December 18, 2025 • 16 mins
In this episode, former Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren joins the conversation, sharing his insights on the upcoming game against the Rams. Mike talks about the challenges of playing without key players, like Charles Cross, and how it affects the team's play calling. He shares his thoughts on the Seahawks' running game, the impact of the weather on the game, and the Rams' offense without DaVante Adams.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
As part of our non stuff coverage of the NFL.
Your home for the twelfth Man proudly presents former Seahawks
head coach and Super Bowl champion Mike Combgrin. Brought to
you by Toyota of Kirkland. The championship team at Toyota
of Kirkland does all the little things that exceed your
expectations and that's what makes Toyota of Kirkland so special.
(00:21):
And by R and R Foundation specialist serving Western Washington
for over twenty years now from the five twenty Bar
and Grill in Bellevue, Mike Holmgrin with Softie and.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Dear, all right, we're back big. Thanks for the five
twenty Bar and Grail in Bellevue for normally having us
on bo with the Seahawk game. Today at home, we
are over at Jimmy's on First across the street from Loomenfield,
so that means that we don't get to see Mike
Congren's face in person, and I he's very, very disappointed
that he's not with us in person here at Jimmy's
on First. Our friend Mike hom Grin joined us right
(00:54):
now via the telephone.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
How are you man, I'm good guys, and I am disappointed.
In fact, I feel real bad right now.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
Do you imagine what this place would be like if
Mike Holmgren walked in right now.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
They were saying his name about an hour ago. Well,
let's talk about this one. This is a big one,
coach tonight. You remember games like this, you know this
late in the year for the division championship and NFL prestige,
number one overall seeds, things like that. Tell me about
what you think is happening in that locker room right now,
just about an hour and ten minutes before tonight's game.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Well, everyone's trying to leave. The coaches first of all,
Or I was. I was trying to calm down, get
in my office. No one bothered me, no one could
talk to me. Just think about I'm going to call
the game and things like that. But there is a
feeling in there and the players this is this is
a bigger game. You say every game is the same,
(01:49):
it's not. This is a game. And in that locker
room right now, they are they're walking around, they're putting
on their equipment, they're thinking about what they have to do.
They know how important the football game is to them,
And you can sense it. If you walked in there
and just looked around as a visitor, you could sense
(02:09):
that the I'm not saying tension by the atmosphere.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
So is your pregame speech different then, or do you
just kind of let the tension speak for itself?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
You know what? I used to let the tension speak
for it, Celf Dick, you know, I you know, of
course you remind him of what's at stake, you know,
but you don't have to remind them. They know. But
I mean I always thought that was part of my
job to remind them. But there's not a lot to
say at that point. You said most of it already
and now it's just a matter of getting them focused.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Yeah. Well, I mean there's a couple of big ones tonight.
Let's start in the offense for the Seahawks. Charles Cross
not going to play left tackle. I'm trying to remember
how many games you coached without Walter Jones at left tackle,
but it can't be a lot. What do you do
tonight if you're a Clint Kubiak, Mike McDonald, how does
it affect your play calling when you don't have your
left tackle here?
Speaker 3 (03:01):
You know, that's a great question. And I did live
through that once. Uh, not with Seattle, but in Green
Bay we played the Giants against Michael Strahan and our
right tackle was dirt and the guy a good backup player,
but it was going to be a disaster. It was
just not going to work. So we had to double
him every single time. And it takes stuff away from
(03:24):
your offense. It does. Now. Mike and Clinton might they
might look at it differently. They might say, Josh comes
in and we listen, we're gonna let it rip. That's
that's the thing. The Mike McDonald says, let it rip.
They might do that, but it's going to be different,
you know. But this guy, he's ready to play, I think.
(03:46):
But there's a reason he's where he is in the lineup.
And Cross has been very, very good for the team.
And so you probably start out regularly, you start out
just calling your game, and then all of a sudden
you're having somebody watch that watch that tell me what's
happening over there. And then if there is, if it's
not working, then you have to make adjustments, you know,
(04:07):
maybe chip and double and move the tight end over there,
things like that.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
Coach, how us do you think Clint Kubiak kind of
held back play calling over the last four weeks, knowing
he had four extremely winnable games sandwiched in between two
RAMS games. How much do you think he's saved for tonight?
