Transcript
Tristan Amundson: Miles. It is. Crazy. to think about that a game that started this beautiful. the The prime crew, the work they were doing on the cameras.
Tristan Amundson: The Shots of the Sunset the shots of the city of the Rockies. It. Is rare for me to feel as though. man, I need to be there. I'm really missing out. Like I wish I don't watch a game in Jacksonville typically and think I wish I was in Jacksonville, Florida right now.
Tristan Amundson: Last night. It looked like... Denver, Colorado was the most beautiful place in the country. This game started out so beautifully, Miles. We had the Sunset, the Rockies, and then the on -field. You see these these great jerseys, these throwback jerseys.
Tristan Amundson: This. From a visual perspective was the best looking game of the year and probably the best looking game all year.
Tristan Amundson: Kind of reminded me last year of the of the. Buccaneers game when they were doing the throwback day and you know we had the same on field but but the off field. Man, I mean.
Tristan Amundson: Let's tip our hats to Prime. They killed it. It was so great. And yet.
Tristan Amundson: Miles, how is it that... Such a beautiful visual game. is probably the ugliest game of the year and i pray to god it's the ugliest game we see all year I'm a little frustrated. How are you my friend?
M dub: Tristan, it's great to be with you, and thank you for calling out the uniforms. It is crazy that just seeing other shirts and pants and socks that other men are wearing, it does it does create a very pleasing... ah almost physical sensation inside of you to see Not just one uniform, but two uniforms.
M dub: that beautiful on the field against one another. I felt the same way watching watching this game in Denver, something about that stadium, just the bright lights of the stadium popping out over that dark horizon.
M dub: and i have to agree with you about how ugly this game was this was absolutely brutal it does make me think when we recorded just a few days ago We didn't give enough credence to the fact that coming into this game at 3 -2.
M dub: Starting to dance on that knife's edge. Three and three was a possibility. You started to feel that stark reality pretty seriously in the second quarter of this game.
M dub: And had to kind of wrestle with that all the way until the end. And sure enough. After a long journey, three and three is what it is. That's... that's it's It's a tough record to see. It's a tough record to see. It's not what we thought was going to happen.
Tristan Amundson: I didn't. Yeah. I mean, admittedly. Um... Maybe i I walked into this game a little full of myself. Maybe I thought that. that we were good to go. I did not.
Tristan Amundson: even consider losing this game as an option i i thought man we are going to come out So crisp, we are going to... Like the frustration of that 49ers game. Here we go. Boom, boom, boom.
Tristan Amundson: um And I do think a lot of the team maybe was playing at that level. um Obviously, well we'll get into the... the good the bad and the ugly and and mostly it'll be bad and ugly um But there is some good. There is some good in this game.
Tristan Amundson: Um, but yeah man i i feel the same way i i think he nailed it like I went into this game personally. thinking it was going to be a bit of a cakewalk and i feel like i got cake on my face at this point
M dub: it but It was making me think that... It felt just so foreign to be. Just to be 500, which is, um... A beautiful place to be in the NFL. It is funny. We we kind of had this, we're playing with free money in 2025.
M dub: Nobody was really expecting a Super Bowl year. I think we were hoping for a playoff spot for most of the year. So when we just kind of kept things rolling. and became the Super Bowl champions, there was never really the weight of expectations that we were dealing with. And now that they're here, three and three feels so bad. It made me think.
M dub: This has to be the first time Coach Mack has touched. 500 because i was I was thinking about that 2024 game. Against the Broncos, his first game that ended up winning. I was like, we I don't think we've ever touched 500.
M dub: I was wrong about that. Shows how quickly these things can recede into the past. In the middle of the 2024 season, the Seahawks were sitting at four and five. before they ended up 10 -7, and of course started off the Super Bowl year.
M dub: 0 -1 as well. I think we've got a bit of a trend here. With coach back. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I guess you'd rather start strong or I guess you'd rather finish strong.
M dub: Didn't finish weak, but... Three years into the Coach Max tenure, September and October, a 12 and 9 combined record. November and beyond 17 and four. Of course.
M dub: November feels a long way away from now. We got a couple of very crucial games before then, but... ah Just zooming out a little. Got to zoom out a little bit to see the splendors of of what the Seahawks have here, I guess just to cope with ah a very difficult loss.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, and this is what I needed from you today, Miles. I i needed... I need someone to kind of. Throw a little cold water on my face. Wake me up a little bit. you know, help me kind of see.
Tristan Amundson: a more nuanced big picture of this, to be honest with you. i ah Listen, last week I felt fear for the first time as a Seahawks fan, meaning like. I didn't like the way the 49ers on the line of scrimmage were pushing us around and it it felt.
Tristan Amundson: I was fearful that we were just going to fumble again. It's funny that maybe maybe this is just the emotion of. Fumbling makes you think like.
