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00:00:01
Forty-Niner Fever
23 Plays10 days ago
Miles previews the upcoming playoff game against the 49ers: a contest with lots of injuries, and hopefully even more run blocking from the quietly effective Eric Saubert.
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:00
Tristan Amundson
Folks, welcome in to the World's Only Seahawks podcast. This is Miles. Normally, our trusty co-host Tristan is leading things off in this space. Tristan was not able to go for us in practice this week, but he is a full go for this weekend's game. He's a full go for the rest of the playoffs.
00:00:22
Tristan Amundson
He's a really important part of what we are trying to do as a podcasting team out there.
Pre-Game Analysis of Seahawks vs. 49ers
00:00:29
Tristan Amundson
Folks, it's about lunchtime on Friday. We are just over 24 hours away from the Seahawks hosting the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round of the playoffs.
00:00:43
Tristan Amundson
As we've talked about all year, there have been 50 seasons in Seahawks history. This is playoff game number 37. You know it, I know it. These are precious gems. And with this coming out on Friday afternoon, I know that this audio file has about 24 hours of life become before it quickly becomes obsolete. So I hope I'm with you.
00:01:13
Tristan Amundson
mowing the lawn on Saturday. Maybe you're just knitting and just waiting, counting down the hours until the 5 p.m. kickoff on Saturday night. But here we go. This is a big one. We wanted to make sure we got a little bit of discussion looking ahead at this Niner Seahawks game before it
Recap of Last Weekend's NFL Playoffs
00:01:32
Tristan Amundson
happened. And we'll be back next week with our total regular business Wanted to take a quick check in at last weekend, a historically wild slate of NFL playoff games.
00:01:46
Tristan Amundson
There was a moment, there was a beautiful fleeting moment where it looked like the Rams would lose their game and the Packers would win their game. And as Tristan and I talked about last week,
00:02:03
Tristan Amundson
Ideally, if you're a true champion, you really don't care what your playoff schedule is, who rolls into town. If you have to go into somebody else's town, we weren't quite up to having that mindset. We wanted that slate to be easier. So we thought.
00:02:19
Tristan Amundson
So we thought easier. And anyway, both the the Packers ended up blowing their game and the Rams ended up coming back in their game. And ironically, it was the former Seahawk, Colby Parkinson, catching the winning touchdown for the Rams and keeping their season alive.
00:02:37
Tristan Amundson
It was tough in the moment. It was tough in the moment to see both of those games break. ah Again, this is this is really getting ahead of myself with predicting who's a harder, or easier playoff opponent for the Seahawks, but it did feel tough in the moment to see both of the games break the way they did.
Packers vs. Bears Game Insights
00:02:54
Tristan Amundson
We have now had several days to digest those games that weekend and It's pretty clear that in both situations, the right team won.
00:03:05
Tristan Amundson
We are not talking about the Rams' victory over the Panthers and the Bears' victory over the Packers as fluke incidents. We we have a feeling as a collective football country that the correct team won in those games There was a moment that stood out to me as I watched the Packers blowing their lead to the Bears in in that historic fourth quarter.
00:03:29
Tristan Amundson
A moment that really stood out to me about what the playoffs are all about. Now, if you've listened to the show, you do know that I love a stat, but I...
00:03:40
Tristan Amundson
I'm starting to think over time, as I get deeper into my football watching life, that analytics and stats just mean less and less as the season goes on.
00:03:52
Tristan Amundson
I think they're at their most important the day after the Super Bowl, as teams prepare for free agency and prepare for the draft. And I think their importance goes down as the season goes on. And we're at we're at pretty much the point in the season where stats are... i don't know if useless is the right word, but way less useful than before.
00:04:14
Tristan Amundson
And what got me thinking about that was midway through that fourth quarter in the Bears-Packers game, the Packers still had the lead. They cut to a shot of Jordan Love on the sideline.
00:04:25
Tristan Amundson
And I felt... this guy looks pretty casual for the moment that he's in right now. And that's not much of an analysis. That's definitely, there's a way that um I think he'd get into trouble just reading body language that closely.
00:04:42
Tristan Amundson
But it's what I felt. And I think there was a stark contrast to some other shots of Caleb Williams on the Bears sideline, really getting people ramped up and ready to go. it to be honest, i've I kind of think that was the entire difference in the ball game right there.
00:04:58
Tristan Amundson
And I think that that's kind of what the playoffs are all about. You can't be casual about these moments. There's no time to warm up into the game. It's everything for 60 minutes.
00:05:09
Tristan Amundson
And you just can't be casual about it. that was my that was why That was the main thing I thought about last week's playoff games.
