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Canyon of Confetti, and the 2025 Hawkies
31 Plays2 days ago
Tristan and Miles talk about the Seahawks’ victory parade, feeling harmonious among a million of our listeners, and hand out the trophies for the crown jewel of awards season: the 2025 Hawkies.
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Transcript
Seattle Parade Experiences
00:00:00
M dub
Thank you.
00:00:00
Tristan Amundson
Miles Molotov cocktails. We didn't see even one. I was keeping track. I had a list of things that I didn't want to see at the parade on Wednesday.
00:00:12
Tristan Amundson
Molotov cocktail was certainly one. I saw plenty of cocktails, by the way, around the streets of Seattle. I saw none that were flammable and destructive. Um, a lot of peace, a lot of harmony, a lot of good vibes.
00:00:28
Tristan Amundson
Miles, the parade was a great time. how you doing, man?
00:00:31
M dub
Tristan, it's great to be with you. We have emerged from our virtual pedestals of technology. We went out into the real world. Both of us, we were both there on the ground, 4th Avenue, Seattle, to to see the guys in a...
00:00:48
M dub
A truly epic parade. um I only saw one non-smiling face the entire time. There was about a million people there. was really stoked we had that many listeners since this is the world's only Seahawks podcast.
00:01:01
M dub
I saw one person without a smile on their face. There was one guy kind of getting carried away by police. He was wearing he was wearing merchandise from another sports team. We can say that. wasn't an NFL team.
00:01:14
M dub
And he had to kind of get walked down the middle of the parade right before it started. He wasn't too happy about it. But you know what? One out of a million ain't bad.
00:01:25
M dub
It was ah truly a really beautiful and harmonious day, even with that big of a crowd there.
00:01:31
Tristan Amundson
It was great, man. Yeah, we we had an absolute blast. um I did notice. I mean, my my biggest note was it's the first time I've been in a major city where just the open container law was was thrown out the window.
00:01:46
Tristan Amundson
The fish had or the fish. The police had bigger fish to fry.
00:01:51
M dub
Thank you.
00:01:51
Tristan Amundson
And um I did see many a gentleman at 10 a.m. walking around with a full bottle of tequila. That seemed to be the the liquor of choice. I don't know if you noticed that at all on um as you were walking around, but I certainly noticed multiple bottles of tequila and and one gentleman that... That certainly had a dazed look in his face. I'm not sure if he fully um remembers the day the same way that maybe you and I remember the day, but he certainly was walking around with that bottle of tequila. And, um you know, I hope that he when when he got home, I hope that he got some Gatorade in his system and maybe a couple of ibuprofen and maybe took a quick cat nap. Um, that that's my hope for him, but, uh, dude, it was so fun. A lot of hooting and hollering. Um, like you said, incredible to see the city on fire like that on fire in a good way. Again, not, not in the Molotov cocktail kind of way. um,
00:02:48
Tristan Amundson
um I think it's worth noting because, listen, we're talking to our brothers and sisters. We're probably right now talking to some folks that also were attending the parade. So just for for what it's worth, we were both at um at Fourth and Cherry. So that was kind of where we set up camp ah for the parade. And it was absolutely killer.
00:03:08
M dub
Yeah, well, I'll get into it right now, Tristan. we we Both of us went on our own battery of planes, trains, and automobiles to get to this parade since neither of us live in Seattle, but...
00:03:21
M dub
got it We both have a lot of connections there. We we we got there. And Tristan, you were much more diligent about securing your spot, a good spot. you you got You got around much earlier than I did. It turns out I didn't need to be that early because we did start about 45 minutes later than expected, which was a slight bummer at the time.
00:03:43
M dub
About 20 minutes after, I was like, I think they're building some good tension here. 45 was a little bit too much, but you know what? That's quickly forgotten. And folks, i'll I'll let you know, i my i positioned my journey and I ended up exactly on the wrong side of the street from Tristan.
00:03:59
M dub
There was about 100 feet and a vast ocean of people, a very secure barrier. um i couldn't find my way across. So Tristan, I think I was...
00:04:12
M dub
i I was on a bit of a slope. that The street behind was kind of closed off. I was a bit on a slope looking down. And I have to say, there was it was a very studious audience around me. Everybody was completely locked in. I actually did not see a single open container. I did see several on the ground when I walked over to your side of the street at the conclusion of the parade.
00:04:33
M dub
But we were a pretty locked in group over there. And i kind of had a little bit of an elevated view. you know, I was in the middle of the crowd, but not quite. We're we're probably rolling about 10 or 15 deep right up right up against these these barriers. i'm I'm a bit higher than that.
00:04:50
M dub
And it sounded like when we debriefed after... that that this this tiny little perch actually led me to have, and and maybe just being by myself in the middle of this ocean of humanity when I wasn't trying to,
00:05:04
M dub
ah I was way more genuinely moved emotionally by what I saw during this parade than than I ever expected to be.
00:05:14
M dub
Way more emotionally moved during the game itself, which had a we discussed their the celebration after had a slight underwhelming feeling. And it just led to um a very different experience on the opposite side of the street. I have to i mean, you could kind of hear it coming down this kind of cavern of skyscrapers.
00:05:33
M dub
And I have to say that the push the crowd gave, they they had Mike McDonald and his wife on a car, just the two of them together. The push the crowd gave when that car came along, that was what almost got me for real. I mean, I was i was i was just feeling a lot of emotions. it It really surpassed everything I expected it to be to for for real.
00:05:56
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, no, man, it it was, it was fun. I felt that too. Um, I, I personally felt a massive amount of gratitude when Mike went by and, and actually i felt the same way when John went by just, just the level of work that obviously these guys have put in and um,
00:06:14
Tristan Amundson
And I wanted, i personally wanted Mike to hear it. I wanted him to hear and feel the gratitude and the love because for goodness sake, we all know that these these folks are just putting in insane amounts of work ultimately so that we can enjoy a really good product every Sunday.
00:06:31
Tristan Amundson
And um it was incredible. It is funny that um I found myself apparently on the party side of the street and you found yourself, it seems like more kind of on the ah the um ah ah you know the the bookworm, um the analytical, the the intelligentsia side of the street, so to speak, which I think is interesting.
00:06:51
M dub
Thank you.
00:06:54
Tristan Amundson
um Don't know if fate just just knows how to put us in the perfect positions or not, Miles. I don't know if that's serendipity, um but certainly it it turned out that way. um i had a blast. you know what What's fun about this stuff is is community and...
00:07:11
Tristan Amundson
um What was fun for me personally, I'll share this just just for what it's worth, was being able to share the moment with my family, with my my two daughters were there. um My good friend Tyler um ah was there as well. Yeah.
00:07:27
Tristan Amundson
if Funny enough, I mean, it's incredible, man, that you and i ended up just being on opposite sides of the street. The plan was obviously
Seahawks' Off-Season Transitions
00:07:34
Tristan Amundson
that we would watch it together. we We suddenly had the Berlin Wall between us. I felt like my favorite episode of Alvin and the Chipmunks when I was growing up. They did a great Berlin Wall episode. And even the the location, the directions make sense. You were on the east side of the wall. I was on the west side of the wall.
00:07:54
Tristan Amundson
it was only To your point, it was only about 100 feet. We could see each other, but we might as well have been a million miles away because you know there was there was no way um to get from one side of fourth to the other in in that moment. um But it really was special. I i got a chance to um to watch it, like I said, with my wife, with my daughters, with my buddy Tyler. And also, and and this was just beyond a thrill with my cousins um that I just love dearly. And um it was such a cool thing, not only to be able to share the moment with
00:08:34
Tristan Amundson
with the city and everyone celebrating together, but to actually share it with my with my family um and and just to have an excuse to hang out with my cousins was one of the coolest things. it was unbelievable. my um I don't know what you call um a child of a cousin. I'm going to go ahead and say nieces just for the the sake of conversation. my My nieces were there as well. And then my sister was there and my niece was there.
00:09:02
Tristan Amundson
So just unbelievable. Like the fact that we're all able to watch it together and be together. um you were on the other side of the wall um with ah with with with the bookworms.
00:09:13
Tristan Amundson
But man, it it was absolutely unbelievable. We had a great time. and to your point, um really pretty orderly. i mean, the the vibe in the city was really good.
00:09:22
M dub
Thank
00:09:24
Tristan Amundson
Everyone seemed to have a good attitude. I didn't notice um any real kind of... ah um you know bad intentions or anything like that it just was a really good chill time we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day i mean it was an absolutely gorgeous day in seattle i think 50 degrees and sunny Dude, what an experience. What a cool thing just to see. Was there a player? So besides, obviously, Mike, was there a player that you saw that just kind of put a smile on your face? Was there a any other kind of moment just from a um just from a player interaction that that really stood out to you?
