now
you're going against somebody that has dads of experience, one
hundred more years of experience than Max Brosmer and Kirk Cousins.
But it's been a while since Kirk Cousins has played
(24:26):
good football at the quarterback position. How do you think
the Seahawks, how do you think he fares against the
Seahawks defense the way that it's going right now.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
Well, I think that.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
When you take a guy who's unathletic like he is,
certain I don't think he was athletic when he was young.
He's certainly not athletic now after Achilles heels in his age,
those type of quarterbacks can beat the blitz because they
use their mind and they have you know, they changed
protections and they know where their hets are and what
(24:58):
have you. And but I still think that the Sea
Hawk defense will look at him and uh be be
just locking their chops. And I think that what they'll
they'll have they will disavow some of their their pass
wrest principles that they have to employ against the more
athletic quarterbacks. For example, if you're on the on on
(25:21):
the backside, you wouldn't want to just take the B
gap the gap between the guard and the tackle on
Kyler Murray's backside because he'll you'll, in fact he did,
he ran for twenty seven yards when when when Seattle
made that mistake, you can do that on the backside
of Kirk Cousins. So I think they're going to be salvaed.
And you know, I'll tell you just a note on
(25:42):
Emon Worry. The play that impressed me the most is
they had they had determined they were going to play
cover one cover one as man and man with the
free safety, and Emon.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Worry broke the defensive halo. He's on the left.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
He's like, hey, I got I got number two in
this whoever's number two counting outside, that's gonna be my man.
Well that happened to be Justin Jefferson, and they just
kept with it. You didn't see any you didn't see
any hand gestures like hey, help me out, let's switch.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Nothing.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
He just, like the most routine, just got up there,
pressed on. Justin Jefferson covered him. Then it was it
was an extended play. Covered him on the initial route,
then Brosmer rolled out, covered him on the off script
and got a pass break up. Really could have and
should have had an interception, you know, shadowing Justin Jefferson
(26:36):
all over for an extended play. So so I think
everything that Greg says about the versatility, here was a
guy that that was put in the role of Kyle Hamilton.
Kyle Hamilton, coming out of Notre Name, was thought to
be a very smart, instinctive player long at six four
(26:56):
where where Emon worry. Maybe maybe he's a tad shore,
but he's just a lot more athletic. Maybe he didn't
show the tape instincts that Kyle Hamilton had in college
at Notre Dame. But with Mike McDonald, that's acceler you
know those are you know you're getting an acceleration in
(27:20):
your schooling. You're just skipping over the two hundred and
three hundred classes. You're going as a rookie straight to
the four hundred and five level classes. Right, you're already
in grad school because Mike McDonald's your professor, and so
it's fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
So you just slap him on Bjohn Robinson, Greg, is
that how you're going to defend? Defend it? On Sunday?
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Greg?
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Greg muted himself, Greg, Well.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
I think he's too valuable to spy on anybody because
he's so good at all over the field. Emon worrying college,
McDonald said, didn't play near the line of scrimmage nearly
as much as Hamilton did at Notre Dame, so he
had to project even worry more than he projected Hamilton.
He was explaining this to me when I was asking
him about Emon Worry and how all this how new
this is to him? And Emon Worrey told me, Yeah,
(28:09):
I rarely was near the line of the sky. I
was closer into the box, but I was rarely up
on or near the line of scrimmage like I am
with McDonald. That play with Justin Jefferson, he ran the
improv out route for Jefferson. He was actually inside of
Jefferson toward the sideline as if Brozemer was thrown to him.
And when McDonald after the game, his comment about that
(28:30):
play with Emon Worrey was, he needs to catch the ball.
That's how exactly McDonald is. He is almost expecting him
to cover Justin Jefferson like that, And we're going to
see more from em and Worry.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
We really are.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
And you know in the eighty five yard pick six,
obviously he had de Law up the field and that
was pivotal in that play. But you know Seattle zoned
did it was a man beater and you know Seattle
had the right play call for that play. But while
Rieke Woolan was in the flat defending the primary receiver
(29:05):
Jones of the halfback, uh, you had Emon Worry really Okay,
Woolan's Uh, he's got the flat. Let me fall off
and help the corner up because the quarterbacks on the move.
Let me let me sink and help Kobe Bryant who
was on the inside and would have been susceptible to
an outbreaking rounte, which was what he was facing from
(29:27):
Jordan Addison.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
So it was emon worry, that.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Sense of like, Okay, I'm good here in the flat,
let me help out where I'm needed. You know, that's
an instinct to play, as Greg says Chuck, you know,
in in just his eighth game, and you know this,
this is the type of thing with with his skill
set and and is growing in. I don't want to
say there were instincts that just his knowledge of the
game is just on on uh, you know, hyper speed
(29:53):
because of McDonald, and it's showing up on plays like that.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Here Mellen, Greg Bell with us. It's the twelve man
round table. We do it every Thursday. Certainly more ground
to cover. We'll get keys to victory from Greg, maybe
a score even and then final thoughts from Hughes. The
Seahawks get ready to face the Falcons in Atlanta this
Sunday at ten o'clock. We continue right here on Chuck
and Buck Sports Radio ninety three point three KJRFM. Of
(30:16):
course Greg Bell as well normally BUCkies here. We hear
him chime in, I have a feeling you he was
gonna say, I don't care what happens, just don't want
to watch Anthony Bradford play this week. So that's probably
was going to be Bucky's take here to close out
the hour. But I actually heard you defending Anthony Bradford
this week a little bit.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Yeah, let me clarify that, because you know, for years
he's been my least favorite Seahawk, not because of who
he is. I don't I've never talked to the man,
just what I see on the tape. And I would
swear Greg that he's gained some weight since training camp,
because there were some games I saw in preseason where
(30:54):
I was like, Anthony Bradford's looking a little swelter, a
little quicker, but you know he's ruggling in and uh,
but I want to specifically say what I defended.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
I defended.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
Apparently I haven't seen them, but there's photos going around
of of Anthony Bradford blocking nobody in the passing game. Yeah,
I've watched the video, I can imagine what plays that
happened and and what the Vikings were doing is if
they put a linebacker in an a gap and and
(31:27):
fifty one, remind me who fifty one is for the
via like he was lined up over Anthony Bradford, he
would engage for a couple of steps and then fly
out to go cover it, you know, in a zone,
kind of trying to pattern read in his zone. And
if the camera is snapped at exactly the precise point,
Bradford looks like he's blocking nobody. But that's that could
(31:51):
happen to any guard. Now. On the on the counterplay,
go down in the red zone where he's pulling right
to left, he's got the end man on the line scrimmage,
he doesn't.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
He doesn't.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
He's not fitting up on an off ball linebacker. He's
got the n man. The guy's right in his face
and him blowing by that. In the running games, that's
a that's a no Boyne. But in the passing game,
I think he's getting a little bit of a raw deal.
