January 5, 2026 • 19 mins
Hugh Millen joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to talk about the Seahawks win over the Niners on Saturday, various factors within the victory, and the playoffs starting soon.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I heard Hugh a couple of times on the radio
(00:01):
station this morning with Egan Furnest today, and I really
was impressed by what I heard out of hume Ellon,
and I thought towards the tail end of his conversation
with Ian that we would not need a little more
at four. And then all of a sudden, I found
myself just wanting a little bit more from you. I
just thought I almost got Hughey, almost got everything I
needed from you, but not everything. So now we have
(00:24):
you back into the air for a little bit.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I got so many notes here, dude. Yeah, yeah, Well,
why don't we just give you the floor? Just start go?
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Yes, one of the biggest regular season wins in Seahawks history.
They're the number one seed for the first time since thirteen.
What's the top of your mind today, man, Well, I just.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Think you look at how Seattle dominated the forty nine
er offense, you know, really focusing on Christian McCaffrey and
the running backs, the fact that they would have ten
carries for thirty two yards, and in that they in
those ten carries, the Seahawks they play heavy box. They
(01:01):
brought the safety down one out of the ten, nine
out of the ten times they played with a past shell,
they stopped the run with just seven guys, and they
did it with NICKI Min Worry basically playing a Sam
Nickel Sam. And so the fourthcoming comment that I'm gonna
make is is assuming that Emon Worry is a linebacker,
(01:24):
because that's what he plays. And I'll get to that
in a second. There wasn't one secondary. The other four
remaining secondary guys never were in on a tackle on
the forty nine er run place. The Seahawks handled the
forty nine er offense with just their their front seven.
That's never happened. I'm so used to. I did the
(01:47):
numbers since twenty nineteen, the forty nine ers of the
winning this team in the NFC, they've averaged in that stadium,
the forty nine ers offense one hundred and fifty one
yards rushing, averaged thirty one rush attempts. So the degree
to which Seattle has squashed them, you know, just exponentially.
And a final thought on Emon Worry because a lot
(02:09):
of people say, wasn't that like you know, like Cam
Chancellor camp Chancer played in the box. This is why
I say, nick emmonin Worri is a Sam linebacker. If
I was playing still and preparing to play the Seahawk defense,
first of all, I'd be soiling my shorts at the prospect.
But secondly, I as I analyzed nick Emon Worriy, he's
just a linebacker. He Cam Chancellor played in the post
(02:32):
safety in twenty thirteen Super Bowl winning Here Cam Chancellor,
You'd say, well, he was the strong safety, right, he
was the guy down in the box. He played cover three.
That's a single high ear Old Thomas is the free safety.
Cam Chancers down in the box. Cam had four and
thirteen snaps as the post safety. That's forty one percent
of his snaps. Nick am and Worry only has one
(02:52):
snap this whole year. Is a post safety and a
half re quarter back in safety another five. So he
you know, Nick Emmerworry's a linebacker and a great one
and how he plays, and you know, very pivotal in
what they did, just squashing that run offense by San Francisco.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Clint Kobeac's game plan seemed to me like kind of
the one that I wanted from the Huskies when they
were in Wisconsin. Just don't hand the opponent the game.
Did you like how conservative the Hawks were, and is
that the best game plan for this offense going into
the playoffs because of this defense?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Yeah, I mean I'm yes, if I take your question literally,
I think it was a good game plan for Saturday night.
I think you were I think the game plan, you
know modified, you know, what is the game plan, what
you thought going into the game, and then what is
the adjustments and then how do you play it? You know,
there's those are blurred lines, right, And I think as
the game evolved, you saw how dominant Seattle was not
(03:55):
just against the forty nine run offense, but how they
were handling rock perty smacking him around, and so it
just played out that way. But I'm a little bit
if we if we're gonna take the helicopter and raise
it up a little bit and try and have a
broader discussion this this idea that Sam Donald is just
some kind of Trent dilferd that you you know, if
(04:17):
you just manage, anybody can win. I think that is
a load of crap. Sam Donald, I'm gonna I'll give
you a stat so raise your hand or say I
we're on radio, say I if you ever ever heard
a national commentator say Russell Wilson throws the best deep
ball in the NFL. A all right, okay, thank you,
Russell Wilson. You guys are freaking on it man, Monday,
(04:39):
we're sharp. Well, you're asking easy questions man here on
passes over thirty yards, right, Like that's where you're going
to have that trajectory on passes air yards over thirty yards.
