Latest / Sea Hawkers Podcast: for Seattle Seahawks fans / Hard Knocks Seahawks Episode 3: Coach Mike's Mentality Shift, Spoon's Payday

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Hard Knocks Seahawks Episode 3: Coach Mike's Mentality Shift, Spoon's Payday · Sea Hawkers Podcast: for Seattle Seahawks fans

0:09
Brandan: Hello, and welcome to the Sea Hawkers podcast.
0:13
I'm your host, Brandan Schulze, and I am joined by a couple of my good buddies.
0:17
We've got a trio of people for episode number tres in the Hard Knock series.
0:24
Start with my good buddy Adam Emmert.
0:25
How you doing?
0:26
Adam: I'm doing good, man.
0:27
I would say interesting episode, but maybe not quite as,
0:32
titillating as the last two, is kind of the way that I looked at it.
0:36
I don't know if you kind of felt the same, Clinton, going through it, or if,
0:39
you know, something got you excited, during that, episode there.
0:43
I don't know.
0:44
Clinton: There w- I, I did get excited at times.
0:46
It was not, it was not episode two, let's be fair, but look, Return of the
0:50
Jedi is not Empire Strikes Back, guys.
0:52
This is how these things work.
0:53
It's okay.
0:54
Plus, it's number three.
0:56
It's the middle of the program, right?
0:58
So bound to be a little bit of a lull, but still super fun, guys.
1:01
There were, for me, there was lots of little anecdotes and things to pick up on.
1:06
And Brandan, you talked, I think it was last week or whenever we were talking on
1:09
text or whatever, and you're like, "You know, they're always gonna find the,
1:12
those, those dudes they're gonna anchor on to be like, 'Will, will he make the 53?'"
1:17
And I think we got a couple of those stories budding for sure this week.
1:20
Brandan: That seemed to be where they were going.
1:22
So I don't know if it was the energy from the week that led into the
1:26
preseason game that was kind of a dud too, but, it, it was definitely,
1:32
of the three, my least favorite.
1:34
And maybe it was because, Clinton, we didn't see, get an
1:36
appearance of Derick Hall's truck.
1:37
I, I think that's- … what was missing from this episode.
1:40
Clinton: Yes, there was, there's not enough film because the truck is that
1:42
big, so they had to, just, maybe four and five we'll get the film again.
1:46
But we got lots of stuff.
1:47
We got nuggets, and right on screen here, guys, we got Ryan911, our executive live
1:52
produ- producer, coming with a $9.99
1:55
super chat saying, "I love this show.
1:57
We get inside look at the decision process and character
2:00
references for Terrion Arnold.
2:02
The boom cut to slow-mo water sprinkler shot."
2:05
That was erotic.
2:06
"Absolute cinema start to finish."
2:08
So Ryan loves it, and I think we love Ryan, guys.
2:11
Brandan: Absolutely love Ryan.
2:12
Yeah.
2:12
Talking about…
2:13
Okay, s- let's start there then since, that's where Ryan's
2:17
pointing us, the, the cinematic shots.
2:19
And I would say the, the part of this show that was the most cinematic, not,
2:25
n- the sprinkler shot was fine, but, Jaxon Smith-Njigba- That's what I'm doing.
2:29
That's what I'm doing … we g- we get, we get the route tree of JSN,
2:33
plus we get the background of Jimi Hendrix- Mm-hmm … and Voodoo Child,
2:37
and, that to me was the most cinematic part of the episode, Adam.
2:42
Adam: Dude, that was actually probably one of the cooler parts of
2:45
it, no doubt about it, in just kind of the explosion of multiple JSNs.
2:49
Can we just have that, like, on a regular play?
2:51
That'd be pretty dope.
2:53
But-
2:53
Brandan: We just need seven JSNs on the wide receiver roster.
2:56
Adam: Yes, exactly.
2:57
But one of the things that I enjoyed about that small segment, and they
3:01
could've dwelled there for a lot longer and talk about route running- Yes
3:04
and what JSN does, and I'd have been glued to the screen.
3:07
But I, you hear me ask, like, when we get other professional football
3:12
players, not others, but professional football players in front of us, 'cause
3:15
none of us were professionals,- I often ask them, you know, like, what
3:20
goes into running a good route, right?
3:21
Like, it's something that I'm kind of obsessed with because You kind
3:25
of get these vague explanations.
3:28
And JSN is one of those route runners that also just doesn't look like he's
3:34
kicking ass with his route running because of the smoothness of it, and
3:38
they talked about that a little bit.
3:40
But I've now heard something mentioned a couple times in reference to JSN and his
3:44
route running of why it is the way that it is, and it's his pad level- Mm-hmm
3:48
that he doesn't end up shifting levels as he's, like, gearing down to get into a
3:52
cut and then, you know, breaking back out.
3:55
It's always just here, and that's the thing that really gives a lot of
3:58
these guys fits because they don't know where he's going to start with.
4:01
And then they get in hotels, and then JSN's fast as hell, and then he
4:04
can explode into 11 players when he gets to the top of his route tree.
4:07
Good night, Irene.
4:08
He is truly unstoppable, like, Mike Macdonald was saying
4:11
throughout the, the practice.
4:14
Clinton: And I think the other piece, too, like, those are
4:16
all absolutely correct, and the cinematography was so super cool.
4:19
Love Mike, called him Silver Surfer, so I had to break my
4:22
Silver Surfer shirt out there.
4:24
I can't seem to understand which way I should go.
4:25
But he's a great character.
4:27
But the other thing that, you know, JSN always did really good, and
4:32
then last year I saw it more than ever in t- big touchdowns against
4:36
Jacksonville, big touchdowns against Ten- Tennessee, which we were in the
4:40
stadium for that one against Tennessee, was his late hand movement also.
4:44
So while they're talking about his pad level, and that's amazing for him to get
4:47
open, but even, even if he doesn't get all the space he needs, at the very end of
4:52
his routes, like the split moment before the ball arrives on him, he's got some
4:58
little, little bit of a hand movement that he gets away with over and over again.
5:02
Because it's not a strong push-off, but it's enough, Brandan, to give
5:06
that little bit of separation, and honestly, that's why he got so many
5:09
breakaway touchdowns last year, too.
5:11
It wasn't like catch it and caught because it's a great toss from Sam.
5:14
It's catch it, enough separation, and he's gone for six.
5:18
Brandan: Yeah.
5:18
The JSN unstoppable bit is, is something that I definitely
5:22
got excited by watching this.
5:24
And if, if even- Yeah … his own coaches are saying, "Man, he looks even
5:28
better this year than he did last year," that has me hyped up for, this
5:33
upcoming season for Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
5:36
Marlon85 checking in saying, "I like seeing the Uso stuff.
5:38
My preseason watch this year is no tackle with Uso, Phil, and Eastern."
5:44
And, yeah, you talked about this a little bit, Clinton, that we- we're
5:47
starting to get to see some of the anchor players, some of the guys that…
5:51
Because they're trying to build up emotion, especially on the
5:54
edges of the roster, right?
5:56
Because you want to find guys that you can root for.
5:58
Montorie Foster Jr.
6:00
has that kind of, y- story that, you know, you can root for.
6:05
Uso has that, story that you can root for, being a guy on the
6:09
depth piece, or, you know, at the bottom of the depth chart.
6:13
And, you know, you see him struggling a little bit in this.
6:17
And so- You know, can that storyline build to where, okay, he was struggling,
6:21
getting pushed around, and then, you know, hopefully after a couple preseason
6:25
games, you start to see him become more impactful on the defensive line.
6:29
Clinton: I think he's just gotta go play quarterback like he did on eight
6:32
on, eight on eight in Hawaii on a small island and just barrel over people my
6:35
size, and he'll be, he'll be A-okay.
6:37
Brandan: I think- I, I think that was less than your size.
6:39
I, I think I saw him push over a five-year-old on his way to the end zone.
6:42
Adam: He looked like Andy Reid in the punt, pass, and
6:44
kick contest back in the day.
6:46
Like, if you guys have ever seen that video, Andy Reid was, like,
6:49
seven feet tall in the fifth grade.
6:51
Clinton: That's funny.
6:51
and, you know, he did make one nice play during the game.
6:55
And look, the…
6:56
I thought the stuff in the practice for Uso was kinda cool to see,
7:00
just, like, the pros picking up, like, "Hey, they're getting into,
7:03
like, don't give him your chest.
7:04
Like, they are getting into your chest."
7:06
I mean, look, this is a guy that hasn't played a lot of football, and he's
7:09
skilled enough to be here at this point.
7:12
Cool that we have plenty, plenty of, of depth along the defensive line.
7:17
Seems to me like Uso Adam is a guy that could learn, marinate a little
7:21
bit, hopefully get his technique there.
