September 10, 2026 • 21 mins
Legendary Head Coach Mike Holmgren joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to talk about the Seahawks win over the Patriots in the opener, backup Drew Lock taking over at quarterback after the team’s first drive, Jadarian Price seeing his first NFL action, the ending of the game and Drake Maye’s massive mistake, and Sam Darnold’s hip injury.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
As part of our longstanding commitment of NFL coverage, we're
proud to present our former Seahawks head coach and Super
Bowl champion, Mike Holmgren, presented by VenueKings.com for all your
ticket needs, concerts, sporting events, Seahawks home and road games,
and more. You'll always get 3% back on every order
to use on future purchases at VenueKings.com. The most trusted
(00:24):
source in tickets is VenueKings.com. Now, Mike Holmgren on your
home of the 12s. Sports Radio 93.3, KJR FM.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
All right, first of all, big thanks to our friends
at VenueKings for sponsoring this thing this year. You're buying
Seahawks tickets on the website, home games, road games, whatever.
Always use code MIKE. for a discount at checkout. Mike,
for a discount at checkout. That's M-I-K-E, not M-I-C, for
all you radio people out there. You get a discount
(00:54):
for using the code Mike at checkout at Venue Kings
and all these horror stories about... Seat Geek and StubHub
and whatever, man. VenueKings.com will take care of you. If
there's ever a problem, you tell me, and I'll take
care of it because I.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Know the owner.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
I used them for the game yesterday.
Speaker 5 (01:09):
Yes, you did.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
My mom and dad couldn't go, so I got hold
of Anthony, and we took care of it and sold
them on VenueKings.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
And you were very satisfied with that. Absolutely. So let's
do it.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
You want tickets for Seahawks games, Husky games, Mariners, whatever, concerts, whatever.
Use code Mike at checkout for a discount always at VenueKings.com. Coach,
that's how big you've become. You can now have your
own discount code at VenueKings.com.
Speaker 5 (01:32):
Wow. Hey, I appreciate it. Was that your idea? That
was good.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Well, we just thought of all the things you've accomplished
in your life, Super Bowl champions, coaching Hall of Famers, whatever.
This has got to be up there. Well, first of all,
it's great to have you back with us this year.
Great to hear your voice, man. And why don't we
just first of all by talk about honestly how difficult
what the Seahawks did, what Mike McDonald did last night
to lose Sam Darnold on the first drive of the
(01:58):
game of the year and then have Drew Locke come in. And,
you know, not light up the box score, but not
make a killer mistake that would put his defense in
harm's way. And to win a game like that against
the reigning AFC champions, can you put into words just
how difficult that was to do last night for them?
Speaker 5 (02:17):
No, what they accomplished last night was very, very special.
A couple things, though, Dave. I think Drew Locke, first
of all, if you had to do it with a quarterback,
a second quarterback in the league this year, he's the
guy I would do it with. I really think he's
a really good player. And even though he hasn't worked
with the tough thing, he hadn't practiced, he hadn't worked
with the first unit very much, but he did get
(02:40):
some preseason work. So he was somewhat ready to play.
But it's still a shock when your starting quarterback goes down.
You know, it happened to me when I was an
assistant coach of the 49ers and Joe Montana got hurt.
I remember going in saying, gee, this is my first
time in the league, and I get to have Joe
Montana as my quarterback. I'm going to be famous, you know.
(03:03):
And then he gets hurt. And so the backup quarterback
has to go in and play. And he did a
really good job. You know, Jeff Kemp did a wonderful job.
But it's hard. It is really hard. And to do
it against New England. And New England, I thought it
would be a close game, though. New England is, as
a good football team, they're well coached. And unfortunately, their
(03:25):
young quarterback kind of fell apart at the end for them.
Speaker 6 (03:28):
Well, Coach, imagine if that happened in your first game
ever calling plays. You've got your starter for five plays,
and then he goes out.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
So put yourself in Brian Fleury's shoes last night.
Speaker 6 (03:38):
What do you think he was going through? And evaluate
the job he did under the circumstances.
Speaker 5 (03:44):
Well, I think he did a great job under the
circumstances because it is a gut punch. That happens, and
you're thinking on the sideline, You're going, oh, now what
are we going to do? Okay, now how is he
going to handle this? Do I change what my thinking
was going into the game and all the preparation you
do and setting up plays and so on? But, you
(04:06):
know what, guys, I think they just stuck with it.
