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Murphy’s Law
32 Plays1 month ago
Tristan and Miles talk about a breakout game from Byron Murphy, why every rookie should have an atlas, and a play destined for the Fullback Hall of Fame.
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Transcript
Cities of Bridges: Venice, Warclaw, and Pittsburgh
00:00:00
Tristan Amundson
Miles, what do you think Venice, Italy, Warclaw, Poland, and Pittsburgh, pence Pennsylvania all have in common?
00:00:12
Tristan Amundson
All of these places are the city of bridges. Pittsburgh is in the middle of the confluence of the Monongahela and the Allegheny Rivers, where they meet creates the Great.
00:00:28
Tristan Amundson
The mighty Ohio River. Let me tell you something, Miles. Pittsburgh is home to 446 distinct bridges.
00:00:40
Tristan Amundson
This is a city well-connected from, well, from a lot of sides of a lot of different rivers. um I hope that sets the stage for you for what we experienced
Portland's Bridgetown Envy and Seahawks Talk
00:00:56
Tristan Amundson
on Sunday. How are you doing, Miles?
00:00:58
M dub
Tristan, it's great to be with you. Great talking Seahawks football. I was feeling a little left out sitting here in beautiful Portland, Oregon, a city that has been called Bridgetown, but I think we have about seven total bridges to contend with.
00:01:13
M dub
The number you dropped, already forgot it. A a mighty imposing number of bridges. I'm happy to stay Bridgetown and for Pittsburgh to be the the capital, the the high seat of bridges or whatever it was.
00:01:26
Tristan Amundson
um I think you guys probably have a few more roses, though, than Pittsburgh has bridges. I don't know that. I can't confirm it, but I think Portland has them beat on the rose department.
00:01:38
M dub
There's fewer roses than you'd think for it being called the Rose City as well as as Bridgetown.
00:01:44
Tristan Amundson
I mean, this is just our realities ah breaking apart all around us. And I do kind of want to say before we get into it, you might be thinking to yourself, ah, that poor guy meant to say Warsaw, Poland.
00:01:57
Tristan Amundson
But no.
00:01:58
M dub
It is a thought that occurred to me. i'll be i was it it It did occur to me.
Warsaw vs. Warclaw Pronunciation Challenge
00:02:02
Tristan Amundson
When I looked it up, i um I double checked and I went ahead and zoomed out on the old Google Maps. And I was able to see distinctly that Warsaw and, ah you know, i heck, I might not be be pronouncing it correctly, but Warclaw are two completely separate different cities.
00:02:22
Tristan Amundson
If anyone has the correct pronunciation out there, feel free to email us at tristan.miles at the worldonlyseahawkspodcast.com, and I'm sure that email will will get right to us, no problem.
Seahawks Victory Over Pittsburgh Steelers
00:02:37
M dub
Just some NFL podcast look into the all-22 footage. i I'm glad that we bring our listeners the all-world footage.
00:02:45
Tristan Amundson
Yeah.
00:02:45
M dub
To really put the game into context, this week two football game,
00:02:49
Tristan Amundson
Absolutely. No, you have to. You have to know where you're coming from. You have to know where you are in the world. And ah and where we found ourselves was that beautiful bridge city, Pittsburgh, an absolutely gorgeous
Ken Walker's Impactful Performance
00:03:00
Tristan Amundson
city, Miles. And this was a gorgeous win by the Seahawks. Do you want to kind of give us a little texture, a little breakdown?
00:03:07
M dub
I would love to. Tristan, it's week two the football season. Let's not forget the Seahawks traveling across the nation to Pittsburgh, to all those bridges, all those rivers, using, no doubt, let's not forget, the sleep schedules, the sleep the sleep performance instituted by Mr. Pete Carroll, influential in this game.
00:03:27
M dub
the The Seahawks are down 14-7 at the half. The game is tied 14-all deep into the third quarter, and yet in the end, it is a laugher. 31 to 17, a pretty decisive Seahawks victory.
00:03:41
M dub
i would say confidence crumbling around Pittsburgh. Hopefully not hopefully the opposite of the Bridges. The Bridges are strong and resilient.
00:03:50
Tristan Amundson
Yep.
00:03:50
M dub
I would say Pittsburghers' confidence in their football team has really crumbled.
00:03:50
Tristan Amundson
yep
00:03:55
M dub
Tristan, I felt really good about our takes last week coming off of a week one defeat. ah could well There was a lot of doom and gloom in the air. We said, hey, there's There's a lot of good things in place. I wondered if we were a little too optimistic, but I think we were proven right in this game.
00:04:12
M dub
Tristan, as I look back at this one, what really sticks out to me is this was a really balanced performance, I think, by the entire Seahawks roster. I think you can't really point to a unit that played a below average game.
00:04:26
M dub
I think it's really hard to point out a player that played a below average game
00:04:30
Tristan Amundson
you
00:04:31
M dub
You don't necessarily have an absolute star performance anywhere on the Seahawks roster, but you've got about 35 to 40 above average performances. And this game was probably not really as close as its score. I think this is the type of game the Seahawks will win, not blowing out teams, but pounding the rock and coming out ahead in the fourth quarter.
00:04:53
M dub
You know, the the rushes that were maybe no gain in the second and third quarter become big rushes in the fourth quarter for this team. There's a lot to get excited about. I'm excited to get into it.
00:05:04
Tristan Amundson
You know, speaking of the rushes, I saw a number today that um that kind of surprised me. Listen, you you know me and my snap counts. I can't get enough of it.
00:05:15
Tristan Amundson
And I hate to start us with a snap count, but I'm going to do it anyway because I think it's such a crazy number. Do you happen to know um the snap count of Ken Walker?
00:05:24
M dub
it was It was pretty low. it was lower It was lower than Mr. Robbie Oots, which really surprised me.
00:05:29
Tristan Amundson
Isn't that incredible? So Ken Walker's snap count. was 35%. He was out there of 65 total offensive snaps. He was out there for 23 of them. You know, maybe you could argue the most important player in the game. I mean, to your point, there was a lot of great players, a lot of really good performers.
00:05:49
Tristan Amundson
um But I was absolutely shocked. I expected to see Ken Walker up near the 50, 60, you know, maybe 65% type snap count.
00:05:59
Tristan Amundson
Au contraire, mon ami. he yeah He only had 35, which, yeah, was was kind of a kind of a surprise. But, man, I guess it goes to show it's not just the the quantity, it's
Seahawks Offensive Strategy Analysis
00:06:10
Tristan Amundson
the quality, right? Because Ken Walker, he gave us a really quality performance out there, man.
00:06:14
Tristan Amundson
Yeah.
00:06:15
M dub
Yeah, the final numbers for Ken Walker, 13 attempts, 105 yards, and just those few snaps also gets the touchdown in the fourth quarter to really put it away. i think the one area you would first look when you're saying, hey, it was there Seahawk who had a subpar game?
00:06:31
M dub
would be his partner in the backfield, Zach Charbonnet.
00:06:33
Tristan Amundson
Sure.
00:06:34
M dub
The totals are 15 attempts for 10 yards. That obviously does not look good. But I'm not kidding. i really do feel like Charbonnet had a positive contribution to this game. I think looking at his runs, I think he he took what was available to him, which was often not very much.
00:06:53
M dub
And I think really crucially, at the start of this game, you saw the Steelers' middle linebacker, Patrick Queen, a monster created by Mike McDonald with the Ravens, by the way.
