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Reaction: Hard Knocks Ep 3 · Unicorn Football Talk

• Emily: Hi Hillary. Good morning. we're back. We're gonna talk hard knocks episode three. Hilary: Hard Knocks Episode three, let's go. Takeaways from that. What do you think? Emily: Well, I would say I enjoyed this episode more than episode two. I don't know about you. Hilary: I would agree better than episode two, but I still think episode one is my favorite, but maybe that's just because that's the first stab at showcasing the Seahawks and making our city look so great and I was really excited for the series to launch. Jury's still out for me until the whole series is over about how I feel overall. Emily: All right. Well, first impressions, we saw Mike McDonald talking about making the shift from coaching not to lose to coaching to win, if that makes sense. I think the exact quote was earlier in my career, especially calling plays. I called it not to lose the game. If I'm really being honest with myself, I did that too often and we lost leads. And then he said in the first year in Seattle, he still had that mentality. And he was just trying not to screw it up. And he sort of shifted at some point in season two. And it kind of made me think about the Rams game late in the season, the night game, when late in the game he went for two after we scored to pull ahead by one point instead of hitting the extra point to tie the game. Hilary: Exactly. Emily: And we ended up beating the Rams by one point. So that was kind of a cool insight into Mike McDonald. Hilary: I thought that was a great insight onto his coaching philosophy and how it's changing as he's getting more comfortable with, you know, his coaching job here in Seattle. I also really liked in that scene that he was encouraging the players to think about that individually, how they approach practice, how they approach their life. Just don't just do what it takes to hang on, but really. take that next step and and put it out there. I hadn't made the connection with that call against the Rams in that game and that that's a good one. I I thanks for sharing that because I had not put that together as as a coaching tactic for him. Emily: I remember how I felt when he was going for two. I turned around in my seat. I didn't think I could watch it. I was so nervous, we could have lost the game because of that too, Hilary: I definitely see in him an extra little boost of confidence this year going into year two where everything isn't new up front. And I think he definitely has some ideas of where he wants to take things above and beyond what they built on last year. Emily: Yeah. All right, let's pivot to John Schneider. They focused on him a little bit. They compared him to a rock star. do we think of him that way. Hilary: I don't know. I was thinking about that too. Do I want a football with his autograph on it? I I don't know. Emily: No. Yeah, Hilary: I don't know, dude, what's with the walking treadmill under the desk and talking and exercising at the same time Emily: Yeah, that would be annoying Hilary: I don't know. Emily: if I'm talking to somebody that's on the treadmill at the same time. But I think that's the only way he can get a workout in because he is just always working. Hilary: I agree. I just thought it was Emily: That was my impression. Hilary: I I thought it was funny that they showcased it, but maybe that's the reality and it's good for us all to see that. Emily: And then they pointed out a cool fact I had heard before, he's the only general manager that has won two Super Bowls with two different coaching staffs and two totally different teams. There are no players from the original or the the last Super Bowl win on this year's team or last year's team. So that that is pretty impressive. Hilary: Yeah, I had to sit with that comment for a minute and think about is that really true? I mean, of course it's true. They wouldn't say it if it wasn't, but what that really meant for the changes in the building, not only for the players, but all the way through the coaching staff, that it truly has been a hundred percent changeover in just over ten years. Emily: Yeah, the owner Jody Allen had a decision to make a few years ago whether to stick with John Schneider or stick with Pete Carroll. And I loved Pete Carroll. He's a great coach, but I think they made the right decision. Obviously, we won the Super Bowl. Hilary: Yeah, for people who are longtime fans, it is showcasing a little bit of the dynamic between John and Pete back in the day of kind of who had the upper hand for some of the business decisions and some of the drafting choices. And it's apparent to me that Pete Carroll had a little more say than I thought. Emily: Yeah, I think so too. Well, let's also point out that Seattle once again was a star of the episode. They love to show those shots. They showed the building lit up like a twelve getting ready for the preseason game. And I admit it's just fun for me to see Seattle shine like that. Hilary: Yeah, I love the big wheel all done up in the bright colors on the waterfront. of course you can't show Seattle without the fish in the pike market and Emily: No, you can't. Hilary: you can't, right? Some mount rainier, some ferries. Yeah, we looked good again in week three. And really that is what the weather's like here this week. So they're not making that up. Emily: They're not making it up. At least during the summer it's like that. Hilary: At least Emily: All right, so they spent some time on the backup quarterbacks and they and in the quarterback room, Jason Garrett was there, former coach of Dallas and I forgot what network he's on now, but that was kind of interesting that he showed up. I didn't expect that. Hilary: I didn't expect that other my favorite takeaway from those shots was Cooper Cup lurking in the background, just soaking it all out. I'm like, dude, what are you doing in the quarterback room? Emily: Yeah, I had heard that he spends time in the quarterback meetings because he obviously