August 7, 2024 • 7 mins
Boye Mafe, Seattle Seahawks pass rusher, sits down with Dave Softy Mahler at the VMAC to talk about going into his third year after a successful 2023, what he does outside of football, the new defense under Mike Macdonald, and his sack numbers.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The guy joining us right now from the Virginia Mason
Athletics Center. I gotta apologize first of all for making
boy a Mafe wait Jackson. This guy comes lumbering over
right in the middle of the Elijah Jackson conversation and
was humble enough to sit around and wait for a
couple minutes. Boy eight Mafe, now in his third year
with the Seahawks, joining us now on the show.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
How are you, pal?
Speaker 3 (00:20):
I'm good, Thank you, appreciation you for having me well.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
I appreciate you doing this, and again, thank you so much.
I apologize for the delay. Tell me about what worked
in year two for you, because you look like a
guy to a lot of fans and media that took
a big jump in your sophomore season in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
I mean there's a lot of things going into that.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
You know.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
As my rookie year was going by, I was seeing,
you know, kind of adjusting to the game. It was
a different type of game. It wasn't like college ball.
And then going into your two, the biggest thing I
was focusing on was making sure I understood the game
and understanding when to take your opportunities. Obviously, you have
to work on your craft. You have to work on
what you're doing, but at the same time, it's it's
bigger than just working on your craft and working on moves.
(00:59):
You know, football is one thing. We're all athletic. You
wouldn't make it this far in life if you're not athletic,
or if you don't have somewhat of talent. The talent
differential is your mental part. And that's the biggest thing
I've learned is that you got to understand football, see
things before the snap, so you can play faster after
the snap. Yeah, and that's probably the biggest Takeawaile takeaway.
That gave me the opportunity to take those chances and
to make those plays.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
How much of a transition was there for you just
going to the NFL and being a pro and learning
how to be a pro?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
I mean, you were a star at Minnesota.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Everybody knew your name in the hallways on campus, but
now it's all football twenty four to seven.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
How much of a transition was there for you?
Speaker 3 (01:34):
It was actually, honestly, really, you know, weird to get
adjusted to. You know, it's one of those things is
where you know you have your separate life, you have
your at work, you're doing stuff in football, and then
I used to be in class. But now for me
it's you know, it's never turning off. And I had
to get adjusted to that and understand that there's a
mental part of that. You have to give yourself a
break and to be normal, you know what I'm saying,
to be back into whoever you are when I'm with
(01:56):
my family, I'm with my friends, that I'm just who
I am and doesn't change anything about out me. So
the biggest thing, honestly was to get that adjustment of
you understanding that you know it's okay to turn it
off at times, but you know, getting justed to he's
like something you fall in love with. Instead of studying
for classes and studying for tests and stuff, I was
studying ball. So I'll just switch the time zones to
switch what I would be wasting my time on.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Now it's switch towards well, I love that and boy
and mafe is whether it's and believe it or not.
Us radio guys, we have lives too, right when we're
off the radio. So if I came over or I
saw you on a Friday afternoon in the middle of
the summer, what is boy mafe doing when he's not
playing football, practicing or watching tick.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
I mean there's a variation of thing, you know, for
me to the I'm getting lunch or I'm on the
water somewhere fishing on the wake, surfing the water. So
if i can find a way to get on the water,
I'm always doing that.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
This is a perfect spot for you. Then adding this is.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
You can't beat it. You can't beat it. Sometimes you
know they haven't done it yet, but we've all been
talking about having one day after practice just jumping in
the lake.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
I think, yes, great idea and number two let us
know so we can make sure to film it and
put it on social media.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Do you have a favorite fishing hole yet around here?
Speaker 3 (03:08):
I'm actually looking to find a couple. So if anyone
has some recommendations, Yeah, I can get some good good
cashes and good cast onshore or offshore.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Let me know I love it.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
I'll check myse out.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
It is up at four nine, four or five one.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
We'll be sure and pass it along to boy and
Mafeo joins us here from Seaawk training camp. So playing
for Mike McDonald man, tell me about what you think
this scheme can do?