Seahawks' Rest Advantage Over 49ers
00:05:17
Tristan Amundson
Looking forward to Seahawks and 49ers, I do think this game, a lot of it, is about rest,
00:05:26
Tristan Amundson
or scheduling, and injuries, which isn't the most fun thing, but I think those stories are just so big in this game. That's kind of what we have to talk about. Briefly, talking about the rest.
00:05:39
Tristan Amundson
So that Week 18 game, the last time the Seahawks were on the field, beating the 49ers pretty convincingly, it was an incredibly important game as far as the rest went.
00:05:51
Tristan Amundson
If the 49ers had won that contest, they not only would have been the one seed in the NFC and had home field throughout the playoffs, they also would have had a home Super Bowl coming off of their last couple regular season games also being at home.
00:06:05
Tristan Amundson
If the 49ers win that game, they are staying at home for literally like eight or nine weeks in a row. Maybe not quite that much. and ah Almost two months in a row, they would be staying at home in the middle of an NFL season in the middle of a playoff drive.
00:06:23
Tristan Amundson
So now since the Seahawks won that game, the 49ers schedule looks completely different. As we know, last weekend, the Seahawks were lounging about at home. The 49ers had to fly back to and fro from Philadelphia. They won a really gritty game over the Eagles. a lot to be proud of for the forty nine ers Not only do the 49ers have to come back to the West Coast after that game, and then the additional travel to Seattle, which is not that big of a deal, but they have to come back to the West Coast after that game.
00:06:53
Tristan Amundson
And then they only have six days to get ready for this Saturday contest against the Seahawks. They're on a short week. They're on a six-day week. And then, in the meantime, the winner of this game, Seahawks versus 49ers, since it is being played on Saturday,
00:07:10
Tristan Amundson
that team will have a bonus day, an eight-day week, to prepare for the conference championship game, which is going to be the following Sunday. So winning that Wake 18 game was huge in a lot of ways, and the Seahawks have a rest advantage, and they'll continue to have a rest advantage over the winner of the Rams and the Bears if they do manage to beat the 49ers.
Impact of 49ers' Injuries on the Game
00:07:37
Tristan Amundson
Now, the 49ers, looking at the injuries now, and looking at the 49ers list, it's obviously an incredibly long list. Last weekend, we saw George Kittle tear his Achilles. He'll be out potentially into 2026.
00:07:53
Tristan Amundson
At this moment, even at this late moment into the week, we have Ricky Pearsall questionable. His availability is questionable. Both of these guys, Kittle and Pearsall, they have battled different injuries throughout 2025. When they are healthy, though, they are number one and number two on the 49ers in yards per game.
00:08:14
Tristan Amundson
That's over Christian McCaffrey. That's over Juwan Jennings. And then, in my opinion, the biggest one. this This news story really went went back and forth all week, and it it had it had me nervous. It had me nervous because in previous shows, I've really said how much I respect and fear linebacker Fred Warner.
00:08:35
Tristan Amundson
It seemed like he he you definitely had to give him respect. He is definitely putting everything on the line and doing what he he did. you You know he did everything he possibly could.
00:08:47
Tristan Amundson
to get back for this playoff game against the Seahawks. And it does sound like, against all odds, he would be available for the 49ers if they advance to the NFC Championship game.
00:09:00
Tristan Amundson
Now, I really do feel like Fred Warner has about a 100-yard impact on the game. I think he's worth about 100 yards, looking, comparing, and contrasting between the Week 1 matchup between these two teams and the Week 18 matchup.
00:09:17
Tristan Amundson
Obviously, it's not totally clean. We also had Nick Bosa in that Week 1 matchup, and he had a heck of a game, but It is a completely different Seahawks offensive performance between those two games.
00:09:30
Tristan Amundson
Obviously, the team progressed a lot on their own. But I think i think the presence the presence of Fred Warner on the field had a lot to do with that. And specifically in week one, he was just completely devastating in the running game.
00:09:43
Tristan Amundson
So week one, the last time the 49ers came up to Seattle, Warner and Bosa are both healthy. The Seahawks have 230 total yards of offense across that entire game.
00:09:57
Tristan Amundson
That was the second lowest that they had in any game this season. The lowest, ironically, was the total blowout win against Minnesota. So that's a bit of a statistical fluke. We know that happened because they didn't really have to press the gas pedal down that hard in order to get the victory over the Vikings, who weren't moving the ball.
00:10:18
Tristan Amundson
Seahawks also scored a defensive touchdown in that game. So functionally, 230 yards against the Niners in week one. That is the lowest of against any team that for the Seahawks this year.
00:10:32
Tristan Amundson
Compare that to week 18. We know there were a ton of really long drives, really leaning on the rushing game for the Seahawks in that week 18 game. They moved up to 361 total yards of offense ah just a few weeks ago against the 49ers. And most of that boost in in yards does come from rushes.