Tristan Amundson: Well, the other team and this goes back to last week's conversation, right? Maybe the other team did that to us and and they have a big part of it. Um, i the the The emotion I felt last night watching this game was anger. Like I was just.
Tristan Amundson: angry and really, really frustrated. it's I typically don't get that way watching a game. I'd like to think I stay. fairly balanced and hey it's just football move on to the next thing I was in kind of a bad mood when this game ended and it took me a little while to, you know, kind of.
Tristan Amundson: round back into feeling normal again. um And I think maybe that's. that's the nature of watching interceptions and kind of the same mistake over and over again. And frankly, seeing the same person do the same thing and you're like, man, like.
Tristan Amundson: This is the one thing you can't do. We're going to win this game if you just stop giving them the football. And. I mean, his last pass of the night is no better example of it like.
Tristan Amundson: here here is the game on a silver platter what did you i am actually curious like What emotions were you feeling? Um. While you are watching this game.
M dub: That's a great question. There were a lot of emotions. Should I recap this game here? We've kind of got off our stride there, but this was a recapable game, unlike the last few. which Um...
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, absolutely.
M dub: Yeah, so... We start off – well, I think Al Michaels didn't appreciate that we had two Super Bowl -level defenses on the field. Okay. ah It's easier for a higher scoring game to seem better than a low scoring game.
M dub: This was an example of a low scoring game being played at an extremely... High level. Field position mattered. First downs mattered. Field goals mattered. I'm comfortable with that type of game. I like him when we're seeing this level of defense. at Al Michaels was like,
M dub: you know he he didn't appreciate it which These were two great defenses. What we've got. First half, two very long and sustained touchdown drives for the Broncos. Put them up 14 -3.
M dub: And then the score stays absolutely locked there for 30 of the 60 total game minutes. That includes a stretch where the Seattle defense is... Defense forces seven straight punts.
M dub: Out of the Broncos. The Broncos do not get a drive of even 20 yards long in the second half. Last few minutes of regulation, Seahawks stormed back with a touchdown, a two -point conversion, and a field goal in the dying seconds to send it to overtime.
M dub: Start out overtime with a small drive before Sam Darnold throws his second interception of the game and the Broncos only have to go forward. just a couple yards before they can.
M dub: Kick home the game -winning field goal, 17 -14. i also I also felt very frustrated. it was I was thinking about three and three a lot. I was thinking about hard knocks a lot.
M dub: In August, pretty much the entire NFL world was loving but this so what they were seeing. out of the Seahawks practice facility. I think it just goes to show how hard the NFL is. um It was frustrating. And then it kind of turned into admiration. You know, a lot of this game in that 14 -3 deadlock.
M dub: but That was just the mud of an NFL game that it could kind of go by without you noticing. It took me a while to realize. like Wait a minute, this defense is just is just keeping us in this game.
M dub: And I felt like the offense was going to storm back into it, as they typically do, and then it was going to be anybody's ballgame. three and three is not a great record but i still it's it's a i think there's a lot of uh it's just it's so there's I mean, this is what we said a few days ago, though. It's a really strong 3 -3, but it's still 3 -3, which...
M dub: it ah You really start to think the division is is getting out of reach here with San Francisco at 5 -0.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, I mean, it's it's interesting. um So, of course, that's true because um they have a winnable game coming up and and they're in a better position than we are. And we have, frankly, we are now getting into the teeth of our schedule and and some harder games. So, yeah, I think.
Tristan Amundson: um I think that's really fair to say. thankfully still a very long season ahead of us right so so you know certainly Plenty of time to right the ship. Plenty of time to get us in the right spot.
Tristan Amundson: um to To me, one of the things that that stood out, you know, and obviously Sam and and some very costly interceptions there. know what no one bigger than that last one.
Tristan Amundson: What I kept thinking about though was conversations I'm hearing that are happening in Denver. where apparently the Denver fan base is very frustrated with Bo Nix because he's not being aggressive enough and he's just kind of.
Tristan Amundson: dinking and dunking and you know he's not taking shots down the field he's not taking enough risk And, you know, they think he's being too conservative. And as I watched him in Sam.
Tristan Amundson: I just couldn't stop. thinking about the fact that like there's a lot of wisdom. In. In the the kind of football that Bo Nix, maybe it's frustrating to watch.
Tristan Amundson: But the kind of football he's playing is like, man, this defense is unbelievable. Like, as long as I don't make a mistake. Things are probably going to be okay. And. Isn't that the game we just watched? We watched one quarterback make some costly mistakes. We watched another one.
Tristan Amundson: just say listen man i know it's not pretty i know it's not great um But we're going to do just enough to win. And we're going to rely on this defense. And it it worked out really well for him.
M dub: I think that's a great call. I also agree that Bo Nix doesn't deserve the amount of criticism he's getting out of this game because, yes, that is, in some respects, the game we want to see out of our quarterback.