Russell Wilson the Super Bowl year, he completed twenty eight
points six called twenty nine percent of his passes where
the ball was in the era over thirty. Over over
(05:00):
Russ's career, he's thirty six percent. Got me? So, I
mean you know the average, by the way, this year,
the average is twenty nine percent completion if the ball's
in the air over thirty. Second place this year was
forty three percent. It's pretty damn good, right balls in
there over thirty. Sam Donald was fifty eight percent far away,
(05:22):
number one in the NFL and one hundred and forty
two passer rating. When he's cranking it up and more
throwing more than thirty years, I could inundate you with stafts.
Number one quarterback rating on yards of over twenty over thirty,
the big yards per dropback so this idea, I almost
feel like I can see this conversation getting shoehorned into
(05:45):
Seattle's got this great defense. Oh they're running the ball now,
you know they've got this this. You know, Trent Dilford
tight quarterback. I look at the passing I have in front,
passing first downs. Sam Donald has three and a half
times the pas first downs that Trent Dilfer had that year. Like, so,
so let's Sam Donald still has a he has shown
(06:07):
ability to make plays. And yet you know, look, I'm
obviously not complaining about what happens Saturday night, right, that
was beautiful football, Right, but let's just let's give Sam
Donald his due about his ability to put the ball
down the field to make play. Thousand percent deserves it. Okay,
So if we're gonna win a title, let's nitpick a
little bit.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
All right, Let's not sit around and just say, hey,
we're all good. Let's go through this thing with a
fine frickin' tooth comb. You know how the coaches will be.
They'll be at the facility, they will live at the
facility between now and the end of the year, looking
for any advantage. And if we're talking about this thing
on the blade of a knife, Hue. One mistake can
sync YOUA one missed opportunity can syncia. I want you
(06:48):
to tell me why we're not scoring touchdowns in the
red zone and why this team is five for their
last fourteen in the last four games in the red zone.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
And in the red zone fringe. Well, it starts on
first down. I gotta I gotta add the other night
into the equation. But I know that they they've been
averaging uh just under two yards per down on first down,
and it was in there with the running game, you know,
getting you know, they faced a lot of second and eights,
so they've got to clean that up. I think that
they needs to take some shots, right. You know some
(07:17):
of the best scoring now they scored whatever the second
in the the NFL and scoring and instead of franchise
record for points. But you're asking me about red zone
and red zone friends, you know that area call it
the you know the thirty in or even the forty
in where it's you're right at that distance of a
very long field goal or what have you. A lot
(07:38):
of coaches they say on first down, I'm gonna take
a shot. I'm gonna you know, I'm gonna go touchdown, checkdown, touchdown, checkdown.
That's how quarterbacks are often taught, Like we're gonna give
you two or three receivers to into the end zone.
If you like one of it, smoke it in there.
If you don't like it, just hit the checkdown, right,
Like if the light's not green, then take the checkdown.
(07:59):
Sot of trying to get seven yard completions, co try
and get a twenty seven yard you know ball in
the year and the next play we're kicking a pat
And so I think that that would be a components
as the numbers I just said might illuminate. I think
that Darnold's capable of that. So so you know, I
think sometimes they kind of constrict themselves. I think they
(08:22):
were a little bit more free earlier in the year.
They're making bigger plays earlier in the year, And so
that might be an area. It's a fine line, right
because because I get that there's a fair argument if
you can keep running like this, certainly that's true, you know,
because you know Dilford. You know he had Jamal Lewis
(08:42):
who had over two thousand yards that year. Like I
get leaning on a great defense and a great running game.
I'm not convinced. And look, I'm glad to be proven wrong.
I told you guys a month ago, I don't see
the running game turning around. Well guess what it's turned
around over the last three weeks. Beautiful and so but
(09:03):
I still think that there may be some times where
you say, hey, let's go, let's go big game hunting.
We got a quarterback who's proven that he can do it.
Last year. I looked up all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
You know.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Last year is fifth in completion percentage on yards over
thirty with the whole you know, and and third and
passer rating on yards passing yards over thirty. I mean,
it's a guy that has been able to connect with
a lot of different receivers down the field over the
last couple of years. I think some big plays need
might need to be there in the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
So why is the running game succeeding now when it
didn't for the first two And.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
As I think what she saw the other night, uh,
you know, first of all, the wide zone, I think
it was it was symbolic that the first play of
the game was stretched right and you got what nine
yards out of it? Whatever it was. But they sealed
the edge there. Tight ends are blocking well on the
edge and and and so you're getting the defense to
(09:56):
flow and then that's creating because they're worried about the
flow and getting wide because you're trying to stretch them. Now,
those inside runs are working. They're not wasting their time
with uh with gap scheme. They tried one power play
and Anthony Bradford, you know, just that's not his strong suit,
just playing in space, he kind of missed the block.