But that's the narrow window that I'm defending him. Otherwise, look, Greg,
I see more of the same from him, And you know,
(32:23):
this year he is out of ninety qualifying guards. PFF
has him ranked eightieth. The year before, he was seventy
eight out of eighty three. The year before, he's sixty
seven eighty eight pass blocking. This year he's eighty fifth
out of those ninety qualifiers. It's just kind of lather, rinse, repeat.
So I think that you know, he's just I think
(32:45):
is the least capable starter out of twenty two count
twenty four counting the specialist.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
I think he's the.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Guy that needs to be upgraded the most in the offseason.
But you're just gonna have to deal with that, and
maybe we'll see some Christen Haynes, maybe we'll see some
Sundal there, but it's it's just kind of a disappointment
every Sunday. Great.
Speaker 4 (33:06):
He has probably gain weight because he told me during
the summer that he had lost a lot of weight
and that was his plan to train toward getting quicker.
Speaker 3 (33:13):
So it's probably that he is.
Speaker 4 (33:14):
I think Sundew eventually is going to take that job,
whether it's next week in his first week back from
injured reserve, I'm not sure that's going to be that.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
Hi, Greg, give me your keys to Sunday, and how
you think this game is going to turn out.
Speaker 4 (33:26):
Two words for the Seahawks to win this game, Bijon Robinson.
If I'm the Falcons, I give him the ball twenty
twenty five times running pass. He's got nine hundred and
ninety five yards. He's the fifth leading rusher in the NFL.
The Seahawks are going to get the two of the
top five rushers in the league the next two weeks.
Jonathan Taba rolls into Luminfield next week. He's number one.
So they got to stop Vjon Robinson. Now we've talked
(33:48):
about this. Seahawks are third in the league in rush defense,
but teams are not running against them because they're falling
behind early in games. The Seahawks point differential in the
first half is the best in the league, which means
that foes are chasing the game and having to abandon
any plans to run. The Vikings had six runs by
each of two running backs on Sunday. That's it six
(34:09):
so out of fifty plays. So they're not even trying
to run against them, right, Well, the Falcons are going
to try to run against them, and they're gonna run
early often in all game long with truer test of
how good this run defense is coming Sunday with Bijon Robinson,
and then the truest test yet'll be with Jonathan Taylor
and the Colts a week from now.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
As long as.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
Mike McDonald is coaching this defense, and as long as
Leonard Williams and DeMarcus Lawrence and Nicky mun Worry and
Devin Witherspoon.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
Are playing in it.
Speaker 4 (34:38):
In Ernest Jones, the Seahawks win this game nine and
nine point nine out of ten times.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
I think they win, call it twenty seven to ten.
Speaker 4 (34:48):
I don't think the Falcons muster much offensively against his defense.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
Yeah, I'm kind of with you on that one, all right,
you your final thoughts to close this out?
Speaker 3 (34:56):
Where we go?
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Yeah, Bijon Robinson, So a lot of talk this summer
about the outside zone with Clint Kubiak. You're gonna watch
a team that is the most committed to the outside
zone in the Falcons. With Bjon Robinson, he has one
hundred and fifteen outside zone runs. The next closest number
two is eighty six. Christian McCaffrey. By the way, Can
(35:17):
nine has fifty eight basically half right at half of
what Bezon Robinson.
Speaker 3 (35:23):
That's this year.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
Last year, Bezon Robinson one hundred and seventy eight was
the most outside zones in the NFL. Next closest guy
was one hundred and four. I think he's tremendous at it.
I'm a big fan of him. But I think that
Bison Robinson is going against the wrong defense for that.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
You got team speed, you got.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
Emon worry that they're trying to get to the edge
if they can get it. Otherwise there's the cutbacks.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
I love.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
You know, let's see if there's more dime where you've
got Witherspoon on one edge and Emon Worry. They've up
their dime. The Seahawks from four four plays per game
to nineteen plays per game since Emon Warry has been
back because he was going to be so yeah, yeah,
and also because of Willano. I think had a really
(36:07):
good game at least a few good plays this past Sunday,
and and the hustle play on the eighty five yard
pick route that really grabbed my heart. But but in
any event, I think it'll be interesting for Seahawk fans
to say, Okay, this is what we talked about in
the summer. The Falcons are going to try and do it.
I don't think they're going to do it successfully, but
(36:28):
I think Robinson's a hell of a back but it'll
be a challenge. Yeah, and it'd be fun to watch
that outside zone.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
All right, man, awesome stuff as always, Thank you very much,
and we'll chat with you both tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Okay, hamber down, thanks all right.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
Greg Bell, our Seahawks insider at the News Tribune. You
can follo him at the Newstribune dot com and at
g bel Seattle there on X. He'll also be with
us tomorrow morning at seven o five for his Friday conversation.