I think they just went with it. I thought a
little bit conservative early, but that's understandable. But then, no,
they stuck with it. And, you know, the thing they
can do– They can do that. Why? Because their defense
is really good. And so when you have a defense
(04:27):
that you have a lot of confidence in and the
other team is not going to score many points, you know,
then that makes it a little bit easier. But it
is hard when that happens. That hits you. It really does.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Well, Cooper Cupp said after the game, again, that he
took no reps at all. I mean, is that typical
that the backup quarterback would not get any reps? I mean,
like I'm going to take Cooper Cupp literally– no reps
for the first team, no reps, I guess, at all, period,
not even with a second team. I mean, can you
talk about that, like how those are distributed throughout the week?
Speaker 5 (05:00):
Well, the starting quarterback is going to get the vast majority.
I wouldn't say when I did it, the backup quarterback
would get a series or two in practice. I never
did it where he didn't get anything. And so if
that is in fact what happened– then that even says
more about Duloc, in my opinion. But, no, I think
(05:26):
you've got to give them a little taste of working
with the first unit for this very reason, for the
very reason what happened. You don't want it to happen,
but it could happen, and it happened last night. But
he still got through it, and they won the football game,
and they're off to a great start.
Speaker 6 (05:43):
Coach, talk about Jadarian Price and what you thought about
him because I think that– There was one issue that
we had last night in the postgame, you and myself,
with Brian Fleury, was the fact that Price only got
10 carries in that whole football game, and he looked
pretty explosive to us.
Speaker 5 (06:00):
You know, Dick, I felt exactly the same way. I'm
watching a game, and he popped that first run, and
I'm going, oh, wow, okay, this guy's going to be
fun to watch. And then he was in the first series,
and I believe, I could be wrong about this, but
I believe he wasn't in on the second, you know,
wasn't in on the second series or the third series.
And then I'm going, what are they doing? Did he
(06:21):
get hurt? You know, why? So I couldn't agree with
you more. He is really, I think, has a chance
to be really good. And, you know, give him the ball.
Give him the ball. Now, I would say this. The
injury thing and how they practice and how they do
that is different than when I was coaching. You know,
(06:42):
Sean Alexander, as an example, you know, would wind up
carrying the ball 28, 30 times a game and then
Mo Morris would go in there just if he got tired.
And so it's different now. Every team, most teams, play
with two backs. They're two column starters, you know.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Yeah, I just think, and I was texting with you
during the game about they got to the 13-yard line
before that first field goal late in the third quarter.
And I live in a world, Mike, where I constantly
hear things in my head, okay? And one of the
things that I always hear in my head is you
saying when you get to the red zone, every pass should.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Be to the end zone, every single one.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
And yet they're running toss Halani right, handoff Halani right.
Then they finally throw it and they score a Cooper Cup,
but they lose it because of the illegal formation penalty.
I thought they got a little bit conservative down there
before they took that first field goal.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Did you think that as well? And why do you
think maybe that was?
Speaker 5 (07:41):
No, I thought of it as well because you're right,
and I probably said that too much to emphasize it
to you because sometimes you didn't listen to me, and
I wanted you to hear what I was saying. I'm sorry,
what was that? You know, but he, listen, I think
you get down to the red zone. If you get
(08:01):
in there to that area, you have a field goal
in your pocket. It's in the pocket. Yeah, 100%. Go
for it. Go for it. And, you know, I thought
they got a little conservative myself.
Speaker 6 (08:16):
Well, how about third and five at the Seattle 16
with 26 seconds left to go, and your quarterback rolls out,
throws off his back foot, and throws a pick when
you've got the game-tying field goal in your pocket.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
What did you think about that, Coach?
Speaker 5 (08:30):
Well, you know, you two guys know me pretty well.
I think I would have been a little upset with that.
You know, the idea of knowing the situation. And, again,
I just said it. He had a field goal. They
had a field goal probably in their pocket for a tie.
And that was going to go into overtime. And then to, okay,
(08:52):
so he was forced out of the pocket and he
was off balance. So what do you do? You throw
it away, kick the field goal, and now you're still
having a football game. What he did was, And I
like Drake May, and I thought in the beginning he
made some beautiful throws. I mean, he really can't throw
the ball. But then all of a sudden, some of
the decisions he made, and that one was obviously highlighted,
(09:16):
but some of the decisions he made, you can't do that.
You can't do that. So that would be in my
meetings with the quarterback after that football game. I mean,
we got another game to play and all that, but
you cannot do that. Now eliminate that from your– and listen,
(09:36):
I gave– you think I ever gave a speech to
Brett Favre? Yes. I did.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Many times.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
I'm just– I'm actually– I am getting nervous right now,
and I'm uncomfortable just thinking about what that conversation would
have been like between you and Drake May.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
And it didn't even happen. Like there's an alternate universe
where you're just grinding your teeth.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
And digging your fingers into his neck and staring at
him with that mustache. I mean you know they had
a cut block on DeMarcus Lawrence Mike on the right
side with Morgan Moses actually both tackles had cut blocks.