(10:17):
It gets gummed up there. Ken Kubiak didn't go back
to it the rest of the night. He had one
trap that they don't run often maybe once a month
with Gray's Abel Center missed his block, so that didn't
work out well. You know what, uh Kubiak just said, Hey,
I'm gonna go inside zone, outside zone and and and
what's called duo kind of a blast with double teams
(10:38):
in the middle. But but I keep I think they
keep it clean, and you know, they're blocking better, they're
just communicating. Timing's better on their double teams moving up
to the second level and and so yeah, it's it's
it's obviously about time and and well placed timing.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Well, the other guy that's been back now is Robbie Huts.
I mean he's back and they're kicking ass in the
run game. How much of this do you honestly give
him credit for?
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Well, it was his second most number of snaps the
other night. They had eleven runs with him in the
backfield sixty six yards. Obviously you know right there at
six yard average that there was a play that I
think was indicative of the of the degree I said
earlier in the day the Seahawks out forty nine or
(11:25):
to forty nine ers, and there I could go on
for twenty minutes on all the different elements that I
may say it. One of them is Robbie Utes. And
there was a play where he's as a lead blocker
tourn at seventy pound fullback. Watched the tape d Winners
number fifty three, a pretty good week side linebacker on
a lead zone play. He ran around the block like
(11:48):
a matador would be in a bullfight, like he wanted
no part of Robbie Utes. And it was kind of embarrassing.
I know how the forty nine ers that they're probably
themselves on that physicality. There's a play there where you
got a pretty damn good linebacker just tapping out of
that play. And and so I think there's a there's
a physicality, you know, the the uh you think of
(12:10):
the forty nine ers getting under center with with Kyle
Yushchev and playing twenty one personnel. That's two backs, one
tight end. They were since twenty and nineteen. When when
when the forty nine ers were thirteen three to the
Super Bowl, they have two thousand and four and forty
nine plays out of twenty one personnel. That's a that's
a hard ball offensive personnel said. It's just a statement
(12:34):
when even in the huddle, that's telling the defense we
want to play hardball. And the next closest is fourteen
hundred and seventy nine. They averages five to sixteen, so
there are one thousand snaps more than second place, and
they're five times as much as the average. Almost right,
that's who they are. And yet they got under center
the other night with two backs and for three runs
(12:59):
and Seattle had thirty three. So they text him on
their brand of physical football. So so I don't know, man,
that's just it's cool stuff. It's it's what Mike McDonald
h envision. It's what John Schnyder envisioned. They got the guys,
they got the coaches, and they are not saying we're
(13:19):
gonna come into the NFC West and beat you with
finesse because you're a physical team. Will just you know,
shoot it over the top of your head. No, no, No,
we're gonna We're gonna pound the paint and come hard
at the paint every freaking possession. And uh I love it, Hugh.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
That first drive was like the waiter at a fine
steakhouse just handing you a perfectly cooked ribbi mashed potatoes
side and then just as he's about just he's about
to leave, he dumps water all over it, right, and
he's kind of and that was the sack. What what
did Sam see or not see to prevent him from
(13:57):
throwing the ball to what appeared to be a wide
open and Zach Sharmon in the flat?
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Yeah? Yeah, I'll just give you my analysis on that.
First of all, I think it's important to know because
a lot of people say, what the hell are you
doing passing the football? I think they should have run it.
I was not sitting there going go play action. They
had already run down there. I'd say, hey, let's just
run the ball. But this year first down and goal
at the one yard line, there are one hundred and
(14:24):
forty seven plays. Thirty five of them were passes. And
that's that's twenty five exactly twenty five percent. So generally
offensive coaches say, if we never throw the ball, it's
gonna be a lot harder to run down there. Okay,
so I'm not totally against the fact that they threw it.
What happened is is they were in infirmation, and usually
(14:45):
that play where you go play action and then you
got a guy in the flat, you got the corner,
the tight end, the corner. That's that is a ubiquity.