We get the latest injury reports from Greg every Friday,
and Key's more keys than the one he gave us
here to during the roundtable. And of course our QB one,
Hugh Millen. He'll be with us tomorrow at nine o'clock
(37:06):
for his x'es and O segment, the award winning excesses.
We need to make him an award, Ashley. Ok Yeah,
we make a Hue Award for his award winning x'es
and o's. I've already I can already picture what it's
going to look like. I think that's a great, great
getting ahead of it kind of mode that you're in.
Speaker 3 (37:22):
All right.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
Coming up next college football Playoff ranking Selection Sunday is
coming up. And one thing that I want to discuss
before we get to selection Sunday is that we really
need to keep our biases in check. We'll talk about
that next. Sports Radio ninety three point three KJRFM
I know, I know, I what would you like? Not
this one? I'm going to play this one today? Oh okay.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Yeah, for the record, I never said that.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
I just said I like Christmas music.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
I'm calling you the expert, and I have a weird
ranking inclination. I just have to take the songs and
you know, you know, like, oh, Holy Night, Greg, I
just you know, I got to listen go to Spotify
and listen to twenty versions over the holiday season, and
that's it.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
That's the best.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
Yeah, holy Night, That's not what I would have picked.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
You versions of Bring Tears to your Eyes. Don't don't
underestimate that one.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
I know.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Yeah, but Dance Little Christmas I didn't think was gonna
make the Varsity cut for Hugh Millon from Elton John
here this morning, and I was, rush, that's not.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
What Elton John's bet. He's got a lot of good ones.
Saw iim in Madison Square Garden one time, but that's
not one of his best.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
It's not.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
But it makes me laugh every time. It's step into Christmas.
I don't know why it is. I don't know why
it makes me laugh, but it does. And so that's
why I was like, this one makes me laugh.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
So I'm playing it now.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I got Greg Bell's Christmas tree in the background on
the zoom call as well. It looks like he's eating
some Christmas porridge. I mean, we are in the holiday
spirit here, I'm eating porridge. Well, it's our twelve man roundtable,
our QB one. Hugh Millan is here, our Seahawks inside
of Greg Bell is here as well as we get
ready for the Falcons. But also certainly every single week
(01:30):
is sort of a you know, temperature check of just
how well this season's going for the Seahawks nine and
three record at this point. I think on Monday I
started with all the positive things and then we eventually
got in to conversations about some of the concerns. I
think I want to start with the concerns here today
and whether there are any, Hugh, I'll start with you.
(01:50):
The offense. I mean, Sam Darnold was just having an
MVP like season. And I know that these statistics don't
say everything, but here in the last three weeks two
touch downs to four interceptions. He'd only been sacked ten
times in the first nine games. He's been sacked six
times in the last three. He was completing seventy percent
of his passes. In the last three games, he's only
(02:10):
completing sixty one percent of his passes, and so I
would just I would just like to see if there's
any concern that you have about the Seahawks offense at
this point, and if all you're worried that maybe it's
on a little bit of a downward trajectory from that
high plateau it's spent for the first half of the season.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Well, it certainly is on a downward trajectory. I mean,
you played twelve games. The first six games, Sam Darnold
had one hundred and sixteen passer rating and in the
last six he's out in ninety three. So I think
the numbers are undisputable, your eyes telling you certainly last
week against Minnesota was tough in many ways, and thankfully
(02:49):
they were going against a feeble offense and they were
able to just kind of hang on in the second half.
But I think, you know, to some extent, I think,
what's the safest day to fly on the day after
plane crash? Right? And I think that I think that
this the Seahawks are likely to have spent a lot
of time in uh in in practice, in walkthroughs and
(03:16):
really reviewing their blitz pick up. And and now I
don't I don't think you know, people say, well, Minnesota,
they they showed a lot of things that are are
difficult that they were number one in in the UH
in the NFL going into the game in terms of
percent of snap with pressure, UH they were dead last
(03:37):
and Nickel number one.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
And used to the three four.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
There's a lot of things from a personnel standpoint, scheme standpoint,
a lot of UH zone pressures, you know, a lot
of different zones. And and so they they kind of
caught Seattle with their pants down a little bit. But
I think that Seattle have a renewed effort to UH
address that and and UH and and move forward.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
Greg.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
Yeah, the concern with Sam Donald is to me, ball security.
I mean, Hugh knows the number one job of a
quarterback is to protect the ball and if he's going
to get hit, to not lose the ball. And he
loses quite a butt more than an average quarterback. And
just this season, and I've watched him every snap he
loses the ball in traffic, whether it's his own lineman
(04:21):
getting pushed into him or him throwing a ball off
of a lineman's helmet or blindside hit and he loses
the ball. He's second in the NFL and turnovers ten
interceptions and five lost fumbles. And guess who're the number
one team by far as Minnesota and blitze and guess
who number two is Atlanta. So they're going to challenge
(04:45):
the protection and they get the ball off quickly. And
every time after a game win or lose, Sam Donald
says the same thing. I got to get the ball
off more quickly. I got to get the ball more quickly.