00:10:03
M dub
A lot of moments stood out. One, you you mentioned me being on the bookworm side. That was more true than you even realize. I hesitate to say this because I know this gentleman is a listener, as was everybody else there, but I was standing next to a guy for a period of time, and I noticed he had he had that That classic chat GPT text up on his phone were a few minutes before the parade. And i I did look over just to see what we were going on. And all I could see was a heading that said commerce principles.
00:10:38
M dub
And so this guy's really dedicated to the grind. He's looking up stuff for for business um just a few minutes before the parade. Another guy in my vicinity, i will say, he it felt like he came from pretty far out. I'm i'm guessing an Enumclaw at the minimum, maybe a Yakima. somebody there's There's a lot of rural regions in Washington. There's genuine Washington Cowboys. That's what this guy felt like to me. This is a different guy than who was reading Chad GBT.
00:11:09
M dub
And since I wasn't there with family, I think I was mostly moved by the the great distances that people went from all across Washington and beyond to get to this thing. um We walked over to the ferry and that terminal was completely full of people just ah going going ah across to the many islands around Washington.
00:11:31
M dub
i was on a train headed south to Portland and That thing was completely full with Seahawks fans. So we're all climbing out of that thing at 9 p.m. at night. And the Seahawks chants are still going.
00:11:44
M dub
The C and the Hawks. So I was i had the the opportunity to see Mr.
00:11:45
Tristan Amundson
Thank you.
00:11:51
M dub
Sam Darnold on my side of the street. And we saw a very restrained version of Sam as the Super Bowl ended. We saw a very restrained version of Sam sitting next to Kenneth Walker in some teacups. on the internet, on Disneyland, at Disneyland.
00:12:07
M dub
And um the the kind of moment he he saw, I think he saw the us crowd kind of up this slope of the street. And he he really kind of he really kind of got the people going. He decided, I'm going to step up as a leader and lead this thing and get the get the people going a little bit.
00:12:26
M dub
And I got that on footage. So it was it was great to see him Finally, three or four days later, cut loose. Just a little bit.
00:12:35
Tristan Amundson
So cool, man. i I think for me, a highlight was was two things. One, um when Kenneth Walker came by and he, I mean, it's so cool. You know, someone has to have that that Super Bowl trophy and and Ken Walker had it and just the joy on his face. And it was just kind of cool. I didn't, I'm not a big um memento guy or like, I don't know, objects don't hold a ton of value to me typically. And and i'm I'm not really,
00:13:03
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, I'm just not really connected to stuff like that too much. um and But I was surprised that it meant something to me to actually see the trophy. And I will say just seeing the Lombardi trophy meant something. And I was pretty excited. I found myself pretty excited just to see the trophy again. and be in its presence and and kind of and obviously, you know, that trophy be in Seattle and all that stuff was really, really cool.
00:13:29
Tristan Amundson
So that was one piece. And then I got to say, man, the guy that stood out because I've just I don't know if I've ever seen a larger human. And admittedly, he was facing your side of the street.
00:13:42
Tristan Amundson
But Abe Lucas, um I just I glanced over. He was still about, you know, maybe maybe i don't know, up. maybe 200 feet away. you know, they hadn't gotten right to our section yet.
00:13:56
Tristan Amundson
And it was so obvious. Like you look over it's like, oh, there's Abe. I mean, they're just like, it's obvious.
00:14:01
M dub
you
00:14:02
Tristan Amundson
There's no one else as big as him. And um and he's just such a monster. It was so cool to see. So so seeing Abe Lucas, that was a bit of a thrill. um ah What a cool, yeah, just just what a cool thing to to to see all those guys, to your point, let loose.
00:14:19
Tristan Amundson
have a lot of fun. um and and yeah, really cool being around the whole the whole Hawk community there is super, super fun.
00:14:28
M dub
I did feel a similar way about actually seeing the Lombardi trophy. And there is something about like, ah hey, this thing's like two feet tall, you know, and we got a million people here because we got it. And, you know, they hand it off to the Seahawks and they get to take it. And it's it's theirs, you know, and it's, um you know, it's probably...
00:14:48
M dub
I don't know. I don't know what it would be worth just just as a hunk of metal or whatever, but you know as as an experience, it it means a lot. And I mean, there's really not that many situations where you're going to be in total harmony with that many people.
00:15:05
M dub
ah Even a game, you're you're really with a small fraction of the amount of people that were at this thing. it It was just a really unique experience. One last player shout out is...
00:15:17
M dub
um Well, one, they had the players on these buses that were immaculately covered in these wraps that, that had, you know, the current year Superbowl champion. I shuddered to, I mean, this is just being an adult. I just thought about all the overtime that
Super Bowl Reflections
00:15:32
M dub
people were just that untold amounts of staff members were just crushing through in the 72 or so hours but between the,
00:15:42
M dub
the Superbowl and the parade to actually get these immaculate buses ready. Anyway, Gray Zabel was perched pretty precariously on top of one of the buses compared to everybody else.
00:15:53
M dub
He, he was, he was on the corner of that thing. Just, just kind of hanging out and letting it roll.
00:15:59
Tristan Amundson
Pretty cool. Hey, did you see the video of Abe Lucas get his head hit by the the light as they were driving through the city?
00:16:08
M dub
You mentioned I haven't seen it. that's
00:16:10
Tristan Amundson
I mean, it was absolutely...
00:16:11
M dub
There's a lot of dangling streetlights and stuff in Seattle.
00:16:14
Tristan Amundson
it
00:16:14
M dub
Yeah. Yeah.
00:16:15
Tristan Amundson
And yeah, Abe is just a little too big, apparently, um to to be on the top of a bus like that. And man, I'll tell you what, it it looked like the bus was going about 10 miles an hour.
00:16:25
Tristan Amundson
I mean, it looked like it was actually moving pretty well. And he he gets blindsided by this ah this streetlight. Luckily, um no worse for the wear. And, you know, that just goes to show Abe's just a a bad, bad man.
00:16:38
Tristan Amundson
He can take on a streetlight um with ease.
00:16:40
M dub
Thank
00:16:41
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, really fun, man. Fun release. Um, fun way to put, um, just an exclamation point on the season as we, as we move on and, and miles just like that.
00:16:55
Tristan Amundson
Right. I mean, there is no rest for the wicked, just like that. We are into the off season um, According to our notes, im I'm seeing that the Seahawks have been busy. they They haven't just been walking around with bottles of tequila like my good friend there on the west side of 4th. They've actually been quite sober, it sounds like, and and working diligently.
00:17:19
M dub
Yeah, Tristan, it was wild. Even before I went on on the short journey from Portland to Seattle, I'm seeing videos on the internet of Clint Kubiak, our victorious offensive coordinator. he He's already touched down in Las Vegas ah with his family, and he is rolling.
00:17:40
M dub
And so it was really unfortunate. I think, you know, they, they had truck of the coaches and and you could notice there's a lot of coaches by the way, but I feel like that truck of offensive coaches, that was maybe the saddest little truck in the whole thing. Cause they knew the man on top of it was already gone and crazy enough.
00:18:00
M dub
There was an article that came out on Pro Football Rumors that afternoon as I was sitting in the Seattle train station that the Seahawks had lined up a number of internal interviews for offensive coordinator. And i was going...
00:18:15
M dub
Who's doing this? And what we just saw we just saw everybody go by. And we saw everybody in the Seahawks organization go by, as we should. and I don't know who was, you know, there's no secretary to line up these times or reserve a meeting room. or i just don't know how that happened on that day with everything going on. And yes, it does turn out just a few days later, the team has hired Brian Fleury.
00:18:45
M dub
the San Francisco 49ers tight ends coach as the next offensive coordinator. Tristan, obviously we're going to learn that learn a lot about this guy, especially as we hear him in press conferences.
00:18:56
M dub
What stands out to me though, really interesting background where He's been split between coaching defenses, coaching offenses, and even had some time doing analytics up in the booth with the Miami Dolphins.
00:19:10
M dub
And this is another situation where Mike McDonald is not just... relying on his personal network. He's growing the network every chance he gets. This is somebody, um Sam Darnold would have been in the same building as him for one year, but this is somebody without a very obvious connection really to anybody on the Seattle staff.