M dub: There's one. Kind of hidden play, though, that you forget about. so Sam Darnold throws the first interception under the two -minute warning, and the Broncos have the ball, but the Seahawks have all three timeouts, and we're getting one of those 10, 15 -second possessions.
M dub: before Denver punts it back to Seattle. On the third down, Denver goes back to pass. I don't know if you remember this play. and it's it's it's it's a very awkward kind of broken play and chen and umosu just swats it down pretty much at the line of scrimmage.
M dub: Now, Chena did not drop this by any means, but just... That play doesn't have to be at that. different of an angle. for him to just be able to catch that and then just run it into the end zone and put the game away.
Tristan Amundson: Yep.
M dub: That that play... It has to be. It's just a few inches off for that to suddenly be a very catchable ball instead of what it was, which. which was simply a tippable, slammable ball. um And then the whole thing looks very different. The entire conversation is incredibly different. and And now it's a very inspiring comeback that the Seahawks have. So I actually was thinking that about Bo Nix. Like, hey, this guy's not playing a bad game.
M dub: And that was really the only time that Denver really put the ball. endanged As suffocating as the Seahawks were, they're also... there There was not really about to be any type of turnover.
M dub: It was so it's a funny game by the Seahawks. The the yards per play was, again, stellar. but There wasn't that feeling of, like, explosive and game -wrecking -ness, except on that one that one play really stuck with me.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, that was. I mean, I was thinking of the same thing. It's interesting. And I like the way you said that. It's where the ball was placed is the difference because Chena, that's such a great play that Chena made. And I think he did everything basically humanly possible. I think that would have been a superhuman catch.
Tristan Amundson: for him to make. It was just a little too far outside. So I like the way you even frame that. like That was a couple of inches away from potentially being an interceptable ball, but it really wasn't. um so So well done there on on that thought. um But yeah, you're right. There wasn't as much disruption.
Tristan Amundson: Very, I mean, good to see Nicky Manwari continue to be disruptive and and certainly that huge sack that he had. um Some of the the different pieces that that the guys were doing out there, like there was there was some fun stuff to see from that perspective.
Tristan Amundson: um But yeah, there wasn't really a lot of opportunity for them to turn over the ball. um And I mean, that you know again, I think it's a ah testament to the way that Bo and that team decided to play the game. um Kind of play it not to lose. Did did this game...
Tristan Amundson: Here's kind of a left -handed. question for you. Did this game feel like a Pete Carroll game to you? Because that's when I woke up this morning, that was kind of one of my first thoughts that this kind of felt more like a vintage Pete Carroll game.
Tristan Amundson: And as we were what felt like we were about to potentially win the game, this kind of felt like one of those like. Holy smokes, we pulled the rabbit out of the hat again.
M dub: That's really funny. I wasn't thinking that, but it did. it it was kind of I feel very protective of this streak the Seahawks have. It's it's almost 30 total games now, including the playoffs.
M dub: of not losing a game by multiple possessions. Obviously, when you're three and three, this far back in your division, it doesn't really matter. On the other hand,
M dub: It does. Feel. important. that nobody has really figured the Seahawks out, even still. And... Um...
M dub: It did feel I was. In the middle of this game, in the the mud of the second and third quarter, I was prepared for that streak to end. It seemed like it was time and the Broncos really had figured it out. so That is funny. I guess Russell Wilson would do this kind of safe thing. but i i'm kind of like that's just Um,
M dub: I see the similarities, but I wasn't thinking that, I guess.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, no, it's it just the first thing that came to my mind, I guess. But yeah, I mean, the other thing that comes to my mind is. dink and dunk is something that people would talk about a lot that we're going to We're going to play the game in a certain way, especially when Earl was back there. You're not going to be able to throw deep on us. We're going to force you to dink and dunk, knowing that.
Tristan Amundson: If we put you in that position. long enough, you are going to make a mistake. And to me, that's kind of what this game felt like on both sides. Like both defenses basically said, like, you're going to you're going to have to dink and dunk here.
Tristan Amundson: And we're not going to give you a lot down the field. Obviously, Sam was actually able to find some down the field, which was cool to see. But for the most part. Both defenses forced you to dink and dunk.
Tristan Amundson: And when you do that. you basically like i mean the the idea is you will make a mistake i think it's interesting that In that context, they were able to dink and dunk themselves down the field twice for two touchdowns. And then that's it. And they didn't make any mistakes, which is kind of crazy. And and we helped them a little bit with ah a couple of.
Tristan Amundson: penalties, unfortunately, during at least one of those drives. But you got to give them credit. Those were both big, long drives. And then I think. The other side is equally true with. Um, the Seahawks ah offense and the Denver defense. They forced us into dinking and dunking.
