September 9, 2026 • 16 mins
Hall of Fame quarterback and Westwood One broadcast analyst Kurt Warner joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to talk about the Seahawks starting 2026 tonight and trying to repeat as Super Bowl Champions, Sam Darnold and his future big money deal, the Patriots’ Drake Maye and his growth, the opener today and Seattle’s new running game.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now back to Softie and Dick, brought to you by
Emerald Queen Casino. Bringing you the best in live music, entertainment, dining,
and gaming. Whether it's your favorite games, food, concerts, MMA,
or professional boxing, it's all at Emerald Queen Casino. Always entertaining.
For more info, visit EmeraldQueen.com.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
All right, we are back. We are rolling, baby.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Getting ready for kickoff tonight, 520 Seahawks and Patriots. Kevin
Harlan will make his debut for 2026. Coming up at
5 o'clock, courtesy of the Emerald Queen, we're going to
hear from Neil Kosla from the new Seahawk owners, the
Kosla family, coming up about 4.30 this afternoon. But joining
us right now on the radio show, he actually is
(00:42):
one half of the legendary Harlan and Warner broadcast crew
in town with Westwood One to call this game for
national radio. Two-time MVP and our friend Kurt Warner joining
us right now on the radio program.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Kurt, how are you? I'm doing well. How are you
guys doing?
Speaker 4 (00:58):
Good.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Good to have you back on the radio show, man,
as we kick off the NFL season.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
And I don't know, man.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
I mean, this means good things for the Seahawks when
you and Kevin are here for week one because that
means the Hawks are winners, baby. Coming off their championship
a year ago.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
And here we go on a Wednesday night. You ready?
I am definitely ready. I have no favorites in this one.
So I don't want any of the Patriots fans getting
mad at me at the Seahawks win saying it's on
to me and Kevin. But what a great way to
start the season. I mean, it's the way we ended
the season. Obviously, for the Seahawks fans, it was a.
A great finish in Super Bowl 60. And I know
(01:33):
everybody expects the same type of result this time out.
But a lot of questions, you know, some new additions
for the Patriots, some questions for the Seahawks. And so
will it look the same? I'm not so sure, but
I can't wait for kickoff and to get this season going. Well,
let's start there, right?
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Because you're looking to do something that only guys like
Elway Mahomes and Brady have done in the last 30 years,
and that's repeat as Super Bowl champions. This is one
of the more difficult things to do in sports, right, guys,
is to win consecutive Lombardis. So maybe talk a bit
for a minute, Kurt. You know this roster. You know
the changes that they've made to this football team. Why
(02:11):
or why not will the Seahawks repeat as champions?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Well, the first thing you have to look at is
that There weren't a bunch of huge losses from the
Super Bowl champion roster a year ago. So I think
just in and of itself, you say to yourself, on paper,
this team is good enough to win a championship. They've
got the pieces. They've got the playmakers. They've got, you know,
(02:36):
the guys on defense that really some good offensive players,
but their defense carried them last year. Those pieces are
in place. And so that's the reason that you say, hey,
this team has a shot. What you know in winning
a championship, getting to a Super Bowl, is that every
season is different, and there's so much that goes into
(02:58):
getting to that point. You have to get some breaks.
You have to get lucky. You have to stay healthy
at certain positions. There's just so much that goes into
it that it's– that's why it's so hard to repeat.
That's why you named the few teams that have ever
done it because– It is so hard. You know, then
you have to talk about how short the offseason was
(03:20):
and and being able to deal with success. You know that, hey,
we just won. And now everybody wants you on the
banquets tour. And, you know, they want to talk about
what happened and why you won it last year and
all those great things. And so it's so easy to,
you know, to lose a little bit of focus or
a little bit of that edge that you had the
year before when you were chasing something that you'd never
(03:42):
been a part of. And so there's just so much
that goes into it that, yes, pieces are in place.