00:07:03
Tristan Amundson
and Absolutely. Yeah.
00:07:04
M dub
You saw Patrick Queen doing the Fred Warner thing that was happening last week, where Patrick Queen is just absolutely everywhere. He's reading the outside runs. He's blowing stuff up. He's stopping those Zach Charbonnet runs.
00:07:17
M dub
You forgot about Patrick Queen's impact in the fourth quarter. And in fact, Mr. Patrick Queen ended up in I think one of the rarest plays in NFL history. I think ultimately the play that would get the two of us most excited from any play in this game. It's not recorded on the stat sheet.
00:07:35
M dub
I think a historically rare feat. Robbie Oots.
00:07:41
M dub
I mean, this might be the best play by a fullback of all time. It's already carried away.
00:07:46
Tristan Amundson
It's unbelievable.
00:07:47
M dub
It might be the best play by a fullback of all time. Pancaking a defender in the NFL is an achievement. I can imagine a few days later, everybody, the team in the film room gets completely riled up.
00:08:02
M dub
Let's make it a double-double. Robbie Oates gets two guys on the floor, including Patrick Queen. It doesn't seem possible. I saw it happen. It still doesn't seem possible. That was what happened in the fourth quarter of this game.
Strategic Play Calls in NFL Games
00:08:14
Tristan Amundson
It was one of the best. You're right. I mean, it was an identity play. What do you say about that play? It was everything that you could hope for from a young offensive player, a rookie for that matter, right?
00:08:28
Tristan Amundson
I mean, think about, can you remind me what round we drafted him? Was he a fourth, fifth rounder?
00:08:34
M dub
He was fifth.
00:08:34
Tristan Amundson
yeah
00:08:35
M dub
was fifth.
00:08:35
Tristan Amundson
Fifth? So think about that. A fifth round pick is out there. To your point, let's go back to the snap count. um Let me just find it really fast. Go up. I have to go up quite high to find him. 42%. Robbie Oots was on the field 42% of the time, not to mention 18% of the time on special teams.
00:08:53
Tristan Amundson
So this is a fifth round draft pick that's getting giving you unbelievable contributions, both on special teams. And then really, i mean, listen,
00:09:04
Tristan Amundson
I'm not going to go as hyperbolic to say it's the greatest fullback player of all time, because I'm sure there's some really, really great ones we could pull up. um And maybe that would be a fun future episode. Just, you know, fullback fun with fullbacks or something like that could be the name of that episode. But, um,
00:09:21
Tristan Amundson
But to say, I mean, certainly it's this thing the signature play of this game. Could it be the signature play of this season? You know, what what we've been asking for, what Seahawks fans have been clamoring for.
00:09:33
Tristan Amundson
Give us a fullback. Give us a running attack. let's Let's hurt somebody. Let's hit him in the mouth to see those two guys just go down. And then to be able to see Ken Walker now get into the secondary.
00:09:47
Tristan Amundson
And he was running free for another I want to say 12, 13, 15 yards after that impact as he um was able to run all over the Pittsburgh defense.
00:09:57
Tristan Amundson
Dude, that that was an incredible play. It really was. it's It's really fun to see Robbie Outz working. it's It's fun to see that this draft pick specifically working. And the fact that it is becoming part of the identity of who the Seahawks are and and ultimately who they say they want to be.
00:10:15
Tristan Amundson
I mean, talk about a value draft pick, right? I mean, a fifth round pick like that, that's on the field that often. It's really, really cool to see.
00:10:24
M dub
And incredibly, Utes was not the only Seahawks offensive player drafted in the fifth round to make a positive impact on this game. Tristan, we left the listener, at least I did last time, with a lot of concerns about, hey, there needs to be some targets other than JSN to last us the whole year.
00:10:41
Tristan Amundson
Yep.
00:10:43
M dub
We saw that question really get resolved in the first quarter. Seahawks only scored one touchdown in the quarter, end up with seven points, but at At the end of that first quarter, Sam Darnold has 92 yards passing, which is on pace for an insane game.
00:10:57
M dub
And that includes a really beautiful... includes some passes to Cooper Cup, which felt really good, and includes a very beautiful wide-open touchdown pass to fifth-round rookie, Torrey Horton.
00:11:09
M dub
You saw Kup get involved in this game early, and Horton. Elijah Arroyo had a few good catches. I forgot about it by the end, but A.J. Barner scores the team's second touchdown in the third quarter to get the thing going. was ah And also JSN with another just about... Did he actually break 100? Yes.
00:11:27
Tristan Amundson
He did. He did. Yeah.
00:11:28
M dub
Another 100-yard game. it was an I think it was an absolutely beautiful pass distribution. I see why I was concerned last week because we hadn't seen Clint Kubiak and Sam Darnold work to get the ball to everybody.
00:11:40
M dub
But we did in this game and feels really good. I mean, it's a lot of 30-yard performances, but hey, 60 yards a game is a 1,000-yard receiver. And this was great. This was just an ideal distribution, I'd say.
00:11:54
Tristan Amundson
Well, and to your point of distribution, what comes to my mind, every single one of those players was playing their role perfectly. if If you want to just kind of break this down, JSN was was adding the dynamic piece that you're looking for from him, obviously highlighted with that play towards the end of the game.
00:12:13
Tristan Amundson
you know, whatever that was, a 50-yard touch, not touchdown, but a 50-yard catch up down are up the middle um by JSN. Really cool. um But then think about the other guys, right? I mean, Torrey Horton, if you think about his touchdown...
00:12:29
Tristan Amundson
kind of a crossing route, right? Both JSN and him meet in the middle there. and And you're using his dynamic speed. you're you're You're using his ability to kind of be another version of JSN out there, which I think is kind of an interesting mismatch.
00:12:46
Tristan Amundson
if you're If you're a defense and you're looking at that formation, you have to
Key Plays and Game Outcomes
00:12:50
Tristan Amundson
pick your poison. Who are you going to double? Who are you going single? um And really giving Sam the option there I thought was really cool.
00:12:58
Tristan Amundson
If you look at Cooper Cup, right, the way that he was utilized, Cooper Cup was utilized in the slot almost exactly, I think, as you envision, kind of a possession guy.
00:13:10
Tristan Amundson
Here's the problem with Cooper Cup. I've watched this game about five times now, Miles. Every time when I see Cooper Cup make his catches, his his ability to create yak doesn't make any sense whatsoever. His yards after the catch, it's...
00:13:29
Tristan Amundson
Cooper Cup's body looks different. Like it's interesting. It's it's kind of hard to describe. but It seems like he just steals eight, nine, 10, 15 yards after the catch over and over and over again in what looked like really unspectacular plays.
00:13:45
Tristan Amundson
And then it turns out to be an extra, you know, chalk, put on an extra 10 yards that I don't think other people are getting. Is that something that stood out to you? Just kind of Cooper Cup's ability to kind of slither through, i think slither is the only word that comes to mind, kind of through a defense and just come up with all of these extra yak yards that that i I was not necessarily expecting, but I was really delighted to see.
00:14:11
M dub
I can't say it's something that necessarily stood out to me. For the game, he had seven catches for 90 total yards. To your point, 48 of them coming before the catch and 42 of them generated after the catch.
00:14:24
M dub
that's ah That's a really big deal. That's you know half the yardage on the day. And I think when Cooper Cup was signed, we we were expecting him to be the wide receiver too behind Jackson Smith and Jigba.