7:23
He probably has strength and ability, clearly, otherwise he wouldn't be
7:27
here, and that seems like a guy that's probably headed for the practice squad
7:30
maybe, and that's probably okay for him.
7:32
That's a really good spot, I think.
7:35
Adam: Oh, I think if you're Uso and you are able to at least land your-
7:38
s- yourself a spot on the practice squad, you're thrilled with that.
7:42
Clinton: Right.
7:42
Adam: I mean, as a guy who's definitely in the developmental
7:45
realm and all of that.
7:47
It is interesting to hear, you know, Leo get after him and be like, "Hey, you know,
7:51
don't, don't give up your chest like that.
7:52
You know, use your hands, use your hands."
7:54
There's just so much that must go through your mind, and we make
7:58
fun of defensive linemen all the time as fans and, you know, as other
8:02
football players do as well when they're like, "Yeah, okay, defensive
8:06
line, go down there, go get ball."
8:07
Like, you know, it's not all that complicated.
8:09
Well, there's more to it than that it turns out, and maybe hand fighting is
8:14
kind of the next thing that he needs to, you know, pick up his game on.
8:18
You talked a little bit about cinematic stuff, earlier, Brandan, and,
8:22
I feel like the Chamber of Commerce of Seattle owes, HBO money.
8:26
' Brandan: Cause,- I, I feel like it was a very much a Seattle commercial- Mm
8:29
in this episode and, and maybe that's why it was Carly's favorite is, we got
8:33
to see a very cinematic, sense of the city of Seattle and the surrounding area.
8:40
We've got Shane Turner Acoustic coming in with 2.99
8:43
Australian, saying, "Just chipping in to the show.
8:46
just chipping in to show some love."
8:49
Appreciate that, Shane Turner.
8:50
Also appreciate Phil.
8:52
Phil joining us on the show.
8:54
Yeah.
8:54
Welcome, sir.
8:55
Phil: There he is.
8:56
There he is.
8:57
Mr.
8:57
Adam: Phil.
8:57
Phil: It worked this time.
8:58
I got in.
8:59
There we go.
9:00
Clinton: He's
9:01
Brandan: in.
9:01
How you
9:01
Clinton: doing, bud?
9:02
Phil: I, I'm doing awesome.
9:03
It was a fantastic episode.
9:04
Enjoyed it.
9:05
Enjoyed all the JSN.
9:06
I heard you guys talking about it, so I don't get a say that maybe JSN is, the
9:10
best player in the entire league, but,-
9:13
Clinton: Th- you, you came in hot.
9:15
It's a-okay, man.
9:15
Like, we- I
9:16
Phil: mean-
9:16
Clinton: We, we, we're, we all think that … you couldn't quarterback-
9:17
We all think that for sure … you
9:19
Phil: couldn't quarterback with JSN.
9:20
I'm thinking, like, he's gonna make anybody twice as good as they already
9:23
are if you have JSN to throw it to.
9:25
Clinton: Yeah, he, he's a delight to watch there.
9:27
And the, you know, we, we did talk about him a bit- Yeah
9:29
but I think he's I think he's just like, you know, I, look, if, if Mike Macdonald
9:34
says to the world y- this is actually a better training camp than last year,
9:38
or something like that, paraphrasing a
9:40
Phil: bit- You can't stop him.
9:43
Clinton: He's like saying you can't stop him because he- Yeah,
9:43
that's, that's pretty good, guys.
9:43
And, you know, and we still discuss, okay, cool, but is he actually gonna
9:47
approach 1,800 yards this year?
9:49
And, and the, I think the answer is who cares?
9:51
Phil: Yeah.
9:52
Clinton: I don't care.
9:52
You know, because he's just not- Do yards
9:53
Adam: matter?
9:54
Clinton: Not, no, not really.
9:55
Like, but I, I'd love to see him get up to 14 touchdowns and
9:58
whatever he does, 14, 1,500 yards.
10:00
And I'm not saying he's destined for that, I'm just saying, guys, there's
10:03
more mouths to feed, and there was a wide receiver that they like to feature quite
10:08
a bit in this episode- Yeah, they do
10:09
who, talk about parts that got me excited, guys.
10:12
Number 87.
10:14
I mean, I'm a little smitten.
10:15
They, he might be my…
10:16
Brandan, I might need his jersey like you have the, the Karen Williams jersey.
10:20
Brandan: Yeah, the, we, we're starting to develop the preseason crush and,
10:24
he did have the most receiving yards, the most receptions of the
10:28
receivers in the preseason game.
10:30
Plus we get some of his backstory.
10:32
We get to see him working on his real estate license.
10:35
I know I saw Ryan911 saying, y- you know, is this, is he just
10:40
this year's preseason wide receiver crush who will inevitably get cut?
10:44
Well, we, we no, we don't wanna see that, but it was also cool to get that
10:48
backstory part, Adam, where, you saw him talking about how he joined as
10:54
a practice squad guy late in the season.
10:56
Mm-hmm.
10:56
And then they had the shot of him, y- with the handing
10:59
around the Super Bowl trophy.
11:01
So I, I think that was probably something i- unless you are deep into it and paying
11:07
really extra close attention to the practice squad guys throughout the season,
11:11
probably a lot of us that was news.
11:12
That, we hadn't really seen Foster, contribute even, on
11:18
the practice squad side of things.
11:19
And so it was, it was kind of cool to get that little nugget in this episode.
11:23
Adam: I, I don't know about you guys, but I knew that Montorie Foster Jr.
11:26
was teaching, algebra as a substitute teacher.
11:29
I can't believe you guys didn't know.
11:30
I mean, geez.
11:31
I have no idea what he was doing throughout his time when he was away
11:36
from the team and then called back.
11:37
But I do, do think it's super interesting to kinda get a sense of what it's
11:41
like for those guys on the back end of the roster in, to bounce around a
11:46
little bit, to be on the roster, off the roster, what that means, how you
11:49
have to fill in the blanks when you're not collecting that NFL check, right?
11:53
And the only thing about the Montorie Foster Jr.
11:56
story that I look at it is I wonder if Tyler Lockett's like, "Get off my lawn."
12:01
Like, with the real estate stuff.
12:02
I feel that.
12:02
He's like, "I'm the wide receiver who does the real estate.
12:05
Like, you can find another thing.
12:06
Go be a barista.
12:07
I don't
12:07
Brandan: care."
12:07
Well, he, he's doing a good job, Phil, if, he's keeping Montorie Foster out of…
12:12
Because he said he hadn't had a sale yet.
12:13
So maybe- Mm … maybe he needs to go to Tyler for a little advice.
12:17
Phil: He's helping Tyler out quite a bit.
12:18
Do you guys feel like these stories are setting us up for sadness?
12:21
Like the Uso story is just- Yeah … destined to be a Shakespearean
12:25
tragedy right before our eyes.
12:27
I like a lot of the behind the scenes, like what Schneider's up to.
12:30
You never think about it, but they're probably checking the, how many people
12:33
showed up, the we- all that stuff.
12:34
He's the president.
12:35
You're just getting little behind the scenes.
12:37
But, like, the mom of Uso and, like, some of this, and getting to know these
12:41
guys, and struggling in real estate.
12:44
What's gonna happen if they don't make the team?
12:46
And you kinda know how the story might go.
12:49
Clinton: Yeah.
12:49
I think, but I think Foster has a le- very legit shot to make this team.
12:53
And this is, and this is not just 'cause this episode, but because I've
12:56
got eyes, and I've watched him, and I see him in, in camp, and I see film.
13:00
And he's…
13:01
And look, Cooper Kupp is, the camera's on Cooper, and he goes
13:04
over and starts pointing at him.
13:05
Yeah.
13:05
And Foster's, Foster's like, bas- basically like, "No, no, dude, I'm
13:08
trying to stay under the radar."
13:09
Like, I, I, my, my…
13:11
What I took from that little scene was not, "Oh, I'm humble."
13:14
And maybe he is, maybe he isn't.
13:16
But more like he likes where he is, he likes the room he's in, Montorie Foster.
13:21
Yeah.
13:21
And maybe he doesn't want all the, the glow up right now because- What about
13:23
Phil: his competition?
13:25
What about his competition?
13:25
Clinton: Well, look, right, right now, I think right now he's
13:28
probably wide receiver six And that's, and that's pretty good
13:33
Phil: Maybe
13:34
Clinton: I- I
13:35
Phil: mean,
13:35
Clinton: he has- It could be, right?
13:37
I mean, he's- He has a couple of
13:37
Phil: Whites
13:39
Clinton: Well, I think Cody's in there, I think Bobo's in there, and then you
13:41
got Horton, and that's three, right?
13:44
And so- Horton's
13:45
Phil: four, Bobo's five- Four,
13:47
Clinton: right,
13:47
Phil: right
13:47
… Clinton: so then you
13:47
Phil: got, you got the Whites and you got Foster- White,
13:49
Clinton: White's six.
