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Tampa Bay Scuffed-an-Ears
31 Plays1 month ago
Tristan and Miles talk about a defense that is missing both some people and some tackles, Coach Mac’s steel-trap memory, and a dancing, hugging robot.
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Transcript
Game Recap: Buccaneers vs. Seahawks
00:00:00
Tristan Amundson
Miles, the Buccaneers came to town. I'm assuming they jumped on the Black Pearl, headed south and then west through the Panama Canal, up the California coast, following Captain Vancouver's famous route, eventually seeing Mount Rainier, realizing it's already been named, and then cruising into our sweet, sweet harbor,
00:00:27
Tristan Amundson
And you know what? They stole something from us, which is what Buccaneers do, so I can't blame them for it.
Seahawks' Home Losses: Quality or Concern?
00:00:35
Tristan Amundson
But here's the deal, Miles. I'm not super angry today. Am I crazy? What's going on?
00:00:42
M dub
Tristan, a pleasure to be with you. We are talking about 38-35 Seattle Seahawks loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tristan, I have to agree. I felt a strange peace in the third quarter, knowing we were in the middle of a shootout, that about half the starting defense was sitting down, and it was going to go one way or the other.
00:01:01
M dub
I really did feel a peacefulness about this game before it ended. Obviously, you don't want to get too many losses on the year, but Tristan, three wins, two losses, both of the losses, yes, at home, which is disappointing, but to very good teams,
00:01:15
M dub
In games that came down to the final possession, those are quality losses. I'll tell you what did upset me to to the extent it did was I think the quarterback reputation game in our kind of contemporary NFL talking space is getting way out of control and just way beyond what is actually happening in any of these
Quarterback Showdown: Perception vs. Stats
00:01:36
M dub
games. Tristan, I've got the career stats here of quarterback a and quarterback B.
00:01:42
M dub
I'll give you a hint. They both played in this football game that we're talking about. ah that One of them is viewed as a thrilling MVP candidate who's the most exciting quarterback in football.
00:01:53
M dub
And one of them is viewed not on this podcast, but in other circles as a bit of a wet blanket, a bit of an overpay in free agency at at half the price of other quarterbacks.
00:02:04
M dub
Tristan, let's see if we can figure out who quarterback A and quarterback B is career resume. You ready?
00:02:09
Tristan Amundson
I'm ready.
00:02:10
M dub
Quarterback A. 38-40 career record, 0-1 in the playoffs, 12 career game-winning drives, 7.1 yards attempt on the career, and is the 20-25 leader in yards per attempt, up at 9.3.
00:02:26
M dub
Some pros, some cons. Same deal with quarterback B. 54-54 career record, 2-3 in the playoffs, 16 career game-winning drives, 7.3 yards per attempt for the career, virtually the same.
00:02:39
M dub
and the 2024 NFL leader in interceptions. So some pros and cons on both. i think i think the fact I think it's a difficult question, which is the whole point.
00:02:50
Tristan Amundson
It is.
00:02:51
M dub
It's a difficult question, so it's pretty hard to figure out which one's which was the thrilling MVP candidate and which one is like, oh, oh this guy.
00:02:58
Tristan Amundson
yeah Can I give it a shot?
00:03:01
M dub
Let's give it a shot.
Visual Appeal: Jerseys and Aesthetics
00:03:03
Tristan Amundson
I think that Baker may feel this quarterback B on that.
00:03:07
M dub
You got it. B for Baker. Quarterback B.
00:03:09
Tristan Amundson
Hey.
00:03:09
M dub
You did get it What helped you get it?
00:03:12
Tristan Amundson
um Well, the interceptions thing, because I so i mean, I think it's totally correct. i Baker is so fun to watch. Just if you just sat someone down and said, Hey, you're watching this football game today and they've never watched football.
00:03:28
Tristan Amundson
Baker Mayfield would be a good, that would be a good game to put someone in front of. In fact, actually this game would have been the ultimate game. Hey, have you ever heard of football? Sit down and watch this game.
00:03:40
Tristan Amundson
You would have made a fan out of someone for life.
00:03:41
M dub
Thank you.
00:03:44
Tristan Amundson
It was that good of a game. It was a fun It was a fun game to watch as a fan, and I'm sure it was an insanely fun game to watch visually and
Baker Mayfield: Future with the Buccaneers?
00:03:54
Tristan Amundson
from a national perspective.
00:03:56
Tristan Amundson
um But yeah, watching Baker last year, super exciting, had tons of touchdowns, if I remember. I mean, he was red hot, but that was a very pass-heavy, pass-happy offense. And I think interceptions are kind of a cost of doing business when you have that kind of an offense. So yeah, the interceptions gave it away.
00:04:16
Tristan Amundson
um That's pretty fun, though. And it's it's kind of fun to to look at those two numbers. You're right. They kind of beat it like a dead horse, like throughout the broadcast of these guys are friends and they knew each other in Carolina and they both hate Carolina. And, you know, kind of the storylines.
00:04:34
Tristan Amundson
I will say, though, yeah. it is cool to see these two reclamation projects, these two guys that we don't really know this about Sam yet, but it, we have an indication potentially he's found his home.
00:04:47
Tristan Amundson
And the fact that Baker has found his, his, I heard someone say forever home um in Tampa Bay. That's really, it is really cool. and And it was such a fun game to watch. um Can I ask you a question?
00:05:02
M dub
I'd love it.