00:14:35
M dub
And I think 1,000 yards for the season for Cup is it's kind of a really high expectation.
00:14:41
Tristan Amundson
yeah
00:14:41
M dub
So to get 90 yards in the game and way outpace that, I think was really phenomenal. It's something I'm really looking forward to watching it as the year goes on, now that you mention it. ah This ability to generate ah extra yards wasn't necessarily the strength of the Seahawks wide receiving group last year.
00:14:56
Tristan Amundson
yeah
00:14:57
M dub
And i think that's the point this year. I mean, you saw Elijah Arroyo. It was a very short pass to him, but he had a lot of space to get some yards, and he did it in kind of his first catch coming across the line of scrimmage.
00:15:09
Tristan Amundson
I think that was what a 22 yard gain by Elijah. And that was such a simple little play. It was really fun to see him out in space and to see his giant frame kind of cruising down the sidelines and the the speed he was able to pick up.
00:15:24
Tristan Amundson
And then to your point, AJ Barner kind of playing that, that classic tight end type role. Well, I, Maybe going back to my original point, I just love the different kinds of contributions. People playing, guys out there playing their part, playing their role.
00:15:41
Tristan Amundson
and And I guess the the sum of the parts really... equaling something special right i mean all of these individual guys doing their jobs but but they're doing it kind of in one orchestrated manner it was fun to see man like i it was a really interesting thing to see that and then to your point the uh the balance on on offense as well certainly running the ball and and and keeping um Keeping the defense ah off off kilter and off bounce.
00:16:16
Tristan Amundson
um I should know this, and I might try to look this number up real fast, but I want to say that um that Sam Darnold was under center.
00:16:29
Tristan Amundson
I think he was under center like 60% of the time um during this game, which is a pretty crazy thing. You're not seeing that a lot in the league anymore. pretty Just a lot of cool stuff in this game.
00:16:40
M dub
And I think we should mention we're a whole podcast and it and a second chunk into this season. We haven't really mentioned the offensive line yet. And I think that's, I think that's a sign they've been playing really well.
00:16:51
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, absolutely.
00:16:52
M dub
These were a lot of clean pockets. There's only been three sacks on the year. Um, not for, and for not much yardage between them. Uh, It's kind of funny. The offensive line is little bit like a faucet.
00:17:05
M dub
When it's running, you don't really think about it. When it's broken, you know you're very angry at the faucet. And yeah, it's been an amazing season from the offensive line so far. Like I mentioned, I do think, you know even though this wasn't a 40-3 victory or something like that, I think it is really hard to find subpar performances ah from the team in this game.
00:17:27
M dub
Tristan, can I talk about what I thought the two most important plays were across the game?
00:17:27
Tristan Amundson
Well,
00:17:32
Tristan Amundson
yes, please.
00:17:32
M dub
Because, you know, there's a lot of talent in the NFL. We got the salary cap. We got the draft. These are keeping things, you know, those those are promoting parity. Really what the NFL is coming down to very often is kind of the coaching, coordinating, strategic decisions on short yardage plays.
00:17:50
M dub
And I think this came down to two plays, both of which I think the offense really made a mistake. One to the Seahawks, one to the Steelers. And I think the Seahawks did kind of benefit from their mistake coming in the first half, had a little more time to recover from it. It wasn't as costly as the Steelers' decision.
00:18:08
M dub
But hopefully, there's a learning opportunity for the Seahawks coaching staff, because I think this could be done better in future weeks. Play number one, we're in the second quarter.
00:18:19
M dub
We mentioned A.J. Barner. By the way, the Seahawks might have discovered their own brotherly shove here with a direct snap to A.J. Barner.
00:18:26
Tristan Amundson
I like that, yeah.
00:18:27
M dub
It converts last week. It converts early in the second quarter this week. Then we're later in the second quarter and we get down to Seahawks are at fourth and one on the Pittsburgh 29 yard line, 29 yards from the end zone.
00:18:42
M dub
Tristan, as I was watching this, I wanted to be really clear on my own personal convictions within five or 10 seconds of the previous down ending terms of okay, what are we going to do? Short yardage.
00:18:53
M dub
I thought the Seahawks should go for it and they did, but Fourth down, you know, there's there's kind of two mountains you have to climb on an ah offense on fourth down. First is just, am I going to go for it?
00:19:07
M dub
yeah And that kind of aggressiveness. The second mountain, so the Seahawks climbed that one. Offense stays on the field. The second mountain is getting a logically sound play call out there.
00:19:21
M dub
And the Seahawks do not get up this mountain because on this play, we got Sam Darnold kind of looping around in the backfield with his back to the play. He turns around. There's a short pass designed.
00:19:33
M dub
ah He turns around to see all, you know, ah the wall of Cameron Hayward right in his face.
00:19:38
Tristan Amundson
Yep. yep
00:19:40
M dub
And it's a blooper of a play. He tosses this ball. It gets tipped. It gets picked off. And the Steelers rumble down pretty much to the Seahawks end zone. And I really think when you watch the first half, the Seahawks really dominated the run of play.
00:19:53
M dub
But this play call, it it helps the Steelers move move up. They're down 7-6. It helps them move up
Special Teams and New Kickoff Rules
00:20:00
M dub
14-6. They convert a two-pointer off the touchdown. On fourth and one, i just don't think – third and one, fourth and one, I really don't think you're going to fool anybody in the NFL.
00:20:11
M dub
Any type of – if the words of like loop or pitch or other side of the field are kind of being used in your play call, that's that's a play call you've got to throw out of the short yardage
00:20:19
Tristan Amundson
I like that.
00:20:26
M dub
the the short yardage list. You don't have to have very many plays in there. You don't have to surprise the defense with something new. you has As the Eagles have shown us and as A.J. Barner has shown us, which I feel like nobody's really caught on to yet, h A.J. Barner's doing this too.
00:20:43
M dub
You're not going to fool anybody. You just need that one yard, and it's down to your players' strength and competitiveness to get it
00:20:46
Tristan Amundson
Yep.
00:20:52
Tristan Amundson
um I love the the visual of an offensive coordinator at fourth and one looking through his playbook and taking your advice and seeing the word loop and just being like, nope, nope.
00:21:03
Tristan Amundson
every Every single play that says loop, we're not going to do it. Every single...
00:21:06
M dub
Motion, sweep, misdirection.
00:21:07
Tristan Amundson
but
00:21:10
Tristan Amundson
Like it just has like all of these different like keywords that you can not do in fourth and one. No, I agree. i you know, there's a few moments and I felt that towards the end of the game where that final drive, you were just thinking like, don't make a mistake at this point. Like the most important thing, that final drive before K9 gets his touchdown, i was thinking the same thing.
00:21:32
Tristan Amundson
It was that third down call and it ends up being, well, I'm sorry, second down, they end up taking the sack and and as I was watching that, I was so grateful that Sam just didn't try to get cute. He just kind of collapsed like, oh, yeah, I'm going to take a sack here. This isn't going to work.
00:21:49
Tristan Amundson
i I can't be Superman um because in those moments, the most important thing really to do is don't make a massive mistake. Yeah. And that's where my mind was at the end of the game. So I think I agree with you. Whenever you see fourth and whatever, it's not the time to get super, super cute. I mean, every ah know every now and again, it can it can really work out. But um it's going to be hard to outsmart guys like Hayward, to your point, guys like Patrick Queen, guys that have been in the league for a long time.