They are good enough, you know, just if everybody stays
healthy with the guys that they're going to have on
the football field. But there's so much, you know, that
is added to that. I mean, and some of it
goes to, hey, but let's look at the Rams. They
beat the Rams by four points in the championship game.
And everybody believes the Rams got better. And so that's
(04:05):
the other side of it. Not that the Seahawks got worse,
but are there other teams out there that got better,
that will be healthier than they were last year when
they played the Seahawks? So that's why we play the games.
That's why you get between the lines is that everybody
in this league is good enough to beat everybody. any
given Sunday or Wednesday or Thursday or whatever games we
play this year. And so that's what makes it fun.
(04:29):
But they're the champs until they're not. And I do
believe that they feel that they've got a roster in
place that can compete for a championship again, and that's
exactly what you want on opening night.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
Well, Kurt, rarely do we see a Super Bowl champion
with less buzz than the Hawks. I mean, I know
they're on hard knocks, but they don't get a lot
of buzz even in their own division. As you mentioned,
the Rams are getting more buzz than the Seahawks. So
does that help them materially hold on to that edge
that a lot of Super Bowl champions might lose, like
you indicated?
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Possibly. I mean, I was never a guy that looked
for an edge, like, oh, somebody said something about me,
or oh, everybody's talking about the Rams instead of the Seahawks.
That fires me. To me, my edge was I wanted
to be the best I could be every time I
stepped between the lines. And that was the focus, and
that was the goal, and that was the drive. And
(05:23):
so I didn't need any of the outside noise. And
I believe most players are like that, although we've heard,
you know, the Aaron Rodgers and the Tom Brady's and
these guys that always say they have a chip on
their shoulder. So you find anything you can to motivate you,
to keep you hungry, to keep that edge that you want.
But for most guys, it's simply can we go out
(05:44):
and be the best version of ourself for 60 minutes?
Every time we step on the football field, that's what
it takes to win a championship. Can this team do
it back-to-back years? Can Sam Darnold do it not really
back-to-back-to-back years? I mean, the games that he's won over
two years is unprecedented. Can he do it again? I mean,
it's just sustaining it and consistency is so huge in
(06:08):
this business at this level. And so, you know, all
those things make it really, really hard to do it
in back-to-back years.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Yeah, Kurt Warner's with us, and Kurt, you know, Baker
Mayfield signed a $ 55 million a year extension yesterday, which
says two things to me.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Number one, you were born about 30 years too early,
number one.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
And then number two, Sam Darnold, he has another year
like he had last year.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
He's about to get paid.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Over next offseason but people still seem to kind of
doubt this guy and as you said he's 31 and
7 including the playoffs in his last two years and
he just won a championship there's only four quarterbacks in
the NFL ranked higher than him in the NFL top
100 so what is Sam Darnold what's your what's your
perception what's your take on this guy?
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Well, I mean, Sam Darnold is a really good NFL quarterback.
No doubt that he stamped his spot as a starting
quarterback in the National Football League. But I also have
high expectations for that position. And I believe that at
any one time, we've only got five or six guys
that are truly elite. And by elite, I mean a
(07:16):
guy that... You believe no matter what happens around them,
that they can go out and win games and keep
you competitive with their right arm, throwing the football, carrying
them that way. I think that's the one thing that
Sam has to prove yet. And again, who cares? You know,
at the end of the day, who cares? I'm a
Super Bowl champion. You know, I'm a starting quarterback. And
(07:38):
as you said, he's going to be a starting quarterback
for a long time because of what he's done these
last couple years. But To me, there's always a next level. And,
you know, you got your Mahomes and you got your
Burroughs and you got your Josh Allens. And those are
the guys that you look at and go, okay, that guy,
every time he goes between the lines and you put
the ball in his hands, you believe that he's going
(08:01):
to make that play and he's going to be able
to carry you if he's got to throw the ball
45 or 50 times a game. Not everybody can do that.