I coached that in high school. I mean, this is
all over football, that concept. But so the Seahawks had
a wrinkle to it. Instead of have in the full
back oots in the flat, who is lined up closer
and would get to the flat sooner on his bluff block,
(15:06):
block bluff block, they had oots block and they had Charbonay,
who was lined deep in the information he had to
get to the flat. So you know, I bet you
I'm certain that Darnold has been running that play since
San Clementi High School. I know he ran it at
usc everybody's run that play. The timing's a little off
(15:26):
when you're waiting for the tailback. So he looked out
there in the flat and if you I'm gonna send
you guys a photo, there's a point where Oots's block
on the end is directly in his line of sight.
So the camera that's up set a one hundred feet
up in the air. We can all play quarterback from
that camera. When you're down there at that level and
that guy's blocks your vision. He didn't want to throw
(15:48):
a pick six for one hundred yards. He wasn't sure
if there wasn't a defender there, we can see how
wide it opened it was. He couldn't. The timing was
a little bit late because of what I said, and
you know, and then Anthony Bradford at a horrible they
were to turn protection right to left. For Bradford, there's
only three guys rushing at five guys to handle three
and then the the late blitzer is the fourth. We
(16:10):
still got five guys. Anthony Bradford gets your eyes open
on the on the delay blitzer, that's your guy, and
he just it was like you know those horses on
the blind that have blinders in the Kentucky Derby. It's
like he was like, like, dude, how did you not
see that Blitzer? Now, if I'm grading Darnold, I give
him at least a minus, possibly even a double minus.
I'm not absolving him. A lot of things going on
(16:32):
on that play, as I described, but you know what
they went went for. It didn't get it, but that
that sequence kind of laid the groundwork for getting the
next touchdown to go up seven. Nothing.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Yeah, I'd like to play calling after the sack though,
either by Clint Kubiak. I mean I was a rough,
Yeah rough. I would have loved to have seen three
plays right to the ends. And I thought maybe he
had bobo on fourth down. But we can talk about
that later. But Hugh, before you go, Dick and Jackson
and I got into a little bit of a debate
about kind of you know what, what do we expect?
You know what do we expect now from this football team?
Speaker 2 (17:04):
And I will just leave you with this.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
The Seahawks, according to our Buddy Hawk blogger, have ended
the year number one in DVOA on offense defense overall.
Four of the previous five teams that did that won
the Super Bowl. Only team that didn't was the twenty
three Ravens that lost the conference championship. How surprised would
you be at this point? How disappointed would you be
(17:27):
at this point, Hugh if they did not minimum win
the NFC and go back to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Uh, okay, I'd be disappointed. I'd be a little bit
surprised if you said, right now, the Seahawks do they
have a would be the Seahawks or the other six
teams in the playoff field in the NFC? I bet
you the Seahawks are under fifty percent probabilities in that regard.
So I saw him at forty eight, right, I just
(17:54):
look at it. I've said it before. I think you know,
this is year one with Kobe Akin and Darnold like
there ahead of the game. Even if that were to happen.
Let's say the Rams were to beat them, which would
be but devastating, Like, I don't even want to put
it in the universe. I just pulled it back. You're
still talking about Matthew Stafford's going to be thirty eight
(18:16):
when toe meet's leather at the Super Bowl this year.
Sam Don's twenty eight in year one. You know those
guys down south, they've they've been at the same system
for five years now, like they're ahead to be the
number one seed. They are way ahead to be you know,
set a franchise record for points number two, you know,
(18:37):
and then now number one in all the points you know,
a EPA points DVOA. What you just said. You can't
find a stat where the Seahawks defense is number one.
They did exactly what we said that is likely to happen.
Coming from Baltimore halfway through year one, your your ratings
is like the twenties, Like what's happening. It's not taking
(18:57):
hold well, it's very complicated. Second half of year one,
boom wow blast, and then the next year come on
and and lead the NFL in fewest points. That's exactly
what he did at Baltimore in his two years. That's
exactly what he's done here with the Seahawks. So you look,
you're playing with house money. I'll be very you know,
I think that they certainly should be considered the favorite,
(19:21):
but when you compared against all the other field, there's
no way I'm gonna bring myself to say disappointment, you know, Yeah, yeah,
I don't, I don't. I don't like that take from you.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
I gotta be honest with you, and we're but the
problem is we're up against the clock. So I can
either explain it behind your back to Dick on the
air next segment, or you can hang around for a
little bit. It's it's totally your call. So how about
we do this. I'll just I'll just say it behind
your back, all right, and then and then and then
and then and then you can tune in like a
regular schmuck next segment and uh and listen to what
(19:51):
I have to say. Uh, I want to come back
and address me. Yeah, yeah, I want to address that
next on ninety three three kJ R f M
I heard Hugh a couple of times on the radio
(00:01):
station this morning with Egan Furnest today, and I really
was impressed by what I heard out of hume Ellon,
and I thought towards the tail end of his conversation
with Ian that we would not need a little more
at four. And then all of a sudden, I found
myself just wanting a little bit more from you. I
just thought I almost got Hughey, almost got everything I
needed from you, but not everything. So now we have
(00:24):
you back into the air for a little bit.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I got so many notes here, dude. Yeah, yeah, Well,
why don't we just give you the floor? Just start go?