00:22:20
Tristan Amundson
These are veterans. they They know what they're doing.
00:22:23
M dub
Here's what I'd say. Let's let's see somebody stop the A.J. Barner play first, okay, before before we really get into something new.
00:22:28
Tristan Amundson
Fair enough. Yep.
00:22:32
M dub
And there was a situation, the Seahawks actually faced three fourth downs in the second quarter. There was a situation in the middle of of these two where they were about midfield the it was about a fourth and two, and they punted, and I thought that was a good call.
00:22:44
M dub
However, ah do think, hopefully the Seahawks learn, because I think the Steelers actually made the more costly error. So on this one, we got two minutes left in the third quarter.
00:22:55
M dub
The game is still tied 14-14. We have no idea about the blowout that's about to happen in the last 17 minutes of the game. And they face a fourth and one on their own 48-yard line.
00:23:09
M dub
And in my mind, I said, as as a member of the nest here, sitting nestled in this Seahawks nest, I said, please punt the ball. Please do not go for it.
00:23:20
M dub
Please punt the ball. And the first the first mountain of decision-making, if you will, and the Steelers decided to punt the ball. And I think that was a really costly error.
00:23:31
M dub
it it was absolutely, if it you know, you don't want the opposing fan base to feel relief with your calls. And that's what I felt.
00:23:38
Tristan Amundson
Yeah.
00:23:40
M dub
So they punt the ball, Seahawks drive down the field, score a field goal, ah and then what happens next could not have been predicted.
00:23:49
Tristan Amundson
You don't think next gen stats got this one on their prediction?
00:23:52
M dub
this Then the Seahawks score a touchdown on on the next play, kickoff on the next play, which we haven't talked about yet. We'll get into. And the Steelers lose the game from there.
00:24:03
M dub
so that's So the reason that Mike Tomlin, I'm sure, didn't want to go for it on fourth didn't want to go for it on that fourth down was it feels risky to go for it. But hopefully the Seahawks can learn from this example that – Actually, you can't hide from risk in the NFL.
00:24:20
M dub
I would say it was risky for the Steelers to not go for it. And the next time they got... I mean, you know, Aaron Rodgers has to trudge back to the sideline for this play in a 14-14 game.
00:24:31
M dub
And the next time he gets to take a snap, it's 24-14. And down. and he's on i mean So that couldn't have been predicted he'd score ah two possessions worth of points, but it happened. And either way, even without the Seahawks getting that absolutely crazy gift of a touchdown, I really think the Steelers, I think that was the play where they lost the game the most.
00:24:56
Tristan Amundson
No, i it's interesting. Yeah, they they could have maintained possession. It's a tough one. The retrospect things are always difficult. um So, yeah, that that's a tough one for me to comment on.
00:25:11
Tristan Amundson
Except that i I will say I was thinking the same thing. I was relieved to see the punt. Mostly, I think, because you just love to get off the field. It just feels so good. Okay, get off the field. We'll get our offense on.
00:25:22
Tristan Amundson
um Should we have a moment of silence for Caleb Johnson? Is that would that be appropriate? Just kind of out of respect for the young man. It's a tough. Listen, he's a rookie. That's a tough day at the office. He's he's trying to make an impact on this team and he's going to have to come back from that one. I read Mike Tomlin's comments today and, you know, Tomlin's the best. He he was gracious and, you know, hey, we'll give him a chance to work his way back.
00:25:49
Tristan Amundson
But that's it that's a tough one. If you're trying to make a name for yourself on a team and and you're your mental blunder turns into seven points for the other team, um maybe just a ah moment of silence for Caleb right now.
00:26:05
Tristan Amundson
Okay, that was enough. um you how How do we approach this play, Miles? how How do you want to break down this kickoff? that the The best kickoff you've ever seen in your life? Is that fair? Is it fair to say you've never seen a better kickoff than this?
00:26:20
Tristan Amundson
It's the best kickoff of my life, I think.
00:26:23
M dub
Well, okay. I have to say, I mean, so we saw Jake Moody get cut from the San Francisco 49ers after last week. And I know he's a 49er and the division and all that, but I feel bad for the guy.
00:26:30
Tristan Amundson
Yep.
00:26:35
M dub
mean, he's just got to mope around that sideline and you just know this guy of lost his job in front of everybody. I mean, that's a that's a crazy situation.
00:26:45
M dub
I thought the same thing was happening in this game. I kind of couldn't believe it was happening on special teams two weeks in a row, but then took a look.
00:26:51
Tristan Amundson
Yeah.
00:26:53
M dub
Caleb Johnson was picked this year at pick number, pick number 83.
00:26:55
Tristan Amundson
Oh yeah. He's a high, he's on my fantasy football team. He's a high draft pick.
00:27:01
Tristan Amundson
ah yeah I have him stashed on my bench.
00:27:01
M dub
ah Jalen.
00:27:03
M dub
Okay.
00:27:04
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, but.
00:27:05
M dub
Jalen Milrow pick number 92.
00:27:07
Tristan Amundson
Okay.
00:27:08
M dub
so they So they pick him well ahead of Jalen Milrow. Here's what was thinking. It was really great that George Helani follows the play all the way through.
00:27:17
Tristan Amundson
Yeah.
00:27:17
M dub
That's great awareness. I was actually surprised the call that a touchdown. I didn't think he possessed it well enough. So I was really surprised to see it all happen.
00:27:25
Tristan Amundson
Yeah.
00:27:29
M dub
He had more than a moment to collect himself and really make it clear that he got the touchdown, but um it was a wild play. The broadcast did say something about how this hasn't happened since the 1980s or seventies or something. And,
00:27:45
M dub
That is not true. ah you can look There's a Bills-Jets play from about seven years ago where almost this exact same thing happens, although it's a much more clear touchdown. So that made me wonder what the heck was going on in the Fox ah research booth.
00:28:01
Tristan Amundson
Yeah. yeah
00:28:03
M dub
So a lot of thoughts. so thats That's what I was thinking. well And I was thinking, if i'm but here's also what I was thinking. So I'm sure he has some thoughts well. If I am picked past pick number 40 in the NFL draft...
00:28:16
M dub
There's two things. If I'm going to the NFL draft, one, I'm looking at an atlas all the time because I hear a lot of players say, well, I had no idea where, i had no idea oh, Foxborough, Boston, I, I,
00:28:25
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, sure.
00:28:28
Tristan Amundson
There's so only 32 cities.
00:28:32
M dub
If I'm getting drafted that whole winter, I'm looking at an Atlas and I know every, every stadium and practice facility. So i'm not going to be caught by surprise when I have to move there at, in about 24 hours notice.
00:28:44
M dub
Second thing I'm doing is I am memorizing the special teams rules. Cause I'll be honest. I don't
Seahawks Rushing Strategy and Defense
00:28:50
M dub
know them all off the top of my head. I think,
00:28:51
Tristan Amundson
sure yeah
00:28:52
M dub
I think the broadcasters, all of us, i think we're all surprised. But if i if I'm being drafted, i am spending 20 minutes daily with the special teams rules from January to continuously.
00:29:05
M dub
from from the from from I'll give myself a week after my last college football game, and I'm just sitting with those rules as long as I'm you know not a first-round pick. And it's wild this that stuff like this happens.
