Latest / Unicorn Football Talk / Reaction: Hard Knocks Ep 1
Transcript
- Emily: Hey, Hillary, we're back for another reaction segment. You ready to talk hard knocks today? Hilary: I am Emily. I'm so excited about this. The Hard Knocks episode featuring our Seattle Seahawks dropped on HBO on Tuesday. And there's been a lot of reaction already, but I wanted to see what your take is on the show and on some other stuff going on on training camp. So real quick, I'm gonna give a quick history of the show Hard Knocks. I didn't know it's been around since 2001. So bunch of seasons of it. And I also didn't know that the Seahawks had been approached in the past to participate and Pete Carroll wanted absolutely no part of it. there was a rule in place that if a team didn't miss the playoffs in consecutive seasons, they got an exemption and didn't have to be one of the subject teams. And so that's kind of how he got around it. And what happened in 2025 is the NFL changed the rules to try and increase the pool of potential teams. So now there's no exemption, and the Seahawks were chosen in March to be this year's team. there's a crew of about 35 in the building through training camp. They record over 300 hours of tape every week just to get the one-hour episode. And as I said, the Emily: Wow. Hilary: first Yeah, wow, it's a lot, right? The cameras are everywhere, apparently, just kind of running all the time. And the first episode dropped Tuesday and it's gonna run for five weeks. Did you watch it? Emily: Yeah, and I thought I thought editing this was hard. That would be a much harder job. I did not want the Seahawks to be picked because I don't want them to have the distraction. But I had so much fun watching this episode. I'm now I'm kinda glad actually. Hilary: Well, I will call out I did have to subscribe to HBO to be able to take a look at it. I'm glad I watched also. Let's talk about it. Emily: All right, what do you want to talk about first? Hilary: Let's just some takeaways about the show. I thought that they really showcased the training facilities, our Pacific Northwest Bellevue area and the fans in a really positive and fantastic light. I thought that was great. Emily: Yeah, it didn't hurt that the Blue Angels were in town for the first episode too. I mean, I Hilary: Right. Emily: that was my takeaway. Our city and that facility is just so beautiful. I don't want to diss on other cities because I've lived in multiple states and they all bring their own qualities, but I don't think there's a better spot out of thirty two teams, in my opinion. Hilary: You got the blue sky, you got the lake, you got the eagle flying overhead, you got the blue angels. Yeah, it was really spectacular. Emily: Yeah. Hilary: I also thought it was a really nice showcase of Coach McDonald and his philosophies on coaching, his coaching style, and really his humanness. There were a couple really sweet segments in there where he's addressing players or situations individually in a really He's paying attention, he's listening a really connected way. Emily: Yeah, I agree. I really enjoyed seeing Mike McDonald up a little bit closer, I think what jumped out at me. He just seems older than his years, you know. I forgot to look up how old he is before we started this, but he's a young guy and he just seems very wise and calm, much more so than I was at his age. there was that big fight that broke out and he was kind of cool with that because that's kind of a normal training camp thing. But when he learned how it started, he was just kind of like, that's not cool. And he goes to talk to the guy and he just does it in a really gentle, firm way that I think got across. this was the Brady Russell, Derek Hall fight. the other thing, I thought it was cute, his son showed up and he was wearing a Witherspoon jersey. I took note of that. Hilary: I didn't catch that. That's awesome. Emily: Yeah, and I don't know if he's got a rotating closet of jerseys to be fair, or if that's a nod to Witherspoon, we love you, we wanna sign you, re sign you. I don't know, but I thought that was adorable. Hilary: That is cool. I didn't catch that. on the flip side of calm and cool and collected and grounded Coach McDonald, there's obviously not a language filter in this program. the running back coach dropped a truckload of F bombs and they didn't filter the players either, which I think is good. It is a mature rating on the show, so I think it's appropriate and everything, but I was just a little surprised there were no bleep outs of anything going on. Emily: no. Nope. That would have just been too much work for that person to bleep them all out. I that speech, I don't know what you thought of it. I love a good F bomb, but like when you use it in literally every sentence, I think it takes away the impact of dropping the F bomb. And I didn't really think that his speech was resonating with the players when I saw their expressions. Now, when I was reading other people's reactions to this episode, people loved the speech. They were like really fired up about I'm talking about people like not the players, but like other people like us reacting. That that's just not how I felt. Hilary: Yeah, interesting. Read the room. I I didn't get a sense of real excitement and motivation from the players. In all fairness, a bunch of the guys in that room at the time were rookies too. And so they're learning a lot and trying to navigate a whole lot of situations. So I I'm gonna let that go. Let's see what happens for episode two, but obviously not a clean family show, depending on your values. They also kind of showcased the first week of camp. And at this point, it looks to me like the offense has the advantage. There