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Julian Love: "There's So Much Upside In What We Could Be Doing" · Seahawks Press Pass

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: How we doing? Good, how are you?
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: Good.
• 0:05
  Speaker 3: What's it like just when you see Ken on the
• 0:06
  Speaker 3: other side and kind of just see the success he's
• 0:08
  Speaker 3: having and what that challenge will be like for you
• 0:10
  Speaker 3: guys this weekend?
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's weird for sure.
• 0:14
  Speaker 4: Doing what he did for us last season or past
• 0:17
  Speaker 4: bunch of seasons for the Seahawks.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: And he has just, he's left off where he, you.
• 0:23
  Speaker 4: Know, he's picked up where he's left off from last season.
• 0:26
  Speaker 4: He's playing, his tape looks incredible. And so it's all
• 0:29
  Speaker 4: hands on deck effort to try to contain and try
• 0:31
  Speaker 4: to stop him.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: He looks every bit as explosive as he's had for
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: the Seahawks.
• 0:35
  Speaker 5: Screen games have been really a big part of Andy
• 0:37
  Speaker 5: Reid's offense for a while. Obviously, Ken's a big part
• 0:39
  Speaker 5: of that. That hasn't been as strong for you guys
• 0:41
  Speaker 5: so far this year defensively. What do you guys need
• 0:43
  Speaker 5: to do to change that?
• 0:45
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I think that is just a few ways teams
• 0:47
  Speaker 4: want to attack us. And one of them is screens.
• 0:49
  Speaker 4: And it's just attacking blockers, attacking the leverage, attacking space,
• 0:55
  Speaker 4: understanding kind of what people want to get to. Again,
• 0:58
  Speaker 4: For other teams, it's pretty much getting the ball in
• 1:00
  Speaker 4: the hands of the playmakers and let them try to create.
• 1:03
  Speaker 4: So for us, it's like acknowledging some screen looks and
• 1:06
  Speaker 4: just closing spaces.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: Everybody kind of getting to the ball, playing off for
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: each other, and just mitigating it.
• 1:11
  Speaker 5: How much of it's the play versus identifying the downs
• 1:14
  Speaker 5: and distances situations when they're going to do it?
• 1:19
  Speaker 4: I think it's a mixture of both. I mean, there
• 1:20
  Speaker 4: are screen downs. People think get back on track. People
• 1:23
  Speaker 4: think third and real long. It's kind of obvious screen downs.
• 1:26
  Speaker 4: But teams have been able to do it kind of
• 1:27
  Speaker 4: on early down lows, keeping us kind of guessing with it.
• 1:31
  Speaker 4: And then it's really understanding looks. And then once you
• 1:34
  Speaker 4: get it, just really everyone needs to fly the ball.
• 1:37
  Speaker 4: The big guys got the stack and chase kind of
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: from behind. And then DBs, secondary linebackers, we have to
• 1:43
  Speaker 4: close space. So that's kind of how we work around that.
• 1:46
  Speaker 6: You guys play, obviously, elite athletes every week at the
• 1:50
  Speaker 6: running back position. But Ken's one of the select few
• 1:52
  Speaker 6: that is on that upper echelon, like When you look
• 1:56
  Speaker 6: at the foundations of great run defense, what do you
• 1:58
  Speaker 6: have to prioritize the most when you are playing somebody
• 2:02
  Speaker 6: that has that kind of home run hitting ability?
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you have to be sound.
• 2:07
  Speaker 4: I think if you have one weak link kind of
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: in the chain, the great running backs will find that,
• 2:12
  Speaker 4: and Ken will find that. He has been the past
• 2:15
  Speaker 4: bunch of games this season. And so for us, understanding
• 2:18
  Speaker 4: obviously concepts, understanding our scheme, how we fit off of
• 2:22
  Speaker 4: each other, but then it's like, okay, this guy– That's
• 2:25
  Speaker 4: every tool of the trade.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: He has juice. He has shake. He has speed.
• 2:28
  Speaker 4: Great balance, contact balance. And so, like, when you get
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: in those moments of point.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: Of attack, play off each other.
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: Shoot your shot. Try to be aggressive. And everybody else,
• 2:40
  Speaker 4: help out the brother next to you. That's just what
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: you have to do when you play a really great back.
• 2:43
  Speaker 7: Where the guys on the team, you guys get it,
• 2:47
  Speaker 7: the business of football.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: You understood why Walker left and why they didn't keep him.
• 2:51
  Speaker 7: And in the veteran committee that you guys have in
• 2:53
  Speaker 7: the council, did they come to you in the offseason
• 2:55
  Speaker 7: and say, here's our strategy, this is why we're going
• 2:58
  Speaker 7: to do this?
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: No.
• 2:59
  Speaker 7: You're never a part of.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: That, right?
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: No, no, we're definitely never a part of that.
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: Are you guys sitting there wondering how come we don't
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: have number nine in our backfield? I mean, it's crazy
• 3:08
  Speaker 4: when you look at the tape and see, oh, man,
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: this guy is incredible.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: We knew that he was incredible. But that's people above us.