Cooper Cup after the Vikings game, said we got to
run shorter routes if they're going to blitz us and
we get wish they got our back to the quarterback.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
This is I'm paraphrasing. We can't run twenty yard in.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Routes like Jackson Smith and Jiggers been feasting on teams
for most of the season. If the teams are gonna
blitz like the Vikings did and cause fake blitzing and
cause pressures. So that's a challenge this week, and the
Seahawks adjust on the fly to another blitz team and
Jackson Smith and jig but perhaps running hitch routes instead.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Of goes and in routes. They started to do it
in the second half. Of course, they were up by
three scores and they just ran the ball.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
The encouraging thing for the offense is they are starting
to get traction running the football and they are starting
to treat Kenneth Walker like a lead back.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Both in the.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Beginning of the first quarter and the beginning of the
third quarter against Minnesota, it looked like ken Walker was
a lead back. Finally they were giving him steady diets
of runs. They were actually throwing in the ball and
getting to the ball in the open field. He had
the preponderance of Carrie Now once again on third down
and in the red zones. Actually, reveren A comes in
sharp and ends up getting his knife touchdown of the
(06:03):
season on a run of seventeen yards at the ice
of the game. But they are now starting to assert
Kenneth Walker as a more consistent lead back and that's
helped them. They've averaged one hundred and forty yards rushing
the last four games. That will help them against the
Rams and forty nine ers. I would assert that they
need to have Kenneth Walker as running back one plus
(06:23):
against the Rams in two weeks to beat them because
they cannot rely on Sam Donald to throw it all
around the yard against the Rams and the team he
just threw four interceptions against. Kenneth Walker to me is
the key to the rest of the season, whether they
win the NFC. What I know Donald and Smith and
jigbeb and key to the season so far, Kenneth Walker
to me.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
Will hold the key at whether they might win the
division or not.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Well, you know a couple things on the turnovers for
Sam Donald. Look, obviously, quarterbacks are going to come back
and address your ball security. There's certainly a difference between
are you fumbling in the process of throwing after your
hands have already separated. If your hands get hit there,
you're very likely to have a fumble.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
The two on.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Saturday, he was still in the pocket, not yet throwing,
so he has two hands on the ball.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
He's got to secure it.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
But I would say that his turnover worthy plays. You know,
he's under Pat Mahomes. He's got the same number as
bo Nicks. Prior to this last week, he had one
under Drake May. Now he's got one more than Drake May.
But that's and when you look at Pat Mahomes' entire career.
(07:42):
Pat Mahomes is at twenty nineteen point nine specifically, but
at twenty per season, and yet you live with it.
And who is number one in all of the NFL
in the big time throw percentage, Well it's Sam's Sam Donald.
(08:03):
So I think that, Yeah, Greg's absolutely right. You have
to address this hopefully moving forward. But I don't think
that you want to new to yourself so much that
you take away the big play making ability. I think
you talk about it, hey, ball security, if you're getting tackled,
try not to fumble, But I don't think you can.
(08:25):
You can paralyze yourself for fear of having turnovers. It
takes away you know. I mean I just decided Pat Mahomes.
You think Andy Reid is upset that he has twenty
turnover worthy plays? I mean right now Sam Donald has fourteen,
So he's on a pace to be under that for
under twenty under Pat mahomes entire average for his entire career.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Yeah, I think Greg Alison said at the end of
the game. We talked about it on Monday. I mean, yes,
you do have to reduce your turnovers. That's just an
obvious statistic. But I don't want it to come at
risks of what that offense looked like it was capable
of in the first half. I don't want them to
stop being aggressive. I kind of feel that Mike McDonald
feels that way as well. It certainly Greg was the
(09:11):
game in which Sam Donald was the most pressured, feel
like he had the least amount of time to throw
the football. Was that gonna warrant any kind of change
up front on the offensive line for Sunday?
Speaker 4 (09:23):
Not for Sunday because Jalen Sndell's not back from jured
reserve yet. The fourth consecutive game that Sundel has to
miss from IR is on Sunday in Atlanta. This time
next week, Sindell will be eligible to come off injured reserve.
And when I asked McDonald on Monday if he's how
Sundell was doing on his knee, and he said pretty good,
as so far as I understand, I said, well, Sundell
(09:44):
come back as a center or a guard. The reason
I asked that is that training camp began with Jalen
Sndell as a competitor at right guard with Anthony Bradford
and Christian Haynes. Then they moved Sundel to center, and
he proved to be better than Ola Timmy at center
and training camp and he won that job. But he's
on time last year practice as a guard as well.
I think that he's going to compete with Anthony Bradford
(10:05):
as the right guard and he comes back next week.
I don't know if he's going to take the job
in the Colts game next week right guard, but I
think he's going to compete and maybe get there eventually.
I think their best line right now with Olo Timmy
and showing well the last two games is to keep
Ol Timmy where it's going well right now at center,
with the option to slide Sundell there if if Ol
(10:27):
Timmy starts faltering against the Rams. But I think the
better option is in Ol Timmy at center and Sundella
right guard when he gets back next week. But that's
not going to help him against Atlanta on Sunday. I
don't think Christian Haines is the answer over Anthony Bradford.
Haynes has tried three different times, two different coaching staff
to try to win this job and he hasn't done
it yet. He had a chance in training camp, but
(10:49):
he got beat up by Bradford, so it's going to
be appears Anthony Bradford. On Sunday in Atlanta. A couple
went outlined a whole bunch of things they need to
do against pressure, and he one of the things he
said is let's roll out some more. Let's run outside
the pressure. Not only did Donald get sacked four times
in the first half, which is season high against the Vikings,
(11:09):
six passes got knocked down by edge rushers.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Six That's a lot. Some guys don't have that in
a month.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
So Donald's or Hubs point is let's not just stand
in the pocket as much as we did. He didn't
quite call out Kubiak, but he did just not by
words a name, Let's roll out and make.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
Those guys chase him.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
Donald has shown the ability to get outside the pocket,
and they usually do it off bootlegs and play action passes.
But we may see more of that some bootlegs and
playoffs or maybe some straight sprintouts, so that straight line
blitzers can't have a straight line shot at a quarterback
in the pocket and you actually have to chase and
run outside of him. So yes, I think they're going
to be changes this week. From what Minnesota did. Yes,
(11:51):
I think Atlanta's going to look at the Minnesota game
tape and try to copy some of that, especially with
the fake blitzing that happened in the second quarter that
made Anthony Bradford and others look like guys standing waiting
on a light rail train to pull up blocking nobody
and the Rams are going to see all this. Forty
nine ers the cults. This is a copycat league. So
the Seahawks need to have an answer both in scheme
(12:11):
and in personnel for pressure that they're going to get,
probably inside up the middle starting on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Yeah, I think when you talk about okay, outside of
the pocket, what are we talking about? Are we talking
about naked bootlegs? Are we talking about sprint out?