I'm wondering why that was, number one, if that's unique
that both tackles would do that. And then how much
did Demarcus Lawrence actually impact that play by jumping over
(10:19):
Morgan Moses and getting into Drake May's face?
Speaker 5 (10:23):
Oh, he did. He should receive as much credit as
anybody because he obviously made the quarterback throw off balance.
He created that situation for the quarterback. But what that
told me that the play was designed to get the
ball out of his hands quickly because oftentimes, you know, yeah,
it disrupts when you try and cut block the defensive player,
(10:44):
it disrupts them. Yeah. But oftentimes he doesn't last disrupt,
you know, he gets up or he jumps over like
he did and he can still cause a problem for
the quarterback if the quarterback is holding the ball too long.
So I think it was designed to get the ball
out of his hands quickly and, uh, It did a
couple things. One, it made him hold the ball a
(11:04):
little bit longer, and then it made him make the
bad throw.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
There's a big national disagreement over how good Drake May is, Coach.
Speaker 6 (11:12):
And Softie and I were talking about it earlier on
the show, but it's being talked about everywhere right now,
and it has been even in the offseason.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
What's your evaluation of him?
Speaker 5 (11:21):
Well, you know what? I haven't seen him very much.
But like I said, early in the football game, there
were some throws there. He completed square outs and stuff against–
You know, good corners. The Seahawks have good corners. And
it was really nice throws, good throws. To me, he
can really pass the ball well. Now, you know, and
(11:42):
he runs. I mean, he can get first downs for you.
So physically, physically, I think he's got a really bright future, Dick.
I really do. Having said that, you can't do what
you did last night. You can't. And it starts there.
You get quarterbacks without the ability, the physical ability, but
(12:03):
really smart guys who really kind of have things under
control and don't make the big mistake. You know, that's
where you have to start. You have to be smart,
and you can't make that big mistake in situations like that.
But I think he's got a bright future. I really do.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Well, Mike Holmgren's with us. And, Mike, let's say Darnold's
going to be out for a while. Do they adjust
anything with Drew, or does Drew just step in and
just get asked to do everything that Sam Darnold was
going to be asked to do himself?
Speaker 5 (12:36):
You know what? I don't think they're going to change much, Dave.
I really don't. I think that it's not like he's
a third-year player or a second-year player. He's been around.
He's been in the league a long time. And so
the amount of offense you can insert into the game,
I think he'll understand it. He'll do it. he probably
(12:57):
has some plays that he likes that are special plays
for him that maybe Sam didn't like or whatever. So
those plays are going to be in, but you're going
to see basically the same stuff. And I hope, you know,
we thought they were a little conservative last night. I
hope they approach it a little differently, you know, that
(13:17):
let him play, cut him loose, you know, and then
because he can run too, you know, he can do that. So,
Like I said, I think if you have to go
with your second guy, he's the best guy right now
in the league, in my opinion.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
But how long before the dam breaks without Sam Darnold?
Speaker 6 (13:33):
I mean, yeah, we like Drew Locke, but I don't
think anybody thinks this is a Super Bowl championship team
without Sam Darnold. So how long can you just go
without your starter before it's too late?
Speaker 5 (13:45):
Well, I think a lot will depend on what happens
this first game, I think. Honestly.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
Right.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
You know, he'll get a chance to do the things
we talked about. I don't think they're going to change
a lot. And they'll run their offense. How does he
handle that? How does he play against that? Now, but
you're right, Dick. I mean, it's inconceivable almost that you
could lose your starting quarterback who was, you know, has
(14:12):
won 14 games in the last two years in the
regular season. And then your team's the same. It's not
the same. but the other teams now, the other guys
have to step up. The running back has to step up.
The receivers, other than Njigma, have to be part of
this thing. Last night, he was the only one that
really made any sort of an effort in receiving because
(14:38):
he's the only one that caught the ball and the
only one they threw it to. Those things have to
happen too. Their defense is going to be their defense.
That also is a positive thing for the team, but
It's hard. It's hard when you lose your starter.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Well, Mike Holmgren is with us again, courtesy of Venue Kings,
every Thursday at this time.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
We'll talk with Mike.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
And, by the way, if you're looking for something on VenueKings.com,
Seahawk tickets, home and road, use code Mike at checkout
for a discount. Always at VenueKings.com and save yourself some money.
So let's say Sam does come back, and he comes
back rather quickly. I don't know if you ever played
with a hip injury before this, I mean, I've tweaked
(15:18):
my hip on the golf course, but I'm not a
finely tuned athlete the way Sam is, obviously.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Sure you are.