Tristan Amundson: Which again, like if you have, if it's going to take you. 15 plays to get down the field versus 5 plays. then There's more opportunities for a bad thing to happen, which I think the whole concept of making an offense dink and dunk, that's it. It's like, hey. Yeah, if you're going to have to pass the ball 10 times. That's 10 times that we might be able to do something, whether that be a freak thing like. I mean, I can't imagine a tougher fumble than the one rashid had right where it's like
Tristan Amundson: Yeah. A guy's knee is going to knock the ball out. Like there's nothing. that's I think that might be the only fumble I've ever seen. where I... I i lay no blame on the fumbler. where it's like mad yet, like.
Tristan Amundson: That knee. that is connected to the ground is going to be. ah an immovable object compared to the ball that it's gonna pop out you know like that's that's kind of an interesting thing but if you're dinking and dunking and playing with that many plays you are going to give the other team an opportunity, I think.
Tristan Amundson: to to take advantage of it. Obviously. the the Broncos were able to pull that off and not have any major mistakes, but the the Seahawks weren't.
M dub: Totally agree with you on the Shahid fumble. I know that's been such an issue, but that's that was just such a freak play. And I'm not convinced he wasn't down. by the way. I mean, when we're... When we're breaking things down frame by frame, I'm not.
M dub: i'd like for these replays to just be shown in real time i i i think this frame by frame thing it It distorts reality. um ah Is this sour grapes or is this real?
Tristan Amundson: Um... I don't know. I i mean, yes. i I guess what you're talking about is spirit of the law versus letter of the law. um Letter of the law, that was a fumble.
Tristan Amundson: But. yeah to your point like he was pretty doggone close to being down i just think I think that the toothpaste is been it's out. you know in all major sports now like there's no going back we've seen we've We have eaten the fruit.
Tristan Amundson: from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and now we now we know Like now we know that the knowledge is out there. So I don't think there's any turning back. And going back to the good old days when the cameras weren't very good and we couldn't have ultra slow -mo. I just.
Tristan Amundson: I just think the genie's out of the bottle.
M dub: All right, you're probably right on that one. But as you say, and yeah I don't blame Shahid for that one. There's going to be a couple of just really freak moments that happened with the... The physics of the collisions and all the bodies out there.
M dub: Um, i had i Here's my concern about this game. was was the Seahawks rushing. I really think. that. That created...
M dub: the entire game circumstance we had. I think it. Just tilted the field uphill and in two different ways. I think it created a lot of. Very long third downs early in this game.
M dub: And with as skilled as the Denver defensive line is, that just was not going to work out very well. this is one of the elite defensive units and they knew they were excited and happy to be rushing on a ah lot of long third downs early in this game.
M dub: And then in the last, here's the here's the the flip side of Sam Darnold, by the way. Seahawks get the ball back, trailing 14 -13 with 9 minutes, 18 seconds left in the game.
M dub: And the rest of regulation. Just the regulation. Sam Darnold creates 140 yards of offense in these must pass situations. Denver in the entire game had 168 yards of offense.
M dub: so i i mean these these interceptions are costly but they're also happening because He is. trailing a lot. Uh... This was shocking for the season.
M dub: Sam Darnold has 21 pass attempts while he's leading and 105 while he's trailing.
Tristan Amundson: Yep.
M dub: So he's he's he's he's got this uphill battle where he's in a must -pass situation. And then. um Yeah, yeah. that just Uh...
M dub: Oh man.
Tristan Amundson: I was I was thinking of the same thing, Miles, like um going back to the dink and dunk kind of concept.
M dub: Yeah.
Tristan Amundson: And I think it's exactly what you just said. If I read you these two numbers. I can tell you which team won and which team lost. but Like, I mean, 95 % of the time just watching football. Sam Darnold.
Tristan Amundson: 51 attempts in this game. He 51 attempts. Bonex. Bo Nix, excuse me. 27 attempts like I can just tell you right now there's one version that's much healthier than the other now listen a lot of three and outs right I mean there's a lot of reasons why Bo had less attempts than than Sam.
Tristan Amundson: But I'll just tell you when you, with the second I saw Sam, it was like midway through the game was at 29 attempts. I was like, uh -oh. Like that's. That's a bad number, man. Like you don't want to see those attempts going up that much. That means you're playing the wrong kind of football.
Tristan Amundson: um and And I think that was indicative. 51 attempts. That's 51 opportunities for a bad thing to happen.
M dub: It is. And looking at the the rushing attack on the year, it's it's a little confusing because it it feels really bad. But looking at the year -long statistics, it's it's actually really hard to find a lot of areas where the Seahawks...
M dub: are not just somewhere in league average. Things like yards per carry. success rate first downs they're they're all kind of somewhere in the middle of the league which Really surprises me. It feels a lot lower than that. but There were 113 rushing yards for the Seahawks in this game.
M dub: Sam Darnold scrambles is what pushes it over 100, so. man is that real is that not it's not a bad number There's two categories where the rushing attack is. Close. to worst in the league.
M dub: One of them is fumbles, which we've talked about quite a bit, but one we haven't talked about. Yards after contact. They are tied for 31st in the league for yards after contact. Even the yards before contact.