There's a lot of good quarterbacks in this league that
can win when they're a part of something that's really,
really good. There's other quarterbacks that can win in spite
of what the team around them is all about, and
that to me is just the next tier for a
(08:23):
guy like Sam Darnold. I mean, even a guy like
Baker Mayfield. Really good quarterbacks, starting quarterbacks. I look at
them and go, yeah, they're better than most guys in
the world, but they're not those other five or six.
And that's what you chase for when you're a quarterback
is you want to prove to people that you can
be one of those guys. And that to me is
(08:47):
really all that Sam has to convince us of at
this point.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Hall of Famer Kurt Warner joining us. And let's talk
about the quarterback on the other side, Kurt. There are
a few quarterbacks in the league, I think, where there's
more disagreement into how good they are than Drake May.
There are believers that think he's a top five quarterback
in the league. There are some that are, eh, he's
kind of middle of the pack. What's your take of
Drake May?
Speaker 2 (09:10):
My take is, first of all, he's going into his
third year. So we don't need to define him yet.
What I love is that here's a guy that played
his first year and showed some really good signs, played
his second year and made a huge jump, was in
the MVP conversation, led his team to a Super Bowl
regardless of what that means and what their competition was
(09:32):
and blah, blah, blah. He led his team to a
Super Bowl. And so I really like what I've seen
from Drake May here. in his first two years. Do
I believe he's an upper echelon quarterback at this stage? No,
I don't. I believe there's a lot of guys, if
I watch them play down in and down out, their
understanding of the position, how they play the game inside
(09:52):
the pocket, there's a lot of guys that are better
than Drake May right now, but there's a lot of
guys that should be better than Drake May right now.
He's simply going into his third year he's met the
expectations that anybody has on a young quarterback that I
love that. I think he's got the demeanor. I think
he wants to be great. He's got all the physical
talent that you want to be one of those special quarterbacks.
But he's just got to grow. And he's got to
(10:14):
have time. And he's got to get experience. And so
I love where he's at right now. He's right where
he should be or where any team would want their
second year going into their third year quarterback. But he's
not a great quarterback yet. And I don't think anybody
should expect him to be. Well, Kurt Warner's.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
With us, two-time MVP. And, Kurt, you saw the Super Bowl.
I know that because you were there calling the game
with Kevin. And you saw what Drake May did for
three quarters against the Seahawks defense, which was nothing. The
majority of his numbers came when the game was pretty
much decided. So should we expect a lot different tonight?
You've got a secondary that obviously looks different. Kobe Bryant, Reek, Woolen, gone.
(10:54):
Nicky Manwari likely not going to play. Hawks are elevating
some players from the practice squad tonight. Should we expect
a much different performance tonight for Drake May versus McDonald's defense?
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Well, I mean, if you're the Seahawks defense, you better
expect something different. If you get the same thing, great.
But I'm definitely expecting something different. I'm expecting Josh McDaniels
to have better answers. I'm expecting Drake May to be
more calm and poised in the situations. I actually went
back and watched the game today because I wanted to
(11:25):
get a feel again. I think in my mind, I
felt like it was a blowout. Seahawks just dominated the
entire game. Now, they did dominate on defense, no question,
but I thought New England's defense played really, really well
that game and made it hard for the Seahawks I
mean it was 12 to nothing going into the fourth
quarter and in the fourth quarter they got defensive touchdown
and then they got another 10 points off of turnover
(11:48):
so you know it wasn't easy for the Seahawks offense
so if New England can can show up and make
some plays and make some of the adjustments You know,
this could be a different game, even though I know
a lot of people have the perception, oh, Seahawks are
going to win this because they blew them out in
the Super Bowl. I don't see the game like that
after going back and watching it again. And so, you know,
(12:10):
when you watch Drake May and company against this Seahawks defense,
The Seahawks were great up front. You know, they dominated
with their front four for sure. So their offensive line
is going to have to be better. But just if
you look at it from a scheme standpoint, I didn't
think that the Seahawks defense did anything crazy. I mean,
they brought a number of slot blitzes, which to me
is like football 101. I mean, you're bringing the Sam linebacker.