Speaker 2 (03:28):
For you in year three.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
There's a lot of potential. It's one of the things
that we know he can't give away too much right now,
but it's there's a lot of ways that we can
a lot of variations. There's a lot of you know,
weapons and tools in the chamber, you know, saying like
you want to say, tricks at your sleep. But there's
a lot of things that we can do. And I
love the variations and the different ways to use people.
So yep, I'm excited, honestly, you know, just to see
how it shakes out and see what we do with it.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
What have you seen from I mean, boy, it wasn't
too long ago that you were a rookie. I mean
now you're in og for God's sake in this game.
But what are you say seeing from the kid from
Texas on that defensive line Byron Murphy, the rookie.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Oh, he has a sky's limit for him, and he's
hungry and he wants to work. So I'm excited to
see what he does. I feel like he's one of
those players that he's he has a humble approach to him.
Sometimes you get guys come into those high draft picks.
It can it can go in one or two ways.
But the energy and the level of you know, great
that he came in with. It's you know, saying it's
like okay, and he understands that he's got to work
(04:25):
and he's ready for it. He never bats and eye
never looks at it in a bad way, but he
just you know, he takes it with as in a
very humble way. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Well, boy, mafia, guys with us. I'm looking at your
sack numbers from a year ago. And I think in
this business, boy, a lot of us tend to and
the fans will do it as well.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
And I'm a fan.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
I was a fan way before I started doing this job,
you know, forty years ago. We'll get caught up in numbers,
right and not look at what's actually happening on the field.
So you see the sack numbers, he's see nine consistent
right in the month of October November, and then he
had the two sack game against the Titans. But people
will say, well, we need more consistency sack wise. Well,
maybe the reason why this theirs because the guys getting
(05:01):
double teamed. He's getting more attention because of the sack
numbers from earlier in the year. So is that a
thing for you as a player that you look at
your sacks and say, I'd like to see those spread
out over the course.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Of a four month season.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
I mean it's never you know, you never know when
your days gonna be. Some days you have it and
it's cooking and it's your day, and you could have
three in one game. You could have zero for two weeks.
And it's never a situation of like to me, when
they come, they come. If you're sitting there chasing sacks,
you're focusing on the wrong thing. But you gotta, you know,
have your situations and everything will come to it as
(05:34):
long as you're doing the work. So I never looked
at it as, oh, I need to have it every
one a game or two a game, or three for
there this week. No, it's never one of those situations.
Just one of those situations when the game gets me
the opportunity, when things happen and it opens up, let
it come, and so you just have to have that.
Let that happen.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Yeah, what do you guys like Draymond Jones and Leonard
Williams do for you out there?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
What do those guys mean to you?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
They do a lot. They open up the field like
with theirs, and there are different tool sets.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
You know.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Those guys can play anywhere across from inside and outside,
so they have a lot. Especially for me, that helps
a lot, open up the inside, gives me wide open
b gaps, whatever it is. So I really appreciate those guys,
and especially in going into the second year with these guys,
it helps because now we're getting that familiation, You're getting
that chemistry, that bond of understanding how they play. Yeah,
(06:22):
you know what I'm saying, like how they like to
do things and how I like to do things and
how those will work together.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Well, boy, IM off it with us. Just wrap it
up with this. I am not a fan of preseason football.
I don't know how you feel about it, mostly because
I have massive add and I can't wait until the
Denver game in.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
A week one when the guys are playing for real?
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Do you look forward to lining up against somebody wearing
a different helmet?
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Does? Does Saturday get your blood going at all? Against
the Chargers? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (06:46):
I mean it definitely does. It's always fun because it's
you know, I've had this whole off season, so things
you've worked on, things you've been trying things you've been
waiting to just try out. You know, it's finally good
to get it go against somebody else. It's one thing
to go into your teammates and they know we know
each other pretty well. So now when he had a
chance to go somebody knew who doesn't really understand you
and doesn't know you as a rusher or a run defender.
You can try those new things and see how they
(07:07):
work on the field. And that's the biggest and the
most exciting part is to see you know, what worked
for you and what things you can make happen.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Gotcha, Just do me one favor in these preseason games.
Stay healthy, right, stay healthy? Hey, great to see you
apologize for the delay. Thanks for waiting, man, and we'll
talk down the road, right buddy, for sure. Thanks you
bet boy, mafe with us. We're gonna break a lot.