00:05:03
Tristan Amundson
What'd you think of those jerseys? Because I turned on the game and I instantly, I had to call everyone into the room. It was like, ah stop what you're doing. You have to see what's on this screen.
00:05:16
Tristan Amundson
It was the prettiest game visually I have ever seen in the NFL. I've never enjoyed. and I mean this not as a Seahawks fan. I mean this watching both colors, that both jerseys, both teams.
00:05:30
Tristan Amundson
And my wife told me why. she My wife's ah a graphic designer. And she pointed out that blue and orange are on the opposite ends of the color wheel. And so that visually they're really they're really striking when you see them together. Like there's there was a reason why it jumped off the screen the way it did. Technically, I guess.
00:05:49
Tristan Amundson
Dude, what'd
Seahawks' Defensive Struggles: What's Going Wrong?
00:05:50
Tristan Amundson
you think? I was in heaven. I say let's just keep using the old jerseys. I they i thought it was wonderful.
00:05:56
M dub
It's a great call. This game was aesthetically a delight. It did remind me, as fans of the podcast will know, of our adventure going back to 1977 and watching the second-year versions of both of these teams play in what were their just standard number one-of-one uniforms at the time.
00:06:09
Tristan Amundson
yep
00:06:15
M dub
I think both teams eventually changed it ah just to shake up from a bit of a history of losing over time. And it's a shame because they... They went away from their best look, and we're just slowly getting back to it now.
00:06:29
Tristan Amundson
It was really, really fun to watch. and um And I think that honestly had part part of the reason why I enjoyed the game so much. Visually, it was stunning. They've never looked better.
00:06:41
Tristan Amundson
The old logo on the graphic, on the on the TV, I thought CBS did a really, really, really good job. um But just pound for pound, man. I mean, these two quarterbacks,
00:06:53
Tristan Amundson
In fact, I need to look up the numbers here to make sure I'm not just spouting off. You probably have the numbers.
00:06:58
M dub
Thank you.
00:06:58
Tristan Amundson
So let me ask you about the the two quarterbacks. I believe they were both over 80 percent completion. I'm looking at 28 for 34 and 29 for 33.
00:07:11
Tristan Amundson
That's insane. I mean, it's it's really I mean, no wonder was such a fun game to watch. You're just the ball barely hit the ground.
00:07:18
M dub
The ball barely hit the ground. a cup i know Baker had four interceptions on the day. Two of them were pass breakups
Buccaneers' Defensive Edge: Key Plays
00:07:24
M dub
by Tai Okada. Great plays, but there was not really an inaccurately placed ball all day except for maybe the very last one at the very end. Should we recap the base the flow of this game? what It doesn't take that long
00:07:37
Tristan Amundson
I think so. Yeah.
00:07:37
M dub
There was two parts to it.
00:07:38
Tristan Amundson
yeah
00:07:40
M dub
Basically, first half was it was a grind. Seahawks find themselves down in a 13-0 hole on the precipice of halftime. Sam Darnold runs a great two-minute drill to get a touchdown right before intermission.
00:07:53
M dub
And then both teams come out of the locker room and basically just do not stop scoring touchdowns. Neither defense can really do much anything about it. That gets us to a 35-35 game in the very last minutes.
00:08:06
M dub
Seahawks, just like in that first game, the loss against the 49ers, have a chance to with a two-minute drive to go down the field. Sam Darnold throws a pass that just barely glances off.
00:08:18
M dub
ah The helmet of one of the Buccaneers defensive linemen. what Probably the biggest contribution of any Buccaneers defensive lineman across the entire game. And it just so happens to fall into the hands of linebacker Levante David.
00:08:31
M dub
The Buccaneers don't really have to advance the ball in order to get in position for a game-winning field goal. to win it 38 to 35. I don't know if he noticed Todd Bowles, coach of the Buccaneers, ah standing on the sideline, the situation where the clock is running down to the last few seconds before the field goal.
00:08:49
M dub
They got the timeout they're going to use to get him out there. And Todd Bowles, it looks like he's in line at the grocery store as this clock is going down 8, 7, 6. a seven six He waits till three seconds.
00:09:01
M dub
Camera's on him for a good 10 seconds. And I was like, this guy's seen a lot of football in his day. This guy
00:09:06
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, it's so funny. you say I was thinking the same thing. That is one cool customer. His facial expression does not change. It's just, ah yeah, time out. There you go. hey yeah It's such a good thing point out. It's so funny.
00:09:19
M dub
He almost doesn't even do the, oh yeah, he really just, it really just, time out.
00:09:24
Tristan Amundson
There we go.
00:09:25
M dub
It made me curious about the career of Todd Bowles, and believe it or not, he worked with John Schneider with the Green Bay Packers in 1995 96.
00:09:25
Tristan Amundson
but
00:09:34
M dub
Bowles, an ex-player, Schneider, in his early 20s getting the NFL career started. So these guys know each other from way back when. Isn't that crazy?
00:09:42
Tristan Amundson
That is funny. um and I mean, it's a small NFL world, I guess, right? it's just the In fact, yeah I don't know if you heard this, that um Coach Mack recruited his son ah to play at Michigan.
00:09:55
Tristan Amundson
And Coach Bowles came up to Michigan with his son during the recruit. And the the only thing that Coach said about it was, yeah, I guess my pitch wasn't good enough because he know he didn't come to Michigan.