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Diket would surprise me if he saved anything. Honestly, you know,
I think when you go in, you know, you look,
like I've said it before, you look at every game
and it's a game you want to win, and it's
the game you're focused on right now. You're not thinking
about next week or two weeks from now. And you know,
but they have started off slow in the last couple
(04:46):
of ball games. But I don't attribute that to his
how he looked at how he was going to call
the game and how he's going to do it. It's
just the way they did it, and then they made
adjustments at halftime and it changed. But I would be
very surprised, in fact, I don't believe that happens.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Gotcha, Well, Mike hong Grun's with us, and Mike, you
mentioned the slow starts. I want to ask you about
that and also red zone touchdown percentage. I mean, I
just kind of feel like in twenty twenty five, if
your opponent gets inside the twenty and you hold them
to a three, that's a win for the defense man.
In this day and age in football, So red zone
touchdowns have been kind of few and far between a
little bit for this football team lately. Anything you're seeing
(05:25):
on the offensive side of the ball that you would
tweak a little bit, if anything, to maybe get these
guys to be a little more productive inside the red zone. Hell,
they won a game without scoring a touchdown last week
for got six.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Yeah, I know, but tonight, I think they're going to
need more than that. But I would like to see them.
And this is my philosophy, and maybe it's not the
way Mike wants to do things, but that you get
inside the red zone and you got a field goal
in your pocket. It's there. So wherever you are first
and ten, now I'm going for the end zone. I'm
(05:59):
going the end zone. I'm not going for first downs.
I don't want first goal to go at the nine.
I want to score a touchdown, you know, from twenty
to eighteen whatever, wherever I am in the red zone.
And so that's what I would do. And then so
I would hope I would like to see that some
chances taken like that, they know they got the field goal,
you know, so shoot for it and tell the team
(06:22):
that in the red zone preparation. Hey, this is what
we're gonna do. You're gonna going to throw the ball
to you. You get open, you're gonna score a touchdown.
This guy, you now you're next, And just teach it
that way.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
How windy does it have to be before you alter
a your play calling and b how far you decide
to let Jason Myers pick field goals?
Speaker 3 (06:44):
You know what, I think it's going to be wendy tonight.
So that will that will be a factor in the game.
Just how windy it is. I don't know you guys
are down there, but it's it's going to be a
factor in the game. And it does affect your play calling.
It does affect the type of throw you do. Effects
you're the length you can kick a field goal or
a punt or whatever. You know. And I've told you before,
(07:06):
I was in a game like that in Chicago and
our punters on both teams, good punters, you know, kick
beautiful spirals up into the air. Two of them came
back beyond the line of scrimmage. Wow, behind the line
of scrimmage. It was so windy, it was bad Halloween night,
and but fortunately we went.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yeah, Mike, I just wonder put yourself in Sean mcvay's shoes.
Not that you're frightened of anything. I mean, that's ridiculous,
Like nobody on this field tonight is frightened of anything.
But this was a head coach in Sean McVay that
beat the Seahawks by two points last time they played,
and the Hawks threw four interceptions and they were still
a sixty one yard field goal away from winning the game.
(07:46):
I mean, that's how close they came to winning that
game with four picks. If you're Sean McVay, are you thinking, man,
we got to step up because we can't rely on
four picks again tonight.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
No, that's exactly what he's thinking, Dave. Honestly, he's he's
he knows, he knows the Seahawks are a good team.
It's a huge rival and the idea, you know, everyone says, well,
the Rams beat the Seahawks all the time. Every game
in this rivalry is unique and by itself, But you know,
he he is, he knows what's at stake, he knows
(08:20):
what kind of a game it is. He's not afraid.
He's probably loving it. Knowing him a little bit, he
is loving it, you know, but you know it's it's
it's going to be a quite a game tonight.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
What would your conversation with Sam be, knowing that the
last time you played these guys he threw four picks
and he's got this millstone around his neck right now
in the perception he can't win the big one. Would
you have a special conversation with him going into this one?