00:29:17
Tristan Amundson
I love the work-life bounce that you just put in there. You're going to give yourself a week. Hey, you just finished college. Go to Cancun. Have some fun. But after that, you know, you're going to be you're going to be in the special teams ah or, yeah, yeah, the rule book specifically for special teams.
00:29:35
Tristan Amundson
What I love about that play is you can tell all the broadcasters and basically everyone at home, basically it seemed like everyone except George Halani was kind of like, wait, what, what's this?
00:29:50
Tristan Amundson
How does this work? What's this mean? Like kind of try to figure it out. Even, so even the great Steve Rabel, don't know if you've listened to the radio broadcast. Even Rabes, you can kind of tell he he's kind of nonchalant about the fact that the ball got by the guy.
00:30:05
Tristan Amundson
And then Helani lands on it. And Rabel isn't overselling it at all. And then says, it's a touchdown. And he's all really excited. But I think even the great Steve Rabel, that was kind of a weird moment where he had to get his head around it. So to your point, listen, but let's make it, it can be, a you know, the positive side of it is who was in his playbook? Who who did the Miles Ray?
00:30:28
Tristan Amundson
approach to the offseason. George Helani did. George Helani took a week. Hey, I'm going to hang out with my family for a week or two. gonna i believe George is going into year two, right? So it's like, hey, got to make sure that I'm i'm good to go.
00:30:43
Tristan Amundson
and he got in that special teams rule book, man, and it it paid off. um What I'm a little confused about with that is my understanding is it doesn't matter if it touches um if it touched him or not, right? it It could have touched Caleb or not touched Caleb.
00:31:00
Tristan Amundson
That's a live ball because it landed in the landing zone. And since it landed in the landing zone, it's anybody's football at that point. Is that correct?
00:31:08
M dub
That is correct, which is the key difference between a kickoff and a punt.
00:31:12
Tristan Amundson
Yes. Yes. OK. Yeah. So that that's a live ball um in years past. If it would have touched his hand, then then that's when it would have turned into a live ball, whereas he could have let it go.
00:31:24
Tristan Amundson
So what would have happened? Do you know what would have happened if if if it just would have kept rolling out the back of the end zone? It would have not been a touchdown, correct? What would have it been? Would have it been Steelers football or Seahawks football? Do you do you happen to know? I really don't. umm like That's the part of it that I'm still confused about.
00:31:43
Tristan Amundson
And I have not been in the rule books the way that you and George have.
00:31:45
M dub
I know. Yeah, yeah. yeah i be Well, that's why. I mean, there's money on the line. You know, there's no money on the line here for me with these special teams plays.
00:31:52
Tristan Amundson
Yes.
00:31:54
M dub
I think, I think, and this is just a guess, I think that would be a touchback to the 20 for the Steelers.
00:32:00
Tristan Amundson
For the Steelers, right? That's what I thought. That's historically what it would have been.
00:32:04
Tristan Amundson
Just a touchback.
00:32:04
M dub
It could be a touchback to the 35, but I think it's touchback Steelers either way.
00:32:07
Tristan Amundson
It's just a touchback. No issue. Yeah, because we saw other balls fly out of the back of the end zone, correct? So it's not the end of the world for it to go out the back of the end zone. But if that puppy decides to stop in the end zone, it's your ball.
00:32:21
M dub
Well, ah the the key, and this is this is what the change is from this year, is the key is if it lands in either the landing zone or the end zone
00:32:30
Tristan Amundson
Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's crazy, man.
00:32:33
M dub
zone. Yeah. Look, it is crazy. i mean, everybody's still adjusting to it, including us, including the broadcasters of the actual game.
00:32:43
Tristan Amundson
Yeah.
00:32:44
M dub
ah But yeah yeah, I mean, there's a lot of people who are paid a lot of money to be on top of that stuff. And the Steelers weren't, which is wild.
00:32:52
Tristan Amundson
it It is wild. Yeah, it's it's a wild thing that that that would have happened, because especially with the new rules, you would think that would be as clear as can be. I got to run back there and jump on that football. I got to do something.
00:33:04
Tristan Amundson
um So I will say just just what what what what my eyes are telling me watching the um football this season. I like these new kickoff rules that they it is a lot more lively. Kickoffs are way more entertaining this year than they have been in years past. I'm really enjoying what they're doing with the kickoff in this whole landing zone thing. I think it's good.
00:33:26
M dub
I agree. i think there's been a really good good balance this year, and it it it has become a play that you do have to look at, for sure.
00:33:33
Tristan Amundson
Yeah. Miles, can I tell you why I'm not a coach in the NFL? Yeah.
00:33:39
M dub
Why not? Why not?
00:33:41
Tristan Amundson
Well, if I was a coach in the NFL, if I kept having success running it right down the middle over and over and over again, I would just keep doing that. And every time that an outside run didn't work, I would think to myself, you know what?
00:33:57
Tristan Amundson
When we run inside, it works over and over again. and it it It doesn't work when we go outside. So let's just keep going inside. And that means that if I was a coach in the NFL, you never would have gotten a 20 yard touchdown run by one Kenneth Walker, um which I think goes to it goes to show.
00:34:25
Tristan Amundson
What am I even trying to say here? It goes to show, I guess, that the long-suffering, stick-to-itiveness it takes in the NFL. You're going to keep running against a brick wall, and it's going to hold up until it doesn't.
00:34:39
Tristan Amundson
And, you know, you you talk about... Wearing down a team. You talk about body blow after body blow after but body blow and what that does to a team, you know, over the course of a game. And I don't know if I've ever seen a better example of that play out than that Ken Walker touchdown run because that play did not work. And and I know it wasn't exactly that play. they They tried to run it a lot to the outside.
00:35:05
Tristan Amundson
And to my eyes during the game, none of them broke until that play. I watched that play. I don't know, probably five, six, seven times, maybe 10 times. And as you watch it, you can just see the either the over pursuit or just the lack of ability for Patrick Queen and the other linebacker to get in position.
00:35:29
Tristan Amundson
um It's pretty incredible to see because those are plays they were making. really regularly throughout this game and they couldn't do it on that last play that it just goes to show the value of sticking to a thing, even if it looks like you're being stubborn.
00:35:46
Tristan Amundson
there There must be something that these coaches are seeing that's like, no, you know what? Let's try one more time. Let's let's see if we can, you know, and and I'm sure they were going for a field goal. I don't think they were thinking this is going to be a touchdown run.
00:35:59
Tristan Amundson
But man, that was an incredible play. And it was, I mean, such a unbelievable cherry on top of just this beautiful, um this beautiful game and in the bridge city, city of bridges.
00:36:12
M dub
Yeah, absolutely. i yeah, I'm really curious to see, i think we'll start following it maybe next week. This, the Seahawks yards per carry splits from quarter to quarter.
00:36:22
Tristan Amundson
Yeah.
00:36:22
M dub
I think they're going start. I think they're going to escalate as the game goes on with, with this being a great example. And I think you're right. The play was to, to settle, to be getting position to settle for a field goal, but credit to K9 and everybody else that, that might be what we're thinking, you know, as it comes in, but you know,
00:36:43
M dub
Clearly, he's thinking every play, this this could go in for a score, and I'm going to get it there.
00:36:45
Tristan Amundson
Absolutely.