00:10:06
Tristan Amundson
But what was, i think I believe it was on Brock and Salken, what was great about it is,
00:10:06
M dub
I didn't know about that.
00:10:08
M dub
Yeah. What what a small world.
00:10:13
Tristan Amundson
he instantly, they were like,
Coach Todd Bowles: Masterclass in Pressure Handling
00:10:15
Tristan Amundson
oh, you know, I guess the pitch pitch was good. No, no. In fact, it was during the, um just during his press conference. and um And he instantly, and this just makes you appreciate a head coach at this level and maybe ah Coach McDonald um ah specifically.
00:10:33
Tristan Amundson
He remembered his game plan. Like he remembered the pitch and how he was going to utilize Todd Bowles' son at Michigan. And he like went through it quickly. He's like, yeah, we're going to use him in a multiple of ways. We wanted him to rush the passer and like, we're going to got ease him as a joker. It sounded like kind of the Nick and Rory role. So I just, I just thought that's just such a funny thing. Years later, he remembers specifically. Yeah. That's the game plan I had for that guy. And like, that's a bummer. He didn't come play for me. That would have been fun.
00:11:03
M dub
That's the game plan I had for the recruit that didn't come to my school. Uh,
00:11:06
Tristan Amundson
That's just attention to detail, man. It's crazy.
00:11:10
M dub
Tristan, we heard coach Mack after this game, uh, when he did his traditional post game interview on ESPN radio, the next day, I heard him very disappointed as, as of course you would imagine he would be giving up 38 points in a game.
00:11:24
M dub
He really had a lot to say about broken tackling, And i have to say that wasn't something I really noticed. Despite the 38 points, and it really messes up the Seahawks year-long ah averages and so forth, um I wasn't too—if these teams meet in the playoffs, which very much could happen, um my thought is it's a whole new ballgame either way.
00:11:51
M dub
Buccaneers had a lot of injuries on ah offense, which is what they they would point out. We also had a ton of injuries on defense. Five regular starters are out of the game by the end of it. Julian Love, Devin Witherspoon, Demarcus Lawrence, Tariq Wollin, and Derek Hall.
00:12:06
M dub
Except for Hall, that's four of the top ten paid players on the entire team. There's a reason these guys are paid the money they're paid. it it It just was a completely different looking team out there. Eventually, you know, the team's done a great job of withstanding one or two absences over the season. But you you reach a critical mass. And even though the Buccaneers were were missing both, they were missing a wide receiver, they were missing they're starting running back, and it sounded like they missing some guys on the offensive line as well.
00:12:36
M dub
This just didn't seem like a very predictive game with with that many injuries. so
00:12:41
Tristan Amundson
So it's really funny. I completely disagree um from ah from a standpoint of the running game and and the missing tackles. i can i as you were talking, I pulled up a text message from a thread from some Seahawks fans, and we were texting after the game.
Rashad White's Touchdown: Defensive Analysis
00:13:01
Tristan Amundson
And this is what I texted back because the guy was talking about how bad the defense looked. um And my text back to my buddy Tyler was, ah my, my takeaway, my immediate takeaway was missed tackles and bad edges.
00:13:14
Tristan Amundson
That was kind of my, my immediate, I just watched the game. That's what was fresh in my mind. And what I'm specifically thinking about, and I was just looking up to see um the touchdown that we gave up to Rashad White, um is the one that really comes to mind.
00:13:32
Tristan Amundson
there is ah In fact, that it was the first touchdown, but I think the second one as well. um Specifically, though, that first seven-yard touchdown, if you remember, it was a sweet play out to the left, and he got the edge and just kind of walked into the end zone.
00:13:33
M dub
you
00:13:49
Tristan Amundson
And I was dumbfounded when I saw how easily he was able to get the edge and get right through. Now, maybe that did have to do with specific injuries and and we weren't playing the edges the way we usually do.
00:14:03
Tristan Amundson
But there were multiple missed tackles and just really sloppy edge play. And that was the first thing that stood out to me about this defense. Just looking at saying something's wrong. Something doesn't look wrong.
00:14:17
Tristan Amundson
Right. Like something just does not line up from what our eyes have seen, what my eyes have seen all year about this defense, meaning this defense is has tended to play very disciplined, very disciplined along the edges. I've noticed that throughout the year that our edge defenders are are playing the run really true and making sure they first control the edge and then go in at the quarterback or try to get the tackle for loss.
00:14:43
Tristan Amundson
um It looked like kind of an ah out of control um weak edge discipline specifically, and then just just kind of not the want to or not being in the right place for the tackle. So that was that was kind of my initial thing that really bothered me about the game um was that specifically. and And specifically, it would be that Rashad White touchdown, seven yards.
00:15:07
Tristan Amundson
Let's see here in the ah in the second quarter. So it would be, yeah, it'd be their first touchdown of the game.
00:15:13
M dub
That's interesting because as from the beginning of this game to the end, even though the Buccaneers were putting up points by the bushel, it was it it felt immediately obvious to me that the Seahawks, despite all these injuries, did have and despite the Seahawks not getting a lot of pressure in the passing game almost at all, they had the run game pretty much shut off.
00:15:34
M dub
The final numbers for the Buccaneers in the running game, and this includes some scrambles from Baker Mayfield, was 24 attempts and 56 yards. So that, that Rashad White touchdown is, so there's some bad ones in there, but they, they pretty much had it shut off.
00:15:43
Tristan Amundson
Yeah.