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Well, just it probably be very similar to the ones
I have most in most every game, But I would
He does not have to be reminded of that, right
or knows it's been. It's been, It's been written about,
talked about a lot, and so you just have to
let him know, however, you do that, that you believe
in him, and let's just let it roll. You know,
(09:08):
this is whatever's happened in the past. You won't even
have to phrase it. You just let him know, Hey,
we're with you. Let's go, you know, and and then
let the chips fall.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
It's interesting that Dix use the word millstone. I think
a lot of people believe that Sam Donald doesn't play
well in big games, and that's the perception, whether it's
right or wrong. I think it's a little bit unfair,
a little bit overblown, but that's the perception, and that's fine.
The public can believe in the media can believe whatever
they want. Do you believe that Sam Donald hears that
(09:40):
and that he believes that. Do you think Sam Donald
looks at himself in the mirror and says, you got
a problem in big games, man, you got to step
it up. Do you think he thinks that.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
No, I don't think he does. I don't think he does.
He I think it ticks him off, you know, not
that people talk about it like that, but that he
actually listen, I'm better than that, you know, and I'm
going to show people, you know. It's just it was
one of those things, you know. And so yeah, the
three games they always reference were big games. That was
(10:14):
the difference. They were big games. But the season he's
had this season, except for that one game, he's been
pretty darn good. And he's the reason one of the
big reasons they are where they are.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
How much do you let them rip tonight? How do
you how aggressive do you think these play callers on
both sides are going to be knowing the stakes, the
defenses they're going up against.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
In the weather, well, I think the weather's the big
factor in my opinion, what they're going up against and
the stakes and all that kind of stuff. You play
the game to win, and if you're the offensive play
caller or the offensive coordinator, my job is to score points.
That's my job and it's not and then we'll let
(10:56):
somebody defensive guy just stop them, you know him, worry
about that. My job is to score points and then
you know, let it go. That when you said let
it rip, I hope, I hope. My hope is that
they whatever that means, to let it rip. I hope
they do that tonight.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Yeah, well we'll see. I mean, this is week what
is this week fifteen? Technically right sixteen sorry of the
NFL season sixteen seventeen eighteen, and the Seahawks are still
not a great running team, and I wonder if they're
ever going to be. I mean, we now at a
point in the year, Mike where we can just figure out, Hey,
it's the week before Christmas. They are who they are.
Nothing's going to change much between now and the end
(11:38):
of the year or is there room for improvement for
this team to find a way to start running the
ball better?
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Well, you know what, Dave, I think they are who
they are, But they have shown spurts. We've seen spurts
of good plays and good runs and things like that.
So they are capable, but on a consistent basis, it
has been something that hasn't worked as well as they
would like. And I think to think there's going to
(12:06):
be just a dramatic change somehow in there with three
games to go, after playing you know, fourteen games, I
don't think that's going to happen, but they in moments
and maybe they can gain some momentum there someone pops
a run off you go, you know, but I think
it's going to be dramatically different. I think I'm not
(12:26):
sure about that.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Yeah, yeah, you mentioned popping a run. I mean, ken
Walker's got the better chance of the two to pop
a run, but it seems recently like Zach Charbonay has
got the better chance of getting you three or four
tough yards. So which style of running back do you
want to go to tonight?
Speaker 3 (12:41):
More? Well, what I would go to is pick one
of them, pick one and and hand him the ball
and then they know who they want to pick, So
pick one. Don't play it kind of like they've been
playing it back and forth because you're right, sharbon Ay,
their different style unners. They're different style runners. And if
(13:02):
you do make a change because you're not liking the
style of one of them over the other, Okay, I
get that. But to say, Okay, we're gonna give you
eleven carries and you eleven carries bounce it off, you know,
I don't think you could say that's worked for them,
right then, samones, their different styles. Savone is a pounder
and he's going to go straight ahead, and he looked
he's looked very good at times, but last week neither
(13:25):
one of them had many yards, neither one of them.
So but I would I'd pick one and then use
the other guy on occasion, but not kind of how
they've been doing.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
It, Mike, I don't know how much did DeVante Adams
You've watched this year? He leads the NFL in touchdown
He's got fourteen overall, almost eight hundred yards already, one
hundred and fourteen targets. He is a gigantic part of
the Rams offense. He's not going to play tonight, you know,
putting a coupas there obviously too too at well as
a pass catcher Jordan Whittington from Texas as a pass catcher.
(13:58):
But go back to when you who played a high
powered offense and they were missing their number one wide receiver.