13:50
Yeah, okay.
13:50
So maybe he's seven, yeah.
13:51
So he's gonna have to fi- find his way onto this roster hopefully.
13:54
How many wide receivers do you usually keep, guys?
13:56
Six?
13:56
Five or six.
13:58
Yeah.
13:58
Phil: Five or six.
13:59
Clinton: Well, look, I, he's- And we
14:00
Brandan: got the quarterback See, you're setting your heart, you're setting
14:02
your heart up to be broken, Clinton.
14:04
That's why.
14:04
Yeah.
14:04
That's, that's just the way it goes.
14:05
Well, he's a good player.
14:06
But, he is a good player.
14:07
He's a good player.
14:08
And I think we'd be happy to have him on the practice squad, too.
14:10
Clinton: Yeah.
14:11
Adam: Oh, sure.
14:12
I mean, if you're able to stash a guy like that there, it, it would be great.
14:15
And, you know, one of the interesting things about Foster is when you're
14:18
talking about him, and they pointed out in the episode, is kind of the
14:21
boom-bustiness of kind of his play.
14:23
Yeah.
14:23
Like, just in the preseason game alone, let's put the drop aside.
14:28
The touchdown that he scores, he's on the right-hand side of the formation and
14:32
runs a route where he kind of bends it outside just a little bit and tries to
14:36
get the DB leading and then cuts back inside, late and then gets the ball.
14:43
And then what's interesting- It was tipped What's that?
14:45
Phil: It was tipped, right?
14:46
Adam: It was tipped and he still managed to catch it.
14:47
Yeah.
14:47
That was great, but he did get the separation there.
14:49
Phil: Yeah.
14:50
Adam: But then go to the fourth down play, Jalen Milroe on the goal
14:54
line in his one passing attempt down there, and it's the same exact route,
14:58
just from the left-hand side of the field, and he gets bullied all over
15:01
the place, and that's why Milroe can't pull the trigger on that- Yeah
15:05
and ends up having to scramble around 'cause he doesn't have time
15:08
to get to a second read because the pressure was on him so quickly.
15:11
And that really does illustrate where Foster is right now in his game.
15:16
Has some moments of greatness, has some downsides where you're like, man,
15:19
the consistency's not right there yet.
15:22
And we've said on this podcast forever, the difference between
15:24
bad and good and good and great is consistency when you get to this level.
15:27
Mm-hmm.
15:27
They're all talented, and so that's gonna be his biggest challenge.
15:31
Phil: And Adam, you mentioned Milroe.
15:33
What about coaches trying to call out Milroe to run the rock a little bit more?
15:37
How'd you like that section of the, of the show?
15:40
And then how'd you like Milroe's response in the game to what
15:42
coach was calling him out to do?
15:45
Adam: I love it because- Okay … it, it shows a couple things to me.
15:48
One- Yeah … it shows that Jalen Milroe is like, "Look, I can't
15:51
live, with just my legs.
15:53
I can't live- Yeah
15:54
that way and be an NFL quarterback, and so I'm gonna work like hell
15:57
to keep that Ferrari in the garage to tune my other skills," right?
16:01
And then you got the coaches being like, "All right, I got you.
16:04
That's great.
16:05
go ahead and let it rip a little bit more."
16:07
I would love to be able to look at a guy that's raw like Milroe coming out of
16:12
college and have him have the seriousness of wanting to play quarterback position
16:18
the right way, that he's willing to put that unbelievable skill set to
16:22
the side to work on the other things.
16:25
And then as a coach, you love the idea of just being like, "All right, cool.
16:29
Now let it rip."
16:30
And, like, that's awesome.
16:31
You did see some great stuff with his legs in the preseason.
16:35
I actually thought his preseason performance was quite productive.
16:39
And really, y- the one narrative we hear about Milroe over and over again
16:44
that people can't seem to get over because they don't seem to watch stuff
16:47
is, well, he's just inaccurate, and he'll be forever inaccurate.
16:50
Phil: No, it's the processor.
16:51
It's the processor he's gotta upgrade somehow.
16:54
He's gotta
16:54
Adam: upgrade that processor.
16:55
And he's getting better there, and I, I don't know.
16:57
There's a lot of reps where he didn't even have a chance to process, like
16:59
Phil: in the- First read, he's good.
17:00
First read, he's good.
17:01
Right.
17:01
I wanna see multiple reads.
17:02
Yeah.
17:02
Adam: Yeah, and that, well, me too, but like- You need
17:04
Brandan: offensive line to give you multiple reads That'd be nice.
17:07
Yeah.
17:07
Adam: Yeah, and you have to have separation to give
17:09
you multiple reads as well.
17:10
And you need JSN
17:11
Phil: on the field.
17:11
That would help, I'm sure.
17:12
Yeah.
17:12
Adam: Right?
17:13
Yeah, all those things.
17:13
Phil: Yeah.
17:14
Adam: Like, I, I thought Milroe's preseason performance, he
17:16
left very little meat on the bone.
17:18
There was one play in the two-minute drive, at the end, or end of the
17:23
first half, where he missed, he missed two guys that he, he coulda gotten the ball
17:27
to and decided to run for minimal gain.
17:29
But it does show, like, just his development throughout the show and-
17:32
Yeah … how they're saying, like, "Look, you also have this gift.
17:34
Go ahead, use it."
17:35
Phil: One- Yeah … one offensive tackle and one cardboard cutout makes
17:38
it kinda tough to play quarterback.
17:40
It,
17:40
Clinton: it- I thought, so I, it's just interesting to hear you talk
17:42
about the, the Ferrari part, guys, and I, and I wonder what others think.
17:46
When I heard them talking about that, maybe I just, may- my interpretation was
17:50
they wanted him to run the ball more.
17:52
Phil: Yes.
17:52
Clinton: When they were saying let it rip,- Yeah … to me it wasn't
17:54
like rip with- They did … the arm.
17:56
It was- No, no,
17:56
Adam: it's
17:56
Clinton: run … run, run more.
17:58
Phil: Yeah.
17:58
Clinton: So I'm kinda, I guess I'm a little shocked to hear that you're, you
18:01
were like, "Oh, that, that's actually really good from your perspective."
18:03
No, he
18:03
Phil: liked, he liked his response.
18:04
Adam liked Milroe's response
18:06
Clinton: to me.
18:06
Gotcha.
18:06
To push back and say that he's kind of reserving that for, okay.
18:09
'Cause I thought they were like, "You gotta run the ball more, more, more."
18:11
And the way the whole thing for me was the narrative was shaped.
18:16
Like, now this is a, I'm, this is strictly narrative.
18:18
Like, this is outside Seattle or maybe, maybe chunks of what
18:22
Seattle Seahawks fans think, too.
18:24
But it was really geared for, like, he's only a running quarterback.
18:27
I didn't think this did, did Milroe any favors from, like, that- painting.
18:32
I'm not sure if you guys have a different take on that.
18:34
That was my take.
18:35
I think a dude watching it in, like, Kansas City, he's like, "Oh, see?
18:38
Milroe can't throw the ball," because he watched this.
18:40
I'm not, I'm not sure I like that.
18:42
Brandan: Hmm.
18:43
Yeah, I, I didn't get that takeaway of it at all.
18:45
I, I, I think part of what was recognized, 'cause, we, we saw
18:52
in the chat here William, saying, "I, I love 21-yard gains," which is
18:56
a quote from- Yeah … Mike Macdonald.
18:58
Oh, yeah.
18:58
And part of the reason why is pick out the most explosive
19:02
play from the preseason game.
19:05
It was Jalen Milroe running the football.
19:07
It was- Yeah … he had a third down that he was able to pick up
19:10
with his legs, and then he was able to pick up a 20 some yard play.
19:13
I think with, with the 21-yard gain, I think they were pointing to the,
19:17
the Fan Fest game at the stadium.
19:19
But then- Mm-hmm … you know, he had the, the 20-something yard gain- Yep
19:22
in the preseason game too.
19:23
So, they like that explosive aspect and, yeah, that…
19:29
He was the only explosive part that we saw during the preseason game this week.
19:35
Phil: Yeah.
19:35
I think that, that Coach Mike is seen as a D coordinator.
19:38
We hate it when guys can take off and run the ball and get 21 yards.
19:41
Yeah.
19:41
And as your coach, I love 21-yard gains.
19:44
I also, just one, I won't go rambling on.
19:47
I do like that the coaching staff knows what his- Trump card is,
19:53
and that's that he can take off.
19:55
They don't have that on those other two guys, and so they're thinking,
19:58
"Don't forget to use your card that will allow you to dominate and terrify
20:02
D coordinators on the other side."