00:10:52
Tristan Amundson
It was 84 yards of rushing for the Seahawks in week one, up to a big 180 yards in week 18.
00:11:04
Tristan Amundson
You would imagine the Seahawks are going to be able to have that same running formula going for them. Now.
Seahawks' Injury Challenges and Strategies
00:11:11
Tristan Amundson
Injuries are playing a role in the Seahawks. The Seahawks have their own injuries to deal with.
00:11:16
Tristan Amundson
We have seen a lot of stories if you've been following day by day. There's been a lot of questions that left tackle. And here's where we're sitting Friday afternoon with 24 hours to go.
00:11:29
Tristan Amundson
Charles Cross, who's been out the last few weeks, definitely your number one option. It looks like he's going to be ready to go and that he fully participated in the last practice.
00:11:40
Tristan Amundson
That's a relief because Josh Jones, your number two option, who filled in very well for Charles Cross last few weeks, he is going to be out and unavailable for this game So that creates that does create a lot of pressure. Your number three option now moves into your number two option. That is Amari Kite.
00:12:00
Tristan Amundson
We saw him very briefly make a cameo in the middle of that Week 18 game against the 49ers. Amari Kite, undrafted rookie, has only gotten in for 22 total snaps this season, most of those on special teams.
00:12:16
Tristan Amundson
So everybody's going looking for Charles Cross to stay healthy because that that's going to be – that's That could be the ball game for the Seahawks, and we're hoping Cross stays healthy stays healthy for that entire game just a few days after his monster contract extension.
00:12:33
Tristan Amundson
Another thing I noticed was what's going on for the team at tight end behind first string option A.J. Barner. So we've had Elijah Arroyo and Eric Saubert in this position, and basically they have not been healthy at the same time for a while.
00:12:49
Tristan Amundson
The last four games of the regular season, Arroyo's been out, and that was right when Eric Saubert came in after a long-term injury. Now, Saubert's just had a handful of catches on the year, obviously none of them bigger than the two-point conversion to seal the the big win over the Rams.
00:13:07
Tristan Amundson
He's really only had four or five receptions on the year, and we've seen much more receiving production from Arroyo. However, I started to look at the numbers a little bit because I was thinking the Seahawks rushing attack has also really come on strong in these last few weeks.
00:13:24
Tristan Amundson
And I do think that Eric Saubert is actually, he's he plays a big role in that rushing attack getting going. So in the first 13 games of the season, and that's a lot of games, and Saubert was healthy for a lot of those.
00:13:38
Tristan Amundson
First 13 games of the regular season, the Seahawks average 117.8 rushing yards per game. That's pretty good. But last four games with Sobert in and Arroyo out, that's taken a big jump up to 141 rushing yards per game.
00:13:56
Tristan Amundson
Now, looking back over the full season, there's only been five games all year, and I'm cherry-picking a little bit here, but there's only been five games all year where Eric Sobert has played at least 25 snaps.
00:14:09
Tristan Amundson
In those five games with at least 25 snaps, The Seahawks are rushing for 157 yards per game compared just 109 yards per game in the other 12 contests. So basically, you sort out.
00:14:21
Tristan Amundson
in the other twelve contests so basically if you sort out The five games of the year where Eric Saubert is playing the most, it is almost a 40-yard boost in rushing yards per game. And I think we could really see that in week 18.
00:14:36
Tristan Amundson
Saubert had some of his most playing time all year with 48 snaps. He was usually averaging around like 20, 25. He gets in the game for 48 snaps in that week 18 victory when the Seahawks rush for 180 rushing yards and just completely control the game. So...
00:14:53
Tristan Amundson
I know that we want Arroyo to be a long-term dynamic pass catcher for the team, but it does feel like, to me, for this week, I really actually would prefer to have Eric Saubert's contributions in the rushing game, especially because the last time we the last time we saw Arroyo, there were some issues with his targets getting intercepted.
00:15:16
Tristan Amundson
So this is injury for the Seahawks. Arroyo will be out. He's still hurt. Definitely need definitely looking looking to have him as as a long-term piece, but I don't think this is the worst thing to happen for this week.
00:15:29
Tristan Amundson
Another similar thing was at safety, where we've had Ty Okada fill in for Kobe Bryant the last two games. Now, in these last two games, which is the first time that Julian Love and Ty Okada have been starting together, the Seahawks have allowed 90.5 passing yards per ya That's just locking things down. And I think a big part of it, it has to do with tackling ability.
00:15:57
Tristan Amundson
So we know Kobe Bryant is a starting level player. We've seen him pick off four passes for the team this year, but missed tackles have been a big issue for Kobe. He has the most on the team with 18 missed tackles.