How much does that really affect them and change things tonight?
You think?
Speaker 3 (14:11):
I think it changes things a little. I don't. It
might not change things a lot because Nikou is so good,
you know, but it does change things for you. You know,
I lived through that too, and we finally had to
sign Andre Risen in Green Bay and when our two
top receivers got hurt and it just changed, well we
had two guys get hurt, not one. So you know, Stafford,
(14:35):
their passing game is what it is because they have
great receivers, but because they have Matthew Stafford. So that
I think is the key in something to watch tonight
more than anything else.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
Coach, We've been talking about this is the biggest game
in the regular season at Loumenfield in dot dot dot.
However many years I think we've taken it, probably back
to twenty fourteen, so we're talking about eleven years. Do
you have a regular seas in game. That kind of
comes to mind as one that that had this much
hype that everybody's eyes around the nation we're focused on.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Oh gosh, Jack, you know, I'm uh, I can't. There
were probably a couple, but I'm old and I can't
think back that far.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
You coaching a lot of big games.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
But yeah, we had some. But but honestly, the build
up to this one, and it's a division opponent, and
it's a natural rivalry, and the record is so good
and what's at stake could be a first round by
you know, in the playoffs, and all those types of
things piled into one game. And then it's a night game,
Thursday night football, so the whole world will be watching.
(15:41):
So this one has everything, And uh, I'm the only
thing I'm sorry is the weather's going to be crummy.
That's the only thing that I'm sorry about.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Yeah, you wish you were sitting in the stands with
us freezing freezing, he does freezing, your freezing, Your Kisa
off Man watching this game like a fan and that
are sitting on the on the warm couch in your
Kirkling condominium, drinking a vodka soda, enjoying some nice appetizers
on your couch. That's what you want.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Yeah, you know what, you know what, Because of you
said that, I'm gonna take my TV a little portable
out to the garage because it's open, and I'm gonna
sit there and watch it because so so I don't
have to so I don't have to feel bad about.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Being yeah here exactly you should feel bad for us man, definitely.
All right, listen, great stuff, enjoy it, take a couple
of weeks off. Merry Christmas, my friend, have a great
new Year, and we'll talk in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
All right, Coach Och, Merry Christmas to you guys too,
Thank you, and all right, I have a good one tonight.
As part of our non stuff coverage of the NFL.
Your home for the twelfth Man proudly presents former Seahawks
head coach and Super Bowl champion Mike Combgrin. Brought to
you by Toyota of Kirkland. The championship team at Toyota
of Kirkland does all the little things that exceed your
expectations and that's what makes Toyota of Kirkland so special.
(00:21):
And by R and R Foundation specialist serving Western Washington
for over twenty years now from the five twenty Bar
and Grill in Bellevue, Mike Holmgrin with Softie and.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Dear, all right, we're back big. Thanks for the five
twenty Bar and Grail in Bellevue for normally having us
on bo with the Seahawk game. Today at home, we
are over at Jimmy's on First across the street from Loomenfield,
so that means that we don't get to see Mike
Congren's face in person, and I he's very, very disappointed
that he's not with us in person here at Jimmy's
on First. Our friend Mike hom Grin joined us right
(00:54):
now via the telephone.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
How are you man, I'm good guys, and I am disappointed.
In fact, I feel real bad right now.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
Do you imagine what this place would be like if
Mike Holmgren walked in right now.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
They were saying his name about an hour ago. Well,
let's talk about this one. This is a big one,
coach tonight. You remember games like this, you know this
late in the year for the division championship and NFL prestige,
number one overall seeds, things like that. Tell me about
what you think is happening in that locker room right now,
just about an hour and ten minutes before tonight's game.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Well, everyone's trying to leave. The coaches first of all,
Or I was. I was trying to calm down, get
in my office. No one bothered me, no one could
talk to me. Just think about I'm going to call
the game and things like that. But there is a
feeling in there and the players this is this is
a bigger game. You say every game is the same,
(01:49):
it's not. This is a game. And in that locker
room right now, they are they're walking around, they're putting
on their equipment, they're thinking about what they have to do.