M dub: I thought they'd be pretty bad. it It feels like the offensive line is not really winning the line of scrimmage. in and a lot of the rushing plays, but... Yards before contact is is still about average. Yards after contact, tied for 31st. Funny enough, they're also tied with the Broncos. It's one of the teams they're tied with. but That's just not that means that the running backs are not really creating their own yardage.
M dub: And then I think a foreshadowing of something else I'd like to talk about. The very best team in the league at yards after contact. is the Seahawks' next opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs, and they have a running back named Kenneth Walker III.
M dub: who is helping create that.
Tristan Amundson: I've never heard of him. I don't know what you're talking about. Um, No, man. I mean, listen, of course you're right that we we have a ah running back problem at the moment.
Tristan Amundson: um I have two thoughts on on the running game. One. it's actually one of my happy takeaways of this game i was Very positively and like.
Tristan Amundson: I was delighted. Delighted is the word, Miles. I was delighted. That. They continue to run the football. I think. What I saw from Brian Fleury in this game.
Tristan Amundson: was a commitment. and self -control. um and the ability to continue to do a thing that you know you need to do, even if you're not getting all the results you want.
Tristan Amundson: I was really happy to see it. Every time they were running, when when they were running the ball with like a minute and 40 seconds left, I was like, this is. this is doggone impressive that he's not throwing that side like hey my running game isn't as powerful as i want it to be i know it's not as good but i still need to give the ball to the running back um I was really happy with that. I don't know if you agree, but I thought that was a ah positive of.
Tristan Amundson: Um, Of him being, I would say atypical of the average offensive coordinator. that wants to forget that he has a running back as soon as humanly possible.
M dub: That's an interesting point. I just kept on thinking about... i As we've heard from me over the years, I really do not like to part with future draft picks.
M dub: To be this just that is a good point that it that is a positive but To me, what I kept on thinking was. This. This is a time. to to pull the trigger and and send ah a future draft pick. I'm comfortable with anything up to a second round, including a second round.
M dub: draft pick in 2027. Seahawks have a lot of compensatory picks in the third and fourth. for a running back. I'm not sure. There's really that target out there. I spent some time looking around the league because ideally you would want.
M dub: A skilled running back. on a bad team is gonna be your trade candidate. and there's not really a lot of those guys in general and then even if they Some of those guys are in their first and second year, so it's like part of that bad team's nucleus.
M dub: Best I could do was Bucky Irving of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Who is in his, he's still in his rookie contract, but. I'm not sure if the Buccaneers would. You know, they're they're in kind of a...
M dub: a free falling year a little bit. They're at like one in four, one in five. one and four and um Maybe they're willing to part with him for a high draft pick. Anyway. I kind of think that's... That's where we are.
M dub: For me, thats that's what I was thinking about more. and And then. it's It's so tough to say because he's a really positive football player, but... The free agency decision for the money that was spent to so to choose.
M dub: Rashid Shaheed over Kenneth Walker. is a really tough one. It didn't seem like it at the time. It seemed expensive for Rasheed Shaheed at the time. But looking at how... Comparatively little the Seahawks are using him.
M dub: It seems like... um That whole analytics conversation of like running back versus wide receiver that dominated for a while. I think that's over. i Running backs matter. I mean, the running backs matter. And this really feels like.
M dub: Case closed. number one of like your your Your actual running back matters so much, especially when it's one of the best in the league, like K -9.
Tristan Amundson: I'm not going to lie, man. I mean, it would be nice to have him. The tough thing in the Sheed conversation, I understand what you're saying from an offensive perspective. What he adds in the running game. I mean, he really he is truly a unique weapon. in the kick return and punt return so i I don't fully agree with you just in the fact that you're not only getting.
Tristan Amundson: um of ah take the top off the defense fast wide receiver, but also. An elite. like top three returner. um in both punt and kick that i I get what you're saying, but he is very important on the special team side. And I mean, he does flip the field and he did even in this game multiple times, you know, suddenly you're starting the ball at the 45 yard line, but you're, you're clearly right. Like we.
Tristan Amundson: Everyone, John Schneider, I don't want to, I'm not blaming John on this necessarily because John and everybody else. Myself included. thought, hey, you know what? We can replace K9. K9's great. We really like him.
Tristan Amundson: But is he, you know. he And he was a Super Bowl and MVP, but look at the entire year. like We can we can do something a little different. and obviously that was a mistake i mean obviously that that has not turned out super well um So I totally agree with you on that.
Tristan Amundson: Here's my biggest concern, though, man. like Everybody. from the broadcast crew to everyone in the media. I'd say everyone except coach Mike, to be honest with you. is pointing to well we'll have Charbonnet back and everything will be fine like Everything will be fine.
Tristan Amundson: The guy is... like just recovering from an ACL injury nine months ago. Yeah, like. if If history on these injuries has taught me anything, it's that.