were definitely some scenes in there with Sam Darnold showcasing the receiver core. Jadarian Price looks really good in his first touches as running back. And I I know the defense is very lauded and I know they're gonna step up their game and everything, but I I think they got taken by surprise a little bit how quick the offense came out firing on all fronts. Emily: Yeah, I'm not worried about the defense. They'll be fine. Jadarian, I think it's pronounced Jadarian, Price. Hilary: You're correct, sorry. Emily: he I mean, I know we didn't see we only saw a few clips, so I don't want to go too crazy for him, but wow. I mean, his feet were moving so fast. I'm like, I cannot wait to see him in real action. Hilary: Yeah. I he's obviously a big name coming into camp. And I do think that the show in this first episode kind of focused on some of the big names already on the team. You've got Hall rolling in in his monster truck, which lowers itself down and he still has to jump out. And hey, shout out to the short shorts, by the way. And and Emily: Yeah. I didn't know he was such a character with his shorts and that that Hilary: Yeah. Emily: truck was something. Hilary: right. And I loved the shot of Leonard Williams and his Super Bowl ring presentation. That was really great. his reaction and just his pride and emotion in in that moment. Emily: Yeah, but did you see Sam Darnold drop his ring? Hilary: I did see Sam fumble his ring. Emily: Poor guy. It was it was so huge though. That just one second. That ring is too huge, right? Hilary: Well Emily: they're never gonna wear it. I guess I guess the idea of wearing the ring, I guess if you're not gonna wear it, make it bigger the better, right? Hilary: I've heard that the top pops off and you can wear it on a chain as a pendant. So I'd be all over that portion of it. Emily: that's cool. Hilary: Yeah. there there's a bunch of stuff about the showcasing of the ring and how they delivered it and everything on the Seahawks website, if anyone wants to see the video on that. The other thing that they showcased that I thought was kind of interesting is they interviewed Witherspoon and it was really some of his first public comments about his unresolved contract situation. So A little background on him. He was drafted in 2023 in the first round, pick number five. By the way, thank you, Denver, Russell Wilson trade. That's where that pick came from. So that was a good one. And he's been pretty quiet about what he's asking for. I mean, it's not a stretch to imagine he's asking for top dollar. and he did come out in his interview on the hard knock segment really saying, Yeah, you know, I'm I believe I'm an elite player and elite players deserve to be paid. Emily: Yeah, I he he's like, Our job is really hard. And when Hilary: Yeah. Emily: somebody can do what I can do, you have to pay the guy. And he didn't say it in an angry, like pissed off way. He was just kind of like speaking from his heart. I honestly believe, I mean, I would love to know for sure. I don't think they have a problem with paying him. I just think it's all about cap and Flexibility for the future. I'm sure they want to give him top dollar, Hilary: Yeah. And I also wonder something else I thought was kind of interesting is Christian Gonzalez remains unextended into a new contract with the Patriots also. And they share the same agent. And so I'm wondering if there's a little, you know, who's gonna get top dollar, who's gonna reset the market, trying to leverage between the two or the teams to to try and get the maximum money. I I don't know. Any thoughts on that? Emily: I think Witherspoon will be end up being the highest paid when it's all done. I think it's just probably the details they're working out, but I don't know. Hilary: Yeah. And you know, his stats do back that up. He's been to the Pro Bowl three times. He was a second team all pro last season. I looked up a few of his stats and he only had one interception last season, but I think it's because his reputation as a shutdown corner kind of precedes him at this point. And the stats show that they only try and attack him and pass his to receivers his way, like thirty five to forty percent of the time. So he's obviously kind of closing off one whole portion of the field, which if his ability to do that makes the defending of the remainder of the field easier. Right. So Emily: Yeah, a hundred percent. Yeah. I've also heard he's a world class talker on the field. So I'm hoping that we see more of that in future hard knocks episodes. Hilary: Well, that's fun. Let's look forward to that. And then my last takeaway from Hard Knocks is they didn't make any mention at all of the fact that the team is up for sale. And I didn't quite know what to make of that because here in Seattle, that is a big deal. That's a pending issue, right? They they didn't address that at all. Emily: I find that encouraging. I wanna believe that the owners won't be in your face, you know. They haven't officially been voted in. yet by the other owners, but they are allowed in the building, so I kinda thought we might see them too. Hilary: Okay, well let's watch for that, you know, to be determined in future episodes, hopefully. Okay, rolling forward a little bit, just a few things happening. we lost some people in the offseason Of course, the big one is running back Kenneth Walker, who went to Kansas City and And we'll start there and make a major impact on the team right away. Any thoughts? Emily: No, just looking forward to seeing how they use there. Hilary: Yeah, interesting. safety Kobe Bryant went to Chicago Bears and as we mentioned, he's suffered an injury and he's out for eight to ten weeks. So I'm sad to