00:36:47
M dub
Incredible effort. And I do think that that splitting the carries so evenly between K-9 and Charbonnet really helps with that. I think that play is probably not possible if K-9 has 20 carries on the day.
00:37:00
Tristan Amundson
Yeah.
00:37:00
M dub
but pretty But by splitting him so evenly, it's kind of like pretty much no matter what, you have a fresh running back in there, and they have a tired linebacker in there.
00:37:08
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That linebacker is in there for 100% of the plays, right? And so you compare that 100%, compare the 35%, that's going to make a massive difference. It's a really good point.
00:37:19
Tristan Amundson
um No, man, what what a cool play that was. Fun to see K-9 really come into his own and so far this year and and specifically in this game. um Man, get should we talk can we talk a little bit about...
00:37:34
Tristan Amundson
You started by saying how good some of our takes were from last week going into this week. Can we talk about a couple of those takes? Can we just get into a little bit of them? Because the the first one that comes to my mind, I feel like it really came true throughout the throughout this game.
00:37:52
Tristan Amundson
Aaron Rodgers getting old and he took a beating last week and dude took a beating this week. um I was still a little afraid because I figure week two Aaron Rodgers would still be obviously much better than what like week 12 version of Aaron is going to be.
00:38:08
Tristan Amundson
But man, you could see. 40, 42 year old body does not want to take a beating for four quarters and and it had a massive effect on him.
00:38:19
M dub
It did. And i think a big thing that was really not doing him any favors. and We've gotten this far. We haven't really talked about the de defense, which I think was the Seahawks. This Seahawks defense is unbelievable.
00:38:33
M dub
And I think they have been unlucky with what their offense has given them. in in the last two weeks to give up as many points as they have. 17 points a game is still seventh best in the NFL, which is phenomenal.
00:38:45
Tristan Amundson
Yeah.
00:38:47
M dub
And they've been unlucky to get to that number. So ah with with di know that though the fourth down interception, getting the Steelers into the red zone, that's their only touchdown of the day.
00:38:58
M dub
given up. And a big thing that I was watching with Aaron Rodgers, and to me, i could see it developing as as the game was going on, that the Seahawks' four defensive linemen were being so effective and so destructive that the team did not need to blitz.
00:39:15
M dub
And they barely blitzed at all. The Pittsburgh Steelers had 39 passing plays. Seahawks blitzed four times. I mean, this is the This is Mike McDonald. This is where Mike McDonald earns the big bucks because he's completely keyed in on something like this.
00:39:27
Tristan Amundson
Yep.
00:39:29
M dub
Oh, no need to blitz. Only do it four times. On plays without blitzing, just the four defensive linemen, Seahawks generate 13 pressures.
00:39:40
M dub
They were up in Aaron Rodgers all the time.
00:39:40
Tristan Amundson
Wow.
00:39:42
M dub
They do pick him off twice. I had forgotten about this, but Darion Kendrick drops one early in the first half. It it should have been a three interception, the easiest one of the game to pick off.
00:39:50
Tristan Amundson
white Right through his hands. Yeah, absolutely.
00:39:53
Tristan Amundson
Yeah.
00:39:54
M dub
So it was it was three turnover-worthy plays, and there were a lot of defensive fronts that the Seahawks were showing, especially on ah an obvious passing down in the second half.
00:40:03
M dub
where and I'm sure there's a million terms a football coach could throw out here, but basically the Seahawks, the Steelers guard center and other guard are looking at green grass in front of them.
00:40:14
M dub
And all four of the Seahawks are lined up just way out on the edges because there was they were saying, hey, Eric, you know, you're not going that against Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson, somebody who could, you know, get 15 yards.
00:40:27
M dub
No problem. They just knew Aaron Rodgers wasn't going to do that. And the Seahawks defensive line, I thought, completely controlled this game. And you completely forgot about the Seahawks injuries in the secondary.
00:40:40
Tristan Amundson
Yes, no, absolutely. I mean, going into this game, the the fact that we were going to miss Witherspoon and E-Man, that was going to be tough. I mean, and and you're looking at that, that was going to be a real emphasis in this game.
00:40:54
Tristan Amundson
It was not noticeable. And you're totally right. It's because the defensive line. Now, the secondary guys did a great job. I mean, Josh Jobe had an unbelievable game. um Reek had a great bounce back game, obviously.
00:41:06
Tristan Amundson
I think um Love in the middle was able to really control the game like he always does. um Certainly Kobe Bryant. I mean, really, i mean it's really your first point of this podcast.
00:41:17
Tristan Amundson
Every single one of these guys, really you could make a story. you could You could do a storyline for each one. um But the ability for this defensive line... to control the line of scrimmage. Aaron Rodgers rarely looked comfortable back there.
00:41:33
Tristan Amundson
And the names that you just keep seeing over and over again, i think this little duo of Demarcus Lawrence and Derek Hall I mean, they were causing trouble the entire game. It looked frustrating. And you saw um ah a really egregious hold on Derek Hall. I believe it was Derek Hall that got called.
00:41:55
Tristan Amundson
um And that was a beautiful hold. i mean, it was just like, you got me, man. Like, you're going to murder my quarterback if I just, I'm going to give you a giant hug. And so, you know, good good on that, that offensive lineman, he took care of the issue.
00:42:09
Tristan Amundson
um Troy Fontano, I believe was the offensive lineman on that whole former UW tackle. Um, But man, Demarcus Lawrence has been ah really kind of a breath of fresh air. I really like what he brings to this defense.
00:42:25
Tristan Amundson
That's not a name I've been super excited about, but he brings a really kind of a fun aspect to this team. yeah There's an edge. um He really holds up at the point of attack. He's holding up against the run, and he's really contributing against the pass, too. It's been fun to watch him.
00:42:44
M dub
All these great performances. The best one might be Josh Jobe, just by the way, for the year. Josh Jobe, eight yards allowed on nine targets with one interception.
00:42:50
Tristan Amundson
Unbelievable.
00:42:55
M dub
um Extending this man is is number one on John Schneider's desk here, number one priority. But I do think that the best player, if not Jobe, the best player on the defense in this game, I really do think so, ah was at the nose, Mr. Byron Murphy.
00:43:12
Tristan Amundson
Incredible.
00:43:13
M dub
First round pick from last year. it was a slow burn. This was his career best game. And he really made a lot of noise. A lot of noise up in the middle. He is e is's just as just as much a part of that rotation on the D-line as Leonard Williams and DeMarcus.
00:43:30
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, no, Byron did a great job. He was noticeable in the same way. So it's fun. The stats came this time, right? like Last week we said you noticed him in the backfield. You noticed him disrupting.
00:43:44
Tristan Amundson
But, you know sometimes the the stats just don't they don't play out that way. This was a game where he got rewarded with the stats of what he was doing, I think, against this um against the 49ers as well.
00:43:56
Tristan Amundson
He was just so active, whether it was stopping the run, creating quarterback hits, pressures. um I can't imagine. i mean, I don't that that first half sack that he got where it was him and Leonard Williams.
00:44:10
Tristan Amundson
can I mean, I'm 41 years old. I'm about the same size as Aaron Rodgers. I think he's a couple inches taller than me. I can't even comprehend what it would be like to have Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy simultaneously tackle me to the ground.
00:44:29
Tristan Amundson
that It sounds like one of the worst things that you could ever experience. i Like my back just twinged a little bit. I could feel it in my lower back just imagining 600 pounds landing on you and like sandwiching you.