Speaker 4 (15:24):
Yeah. Do you worry.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
About that thing lingering and what that does to him
as a quarterback, his movement in the pocket, his ability
to get any, you know, juice on a ball? I mean,
he's going to come back at some point, but does
the hip injury lingering, does that concern you?
Speaker 5 (15:43):
Yeah, it does a little bit. I mean, although as
long as they don't come back too soon. You know,
we want them to come back, and we want to
see them play. And I think I read that he's
going to miss next week's game, but then he'll come
back for the following week. But then the doctors, and
they have great doctors. I know them very well. They
(16:06):
have to be really sure that that thing, whatever it is,
is healed up. You know, one quick story when I
was in it. playing in the North-South Shrine game in
high school, you know, when Jim Plunkett and I were
the quarterbacks, I got hit in practice in my hip
by a safety. I don't know why he hit me
because we were on the same team, but he hit
me in my hip, and I missed three or four
(16:28):
days of that practice because I just couldn't walk. And
so it is a part of your body that you
need if you play the position. There's no question about it.
Speaker 6 (16:43):
Coach, I've got to ask you about what's going on
in Australia tonight and what you would do if you
were the head coach of a football team that had
to travel all the way to Melbourne to play a
football game. The Niners left basically in May, and the
Rams left yesterday. So which would you lean towards, getting
(17:06):
there as late as you could or as early as
you could?
Speaker 5 (17:08):
No, I'd lean towards as early as you could. part
of the 49ers preseason games, they didn't count. You know,
in Germany and in England and from San Francisco, you know,
those are long flights. Nothing like, you know, this is
the longest one. But we left, you were there a week.
(17:30):
And so you were able to, you get in there
and you guys have done it too. You fly in
these long, go to Europe or something, and then it
takes a day or two to kind of get your bearings.
And then you're okay. So I would lean towards that way.
I don't know. I heard that Sean McVay told the
guys they had to stay up for 20 hours. They
(17:51):
couldn't go to sleep. Are you going to follow them around?
Someone's going to sleep. But really the tough part is
if they had to play another game the following week,
the recovery time when you come back, you guys know this,
the recovery time when you come back from a trip
like that, it takes some time. to come back to normal.
(18:13):
It just does. Well, that's the amazing thing. I would
go over there early.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Right.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
That's the crazy thing to me, guys, is that, I mean,
I'm assuming that both teams have sleep experts, travel experts, whatever,
that are telling them one side's experts are saying go late.
Speaker 5 (18:31):
Right.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
One side's experts are saying go early. Right?
Speaker 2 (18:34):
So you got these experts on both sides of the
ball saying, that are saying totally different things. I mean,
I think the next RAM game is against the Giants
on September 21st.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
That's a Monday. So they do get the extra day.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
But, you know, look, I mean, they get one less
day because they've got to play on Thursday versus Wednesday.
So the whole thing to me is wacky. But, Mike,
I've got to ask you about the new owners before
we go. The Kosla family, right? Neil, Vinod, Neera had
a press conference yesterday, said all the right things. But
if you were coaching this football team and all of
(19:10):
a sudden there's a brand new owner, what would be
a few things that you would be curious about, about
the new ownership group when they did eventually take over?
Speaker 5 (19:20):
Well, their involvement is the number one thing. You know,
when I first came here, and was with Paul Allen
and met him for the first time. And I wasn't
with him every day, but, you know, we developed a relationship.
And I found myself, I could talk to him. And,
(19:41):
you know, we could talk football, but he handed me
the football. He didn't want to, you know, it's not
like Jerry Jones really kind of trying to get in
there and do some stuff. There are some owners that
are like that, that they want to get in there
and maybe not interfere too much, but throw in an idea,
throw in this, talk about a player, and history has
(20:06):
shown teams are better off if they don't do that.
And so that would be the number one thing. And
I think I didn't hear, but it seems to me
in the stuff I have read, that they, as a family,
they're just going to hand the reins over to John
and to Mike and go from there.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Yeah, no, they're not even moving up here, right? None
of them are going to move up here.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Really is, at least for now, going to be a
hands-off approach as far as the day-to-day stuff, no doubt.
All right, Mike, great stuff. Good to have you back,
and we will talk in a week, all right?
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Thanks, Coach.
Speaker 5 (20:40):
All right, bud. Hey, take care, guys. Good to talk
with you.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
Absolutely. Mike Holmgren.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Again, you're looking for anything on Venue Kings Seahawks tickets,
home or away, baby. Use code Mike at checkout for
a discount every time at VenueKings.com.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
Get a break.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
We're going to have a little fun with the Patriots-Seahawks
game at the Boston Sports Radio and Patriots Expense next
on 93.3 KJRFM.