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Yes, one of the biggest regular season wins in Seahawks history.
They're the number one seed for the first time since thirteen.
What's the top of your mind today, man, Well, I just.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Think you look at how Seattle dominated the forty nine
er offense, you know, really focusing on Christian McCaffrey and
the running backs, the fact that they would have ten
carries for thirty two yards, and in that they in
those ten carries, the Seahawks they play heavy box. They
(01:01):
brought the safety down one out of the ten, nine
out of the ten times they played with a past shell,
they stopped the run with just seven guys, and they
did it with NICKI Min Worry basically playing a Sam
Nickel Sam. And so the fourthcoming comment that I'm gonna
make is is assuming that Emon Worry is a linebacker,
(01:24):
because that's what he plays. And I'll get to that
in a second. There wasn't one secondary. The other four
remaining secondary guys never were in on a tackle on
the forty nine er run place. The Seahawks handled the
forty nine er offense with just their their front seven.
That's never happened. I'm so used to. I did the
(01:47):
numbers since twenty nineteen, the forty nine ers of the
winning this team in the NFC, they've averaged in that stadium,
the forty nine ers offense one hundred and fifty one
yards rushing, averaged thirty one rush attempts. So the degree
to which Seattle has squashed them, you know, just exponentially.
And a final thought on Emon Worry because a lot
(02:09):
of people say, wasn't that like you know, like Cam
Chancellor camp Chancer played in the box. This is why
I say, nick emmonin Worri is a Sam linebacker. If
I was playing still and preparing to play the Seahawk defense,
first of all, I'd be soiling my shorts at the prospect.
But secondly, I as I analyzed nick Emon Worriy, he's
just a linebacker. He Cam Chancellor played in the post
(02:32):
safety in twenty thirteen Super Bowl winning Here Cam Chancellor,
You'd say, well, he was the strong safety, right, he
was the guy down in the box. He played cover three.
That's a single high ear Old Thomas is the free safety.
Cam Chancers down in the box. Cam had four and
thirteen snaps as the post safety. That's forty one percent
of his snaps. Nick am and Worry only has one
(02:52):
snap this whole year. Is a post safety and a
half re quarter back in safety another five. So he
you know, Nick Emmerworry's a linebacker and a great one
and how he plays, and you know, very pivotal in
what they did, just squashing that run offense by San Francisco.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
Clint Kobeac's game plan seemed to me like kind of
the one that I wanted from the Huskies when they
were in Wisconsin. Just don't hand the opponent the game.
Did you like how conservative the Hawks were, and is
that the best game plan for this offense going into
the playoffs because of this defense?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Yeah, I mean I'm yes, if I take your question literally,
I think it was a good game plan for Saturday night.
I think you were I think the game plan, you
know modified, you know, what is the game plan, what
you thought going into the game, and then what is
the adjustments and then how do you play it? You know,
there's those are blurred lines, right, And I think as
the game evolved, you saw how dominant Seattle was not
(03:55):
just against the forty nine run offense, but how they
were handling rock perty smacking him around, and so it
just played out that way. But I'm a little bit
if we if we're gonna take the helicopter and raise
it up a little bit and try and have a
broader discussion this this idea that Sam Donald is just
some kind of Trent dilferd that you you know, if
(04:17):
you just manage, anybody can win. I think that is
a load of crap. Sam Donald, I'm gonna I'll give
you a stat so raise your hand or say I
we're on radio, say I if you ever ever heard
a national commentator say Russell Wilson throws the best deep
ball in the NFL. A all right, okay, thank you,
Russell Wilson. You guys are freaking on it man, Monday,
(04:39):
we're sharp. Well, you're asking easy questions man here on
passes over thirty yards, right, Like that's where you're going
to have that trajectory on passes air yards over thirty yards.