20:03
And I also think that means the way they design plays, it's not
20:07
like they're forgetting what kind of quarterback they have.
20:10
It's not like we're just designing a Sam offense.
20:12
I think they know when Milroe gets out there that they'll
20:15
have, they'll have a few options that are a little bit different.
20:17
I, I kind of felt that from the coaches, which was encouraging.
20:21
Adam: Yeah, and you saw in the preseason game on a lot of the runs
20:24
they had a lot of that kind of, like, scrape action when he's, you know,
20:28
in the mesh point with the running back and with the threat that he
20:32
would hold onto the football and, and go out- Yeah … the backside.
20:36
So it's something that they were threatening the defense with
20:38
play call-wise throughout the game when Milroe was in there.
20:41
And I, I think that does, you know, show to Fleury's adaptation to
20:47
each of the different quarterbacks, and I think that's great.
20:49
In terms, Clinton, you said it's not a good look for Milroe maybe,
20:52
like, nation- nationally or to, people that aren't following
20:55
Milroe on the regular basis.
20:57
I, I honestly think it's a great look because the thing that you
21:00
wouldn't want, what you wouldn't want, is for the coaches to be in
21:03
the quarterback room and being like, "Why are you bailing from the pocket?
21:06
Don't bail from the pocket here.
21:07
Like, you're bailing from a totally clean pocket, you're screwing this up.
21:10
You're Shedeur Sanders."
21:11
Mm.
21:11
Like, that's, that's what you don't want.
21:13
And so that, the problem that they have with Milroe being like, "All
21:18
right, it's time to, time to let it r- rip a little bit and use your legs,"
21:21
like, that's not much of a problem.
21:23
That's a big upside there.
21:25
Phil: And none of them knew what Moore Cowbell meant.
21:27
I don't even know if Coach Mike-
21:29
Adam: I was disappointed.
21:29
Phil: I don't even know if Coach Mike knew.
21:31
He's like, "That's just your card.
21:32
It's your card."
21:33
Brandan: Man, how old is Moore Cowbell at this point?
21:36
He's 10.
21:36
Almost as old as, Devon Witherspoon's gonna be by the time he gets done-
21:40
with his contract, which,- Yeah … I think Mike Macdonald or,
21:43
or John Schneider referred to him being older than baseball, by
21:46
the time he's done with his contract.
21:48
And, and Devon Witherspoon getting his contract in this episode was
21:51
finally a, a storyline that paid off from episode one, Clinton.
21:55
Clinton: Yeah, there was two things about that segment besides
21:58
Spoon being extremely happy and very rich, and good for him.
22:01
But, the, the moment, the moment that stood out to me is when
22:05
it was Mike and Spoon and John, and Schneider just gives him the kudos to-
22:10
Yeah … Spoon saying, "You handled this basically perfectly," essentially.
22:13
Which, which we've been talking about.
22:15
It's like no drama, the dude's here every single day.
22:18
There's not a lot of BS about wanting this- Yeah … this n- newfangled
22:22
structured contract that escalates throughout the, all these years.
22:25
Nothing like that.
22:26
So f- for y- we know John's been doing this for what?
22:29
This is year 15 for John?
22:31
Year 16?
22:33
I told there'd be no math, but that sounds about right.
22:34
Adam: Yeah.
22:36
Clinton: All right.
22:36
Something like that.
22:36
It's 16 at least- Yeah … because yeah, 2010 would've been- I think it's 16.
22:40
14, yeah.
22:40
Yeah, 14 with, with Pete, right?
22:41
And two, and this is year three with Macdonald.
22:43
Wow.
22:43
So I think it's year 17.
22:44
Whatever.
22:45
No math.
22:46
We, we know J- we know John's done this a lot.
22:49
A lot, a lot, a lot.
22:50
So, and I don't think it's because the camera's on with HBO, he
22:54
doesn't have to say that to Spoon.
22:56
No.
22:56
So I thought that was very, very authentic, guys, and something like
22:59
you handled this, basically from his perspective as the leader of
23:02
the entire organization, you know, you handled this as precisely as
23:05
you could have as a human being.
23:07
And now you just got $100 million
23:11
Adam: guaranteed.
23:11
Congratulations.
23:11
Yeah.
23:12
I love it, man.
23:12
Good luck.
23:12
Happy Spoon makes for a happy Adam.
23:14
I'll tell you that right now.
23:16
I like that.
23:17
I hope, Brandan, you're feeling better.
23:18
I know you were, stressing over this, Spoon deal a
23:20
little bit, so that's good.
23:22
But probably my second favorite part of this episode, outside of the JSN,
23:27
shots that they were doing, was, getting to hear John Schneider
23:31
on the phone with an, with an agent.
23:33
Like- Mm … doing actual, like…
23:35
And I know they've already negotiated the whole contract for the Arnold
23:37
stuff and, like, everything like that.
23:39
But being able to kind of hear what those convers- I've always wondered,
23:43
like, what does that look like?
23:44
Like, when, you know, John calls agent, the agent calls John, and
23:47
like, you know, what, does…
23:49
How contentious does it get?
23:51
Like, or how much do they agree on?
23:52
Or like, how much of it is a handshake deal before it gets done on paper,
23:56
and how much is that trusted?
23:57
Brandan: And how much is it them talking over one another?
23:59
Because it was a lot of that, too.
24:01
Phil: Yes.
24:02
Adam: Sure.
24:02
Yeah.
24:03
Brandan: And, and John on the treadmill for half of the episode.
24:06
Phil: That was the thing.
24:07
Are you hearing John's treadmill every time you called John?
24:09
I'm wondering, do you hear that machine in the back when you're talking to him?
24:12
Just a- wheezing.
24:14
Brandan: Yeah.
24:14
Terrion Arnold, that portion featured heavily into the ep- the episode from
24:19
the start, whether it was, y- talking to Sherm on the, you know- Oh, yeah
24:25
between the head coach and Sherm, whether it was the, the GM portion.
24:29
we never actually saw him appear in the episode, but Phil, where
24:33
does it have you at with the, with the Terrion Arnold piece?
24:40
Phil: With the Arnold piece, I kinda like the way Mike's
24:43
handling it with everybody.
24:44
His professionalism, and John's.
24:46
Like, they're just comfortable, the way they're talking to Spoon,
24:48
the way they're talking to Sherm, the way they talk to the players.
24:50
I love the authenticity that came in at the show, with the show at the beginning.
24:54
That's just an awesome thing to learn.
24:55
Like, I used to try not to lose and now I'm trying to win.
24:58
It means the same thing mathematically, but it's an entire different mindset.
25:02
I feel like Mike's approach to the Arnold thing in general has been,
25:07
this is a player that we could use.
25:08
It's not much risk if we get it.
25:11
And I get the feeling that they checked everything out about the
25:14
kind of guy he was, so that leads me to think they already know the
25:17
player that he is would be a fit.
25:19
So it was all about determining the kind of guy, and the stuff they heard about
25:22
the kind of guy, John was on board.
25:24
He already is like, "This is one of the best interviews we ever had
25:27
with a player going into the draft."
25:29
So he already felt that, then he just got the reinforcement.
25:32
So they would love to have him.
25:34
If odds are we're not gonna get him for a while because of legal stuff,
25:37
but you can tell that they're on board with it, based on his play.
25:41
So as a player, I think that wasn't even a question about it
25:45
Adam: Yeah, what is the timeline for that?
25:47
Because you hear, like, the commissioner exempt list is, could
25:50
be applied here when he, when
25:51
Phil: he signs.
25:51
He has courts come up on October 5th, but that could be
25:54
the start of it, so then they
25:55
Adam: might- Or it could get pushed back, like-
25:56
Phil: Yeah.
25:57
Adam: No.
25:58
Yeah.
25:58
Brandan: Yeah.
25:58
Well, I think part of it too, it could also be, having an agreement…
26:03
Because you heard them talking about how this was a long-term thing.
26:06
They were looking at it as a, as a long-term type play, and one of the things
26:10
that could benefit the team is if Arnold were to wait until after the first week
26:16
of the season to then sign, because then his, salary cap, he only gets,…
26:21
His salary cap I think would only count for the games that he were to actually
26:26
play- Yes … rather than, having, the full contract be part of the cap.
26:32
Which is part of the concern too, if the, he were to be…
26:35
'Cause as soon as he signs with a team, then that's gonna make him eligible to
26:39
go on the commissioner's exempt list, and then if you're, if, if a player
26:45
goes on the commissioner exempt list, whatever you're paying that player,
26:48
that, then that full contract would be susceptible to the team's cap.
26:53
And I'm sure that i- i- if they find this is a reasonable fit, if Arnold
26:58
finds it, his agent finds it a, a good fit, the Seahawks want it, then maybe
27:02
they're seeing this as something that…
27:04
And, and we saw, I think, Ian Rapoport tweeted out saying that, that it could
27:07
take a while- Yeah … for the contract.