(12:33):
It's a single guy off the slot. There's easy answers
for that. And New England had no answers for that.
Drake didn't know it was coming, and they didn't have
any built-in answers. And it was just really strange to
watch that game and go, man, this wasn't as complicated
as I think a lot of people made it out
to be. They just didn't have good answers, whether that
(12:53):
was a young quarterback that wasn't ready for that moment,
whether it was we have to play a little more
simplistically with who we are as a team right now.
And so that played into the hands of the Seahawks.
I think it's going to be tougher for the Seahawks
defense this time around. You talked about, you know, some
of the guys that will be missing from what we
saw in the Super Bowl. But also, you know, you
(13:15):
remember they've added, you know, Romeo Dobbs. They've added A.J. Brown.
And one of the things that the New England Patriots
struggled with last year, especially in the Super Bowl, was
against man-to-man coverage. They could not get any separation against
this secondary team. albeit a really good secondary, they couldn't
get any separation in man-to-man coverage. So you go out
(13:36):
and get a couple guys that you believe can win
one-on-one battles. So what does that mean for tonight? Again,
it's fun because we don't really know until we get
to see it. So it's all speculation right now. Are
the Seahawks better than they were last year as a
Super Bowl champion? Did some of the losses, the Kenneth
Walkers and such, is that going to affect them on
(13:58):
the other side? New England, are they the same team
we saw in the Super Bowl, or have they grown?
Have they gotten better? And what does this look like tonight?
I'm fascinated. I'm fascinated by all the off-season questions, all
the stuff we've been talking about for months. Now let's
put it out on the field. Let's put the product
out there, and let's see who these teams are. Well,
you mentioned K-Dub.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
He touched it 29 times in that game you just watched.
How about the decision to let him go to free
agency and a decision to take a running back in
the first round by the Seahawks?
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
I will say, I mean, obviously, you know, Kevin Walker
has been really good for this organization when he was here.
And so you hate to see those guys go. But
what I think I understand about, you know, this offense
and the way they want to play. And you guys
saw it last year is that it wasn't really even
though Kenneth was a starter. This was kind of a
two-headed monster with Zach, and I know Zach still coming
(14:50):
back from the injury. But it's like, hey, we're going
to split time with our guys. Whoever's here, we're going
to split time with them. We're going to have roles
for both of them. So do we want to pay
a bunch of money to one guy when we know
that's going to be a part of what we do?
And I believe that's why Kenneth Walker, you know, went
to Kansas City and the Seahawks let him go, and
(15:11):
they went out and got Price in. in the first
round to say, hey, we believe Zach's going to be back.
He's going to be one of our featured guys. Price
can be another one of those guys. We saw how
good he was in that kind of one-two punch role
with Notre Dame. And I believe that was just their
perspective is we can't pay everybody. And because of the
running back position and how we want to utilize them,
we're not going to pay Kenneth as much as we
(15:32):
love him. And it was a big part of us
winning a championship. We're going to go younger, we're going
to go cheaper, and we're going to use that committee
to help us to continue to build and do what
we want to do. Two-time MVP, Pro Football Hall of Famer,
but more than anything, Kevin Harlan's broadcast partner. Westwood won.
Great stuff, Kurt. Always love catching up. Have fun tonight.
(15:54):
We'll talk down the road, bud. All right, sounds great.
Good luck to you guys. You got it, man. You
as well.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
I think that's actually one of three trips that Kurt
will be making to Seattle because I know Kevin's coming
back with the Bears and Cowboys Monday night game later
this year. And his partner, Kevin Harlan, will make his
debut for 2026, courtesy of the Emerald Queen, coming up
at 5 p.m.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Factor Fiction. Let's get to it. It's Wednesday. It's Jackson Day.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Let's go.