They know how important the football game is to them,
And you can sense it. If you walked in there
and just looked around as a visitor, you could sense
(02:09):
that the I'm not saying tension by the atmosphere.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
So is your pregame speech different then, or do you
just kind of let the tension speak for itself?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
You know what? I used to let the tension speak
for it, Celf Dick, you know, I you know, of
course you remind him of what's at stake, you know,
but you don't have to remind them. They know. But
I mean I always thought that was part of my
job to remind them. But there's not a lot to
say at that point. You said most of it already
and now it's just a matter of getting them focused.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Yeah. Well, I mean there's a couple of big ones tonight.
Let's start in the offense for the Seahawks. Charles Cross
not going to play left tackle. I'm trying to remember
how many games you coached without Walter Jones at left tackle,
but it can't be a lot. What do you do
tonight if you're a Clint Kubiak, Mike McDonald, how does
it affect your play calling when you don't have your
left tackle here?
Speaker 3 (03:01):
You know, that's a great question. And I did live
through that once. Uh, not with Seattle, but in Green
Bay we played the Giants against Michael Strahan and our
right tackle was dirt and the guy a good backup player,
but it was going to be a disaster. It was
just not going to work. So we had to double
him every single time. And it takes stuff away from
(03:24):
your offense. It does. Now. Mike and Clinton might they
might look at it differently. They might say, Josh comes
in and we listen, we're gonna let it rip. That's
that's the thing. The Mike McDonald says, let it rip.
They might do that, but it's going to be different,
you know. But this guy, he's ready to play, I think.
(03:46):
But there's a reason he's where he is in the lineup.
And Cross has been very, very good for the team.
And so you probably start out regularly, you start out
just calling your game, and then all of a sudden
you're having somebody watch that watch that tell me what's
happening over there. And then if there is, if it's
not working, then you have to make adjustments, you know,
(04:07):
maybe chip and double and move the tight end over there,
things like that.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
Coach, how us do you think Clint Kubiak kind of
held back play calling over the last four weeks, knowing
he had four extremely winnable games sandwiched in between two
RAMS games. How much do you think he's saved for tonight?
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Diket would surprise me if he saved anything. Honestly, you know,
I think when you go in, you know, you look,
like I've said it before, you look at every game
and it's a game you want to win, and it's
the game you're focused on right now. You're not thinking
about next week or two weeks from now. And you know,
but they have started off slow in the last couple
(04:46):
of ball games. But I don't attribute that to his
how he looked at how he was going to call
the game and how he's going to do it. It's
just the way they did it, and then they made
adjustments at halftime and it changed. But I would be
very surprised, in fact, I don't believe that happens.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Gotcha, Well, Mike hong Grun's with us, and Mike, you
mentioned the slow starts. I want to ask you about
that and also red zone touchdown percentage. I mean, I
just kind of feel like in twenty twenty five, if
your opponent gets inside the twenty and you hold them
to a three, that's a win for the defense man.
In this day and age in football, So red zone
touchdowns have been kind of few and far between a
little bit for this football team lately. Anything you're seeing
(05:25):
on the offensive side of the ball that you would
tweak a little bit, if anything, to maybe get these
guys to be a little more productive inside the red zone. Hell,
they won a game without scoring a touchdown last week
for got six.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Yeah, I know, but tonight, I think they're going to
need more than that. But I would like to see them.
And this is my philosophy, and maybe it's not the
way Mike wants to do things, but that you get
inside the red zone and you got a field goal
in your pocket. It's there. So wherever you are first
and ten, now I'm going for the end zone. I'm
(05:59):
going the end zone. I'm not going for first downs.
I don't want first goal to go at the nine.
I want to score a touchdown, you know, from twenty
to eighteen whatever, wherever I am in the red zone.
And so that's what I would do. And then so
I would hope I would like to see that some
chances taken like that, they know they got the field goal,
you know, so shoot for it and tell the team
(06:22):
that in the red zone preparation. Hey, this is what
we're gonna do. You're gonna going to throw the ball
to you. You get open, you're gonna score a touchdown.
This guy, you now you're next, And just teach it
that way.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
How windy does it have to be before you alter
a your play calling and b how far you decide
to let Jason Myers pick field goals?
Speaker 3 (06:44):
You know what, I think it's going to be wendy tonight.
So that will that will be a factor in the game.
Just how windy it is. I don't know you guys
are down there, but it's it's going to be a
factor in the game. And it does affect your play calling.