00:15:47
M dub
And I think it shows how skilled the Buccaneers passing offense was that they still moved the ball almost 400 yards. When you kind of knew what they were going to do. There wasn't a lot of runs, you know, well, I mean, I guess 24 is a pretty good number.
00:16:00
M dub
Some of those were maker scrambles though. And Seahawks had a pretty good handle on it. Um, you can look at the, the targeted numbers, uh, in the in the Seahawks secondary, who got targeted and how much. And to me, that was the much bigger story of the game than, than, than yes, the, the two rushing touchdowns.
00:16:21
Tristan Amundson
Who was getting targeted the most? I haven't looked that up yet. I think I can guess, but...
00:16:27
M dub
Well, we had, we had the first tough one for Josh Jobe. He, he was on, uh, the, the, Tacoma's own Emeka Ibuka, who looked like an absolute...
00:16:37
Tristan Amundson
Absolute star. Oh, my.
00:16:40
M dub
I had to look... i had to look ah You know, they show that picture of Ibuka as a young child, which was not that long ago, ah throwing out the first pitch in a Mariners game and with the Kings court and whatnot.
00:16:53
M dub
And you would imagine he had this one circled on his calendar ah just for that reason alone.
00:16:58
Tristan Amundson
Oh, yeah. I was wondering if he'd go to the Mariners game afterwards, like if there's a way he could have just, hey, um I'm going to go over to the game, man.
00:17:04
M dub
Maybe he did. That's
00:17:07
Tristan Amundson
I'm a Mariners fan. They're in the playoffs. It's right here.
00:17:10
M dub
great.
00:17:10
Tristan Amundson
It's across the street. Get me a suite.
00:17:15
M dub
It made me wonder, uh, you know, lot of talk about Travis Hunter in the draft. I was like, okay, where did this guy go? Because it wasn't top 10. He, it went 18, uh, to the Buccaneers.
00:17:25
M dub
And, um, That seems pretty low at this point. So anyway, we had we had a tough one for Josh Jobe, his first tough game of the year. He was statistically on targets, pretty much the Seahawks best player ah for the first for the first month.
00:17:38
M dub
So the way it went for Jobe is across the first four games total, not average, total allowed 85 yards and allows 106 yards in this one. So completely surpasses that average.
00:17:48
Tristan Amundson
and
00:17:52
M dub
We saw Reek Wolin leave the game ah for an injury for a little bit. We also saw Darion Kendrick not get that many snaps. I couldn't really tell why. He only got 19 snaps in the entire game, and that left Nehemiah Pritchett, second-year player, getting 21 snaps on
Injury Impact: Seahawks' Defensive Weakness
00:18:08
M dub
the game.
00:18:08
M dub
In those 21 snaps, he's targeted ah four for four, allows 57 yards, but crucially, those were Baker Mayfield's only two touchdowns of the day. And it really seemed like the Buccaneers had a really high awareness of Pritchett's coming off the bench. and Most of those snaps came in the second half.
00:18:26
M dub
It seemed like the Buccaneers had a really high awareness of Pritchett's coming off the bench, not in the flow of the game. We're targeting him right away. Pretty much the opposite of what these Saints did when Tai Okada was getting his first career start.
00:18:39
M dub
And those those are the big ones.
00:18:42
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, and I mean, we've seen this from Pritchett before, right? that That he's been targeted and and kind of picked on. um And I mean, just one of those guys that, you know, what was he?
00:18:53
Tristan Amundson
I mean, do you remember, Miles? Was he a sixth round pick?
00:18:54
M dub
is is It was in the fifth fifth round, I think. Fifth or sixth, yeah.
00:18:56
Tristan Amundson
Yeah. So, I mean, you know, one of those guys that you hope was going to be able to kind of turn things on, obviously still could, but we just, he hasn't been able to turn that corner now this whole time. I mean, he he's gotten a few chances, got some chances last year too, not a ton, but did get some opportunities. And it just doesn't seem like he's been able to grab onto that, which is a,
00:19:17
Tristan Amundson
Yeah. I mean, it's a bummer and and you start getting picked on like that. The Josh Jobe numbers though, that's, that's kind of the most incredible that you've said to me. Cause I, he has been such, um just such a consistent player all year for us to, to,
00:19:34
Tristan Amundson
for for him to fall like he did. Now, maybe Mbuka, maybe that's a big part of it. Maybe it's just, hey, you're you're matched up against this dude and he's going to cause trouble. um You know, maybe this is a game where having Witherspoon back and healthy would have been real helpful. I'm i'm sure it would have, um as well as Julian Love.
00:19:51
Tristan Amundson
you You were bringing this up during the game. Just the whole injury thing. and And I really do think that is the story, right, of of the game from a defensive perspective. Eventually, you're just a little too thin, which I think you're right about that.
00:20:06
M dub
We even saw Nick Emanwari play not 100% his first ah full game in the NFL, but a lot of it, and really had a great impact in the 75% or so of the game he was able to play.
00:20:13
Tristan Amundson
A lot. Yep.
00:20:21
M dub
He is, ah it was four for four on balls he was targeted on, but those go for a total of just 13 yards. He was really up on the line of scrimmage. And that's that that's a Seahawks win, four passing plays for a total of 13 yards.
00:20:35
M dub
He was really up on the line of scrimmage on those plays and also in the running game as well, had an additional tackle for loss.