Now back to Softie and Dick, brought to you by
Emerald Queen Casino. Bringing you the best in live music, entertainment, dining,
and gaming. Whether it's your favorite games, food, concerts, MMA,
or professional boxing, it's all at Emerald Queen Casino. Always entertaining.
For more info, visit EmeraldQueen.com.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
All right, we are back. We are rolling, baby.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Getting ready for kickoff tonight, 520 Seahawks and Patriots. Kevin
Harlan will make his debut for 2026. Coming up at
5 o'clock, courtesy of the Emerald Queen, we're going to
hear from Neil Kosla from the new Seahawk owners, the
Kosla family, coming up about 4.30 this afternoon. But joining
us right now on the radio show, he actually is
(00:42):
one half of the legendary Harlan and Warner broadcast crew
in town with Westwood One to call this game for
national radio. Two-time MVP and our friend Kurt Warner joining
us right now on the radio program.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Kurt, how are you? I'm doing well. How are you
guys doing?
Speaker 4 (00:58):
Good.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Good to have you back on the radio show, man,
as we kick off the NFL season.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
And I don't know, man.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
I mean, this means good things for the Seahawks when
you and Kevin are here for week one because that
means the Hawks are winners, baby. Coming off their championship
a year ago.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
And here we go on a Wednesday night. You ready?
I am definitely ready. I have no favorites in this one.
So I don't want any of the Patriots fans getting
mad at me at the Seahawks win saying it's on
to me and Kevin. But what a great way to
start the season. I mean, it's the way we ended
the season. Obviously, for the Seahawks fans, it was a.
A great finish in Super Bowl 60. And I know
(01:33):
everybody expects the same type of result this time out.
But a lot of questions, you know, some new additions
for the Patriots, some questions for the Seahawks. And so
will it look the same? I'm not so sure, but
I can't wait for kickoff and to get this season going. Well,
let's start there, right?
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Because you're looking to do something that only guys like
Elway Mahomes and Brady have done in the last 30 years,
and that's repeat as Super Bowl champions. This is one
of the more difficult things to do in sports, right, guys,
is to win consecutive Lombardis. So maybe talk a bit
for a minute, Kurt. You know this roster. You know
the changes that they've made to this football team. Why
(02:11):
or why not will the Seahawks repeat as champions?
Speaker 2 (02:15):
Well, the first thing you have to look at is
that There weren't a bunch of huge losses from the
Super Bowl champion roster a year ago. So I think
just in and of itself, you say to yourself, on paper,
this team is good enough to win a championship. They've
got the pieces. They've got the playmakers. They've got, you know,
(02:36):
the guys on defense that really some good offensive players,
but their defense carried them last year. Those pieces are
in place. And so that's the reason that you say, hey,
this team has a shot. What you know in winning
a championship, getting to a Super Bowl, is that every
season is different, and there's so much that goes into
(02:58):
getting to that point. You have to get some breaks.
You have to get lucky. You have to stay healthy
at certain positions. There's just so much that goes into
it that it's– that's why it's so hard to repeat.
That's why you named the few teams that have ever
done it because– It is so hard. You know, then
you have to talk about how short the offseason was
(03:20):
and and being able to deal with success. You know that, hey,
we just won. And now everybody wants you on the
banquets tour. And, you know, they want to talk about
what happened and why you won it last year and
all those great things. And so it's so easy to,
you know, to lose a little bit of focus or
a little bit of that edge that you had the
year before when you were chasing something that you'd never
(03:42):
been a part of. And so there's just so much
that goes into it that, yes, pieces are in place.
They are good enough, you know, just if everybody stays
healthy with the guys that they're going to have on
the football field. But there's so much, you know, that
is added to that. I mean, and some of it
goes to, hey, but let's look at the Rams. They
beat the Rams by four points in the championship game.