More to come from Seayawk training camp right here on
ninety three three KJRFM.
The guy joining us right now from the Virginia Mason
Athletics Center. I gotta apologize first of all for making
boy a Mafe wait Jackson. This guy comes lumbering over
right in the middle of the Elijah Jackson conversation and
was humble enough to sit around and wait for a
couple minutes. Boy eight Mafe, now in his third year
with the Seahawks, joining us now on the show.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
How are you, pal?
Speaker 3 (00:20):
I'm good, Thank you, appreciation you for having me well.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
I appreciate you doing this, and again, thank you so much.
I apologize for the delay. Tell me about what worked
in year two for you, because you look like a
guy to a lot of fans and media that took
a big jump in your sophomore season in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
I mean there's a lot of things going into that.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
You know.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
As my rookie year was going by, I was seeing,
you know, kind of adjusting to the game. It was
a different type of game. It wasn't like college ball.
And then going into your two, the biggest thing I
was focusing on was making sure I understood the game
and understanding when to take your opportunities. Obviously, you have
to work on your craft. You have to work on
what you're doing, but at the same time, it's it's
bigger than just working on your craft and working on moves.
(00:59):
You know, football is one thing. We're all athletic. You
wouldn't make it this far in life if you're not athletic,
or if you don't have somewhat of talent. The talent
differential is your mental part. And that's the biggest thing
I've learned is that you got to understand football, see
things before the snap, so you can play faster after
the snap. Yeah, and that's probably the biggest Takeawaile takeaway.
That gave me the opportunity to take those chances and
to make those plays.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
How much of a transition was there for you just
going to the NFL and being a pro and learning
how to be a pro?
Speaker 2 (01:25):
I mean, you were a star at Minnesota.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Everybody knew your name in the hallways on campus, but
now it's all football twenty four to seven.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
How much of a transition was there for you?
Speaker 3 (01:34):
It was actually, honestly, really, you know, weird to get
adjusted to. You know, it's one of those things is
where you know you have your separate life, you have
your at work, you're doing stuff in football, and then
I used to be in class. But now for me
it's you know, it's never turning off. And I had
to get adjusted to that and understand that there's a
mental part of that. You have to give yourself a
break and to be normal, you know what I'm saying,
to be back into whoever you are when I'm with
(01:56):
my family, I'm with my friends, that I'm just who
I am and doesn't change anything about out me. So
the biggest thing, honestly was to get that adjustment of
you understanding that you know it's okay to turn it
off at times, but you know, getting justed to he's
like something you fall in love with. Instead of studying
for classes and studying for tests and stuff, I was
studying ball. So I'll just switch the time zones to
switch what I would be wasting my time on.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Now it's switch towards well, I love that and boy
and mafe is whether it's and believe it or not.
Us radio guys, we have lives too, right when we're
off the radio. So if I came over or I
saw you on a Friday afternoon in the middle of
the summer, what is boy mafe doing when he's not
playing football, practicing or watching tick.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
I mean there's a variation of thing, you know, for
me to the I'm getting lunch or I'm on the
water somewhere fishing on the wake, surfing the water. So
if i can find a way to get on the water,
I'm always doing that.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
This is a perfect spot for you. Then adding this is.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
You can't beat it. You can't beat it. Sometimes you
know they haven't done it yet, but we've all been
talking about having one day after practice just jumping in
the lake.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
I think, yes, great idea and number two let us
know so we can make sure to film it and
put it on social media.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Do you have a favorite fishing hole yet around here?
Speaker 3 (03:08):
I'm actually looking to find a couple. So if anyone
has some recommendations, Yeah, I can get some good good
cashes and good cast onshore or offshore.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Let me know I love it.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
I'll check myse out.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
It is up at four nine, four or five one.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
We'll be sure and pass it along to boy and
Mafeo joins us here from Seaawk training camp. So playing
for Mike McDonald man, tell me about what you think
this scheme can do?
Speaker 2 (03:28):
For you in year three.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
There's a lot of potential. It's one of the things
that we know he can't give away too much right now,
but it's there's a lot of ways that we can
a lot of variations. There's a lot of you know,
weapons and tools in the chamber, you know, saying like
you want to say, tricks at your sleep. But there's
a lot of things that we can do. And I
love the variations and the different ways to use people.