Russell Wilson the Super Bowl year, he completed twenty eight
points six called twenty nine percent of his passes where
the ball was in the era over thirty. Over over
(05:00):
Russ's career, he's thirty six percent. Got me? So, I
mean you know the average, by the way, this year,
the average is twenty nine percent completion if the ball's
in the air over thirty. Second place this year was
forty three percent. It's pretty damn good, right balls in
there over thirty. Sam Donald was fifty eight percent far away,
(05:22):
number one in the NFL and one hundred and forty
two passer rating. When he's cranking it up and more
throwing more than thirty years, I could inundate you with stafts.
Number one quarterback rating on yards of over twenty over thirty,
the big yards per dropback so this idea, I almost
feel like I can see this conversation getting shoehorned into
(05:45):
Seattle's got this great defense. Oh they're running the ball now,
you know they've got this this. You know, Trent Dilford
tight quarterback. I look at the passing I have in front,
passing first downs. Sam Donald has three and a half
times the pas first downs that Trent Dilfer had that year. Like, so,
so let's Sam Donald still has a he has shown
(06:07):
ability to make plays. And yet you know, look, I'm
obviously not complaining about what happens Saturday night, right, that
was beautiful football, Right, but let's just let's give Sam
Donald his due about his ability to put the ball
down the field to make play. Thousand percent deserves it. Okay,
So if we're gonna win a title, let's nitpick a
little bit.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
All right, Let's not sit around and just say, hey,
we're all good. Let's go through this thing with a
fine frickin' tooth comb. You know how the coaches will be.
They'll be at the facility, they will live at the
facility between now and the end of the year, looking
for any advantage. And if we're talking about this thing
on the blade of a knife, Hue. One mistake can
sync YOUA one missed opportunity can syncia. I want you
(06:48):
to tell me why we're not scoring touchdowns in the
red zone and why this team is five for their
last fourteen in the last four games in the red zone.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
And in the red zone fringe. Well, it starts on
first down. I gotta I gotta add the other night
into the equation. But I know that they they've been
averaging uh just under two yards per down on first down,
and it was in there with the running game, you know,
getting you know, they faced a lot of second and eights,
so they've got to clean that up. I think that
they needs to take some shots, right. You know some
(07:17):
of the best scoring now they scored whatever the second
in the the NFL and scoring and instead of franchise
record for points. But you're asking me about red zone
and red zone friends, you know that area call it
the you know the thirty in or even the forty
in where it's you're right at that distance of a
very long field goal or what have you. A lot
(07:38):
of coaches they say on first down, I'm gonna take
a shot. I'm gonna you know, I'm gonna go touchdown, checkdown, touchdown, checkdown.
That's how quarterbacks are often taught, Like we're gonna give
you two or three receivers to into the end zone.
If you like one of it, smoke it in there.
If you don't like it, just hit the checkdown, right,
Like if the light's not green, then take the checkdown.
(07:59):
Sot of trying to get seven yard completions, co try
and get a twenty seven yard you know ball in
the year and the next play we're kicking a pat
And so I think that that would be a components
as the numbers I just said might illuminate. I think
that Darnold's capable of that. So so you know, I
think sometimes they kind of constrict themselves. I think they
(08:22):
were a little bit more free earlier in the year.
They're making bigger plays earlier in the year, And so
that might be an area. It's a fine line, right
because because I get that there's a fair argument if
you can keep running like this, certainly that's true, you know,
because you know Dilford. You know he had Jamal Lewis
(08:42):
who had over two thousand yards that year. Like I
get leaning on a great defense and a great running game.
I'm not convinced. And look, I'm glad to be proven wrong.
I told you guys a month ago, I don't see
the running game turning around. Well guess what it's turned
around over the last three weeks. Beautiful and so but
(09:03):
I still think that there may be some times where
you say, hey, let's go, let's go big game hunting.
We got a quarterback who's proven that he can do it.
Last year. I looked up all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
You know.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Last year is fifth in completion percentage on yards over
thirty with the whole you know, and and third and
passer rating on yards passing yards over thirty. I mean,
it's a guy that has been able to connect with
a lot of different receivers down the field over the
last couple of years. I think some big plays need
might need to be there in the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
So why is the running game succeeding now when it
didn't for the first two And.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
As I think what she saw the other night, uh,
you know, first of all, the wide zone, I think
it was it was symbolic that the first play of
the game was stretched right and you got what nine
yards out of it? Whatever it was. But they sealed
the edge there. Tight ends are blocking well on the
edge and and and so you're getting the defense to
(09:56):
flow and then that's creating because they're worried about the
flow and getting wide because you're trying to stretch them. Now,
those inside runs are working. They're not wasting their time
with uh with gap scheme. They tried one power play
and Anthony Bradford, you know, just that's not his strong suit,
just playing in space, he kind of missed the block.