And everybody believes the Rams got better. And so that's
(04:05):
the other side of it. Not that the Seahawks got worse,
but are there other teams out there that got better,
that will be healthier than they were last year when
they played the Seahawks? So that's why we play the games.
That's why you get between the lines is that everybody
in this league is good enough to beat everybody. any
given Sunday or Wednesday or Thursday or whatever games we
play this year. And so that's what makes it fun.
(04:29):
But they're the champs until they're not. And I do
believe that they feel that they've got a roster in
place that can compete for a championship again, and that's
exactly what you want on opening night.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
Well, Kurt, rarely do we see a Super Bowl champion
with less buzz than the Hawks. I mean, I know
they're on hard knocks, but they don't get a lot
of buzz even in their own division. As you mentioned,
the Rams are getting more buzz than the Seahawks. So
does that help them materially hold on to that edge
that a lot of Super Bowl champions might lose, like
you indicated?
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Possibly. I mean, I was never a guy that looked
for an edge, like, oh, somebody said something about me,
or oh, everybody's talking about the Rams instead of the Seahawks.
That fires me. To me, my edge was I wanted
to be the best I could be every time I
stepped between the lines. And that was the focus, and
that was the goal, and that was the drive. And
(05:23):
so I didn't need any of the outside noise. And
I believe most players are like that, although we've heard,
you know, the Aaron Rodgers and the Tom Brady's and
these guys that always say they have a chip on
their shoulder. So you find anything you can to motivate you,
to keep you hungry, to keep that edge that you want.
But for most guys, it's simply can we go out
(05:44):
and be the best version of ourself for 60 minutes?
Every time we step on the football field, that's what
it takes to win a championship. Can this team do
it back-to-back years? Can Sam Darnold do it not really
back-to-back-to-back years? I mean, the games that he's won over
two years is unprecedented. Can he do it again? I mean,
it's just sustaining it and consistency is so huge in
(06:08):
this business at this level. And so, you know, all
those things make it really, really hard to do it
in back-to-back years.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Yeah, Kurt Warner's with us, and Kurt, you know, Baker
Mayfield signed a $ 55 million a year extension yesterday, which
says two things to me.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Number one, you were born about 30 years too early,
number one.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
And then number two, Sam Darnold, he has another year
like he had last year.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
He's about to get paid.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
Over next offseason but people still seem to kind of
doubt this guy and as you said he's 31 and
7 including the playoffs in his last two years and
he just won a championship there's only four quarterbacks in
the NFL ranked higher than him in the NFL top
100 so what is Sam Darnold what's your what's your
perception what's your take on this guy?
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Well, I mean, Sam Darnold is a really good NFL quarterback.
No doubt that he stamped his spot as a starting
quarterback in the National Football League. But I also have
high expectations for that position. And I believe that at
any one time, we've only got five or six guys
that are truly elite. And by elite, I mean a
(07:16):
guy that... You believe no matter what happens around them,
that they can go out and win games and keep
you competitive with their right arm, throwing the football, carrying
them that way. I think that's the one thing that
Sam has to prove yet. And again, who cares? You know,
at the end of the day, who cares? I'm a
Super Bowl champion. You know, I'm a starting quarterback. And
(07:38):
as you said, he's going to be a starting quarterback
for a long time because of what he's done these
last couple years. But To me, there's always a next level. And,
you know, you got your Mahomes and you got your
Burroughs and you got your Josh Allens. And those are
the guys that you look at and go, okay, that guy,
every time he goes between the lines and you put
the ball in his hands, you believe that he's going
(08:01):
to make that play and he's going to be able
to carry you if he's got to throw the ball
45 or 50 times a game. Not everybody can do that.