00:44:43
Tristan Amundson
um Watching those two together was really fun. But yeah, man, Byron Murphy, um he really did take the cake. He he was great. 63% of the snaps in this game, which seems like an absolutely perfect um amount that he was out there.
00:44:57
Tristan Amundson
um And then i got to mention one other. Can we quickly talk about the scramble that Aaron Rodgers had? He was scrambling to the sidelines. um And suddenly you see Big Cat, you see Leonard Williams on a collision course.
00:45:13
Tristan Amundson
And I believe I'm trying to think it might have been Kobe Bryant. It might have been it might have been love coming up from the secondary and it kind of forced him. They they they were both like heat seeking missiles, but it was crazy to see Leonard Williams speed out in the open field catching up to and then full speed running into Aaron Rodgers. It's another moment. It's just like I can't imagine how much that would hurt.
00:45:37
Tristan Amundson
um Big Cat had a killer game too, I guess is what I'm trying to say. He also jumped off the page. To have a conversation where we're saying two defensive tackles jumped off the page, that's it that is the Seahawks
Steelers' Weaknesses
00:45:50
Tristan Amundson
fans' dream. We've been waiting for this for years. It's incredible.
00:45:54
M dub
Yeah, and that these these these are the excellent performances that go into not needing to blitz and completely controlling the game. There was the one play, the short dump off to Jalen Warren.
00:46:05
M dub
Some poor tackling. He breaks off 60 yards. Credit Tariq Wolin for being the guy to ultimately track it down.
00:46:10
Tristan Amundson
Yep. Yeah.
00:46:13
M dub
Aside from that play though, the Steelers generate about 150 passing yards in this game.
00:46:17
Tristan Amundson
yeah
00:46:18
M dub
I mean, it was really clamped down and even that was most, it felt it was kind of mostly a run, you know, and instead of a pass. Um,
00:46:26
Tristan Amundson
and And sorry, just speaking of that, because we won, so it's easy to to kind of feel good about that play. Man, if I was a Steelers fan, I mean, that was a gorgeous play by Jalen Warren. That was really I mean, that was quite incredible how many tackles he bounced off of the way he just kept going.
00:46:43
Tristan Amundson
I mean, just just purely as a football play. That was incredible to watch.
00:46:50
M dub
It was pretty good. I will say, though, it did feel as this was a pretty comprehensive win. I also don't think that the Seahawks really beat a quality opponent in this game because I walked away going, Jalen Warren looks good, but it really feels like the Steelers are without a strength as a team.
00:47:08
M dub
It's it's kind of hard to point to
00:47:08
Tristan Amundson
I think that's true.
00:47:10
M dub
Hey, if this is going to keep the Mike Tomlin winning streak alive, what is it that they're going to do well? They've now given up 30 points in consecutive games so that, you know, it's not the defense of 2023 even, you know.
00:47:24
Tristan Amundson
it's not going to be your quarterback. I mean, your quarterback, I think the best thing you can say about Aaron Rodgers, I think they would even say this in a quiet moment before the season. Aaron Rodgers is there to not make mistakes and to manage a football team and to make a few spectacular Aaron Rodgers type plays, but he's there to be a stabilizing force. I think that's, that's his role at 41 years old.
00:47:47
Tristan Amundson
Like the but best case scenario for Aaron is he's, Yeah. You know what? Aaron didn't lose us a game, right? That's what you would say you're getting from a veteran quarterback at that age. She's not losing us games, but Aaron's not going to be able to do anything spectacular anymore.
00:48:02
Tristan Amundson
So to your point, so what is it? What what is the home run? Who's the Cal Raleigh? Who's the big dumper? Who's the home run hitter of this pi of the Pittsburgh Steelers?
00:48:13
Tristan Amundson
I guess you're hoping that somehow it's going to be DK Metcalf. Is that the home run, Miles?
00:48:19
M dub
I was going to say, we've gotten this far and we haven't mentioned DK Metcalf's name, which I think it was a relief. I mean, you could see you could see a monster one happening.
00:48:26
Tristan Amundson
Yeah.
00:48:29
M dub
i mean, we we know what's possible.
00:48:31
Tristan Amundson
Very possible.
00:48:33
M dub
And it it just absolutely didn't happen. Even the touchdown, i really... yeah's in my i think i think Kobe Bryant played that ball really well. Very aggressive. Top of the catch point. DK just happened to come down with it. it' was a few inches away from being a pass defense.
00:48:48
M dub
I didn't mind that at all. You got to tip your cap, but ultimately was about 30 yards from a guy. They're paying $30 million dollars this year.
00:48:55
Tristan Amundson
Yeah. And, and you know, it's funny. So last week, Nick Bosa jumped off the page, right? Nick made his presence felt. Now TJ Watt had a pretty good game. And yeah I think he had, I think he had at least one sack. i'm looking at his stats right now.
00:49:12
Tristan Amundson
I guess he technically did not record a sack in the game, but he had plenty of pressures and QB You could feel TJ a little bit, but man, not a lot. I mean, did you did you walk away from that game thinking like TJ Watt was all over the place or even Cam Hayward for that matter?
00:49:28
Tristan Amundson
i I didn't. Now, listen, I guess I have to. but Intellectual honesty, Cam Hayward had that incredible swat that caused that that fumble. So maybe maybe Cam is an exception, but or that interception, I should say.
00:49:41
Tristan Amundson
But man, like TJ didn't jump off the screen at me, like just thinking about stars that the Steelers have. TJ didn't make a massive impact. Like for most of the game, we kept him pretty well under control.
00:49:53
M dub
I think so, but to his credit, i think I think the Seahawks devoted a lot of personnel to him, a lot of double teams. so
00:49:58
Tristan Amundson
Yep. Yeah. Well, ah you're right. there There was that one play where there's legitimately we had three guys on TJ Watt. So that's a good point. That's that's actually a really good point. We did. I think we knew we didn't want that guy beating us.
00:50:12
M dub
But I think that might be the Steelers' issue. Seahawks could afford to do that. Their other players couldn't really capitalize with all that attention on
00:50:19
Tristan Amundson
Yeah.
Seahawks vs. New Orleans Saints Preview
00:50:20
M dub
T.J.
00:50:20
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, absolutely. um No, man, this was ah this was a super fun game. Fun to see the bounce of the different offensive ah players. Fun to see the strength of this defense really coming along.
00:50:34
Tristan Amundson
And really exciting to think about this game without Witherspoon, without even Rory. Like there's there's some upside to this team um as they're continuing to grow and you know learn how to play with each other. So there's I think there's better things to come.
00:50:50
M dub
Absolutely. Also, Cheninuosu was healthy for this game. Definitely still working his way back into full strength.
00:50:57
Tristan Amundson
Yep.
00:50:57
M dub
Was on a very limited snap count. Had the one penalty. ah Yeah, more to come. In week three, the Seahawks will return back to the confines, the comfortable confines of Seattle.
00:51:09
M dub
They'll be hosting a team that's traveling for the first time this season. a team that has not won a game yet this season. The New Orleans Saints. Tristan, the New Orleans Saints starting quarterback is Spencer Rattler.
00:51:22
M dub
He is 0-8 in his career. And I zoomed out a little bit bigger. ah The New Orleans Saints have played 44 seasons without Sean Payton as their head coach.
00:51:36
Tristan Amundson
Okay.
00:51:37
M dub
Before and after.