see that. cornerback Rek Woolen went to the Eagles. I think he's gonna start as their number three corner probably, and he's on a one year deal there. Emily: Yeah, I had mixed feelings about seeing him go. He's obviously physically gifted, talented, but not happy with some of the, taunting, he can't control himself kind of thing. Hilary: Some painful penalties and emotions throughout the season for sure. Emily: Yeah. Wish him well. Hilary: Wish him well. the other piece we lost was defensive and Boye Mafei. He went to the Bengals and he'll start as a part of their refamped defense this season, hoping for good things for him too. Last major loss would be our former OC, now head coach of the Raiders, Clint Kubiak. Emily: Yeah, it's hard to lose your OC, but I trust that McDonald knows what he's doing in the hiring of Flurry, who's never called plays, and we'll just see how it goes. I don't think they're gonna mess it up. I really don't. Hilary: Jury's still out for me, but I'm hoping for good things. so rolling into that, who did we resign or gain this season? And of course, Brian Fleury is the new OC from San Francisco, is a big ad. And he has prior history with Sam Darnold. So hopefully that will be a smooth transition for both of them. we also had some big re-signings in the offseason. we signed JSN to a huge contract. They brought back Rasheed Shahid, Jake Bobo, Kobe White, cornerback Josh Job, Hall, and all of our rookies are under contract at this point. Emily: great to see where they decided to invest. Obviously JSN, you don't want to lose him. Rashid Shaheed, I was a little conflicted on. They gave him quite a big salary. He's not just a return guy. He's supposed to be a receiver, and he didn't really catch a lot of balls for us. So I'm hoping they'll start to use him next year. other than that, you know, we lost Boye Mafei, but we re-signed Derek Hall, so I'm happy to see that. from rookie perspective, Jadarian and Bud Clark are the two that I'm most excited about. Hilary: Yeah, I agree. They're both showing up at training camp with a lot of energy and seem to be learning pretty quickly and doing what's asked of them and then some. So, hey, we got some bright spots, right? our receiver room looks pretty good with JSN, Cooper Cup, Jake Bobo, Cody White, Tori Horton is healthy. I'm really excited about that. It was a shame to lose him for part of last season to his shin injury. I'm glad to see him back on the field. Emily: mostly agree that that's a bright spot. You did not mention Shaheed because again, you're probably not thinking of him as like a num but Hilary: I'm not. Yeah. Emily: we need to see production out of him. I love Cooper Cup you just think as he gets older, how much more can he add on the field? But I've heard, and I think you even saw that in hard knocks, he brings his mind and his like almost coaching skills as a player. So I think we get more out of him than just catches. looking to see Tory Horton on a full season. So I think he can add a lot. Hilary: Okay, another bright spot I really want to call out is special teams. We've got Jason Myers returning as our kicker, Michael Dixon as punter, and they re-signed our long snapper Chris Stoll. And so there's great continuity in that group. They are ready to roll, just taking things on, running it back from last year, as far as I can see. Emily: Yeah, special teams doesn't get a lot of love normally, but they were a highlight for the Seahawks last year. So let's keep it going. Hilary: Okay. concerns. Got some concerns? I got a few concerns. Obviously Nick Emanwari's injury is a concern. Emily: Yep, me too. Hilary: is the lingering contract issue with spoon a concern or a distraction? Or just kind of what it is is what it is. Emily: Feel like they're gonna work it out. they did allude to it. the one thing we didn't talk about is there was a comment they were inside John Schneider's office and he had to smooth over. Witherspoon was a little upset because like a report had gotten out that the Seahawks had offered him top dollar and he didn't accept it. the Seahawks are like, make sure he knows that's that leak did not come from us. So there's a little bit of distraction happening. But I am confident that they want to resign him and make him the highest paid safety and or corner, sorry, and they will. Hilary: Yeah, interesting little window I'd forgotten about that, that there's always kind of this background rumor mill with reporters and social media and all of that kind of stuff that isn't always accurate. So some unnecessary fires and distractions there. last thing I'm concerned about at this point is the depth in the running back room. There are seven guys in camp, including Price. Zach Charbonnet and George Holani, who kind of look to be the top three. But Zach's on the pup list and Holani is back, but he spent some time on IR last season as well. He came back for the last playoff game and the Super Bowl. But I'm a little worried about the depth there. What do you think? Emily: I don't think you're the only person worried about the depth. Hilary: Yeah. Emily: Of course I am. I think lots of people are. Losing Kenneth Walker does hurt. But, you know, the question I guess really is did we swap him for Jadarian Price? And will he fill that hole? And if so, we did okay last year. We won a Super Bowl. but yeah, the depth isn't great. Charbonnet not being healthy is not good. So, We will see. All right. Well, that was fun. Anything else? Hilary: I don't think so. looking forward to the next episode of Hard Knocks next week on Tuesday. Emily: Yeah, me too. We'll jump on again and talk about it, Hilary: All right, Good to talk to you this morning, Emily. Bye. Emily: Bye.