00:19:31
Tristan Amundson
It's no, man, it is crazy how quickly the this the NFL moves. It always reminds me um moments like this remind me of the one of the opening scenes in the movie Elf when Santa's done delivering presents. He gets back to the North Pole.
00:19:48
Tristan Amundson
They're all celebrating with their eggnog. And he raises a glass and he says, here is to another great Christmas. And everyone says, yay. And then he says, and now we can start preparations for next Christmas. And, you know, the elves are super happy about that because they're a hardworking bunch and they're just off to the races. And it's just so funny. It's like you've you have ascended Everest. You've done everything you want.
00:20:14
Tristan Amundson
And on your way back down, you are already making plans for how you're going to, you know, do the next mountain and you're not even giving yourself a moment even to enjoy it or or maybe just a moment, right? Maybe, maybe that's all John and and Mike need. They can just hit right back to it. Looking forward to learning more about Brian. I did also notice that our quarterbacks coach was taken by Clint Kubiak as his new quarterback.
00:20:43
Tristan Amundson
o c So it'll be interesting to see over the next couple of days um if there's any other movement in our coaching staff. i'm I'm really, really crossing my fingers that we hold on to most of our offensive line coaches and and the the run game coordinators and those kind of folks. Don't know how that's all working out. You might know. I don't know yet how that's all been working out as far as if Clint's going to take anybody else. But im really hoping that That was such a breath of fresh air. I'm hoping we can have some continuity from that side of the coaching staff, but but pretty incredible to to see all this come together so fast.
00:21:22
M dub
Yeah, I haven't seen news that anybody else has left just yet. I think we have seen a little bit further down on the coaching depth chart, if you will. There are two people that Mike McDonald has brought over from the Ravens, which is pretty interesting that his time with the Ravens seems more and more like a lifetime ago, but I guess still had those connections and and people he was interested in bringing over.
00:21:46
M dub
Yeah. It's had to, it had to be a weird week just with a lot, or I'm just kind of curious actually of, you know, if there is this much continuity, that's a group of 10 or 12 offensive coaches.
00:21:58
M dub
And a lot of them, you know, did interviews for this role and they bring somebody in from the outside, somebody who's just kind of, he's jumping in as the as the train conductor and he, and he's never been on this train before. And these guys have, sorry, I took the train there and back. So thinking about trains and, um,
00:22:16
M dub
you know and And the rest of the crew's been been rolling with with as a unit ah to the top of the Super Bowl. And and Brian Flory's just coming in pretty fresh.
00:22:25
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, no, he is. um yeah so it it it is. It's fascinating. And it's also fascinating kind of this whole... um coaches going to different teams and yeah, I'm not going use the word poach. Cause I don't, I don't even think it's applicable here. But, but coaches, you know, bringing coaches with you, obviously Mike didn't bring a lot with him when he came over from the Ravens. And it's interesting now seeing John Harbaugh is not with the Ravens kind of those guys now maybe quote unquote available. I wonder if there's kind of a gentleman's agreement sometimes when it comes to these kinds of coaching hires where it's like,
00:23:04
Tristan Amundson
Hey, man, you know, I'm going to go and have my dream job. And, you know, kind of as a courtesy, I'm not going to take a bunch of people with me. Or or maybe you can't because maybe they're not interested. I'm i'm not quite sure how that all works. But um I thought that was interesting. And the reason I bring it up is when Mike was being interviewed by Brock and Salk, they asked him about that. Like, hey, do you expect a lot of people to go with Clint?
00:23:27
Tristan Amundson
And they kind of asked him if there's an unwritten rule. And he, he basically, he dodged the question, but he said something interesting. He was like, I think I see a path here where he's like, Clint and I have talked like we're on the same page. And I think there's a path where everybody can win, where like, it can be a good deal for everybody, for the Seahawks and for, um, the the Raiders and, you know, for Mike and for Clint and the different staffs. And I i kind of wonder if we're we're starting to see that play out like, okay, you know, take this guy, don't touch these guys.
00:24:00
Tristan Amundson
i just wonder if there's a gentleman's agreement somewhat with, with these coaches that are so close and obviously work together every day for, um you know, months on end. And, and if we're kind of even seeing the, the echo of that with, know,
00:24:16
Tristan Amundson
some of these Ravens coaches now coming over to Mike's staff.
00:24:22
M dub
It's got to be a weird world, man. These these guys, i mean, this is like the the Raiders will be Clint's sixth team in six years. he He's had six consecutive one-year stints. it's And then it's just a lot of people moving around, and and they do it all in just a few weeks in January and February every year. It's got to be wild.
00:24:45
M dub
It's got to be really wild.
00:24:46
Tristan Amundson
It really does. No, it really does. Hey, I um i know we want to get to to our reward show. We want to get to to the Hockeys. I guess, is this our third installment, Miles, of the Hockeys? Is that correct? Have we done this three years in a row? I think so. um Before we do that,
00:25:04
Tristan Amundson
i if you can um just humor me a little bit, can we go back to the Superbowl just for a second? I know, i know we've, we've put the hay in the barn. That's all done, but I do kind of want to talk about,
00:25:19
Tristan Amundson
something that that I've just been thinking about as I've rewatched the game and as I've just continued to chew on this idea. um And by the way, this is not sour grapes at all, but this idea of Rabel getting coach of the year and um McDaniel getting offensive coordinator of the year.
00:25:41
Tristan Amundson
And I just keep going back to this idea um, I mean, they got their clock cleaned by the Seahawks. And not only their clock cleaned, like the offensive coordinator of the year had the MVP runner up as his quarterback, and they had zero answers for the Seahawks. It was, I mean, as anyone that is not a Seahawks fan will tell you, it was an unentertaining game because the Seahawks dominated that hard.
00:26:11
Tristan Amundson
I just, and I don't even know what I want to talk about with this, Miles. I guess I just kind of want to talk about how awkward that must be if you are Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels.
00:26:19
M dub
Thank you.
00:26:21
Tristan Amundson
you You win these prestigious awards because you're such great coaches. And I know they they are good coaches. and I'm not saying they're not. But man, what a weird timing to like you win this award and then you just absolutely get decimated on the biggest stage.
00:26:39
Tristan Amundson
That might be all I have to say about it. don't know. do you Do you have any thoughts on on just how weird that is?
00:26:45
M dub
It is a very weird moment. there what There is, on one of the NFL's YouTube channels, they've put out 45 or 50-minute mic'd-up segment ah just from the Super Bowl.
00:26:56
M dub
Both teams, a lot of guys wearing microphones on both sides. And I will say, Tristan, I haven't even watched this whole thing. I'm talking about a YouTube video I've watched half of. But I think the themes...
00:27:08
M dub
If we're looking at everybody as a literary character, the themes in this video are established really strongly from the start. And I'm pretty confident that if you were to find somebody who had not heard of the result of this Super Bowl or seen how it ended,
00:27:25
M dub
and you just showed them the footage of of players on the sidelines, not in the middle of the game, if you cut out all the plays and just how these two teams were talking amongst each other on the sidelines, I think just about everybody would be able to see, would would guess that the Seahawks won this game in in pretty dominant fashion.
00:27:47
M dub
This is a group that is just way more together and unified and communicating with each other and supporting each other than i could have even imagined. And in the meantime, on the Patriots side, it felt to me like Mike Vrabel was... This was the feeling of it, and I wonder if he felt the same feeling.
00:28:07
M dub
The feeling was Mike Vrabel had been roped in to coach his 13-year-old son's team, and things were going really badly, and he was just trying to find a way to to make sure that everybody wasn't having a terrible day and just kind of came out of the experience with egos intact.
Hockeys Awards Ceremony
00:28:27
M dub
That's probably a good thing to do if you're coaching a 13-year-old Suns team. But this is a Super Bowl, man. And there's there's just air of this desperation and and just kind of not really – I don't know, just an air of desperation out there. And like, boy, this is a long day out here. i don't know. Does that resonate with you?
00:28:44
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, I mean, you you watch that mic'd up and it is incredible, the attitude and and just kind of the obvious um slanting, tilting of the field that was happening between the two teams and...
00:29:00
Tristan Amundson
the the The preparation, whatever it was, man, it was obvious to see that there was there were two very different vibes. And one was definitely the vibe of the aggressor. And, you know, we're we are ready for this. We are, I think, overprepared miles. I mean, think about times in college. I i can think of a couple of tests that I walked in and I was overprepared.
00:29:24
Tristan Amundson
And I remember. just the feeling of being overprepared for a test when you're just cruising through it, right?