As part of our longstanding commitment of NFL coverage, we're
proud to present our former Seahawks head coach and Super
Bowl champion, Mike Holmgren, presented by VenueKings.com for all your
ticket needs, concerts, sporting events, Seahawks home and road games,
and more. You'll always get 3% back on every order
to use on future purchases at VenueKings.com. The most trusted
(00:24):
source in tickets is VenueKings.com. Now, Mike Holmgren on your
home of the 12s. Sports Radio 93.3, KJR FM.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
All right, first of all, big thanks to our friends
at VenueKings for sponsoring this thing this year. You're buying
Seahawks tickets on the website, home games, road games, whatever.
Always use code MIKE. for a discount at checkout. Mike,
for a discount at checkout. That's M-I-K-E, not M-I-C, for
all you radio people out there. You get a discount
(00:54):
for using the code Mike at checkout at Venue Kings
and all these horror stories about... Seat Geek and StubHub
and whatever, man. VenueKings.com will take care of you. If
there's ever a problem, you tell me, and I'll take
care of it because I.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Know the owner.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
I used them for the game yesterday.
Speaker 5 (01:09):
Yes, you did.
Speaker 4 (01:10):
My mom and dad couldn't go, so I got hold
of Anthony, and we took care of it and sold
them on VenueKings.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
And you were very satisfied with that. Absolutely. So let's
do it.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
You want tickets for Seahawks games, Husky games, Mariners, whatever, concerts, whatever.
Use code Mike at checkout for a discount always at VenueKings.com. Coach,
that's how big you've become. You can now have your
own discount code at VenueKings.com.
Speaker 5 (01:32):
Wow. Hey, I appreciate it. Was that your idea? That
was good.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Well, we just thought of all the things you've accomplished
in your life, Super Bowl champions, coaching Hall of Famers, whatever.
This has got to be up there. Well, first of all,
it's great to have you back with us this year.
Great to hear your voice, man. And why don't we
just first of all by talk about honestly how difficult
what the Seahawks did, what Mike McDonald did last night
to lose Sam Darnold on the first drive of the
(01:58):
game of the year and then have Drew Locke come in. And,
you know, not light up the box score, but not
make a killer mistake that would put his defense in
harm's way. And to win a game like that against
the reigning AFC champions, can you put into words just
how difficult that was to do last night for them?
Speaker 5 (02:17):
No, what they accomplished last night was very, very special.
A couple things, though, Dave. I think Drew Locke, first
of all, if you had to do it with a quarterback,
a second quarterback in the league this year, he's the
guy I would do it with. I really think he's
a really good player. And even though he hasn't worked
with the tough thing, he hadn't practiced, he hadn't worked
with the first unit very much, but he did get
(02:40):
some preseason work. So he was somewhat ready to play.
But it's still a shock when your starting quarterback goes down.
You know, it happened to me when I was an
assistant coach of the 49ers and Joe Montana got hurt.
I remember going in saying, gee, this is my first
time in the league, and I get to have Joe
Montana as my quarterback. I'm going to be famous, you know.
(03:03):
And then he gets hurt. And so the backup quarterback
has to go in and play. And he did a
really good job. You know, Jeff Kemp did a wonderful job.
But it's hard. It is really hard. And to do
it against New England. And New England, I thought it
would be a close game, though. New England is, as
a good football team, they're well coached. And unfortunately, their
(03:25):
young quarterback kind of fell apart at the end for them.
Speaker 6 (03:28):
Well, Coach, imagine if that happened in your first game
ever calling plays. You've got your starter for five plays,
and then he goes out.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
So put yourself in Brian Fleury's shoes last night.
Speaker 6 (03:38):
What do you think he was going through? And evaluate
the job he did under the circumstances.
Speaker 5 (03:44):
Well, I think he did a great job under the
circumstances because it is a gut punch. That happens, and
you're thinking on the sideline, You're going, oh, now what
are we going to do? Okay, now how is he
going to handle this? Do I change what my thinking
was going into the game and all the preparation you
do and setting up plays and so on? But, you
(04:06):
know what, guys, I think they just stuck with it.
I think they just went with it. I thought a
little bit conservative early, but that's understandable. But then, no,
they stuck with it. And, you know, the thing they
can do– They can do that. Why? Because their defense
is really good. And so when you have a defense
(04:27):
that you have a lot of confidence in and the
other team is not going to score many points, you know,
then that makes it a little bit easier. But it
is hard when that happens. That hits you. It really does.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Well, Cooper Cupp said after the game, again, that he
took no reps at all. I mean, is that typical
that the backup quarterback would not get any reps? I mean,
like I'm going to take Cooper Cupp literally– no reps
for the first team, no reps, I guess, at all, period,
not even with a second team. I mean, can you
talk about that, like how those are distributed throughout the week?