27:09
So it, that could be…
27:11
Those could be all components of why- Yeah … it could take a little bit longer.
27:14
' Phil: Cause once it's signed, it does count on the cap.
27:16
Right.
27:17
Even if he's on the exempt list.
27:18
But yeah, if you just keep kinda pushing it back, that's crafty.
27:21
Clinton: Yeah.
27:22
Ho- well hopefully, look, obviously you gotta get o- g- get over the
27:25
legal hurdles, hopefully he does.
27:26
And if, if he could be here halfway through the season or something like
27:30
that, and be a, be a big-time contributor.
27:32
And really from the agent's perspective, which I saw some comments about
27:35
the agent in there, which was cool hearing, you know, hearing her.
27:38
But it, it seems like a career and, like, life reboot that they're looking for.
27:42
Again, back to culture.
27:44
Hey, she's like, "Hey," I mean, I don't think she's selling John
27:47
hard, like hard in the sense of, "Oh my God, he's got 1,000 offers."
27:50
Like, "Hey, he's got multiple offers.
27:52
This is a first-rounder.
27:54
He's about to go somewhere for basically, you know, vet minimum money.
27:57
And of all the places he could go, John, he wants to be in Seattle."
28:02
Yeah.
28:02
So again, back to culture and back to what it can do for somebody, and
28:08
their career to turn things around.
28:09
So that, I think that's just really a nice cultural moment again.
28:12
Yeah,
28:13
Brandan: I think- One interesting part about this, Adam, is that we saw
28:16
the GM talking with Jay Harbaugh, and saying that had they been in the s- same
28:23
situation as a team, as a franchise, they likely would've done the same thing and
28:27
re- released a player like Arnold
28:29
Adam: Yeah, that is really interesting because then, then
28:33
Jay says, "Well, I guess it's different when you're the second
28:35
team, like, the second chance team."
28:36
And I mean, I guess maybe monetarily it's different because you have
28:40
the opportunity- Hmm … to pick him up for a lot cheaper.
28:42
But why is it different?
28:46
Like, I, that, that didn't- Yeah … make a lick of sense to me.
28:49
I thought he said, I thought he- Like, same player,
28:51
same charges, same everything.
28:54
And he said- Wait,
28:54
Phil: watch.
28:55
I think John corrected himself and said, he kind of indicated we might
28:58
research or we might have handled it a s- a tad bit differently.
29:01
I think he-
29:02
Adam: Okay
29:02
… Phil: after he realized what Jay was saying, I thought he ended
29:05
it with saying, "We might have done this just a little bit differently."
29:08
Which I don't know what that means.
29:09
I
29:09
Clinton: think he does say something like that.
29:10
Yeah, I think he
29:10
Phil: does, like- Like are we gonna wait and get more information?
29:12
He said he knew why they did it, is because, "Oh, this looks really bad
29:15
and the report looks really bad.
29:16
That's why they got rid of him."
29:17
Clinton: Right.
29:17
Phil: And then he started to understand what Jay was asking, and I
29:20
think he kind of pseudo-corrected himself.
29:22
Maybe I misheard that
29:24
Clinton: I think you're right actually.
29:25
There was one more part for me during the, during the, Terry and
29:30
Arnold piece that I thought was at least good to see, and that was
29:34
seeing Robbie Ouzts in the room.
29:36
'Cause at the very…
29:36
Ex- I mean, Robbie Ouzts is saying character-wise, good
29:39
dude, et cetera, et cetera.
29:40
But the very end of the Robbie Ouzts part, John goes, "Are you okay?"
29:44
And he hugs him and goes, "Yeah, yeah, I'm good."
29:46
He's
29:47
Phil: huge.
29:47
Clinton: So Kon- Konica…
29:48
Well, he's huge, but this is already, this is already after
29:50
he's been put on IR for the season- Yeah, I know … with his neck.
29:53
So, like, just, just for me, seeing Robbie Ouzts, like, as a dude mentally
29:58
seeming like he's sharp and he's, he's got, he's gotta do his IR stuff.
30:01
obviously this is not him being cleared to play football in 2027, but I
30:05
like seeing that, Adam, to be like, all right, he's there, still there present
30:09
with the team, still being useful, and when he was asked how he's doing, I think
30:13
he was like, "How are you doing up here?"
30:14
It was like, "Yeah, I'm, I'm good."
30:16
So I, I took a little solace in that, Adam.
30:18
Adam: Yeah, I thought that was interesting, and I also wondered is
30:22
that what player/GM relationships looked like 25 years ago?
30:26
I, I doubt it.
30:27
Brandan: No way.
30:28
Adam: No way,
30:29
Brandan: right?
30:29
There's no way Mike Holmgren was hugging on players like that.
30:32
It's
30:32
Phil: the
30:33
Brandan: John
30:33
Adam: way.
30:33
No way.
30:35
Like, y- Ron Wolf was, like, putting his arm around a guy who just went on
30:38
IR and being like, "Hey, you all right?"
30:40
Like, I doubt it.
30:41
And I think that that's a good change for the league, and maybe
30:45
that is specific to Seattle as well.
30:47
Phil: Yeah,
30:48
Adam: I think maybe.
30:48
but maybe, maybe it's a little more league-wide.
30:50
I, I don't know.
30:51
I'm obviously not in the rooms, but, I did…
30:53
Th- that, that's the thought that occurred to me is like, man, I, I
30:56
don't think this was the norm in- Yeah
30:59
NFL football for a long time.
31:01
Phil: The way Spoon was in the room with Mike and John
31:03
I thought was just awesome.
31:04
They absolutely looked like they were totally on the same level.
31:08
It was really cool.
31:09
Like, great player, head coach, star, one of the greatest GMs of
31:13
all time, same room, and they're just totally just on the same team.
31:17
Yeah.
31:17
Yep.
31:18
Brandan: Yeah.
31:18
Very
31:18
Adam: cool.
31:18
And all the, all the rest of the team that celebrated Spoon when he came in.
31:22
Phil: Yeah.
31:22
Yeah.
31:22
Adam: You know, for his contract.
31:23
Oh, he's beloved.
31:24
I think that's awesome.
31:25
Yeah.
31:25
There's a lot of guys that watch other people's pockets and count
31:27
other people's money out there.
31:28
Yeah.
31:29
They, they're really good at it.
31:29
Well, you heard it
31:30
Brandan: too.
31:30
I think they said 100 mil guaranteed to him, so obviously-
31:33
Yeah, yeah … that was a, a well- Happy for him … noticed point.
31:37
Yeah.
31:37
Adam: Yeah.
31:38
Well, I mean, look, you, you might throw out the 100 mil, but you could
31:40
still be, like, legitimately happy.
31:42
There's a lot of people that throw out the 100 mil and, like, are like, "Oh, yeah?
31:45
Like, I'm worth at least that.
31:47
What the hell?"
31:47
You know?
31:48
Yeah.
31:48
And get jealous.
31:49
That, that happens a lot.
31:51
Phil: He's beloved.
31:51
There's no doubt about it.
31:53
Clinton: Yeah, and then the ve- the very end of that segment too, back to Spoon
31:56
in the locker room, he whispers something to Foster and we don't get to hear it.
32:01
Oh, yeah.
32:01
Like, he's get- he's being congratulated there, and then he says, he's…
32:04
People are saying stuff to him.
32:05
People are saying stuff to S- Spoon, sta- saying stuff to
32:08
Spoon, and he's mostly just like, "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
32:11
And he says something in Foster's ear a- and I don't, I couldn't hear it.
32:16
I was like, "What's he saying?
32:16
What the hell's he saying to him?"
32:17
But it was, it wasn't just, it was like a, it was a little
32:19
longer than, "Hey, a thank you."
32:22
Yeah.
32:22
I, in my brain, I was like, I hope he's telling him like, "Hey,
32:25
this could be you one day, dude.
32:26
Like, you have, you have the skills to be wide receiver one
32:30
on the Seahawks at some point."
32:31
May- maybe wide receiver two.
32:32
I shouldn't go too crazy.
32:34
Phil: I think
32:34
Brandan: Spoon's a little- Twistlejacket in chat saying, "Julian Love said Spoon
32:36
was the cheapest of them all, so the fact he got all this money makes me laugh."
32:41
Go ahead,
32:41
Phil: Brandan.
32:42
Isn't S- isn't Spoon a little bit private maybe, and he hasn't really been out there
32:45
unless you see a few behind the scenes.
32:47
He's starting to realize just how, I think, awesome his personality
32:51
is, and that it's built for a star.
32:54
I don't think it's gonna go to his head.
32:55
I think he's gonna keep doing, being who he is, but he's allowing
32:58
everybody to see it a bit more.