So yep, I'm excited, honestly, you know, just to see
how it shakes out and see what we do with it.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
What have you seen from I mean, boy, it wasn't
too long ago that you were a rookie. I mean
now you're in og for God's sake in this game.
But what are you say seeing from the kid from
Texas on that defensive line Byron Murphy, the rookie.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Oh, he has a sky's limit for him, and he's
hungry and he wants to work. So I'm excited to
see what he does. I feel like he's one of
those players that he's he has a humble approach to him.
Sometimes you get guys come into those high draft picks.
It can it can go in one or two ways.
But the energy and the level of you know, great
that he came in with. It's you know, saying it's
like okay, and he understands that he's got to work
(04:25):
and he's ready for it. He never bats and eye
never looks at it in a bad way, but he
just you know, he takes it with as in a
very humble way. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Well, boy, mafia, guys with us. I'm looking at your
sack numbers from a year ago. And I think in
this business, boy, a lot of us tend to and
the fans will do it as well.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
And I'm a fan.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
I was a fan way before I started doing this job,
you know, forty years ago. We'll get caught up in numbers,
right and not look at what's actually happening on the field.
So you see the sack numbers, he's see nine consistent
right in the month of October November, and then he
had the two sack game against the Titans. But people
will say, well, we need more consistency sack wise. Well,
maybe the reason why this theirs because the guys getting
(05:01):
double teamed. He's getting more attention because of the sack
numbers from earlier in the year. So is that a
thing for you as a player that you look at
your sacks and say, I'd like to see those spread
out over the course.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Of a four month season.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
I mean it's never you know, you never know when
your days gonna be. Some days you have it and
it's cooking and it's your day, and you could have
three in one game. You could have zero for two weeks.
And it's never a situation of like to me, when
they come, they come. If you're sitting there chasing sacks,
you're focusing on the wrong thing. But you gotta, you know,
have your situations and everything will come to it as
(05:34):
long as you're doing the work. So I never looked
at it as, oh, I need to have it every
one a game or two a game, or three for
there this week. No, it's never one of those situations.
Just one of those situations when the game gets me
the opportunity, when things happen and it opens up, let
it come, and so you just have to have that.
Let that happen.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Yeah, what do you guys like Draymond Jones and Leonard
Williams do for you out there?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
What do those guys mean to you?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
They do a lot. They open up the field like
with theirs, and there are different tool sets.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
You know.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Those guys can play anywhere across from inside and outside,
so they have a lot. Especially for me, that helps
a lot, open up the inside, gives me wide open
b gaps, whatever it is. So I really appreciate those guys,
and especially in going into the second year with these guys,
it helps because now we're getting that familiation, You're getting
that chemistry, that bond of understanding how they play. Yeah,
(06:22):
you know what I'm saying, like how they like to
do things and how I like to do things and
how those will work together.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Well, boy, IM off it with us. Just wrap it
up with this. I am not a fan of preseason football.
I don't know how you feel about it, mostly because
I have massive add and I can't wait until the
Denver game in.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
A week one when the guys are playing for real?
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Do you look forward to lining up against somebody wearing
a different helmet?
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Does? Does Saturday get your blood going at all? Against
the Chargers? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (06:46):
I mean it definitely does. It's always fun because it's
you know, I've had this whole off season, so things
you've worked on, things you've been trying things you've been
waiting to just try out. You know, it's finally good
to get it go against somebody else. It's one thing
to go into your teammates and they know we know
each other pretty well. So now when he had a
chance to go somebody knew who doesn't really understand you
and doesn't know you as a rusher or a run defender.
You can try those new things and see how they
(07:07):
work on the field. And that's the biggest and the
most exciting part is to see you know, what worked
for you and what things you can make happen.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
Gotcha, Just do me one favor in these preseason games.
Stay healthy, right, stay healthy? Hey, great to see you
apologize for the delay. Thanks for waiting, man, and we'll
talk down the road, right buddy, for sure. Thanks you
bet boy, mafe with us. We're gonna break a lot.
More to come from Seayawk training camp right here on
ninety three three KJRFM.
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