Speaker 3 (12:27):
I'm talking about are.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
We talking about dash dash protection where you you start
the first three steps going straight back and then that
allows you to seal the end and then it becomes
a delayed sprint out like schematically one of the things
if you try and sprint out the quarterback too often.
Out of the pocket sounds great, right, let's do it
(12:50):
with let's hell, let's do it Demon Williams right, he's athletic.
He's short, that'll help the problem is you you have
a very limited amount of past concepts you can run
out of that everything has to be outbreaking because the quarterback.
Nobody designs any inbreaking routes on on sprintouts because now
(13:13):
the quarterback would be having to double lead throw across
his body see defenders that are flowing to the sprint out.
You just you do not throw in breaking routes on sprintouts.
So uh, I think if you just say, well, okay,
let's have a game plan where we're out out of
the pocket, I think that's gonna that's gonna fail in
(13:34):
a hurry. I think absolutely mixing it in your naked
bootlegs on first and second down, running away from the
stretch or running away from inside zone at get the
flow going one way, right handed, quarterback out the other. Actually, Uh,
Sam Donald's been more bootlegs to the left and he
has from the right. Uh this season And on certain
(13:57):
blitz looks. Yeah you can, you can have a sprint out, uh,
and and get a quick flat. But but the way
the Vikings were playing what's called a two catch or
palms coverage, they they were they weren't manning behind it
that those sprint out ideas they were they were zoning.
So if you if you sprint out and you want
to get something in the flat, those corners were reading
(14:21):
the release of of of number two the slot and
they would trigger to the flat if there was anything
in the flat. If there was nothing, they would sink
and give ground. So so I think schematically, Look, I
think Cooper Cup is the smartest receiver in the NFL.
When Cooper Cup talks, I listen, You listen, We all
(14:41):
should listen. In my opinion, Cooper Cup is brilliant. But
but I would hesitate. I think he has some ideas.
I think if we were to have a conversation, I
don't think he would disagree with anything I'm saying. I
think let's have a little bit of that. But let's
not get the idea of Seahawk fans. Oh, let's just
turned this into a sprint out game plan. That's not
(15:02):
gonna work. No, and that's not what he's suggesting. But
Donald was in the pocket a lot more against the Vikings,
and he was often a sitting duck for those inside Blitz,
especially the inside linebacker.
Speaker 4 (15:13):
Blitz's was Cup's point. Look we're a good Matt. We're
going on and on about Sam Donald. The most interesting
stats to me the old wins and losses, the old
Ken maccas story. I've always told you about wins and
f and losses, right, Chuck.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
If his next win, he will pass Tom Brady for
the most wins in consecutive seasons with two different teams.
Brady did it with the Patriots and the Buccaneers back
to back. Donald has twenty four wins. He will have
and this next win will be twenty four wins between
the Vikings last year and the Seahawks this year, which
would be an NFL record for two different teams back
(15:49):
to back seasons. And that's what his bottom line is,
wins and f and losses. He's got a defense that
now he's got the as they we said that the
team needed to be designed to coming into the season.
He's got a defense that'll win games. Just don't turn
the ball over. We're simplifying here, but just don't turn
the ball over and you're gonna win most of the games.
The way this defense is playing right now, including against
(16:11):
the Rams, that's how good Mike McDonald's defense has been.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Greg, I'm glad you brought that up, because I think
there's something really interesting. You really do a dive on
Sam Donald. He started as a twenty one year old,
twenty two year old, and twenty three year old with
the Jets. Then he goes straight to the Panthers and
he starts as a twenty four year old. Then, for
the first time in his career in the twenty twenty
two season, he's not the starter, but due to injuries,
(16:37):
he starts, so he sits and he watches for the
first time as a twenty five year old in the
twenty twenty two season, he gets his first start of
that year in Week twelve. So let's we're gonna say
week that was on a November twenty seventh, twenty twenty two,
a little over three years ago, right age twenty five.
Prior to that time, in forty nine starts, he had
(16:59):
won thirty four point seven percent of his games. Since then,
thirty six starts, he's won exactly seventy five percent. The
number of games that he had one hundred or more
passer rating he had sixteen point three percent prior to
that that Eureka date, since then sixty six point seven percent.
(17:20):
What does that mean Pat Mahomes since that date he
has thirty seven point three percent of like Sam Donald's
sixty seven percent one hundred passer ratings, Pat mahomes thirty
seven percent. Pat Mahomes in his entire career is exactly
fifty percent as far as and by the way, the wins,
(17:41):
where Donald has seventy five percent in the last three years,
Mahomes has seventy two percent. You mentioned Tom Brady. I'll
close with this. Tom Brady in is, in my entire
career won seventy five point four percent in the last
three years. Sam Donalds won seventy five point zero. And
what percent did Tom Brady have a one hundred no more,
forty six point eight called forty seven percent Sam Donald's
(18:05):
sixty seven percent in the last thirty six games. This
guy here, we talked about Pete Carroll had you know,
after the Jets failure and the Patriots failure, you know,
he went to Tibet, climbed some mountains, you know, smoked
some incense, whatever the hell, and and became a new man,
and he tried everything, worked at USC and what have you.
I don't know what Sam Donald did, but that one
(18:26):
time that he had to sit on the bench for
and watch for eleven weeks and then he got to play.
He has been a new man. The numbers are staggering.
And this year, you know, look he's he's won seventy
five percent of his games this year. Yeah, I know,
I'm fifty eight percent of the time. He's been over
one hundred passer rated. Now it's dipped a little bit lately,
but I think, big picture, this is a pre damn
(18:47):
good quarterback. And and uh, you know, until he fails,
I don't know, we're gonna, you know, we're gonna have
the big conversation on December nineteenth, on Friday after after
that game, and then then I'm gonna all shut up
about that. If he fails on that one, you know,
then I'll probably have to just kind of, you know,
you know, zip my lip. But I think for now,
(19:09):
I still have respect for what this guy has done.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Yeah, well, I know one guy that does. Wasn't happy
about him setting that Tom Brady record. That was justin Jefferson.