helps the quarterbacks get better, which is just really cool. but yeah, Jason Garrett was backup quarterback and before he was a coach and he talked about how important it is for backup quarterbacks to get those mental reps because they're not getting the real reps. So he was giving advice on that, which was really Really cool. the other thing that I thought was interesting because they talked about Drew Locke and Jalen Milro, they spent time talking about how they are encouraging Milrow to use his running skills. So it it seems like they're really trying to lean into those skills versus just make him a pure drop back passer. Hilary: Yeah, those were some interesting comments and there were some comments about using his legs and his running game not only in that QB room shots, but that's kind of what they highlighted when he was taking the reps in practice. And there was a funny little conversation with him and I think it was was was it with Coach McDonald and he's talking about the Ferraris still in the garage. I didn't I didn't quite get that was he were they alluding that he should run more Emily: That's what it felt like Hilary: on that? Emily: to me. and yeah, Mike McDonald was talking about how hard it would be on him as a defensive minded coach having to play against somebody with that skill set who could take off at any moment. Hilary: Yeah, and my my thoughts on Milro as the future for Seattle, which is obviously what he was drafted with the thought process for. I I don't know if he's the future or not. I think he's still definitely in the developmental stage, more so than some other backup quarterbacks. And I hope they have the time and are willing to commit the time to see how that plays out, because I don't think he's gonna take huge steps this year, especially if he's sitting there in the number three slot and not getting the real reps. Emily: Yeah, the perfect scenario is that Sam continues to play at the level he did last year and we sign him again to an extension and Milro will never be the starting quarterback for Seattle. I I would think, you know, Sam could be our quarterback for a long time. I I don't really have great feelings about him being a starting quarterback, but they're clearly developing him to have that mindset, which is what they should be doing. Hilary: right. going back on developing a little bit too, touching on Cooper Cup just a little bit in the quarterback room, but also developing obviously as a mentor and coach along the sidelines too. He's given players of different positions feedback and encouragement. I I think that's a really cool to see that. Emily: Absolutely. I feel like we had that conversation maybe last week too, or one of these other episodes we talked about. we're really lucky to have him for sure. Hilary: Yeah, I love that he's ending his career here. I think that's great. people who don't know he grew up as a local kid here. Emily: Yep, he did. well speaking of wide receivers, they spent some time on JSN again, our star wide receiver. And it was a really interesting, little segment on just why he's such a brilliant wide receiver. And I mean, I've always kinda wondered there's some receivers you watch and somehow they're always open. And it's like, Why is that? And they focused on How he doesn't have a tell really about where he's gonna go and how defenders can't tell what route he's gonna run. He makes every route look the same. And they had Julian Love, our safety talk about how he can make a cut and not lose any momentum or speed to and just makes it look effortless. So it's just kind of fun to hear, given that we spent so much money on him why he's so great. Hilary: Can I just say Mike McDonald called him the silver surfer? And I just hope that nickname sticks. So shout out Steve Rabel, make that happen. I love it. Ha ha. Emily: so let's talk about Terry and Arnold. We did not talk about him last week. They spent a lot of time. This is a pretty controversial signing. I don't know actually, as of recording, whether he's officially official sign, but he there's some sort of agreement that he's gonna come to Seattle. And I personally have been very mixed about this. And I don't know, I'm sure you caught the same thing comments I did. where John Schneider referenced the athletic article that broke down exactly what happened and why he was arrested. John Schneider said, well, if it it was very shocking, if you read the the article, it's not good, you know? And that's how I felt reading the article. and then they were talking about whether you're the Team that has him versus the team that gives him the second chance. And he admitted that if he was playing for Seattle, we would have let him go, but because we can be the second chance team, we can sign him. Hilary: I I have some thoughts on this. I'm still sorting it out, but I am not a big fan. I I get it. It's hard knocks. It's about the drama and all that. To my knowledge, as of this point, he has not officially signed anything with Seattle. And I don't like that Hard Knox has spent a portion of two episodes showcasing something that doesn't technically exist at this point. both Ian Rapport and Mike Garfolo are reporting that he's going to be placed on the commissioner's exempt list until the case plays out. So that means he can't Practice or play while he's on that list. Seattle, I think, is taking a long gamble for the later game that after the trial plays out, he's potentially going to be available maybe towards the end of the season, maybe towards next season. But again, nothing, you know, he hasn't signed anything. Nothing is quote for real. and I did see too that they worked out Trevon Diggs as a backup corner this week, also. So obviously, Seahawks are aware that. It's not a it's not a rapidly evolving situation that's gonna give us a new corner anytime soon in our Emily: Yeah, I don't see how he plays this year. I mean, he's got a very serious charges against him I think this is more for maybe future years if he ends up beating the charges that were