(10:17):
It gets gummed up there. Ken Kubiak didn't go back
to it the rest of the night. He had one
trap that they don't run often maybe once a month
with Gray's Abel Center missed his block, so that didn't
work out well. You know what, uh Kubiak just said, Hey,
I'm gonna go inside zone, outside zone and and and
what's called duo kind of a blast with double teams
(10:38):
in the middle. But but I keep I think they
keep it clean, and you know, they're blocking better, they're
just communicating. Timing's better on their double teams moving up
to the second level and and so yeah, it's it's
it's obviously about time and and well placed timing.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Well, the other guy that's been back now is Robbie Huts.
I mean he's back and they're kicking ass in the
run game. How much of this do you honestly give
him credit for?
Speaker 2 (11:03):
Well, it was his second most number of snaps the
other night. They had eleven runs with him in the
backfield sixty six yards. Obviously you know right there at
six yard average that there was a play that I
think was indicative of the of the degree I said
earlier in the day the Seahawks out forty nine or
(11:25):
to forty nine ers, and there I could go on
for twenty minutes on all the different elements that I
may say it. One of them is Robbie Utes. And
there was a play where he's as a lead blocker
tourn at seventy pound fullback. Watched the tape d Winners
number fifty three, a pretty good week side linebacker on
a lead zone play. He ran around the block like
(11:48):
a matador would be in a bullfight, like he wanted
no part of Robbie Utes. And it was kind of embarrassing.
I know how the forty nine ers that they're probably
themselves on that physicality. There's a play there where you
got a pretty damn good linebacker just tapping out of
that play. And and so I think there's a there's
a physicality, you know, the the uh you think of
(12:10):
the forty nine ers getting under center with with Kyle
Yushchev and playing twenty one personnel. That's two backs, one
tight end. They were since twenty and nineteen. When when
when the forty nine ers were thirteen three to the
Super Bowl, they have two thousand and four and forty
nine plays out of twenty one personnel. That's a that's
a hard ball offensive personnel said. It's just a statement
(12:34):
when even in the huddle, that's telling the defense we
want to play hardball. And the next closest is fourteen
hundred and seventy nine. They averages five to sixteen, so
there are one thousand snaps more than second place, and
they're five times as much as the average. Almost right,
that's who they are. And yet they got under center
the other night with two backs and for three runs
(12:59):
and Seattle had thirty three. So they text him on
their brand of physical football. So so I don't know, man,
that's just it's cool stuff. It's it's what Mike McDonald
h envision. It's what John Schnyder envisioned. They got the guys,
they got the coaches, and they are not saying we're
(13:19):
gonna come into the NFC West and beat you with
finesse because you're a physical team. Will just you know,
shoot it over the top of your head. No, no, No,
we're gonna We're gonna pound the paint and come hard
at the paint every freaking possession. And uh I love it, Hugh.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
That first drive was like the waiter at a fine
steakhouse just handing you a perfectly cooked ribbi mashed potatoes
side and then just as he's about just he's about
to leave, he dumps water all over it, right, and
he's kind of and that was the sack. What what
did Sam see or not see to prevent him from
(13:57):
throwing the ball to what appeared to be a wide
open and Zach Sharmon in the flat?
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Yeah? Yeah, I'll just give you my analysis on that.
First of all, I think it's important to know because
a lot of people say, what the hell are you
doing passing the football? I think they should have run it.
I was not sitting there going go play action. They
had already run down there. I'd say, hey, let's just
run the ball. But this year first down and goal
at the one yard line, there are one hundred and
(14:24):
forty seven plays. Thirty five of them were passes. And
that's that's twenty five exactly twenty five percent. So generally
offensive coaches say, if we never throw the ball, it's
gonna be a lot harder to run down there. Okay,
so I'm not totally against the fact that they threw it.
What happened is is they were in infirmation, and usually
(14:45):
that play where you go play action and then you
got a guy in the flat, you got the corner,
the tight end, the corner. That's that is a ubiquity.