You could see it in his face on Sunday. I
didn't want you to break the Tom Brady two year
record of wins with two different teams. Please Why wouldn't
you Why aren't you still my quarterback? That was justin
Jefferson's reaction.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
Justin Jefferson also wasn't very happy that nick even worry
picked him up and pile drived him into the turf. Wow,
that was a ridiculous play that Rooky would make against
an all pro.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Well, we're gonna talk about nick Emon Warry. Is there
more ways? Are there more ways to use him? We'll
talk about that on the other side, plus b Jean Robinson,
the problem of the Seahawk defense will face this weekend.
We'll talk about those things next. Sports Radio ninety three
point three kh A RFM. But we're talking to some
Seahawk football. Of course, coming off a twenty six nothing
(20:03):
shutout went over the Minnesota Vikings in anticipation of their
matchup Sunday with the Atlanta Falcons defense certainly on a
roll right now, no doubt Mike McDonald loves putting that
donut on the scoreboard for the Vikings on Sunday, and man,
Nicki Minori. Greg has just been amazing this year. Thirty
(20:24):
fifth pick in the draft, what a steal, and his
versatility is certainly one of the unique traits about him,
and yet Mike McDonald sees that there's more than I
can do with this freak, doesn't.
Speaker 4 (20:36):
He He said, he's making it up as we go.
He said, I hate to admit that, but we're making
it up as we go because this guy everything we
think of to possibly do, he's mastering.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
And said, yeah, what else you.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
Got when they drafted him?
Speaker 3 (20:49):
The night they draft him, he was there.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
They've traded up seventeen spots.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
To get him out of South Carolina at the top
of round two.
Speaker 4 (20:56):
In the first two games, they said, when they drafted
Nick emand Worri cam Chancellor and Kyle Hamilton and those
of us have been around the game a day or two,
We're like, who wha, wha wait, whoa. This guy hadn't
even had a practice in the NFL yet. And McDonald said,
I'm going to use him like I did Hamilton in Baltimore.
What did he do with Hamilton? And Hughan knows and
he'd talked a lot about Hamilton's use used him as
(21:18):
he was listed as a safety. They used him as
an in the box linebacker, they used him as an
outside linebacker, edge rusher. They'd use him as a cover guy.
They used him as a pass rusher. He became an
All Pro from Mike McDonald using him that way. They
are using nick emon Worry in just eight games. He
missed three games with the high ankle sprain he got
in the opener five games five plays into it, remember,
and just eight games they're using McDonald is using Emon
(21:42):
Worry in more ways than he ever used Hamilton. He
had him playing nine tech and five tech defensive end
against Minnesota. I when I was in the I had
the binoculars on him because I watched him a lot,
because I'm fascinated by watching the different places McDonald puts him.
And I was like, wait a minute, he's got his
hand on the ground on the line of scrimmage. And
(22:03):
so I went back Monday and relooked at it, and
sure enough, he was outside the tight end at nine
tech six times, and I counted one time he was
a five tech outside the shoulder of the tackle. And
so I asked him specifically, wait a minute, what's this
defensive end stuff?
Speaker 3 (22:20):
He says, We're just making up as we go.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
We thought, Hey, if you got edge wretching, speed and power,
let's see if we can translate that by putting him
one on one against the tackle on the edge instead
of bringing them from the way outside as an outside linebacker,
and it's worked. He can also do zone blitzes and
fake blitzer and fake brass rush and drop him into
coverage out of the defensive end. Nicki Minwore played fifty
(22:42):
snaps against the Vikings. He had twenty eight as a safety,
and not all those safety were the same. Sometimes he
was in the box safety against the run. Sometimes he
was a post safety in coverage. Sometimes he was a
nickel safety in the slot. He was an outside linebacker
for about a dozen plays, and then he was an
inside linebacker with Ernest Jones, is the only two off
(23:03):
ball linebackers on the field about another dozen times, and
then he's been an outside linebacker on the edge, and
then he's been now a five and nine tech.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
What else can he may end up being a new
right guard.
Speaker 4 (23:15):
Nicki mund worry has exceeded what McDonald thought he could
do with them already in eight games. And he says,
I'm gonna keep tinkering and doing stuff with this guy
because he's so good at absorbing everything. The guys in
the team love him. They think he acts like a veteran.
They love that he asked a ton of questions and
meetings that they love that he's sixty four and two
hundred and sixty three and two hundred and twenty pounds.
(23:38):
If the speed yet with the strength, this guy on
the trajectory he's in with the coach, he has has
a chance to be an All Pro in a year
or two. And again we're only eight games into his career.
I can tell you this without even being in the
film rooms. Every offensive cording that plays the Seahawks are like,
where are they putting three? Do we have a plan
(24:00):
to combat him?
Speaker 3 (24:01):
To? This guy's everywhere.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
He's gonna be TJ.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Watt this week?
Speaker 1 (24:04):
It sounds like Hugh defensively, Obviously things are going well.
I mean Max Brosmer looked like a undrafted rookie making
a staff start last week against this team, and now
you're going against somebody that has dads of experience, one
hundred more years of experience than Max Brosmer and Kirk Cousins.
But it's been a while since Kirk Cousins has played
(24:26):
good football at the quarterback position. How do you think
the Seahawks, how do you think he fares against the
Seahawks defense the way that it's going right now.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
Well, I think that.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
When you take a guy who's unathletic like he is,
certain I don't think he was athletic when he was young.