00:29:26
M dub
you
00:29:31
Tristan Amundson
I mean, you know every answer because you just, you know it, you've you've done the work and it makes the test so incredibly easy. And um i remember getting that score and I remember getting 98 on that test.
00:29:45
Tristan Amundson
I'm thinking of one specifically in college. And then I looked and the one the one answer I got wrong, i remember kind of being like, oh yeah, that's, yeah Okay, fair enough. You got me on that one. But I might even disagree with that answer a little bit. I, you know, philosophically, I think I was thinking something different. um It was, you know, one of those tests where you just you know, it cold and that it feels like this is one of those tests that the Seahawks came in with such insane over preparedness. that they were just going to nail it.
00:30:15
Tristan Amundson
um If we're going to talk about the mic'd up, I have to share with you my favorite moment of that mic'd up. It's the first play, Gray Zabel blocking um the the big defensive tackle, I believe Williams, on the ah on the New England side. And he pancakes him. he The guy, he has him.
00:30:34
Tristan Amundson
um I think the guy kind of trips over Charles Cross, but either way, the dude's on the ground. Gray Zabel's on top of him. And obviously, you know, K-9 ran for that 10 yard, um you know, to the left side to open it up.
00:30:47
Tristan Amundson
And they're running back to the line of scrimmage. And Gray Zabel looks at this man. After the first play of the game and he says to him, I am ready to die today.
00:30:58
Tristan Amundson
And I just think I think it's one of the greatest things I've ever heard um a player say on the field. I'm ready to die today. That was Grace Abel's mindset. And that was just it's incredible. I think it speaks to the locked in nature that you're talking about.
00:31:16
M dub
and It is an um it's an unbelievable quote. And i think it shows that as part of the Seahawks being so prepared, they were always prepared to play a full 60 minutes of football at their edge throughout this playoffs. And it sounds simple enough. It it sounds like what you should what every NFL playoff team should do.
00:31:37
M dub
But I think we saw a lot of examples throughout this postseason. Obviously, none of them from the Seahawks. But I think we saw a lot of examples of teams not being willing or ready or able to do it. And I think by Grace Abel saying that, he's kind of letting you know that like, yeah, this is going to be, this this is a long battle here. And i'm I'm here for the whole thing. I love it. And I do want to say the Patriots getting so dejected and stuff.
00:32:06
M dub
These are moments when the game was like 6-0, The flow had definitely been going Seattle's way, but the scoreboard was not really out of control you know at any point.
00:32:20
M dub
The Patriots' attitude really got out of control way before the scoreboard did.
00:32:25
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, no, agreed. Agreed. um It was a molly whopping. I mean, I don't know if there's and another word. Can you give me another word in the English language that describes what happened better than than that, Miles?
00:32:38
M dub
I don't think so.
00:32:39
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, no, I that's I went to UCLA this week and I went to their English department.
00:32:39
M dub
I think that's it.
00:32:45
Tristan Amundson
I spoke to their top dog and that was the best word he could give me. So, um yeah, I think it's I think it's correct. um Should we should we give out some awards or I don't want to jump the gun here. Anything we want to hit before the awards or or should we start handing out some trophies?
00:33:01
M dub
I think it's time. you were right. This is the third consecutive hockey. As always, this is not about the sport with a puck on ice. it It's H-A-W-K-I-E-S. And Tristan, your tuxedo looks better and better each year that we do this.
00:33:18
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, I after Christmas, I started to cut the carbs a little bit and um i you know, I just barely was able to get the cummerbund around. It's it's acting somewhat as a corset as well, but that's fine. Everything's in place. I'm feeling good. You're looking excellent as well. I love your top hat.
00:33:37
Tristan Amundson
um I think that was ah an interesting and courageous decision, and I think it was the right one. You look great. um Who's going to start? Who starts us off with Hawk of the Year? Do you want to start do you want me to?
00:33:50
M dub
Sure, let's give it. And folks, so we got seven categories here for the Hockeys. And um unlike other award shows, there are going to be ah two awards handed out at once. As always with the Hockeys, Tristan and I have composed our private ballots.
00:34:05
M dub
we We do not know what the other one's going to say. And let's get started with Hawk of the Year. I'll go first on this one. Tristan will alternate. I did not overthink this one. I went with a young wide receiver named Jackson Smith in Jigba.
00:34:21
M dub
The final regular season tally, 119 catches, 1,793 yards. It was the eighth most in any regular season. Tristan, add the playoffs on top of that.
00:34:33
M dub
It is the third most yards all time between the regular season and playoffs, 1,992. one thousand nine hundred and ninety two
00:34:42
Tristan Amundson
incredible, obviously the right choice. obviously I mean, that was beautiful. I have a different Hawk of the year, um which I hope, I hope happens often during the award ceremony.
00:34:50
M dub
Whoa.
00:34:53
M dub
Yeah.
00:34:54
Tristan Amundson
It makes it, yeah, it makes it way more fun.
00:34:54
M dub
That's the hockey's.
00:34:56
Tristan Amundson
um And I love the fact that you're 100% right. i mean, Jackson Smith and Jigba had one of the most special, um, years you could ever have as a wide receiver. Um, I would like to say this, and I would love for this to become viral miles. Um, I, I would love for this to take fire.
00:35:17
Tristan Amundson
Um, I don't know if you saw that when he won offensive player of the year and I, I'm happy to say, I have no idea what this guy's name is, but this, this influencer dude that I see a lot on T-Mobile commercials, um, he,
00:35:30
Tristan Amundson
purposely um saying his name wrong so he could have a moment and and so he could, you know, kind of get a little bit more clickbait, which I think is one of the the saddest um things I could ever imagine.
00:35:43
Tristan Amundson
i just, i would like to to say this to anyone listening. And I would like, if you're listening, i would like you to say this to somebody in the Seahawks community, in the Northwest specifically.
00:35:55
Tristan Amundson
The only way you get people to stop doing dumb things like this Everything in our society now is about money. It's all about sponsorships. Let me tell you what would happen real quick in in his attitude adjustment is if, and listen, I could care less what wireless provider you're with, but if you live in the Northwest and you call T-Mobile and you say, I'm canceling today, and here's exactly why, um i think would be unbelievable if if half a million people canceled T-Mobile today. and said, oh, I will go to any other carrier.
00:36:28
Tristan Amundson
um But you know, you messed with our guy and like, that's the only way these things can be communicated because all these companies care about is money. So um that that is my appeal to all of um all the Seahawks listening and anyone anyone willing to talk to your friends. If you're on T-Mobile,
00:36:48
Tristan Amundson
switch switch to another and let them know why you're switching um i would love it if um we force this guy into an apology and t-mobile into apology i think the mariners should get involved honestly um i think it's a bad look for for the northwest in general and it's a bad look for t-mobile um i think it's a ah travesty so all that to say the soapbox over Unbelievable pick. Jackson Smith and Jigba. It's not that hard of for a name to say.
00:37:17
Tristan Amundson
and I can't imagine how you wouldn't know how to say his name because the guy had one of the greatest years of all time.
00:37:26
M dub
With that being said, it sounds like you you have a different Hawk of the Year.
00:37:29
Tristan Amundson
I do. And it's the guy that was thrown into Jackson all year. i had to go with Sam Darnold because this whole thing just doesn't work without a man. um This whole thing does not work without Sam and his maturation this year and his maturation throughout throughout his career. um And i I want to give him a special shout out because I don't think the story of Sam Darnold is a story of I Or, you know, can he do it? The story of Sam Darnold is a great athlete that was in a learning process and and had an incredible year and learned a lot and became a better quarterback than he's ever been.
00:38:10
M dub
Thank you.
00:38:10
Tristan Amundson
um He is better than he's ever been. i am proud to say that Sam Darnold is the quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks. um I'd be remiss if I didn't say at the beginning of the year, that's not what I thought. I was very curious to see if we'd get a little more Jalen Milrow throughout the year, but I have no problem standing shoulder to shoulder with Ernest Jones and saying, that's my quarterback. You know, don't mess with my guy.
00:38:38
Tristan Amundson
He's unbelievable. I'm proud he's our quarterback, and I can't wait to see him perform next year. So I got to give it to Sam because I think that ultimately he's the guy that stirs the drink. And and I think it's just an incredibly ah great story of perseverance and and a great story of knowing who you are.
00:38:56
Tristan Amundson
And I think that's Sam Darnold in a nutshell. So I got to give it to Sam.