Tristan Amundson: It is no guarantee. Hopefully he comes back raring to go. But it's no guarantee that Zach Charbonnet is a plug and play. And now we have a good runner again.
Tristan Amundson: And then the other thing that everyone seems to be forgetting, the crew last night included. Zach Charbonnet was. the the thunder, not the lightning. He, you know, he certainly has some twitch, but he's much more of a between the tackles.
Tristan Amundson: Punisher. versus, a you know, flash in the pan. um you know, kind of. quick i'm gonna make you miss in the open field kind of runner so Yeah, like to me.
Tristan Amundson: having Charbonnet coming back is great. And I hope that he's 100 % healthy and feeling great. And he's back to his old ways. First of all, I don't think that's a guarantee Secondly, even if we get what that like the perfect version of Zach Charbonnet, which is great and I like him a lot.
Tristan Amundson: He's still not. a lightning burner kind of guy.
M dub: I totally agree with you. I think we both love Zach Sharp and we think he has a lot of great football ahead of him in his career. But but I agree with with the nature of the injury. Can't count on that for 2026. I will say also, speaking about K -9.
M dub: I felt the same way when these moves were happening. But looking back with 2020 hindsight now. It does seem like closing out that playoff drive with such strong games.
M dub: Those weren't just strong games, but that was actually K -9 bursting into his prime, going from his fourth into his fifth year. in the NFL. That really looks like the interpretation of what happened in the NFC Championship game and the Super Bowl.
M dub: And I think we kind of missed that. I think we just kind of thought it was some really good games and in primetime. on the biggest stage he he put the team on his back but In retrospect, it really looks like...
M dub: No, it wasn't it wasn't just a couple good games. It was... he He's graduating from his rookie contract and into a true running back superstar. And credit to the Chiefs for...
M dub: Finding the correct price that... the exact correct price point. to um to reward him for that.
Tristan Amundson: agreed no i i could not agree with you more and i couldn't have been more wrong i i was like everyone else kind of thought hey good for good for k9 he gave us a few great games at the perfect time thank you But you're right. That was a foretelling of him turning the corner into.
Tristan Amundson: becoming one of the elite running backs in the league. It wasn't just. um ah a flash of the pan or um or one you know one example.
Tristan Amundson: um That's... It's tough, man. It's a tough deal that said, like, I mean, uh jedarian is um is great and like it'll be exciting to get him back we still We, so there is still a version of the Seahawks running game that, you know, truth be told in six games, we have not seen yet. Right. Like we have not seen.
Tristan Amundson: the pure vision of what John had, which is. jadarian and charbonnet as a one -two punch so that's That's something to look forward to, and that should give us some hope.
M dub: That is something to look forward to. i still I do feel nervous. Just for 2026, I just feel so... I think Jadarian has a lot of good football ahead of him in his career, but... For 2026, you've really got this championship window wide open.
M dub: I know it was only two fumbles, but, man, it was two fumbles and and not a lot of carries for Price. I just don't. It makes me want to. It makes me feel comfortable if the team made a move. I think we should say. we do We did talk about the team signing Joe Mixon a few weeks ago. That was two weeks ago. We had the fortune to record that podcast during about...
M dub: The 18 hours of the 10 -year Joe Mixon on the Seahawks. I'm not sure how the news got out that the team was signing him only for the next day. more news to come out that he actually failed the physical i think Somebody jumped the gun with with letting that get out of the building.
M dub: um instead of just reporting that he was he was there for a workout so something bizarre happened there that his workouts went so well That the team was. prepared to sign him, and then... Only for the next day, everything to U -turn.
M dub: and he heads back out of the building, and he's not a Seahawk, and he's not signing with anybody else either. Man, there's a lot of moving parts at this position here. Um... Yeah, kind of get here's here's what I'm looking at. I totally agree with what you said a few minutes ago about Shahid and the kicking game. but Just the numbers.
M dub: Shahid's free agent contract was three years, $54 million total. That's 32nd among wide receivers. For his entire Seahawks tenure, averaging 23 .3 receiving yards per game,
M dub: That's a small fraction of where he was at with the Saints which was 48 .9 K9. Three -year, $43 million contract, ninth most among running backs.
M dub: He's leading them all with 134 rushing yards per game. And just on top of it, he's adding 21 receiving yards as well. just about as much as Shahid is. but Those are the numbers I'm looking at. That's pretty tough stuff.
Tristan Amundson: it's tough man no i mean agreed it it would be massive to have canine on this team and um it's frustrating he's not it is i mean the the difference that he would make We are probably looking at a team that is undefeated.
Tristan Amundson: I mean, that maybe that's a, is that a bit hyperbolic? Am I, am I taking it too far?
M dub: I don't think so. I really don't. It's three losses each by one, under a touchdown, way under a touchdown. Let's say five and one just to. to To get realistic.