He's certainly not athletic now after Achilles heels in his age,
those type of quarterbacks can beat the blitz because they
use their mind and they have you know, they changed
protections and they know where their hets are and what
(24:58):
have you. And but I still think that the Sea
Hawk defense will look at him and uh be be
just locking their chops. And I think that what they'll
they'll have they will disavow some of their their pass
wrest principles that they have to employ against the more
athletic quarterbacks. For example, if you're on the on on
(25:21):
the backside, you wouldn't want to just take the B
gap the gap between the guard and the tackle on
Kyler Murray's backside because he'll you'll, in fact he did,
he ran for twenty seven yards when when when Seattle
made that mistake, you can do that on the backside
of Kirk Cousins. So I think they're going to be salvaed.
And you know, I'll tell you just a note on
(25:42):
Emon Worry. The play that impressed me the most is
they had they had determined they were going to play
cover one cover one as man and man with the
free safety, and Emon.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Worry broke the defensive halo. He's on the left.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
He's like, hey, I got I got number two in
this whoever's number two counting outside, that's gonna be my man.
Well that happened to be Justin Jefferson, and they just
kept with it. You didn't see any you didn't see
any hand gestures like hey, help me out, let's switch.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Nothing.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
He just, like the most routine, just got up there,
pressed on. Justin Jefferson covered him. Then it was it
was an extended play. Covered him on the initial route,
then Brosmer rolled out, covered him on the off script
and got a pass break up. Really could have and
should have had an interception, you know, shadowing Justin Jefferson
(26:36):
all over for an extended play. So so I think
everything that Greg says about the versatility, here was a
guy that that was put in the role of Kyle Hamilton.
Kyle Hamilton, coming out of Notre Name, was thought to
be a very smart, instinctive player long at six four
(26:56):
where where Emon worry. Maybe maybe he's a tad shore,
but he's just a lot more athletic. Maybe he didn't
show the tape instincts that Kyle Hamilton had in college
at Notre Dame. But with Mike McDonald, that's acceler you
know those are you know you're getting an acceleration in
(27:20):
your schooling. You're just skipping over the two hundred and
three hundred classes. You're going as a rookie straight to
the four hundred and five level classes. Right, you're already
in grad school because Mike McDonald's your professor, and so
it's fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
So you just slap him on Bjohn Robinson, Greg, is
that how you're going to defend? Defend it? On Sunday?
Speaker 3 (27:42):
Greg?
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Greg muted himself, Greg, Well.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
I think he's too valuable to spy on anybody because
he's so good at all over the field. Emon worrying college,
McDonald said, didn't play near the line of scrimmage nearly
as much as Hamilton did at Notre Dame, so he
had to project even worry more than he projected Hamilton.
He was explaining this to me when I was asking
him about Emon Worry and how all this how new
this is to him? And Emon Worrey told me, Yeah,
(28:09):
I rarely was near the line of the sky. I
was closer into the box, but I was rarely up
on or near the line of scrimmage like I am
with McDonald. That play with Justin Jefferson, he ran the
improv out route for Jefferson. He was actually inside of
Jefferson toward the sideline as if Brozemer was thrown to him.
And when McDonald after the game, his comment about that
(28:30):
play with Emon Worrey was, he needs to catch the ball.
That's how exactly McDonald is. He is almost expecting him
to cover Justin Jefferson like that, And we're going to
see more from em and Worry.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
We really are.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
And you know in the eighty five yard pick six,
obviously he had de Law up the field and that
was pivotal in that play. But you know Seattle zoned
did it was a man beater and you know Seattle
had the right play call for that play. But while
Rieke Woolan was in the flat defending the primary receiver
(29:05):
Jones of the halfback, uh, you had Emon Worry really Okay,
Woolan's Uh, he's got the flat. Let me fall off
and help the corner up because the quarterbacks on the move.
Let me let me sink and help Kobe Bryant who
was on the inside and would have been susceptible to
an outbreaking rounte, which was what he was facing from
(29:27):
Jordan Addison.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
So it was emon worry, that.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Sense of like, Okay, I'm good here in the flat,
let me help out where I'm needed. You know, that's
an instinct to play, as Greg says Chuck, you know,
in in just his eighth game, and you know this,
this is the type of thing with with his skill
set and and is growing in. I don't want to
say there were instincts that just his knowledge of the
game is just on on uh, you know, hyper speed
(29:53):
because of McDonald, and it's showing up on plays like that.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Here Mellen, Greg Bell with us. It's the twelve man
round table. We do it every Thursday. Certainly more ground
to cover. We'll get keys to victory from Greg, maybe
a score even and then final thoughts from Hughes. The
Seahawks get ready to face the Falcons in Atlanta this
Sunday at ten o'clock. We continue right here on Chuck
and Buck Sports Radio ninety three point three KJRFM. Of
(30:16):
course Greg Bell as well normally BUCkies here. We hear
him chime in, I have a feeling you he was
gonna say, I don't care what happens, just don't want
to watch Anthony Bradford play this week. So that's probably
was going to be Bucky's take here to close out
the hour. But I actually heard you defending Anthony Bradford
this week a little bit.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Yeah, let me clarify that, because you know, for years
he's been my least favorite Seahawk, not because of who
he is. I don't I've never talked to the man,
just what I see on the tape. And I would
swear Greg that he's gained some weight since training camp,
because there were some games I saw in preseason where
(30:54):
I was like, Anthony Bradford's looking a little swelter, a
little quicker, but you know he's ruggling in and uh,
but I want to specifically say what I defended.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
I defended.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
Apparently I haven't seen them, but there's photos going around
of of Anthony Bradford blocking nobody in the passing game. Yeah,
I've watched the video, I can imagine what plays that
happened and and what the Vikings were doing is if
they put a linebacker in an a gap and and
(31:27):
fifty one, remind me who fifty one is for the
via like he was lined up over Anthony Bradford, he
would engage for a couple of steps and then fly
out to go cover it, you know, in a zone,
kind of trying to pattern read in his zone. And
if the camera is snapped at exactly the precise point,
Bradford looks like he's blocking nobody. But that's that could
(31:51):
happen to any guard. Now. On the on the counterplay,
go down in the red zone where he's pulling right
to left, he's got the end man on the line scrimmage,
he doesn't.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
He doesn't.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
He's not fitting up on an off ball linebacker. He's
got the n man. The guy's right in his face
and him blowing by that. In the running games, that's
a that's a no Boyne. But in the passing game,
I think he's getting a little bit of a raw deal.