00:20:42
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, I mean, fun to see him back out there and and to be able to make an impact. um And he does jump off the page, doesn't he? I mean, you see him and he jumps off the screen for sure. He has a little extra juice to him.
00:20:57
Tristan Amundson
um There's something about his style of play. He did get hurt in the game.
00:21:00
M dub
you
00:21:01
Tristan Amundson
I'm hoping that he's able to play this next week as well because... um i I mean, it's so funny. We still haven't. We've seen good like chunks of this defense. I'm not I'm not saying we haven't seen good versions of the Seattle defense yet. it's It's been a good defense of this year.
00:21:18
Tristan Amundson
We still haven't seen the whole package together
Seahawks' Offensive Line: Backbone of Success
00:21:21
Tristan Amundson
yet, really. Right. We still haven't really seen like Witherspoon and Love and even Worry and. and and Murphy and Big Cat and everybody playing at the exact same time.
00:21:31
Tristan Amundson
um I'm still kind of waiting for that Willy Wonka moment when i we have all the ingredients and we can make the exact candy bar that we're looking for, because I think it's going to be really great, especially if we can keep all those guys healthy for a while.
00:21:40
M dub
Yeah.
00:21:45
Tristan Amundson
It is concerning to me that, um you know, you talk about these soft tissue injuries and these guys, you know, Coming me back and going out again, you just kind of wonder if if that's going to be the the the cadence of this season, kind of back and forth, back and forth. the overall You hate to say but it's almost better just to you know stay out an extra week and just get fully healed.
00:22:10
Tristan Amundson
um So that is a little bit concerning, but certainly fun to see Nick out there. um Hopefully, you know yeah ah good signs of things to come.
00:22:19
M dub
great signs of things to come. i'm I'm mentally prepared for October to be a little bit of a wobble. um And it's it's a long season. That's okay. it was ah It was a three and one September. But with these injuries, all all these guys injured, we we're not hearing anything about anybody going to IR.
00:22:36
M dub
ah Fullback Robbie Oots has been on IR for the last couple weeks. But ah despite the the number of people out, nobody's going on injur injured reserve for four weeks. So October, we the bye week is going to be later in the month.
00:22:49
M dub
And it's it's a tough schedule, certainly tougher than it looked before the start of the season. And I'm just um'm just mentally prepared for that. and But I think it could all come together in November and December, as you say, once... um Yeah, we still haven't seen the the full set, the full collector's set.
00:23:08
Tristan Amundson
Now, the the fun part about this game, so why this game was easy for us to watch, why it was a pleasure was what we saw offensively. So let's, can we dig into that a little bit? Because because we did see some great things, right? I mean, if we want to talk about um Jackson Smith and Jigba, if we want to talk about Cooper Cup, something that stood out to me um was what just really felt like, and I'm i'm looking at the numbers right now. in fact, maybe I'll run run them down for you right now and we can kind of talk about it yeah we We talked last week or the week before about the balance of the offense and and how you know if if if JSN is kind of the crown jewel of the offense and then you start putting together all these other players, what they can do together.
00:23:53
Tristan Amundson
And man, this is a ah stat line I love. So I'm going to start with JSN. Jackson Smith and Jigba, 132 yards, obviously. easy to love Cooper Cup, 59. And by the way, important, the receptions as well. That's eight receptions for JSN, six for Cooper Cup, seven for A.J. Barner with 53.
00:24:15
Tristan Amundson
And then, you know, last but certainly not least, three for 39 for Torrey Horton. I just, man, I love spreading the wealth like that. And and those...
00:24:27
Tristan Amundson
Even the um the ratios of receptions there seem extremely appropriate. It just seems like, yeah, this this is where we want to get the ball into these playmakers' hands.
00:24:38
Tristan Amundson
Kind of at about this clip, I was just, I was really happy with what I saw in the bounce of the offense. um And then certainly the production we continue to see from all of these guys.
00:24:51
Tristan Amundson
um I think this is going to keep developing. I think we're we are watching an offense still finding itself, which is exciting. um But yeah, I just that was my
AJ Barner: Offensive Star Power
00:25:01
Tristan Amundson
first takeaway. I just really like the bounce um from the receiving and and spreading the wealth out the way Sam did.
00:25:08
M dub
I have to agree with you. The Buccaneers are going to be talked about quite a bit this week for being perhaps a favorite in the NFC, definitely a major contender with their explosive offense. And in this game, the Seahawks hung with them absolutely every step of the way. It's just as explosive of an offense.
00:25:26
M dub
I do have to give you credit. At last year's Hockey Awards, you shouted out A.J. Barner as your... most improved Hawk of 2025, making a prediction into the future.
00:25:37
M dub
I was unsure about it. You're definitely correct. Also among AJ Barner, seven catches were two touchdown receptions. And that means that now he is tied for fifth across the entire league with four touchdown catches on the year.
00:25:52
M dub
That's a big deal. What really stood out to me though, was, well,
00:25:56
Tristan Amundson
was his was his dancing in the end zone because those dance moves were great.
00:26:00
M dub
You know what? That that dance move, i went I've seen this dance before. I'm kind of seeing this, I guess it'd be a ah hugging robot that twists from side to side. i'm not really sure I'm not really sure what it is other than that.
00:26:15
M dub
I'm seeing this dance a lot. I wonder how many scores it's been on the year, and he was pretty high up on that list. Do you do you know what this this move is? It's the Barnard.