00:39:01
M dub
It's a great choice. And this award, Hawk of the Year, it it it does seem a little bit silly this year because um to to use to use the proverb that Phil Jackson said a lot in the NBA, the strength of the pack is the wolf and the wolf is the strength of the pack.
00:39:19
M dub
this This was a team all the way down the roster and it it is a little hard just to single out one guy. And yeah, that's what was so thrilling about this team is is it went 70
00:39:31
Tristan Amundson
Absolutely. Yeah, no, 70 deep for sure. um So let me get to mine. If we're going alternating, this is kind of a fun deal. um The next hockey's goes to the most improved Hawk and I'm going to give it to a guy that I've been talking about all year.
00:39:47
Tristan Amundson
um You already know who it is probably because I just said that and he's, he's one of my favorite Seahawks. um But here's why I think it needs to go to this individual miles.
00:39:59
Tristan Amundson
the Everything that they were doing on defense was really predicated on this guy living up to his potential and being able to be locked in as one of our major contributors game in and game out.
00:40:15
Tristan Amundson
um And it doesn't work without him. and and And frankly, the ripple effects of this guy's success means that the Witherspoon pick was the correct pick. It means that Eamon Rory can actually do his job at the at at the highest level. It means that everything else comes together. It's none other than Byron Murphy. You know, he's my guy. He's my favorite Seahawk and um was just so thrilled going into the season.
00:40:46
Tristan Amundson
Going into his year two season, we knew how important it was for Byron Murphy to take the step from year one to year two. Year one really was was pretty lackluster, if we're being honest. And year two was was absolutely unbelievable. He was a rock in the center of this defense.
00:41:06
Tristan Amundson
He was the perfect running mate with Big Cat. The two of them together created something so special in the middle of this incredible defensive line. um His ascension from year one to year two, you know, the Pete Carrollism, right? That's the biggest the biggest growth opportunity for any player is the growth from year one to year two.
00:41:30
Tristan Amundson
And Byron Murphy just grabbed every ounce of that growth.
00:41:36
M dub
Tristan, I'm delighted to say that Byron Murphy was also my most improved Hawk. I think the numbers were pretty undeniable. I think he is. i Most of you talk about him here on our show, but I really also do think he, at this point, is one of the most underrated players in the NFL. The Seahawks.
00:41:55
M dub
Turned off the run game for pretty much every opponent and they faced in the entire season. And Byron Murphy was a huge part of that. Let me give you some stats, some categories in the jump from year one to year two. They are astonishing.
00:42:12
M dub
Sacks. We go from one half of a sack the entire rookie year. Up to seven this year. Tackles, we moved from 36 to 62. Tackles for loss, we moved from two to seven.
00:42:24
M dub
Quarterback hits, we moved from just one all of last year up to 13. The growth was really incredible and really close to an all-pro level player at the position.
00:42:35
Tristan Amundson
It does. And that doesn't even account for maybe what he does best, which is take on double teams and just absolutely destroy the other running game, right? Being able to hold the point of attack like I've never seen anyone else do. um It's his strength, his leverage, putting that knee down on the ground and just taking on two men and, you know, 600 pounds of force. And he just says, you shall not pass. But, you it just, listen, ah you you got to cut me off, Miles. Cut me off because I will, you know, I'll just keep talking about B-Murph all day. um and And by the way, he had a great smile during the parade. So, um yeah, shout out to B-Murph.
00:43:20
M dub
Let's move on to the next hockey. Tristan, it's the game of the year. We have to give this award to a concept of a game. it it is hard to deliver the trophy, but we do make it work. Tristan, I went with the NFC Championship game. I know a lot of people.
00:43:35
M dub
I just think um we might be discussing the Week 16 matchup against the Rams as well. But in my opinion... As thrilling as that week 16 game was, it really doesn't look like much if the Seahawks don't get the deal done in the NFC championship game. 31 27 over the Rams. Sam went yards for three touchdowns. Tristan, people were talking before this game.
00:44:06
M dub
Just a few weeks ago, but before this game. Can Sam Darnold win the big one? Yes, he can. i know the discussion was that it kind of felt like that was the real Super Bowl, and I didn't believe it at the time. But now that I actually did see the Super Bowl, I actually think that was right. This was the real Super Bowl.
00:44:24
M dub
It was ah the home field advantage at Lumen. And it took everything. We we discussed it. This game was 0-100 immediately. And it was so action-packed that the referee had to tell everybody the game was over. The clock just didn't run out like normal.
00:44:42
M dub
This game went almost beyond the limits of 60 minutes. and NFC Championship game for me, game of the year. What say you?
00:44:50
Tristan Amundson
Well, first of all, let me just give you kudos because that's an unbelievable game. And if I'm talking just pure most entertainment beside myself, one of the best experiences of my life um from ah just from a football perspective, I should give that a massive caveat.
00:45:09
Tristan Amundson
um Unbelievable. It was great. I picked a different game, Miles. um I picked a different game. Now, this is kind of classic radio guy because um it's a bit counterintuitive. But the more I thought about it and the more I thought about the game of the year,
00:45:26
Tristan Amundson
My brain couldn't get away from the concept of what what would be the most important game of the year, the game that churned the tide for the Seahawks team. This is going to be shocking, maybe a bit counterintuitive for sure.
00:45:42
Tristan Amundson
I'm going to actually pick week 10, the first matchup versus the Rams, the game we lost. um It was a tough game for Sam. He threw four interceptions.
00:45:54
Tristan Amundson
And yet, and yet, we almost won that game, if not for the greatest coffin corner kick we've ever seen.
00:45:55
M dub
you
00:46:03
Tristan Amundson
It was the game that told us Holy smokes, that this could be an insane matchup. well Is it possible? Could game two live up to how good of a game game one was?
00:46:16
Tristan Amundson
And as we all know, game two did. It was an even better game. And then to your point, the thing that never happens in the NFL, the NFC championship game was even better. It's like these games just kept getting better and better and better.
00:46:29
Tristan Amundson
But I think that that first matchup versus the Rams was incredibly important because I think that's the game where Sam became who he had to become for us as a quarterback. Meaning this, I think Sam learned in that game, number one, i don't need to light it up.
00:46:48
Tristan Amundson
i i don't need to force anything this team is that good this defense is that good look at this we almost won the game i can drive the ball down the field i have the capability to do it that final drive when we got the ball literally at our one yard line and we were in field goal position shows you okay i can drive the ball down the field in the craziest moments so So check, I don't need to light it up if that's not what the game calls for. I can, but I don't need to.
00:47:20
Tristan Amundson
Number two, that was the game, in my opinion, as an outsider, when it seems like this team really came together, it was the first bit of adversity that this team really got hit with.
00:47:32
Tristan Amundson
And the way they responded is exactly the way they responded in the Superbowl and every other big game. These guys just came together. I think this, this was the game that showed the DNA of the Seahawks. It showed really the family mentality that was so obvious in, in the, in the Superbowl.
00:47:52
Tristan Amundson
And then lastly, and man, it's just I love that he just keeps going with it. This was the day that Ernest Jones made his love affair with Sam Darnold completely public.
00:48:02
Tristan Amundson
And it's just so freaking cool. It's so incredible. um Just the the love and respect. It was another thing, by the way, during the mic'd up that I loved was Ernest just pacing on the sidelines, talking about like, that's my quarterback. Don't hate it on my quarterback. and And just, I don't know, like there's something so cool about Ernest Jones and his vibe and um and the way that he came out after this game and said, this is this is my guy.
00:48:30
Tristan Amundson
Like he threw four interceptions. Screw all of you. This is my guy. And I think you could feel what that meant to Sam and what it meant to this whole team. When a guy like Ernest Jones steps up and says, I don't care what anyone's saying.
00:48:45
Tristan Amundson
This is the truth and we're good. um So, yeah, to me, that was such a a fulcrum. It was such a pivot point of the season. um I'm going even though it was a loss, I'm going to look at that game and I'm going to see it for what I think it represented.
00:49:01
M dub
Tristan, I'm sitting here with a gigantic smile on my face. i I actually think you've picked the correct answer, and it wasn't something i was considering at all. I think you've laid the case out perfectly.
00:49:12
M dub
i have thought we don't give out a hockey for the moment of the year, but I'm so glad you talked about that Ernest Jones press conference because in my mind, i do think that is the moment of the year.
00:49:24
M dub
You got to think from Ernest's perspective, this was a really tough loss, kind of the embarrassing four interception nature of the loss against the team that traded him away about 16 months earlier.