But that's the narrow window that I'm defending him. Otherwise, look, Greg,
I see more of the same from him, And you know,
(32:23):
this year he is out of ninety qualifying guards. PFF
has him ranked eightieth. The year before, he was seventy
eight out of eighty three. The year before, he's sixty
seven eighty eight pass blocking. This year he's eighty fifth
out of those ninety qualifiers. It's just kind of lather, rinse, repeat.
So I think that you know, he's just I think
(32:45):
is the least capable starter out of twenty two count
twenty four counting the specialist.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
I think he's the.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Guy that needs to be upgraded the most in the offseason.
But you're just gonna have to deal with that, and
maybe we'll see some Christen Haynes, maybe we'll see some
Sundal there, but it's it's just kind of a disappointment
every Sunday. Great.
Speaker 4 (33:06):
He has probably gain weight because he told me during
the summer that he had lost a lot of weight
and that was his plan to train toward getting quicker.
Speaker 3 (33:13):
So it's probably that he is.
Speaker 4 (33:14):
I think Sundew eventually is going to take that job,
whether it's next week in his first week back from
injured reserve, I'm not sure that's going to be that.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
Hi, Greg, give me your keys to Sunday, and how
you think this game is going to turn out.
Speaker 4 (33:26):
Two words for the Seahawks to win this game, Bijon Robinson.
If I'm the Falcons, I give him the ball twenty
twenty five times running pass. He's got nine hundred and
ninety five yards. He's the fifth leading rusher in the NFL.
The Seahawks are going to get the two of the
top five rushers in the league the next two weeks.
Jonathan Taba rolls into Luminfield next week. He's number one.
So they got to stop Vjon Robinson. Now we've talked
(33:48):
about this. Seahawks are third in the league in rush defense,
but teams are not running against them because they're falling
behind early in games. The Seahawks point differential in the
first half is the best in the league, which means
that foes are chasing the game and having to abandon
any plans to run. The Vikings had six runs by
each of two running backs on Sunday. That's it six
(34:09):
so out of fifty plays. So they're not even trying
to run against them, right, Well, the Falcons are going
to try to run against them, and they're gonna run
early often in all game long with truer test of
how good this run defense is coming Sunday with Bijon Robinson,
and then the truest test yet'll be with Jonathan Taylor
and the Colts a week from now.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
As long as.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
Mike McDonald is coaching this defense, and as long as
Leonard Williams and DeMarcus Lawrence and Nicky mun Worry and
Devin Witherspoon.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
Are playing in it.
Speaker 4 (34:38):
In Ernest Jones, the Seahawks win this game nine and
nine point nine out of ten times.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
I think they win, call it twenty seven to ten.
Speaker 4 (34:48):
I don't think the Falcons muster much offensively against his defense.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
Yeah, I'm kind of with you on that one, all right,
you your final thoughts to close this out?
Speaker 3 (34:56):
Where we go?
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Yeah, Bijon Robinson, So a lot of talk this summer
about the outside zone with Clint Kubiak. You're gonna watch
a team that is the most committed to the outside
zone in the Falcons. With Bjon Robinson, he has one
hundred and fifteen outside zone runs. The next closest number
two is eighty six. Christian McCaffrey. By the way, Can
(35:17):
nine has fifty eight basically half right at half of
what Bezon Robinson.
Speaker 3 (35:23):
That's this year.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
Last year, Bezon Robinson one hundred and seventy eight was
the most outside zones in the NFL. Next closest guy
was one hundred and four. I think he's tremendous at it.
I'm a big fan of him. But I think that
Bison Robinson is going against the wrong defense for that.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
You got team speed, you got.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
Emon worry that they're trying to get to the edge
if they can get it. Otherwise there's the cutbacks.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
I love.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
You know, let's see if there's more dime where you've
got Witherspoon on one edge and Emon Worry. They've up
their dime. The Seahawks from four four plays per game
to nineteen plays per game since Emon Warry has been
back because he was going to be so yeah, yeah,
and also because of Willano. I think had a really
(36:07):
good game at least a few good plays this past Sunday,
and and the hustle play on the eighty five yard
pick route that really grabbed my heart. But but in
any event, I think it'll be interesting for Seahawk fans
to say, Okay, this is what we talked about in
the summer. The Falcons are going to try and do it.
I don't think they're going to do it successfully, but
(36:28):
I think Robinson's a hell of a back but it'll
be a challenge. Yeah, and it'd be fun to watch
that outside zone.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
All right, man, awesome stuff as always, Thank you very much,
and we'll chat with you both tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Okay, hamber down, thanks all right.
Speaker 1 (36:42):
Greg Bell, our Seahawks insider at the News Tribune. You
can follo him at the Newstribune dot com and at
g bel Seattle there on X. He'll also be with
us tomorrow morning at seven o five for his Friday conversation.
We get the latest injury reports from Greg every Friday,
and Key's more keys than the one he gave us
here to during the roundtable. And of course our QB one,
Hugh Millen. He'll be with us tomorrow at nine o'clock
(37:06):
for his x'es and O segment, the award winning excesses.
We need to make him an award, Ashley. Ok Yeah,
we make a Hue Award for his award winning x'es
and o's. I've already I can already picture what it's
going to look like. I think that's a great, great
getting ahead of it kind of mode that you're in.
Speaker 3 (37:22):
All right.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
Coming up next college football Playoff ranking Selection Sunday is
coming up. And one thing that I want to discuss
before we get to selection Sunday is that we really
need to keep our biases in check. We'll talk about
that next. Sports Radio ninety three point three KJRFM
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