There's a lot of good quarterbacks in this league that
can win when they're a part of something that's really,
really good. There's other quarterbacks that can win in spite
of what the team around them is all about, and
that to me is just the next tier for a
(08:23):
guy like Sam Darnold. I mean, even a guy like
Baker Mayfield. Really good quarterbacks, starting quarterbacks. I look at
them and go, yeah, they're better than most guys in
the world, but they're not those other five or six.
And that's what you chase for when you're a quarterback
is you want to prove to people that you can
be one of those guys. And that to me is
(08:47):
really all that Sam has to convince us of at
this point.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Hall of Famer Kurt Warner joining us. And let's talk
about the quarterback on the other side, Kurt. There are
a few quarterbacks in the league, I think, where there's
more disagreement into how good they are than Drake May.
There are believers that think he's a top five quarterback
in the league. There are some that are, eh, he's
kind of middle of the pack. What's your take of
Drake May?
Speaker 2 (09:10):
My take is, first of all, he's going into his
third year. So we don't need to define him yet.
What I love is that here's a guy that played
his first year and showed some really good signs, played
his second year and made a huge jump, was in
the MVP conversation, led his team to a Super Bowl
regardless of what that means and what their competition was
(09:32):
and blah, blah, blah. He led his team to a
Super Bowl. And so I really like what I've seen
from Drake May here. in his first two years. Do
I believe he's an upper echelon quarterback at this stage? No,
I don't. I believe there's a lot of guys, if
I watch them play down in and down out, their
understanding of the position, how they play the game inside
(09:52):
the pocket, there's a lot of guys that are better
than Drake May right now, but there's a lot of
guys that should be better than Drake May right now.
He's simply going into his third year he's met the
expectations that anybody has on a young quarterback that I
love that. I think he's got the demeanor. I think
he wants to be great. He's got all the physical
talent that you want to be one of those special quarterbacks.
But he's just got to grow. And he's got to
(10:14):
have time. And he's got to get experience. And so
I love where he's at right now. He's right where
he should be or where any team would want their
second year going into their third year quarterback. But he's
not a great quarterback yet. And I don't think anybody
should expect him to be. Well, Kurt Warner's.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
With us, two-time MVP. And, Kurt, you saw the Super Bowl.
I know that because you were there calling the game
with Kevin. And you saw what Drake May did for
three quarters against the Seahawks defense, which was nothing. The
majority of his numbers came when the game was pretty
much decided. So should we expect a lot different tonight?
You've got a secondary that obviously looks different. Kobe Bryant, Reek, Woolen, gone.
(10:54):
Nicky Manwari likely not going to play. Hawks are elevating
some players from the practice squad tonight. Should we expect
a much different performance tonight for Drake May versus McDonald's defense?
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Well, I mean, if you're the Seahawks defense, you better
expect something different. If you get the same thing, great.
But I'm definitely expecting something different. I'm expecting Josh McDaniels
to have better answers. I'm expecting Drake May to be
more calm and poised in the situations. I actually went
back and watched the game today because I wanted to
(11:25):
get a feel again. I think in my mind, I
felt like it was a blowout. Seahawks just dominated the
entire game. Now, they did dominate on defense, no question,
but I thought New England's defense played really, really well
that game and made it hard for the Seahawks I
mean it was 12 to nothing going into the fourth
quarter and in the fourth quarter they got defensive touchdown
and then they got another 10 points off of turnover
(11:48):
so you know it wasn't easy for the Seahawks offense
so if New England can can show up and make
some plays and make some of the adjustments You know,
this could be a different game, even though I know
a lot of people have the perception, oh, Seahawks are
going to win this because they blew them out in
the Super Bowl. I don't see the game like that
after going back and watching it again. And so, you know,
(12:10):
when you watch Drake May and company against this Seahawks defense,
The Seahawks were great up front. You know, they dominated
with their front four for sure. So their offensive line
is going to have to be better. But just if
you look at it from a scheme standpoint, I didn't
think that the Seahawks defense did anything crazy. I mean,
they brought a number of slot blitzes, which to me
is like football 101. I mean, you're bringing the Sam linebacker.