00:49:36
M dub
And he he didn't have to use that moment to to really plant a flag in the sand. But he did. It's not something. There's lots of great teammates in the NFL. This was the maybe the greatest act of teammateship I've ever seen. he he turned a nothing moment, a press conference with a linebacker after a loss. He turned that into a real, so something real, something meaningful. And I saw somebody point out that was the last time the Seahawks lost a game.
00:50:08
M dub
He plants that flag in the sand and nobody beat them after that, which is pretty wild.
00:50:14
Tristan Amundson
It is wild. Yeah, no, it was, it was a great game. Um, I think for, for the mentality and, um, yeah, a revealing game. So thank you. Um, I think you also chose correctly. I mean, listen, there's, and I was looking at all the different games. There's so many different interesting moments to choose from.
00:50:32
Tristan Amundson
um but yeah, I think we, we learned a lot, um, We learned a lot in that one. I'm now I've completely lost track. Who's next? Who who is given the first award next miles? I've completely.
00:50:44
Tristan Amundson
and Now I'm just thinking about Ernest Jones and he's got me so jacked up right now. I'm i'm completely beside myself.
00:50:51
M dub
Next hockey is play of the year. i will let you know, Tristan, I thought more about this one than all of the other hockeys combined, but you lead us off with play of the year.
00:51:01
Tristan Amundson
Okay, play of the year. um i have to go with the last regular season. I mean, these Rams games are unbelievable, Miles. And I have to go with Rasheed Shahid's punt return for a touchdown.
00:51:17
Tristan Amundson
That last regular season game, that that the moment in that game when the tide turned and it happened with Rasheed and and it it really kind of sparked...
00:51:29
Tristan Amundson
this understanding of what a weapon he was we already knew he was a massive weapon and it just it to me it was his absolute signature moment of the entire season it completely changed the vibe of that game it blew it up it suddenly you could see a path to victory because we scored in you know what whatever I should know. I should know how many seconds, but let's call it four seconds. I have no idea. The guy ran so fast and it was so electric and you just, you felt the energy and then it just started falling apart on the Rams. So I got to give it to, uh, I got to give it to Rashid and hoping we can keep him next year.
00:52:14
M dub
That's a great one. And just, just the Rams were up 30 to 14 with eight minutes and 30 seconds left on the clock. When he rips that off. I mean, It was a steep mountain at that point. And yes, an electric play.
00:52:28
M dub
Tristan, funny enough, my choice. i have I have my head choice and my heart choice. I hope that's okay. But the the real one goes to the head. Logically, what what I think I know is the play of the year.
00:52:41
M dub
Tristan, it's also Rashid Shahid. I'm going the very first time. The ball is in motion in the playoffs for the Seahawks. The Niners kick it off. And sure enough, so many seconds later, Rashid Shahid is in there for a touchdown.
00:52:56
M dub
As I mentioned earlier, Tristan, this this was this was a playoffs about mentality for me. we We saw, I saw her a lot of players lose games because I think they didn't have the full 60-minute mentality And believe it or not, i mean we just went to the Super Bowl parade. and It's really established now that the Seahawks are a ah together, a unified, a fun, a deep team.
00:53:21
M dub
Beginning of January, it was they were kind of considered a one a one seed on the weak side. And we didn't really know how it would go.
Key Players and Future Prospects
00:53:28
M dub
So week 18, they play the Niners really well. Scoreboard doesn't quite show it, 13-3.
00:53:35
M dub
Seahawks have a bye week. Niners, how they defeat the defending Super Bowl champions in Philadelphia. That was a brave game with all their injuries. We knew the Niners were injured coming in.
00:53:46
M dub
Didn't exactly know how it would go. And to me, I think that play set the tone for the rest of the playoffs that if this clock is moving, it it doesn't matter what part in the game, if it's a part of the game where people are getting chips and drinks from their kitchen at home, the Seahawks are giving it 100%. You can't, you can't,
00:54:05
M dub
you you can't you can't Gain yards and special teams off of them. They are fighting for every single edge and you have to play them the entire time or they're going to score on you. And I mean, looking back at it, the the game was over, right? I mean, it was over right there. Seahawks won that 41 to six and already had seven points just a few seconds into it.
00:54:28
Tristan Amundson
It was incredible. It set the stage for sure. it definitely allowed you just to sit back and enjoy that game. And it it really gave the confidence and also the roar of the crowd. Right. I mean, you can. That's one of those moments you wish you could have been there for, because i can't imagine how insane uh, Lumen field got in that moment, miles.
00:54:50
Tristan Amundson
It's, it's a great choice. It's an absolutely great choice. I feel like what I'm about to do is a little tacky, but I'm going to go back to mine really quickly. Cause one thing is you were talking that occurred to me, um, for my play of the game, right after that Rams, uh, after that, um, uh, that, that return, what happened?
00:55:08
Tristan Amundson
What did the Rams do the next day? They fired their special teams coordinator.
00:55:12
M dub
Yeah.
00:55:13
Tristan Amundson
Not every day does a play result in the firing of another man. And the play of the game for me was so good that resulted in, in, in a man being fired, which I, i don't, I don't take lightly, you know, someone's livelihood is very important.
00:55:28
Tristan Amundson
um But I love that both of us picked Rashid. He he's so electric. Hopefully we can keep him.
00:55:35
M dub
Tristan, I did mention that was the play that my head knew was the most important play. Can I tell you about the play that moved my heart the most? And it's something we broke down at the time, but it's really kind of washed away in the middle of the regular season.
00:55:43
Tristan Amundson
Oh.
00:55:48
M dub
But I'll let you know, I can't stop thinking. We haven't talked about it for months. I can't stop thinking about this. Let me take you back to week 12. The Seahawks are in Nashville, Tennessee.
00:55:59
M dub
And we have, for one game, the one game, we have Patrick O'Connell, starting as linebacker. Titans start off the game with a really surprising now, a surprisingly really long drive to get into the red zone.
00:56:15
M dub
It's third and goal. Cam Ward, incredible quarterback, really fast quarterback, scrambling around. Pat O'Connell is everywhere in coverage. Then he closes in. It's technically a sack. It's it's kind of like a run. It looks a little more like a tackle.
00:56:29
M dub
but it technically goes down as a sack, forces a field goal. It ends up being really important. Somehow the Seahawks only won that game thirty to twenty four but at the time i was really moved by Patrick O'Connell's journey from his home in Montana through starting at a Division II college to suddenly making a monster play on on the number one overall pick in the draft.
00:56:53
M dub
But as I've thought about it more, I really think you know there's There's a lot of NFL coaches that get off to really good starts with with one group of players. But to be one of the legends of coaching, you have to be able to evolve from the same team.
00:57:09
M dub
You don't end a legendary coaching career with anything close to the same group of players that you started with. And to me, that was the most promising sign that Mike McDonald is building a program.
00:57:23
M dub
And... All year, we saw so many guys from the practice squad fill in with absolutely stellar moments. And that's the one that gets me.
00:57:33
M dub
i don't even know if you remember it or not, but but that was, that to me really felt like the Seahawks were building something special.
00:57:41
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, I mean, it goes back to that um ready squad mentality that you talked about a lot this year. It goes back to being 71, 72, whatever the final number is deep. So no, I think it's it's absolutely great.
00:57:58
M dub
but Speaking of which, Tristan, moving on to our next hockey, the McDonald Nugget of the Year. i don't have a specific quote as much as I do have one of his things that he repeats over and over to the point that I think it really does matter. And that is referring to his practice squad as the ready squad.
00:58:16
M dub
It really is a big deal. Tristan, I took a look back at week one, that loss against the San Francisco 49ers. In a way, it doesn't feel that long ago. But there were a lot of players who were ended up being really important to the Seahawks, who we hadn't seen yet.
00:58:32
M dub
And they didn't even really play in this game. I got Drake Thomas with only 15 snaps. Ty Okada with only six snaps. Eric Saubert with only nine snaps. Saubert would play over 30 snaps in the Super Bowl on ah offense.
00:58:45
M dub
The team was still figuring itself out. And over the entire year, they really got some totally stellar performances from from guys without a lot of total snap counts on the year. And I have to credit Coach Mack for that. It was not an accident.
00:59:01
Tristan Amundson
Absolutely. No, I mean, listen, it's a great one. i was thinking through a lot of his as well. Ready Squad is incredibly important. MOB, I think, is unbelievably important. 12 is one, I think, is really important, too. ah what i and i kind of same thing. I don't have a specific...
00:59:22
Tristan Amundson
quote from Mike, but I have a philosophy or a thought from Mike, which is this idea that everyone needs to improve. Everyone needs to be improving.