00:26:25
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, i I don't know what it is. i i have our research department working on it right now, Miles. We're asking chat GPT. We're efforting an answer. um It did seem like a very awkward yet fun dance. And um i think thanks for the shout out, man. I i really, i liked what we saw from AJ as he progressed throughout the year last year. And it just looked like there was something there.
00:26:50
Tristan Amundson
um and And you know what I love about this guy, man? he's He's still a blocking tight end first. He is still a guy that wants to get his nose in somebody's chest. He still is, ah i to say a willing blocker, I think would be an insult to him.
00:27:04
Tristan Amundson
He is a great blocker. He wants to go after um defenders and yet obviously can make an impact um catching the ball. It's been really fun to watch.
00:27:17
M dub
You know, it's funny as, as big as he, oh and he's also doing these, you know, these brotherly shove plays, which was ah that situation just didn't come up in this game.
00:27:24
Tristan Amundson
Yeah.
00:27:26
M dub
I i think because the passing offense was just going all the way up and down the field. There weren't a lot of third and one, fourth and one situations. What's funny about his touchdowns, he he's such a big guy. You'd think, oh, this is a perfect red zone target. He's so big in there, but I kind of feel like all of his touchdowns have been just completely wide open.
00:27:43
M dub
It's like, He hasn't needed all that size on these touchdowns. he's He's just wide open back there somehow. not sure how.
00:27:50
Tristan Amundson
but Hey, we'll we'll take that too, right? I mean, well I think we'll take every version of it that we can get, but it has been fun to watch AJ take a leadership role. and And I guess if you think about a season, it's he's an interesting guy to bring up, man, because if you think about the season...
00:28:08
Tristan Amundson
from a GM's perspective, you're trying to balance these budgets, right? You you talk about that a lot, right? but The money side of the game and trying to figure out how to stay in budget. And what that means is you are inherently going to take risk, right? You're inherently, you are going to have to take a bet on a player.
00:28:25
Tristan Amundson
You're going to have to move on um from certain players. You're going to have to... yeah I mean, man, DK Metcalf and JSN is a good example of it, right? Hey, we're going to have to believe that the next guy can step up.
00:28:39
Tristan Amundson
And I think the exact same thing was true in our tight end room. AJ looked pretty good last year, but he hadn't actually done much last year. he He gave us good signs, but it wasn't a foregone conclusion.
00:28:54
Tristan Amundson
and the fact that John Snyder, I think, looking at his roster said, okay, like we've we've seen enough through training camp. We're going to take this risk. We're going to let Noah Fant go.
00:29:06
Tristan Amundson
And we're going to trust that AJ Barner is going to be able to pick this up. That's going to allow us not to rely on a rookie like Elijah Arroyo to be your savior right off the bat, right?
00:29:18
Tristan Amundson
he He deserves some time to develop. He deserves some time to be under someone who's, you know, at least been around the NFL a little bit longer. And now does it turn into? a really young, really good.
00:29:31
Tristan Amundson
and I'm just going to say it really young tight end room. I mean, we're, it is a fortunate thing to have two guys so young under contract, healthy bodies, ready to go. um it's It's worked out well, but, but, you know, I think John Schneider deserves a lot of credit for it because, know,
00:29:49
Tristan Amundson
There was a risk, right? There was a moment where he had to take a risk and put his chips into the center of the table and say, OK, we're going to give up this and we're going to trust that this is going to work and it's um it's paying off for him.
00:30:02
M dub
Tristan, speaking of risks John Schneider has taken, it it is it is so ironic that this came in a loss, but we we've done this for a few years now, and we have been looking and waiting, at at times pleading, for an A-plus game from the offensive
Offensive Line Improvement: Turning Point for Seahawks
00:30:18
M dub
line. Now, taking a look at ah PFF Pro Football Focus's individual scores, they weren't all great, but ah it it comes through in the stat line here.
00:30:29
M dub
Sam Darnold drops back 34 times, throws four touchdown passes, does not get sacked once. And then in the running game, ah Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet combined for 20 rushes for 122 yards and a touchdown.
00:30:45
M dub
i mean, there's no notes on, I mean, I guess there are notes on the offensive line or or the scores on pro football focus would have been higher, but that those are offensive line numbers right there that are just absolutely stellar.
00:30:59
Tristan Amundson
Really, really cool to see. um and again, you know, we talked about it. you're You're taking, think about the gambles we made on the offensive line. We, the gambles that John Schneider and Mike McDowell made on this offensive line to re-sign a guy who at one point was said to have a chronic knee problem.
00:31:19
Tristan Amundson
in Abraham Lucas and to say, hey, we want to get in front of this. We're going to sign you to the money. Abe, you're our guy. And you know so far, so good. It's worked out really well. Early in the season, granted, knock on wood.
00:31:32
Tristan Amundson
um We are going to go out and draft with high draft capital, our left guard, and we're going to solidify that spot. Hey, you know, Charles Cross, we already believe in you. We're going to give you a running mate. We're going to, we're going to give you the dynamic duo you needed here, you know, with, with the two of you on the left side.
00:31:53
Tristan Amundson
Um, the, and, and I think. What the position we probably talked about the most. I mean, was it center or right guard that we are most concerned about? um they They certainly haven't been massive storylines. I think there's still some work to be done at right guard. But for the most part, you're right, man. I mean, this is just.
00:32:13
Tristan Amundson
yeah Throughout the year, and specifically this game, it worked out really well. It's nice to see these guys continue to build chemistry together.