33:00
I mean, he is just fun.
33:02
Everything he does is fun, and he's, now he's up doing press conferences and stuff.
33:07
Maybe this season's gonna he- just help the world, the whole
33:10
NFL world get a more of Spoon, which is good for the NFL and us.
33:15
Adam: He's definitely more private about his ride.
33:17
You didn't get to see anything but the-
33:19
like, little corner of the window when he got out of there.
33:21
Yeah.
33:21
He's no Derick Hall in that aspect, that's for sure.
33:23
No.
33:24
Yeah.
33:25
Brandan: No, he's, he's definitely a very humble dude.
33:27
It, it, I mean, it goes to show you too, the guys who have signed the biggest
33:32
contracts this off season, both featured in this episode with JSN and Devin
33:36
Witherspoon, not the type of just over the top, outgoing type players- Ego
33:43
that are, you know, the look at me type dudes.
33:45
Clinton: Right, and they're in positions, wide receiver and cornerback,
33:48
that you typically, that's exactly where you get those type personalities.
33:52
And so e- And a
33:53
Brandan: quarterback with- Yes … Sam Darnold.
33:55
Clinton: Yeah, so even more to their credit, and this team, it's just…
33:58
well, that, which is what Sherman talked about with Mike
34:00
at the very beginning, right?
34:01
He's like, "Yeah, we all know it's a different team than the LOB."
34:05
but they were kind of getting around how, like, why it feels
34:08
different out there, and I think you just nailed it, Brandan.
34:11
Brandan: Well, big congrats to Brady Russell, who we saw- Yeah … has a baby
34:14
on the way and was leaving at halftime of the preseason game as- Yeah, that was cool
34:20
Coach Mike Macdonald was giving his, preseason halftime speech.
34:24
it was interesting to see- Some of the reaction with a preseason loss,
34:30
'cause that was another thing that I've always kinda had a question about,
34:34
Adam, is that how do, how, how does the locker room really react, and how
34:40
does a coach really react when it's a preseason loss versus a preseason win?
34:46
Adam: Yeah.
34:46
E- 'cause you'd wonder if, like, some coaches get in there and
34:50
they're just as mad as if they lost a pivotal we- week 14 matchup, right?
34:54
And not surprising that you saw Coach Mike come in there and say, "Look, we
35:00
knew e- whether win or lose, w- there was gonna be things we're gonna work on.
35:03
And now we know there's quite a bit to work on," yeah?
35:05
Yeah.
35:06
And that, kind of a Pete Carroll message almost too, right?
35:09
Like, staying on the positive side of all of it.
35:12
And I think that's why Mike has fit in so seamlessly here in Seattle, and
35:16
has been able to build on top of what Pete did, rather than have to tear
35:19
it down and do his whole new thing.
35:21
so, you know, acknowledging the fact that, "Yeah, this sucks.
35:25
We got things to do, and also it's okay because we have
35:28
things we can do," you know?
35:30
And that, that's a big deal.
35:32
And so definitely enjoyed that.
35:35
I think the people that take it the hardest in these preseason losses
35:39
are the guys that are within five- Mm … to 10 spots of the bubble, right?
35:43
Yes.
35:44
Because these wins and losses and performances, they matter.
35:48
Phil: Yeah.
35:48
Brandan: And you saw that a little bit, Phil, with the
35:50
Montorie Foster, with the Uso.
35:51
Uso, yeah.
35:51
Like, they, they did…
35:53
Y- y- you got to hear from them after that game and be like,
35:57
"Hey, I gotta work on this."
35:58
Yeah.
35:58
Yeah.
35:58
And, you know, as Montorie Foster's dad is, is happy for him and
36:02
trying to get him fired up, and he's thinking about the drop.
36:04
Phil: This was a great job how they did that.
36:06
They really brought you into kinda the sense of it.
36:09
You could see Foster's nerves talking on what he knew was a national show as he
36:13
was kinda h- having a hard time speaking.
36:16
But also just how big this moment is for these guys.
36:19
They just have a couple games that they know they get to be in.
36:22
Uso gets to take those guys, and he's remembering everything.
36:25
He's, he's back there talking to his buds that are, that are his
36:28
current teammates about if they saw this thing or if they saw that
36:32
thing, 'cause every little moment he knows it's all gonna be reviewed.
36:36
And they're, the guys that have already made the team, they're maybe pulling
36:39
for him or gonna give him a few tips, so they're right there along with him.
36:43
But for him, this is his thing, and, and they're all looking at him.
36:47
So yeah, pre-season's all about these guys that are trying to make at least
36:51
the ready squad, no doubt, Clinton.
36:53
Clinton: Yeah.
36:54
The, the last piece of the Uso story for me happened earlier in the episode,
36:59
and it was when the defensive coach, I don't know his name, so, it,
37:02
with the line, like Mills was there.
37:04
Right.
37:04
The line was all there, right?
37:05
And he throws out a line and goes, "Hey, look, when the threes get in,"
37:09
he's talking to Uso, he's talking to others, he's like, "When we get
37:11
the threes out there in practice," he said, "We can't lose 15 to 1."
37:16
He threw it, you know, 'cause we, we got that earlier in episode one
37:19
when the offense was up 15-1, 16-1, and Macdonald was starting to blow
37:23
a gasket, a gasket around that.
37:25
And then you saw the performance in the game, guys, and it was
37:28
like, well, unfortunately, like, something didn't translate.
37:31
Maybe it's just talent, that when they get down to those three levels,
37:35
which is not gonna be all that significant for the regular season,
37:37
but it, it's cool for the story.
37:39
they kinda did get bowled over during the, during the Cowboys game in
37:43
that, in that third and fourth quarter.
37:44
It, it got, we got gashed later on.
37:47
And so I think, I guess the thing I t- can take away from it is at least
37:52
the coaches are, are, they know it.
37:53
They're, they're not Pollyannas about what's in the room there.
37:57
Yeah.
37:57
But I, I do wanna see what happens these next two games.
38:00
Can that second and third and fourth tier guys just improve along the d-
38:04
defensive line, because, coaches were calling 'em out, and then
38:08
they did not perform all that well.
38:10
Adam: Well, you think about the threes and the way that they played in the
38:13
game, and you're right, they got pushed around and they gave up a lot of points.
38:16
In the preseason you're playing vanilla schemes, right?
38:18
Totally.
38:19
You're not getting the full Mike Macdonald dial it up, defensive
38:22
genius stuff that they do, and we can see what a difference that makes.
38:27
Even with the starters, if you look back at Pete's last year, and then
38:31
even at the beginning of Mike's first year, it was better- Mm … the defense
38:35
with pretty much the same personnel.
38:37
And then when they made the Ernest Jones trade, then it really started to
38:41
unlock and, and go a little bit further.
38:43
So i, I mean that shows you do need some talent there to make it go.
38:46
But I think one of the reasons why maybe they don't look as good as they
38:50
could is you don't have Mike, like dialing it up and putting them in the
38:55
types of positions that he would if they were out there, say, week four.
38:59
Clinton: Yeah.
38:59
Brandan: Right.
39:00
You, you're putting him in positions that you wanna see what they can do,
39:04
i- in certain situations, so.
39:07
Clinton: Yeah, ki- kind of base, kind of win the, win the 101 without a
39:10
stunt, without a h- without help, right?
39:11
Right.
39:12
So that makes
39:12
Phil: sense.
39:12
But you still can't give up your chest.
39:14
I mean, you s- there's some things that are just, you just can't
39:16
do, when you're out there.
39:18
No matter what the play call is, you have to win your match
39:20
up, you have to do proper things that don't allow you to give up.
39:22
Brandan: Never give up, give up your chest.
39:24
Phil: You don't.
39:24
Adam: Yeah, it was my number one advice to my daughter, but,-
39:27
At, at, at the end of the day- I love it … we're seeing a lot of
39:30
comments here about Kupp, here.
39:32
And- Coach Kupp.
39:33
Coach Kupp, please, please … and, and Jeremy, had, was like,
39:36
something about Kupp being in there with the, the quarterbacks.
39:39
I'm starting to wonder, does Kupp ever hang out with the wide receivers?
39:43
Or does he think he's a quarterback?
39:45
We saw-
39:45
Brandan: Does he ever have the side that you carry?
39:46
We saw him in the wide receiver room too, and, Whistle Jack i- in
39:50
the chat saying, "Can we get a shout-out that Cooper Kupp looks way better- Facts
39:53
without the dirb- dirty hobo beard."
39:55
Yeah, that's,- He wears the dirty
39:56
Phil: hobo shirt, though.
39:57
And that gets him in the QB room.
40:00
Clinton: Look, I
40:01
Brandan: th- this is- Our offensive coordinator stole, his hobo beard.