Tristan Amundson: yeah i mean are there war metrics like in baseball can we see a player's war in football i would imagine if if there are you know and and what what was his wins above replacement or what is his um What are the average points that you would expect from K -9 this year? Yeah, i bet I bet you it does fill the gap. and And potentially it puts in a game like this, right? It puts Sam in a better position where he's not taking the same kind of risks.
Tristan Amundson: Um, Maybe. Instead of 51. attempts you know, to Sam. make 30 attempts and does that make all the difference because of the added threat and ability um of canine and and heck maybe a couple of those attempts are nice little check downs to canine and he's able to do something with it so
Tristan Amundson: it's It's a big thing, man. it's It's a big change. And again, retrospect being 2020, we are seeing it very clearly today. um what we could not see.
Tristan Amundson: in the offseason.
M dub: One last thing. I do think the running game is is kind of bleeding into the passing game here. i was like As I was looking at Sam Darnold's numbers on the year, I was really shocked to see how how big this split was.
M dub: When Sam Darnold's in shotgun, so like a more obvious passing situation. Stats on the year six touchdowns, two interceptions, four sacks. And then when he's under center. One touchdown, five interceptions, ten sacks.
M dub: I think that's just. of A function of the defense not really respecting the running game
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, no, I mean, I think. I think that's that's probably true. And you're right. I mean, these are interconnected parts of the game. So having the running game and the passing game complement each other, going back to that term, complementary football.
Tristan Amundson: um It has to do with the running game and the passing game. It also has to do with the offense and defense. And so it certainly is all interconnected, which. I mean, again, if if I'm I need to I need to get into hopeful mode here, man. And so if I'm if I'm if I'm trying to be hopeful here.
Tristan Amundson: let me Let me start with Dread. and churn it to hope. The last, like. i don't know the the the last big thing i have to say about this game is it does.
Tristan Amundson: This is the first time I've been concerned for JSN because of how much we are leaning on him. He is. Perfect. I mean, i there's nothing. that jsn could do to make me love him anymore he is the best wide receiver in the league i believe that I think he's unbelievable.
Tristan Amundson: We are now leaning on him too much, putting him in harm's way too much. um which scares me from a receiving perspective My hope, based off of what you just said, is as we start cleaning up the running game. getting the right players.
Tristan Amundson: in the running game so that we can start performing better. that we can flip that switch and now suddenly the passing game benefits, which not only benefits.
Tristan Amundson: the passing game as a whole. but also... allows us to rely on jsn a little less which right now i just feel like he's He's the guy in the middle of the lineup. where, you know, you got Aaron Judge in the middle of your lineup and you're just saying, Aaron, win us every game.
Tristan Amundson: Which just, it's not fair to a superstar to do that, right? they They should have running baits along with them.
M dub: Yeah, I kind of think AJ Barner is ah a car that the team has kept in the garage a little bit. So far this year not not a ton of targets and much shorter targets actually compared to last year. I really would I think that could.
M dub: That could ease the burden a little bit. But what a funny problem to have. My my one wide receiver is getting too many yards here. It's it's not a problem a lot of teams experience.
Tristan Amundson: Yeah. And I mean, he looked I mean, he was the reason why we were in that game at all, um what he was able to do with Sam yesterday. And he he looked unbelievable. um And I mean, to that point, Shahid definitely had, I mean, long of 42 for Shahid. Like he certainly helped. Like, it you know, it's not as though. Shahid wasn't a part of of the game plan.
Tristan Amundson: Um, i will say and um i forgot about this until just now so i just want to say it out loud The Eric Saubert play where. Helani got the touchdown. And Sobert just pushes them into the end zone. That's one of my favorite plays of of the year so far, just to have Sobert right behind him. I don't know if you can picture it, but. You know, Helani is actually doing a pretty great job making some guys miss.
Tristan Amundson: And then right at the end, he would have gone down except that. Saubert was right there, just be like, hey, let's ah let's just get you in there, little fella. And I i really appreciated that physical brand of football.
M dub: Yeah, ah funny enough, all these concerns about the running game, that the team's one touchdown on the day was that really impressive. long physical run. And. How about this for a little seed of hope? Despite all these problems we're talking about, about the running game.
M dub: having all these issues and then infecting the passing game. Total on the year. Seahawks are on offense are out gaining their opponents by 569 yards.
M dub: So it's about 100 yards a game. The Seahawks have more offense than their opponent. that's That's a lot for that to happen every single game. so I think that's one of the things you look at and go, that this is not your normal 3 -3 team.
M dub: It is a 3 -3 team, but it's not your normal 3 -3 team. yeah Can we be a special mediocre team?
Tristan Amundson: Yeah, it's it's as if we're the team mom right now. Like, no, listen, you're special to me. um no i mean listen and that's to your point though i mean there there is a lot of It's easy to look at a game like this again, like I'm. I was so angry last night. very rarely do i get that way as i mentioned but like i was so frustrated it It is.