00:32:24
Tristan Amundson
and And I guess this this is a bit of ah a scarred Seahawks fan talking about, you know, line continuity. But At this point, the fact that all these guys have played every game together, it it seems like this is the most offensive line continuity I can remember in a long time, which which I know isn't saying much. We're not that deep into the season.
00:32:47
Tristan Amundson
And yet, um it just feels really good to keep you know writing those names into the lineup over and over again.
00:32:56
M dub
Tristan, I've had a lot of optimistic takeaways about this loss, but I do want to make a note of of the one thing that that I could not abide. And i'm I'm going to guess you felt a similar way.
00:33:07
M dub
It's coming in the second quarter. Team gets Jalen Milrow out there for one of these super exciting package plays from the Jalen Milrow package. And just like the other handful of times,
00:33:19
M dub
It's been tried this season. it does go awry. And there's a of a very improvised, very shaky looking ah pitch backwards from Jalen Milrow to K-9. It ends up in a fumble.
00:33:32
M dub
Gifts the Buccaneers an extra possession. They end up cashing in on it. I really did not like this decision. I think we saw... I was remembering the third and final preseason game against the Packers.
00:33:44
M dub
Milrow had three fumbles. I... i would I would like for these to be paused right now. i still have ah my excitement about Jalen Milrow in the long term, but defense sees what's coming when he gets on the field, and ball security is a huge is a huge issue, and that's that's that's the biggest issue there is, is ball security.
00:34:05
Tristan Amundson
Agreed. Yeah. I mean, it just looked like it happened really fast for him. that That's my only takeaway from that play. He's running out. there um They're running the option, right? I mean, it's it's a college play.
00:34:18
Tristan Amundson
It's a fun play. um You know, he he got the read he was looking for. Okay, they're they're biting on on me, so I'm going to option it out. And you could just see that the game was a little too fast.
00:34:31
Tristan Amundson
um I agree with you. I still feel just as good about Jalen as ever big picture. um And I would love I think I agree with you completely, Matt. I just want to pause it. get Can we just pause it for about four or five weeks? Let's continue to kind of slow the game down. um And the good news is, I think the way Sam Darnold's playing, I think he's playing at a at a level.
00:34:56
Tristan Amundson
at this point where he's basically saying, you can't take me out. Right. I mean, when you're completing as many passes, when you're doing things that Sam did in this game, suddenly you feel kind of silly, take him, taking him out for a play.
00:35:12
Tristan Amundson
the The idea at the beginning of the year was Sam's going to be an okay game manager. We're going to want some trickeration with Jalen. He's going to, you know, add a lot of um dimension to this offense.
00:35:22
Tristan Amundson
Yeah. Sam is truthfully becoming a weapon so far, and he has a big test coming up against the Jaguars. That's a really good defense. But, man, he has, i think, placed himself and put himself in a position where...
00:35:39
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, you you really, you can't take him off the field. You want him on the field. And and that, you know, it speaks to Sam. But no, I totally agree with you. We can't have this happen again.
00:35:49
Tristan Amundson
if you told me, hey, we we're going to have a few quarterback sneak kind of plays, I might be able to abide that. But I think I would also say, why not just do the A.J. Barner thing?
00:36:00
Tristan Amundson
So, yeah, I think I'm good with with Jalen. um For now, let's let's revisit. Can we revisit and in in four weeks, in five weeks?
00:36:10
M dub
Yeah, let's let's make it even six or seven. It's a long season.
00:36:13
Tristan Amundson
Okay, fair enough.
00:36:14
M dub
I do want to shout out though, on the positive end, there's a fourth and two with three minutes left in the fourth quarter. They keep the offense on the field. Sam Darnold uses his, his calm improvisation to get a touchdown to Torrey Horton.
00:36:28
M dub
That was a great decision by the entire Seahawks decision-making crew and great execution under pressure by Darnold. I did enjoy that play.
00:36:38
Tristan Amundson
And listen, we'd be crazy if we didn't say it. And just, it's another one of those, this has been a great draft kind situations. Torrey Horton, man. I mean, talk about a fifth round pick that has absolutely obliterated hit the position he was taken in the draft.
00:36:54
Tristan Amundson
Torrey Horton is turning into exactly, like exactly what we would have hoped he would be at this point. Probably more than we would have hoped. um He's been...
00:37:05
Tristan Amundson
Excellent. I mean, like if if you are asking him, hey, be our number three guy in this offense and, you know, be a contributor with, you know, say three to five catches a game.
00:37:17
Tristan Amundson
He's absolutely doing that. He's been a pleasure to watch. And again, just another credit to John Schneider and staff. and and staff theyve They've nailed it again, it looks like.
00:37:30
M dub
Tristan, the Seahawks travel way across the country to face the Jacksonville Jaguars, the four and one Jaguars who just beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night football. I,
00:37:42
M dub
it's ah It feels a little... That's a long trip for the Seahawks. That's going diagonal. we've We've got the sleep schedules in place. Thank you, Pete Carroll. We got everything ready to go. It is still a long trip.
00:37:53
M dub
Jaguars do have that somewhat short week after Monday Night Football. I kind of wonder... if this is a trap game, because next week they are headed to London after this one. So this is just kind of a random old Sunday game in the middle for them.
00:38:07
M dub
I noticed the Jaguars, they're top 10 on both offense and defense in points per game. However, after five games played, they have allowed... 300 yards passing in three of those games. So they're allowing the yards, but not the points, I guess.