00:59:33
Tristan Amundson
And the fact that he shared with the team at the beginning of the year, I want to get better at public speaking. I want to get better at at this aspect of my job.
00:59:45
Tristan Amundson
And I think it made a really big impact on the team. I think that um his vulnerability, he set the tone, right, for vulnerability. It takes a leader to be vulnerable for the for the rest of the team to know they can also do that.
00:59:59
Tristan Amundson
um And I think he kind of set the tone, not only with vulnerability, but with kind of an egoless statement. Hey, this is something that I don't think I'm that great at, but But I know I can get better at it. So I'm going I'm going to work on it. I'm going to work on that this aspect of my game this year.
01:00:16
Tristan Amundson
And you kind of give permission to the rest of your team. What do you want to work on? um So I know it's not a specific quote, but I know it's something that he said to the team. And and I think it was really important.
01:00:29
M dub
I agree. And it's all up and down, especially in January where it really mattered. I think in in a way, the real Hawk of the year was Mike McDonald. I mean, it's been an absolutely, it's been pretty flawless how it's gone. it It's yeah. Just how, how together the team is, how they lead each other.
01:00:49
M dub
there's There's a lot of leadership stuff going on that ah he's just got it. He's just got it. Even though, you know, he wasn't a head coach before ever.
01:00:57
Tristan Amundson
We are insanely lucky to have Mike. We are insanely lucky to have Mike. The next one that we have is shout out a Hawk. um So the Hawk that I'm going to shout out is a guy that I've already talked about. I think he's incredibly important to this team. um Not only with his play on the field, but with his influence around the team.
01:01:20
Tristan Amundson
And that's Ernest Jones. I don't think that this thing works without him. Um, Ernest Jones, from a leadership perspective, we talked about the way that he stood up for Sam and and just had his back, had his quarterbacks back, not in a fake way, but in just this incredible, um, incredibly thoughtful way.
01:01:40
Tristan Amundson
ah He's the guy I feel like I have to shout out. It's so incredible having Ernest on this team. Obviously, last year when he was brought on, there was a big difference in linebacker play.
01:01:51
Tristan Amundson
um He continued to have a really good year this year, had tons of interceptions, what, six or seven on the season, um just absolutely dominated his position.
01:02:02
Tristan Amundson
But then he took it a step further.
01:02:03
M dub
Thank you.
01:02:04
Tristan Amundson
He could have done everything he did on the field and he would not get this award from me. He gets he gets the shout out because he did everything on the field, which was elite.
01:02:15
Tristan Amundson
It was excellent. And then he took it a step further from a leadership perspective. I do just have to say this. I wonder if. Sean McVay is an unbelievable coach. He's really good at what he does.
01:02:28
Tristan Amundson
I wonder if Sean is so intelligent when it comes to X's and O's that he misses these things because I'm flabbergasted from a leadership perspective and from a direction of a team perspective that he let Ernest Jones and Cooper Cup out the door. I i wonder if maybe that's Sean's kryptonite somewhat because Listen, I don't even know what to say. I assume if Sean was here, he would agree with me that it was a real bonehead move.
01:02:59
Tristan Amundson
um This guy is super special beyond his play on the field. It's not just about what someone can do for me on the field. um These are real people playing a tough game and they have to be able to do it together.
01:03:13
Tristan Amundson
And there's there's I don't think anyone that exemplifies that more than Ernest.
01:03:19
M dub
I love that take. That's very interesting. I hadn't thought about that. I took a quick look at what Ernest has done on the field. Two Super Bowls with two different teams. The man just turned 26 years old.
01:03:33
M dub
right
01:03:34
Tristan Amundson
Still young. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:03:35
M dub
That press conference we were talking about in November. i mean, there there's got to be less than 10 linebackers who've done that as a starter. I mean, I don't know, but. That's got to be a pretty rare thing.
01:03:47
M dub
I think that's a great choice. And I and i think you're right. he's He's bringing everything on the field and off the field. Tristan, to shout out to Hawk, I didn't necessarily go with one of the leaders on the team, but one of the guys who came from absolutely out of nowhere to play all the time and at a really high level. I'm going with safety, Tai Okada.
01:04:11
M dub
I kind of recognize him from the previous two seasons. You might see him on a special team snap. Defense and special teams combined, Tristan, heading into this year, he had 94 career snaps. So he'd been in the Seahawks building since 2023, but that's barely playing at all.
01:04:29
M dub
He gets called into duty with Julian Love injured so much this season. He ends up playing 66% of the defensive snaps across the entire regular season.
01:04:39
M dub
And with all these great defenders on the team, he is fifth on the defensive unit in total tackles. And so this guy went from not really having any NFL experience whatsoever to being a starter on the Super Bowl winning defense and playing all the time with Kobe Bryant and Julian Love healthy for the playoffs. He didn't play that much during the playoffs, but it was He had 11 starts in the regular season.
01:05:10
M dub
And when it that first start, you felt nervous. You didn't know what you were getting. I think it was the Saints game in in late September was his first start. You just had no idea what it was going to be.
01:05:21
M dub
You know it's an undrafted guy, and and that's all that you know. And then by the end of the year, I'm going with Okada and Love starting together. They started, i think, the last two regular season games.
01:05:33
M dub
And opposing offenses had, there it was an average of like 90 passing yards for the opposing offense in those two games. Seems like a really great guy. Ty Okada made a career for himself in the NFL this year.
01:05:46
M dub
And know was because he was working hard at it in all the years previous.
01:05:49
Tristan Amundson
It's a great shout out, man. um And he's he's, again, I know the kind of player that's near and dear to your heart, which is kind of the unsung guy, the guy who came in and was able to fill a gap and and and play a massive role for us and really played right. Like he he stepped in when we needed help when Julian was out. He stepped in when we needed help when Kobe was out. um It's just kind of incredible, even the versatility of the guy.
01:06:15
Tristan Amundson
Um, and you were probably not telling the same story, right. Without him as a part of this team. And it, it just, again, it speaks to the team first mentality and, and all these guys working together.
01:06:28
Tristan Amundson
So no, absolutely love that. Um, the last hockey that we have, um, my final hockey can't wait to hear yours on this is the breakout Hawk, um, of, of the year.
01:06:37
M dub
next year, yeah.
01:06:41
Tristan Amundson
And,
01:06:42
M dub
ah for next year yeah
01:06:43
Tristan Amundson
for ah for For next year, I'm sorry. Breakout hot for next year um for 2026. And for me, it's a guy i was talking about him last week. I think, man, I mean, it's scary to think about this guy making the year one to year two jump. And it's scary to think about his potential and and where they drafted this young man.
01:07:08
Tristan Amundson
for me, the breakout Hawk of 2026 is Riley Mills. And, um, you know, he, he gave us a really cool taste of what his potential is in the Superbowl and just absolutely manhandling that poor guard, and tackling a guard and a quarterback at the same time is, is quite a feat that not many humans on this planet can do.
01:07:26
M dub
you
01:07:32
Tristan Amundson
um excited for Riley to have a healthy offseason, excited for him to be able to be at training camp and and be at mini camp and all of those things and and start the season you know in the preseason and and get a full year. Um, it's incredible to think the, you he's a guy that only played the last couple of regular season games, but then was able to get some meaningful snaps and and play a little bit throughout the playoffs. And I'm sure every game was, it was precious to him and his maturation. So as I look to next year, miles, Riley Mills is the guy that gets me really excited.
01:08:10
M dub
I love it. And I will say, I did go back and rewatch the sack after we talked about it. And I didn't appreciate it in the moment. how But looking back at it, it really is.
01:08:22
M dub
it's an It's an unbelievable sack, even among all all the sacks in the NFL. I mean, the offensive lineman's job is to block him, right? And What's crazy is he does.
01:08:34
M dub
Riley Mills is blocked. And and yet, ah in one-in-one dimension, Riley Mills is blocked. He does not get around the offensive guard, but he goes straight through. And it just doesn't happen very often. And it was a pretty startling display of potential. i think you were right to call that out as as the most important play of the Super Bowl. How many times have you watched it since?
01:08:59
Tristan Amundson
Oh, yeah, I've definitely, you know me pretty well. I've watched it a few times. I've watched it more than a few times. And every time I watch it, I like it just a little bit more. I did.