It does affect the type of throw you do. Effects
you're the length you can kick a field goal or
a punt or whatever. You know. And I've told you before,
(07:06):
I was in a game like that in Chicago and
our punters on both teams, good punters, you know, kick
beautiful spirals up into the air. Two of them came
back beyond the line of scrimmage. Wow, behind the line
of scrimmage. It was so windy, it was bad Halloween night,
and but fortunately we went.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yeah, Mike, I just wonder put yourself in Sean mcvay's shoes.
Not that you're frightened of anything. I mean, that's ridiculous,
Like nobody on this field tonight is frightened of anything.
But this was a head coach in Sean McVay that
beat the Seahawks by two points last time they played,
and the Hawks threw four interceptions and they were still
a sixty one yard field goal away from winning the game.
(07:46):
I mean, that's how close they came to winning that
game with four picks. If you're Sean McVay, are you thinking, man,
we got to step up because we can't rely on
four picks again tonight.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
No, that's exactly what he's thinking, Dave. Honestly, he's he's
he knows, he knows the Seahawks are a good team.
It's a huge rival and the idea, you know, everyone says, well,
the Rams beat the Seahawks all the time. Every game
in this rivalry is unique and by itself, But you know,
he he is, he knows what's at stake, he knows
(08:20):
what kind of a game it is. He's not afraid.
He's probably loving it. Knowing him a little bit, he
is loving it, you know, but you know it's it's
it's going to be a quite a game tonight.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
What would your conversation with Sam be, knowing that the
last time you played these guys he threw four picks
and he's got this millstone around his neck right now
in the perception he can't win the big one. Would
you have a special conversation with him going into this one?
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Well, just it probably be very similar to the ones
I have most in most every game, But I would
He does not have to be reminded of that, right
or knows it's been. It's been, It's been written about,
talked about a lot, and so you just have to
let him know, however, you do that, that you believe
in him, and let's just let it roll. You know,
(09:08):
this is whatever's happened in the past. You won't even
have to phrase it. You just let him know, Hey,
we're with you. Let's go, you know, and and then
let the chips fall.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
It's interesting that Dix use the word millstone. I think
a lot of people believe that Sam Donald doesn't play
well in big games, and that's the perception, whether it's
right or wrong. I think it's a little bit unfair,
a little bit overblown, but that's the perception, and that's fine.
The public can believe in the media can believe whatever
they want. Do you believe that Sam Donald hears that
(09:40):
and that he believes that. Do you think Sam Donald
looks at himself in the mirror and says, you got
a problem in big games, man, you got to step
it up. Do you think he thinks that.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
No, I don't think he does. I don't think he does.
He I think it ticks him off, you know, not
that people talk about it like that, but that he
actually listen, I'm better than that, you know, and I'm
going to show people, you know. It's just it was
one of those things, you know. And so yeah, the
three games they always reference were big games. That was
(10:14):
the difference. They were big games. But the season he's
had this season, except for that one game, he's been
pretty darn good. And he's the reason one of the
big reasons they are where they are.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
How much do you let them rip tonight? How do
you how aggressive do you think these play callers on
both sides are going to be knowing the stakes, the
defenses they're going up against.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
In the weather, well, I think the weather's the big
factor in my opinion, what they're going up against and
the stakes and all that kind of stuff. You play
the game to win, and if you're the offensive play
caller or the offensive coordinator, my job is to score points.
That's my job and it's not and then we'll let
(10:56):
somebody defensive guy just stop them, you know him, worry
about that. My job is to score points and then
you know, let it go. That when you said let
it rip, I hope, I hope. My hope is that
they whatever that means, to let it rip. I hope
they do that tonight.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Yeah, well we'll see. I mean, this is week what
is this week fifteen? Technically right sixteen sorry of the
NFL season sixteen seventeen eighteen, and the Seahawks are still
not a great running team, and I wonder if they're
ever going to be. I mean, we now at a
point in the year, Mike where we can just figure out, Hey,
it's the week before Christmas. They are who they are.
Nothing's going to change much between now and the end
(11:38):
of the year or is there room for improvement for
this team to find a way to start running the
ball better?
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Well, you know what, Dave, I think they are who
they are, But they have shown spurts. We've seen spurts
of good plays and good runs and things like that.