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: I think the players will always have a bond and
• 3:19
  Speaker 4: a love and respect for a canine. Um, a lot
• 3:21
  Speaker 4: of guys in here, you know, are, are incredibly close
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: with him still. Um, and we will, because of what
• 3:27
  Speaker 4: we did last year, that bond will be forever.
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: Um, we'll always kind of be attached.
• 3:32
  Speaker 4: Um, but you know, while he wears another Jersey, we
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: have to attack them just like anybody else with another Jersey.
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: Um, I think he would want that. I think, uh,
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: that's just how it is in this league.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: But those, those conversations are a way above players heads.
• 3:43
  Speaker 5: How aware, how aware are you of the 35 game
• 3:47
  Speaker 5: franchise record without allowing, um, 100 yard rusher and is
• 3:51
  Speaker 5: this the biggest challenge you've had to date in trying to.
• 3:55
  Speaker 4: I mean definitely it's a huge challenge to date I
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: hear that stat every bunch of games somebody says that
• 4:02
  Speaker 4: I think when we play great running backs that always
• 4:04
  Speaker 4: kind of comes up I don't know I think it's
• 4:06
  Speaker 4: kind of our collective style I don't think anyone on
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: defense is like realizing that in the moment we're just
• 4:13
  Speaker 4: trying to whoever's running the ball try to stop the
• 4:14
  Speaker 4: run and defend the pass and the stats kind of
• 4:17
  Speaker 4: show what the stats show Yeah, and our job, I mean,
• 4:20
  Speaker 4: just not with him, with their other backs as well, is, like,
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  Speaker 4: just not let them go campus legend mode while they're here,
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: try to stop the run, and, yeah, just play sound defense.
• 4:31
  Speaker 4: Of course you want to sell out to stop.
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: The run all the time. That's the style of this defense.
• 4:34
  Speaker 8: But what do you have to be aware of and
• 4:36
  Speaker 8: maybe being too aware of, Ken, and their backs this week?
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I think it's that. We have to work within
• 4:43
  Speaker 4: our scheme. I think what has gave us success in
• 4:47
  Speaker 4: the run game is our front. I think our interior
• 4:50
  Speaker 4: is incredibly special. You know, I'll sing their praises all day.
• 4:53
  Speaker 4: Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy, Jay Reed, our young guys with
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: the depth, our violent edge players. I think they set
• 4:59
  Speaker 4: the tone for the run game. We don't have to
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: do too much. We don't usually have to.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: Stack a box because they play so physical and so dominant.
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: And then it's just like, okay, when you acknowledge run looks,
• 5:09
  Speaker 4: whether it's a second level, third level, get in the action,
• 5:12
  Speaker 4: play off of them. You don't have to sell out,
• 5:14
  Speaker 4: I wouldn't say. But acknowledge when they're trying to feed
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: their playmakers. And then my job isn't fully all the
• 5:20
  Speaker 4: time to be up in the mix, stopping the run.
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: I get my moments, but I also, we're playing against
• 5:25
  Speaker 4: Patrick Mahomes. And so you got to, you know, he's
• 5:28
  Speaker 4: one of the ones. And so, yeah, that's that.
• 5:31
  Speaker 7: Julian, I was going to say a lot of questions
• 5:32
  Speaker 7: about Ken for obvious reasons, but 15's back out there
• 5:35
  Speaker 7: and looks like he's kind of got himself back to himself. Like,
• 5:39
  Speaker 7: what do we kind of see out of him? How
• 5:40
  Speaker 7: close to 100% old Patrick do you kind of see
• 5:42
  Speaker 7: him look? And what do you expect from their passing
• 5:45
  Speaker 7: attack at this point?
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: I think his game has just developed or not developed.
• 5:48
  Speaker 4: I think it's always, it's always progressing. It might not
• 5:53
  Speaker 4: be Pat Mahomes from like six years ago or something
• 5:55
  Speaker 4: like that, but it's a, it's a new, like really
• 5:58
  Speaker 4: impressive top, still elite Pat Mahomes. There's not many elite
• 6:02
  Speaker 4: quarterbacks in the league. And he is the one. And
• 6:06
  Speaker 4: so with him, he has a run game to now
• 6:09
  Speaker 4: be unlocked with it. So you see kind of a
• 6:11
  Speaker 4: lot of RPOs, you see kind of a lot of
• 6:12
  Speaker 4: that type of stuff. But we are not, mistaken and
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: thinking that he can't make every single throw because he's
• 6:19
  Speaker 4: shown that already this year and so yeah I don't
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: know how back to health percentage wise but he looks
• 6:24
  Speaker 4: every bit of a hundred percent to me Julian.
• 6:26
  Speaker 8: In training camps when you guys would go 1v1s you
• 6:29
  Speaker 8: know Ken was obviously a lot of times the guy
• 6:31
  Speaker 8: back there is there anything from those experiences that whether
• 6:34
  Speaker 8: it's mannerisms style you know traits whatever that help you
• 6:40
  Speaker 8: guys at all this week.