I coached that in high school. I mean, this is
all over football, that concept. But so the Seahawks had
a wrinkle to it. Instead of have in the full
back oots in the flat, who is lined up closer
and would get to the flat sooner on his bluff block,
(15:06):
block bluff block, they had oots block and they had Charbonay,
who was lined deep in the information he had to
get to the flat. So you know, I bet you
I'm certain that Darnold has been running that play since
San Clementi High School. I know he ran it at
usc everybody's run that play. The timing's a little off
(15:26):
when you're waiting for the tailback. So he looked out
there in the flat and if you I'm gonna send
you guys a photo, there's a point where Oots's block
on the end is directly in his line of sight.
So the camera that's up set a one hundred feet
up in the air. We can all play quarterback from
that camera. When you're down there at that level and
that guy's blocks your vision. He didn't want to throw
(15:48):
a pick six for one hundred yards. He wasn't sure
if there wasn't a defender there, we can see how
wide it opened it was. He couldn't. The timing was
a little bit late because of what I said, and
you know, and then Anthony Bradford at a horrible they
were to turn protection right to left. For Bradford, there's
only three guys rushing at five guys to handle three
and then the the late blitzer is the fourth. We
(16:10):
still got five guys. Anthony Bradford gets your eyes open
on the on the delay blitzer, that's your guy, and
he just it was like you know those horses on
the blind that have blinders in the Kentucky Derby. It's
like he was like, like, dude, how did you not
see that Blitzer? Now, if I'm grading Darnold, I give
him at least a minus, possibly even a double minus.
I'm not absolving him. A lot of things going on
(16:32):
on that play, as I described, but you know what
they went went for. It didn't get it, but that
that sequence kind of laid the groundwork for getting the
next touchdown to go up seven. Nothing.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Yeah, I'd like to play calling after the sack though,
either by Clint Kubiak. I mean I was a rough,
Yeah rough. I would have loved to have seen three
plays right to the ends. And I thought maybe he
had bobo on fourth down. But we can talk about
that later. But Hugh, before you go, Dick and Jackson
and I got into a little bit of a debate
about kind of you know what, what do we expect?
You know what do we expect now from this football team?
Speaker 2 (17:04):
And I will just leave you with this.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
The Seahawks, according to our Buddy Hawk blogger, have ended
the year number one in DVOA on offense defense overall.
Four of the previous five teams that did that won
the Super Bowl. Only team that didn't was the twenty
three Ravens that lost the conference championship. How surprised would
you be at this point? How disappointed would you be
(17:27):
at this point, Hugh if they did not minimum win
the NFC and go back to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Uh, okay, I'd be disappointed. I'd be a little bit
surprised if you said, right now, the Seahawks do they
have a would be the Seahawks or the other six
teams in the playoff field in the NFC? I bet
you the Seahawks are under fifty percent probabilities in that regard.
So I saw him at forty eight, right, I just
(17:54):
look at it. I've said it before. I think you know,
this is year one with Kobe Akin and Darnold like
there ahead of the game. Even if that were to happen.
Let's say the Rams were to beat them, which would
be but devastating, Like, I don't even want to put
it in the universe. I just pulled it back. You're
still talking about Matthew Stafford's going to be thirty eight
(18:16):
when toe meet's leather at the Super Bowl this year.
Sam Don's twenty eight in year one. You know those
guys down south, they've they've been at the same system
for five years now, like they're ahead to be the
number one seed. They are way ahead to be you know,
set a franchise record for points number two, you know,
(18:37):
and then now number one in all the points you know,
a EPA points DVOA. What you just said. You can't
find a stat where the Seahawks defense is number one.
They did exactly what we said that is likely to happen.
Coming from Baltimore halfway through year one, your your ratings
is like the twenties, Like what's happening. It's not taking
(18:57):
hold well, it's very complicated. Second half of year one,
boom wow blast, and then the next year come on
and and lead the NFL in fewest points. That's exactly
what he did at Baltimore in his two years. That's
exactly what he's done here with the Seahawks. So you look,
you're playing with house money. I'll be very you know,
I think that they certainly should be considered the favorite,
(19:21):
but when you compared against all the other field, there's
no way I'm gonna bring myself to say disappointment, you know, Yeah, yeah,
I don't, I don't. I don't like that take from you.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
I gotta be honest with you, and we're but the
problem is we're up against the clock. So I can
either explain it behind your back to Dick on the
air next segment, or you can hang around for a
little bit. It's it's totally your call. So how about
we do this. I'll just I'll just say it behind
your back, all right, and then and then and then
and then and then you can tune in like a
regular schmuck next segment and uh and listen to what
(19:51):
I have to say. Uh, I want to come back
and address me. Yeah, yeah, I want to address that
next on ninety three three kJ R f M
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.