Tristan Amundson: important to take a step back and remember. the absolute game changing players that this team does have. the ability to bounce back, the ability to fix mistakes.
Tristan Amundson: What's coming up as far as guys coming back on the roster, you're, you're too, you are playing right now with the two running backs that like are a big part of your plan. The plan was for the first six weeks.
Tristan Amundson: Jadarian is doing his thing. He's getting his feet wet. He's, you know, getting better and better every week. And then, bam, we're going to add Zach into the mix. That hasn't worked out for us. He got hurt.
Tristan Amundson: there is There is a level of of hope and optimism. and the the one thing that has been consistent. This defense is a monster. This defense is very very good. um and they will keep you in the games so you know there there certainly is is plenty of of room for hope and and i love that you keep bringing up the margin of of victory you know the the seahawks now what are we a total of
Tristan Amundson: eight points um for the season that, you know, that that's been scored against us in these losses. So three losses with a total of, of eight points. That's. you know Every single one of these has been a razor's edge one score game.
M dub: It has been. Speaking of that razor's edge, I don't know. This was... My peak frustration moment of the game. We have Will Lutz. Kicking the game -winning field goal.
M dub: And I don't know if you noticed this, Tristan, but he. He gives the the shush finger, the shh. finger. um as part of his celebration to his own home crowd.
M dub: you're but You're supposed to do that on the road. You know, that's that's what you do on the road. when he go ahead and KKK when he feel a goal to win it it just drove me up the wall and the thought that It's just funny that in 2026, I know kickers are so accurate, but it's just so funny to me that you can.
M dub: Without knowing an NFL team, you can look at the roster and go. That guy's either the kicker or the punter like how <unk>re They're so close in dimensions to wide receiver, but you could never. Mix up the two. It just, that was what drove me just nuts from last night's game.
Tristan Amundson: That's funny. yeah Yes, I did notice it. I did notice the shush. um And. i You're right. that You do a shush when you are. And when it's an away game and you're doing it to the home crowd, yeah, to the, to the, to the crowd, like that's 100%.
Tristan Amundson: why you do that. So it is funny that he did it. He he must have been lost in the moment. Or, you know, I hope for his sake there is like the Seahawks were talking a lot of crap or something, you know, hey, you're going to miss it. You suck or something like that, because. It is a very weird look. um I didn't put two and two together in real time, but I'm i'm glad you brought it up. we We should... get a note out to Will and just let him know, hey.
Tristan Amundson: Congratulations on the kick. You did a great job. Just for future reference, this is how you know this is taken. because this is the whole point of the shush finger so yeah good good call out
M dub: Yeah, I was You know, I was i was hanging in there with everything and until that.
Tristan Amundson: Oh, my gosh. Miles, can you? We need to turn the page, man. I need to turn the page. I need to not think about this game ever again. How do we turn the page?
M dub: Yeah, Tristan we turn the page with um a very difficult opponent coming up The Seahawks were on Thursday night football. They will be on Sunday night football in nine days and then Monday night football eight days after that. So the Seahawks will.
M dub: Their success, it really feels like things are in the balance here because let's be serious about it. We we would be looking at three and four with a loss in the next game. and that's That's a pretty tough record.
M dub: They will host Kansas City on the the first Sunday night game and then Chicago on the Monday night game after that. Kansas City, by the way, they had a bye last week. And then coming up in two days ah for their their next game, they'll be playing.
M dub: the windlass chargers so Kansas City coming in it will not be a trap game for them. they they They kind of have a a nice, easy moment in their schedule before they come face the Seahawks.
Tristan Amundson: It doesn't get easier. um You got to win some of these games and ah that game and then Chicago. um After Kansas City, it it we're we're right in the middle of it, my friend. And unfortunately, even if you.
Tristan Amundson: only lose a game by three points, it still counts as a doggone loss in the loss column. so um It will be really interesting to see how the team reflects. I'm i'm looking forward to hearing Coach.
Tristan Amundson: today um i haven't uh we we wanted to get this one out so quickly we haven't had a chance to listen to all the press conferences and whatnot so i'm i'm Interested to hear how how Mike approaches it.
Tristan Amundson: um and and how we kind of move this thing forward. um But yeah, it'll be, it'll be interesting. We'll be good. I will say it will be good to see canine. I hope that we can. ah keep him under control, which I think will be a bit of a challenge. and Um,
Tristan Amundson: I don't know, Miles. Listen. This is a tough one. it's It's tough to say it this week, man. You know, it's I think that perhaps. Perhaps our character is tested the most in in the in the trials, in in the tough times.
Tristan Amundson: So I'm going to say it anyway. it's It's not easy to say this week. um It's much easier to say when we blow teams out, but. You got to say it on a rainy day. You got to say it on a sunny day.
Tristan Amundson: Go Hawks.
M dub: gohawks