Speaker 5 (05:00):
Well, the starting quarterback is going to get the vast majority.
I wouldn't say when I did it, the backup quarterback
would get a series or two in practice. I never
did it where he didn't get anything. And so if
that is in fact what happened– then that even says
more about Duloc, in my opinion. But, no, I think
(05:26):
you've got to give them a little taste of working
with the first unit for this very reason, for the
very reason what happened. You don't want it to happen,
but it could happen, and it happened last night. But
he still got through it, and they won the football game,
and they're off to a great start.
Speaker 6 (05:43):
Coach, talk about Jadarian Price and what you thought about
him because I think that– There was one issue that
we had last night in the postgame, you and myself,
with Brian Fleury, was the fact that Price only got
10 carries in that whole football game, and he looked
pretty explosive to us.
Speaker 5 (06:00):
You know, Dick, I felt exactly the same way. I'm
watching a game, and he popped that first run, and
I'm going, oh, wow, okay, this guy's going to be
fun to watch. And then he was in the first series,
and I believe, I could be wrong about this, but
I believe he wasn't in on the second, you know,
wasn't in on the second series or the third series.
And then I'm going, what are they doing? Did he
(06:21):
get hurt? You know, why? So I couldn't agree with
you more. He is really, I think, has a chance
to be really good. And, you know, give him the ball.
Give him the ball. Now, I would say this. The
injury thing and how they practice and how they do
that is different than when I was coaching. You know,
(06:42):
Sean Alexander, as an example, you know, would wind up
carrying the ball 28, 30 times a game and then
Mo Morris would go in there just if he got tired.
And so it's different now. Every team, most teams, play
with two backs. They're two column starters, you know.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Yeah, I just think, and I was texting with you
during the game about they got to the 13-yard line
before that first field goal late in the third quarter.
And I live in a world, Mike, where I constantly
hear things in my head, okay? And one of the
things that I always hear in my head is you
saying when you get to the red zone, every pass should.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Be to the end zone, every single one.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
And yet they're running toss Halani right, handoff Halani right.
Then they finally throw it and they score a Cooper Cup,
but they lose it because of the illegal formation penalty.
I thought they got a little bit conservative down there
before they took that first field goal.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Did you think that as well? And why do you
think maybe that was?
Speaker 5 (07:41):
No, I thought of it as well because you're right,
and I probably said that too much to emphasize it
to you because sometimes you didn't listen to me, and
I wanted you to hear what I was saying. I'm sorry,
what was that? You know, but he, listen, I think
you get down to the red zone. If you get
(08:01):
in there to that area, you have a field goal
in your pocket. It's in the pocket. Yeah, 100%. Go
for it. Go for it. And, you know, I thought
they got a little conservative myself.
Speaker 6 (08:16):
Well, how about third and five at the Seattle 16
with 26 seconds left to go, and your quarterback rolls out,
throws off his back foot, and throws a pick when
you've got the game-tying field goal in your pocket.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
What did you think about that, Coach?
Speaker 5 (08:30):
Well, you know, you two guys know me pretty well.
I think I would have been a little upset with that.
You know, the idea of knowing the situation. And, again,
I just said it. He had a field goal. They
had a field goal probably in their pocket for a tie.
And that was going to go into overtime. And then to, okay,
(08:52):
so he was forced out of the pocket and he
was off balance. So what do you do? You throw
it away, kick the field goal, and now you're still
having a football game. What he did was, And I
like Drake May, and I thought in the beginning he
made some beautiful throws. I mean, he really can't throw
the ball. But then all of a sudden, some of
the decisions he made, and that one was obviously highlighted,
(09:16):
but some of the decisions he made, you can't do that.
You can't do that. So that would be in my
meetings with the quarterback after that football game. I mean,
we got another game to play and all that, but
you cannot do that. Now eliminate that from your– and listen,
(09:36):
I gave– you think I ever gave a speech to
Brett Favre? Yes. I did.
Speaker 3 (09:40):
Many times.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
I'm just– I'm actually– I am getting nervous right now,
and I'm uncomfortable just thinking about what that conversation would
have been like between you and Drake May.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
And it didn't even happen. Like there's an alternate universe
where you're just grinding your teeth.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
And digging your fingers into his neck and staring at
him with that mustache. I mean you know they had
a cut block on DeMarcus Lawrence Mike on the right
side with Morgan Moses actually both tackles had cut blocks.