the team that gave him the second chance. But I don't really think it's relevant to this year. Hilary: I Emily: they did spend a lot of time, which just kind of shows you that the Seahawks help with editing, I'm sure. they spent a lot of time making it clear that they have been vetting his character. So Richard Sherman, Robbie Oots, Coach Saban. They called him Coach Sabin instead of Nick Saban, Jalen Milrow. They went back to watch his original interview from The Combine that they did with him. And I think the Seahawks really want it out there that they're doing their due diligence on this. Hilary: I don't know. Doesn't it just feel like they're kinda setting out all the mental gymnastics to twist it around of why this is okay? I I Emily: Yes, that's what I think. They're just trying to convince themselves it's okay. Hilary: They spend so much time talking about culture and expectations in this building and what we all stand for. And I just don't see how this situation matches up with those stated values and beliefs. Emily: I don't really like the move. I don't think we need to do this. So not a fan, but we'll we'll see how it plays out. Do you wanna pivot to more fun topics? Hilary: Yeah, let's pivot to more fun topics. I really loved the reaction of the team to the news breaking about Witherspoon's contract. That was so cool to see every guy in the locker room giving him fist bumps, giving him high fives, giving him hugs, just really supportive and excited for him. I thought that was great. Emily: Yeah, I thought it was cool because there's not lot of places where you go to work and you know what everybody makes. And there isn't a lot of places where you go to work where you know where ever what everybody makes and there's such a disparity between what people make, and we're not talking about a little bit of money, we're talking about a lot. So you know, I'm sure there were guys that were hugging him and giving him high fives that may not. make enough money in this business. And it's just cool to see them support him. He has earned it. He is a foundational piece for the Seahawks. They've made it clear that JSN and Witherspoon are our top two guys. and I'm really happy for him. It was really cool that he was practicing while they were working this contract out because he just wants to get better. so he's definitely the kind of guy you want to build a team around. Hilary: Yeah, agree. I thought he handled it super classy. Emily: So the other thing, pivoting again, that I really enjoyed is I love when they highlight players you don't know that you can kind of get to know. And so this episode they highlighted two guys, Uso. I don't know if I'm gonna try last names, but Uso nose tackle, six foot three, three hundred and thirty pounds, just this huge guy, lovable guy who's just giving it his. best effort from Hawaii and they showed like footage from him playing in Hawaii. They didn't have enough players to play. And it was like eight on eight football. and he played like all of these different positions. He played offense and defense. it was really cool to see his parents there rooting for him. I don't think he's gonna make the team, having a tough time but he just keeps getting up and trying to have a positive attitude. Hilary: That was fun highlight. I enjoyed that segment also. Emily: The other player they highlighted, Foster, is a second year player, wide receiver. he got injured last year, he missed out on a bunch of the year, and he pivoted to be like a substitute teacher, got a real estate agent license. he said he hasn't sold a house yet, but he's giving it his all. And he is a player that could possibly make the team. I'm rooting for him too. Hilary: Yeah, I'm rooting for him and it's gonna be close whether he makes the fifty three roster or not, but I think he makes the practice squad for sure if he wants to go that route. Emily: All right, I think we covered all of our topics for hard knocks, episode three. Looking forward to episode Hilary: okay. Emily: four. Hilary: Yeah, me too. And if I can just jump in with three things that I'm following that are not hard knocks related. One is the college AP top twenty-five dropped on Monday. And the Big Ten took the top two slots with Ohio and Oregon. And there are eight teams in the top twenty-five for them. The SEC has nine teams with Georgia leading the way at number three. And then the Big 12 with four ACC three teams and then Notre Dame rounding out that slot. Other thing that caught my eye, NFL, it always comes back to the quarterbacks, Emily. It always comes back to that, right? So pretty much everybody's got their starters set except the Browns and the Falcons. The Browns, I think, Shador is gonna get the start this week against the Bills, although I think it's Deshaun Watson's job. I don't know if you have thoughts on that. Emily: I think they should not start Deshaun, even if he's the better quarterback. I think you guys just need to move on. That's my thought. Hilary: Yeah, it's a mess. Okay, and Falcons. I don't even know what to think there. Michael Penix isn't even cleared to play yet, and Tua does not look like the answer to me. He didn't look good last week in the preseason, so they've still got some things to figure out down there in Atlanta. Couple of rookies looked really good that took me a little bit by surprise. Drew Aller looked great for the Steelers. read some follow-up on that. You know, is he gonna push Aaron Rodgers by the end of the season? I don't know. We'll see, but I don't think that's out of the realm of possibility, especially if Aaron gets hurt. I thought Ty Simpson for the Rams looked really great. And of course, Fernando Mendoza put on a show. Reminding us why he was the number one pick and I expect him to challenge Kirk Cousins for playing time by the end of the season. Yeah. Okay. Emily: Okay, thanks for sharing what caught your eye this week and we will catch you all next week. Hilary: Okay, hard knocks episode four coming on Tuesday next week with our follow up on Wednesday.