40:04
Clinton: Well, the good news is that if, if Flurry goes on to be as
40:07
excellent as Kubiak was towards the end of the year and the playoff run,
40:11
and Flurry gets to win a chip year one, and he gets extracted, well,
40:14
guys, we, we know who the next OC is.
40:17
He's already in the room.
40:17
He might actually be a player coach.
40:19
He's got, you know, more time left.
40:21
But it, this is a beautiful audition for Cooper Kupp to roll
40:25
right into coaching once he's done.
40:27
And not that he probably needed it, but it's evident to, I think,
40:30
the, the entire NFL world now.
40:32
Brandan: He doesn't need the money.
40:32
We do get to see some depth coaches throughout this Hard Knocks-
40:36
Clinton: Yeah
40:36
… Brandan: series, right?
40:38
and I'm curious to see if, and you don't have to know their
40:41
names, but position-wise, i- has anybody developed a, a coaching crush?
40:47
Adam: I'm still all in on Hammond, the running back coach.
40:49
I love the way he talked to those guys.
40:50
Brandan: Thomas F-bomb Hammond is Adam's favorite.
40:52
That's not a shocker.
40:54
Adam: Yeah, and because it's, because it is, been scientifically
40:58
proven, there's studies out there, the more you cuss, the more honest you are.
41:01
It's just, that's, that is what it is.
41:03
Like, i- it's a correlated thing.
41:05
So that coach-
41:05
Phil: I thought it was he just couldn't come up with real words to say,
41:08
so he just filled it in over and over because he's like, "I wanna say something,
41:12
so this is the word that I say."
41:14
Adam: I mean, like maybe you're just jealous.
41:16
I don't know.
41:17
Like, that, that's a, those are a lot of F-bombs that were well done.
41:20
It's not like he was out there like, you know, screwing up the cuss
41:23
words like in Bad Boys, you know?
41:25
Like- … I don't know if you guys remember that scene, but yeah.
41:27
Brandan: Yeah, he was using them appropriately.
41:29
I, I felt like that, fit in with the, the vernacular well.
41:33
I, I like, Frisman Jackson, the wide receivers coach.
41:36
Yeah, that's a good call.
41:36
He's, he's the guy that I think- Oh, yeah … I'm connecting to the most.
41:36
He's pretty great.
41:36
I would like Mike, that's the easy one.
41:37
He's the,
41:42
Phil: he's the
41:43
Brandan: guy on the series.
41:43
I mean, he's the star of the Hard Knocks series.
41:45
Phil: I wanna go in a weird route, and this guy has said very few
41:48
things, but it's AD, and here's why.
41:52
Whenever somebody walks up to talk to AD it's like, "I've got
41:56
something he's gonna appreciate."
41:57
Like, you know he's a good listener and he's a gr- You can just tell by
42:01
the way they speak to him that he's a great mind, and it's almost like if
42:05
you're saying it to AD, you're checking to see if what you're seeing is legit.
42:11
Just, like every time- Mm … that someone talks to him, the way they're
42:14
interested and his body language to me says a lot about what kind of thinker
42:19
the other coaches consider him to be.
42:22
Adam: Yeah.
42:22
Love that.
42:22
We better enjoy this now because this is the last year of Aden Durde as a Seahawk.
42:27
He will be a head coach somewhere.
42:28
Yeah, I was
42:28
Brandan: gonna say, I hate that answer because- Yeah … this is featuring
42:32
Aden Durde as,- Am I wrong though?
42:33
Am I wrong?
42:34
… a future coach.
42:34
Adam: You're not.
42:35
No, you're not wrong at all.
42:36
It is interesting.
42:37
Like, he does seem to have a wisdom that everybody kinda seems to
42:39
gravitate towards, and just be like, "Yeah, I'm, I'm not crazy, right?"
42:44
And then like, maybe it's just 'cause he's British and like, you know, when he says
42:47
yes back in a British accent you're like, "Oh, well that sounds more official."
42:50
Mm.
42:50
Like, yeah.
42:51
Though I do think it's interesting though, that we've gotten
42:55
basically nothing of Flurry.
42:57
Like, how can that be the case?
42:58
That's true.
42:59
Brandan: Yeah.
42:59
What the heck?
43:00
Clinton: That's, that's, I-
43:00
Adam: Yeah
43:01
… Clinton: it's funny, we're going through all these names with different dudes.
43:03
I love the, love the Frisman call-out, love the Durte call-out.
43:06
Yeah, that's a great point, Adam.
43:08
Like, this is ep- three episodes in with an OC, we talked about it last time being
43:11
like, hey, probably a really, really good sign that the sky's not falling.
43:16
Like, the sky's not falling, that the operation looks smooth.
43:20
you know, that the quarterbacks seemingly look really on time.
43:25
And from what we could glean from, you know, slow spinning
43:27
balls and stuff like that.
43:29
But it's kind of a cool point though.
43:31
There's, I- is, is Flurry just terrible on camera?
43:35
It didn't, didn't seem to be when he was in front of- Maybe him.
43:37
There's maybe him.
43:38
Maybe.
43:38
Maybe.
43:39
Maybe let the world- He's one of
43:40
Adam: the biggest stories of the year.
43:41
I don't care how bad he is
43:42
Clinton: on camera.
43:42
I, I know.
43:42
Like, come on, like.
43:43
Yeah, we've had
43:44
Brandan: more Jay Harbaugh than we've had
43:45
Clinton: of,- Yeah.
43:46
I understand that.
43:47
But I think it's great.
43:48
I told him- I think it's excellent point that we've gotten- Yeah
43:49
so little Flurry so far.
43:51
And again, I guess my- my Occam's razor mind goes to, there's just
43:56
not a lot of narrative that they- He's boring as hell- Well, maybe-
43:59
… Brandan: and they don't wanna put him on
44:01
Clinton: TV.
44:01
May- maybe it's, it's more just like, you know, when your offensive
44:03
linemen do their job in the game, you don't hear about them.
44:06
You know, and he's running his operation smoothly in practice, and
44:09
he's not bombastic, and therefore he's not getting camera time.
44:14
And maybe that's a really good thing for our Seahawks, g- is
44:16
I guess what I'm getting at.
44:17
Brandan: Not enough F-bombs coming out of his mouth.
44:19
For
44:19
Clinton: each-
44:19
Adam: Yeah.
44:19
In the offense.
44:20
Maybe it's a conscious effort, too.
44:21
Maybe he doesn't want to be in the spotlight right now and
44:24
have any other distractions that might come out of that- No.
44:27
Yeah … as he's being a first time offensive coordinator and
44:29
first time play caller ever.
44:30
Clinton: Because he wants to stay here for many, many years.
44:32
That's why, Adam.
44:33
I like it.
44:33
Thank you.
44:34
Maybe
44:34
Phil: he asked for that.
44:34
Yeah, maybe he asked for that.
44:36
He's like, "I'm trying to get settled in with being an OC, and I
44:38
wanna be careful while I'm trying to teach my brand-new offense."
44:41
"I wanna be careful that I'm giving away secrets to the entire NFL.
44:44
So I know you're doing this show.
44:46
That's great.
44:47
Can all you guys carry this?
44:48
And by the way, where's Leslie Fr- Frazier?
44:50
I thought we'd see a lot more of him."
44:51
Brandan: Yeah, we get a l- most sideline shots of him talking to Coach
44:55
Mike and, and that's about it, right?
44:57
speaking of Coach Mike, we did see, one bit that I wanted to
45:01
get, folks' take on, and that was right at the top of the episode where
45:06
you had Coach Mike talking about the switch in mentality from the team going
45:11
from, a not to lose mentality- Yes
45:14
to going to a, a winning m- a go win mentality.
45:18
And it's gonna be interesting to see how that carries over
45:22
then into this season, Phil.
45:24
Phil: Yeah, I love that part.
45:25
I, I alluded to it earlier, 'cause it was one of my favorite things.
45:28
I love that sometimes you can say something that word-wise, if you were
45:33
gonna do math-wise, it's the same thing.
45:36
It's like a counterbalance.
45:37
But if you push down on one side, it kind of results in something
45:41
differently in how you approach it, just, just by angles and such.
45:44
And so trying to get your mental angles to be more from, "I don't
45:48
wanna lose this thing," to, "We're gonna go take this thing," it's
45:53
definitely a thing when you're boxing.
45:54
But when you think about football, I mean, the game's won in the trenches.
45:58
It's very similar to boxing.
45:59
And if you're sitting there constantly trying to not lose instead of go
46:03
win, that mentality, is, is gonna pay negative dividends if you're
46:08
constantly trying to not lose the rep.
46:10
I mean, I'm a little worried about Uso being that way, to be honest.
46:13
He needs to g- he needs to capture that a little bit.