• 6:42
  Speaker 4: Yeah I think what always impressed me about him was
• 6:43
  Speaker 4: that he always just practice really hard um every run
• 6:46
  Speaker 4: that he got in practice he would finish in the
• 6:49
  Speaker 4: end zone um and we could be 70 yards uh
• 6:52
  Speaker 4: and kind of on the opposite 30 um that's just
• 6:54
  Speaker 4: kind of how he worked um and his ability i
• 6:58
  Speaker 4: mean like i kind of said it is really good
• 7:00
  Speaker 4: contact balance his his balance ability his cutback ability um
• 7:04
  Speaker 4: he just his center of gravity is always changing and
• 7:06
  Speaker 4: that's what makes him a tough tackle you've seen it
• 7:08
  Speaker 4: he's a ton of explosives this year because people just
• 7:10
  Speaker 4: don't know how to tackle him um and so yeah
• 7:13
  Speaker 4: i think he has all the traits of being a
• 7:16
  Speaker 4: huge point of emphasis.
• 7:17
  Speaker 5: Andy Reid's been doing this for a long time and
• 7:20
  Speaker 5: seems to have done it with different styles of offenses.
• 7:23
  Speaker 5: What makes his offense stand out from others?
• 7:27
  Speaker 4: I think he just puts his players at the forefront
• 7:29
  Speaker 4: of kind of all his schemes and style. I think it's, it's,
• 7:33
  Speaker 4: the line's been moved over the years. I think he's
• 7:35
  Speaker 4: been successful for a whole generation because he's, he's worked
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: with what he had in his room. It helps when
• 7:42
  Speaker 4: you have 15 and 87 there, and now it helps
• 7:45
  Speaker 4: a lot more when you have K-9 with them. You
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: have fast receivers. You have skillful receivers. And he just
• 7:50
  Speaker 4: always spins a dial. I think that's kind of what
• 7:52
  Speaker 4: makes him– I think that's what makes the greats great.
• 7:54
  Speaker 4: They can always kind of move the needle depending on
• 7:57
  Speaker 4: who they have. And so that's kind of what he does.
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: Aside from the playoff run last season, Ken mostly split
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: carries with Zach over those three or four years. Is
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: it at all surprising he's on track for a career
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: high in carries, yards, touchdowns, all that, that he's become
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: that bell cow?
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  Speaker 1: Definitely not surprising.
• 8:13
  Speaker 4: I think I don't know how many people on the
• 8:16
  Speaker 4: team have played against him before. My last year in
• 8:19
  Speaker 4: New York, I played against a rookie canine, and he
• 8:21
  Speaker 4: was every bit as incredible back then. He had a
• 8:24
  Speaker 4: dynamic rookie year. I think it's just he's not playing better.
• 8:28
  Speaker 4: I think he's just getting the ball a little bit more.
• 8:31
  Speaker 4: And so, yeah, that production rate is still super high.
• 8:34
  Speaker 4: He's just getting now a lot more touches.
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: You guys haven't lost two in a row in a while.
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: Any different feel or mood or anything like that with
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: you guys this week?
• 8:43
  Speaker 4: Kind of just reiterating, this is like, man, like, we're close. Like,
• 8:46
  Speaker 4: there are so many good things that we're showing. There
• 8:49
  Speaker 4: are also just a few really bad things that we
• 8:51
  Speaker 4: keep putting on display. And so it's nipping that in
• 8:53
  Speaker 4: the bud. I think we understand that we are very
• 8:55
  Speaker 4: capable and we're sitting at whatever, three and three. But
• 8:59
  Speaker 4: there's so much upside in what we could be doing.
• 9:02
  Speaker 4: And so I think everyone kind of feels that energy.
• 9:05
  Speaker 4: Even the wind, you feel like, oh, man, we're still
• 9:07
  Speaker 4: chasing kind of this clean football, complimentary football for a
• 9:11
  Speaker 4: full game.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: And so it's exciting.
• 9:13
  Speaker 4: I think it's exciting that it's still in front of us.
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: And we know we're very capable of being that. And, yeah,
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: it starts Sunday night.
• 9:19
  Speaker 5: You guys are doing so many good things on defense,
• 9:22
  Speaker 5: and yet there's these weird, odd things like third and long,
• 9:27
  Speaker 5: red zone last in the league and red zone defense.
• 9:30
  Speaker 5: What are the things you guys can do to kind of.
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: Work folks on those details? One is talk about it
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: for sure. I think it has been talked about.
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: For me, especially like the red zone stuff, we got
• 9:42
  Speaker 4: to just lock in on, you know, whether it's details,
• 9:45
  Speaker 4: whether it's kind of putting us in good positions, whether.
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: It's just effort.
• 9:48
  Speaker 4: If it's a long drive, just having the stamina, the
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: competitive stamina to force a kick or something like that.
• 9:54
  Speaker 4: I think we're chasing that. I think on defense, everyone
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: holds each other pretty accountable. Everyone's pretty open to speak.
• 9:59
  Speaker 4: And so that's been a heavy topic for us. And
• 10:02
  Speaker 4: so we're just going to attack it. That's the only
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: thing we know how to do.
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: Anything else, guys? Yeah, appreciate y'all.