00:51:38
Tristan Amundson
Okay. Fair enough.
00:51:38
Tristan Amundson
Yep. I had to think about that for a second. Yep.
00:51:38
M dub
44 seasons without Sean Payton.
00:51:41
M dub
Take out the Sean Payton era.
00:51:41
Tristan Amundson
i' I'm with you. With you.
00:51:42
M dub
We got 44. And it's little complicated because he was suspended for a whole year in the middle there.
00:51:47
Tristan Amundson
Yep.
00:51:47
M dub
So I counted that one too. 44 seasons. In those 44 seasons, they've had eight winning years, five playoff appearances, and one playoff win.
00:51:55
Tristan Amundson
Wow.
00:51:56
M dub
So they've been on top for a while, but we're kind of back to business as usual with the Saints here. The Seahawks need this win. I mean, things are feeling great right now. But the team's got to be focused.
00:52:07
M dub
Got to win this game pretty comprehensively. If it's a loss, some warning bells are going to go off.
00:52:14
Tristan Amundson
Yep.
00:52:15
M dub
Saints have played NFC West opponents each of their first two weeks. Got back into the game in the fourth quarter against both of them. I think that's what you'd really like to see by Seattle is fourth quarter is our time.
00:52:28
M dub
You know, no backdoor covers, no comebacks.
00:52:30
Tristan Amundson
yeah
00:52:31
M dub
This is this's a big win.
00:52:33
Tristan Amundson
Huge. No, absolutely huge. and And knowing that we're potentially going to have E-Man and Witherspoon back, it'll be fun to see their contributions. um Fun to see...
00:52:45
Tristan Amundson
I mean, really, hopefully take... I think this is what you're saying. Take advantage of a weak Saints team and and really kind of build upon this win. um We're not going to count any ah any chickens before they hatch, but um this is a really good opportunity for this team to come home, make an impact, make a statement, get in the win column, and you know move on to that move on to the next one. So no it'll be a fun one to watch.
Seahawks History and Episode Sign-off
00:53:11
Tristan Amundson
um I'm trying to think... Stars, um, stars from new Orleans, Chris Olave comes to mind.
00:53:20
M dub
I got got a fascinating one here, which is Demario Davis, their linebacker, has moved into the top 20 all-time in career tackles.
00:53:20
Tristan Amundson
Um,
00:53:24
Tristan Amundson
okay.
00:53:28
Tristan Amundson
Okay.
00:53:29
M dub
Surprised me. We got Cameron Jordan still.
00:53:30
Tristan Amundson
Tackle machine.
00:53:31
M dub
we got Alvin Kamara still. Some guys have been there for a long time, but...
00:53:33
Tristan Amundson
That's right. That's right.
00:53:39
M dub
Did mention Spencer Rattler was 0-8 as a quarterback? And also, the Niners go in there this week. ah You hear that Brock Purdy gets injured. You kind of wonder, hey, is this going to help us out of the division a little bit?
00:53:50
Tristan Amundson
Nope.
00:53:51
M dub
And the answer is no. Not against – on the road as well ah for the Niners.
00:53:54
Tristan Amundson
Yeah, a limping a very much limping 49ers team being able to take care of the Saints. So yeah, that that bodes well very very much for us. um You know, they have a ah saying in New Orleans, Miles.
00:54:09
M dub
they did Well, did they learn their 50 seconds of Seahawks history in New Orleans first?
00:54:15
Tristan Amundson
No. yeah So that they always say the same after they learn their 50 seconds of Seahawks history.
00:54:19
M dub
Oh.
00:54:23
M dub
Okay, that's what I thought.
00:54:23
Tristan Amundson
They never. Yeah.
00:54:25
M dub
Sorry.
00:54:25
Tristan Amundson
No, that's like um that's like going to I don't want to say it's like going to the doctor's office, you know, because you don't want to miss an appointment. It's like going if the doctor's office was like, you're a little kid and it's one of those doctor's offices with like an Xbox.
00:54:40
Tristan Amundson
You know, that's that's you got to you. You do not want to miss an appointment in in Seahawks history.
00:54:47
M dub
um Well, Tristan, thank you, and thanks to the listener for indulging me on this, the 50th season in Seahawks history. We take 50 seconds in Seahawks history. My time starts.
00:54:59
M dub
Now, so Tristan, the first ever Seahawk to lead the league in a statistical category. So the team starts in 1976. In 1977, they draft a fullback in the seventh round named David Sims.
00:55:13
M dub
That's not the Mariners' broadcaster, different guy. The next year, 1978, David Sims leads the league in rushing touchdowns with 14. He adds a receiving touchdown to also lead the league in total touchdowns.
00:55:26
M dub
On top of this, he misses two out of the 14 games on the schedule. In that season, we have Walter Payton, Earl Campbell, Tony Dorsett, Franco Harris, and Lynn Swan all playing in the NFL.
00:55:37
M dub
David Sims gets more touchdowns than all of them, more touchdowns than Marshawn Lynch gets in any game during any season with 16 games in it. Three years into the 1979 season, Sims suffers a career-ending injury. It's all over.
00:55:53
M dub
This year, he turned 70 and has been living in his home state of Georgia. The very first Seahawks to lead the league in a category. He burned bright, he burned fast, and and then he was gone.
00:56:04
M dub
a forgotten career. What could have been? David Sims.
00:56:07
Tristan Amundson
Man, that's incredible. it This is going to be such a fun um segment for to hear names like that. I haven't heard that name in a long time. That's a name that I grew up hearing my dad talk about. um you know famous Famous, to your point, you know didn't didn't burn for super long, but burned brightly when he did.
00:56:29
Tristan Amundson
um And I mean, and I like, I mean, I especially like the shout out to Dave Sims, the play by play man, because he's a he's he's one of he's one of the greats of all time as well. So that's that's a apt. That was really well done.
00:56:41
M dub
and what have meant Thank you. i would have It would have not been a surprise if it was the same guy. you know Because these Seahawks stick around Seattle. They get into the media. you know A lot of dynamic personalities. But no, this David Sims has lived in Georgia for a long time.
00:56:55
Tristan Amundson
It's a small town. It's a small town.
00:56:58
M dub
Well, Tristan, I did hear that they have a saying in New Orleans. A place with a lot of tradition.
00:57:05
Tristan Amundson
and
00:57:05
M dub
lot of history.
00:57:06
Tristan Amundson
And really, I think they have it in Georgia as well, where Dave Sims lives.
00:57:09
M dub
oh
00:57:10
Tristan Amundson
Yeah. And they have it in Seattle. And I heard it a little bit in the city of Bridges. I heard i heard the phrase there as well.
00:57:18
M dub
At the confluence of the three rivers, they have this thing.
00:57:20
Tristan Amundson
yeah For a million dollars, can you give me those three rivers again? It's a tough one.
00:57:26
M dub
ah The Allegheny, the Monongala.
00:57:27
Tristan Amundson
Yes. Ooh, I don't think you got that pronunciation correct. ah But I can't do it again. I have to like hear it because it's such a tough one. I'll give it a shot, though.
00:57:39
Tristan Amundson
Never mind. I went away. But yeah, you know the phrases.
00:57:45
M dub
I have a guess.
00:57:46
Tristan Amundson
If we we're standing next to the Ohio River, we'd hear it. We'd hear the river trickling the phrase Go Hawks.
00:57:53
M dub
Go Hawks.