00:38:22
M dub
um This should be another really big test for the Seahawks, especially if the team's not fully healthy yet.
00:38:29
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, opportunistic is what I'd say about their defense, watching a few of their games. um They've been intercepting the ball at a pretty high clip. They had a pick six. I don't know if you saw the game last night, but they had a pick six last night um in their end zone. I mean, it was a really beautiful play.
00:38:45
Tristan Amundson
um picked off Patrick Mahomes and took it all the way. So they've been, I would say, extremely opportunistic. um But they're playing as one of the best defenses in the league right now. So it's going to be really interesting, um i think, to watch how this game goes.
00:39:01
Tristan Amundson
I have questions still about Trevor Lawrence. he He played some hero ball last night, but even watching the game last night, you just see, you see a guy that has propensity for, for mistakes. And so I'm, I'm, I'm not sold on, on Trevor Lawrence.
00:39:17
Tristan Amundson
um It does give us a a chance to see Travis Hunter who, um you know, if, if we saw the most exciting quarterback this week, we get to see, you know, but you know, arguably the most exciting player next week is,
00:39:32
Tristan Amundson
in that he's a two-way player, which is he's one of one, I believe, in the NFL right now. i don't think anyone else is doing it. um And in fact, I mean, man, if I was him, I'd say, coach, just get me in for one special teams play, just so I can say I played all three phases in the game, which I feel like they could they can make that happen for him.
00:39:49
Tristan Amundson
um So it should be pretty fun, pretty fun to watch. um It's a good defense. my My hope is that we can be um healthy enough on defense to take advantage of Trevor Lawrence's propensity for making mistakes, which I think will be probably the story of the game.
00:40:10
Tristan Amundson
How many mistakes will Trevor Lawrence make? And and can we really capitalize on those? But it's going to be it's going to be fun. Got to get back on back on the horse and and go after it.
00:40:20
M dub
Yeah, my I think my feeling about this game is really going to change. We're we're talking on Tuesday, long way to the game. though There'll be a lot of checking of pro football rumors to see see some of those good old injury statuses and which way they're leaning.
00:40:34
Tristan Amundson
I think the injuries are are going to be an absolutely massive deal.
00:40:39
M dub
Tristan, this continues the 50th season in Seahawks history. And each each episode this year, we're taking 50 seconds to take a bath in that history.
Dave Craig: An Underrated Legacy
00:40:49
M dub
And my time starts.
00:40:51
M dub
Now, Tristan, there is a 5,000-person town in Wisconsin called Milton and a 300-person college there called Milton College. And in 1976, a freshman came into town as the seventh-string quarterback on the team. He had 2% of the entire school ahead of him on the depth chart.
00:41:10
M dub
When his football career ended, he is in the NFL record books as 27th all-time in passing yards, and 21st all-time in passing touchdowns. That is a better performance in both categories than Troy Aikman, Terry Bradshaw, Boomer Esiason, Jim Kelly, Donovan McNag, Steve McNair, Cam Newton, Kurt Warner, and Steve Young, and many others.
00:41:32
M dub
I'm talking about Dave Craig, an undrafted backup who eventually became the starter of the Seahawks, from 1983 to 1991, led the team to its first four playoff appearances, went 70-49 with the Seahawks, and clearly is one of the most underrated players ever.
00:41:50
Tristan Amundson
and And probably at one point looked, well, not probably, certainly at one point looked great in those classic uniforms, Miles. And and we know played against Tampa Bay in those. So he, Dave Craig, he will agree with me. He has seen with his own eyes on the field that color combo um against Tampa Bay and just how gorgeous it is. So um that's unbelievable. You said 300 people um went to this school?
00:42:18
M dub
300 people went to the school. It does not exist anymore. Can't go to Milton College.
00:42:22
Tristan Amundson
milk Milton College in Wisconsin. Unbelievable. i I didn't know that's where Craig went. um How in the world do you get discovered? that's i mean what I mean, just hats off to the scouts. That's incredible.
00:42:38
M dub
Yeah, or how do you move up from the seventh string to sixth string and then ah up from there, you know? I wonder how that happens.
00:42:44
Tristan Amundson
It's just unbelievable, man. um That's so cool. though and and And what an appropriate week to have the 50 seconds of Seahawks history, the 50th anniversary.
00:42:56
Tristan Amundson
And we i re we really got to see it this week, right? I mean, it was on full display, the history of the team and those gorgeous jerseys.
00:43:00
M dub
you
00:43:05
Tristan Amundson
um So yeah, could not be a ah more fitting um tribute than than this week for that.
00:43:12
M dub
You know, Tristan, the Seahawks did host their self-appointed 50th best players ah during this game, which which would have been really cool to see in person. So lot of legends there with with these cool black Letterman jerseys. But um one of those players said something really interesting that um it really stuck out to me.
00:43:32
M dub
Do you know what he said?
00:43:33
Tristan Amundson
Was it i noticed it, I noticed, I think by the flagpole, Mac Strong was there. So I'm assuming Mac said this, right? you talking about Mac Strong, something that he said?
00:43:42
M dub
i think I kind of forget who it was. It might have been Mac, but ah yeah. did Did anything stand out to you?
00:43:49
Tristan Amundson
i I didn't hear the exact quote. Can you say it?
00:43:52
M dub
I remember it. I remember it. ah He said, Hawks.
00:43:55
Tristan Amundson
Go Hawks.