So they are capable, but on a consistent basis, it
has been something that hasn't worked as well as they
would like. And I think to think there's going to
(12:06):
be just a dramatic change somehow in there with three
games to go, after playing you know, fourteen games, I
don't think that's going to happen, but they in moments
and maybe they can gain some momentum there someone pops
a run off you go, you know, but I think
it's going to be dramatically different. I think I'm not
(12:26):
sure about that.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Yeah, yeah, you mentioned popping a run. I mean, ken
Walker's got the better chance of the two to pop
a run, but it seems recently like Zach Charbonay has
got the better chance of getting you three or four
tough yards. So which style of running back do you
want to go to tonight?
Speaker 3 (12:41):
More? Well, what I would go to is pick one
of them, pick one and and hand him the ball
and then they know who they want to pick, So
pick one. Don't play it kind of like they've been
playing it back and forth because you're right, sharbon Ay,
their different style unners. They're different style runners. And if
(13:02):
you do make a change because you're not liking the
style of one of them over the other, Okay, I
get that. But to say, Okay, we're gonna give you
eleven carries and you eleven carries bounce it off, you know,
I don't think you could say that's worked for them,
right then, samones, their different styles. Savone is a pounder
and he's going to go straight ahead, and he looked
he's looked very good at times, but last week neither
(13:25):
one of them had many yards, neither one of them.
So but I would I'd pick one and then use
the other guy on occasion, but not kind of how
they've been doing.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
It, Mike, I don't know how much did DeVante Adams
You've watched this year? He leads the NFL in touchdown
He's got fourteen overall, almost eight hundred yards already, one
hundred and fourteen targets. He is a gigantic part of
the Rams offense. He's not going to play tonight, you know,
putting a coupas there obviously too too at well as
a pass catcher Jordan Whittington from Texas as a pass catcher.
(13:58):
But go back to when you who played a high
powered offense and they were missing their number one wide receiver.
How much does that really affect them and change things tonight?
You think?
Speaker 3 (14:11):
I think it changes things a little. I don't. It
might not change things a lot because Nikou is so good,
you know, but it does change things for you. You know,
I lived through that too, and we finally had to
sign Andre Risen in Green Bay and when our two
top receivers got hurt and it just changed, well we
had two guys get hurt, not one. So you know, Stafford,
(14:35):
their passing game is what it is because they have
great receivers, but because they have Matthew Stafford. So that
I think is the key in something to watch tonight
more than anything else.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
Coach, We've been talking about this is the biggest game
in the regular season at Loumenfield in dot dot dot.
However many years I think we've taken it, probably back
to twenty fourteen, so we're talking about eleven years. Do
you have a regular seas in game. That kind of
comes to mind as one that that had this much
hype that everybody's eyes around the nation we're focused on.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Oh gosh, Jack, you know, I'm uh, I can't. There
were probably a couple, but I'm old and I can't
think back that far.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
You coaching a lot of big games.
Speaker 3 (15:20):
But yeah, we had some. But but honestly, the build
up to this one, and it's a division opponent, and
it's a natural rivalry, and the record is so good
and what's at stake could be a first round by
you know, in the playoffs, and all those types of
things piled into one game. And then it's a night game,
Thursday night football, so the whole world will be watching.
(15:41):
So this one has everything, And uh, I'm the only
thing I'm sorry is the weather's going to be crummy.
That's the only thing that I'm sorry about.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Yeah, you wish you were sitting in the stands with
us freezing freezing, he does freezing, your freezing, Your Kisa
off Man watching this game like a fan and that
are sitting on the on the warm couch in your
Kirkling condominium, drinking a vodka soda, enjoying some nice appetizers
on your couch. That's what you want.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Yeah, you know what, you know what, Because of you
said that, I'm gonna take my TV a little portable
out to the garage because it's open, and I'm gonna
sit there and watch it because so so I don't
have to so I don't have to feel bad about.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Being yeah here exactly you should feel bad for us man, definitely.
All right, listen, great stuff, enjoy it, take a couple
of weeks off. Merry Christmas, my friend, have a great
new Year, and we'll talk in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
All right, Coach Och, Merry Christmas to you guys too,
Thank you, and all right, I have a good one tonight.
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