I'm wondering why that was, number one, if that's unique
that both tackles would do that. And then how much
did Demarcus Lawrence actually impact that play by jumping over
(10:19):
Morgan Moses and getting into Drake May's face?
Speaker 5 (10:23):
Oh, he did. He should receive as much credit as
anybody because he obviously made the quarterback throw off balance.
He created that situation for the quarterback. But what that
told me that the play was designed to get the
ball out of his hands quickly because oftentimes, you know, yeah,
it disrupts when you try and cut block the defensive player,
(10:44):
it disrupts them. Yeah. But oftentimes he doesn't last disrupt,
you know, he gets up or he jumps over like
he did and he can still cause a problem for
the quarterback if the quarterback is holding the ball too long.
So I think it was designed to get the ball
out of his hands quickly and, uh, It did a
couple things. One, it made him hold the ball a
(11:04):
little bit longer, and then it made him make the
bad throw.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
There's a big national disagreement over how good Drake May is, Coach.
Speaker 6 (11:12):
And Softie and I were talking about it earlier on
the show, but it's being talked about everywhere right now,
and it has been even in the offseason.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
What's your evaluation of him?
Speaker 5 (11:21):
Well, you know what? I haven't seen him very much.
But like I said, early in the football game, there
were some throws there. He completed square outs and stuff against–
You know, good corners. The Seahawks have good corners. And
it was really nice throws, good throws. To me, he
can really pass the ball well. Now, you know, and
(11:42):
he runs. I mean, he can get first downs for you.
So physically, physically, I think he's got a really bright future, Dick.
I really do. Having said that, you can't do what
you did last night. You can't. And it starts there.
You get quarterbacks without the ability, the physical ability, but
(12:03):
really smart guys who really kind of have things under
control and don't make the big mistake. You know, that's
where you have to start. You have to be smart,
and you can't make that big mistake in situations like that.
But I think he's got a bright future. I really do.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Well, Mike Holmgren's with us. And, Mike, let's say Darnold's
going to be out for a while. Do they adjust
anything with Drew, or does Drew just step in and
just get asked to do everything that Sam Darnold was
going to be asked to do himself?
Speaker 5 (12:36):
You know what? I don't think they're going to change much, Dave.
I really don't. I think that it's not like he's
a third-year player or a second-year player. He's been around.
He's been in the league a long time. And so
the amount of offense you can insert into the game,
I think he'll understand it. He'll do it. he probably
(12:57):
has some plays that he likes that are special plays
for him that maybe Sam didn't like or whatever. So
those plays are going to be in, but you're going
to see basically the same stuff. And I hope, you know,
we thought they were a little conservative last night. I
hope they approach it a little differently, you know, that
(13:17):
let him play, cut him loose, you know, and then
because he can run too, you know, he can do that. So,
Like I said, I think if you have to go
with your second guy, he's the best guy right now
in the league, in my opinion.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
But how long before the dam breaks without Sam Darnold?
Speaker 6 (13:33):
I mean, yeah, we like Drew Locke, but I don't
think anybody thinks this is a Super Bowl championship team
without Sam Darnold. So how long can you just go
without your starter before it's too late?
Speaker 5 (13:45):
Well, I think a lot will depend on what happens
this first game, I think. Honestly.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
Right.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
You know, he'll get a chance to do the things
we talked about. I don't think they're going to change
a lot. And they'll run their offense. How does he
handle that? How does he play against that? Now, but
you're right, Dick. I mean, it's inconceivable almost that you
could lose your starting quarterback who was, you know, has
(14:12):
won 14 games in the last two years in the
regular season. And then your team's the same. It's not
the same. but the other teams now, the other guys
have to step up. The running back has to step up.
The receivers, other than Njigma, have to be part of
this thing. Last night, he was the only one that
really made any sort of an effort in receiving because
(14:38):
he's the only one that caught the ball and the
only one they threw it to. Those things have to
happen too. Their defense is going to be their defense.
That also is a positive thing for the team, but
It's hard. It's hard when you lose your starter.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Well, Mike Holmgren is with us again, courtesy of Venue Kings,
every Thursday at this time.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
We'll talk with Mike.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
And, by the way, if you're looking for something on VenueKings.com,
Seahawk tickets, home and road, use code Mike at checkout
for a discount. Always at VenueKings.com and save yourself some money.
So let's say Sam does come back, and he comes
back rather quickly. I don't know if you ever played
with a hip injury before this, I mean, I've tweaked
(15:18):
my hip on the golf course, but I'm not a
finely tuned athlete the way Sam is, obviously.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Sure you are.