(12:33):
It's a single guy off the slot. There's easy answers
for that. And New England had no answers for that.
Drake didn't know it was coming, and they didn't have
any built-in answers. And it was just really strange to
watch that game and go, man, this wasn't as complicated
as I think a lot of people made it out
to be. They just didn't have good answers, whether that
(12:53):
was a young quarterback that wasn't ready for that moment,
whether it was we have to play a little more
simplistically with who we are as a team right now.
And so that played into the hands of the Seahawks.
I think it's going to be tougher for the Seahawks
defense this time around. You talked about, you know, some
of the guys that will be missing from what we
saw in the Super Bowl. But also, you know, you
(13:15):
remember they've added, you know, Romeo Dobbs. They've added A.J. Brown.
And one of the things that the New England Patriots
struggled with last year, especially in the Super Bowl, was
against man-to-man coverage. They could not get any separation against
this secondary team. albeit a really good secondary, they couldn't
get any separation in man-to-man coverage. So you go out
(13:36):
and get a couple guys that you believe can win
one-on-one battles. So what does that mean for tonight? Again,
it's fun because we don't really know until we get
to see it. So it's all speculation right now. Are
the Seahawks better than they were last year as a
Super Bowl champion? Did some of the losses, the Kenneth
Walkers and such, is that going to affect them on
(13:58):
the other side? New England, are they the same team
we saw in the Super Bowl, or have they grown?
Have they gotten better? And what does this look like tonight?
I'm fascinated. I'm fascinated by all the off-season questions, all
the stuff we've been talking about for months. Now let's
put it out on the field. Let's put the product
out there, and let's see who these teams are. Well,
you mentioned K-Dub.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
He touched it 29 times in that game you just watched.
How about the decision to let him go to free
agency and a decision to take a running back in
the first round by the Seahawks?
Speaker 1 (14:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
I will say, I mean, obviously, you know, Kevin Walker
has been really good for this organization when he was here.
And so you hate to see those guys go. But
what I think I understand about, you know, this offense
and the way they want to play. And you guys
saw it last year is that it wasn't really even
though Kenneth was a starter. This was kind of a
two-headed monster with Zach, and I know Zach still coming
(14:50):
back from the injury. But it's like, hey, we're going
to split time with our guys. Whoever's here, we're going
to split time with them. We're going to have roles
for both of them. So do we want to pay
a bunch of money to one guy when we know
that's going to be a part of what we do?
And I believe that's why Kenneth Walker, you know, went
to Kansas City and the Seahawks let him go, and
(15:11):
they went out and got Price in. in the first
round to say, hey, we believe Zach's going to be back.
He's going to be one of our featured guys. Price
can be another one of those guys. We saw how
good he was in that kind of one-two punch role
with Notre Dame. And I believe that was just their
perspective is we can't pay everybody. And because of the
running back position and how we want to utilize them,
we're not going to pay Kenneth as much as we
(15:32):
love him. And it was a big part of us
winning a championship. We're going to go younger, we're going
to go cheaper, and we're going to use that committee
to help us to continue to build and do what
we want to do. Two-time MVP, Pro Football Hall of Famer,
but more than anything, Kevin Harlan's broadcast partner. Westwood won.
Great stuff, Kurt. Always love catching up. Have fun tonight.
(15:54):
We'll talk down the road, bud. All right, sounds great.
Good luck to you guys. You got it, man. You
as well.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
I think that's actually one of three trips that Kurt
will be making to Seattle because I know Kevin's coming
back with the Bears and Cowboys Monday night game later
this year. And his partner, Kevin Harlan, will make his
debut for 2026, courtesy of the Emerald Queen, coming up
at 5 p.m.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Factor Fiction. Let's get to it. It's Wednesday. It's Jackson Day.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Let's go.
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