01:09:09
Tristan Amundson
um I can't wait to hear yours. I'll just say really quickly. I did watch David and Derek Carr break down the Super Bowl. um I watched that yesterday and I sent it to my dad. ah My dad's comment was absolutely perfect. He said,
01:09:23
Tristan Amundson
man, these guys made a pretty simple game, really complicated. And I just, I just shook my head and thought, man, my dad's freaking smart because it's, it's true. When, when four can beat five football gets really, really simple. And if you watch David and Derek break down this game and they do an excellent job of it, by the way, um end of the day, that's the message four beats five. And,
01:09:49
Tristan Amundson
They both really enjoy the Riley Mills sack. And you can just see both of them being like, this doesn't make any sense. I mean, this is crazy to watch this guy just absolutely manhandle um the the offensive guard the way he did. So anyway, yeah. Thank thank you, sir. I've really enjoyed, um really, really enjoyed watching him play and and can't wait to watch him. Who is your breakout hawk of 2026, Miles?
01:10:17
M dub
Yeah, well, Tristan, i I thought about this one pretty hard. I will let the listener know in case they don't remember, but last year, my breakout hawk looking forward to 2025 was Jake Bobo and ah definitely consider him a valuable member of the team had a post-season touchdown.
01:10:35
M dub
It would be hard to say that he broke out though. I was envisioning, i was just envisioning a wide receiver blocking, really opening up the running game and that, and and that that didn't even really happen that much either. So really thought about this one, Tristan. Fortunately, i think there was an answer that the Seahawks gave me on a silver platter.
01:10:55
M dub
Tristan, you were talking about a defensive player stepping up from year one to year two and where the team got him in the draft. And I thought for a moment we had the same breakout Hawk for 2026, but we didn't.
01:11:06
M dub
But mine is Nick Imanwari. Tristan, I'm a little bit, I appreciate, Devin Witherspoon is an an an unbelievable player. And we saw it, we have seen his entire career here on the podcast.
01:11:19
M dub
He got at it right from the start and you immediately felt, wow, this is a cornerback good enough to be a fifth overall pick. I'm a little afraid of I probably got to cool down the expectations that I'm starting to build for Nick E. Manwari.
01:11:34
M dub
We haven't really touched on how young this man is. So, Mickey Van Worry turned 22 years old earlier this month, like a few days ago, and he is 10 months younger than the next youngest player on the Seahawks roster, which is elia Elijah aurora Arroyo. So that's a pretty big gap just between from 53 to 52 in terms of all the players on the Seahawks roster when it comes to being young.
01:12:02
M dub
Tristan, Nick Emanwari was out for September pretty much. He just played a few snaps. He got injured. His arrival on the field was delayed, and we didn't know what we were going to get. And that can't just that just can't be a great start to your rookie year.
01:12:16
M dub
He misses September, and still, at the end of the regular season, he is tied for third among all safeties in the NFL in passes defended, with 11 passes defended.
01:12:28
M dub
And he is second among all safeties in tackles for loss with with eight. So that's defending down the field, and that's defending at the line of scrimmage. That's being a rookie. That's missing the first month.
01:12:39
M dub
I mean, that that is at 21 years old. All at 21 years old, and he really was – it felt like he the defense was excellent, and then his arrival was the gasoline that just lit this thing on fire.
01:12:55
M dub
I, yeah I, my expectations going to be higher. i probably, I probably got to calm down, but I really think this this guy could be an all pro starting next year.
01:13:06
Tristan Amundson
What's wild about that is he had an insane year this year. And so I love this take miles because you are saying that he's going to take the jump from year one to year two and that his potential of that old Pete Carroll massive jump from year one to year two is is huge.
01:13:26
Tristan Amundson
And if that's the case, this defense is going to be so scary. I mean, if if you're telling me Nicky Monrory is going to improve in a meaningful way from year one to year two, and and I'm sure you're right, he will.
01:13:40
Tristan Amundson
um I mean, Lord have mercy, right? I mean, just I've quarterbacks should, we should probably start worrying today um as he matures in this league and and as his knowledge increases because to your point,
01:13:57
Tristan Amundson
They're asking this dude to play a lot, right? And a lot of different um parts of the defense. He has multiple meeting rooms. He has to attend so that he can play his kind of positionless version of football.
01:14:10
Tristan Amundson
So imagine Nicky Munrory. Let's say that this year he has a bachelor's degree. Imagine him with a master's degree and what that potentially means. I love the take. I think it's really cool.
01:14:22
M dub
I will say I do think he's my favorite Seahawk. The fit with him, the Seahawks tradition of these physical but intelligent secondary players, his fit with Mike McDonald, it it's incredibly perfect. And it's making me, you know, when he was drafted last April, I was very hesitant about the you know the price it took to to move up in the draft but with the draft capital.
01:14:45
M dub
I was hesitant as well about the draft capital spent to acquire Rashid Shahid. This has really made me rethink that where I'm at with that now is I don't know about sending you away two first round picks to get a player as John has done multiple times in the past, but the, the eye to find the the perfect Seahawk.
01:15:07
M dub
I mean, Nicky Minwari was, it, it would just be, he it would just be such a shame if he was on any other team because he is a Seahawk and He doesn't even really have to improve improve to be one of the best safeties in the NFL next year.
01:15:23
M dub
and But hopefully he
Season Reflection and Future Plans
01:15:24
M dub
does. So anyway, ah anyway yeah I'm pretty excited about it, as as you can tell.
01:15:28
Tristan Amundson
Very cool, man. No, it's it's great. um He's great. It's going to be super fun to watch him mature over the next couple of years. um I believe I say this correctly, Miles, we will get the the awards in the mail to the guys today.
01:15:44
Tristan Amundson
They should be getting them by the end of the week.
01:15:47
M dub
you
01:15:47
Tristan Amundson
um And, ah you know, we'll just wait for our thank you cards. But um what an incredible year. What a fun year to watch Seahawks football.
01:15:57
Tristan Amundson
The guys did a great job. Um, the Seahawks are world champions, man. The Seahawks are world champions. This is rarefied air and it is a unique opportunity to give them their flowers today and excited that we, we did it together. So this was ah a fun episode.
01:16:17
M dub
This was fun. They are world champions. And more than that, they're team that you can just be proud of from top to bottom. You know, GM, coach, the attitude, the the moments on the field. There's it's a team you can be proud of from top to bottom.
01:16:33
Tristan Amundson
I love it. No, agreed. Agreed. And a team that we will continue to talk about. So knowing us, you know, I believe if you're listening to this right now, you can expect we'll take a little bit of a hiatus here for the next episode.
01:16:49
Tristan Amundson
um month or so, yeah Miles and I have to get our bodies right. you know It's been a long season. We need to recover. Ice baths, um you know ah probably some acupuncture.
01:16:56
M dub
Thank
01:17:00
Tristan Amundson
There's going to be a lot of therapy going on to to get us right. um you know I don't think any major surgery, so that's nice, but we we both need to get our bodies right. and I would expect, that if I know anything about us, Miles, um potentially the next time we jump on these airwaves is maybe a little bit of a draft preview.
01:17:20
Tristan Amundson
I'm sure we will recap the draft um and and any other major moments. Is that the next episode you you imagine? is it a draft episode next or am I missing something?
01:17:34
M dub
Free agency in mid-March. a lot can happen, especially since we know that that depth is so important on this team. So, as the players were very conscious of on Super Bowl week, you know, this same group is not going to be exactly together again.
01:17:48
M dub
Fortunately for the Seahawks, mostly will be together again, but... Stuff's going to change in free agency, stuff we can see coming, so stuff we can't see coming. So I think free agency on and the draft is kind of up next for us. And and we like to hibernate over the summer to to get right.
01:18:06
Tristan Amundson
That's right. That's right. So we will be recovering um as we put a bow on the season. And this is kind of the final, final here, Miles. um I just want to, again, thank you. This has been a great year. Obviously, we've had a blast. It's been it's been a blast doing this with you, my friend. um Fun seeing you at the parade, you on the eastern side of the wall, me on the western side. And um man, just just thanks for a great year. It's been really fun.
01:18:36
M dub
Thank you, man. du this is This is so fun. It was your idea to get us started, and um I'm grateful for it every time we we dial it up and plug in the mics and get going.
01:18:48
Tristan Amundson
I love it. I love it. Well, hey, um this is an easy one because i can't even... Describe how many times we heard this phrase on Wednesday.
01:19:00
Tristan Amundson
we were walking around. We were I mean, we were in the biggest hawk's nest on the planet. There was a million of our best friends all walking around. we were all just cozy in the hawk's nest there together on 4th Avenue. you heard it over and over again, and it never got old.
01:19:20
Tristan Amundson
Go Hawks.
01:19:21
M dub
Go Hawks.