Speaker 4 (15:24):
Yeah. Do you worry.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
About that thing lingering and what that does to him
as a quarterback, his movement in the pocket, his ability
to get any, you know, juice on a ball? I mean,
he's going to come back at some point, but does
the hip injury lingering, does that concern you?
Speaker 5 (15:43):
Yeah, it does a little bit. I mean, although as
long as they don't come back too soon. You know,
we want them to come back, and we want to
see them play. And I think I read that he's
going to miss next week's game, but then he'll come
back for the following week. But then the doctors, and
they have great doctors. I know them very well. They
(16:06):
have to be really sure that that thing, whatever it is,
is healed up. You know, one quick story when I
was in it. playing in the North-South Shrine game in
high school, you know, when Jim Plunkett and I were
the quarterbacks, I got hit in practice in my hip
by a safety. I don't know why he hit me
because we were on the same team, but he hit
me in my hip, and I missed three or four
(16:28):
days of that practice because I just couldn't walk. And
so it is a part of your body that you
need if you play the position. There's no question about it.
Speaker 6 (16:43):
Coach, I've got to ask you about what's going on
in Australia tonight and what you would do if you
were the head coach of a football team that had
to travel all the way to Melbourne to play a
football game. The Niners left basically in May, and the
Rams left yesterday. So which would you lean towards, getting
(17:06):
there as late as you could or as early as
you could?
Speaker 5 (17:08):
No, I'd lean towards as early as you could. part
of the 49ers preseason games, they didn't count. You know,
in Germany and in England and from San Francisco, you know,
those are long flights. Nothing like, you know, this is
the longest one. But we left, you were there a week.
(17:30):
And so you were able to, you get in there
and you guys have done it too. You fly in
these long, go to Europe or something, and then it
takes a day or two to kind of get your bearings.
And then you're okay. So I would lean towards that way.
I don't know. I heard that Sean McVay told the
guys they had to stay up for 20 hours. They
(17:51):
couldn't go to sleep. Are you going to follow them around?
Someone's going to sleep. But really the tough part is
if they had to play another game the following week,
the recovery time when you come back, you guys know this,
the recovery time when you come back from a trip
like that, it takes some time. to come back to normal.
(18:13):
It just does. Well, that's the amazing thing. I would
go over there early.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Right.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
That's the crazy thing to me, guys, is that, I mean,
I'm assuming that both teams have sleep experts, travel experts, whatever,
that are telling them one side's experts are saying go late.
Speaker 5 (18:31):
Right.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
One side's experts are saying go early. Right?
Speaker 2 (18:34):
So you got these experts on both sides of the
ball saying, that are saying totally different things. I mean,
I think the next RAM game is against the Giants
on September 21st.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
That's a Monday. So they do get the extra day.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
But, you know, look, I mean, they get one less
day because they've got to play on Thursday versus Wednesday.
So the whole thing to me is wacky. But, Mike,
I've got to ask you about the new owners before
we go. The Kosla family, right? Neil, Vinod, Neera had
a press conference yesterday, said all the right things. But
if you were coaching this football team and all of
(19:10):
a sudden there's a brand new owner, what would be
a few things that you would be curious about, about
the new ownership group when they did eventually take over?
Speaker 5 (19:20):
Well, their involvement is the number one thing. You know,
when I first came here, and was with Paul Allen
and met him for the first time. And I wasn't
with him every day, but, you know, we developed a relationship.
And I found myself, I could talk to him. And,
(19:41):
you know, we could talk football, but he handed me
the football. He didn't want to, you know, it's not
like Jerry Jones really kind of trying to get in
there and do some stuff. There are some owners that
are like that, that they want to get in there
and maybe not interfere too much, but throw in an idea,
throw in this, talk about a player, and history has
(20:06):
shown teams are better off if they don't do that.
And so that would be the number one thing. And
I think I didn't hear, but it seems to me
in the stuff I have read, that they, as a family,
they're just going to hand the reins over to John
and to Mike and go from there.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Yeah, no, they're not even moving up here, right? None
of them are going to move up here.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Really is, at least for now, going to be a
hands-off approach as far as the day-to-day stuff, no doubt.
All right, Mike, great stuff. Good to have you back,
and we will talk in a week, all right?
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Thanks, Coach.
Speaker 5 (20:40):
All right, bud. Hey, take care, guys. Good to talk
with you.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
Absolutely. Mike Holmgren.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Again, you're looking for anything on Venue Kings Seahawks tickets,
home or away, baby. Use code Mike at checkout for
a discount every time at VenueKings.com.
Speaker 3 (20:53):
Get a break.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
We're going to have a little fun with the Patriots-Seahawks
game at the Boston Sports Radio and Patriots Expense next
on 93.3 KJRFM.
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