46:16
And as great of mind as Mike Macdonald was to figure out, "I'm trying as
46:20
a new coach to not ruin this thing, to try to not get fired like so many
46:23
before me," and then the next year say, "Hey, that wasn't the way to be,"
46:27
and look what happened when he decided let's go win versus let's not lose.
46:32
He didn't stop winning after we l- barely lost to the Rams.
46:36
We won all the way through to Super Bowl.
46:38
th- there's, there's something about that.
46:40
There's just something about affecting your thinking and pointing it
46:45
Adam: Yeah, no doubt about it.
46:46
And I think that's a really important message for the young guys and
46:51
the, the rookies and the undrafted guys trying to make a, a squad.
46:55
It's like, "Look, man, like, make mistakes.
46:58
You know, move fast and break things," like the tech guys, right?
47:01
Like- Yeah … that, that's kind of the, the mindset there, and
47:04
I do think it probably is more beneficial to operate that way in
47:08
this sort of space than to not to.
47:10
And, I hope for Uso's sake, maybe that does, kinda flip a switch for him.
47:15
Clinton: I, I thought that piece when, when they were talking to Milroe
47:18
in the room about letting it rip, I was thinking about the beginning of the show.
47:22
I, I- Hmm … in my mind they were tying those things back together.
47:24
Yeah.
47:24
'Cause I thought what, what I wrote down for the first note, I put, I put
47:27
episode three and Mike said his thing, and I wrote the words high trust.
47:31
Like, the environment he's creating- Mm … is high trust 'cause he's being
47:34
very vulnerable, vulnerable about, "Hey, this is what I did year one kinda
47:37
wrong, or I wish I could do different, and here's how I changed that and
47:41
where I want you to be mentally."
47:43
And Adam, to your point about whether it's go fast and break stuff, it is
47:47
the, it's the o- it's the okayness that, you know, you still, you still gotta,
47:52
you gotta take your shots, and if you miss, it's A-okay as long as you're…
47:56
That's actually what, what he talked about after the game was over, about
47:59
the level of, it's like, "Hey, we know it's a pre-season game, and, but we
48:03
know the type of team we want to be.
48:05
Regardless of the outcome of this s- you know, pre-season thing, it's fine.
48:09
But we, we have to be better at becoming who we are," right?
48:13
So I think they actually wove that all now in retrospect an hour later.
48:17
I think all those things were purposely put in.
48:19
I think they were kind of the same narrative that, that they put throughout.
48:22
Phil: I missed my main point, Brandan.
48:24
I wanted to say this.
48:25
All right.
48:25
Y- J- And I, and real quick, do you-
48:28
Clinton: Love
48:28
Phil: it … feel more energy when you're feeling positive or
48:31
when you're thinking negative?
48:33
Do you have more energy- Oh, positive for
48:34
Adam: sure … when you,
48:34
Phil: okay.
48:34
Yeah.
48:35
So-
48:35
Adam: Wow,
48:36
Phil: really?
48:36
Like if you're, if you're attacking in war- Okay … if you're
48:39
attacking in war, you're gonna go take them down versus not die.
48:43
So when you go with your sword out, you're gonna go take, you're
48:45
like, "Ah, we're riled up," versus, "I gotta make sure we don't die
48:48
and that we don't lose the city."
48:50
So when you're attacking and when you're thinking, "Here's how I'm going to win.
48:53
I'm a sprinkler.
48:54
I'm turning this thing green.
48:55
I'm not keeping it from brown," I'm more excited to pop up and send the
48:59
water all around, right, Brandan?
49:00
But, as a human, when you're excited about taking on the day
49:03
versus not losing the day, you just handle, you feel lighter.
49:07
You handle things so much better.
49:08
Brandan: I don't know.
49:09
The way Adam reacted, maybe he's different.
49:10
Maybe we need to be harder on Adam and talk about how he's a
49:13
bum and, he's about to get-
49:15
Adam: Absolutely.
49:15
1,000%.
49:17
Okay, like, Pete Carroll's old phrase used to be you have
49:19
to learn the learners, right?
49:20
Yeah.
49:20
And like, if I had had one shred of athletic ability in my life and
49:23
coulda been in a Seahawks camp, like, if they asked me like what
49:26
I needed, it would be ride my ass.
49:29
Look, I'll tell you right now, like- I definitely am more productive
49:34
and get to another level when I'm more in that negative head space of
49:39
like- Huh … this is unacceptable and this is gonna change now.
49:43
Like, that, that is what gets me going.
49:46
The idea of like, "Oh, everything's great.
49:48
I'm gonna do even better- It's not-
49:49
like, shoot my shot."
49:50
Like, no, that's not where I wanna be at all.
49:53
Like, I, I need that angst.
49:55
Brandan: Yeah.
49:55
It, it's not, I think Phil's not going to everything's great part,
49:58
but- No, no, no … this is our goal.
50:00
We are s- this good that we are going to accomplish it.
50:03
Now let's go run through a wall to get it because we know that's who we are.
50:07
Adam: Yeah.
50:07
Yes.
50:08
I, I, the, it's the, it's the pressure of, like, a deadline, the pressure
50:12
of failure- Mm-hmm … the pressure of all of that, that- makes me feel
50:17
like, I can go out there and maybe even need to take that risk.
50:20
Like, that unleashes me to take that risk because, like-
50:26
Phil: Who is that?
50:26
… Adam: everything's to lose.
50:27
That's Clinton.
50:28
Phil: Okay.
50:29
It's like, which three…
50:30
I know all three of you have this- … this Patsy Yonkers podcast.
50:33
I can't talk and
50:35
Clinton: type at the same time.
50:35
Who typed that in?
50:35
I did.
50:35
It's, it's The Lego Movie, guys.
50:37
Come on, The Lego Movie.
50:38
Phil: You sing it for us, Clinton, because I…
50:39
people get mad when I sing.
50:40
Clinton: No, they said no singing.
50:41
No, I sing better when you sing it.
50:41
They said no singing, so I'll, I'll abide.
50:44
No.
50:45
Brandan: Well, it was a fun show, even though it was number three on the, the
50:49
three for, all of us it sounds like.
50:52
It, it still was a, an entertaining show to watch.
50:54
What about the 12s
50:54
Phil: part?
50:55
Did you guys already talk about how they, like- No … they go
50:58
to the 12s, the 12s love Brandan?
51:00
Did
51:00
Brandan: you guys- Well, yeah, we…
51:00
I mean, we don't need to shine the light on ourselves.
51:03
We, we've had enough shine, right?
51:05
Clinton: The one thing I'll say about that that I didn't write down was the song
51:08
they selected, Pearl Jam Given to Fly, to open- Yes … that up was super dope.
51:11
That…
51:12
I love that Pearl Jam song.
51:13
I think yields a very underrated Pearl Jam album, and that is
51:16
a really cool song, so- It
51:17
Phil: was a letdown.
51:18
I was waiting, who's gonna fly when they get to the given…
51:20
And I'm not gonna sing it, the given to fly part.
51:23
And they cut the song before they got to that.
51:24
I was, I was just waiting to see somebody flying, but-
51:27
Brandan: Yeah, that's a whiff on the editors right there, Phil.
51:29
Clinton: And we have a hawk that they've, they could
51:30
have just shown, like l- Yeah
51:31
let's, let's roll in the flies.
51:32
Given to
51:33
Phil: fly, there was great choices, yeah.
51:34
Clinton: Yeah, that was cool.
51:36
Brandan: All right.
51:36
Well, I really appreciate everybody who joined in with us as, we did this
51:41
post-game, or post-game, post-show show.
51:44
Feels like it.
51:45
But, big thanks to Ryan911 coming in with the executive producer donation,
51:50
as well as Shane Turner Acoustic.
51:51
The Snail, I need to call out The Snail.
51:53
Oh.
51:53
Member of four, for 47 months.
51:55
Wow.
51:56
Next month is four years.
51:59
Feel old yet?
51:59
Go Hawks.
52:00
Adam: Yeah, yeah.
52:01
Well, speaking- Dang … of old, and we talked about back stretches, like
52:03
about four episodes ago- … and Snail was like, "What is it?"
52:06
I'm going…
52:06
I've been looking for the video.
52:07
I will find the video Snail, and I will get it to you, I promise.
52:11
Brandan: All right.
52:12
Promises made, and, that'll be up to you.
52:15
A- Adam- … if you don't, if you don't get that for him, you are a loser.
52:19
You are the worst.
52:20
Adam: The worst.
52:21
Gosh, I gotta get this for Snail.
52:23
Ah.
52:25
Brandan: And I think with that-
52:26
Adam: There's only one thing left to say
52:28
… Brandan: go Hawks.
52:28
Go
52:29
Phil: Hawks.
52:30
Adam: Go Hawks.
52:30
Phil: Go Hawks.
52:30
Go whatever.