00:16:10
Tristan Amundson
And to be honest, that is a pretty big chunk of the whole team total for the entire year, which is 110. So every player on defense, add it all together, 110 missed tackles on the year, and it's 18 of them going to Kobe Bryant.
00:16:26
Tristan Amundson
Meantime, Okada, also playing for pretty much the entire year, has three missed tackles. So you're basically looking at a missed tackle per game.
00:16:36
Tristan Amundson
And in the secondary, that can be a really dangerous, huge yardage situation. And with Julian Love and Ty Okada playing so well together the last two games, I do wonder what Coach Mack and the defense will do because unlike Elijah Arroyo, it does look like Kobe Bryant is going to be healthy for this game.
Seahawks Coordinators' Future Prospects
00:16:58
Tristan Amundson
Now, as the team has been resting this week, not everybody has just been having time off. Two guys that unfortunately have been way busier than we would want them to be is our two coordinators, Clint Kubiak on offense, Adam Durde on defense.
00:17:16
Tristan Amundson
Both of these guys have been interviewing for head coaching positions. And what could he say? They absolutely deserve it. And you're absolutely cringing at this news because they're great candidates. And and this this is a painful life cycle of the NFL.
00:17:34
Tristan Amundson
You put an amazing program together like the Seahawks have done. And people want to take your guys. I mean, hey, look, isn't this what the Seahawks just did with the Baltimore Ravens getting Mike McDonald? I mean, obviously, this is the life cycle of the NFL.
00:17:49
Tristan Amundson
Doesn't make it any less painful, and it's still just so awkward in the middle of the playoffs. A long time ago, Tristan and I had a magical moment on air where we discovered the concept of Matchmaker Monday, just right after the Super Bowl, right around Valentine's Day.
00:18:06
Tristan Amundson
let's Let's just open up the interviews at that point. We have seen, particularly with Coach Mack coming to Seattle, that Super Bowls are not won and lost in that January window, as important as it may feel at the time.
00:18:21
Tristan Amundson
So in this last week, in this bye week, Adan Dirde interviewed for coaching position head coaching positions with the Atlanta Falcons and the Cleveland Browns. And Clint Kubiak had an even busier time. I don't know how you stack these Zoom sessions on top of one another or how you fully prepare differently. But he interviewed with the Falcons, Cardinals, Ravens, Raiders, Dolphins, and Giants. That is a lot of teams...
00:18:47
Tristan Amundson
We do know that he missed out on the Giants position since John Harbaugh has been hired. And despite all these interviews, it doesn't quite look yet like either guy is the leading candidate to secure any of those jobs, but we'll see.
00:19:04
Tristan Amundson
Now, throughout the season, I've been closing each episode with 50 seconds of Seahawks history.
Achievements of Tyler Lockett and Cooper Cup
00:19:09
Tristan Amundson
Last year, we closed each episode with a segment called Lockett Watch.
00:19:15
Tristan Amundson
That was watching beloved Seahawks legend Tyler Lockett make his way up the all-time receptions chart. I wanted to check in on that at the end of the year, the end of the regular season. Because not only did Tyler Lockett make some progress this year between his time, a pretty disappointing season, to be honest, between the Titans and the Raiders, two of the worst teams in the NFL, but Seattle's own Cooper Cup made some significant jumps as well. So for the year, Tyler Lockett had 32 catches for 291 yards and one touchdown.
00:19:49
Tristan Amundson
This moves Tyler Lockett. He started the year at number 76 all time on the receptions list, and he is able to jump up to number 67. That's 693 yards.
00:20:00
Tristan Amundson
that's six hundred and ninety three Total career catches, number 67 of all time. It's still very impressive. And meantime, Cooper Cup. This year for the Seahawks, he ends with 47 catches, 593 yards, and two touchdowns.
00:20:16
Tristan Amundson
I'll be honest, I did expect more yards from Cup, but I also expected him to play in less games. So we had we had Cup available. Way more than I thought he would be. I did expect a few more receiving yards, but let's be honest, as those went to JSN instead.
00:20:32
Tristan Amundson
So at the start of the year, Cooper Cup was tied for 81st on the all-time reception list, and this performance moves him up to number 70. all-time on the list. So he's he's just a few spots behind Lockett.
00:20:45
Tristan Amundson
And these are the guys he passed this year. He passed Drew Hill, Michael Crabtree, T.Y. Hilton, Deshaun Jackson, Charlie Taylor. That's a Hall of Famer from back in the day.
00:20:57
Tristan Amundson
Bobby Ingram, Ozzie Newsome, another Hall of Famer, Amani Toomer, Ricky Prohl, Herman Moore, and Lavernius Coles. And again, up to number 70 all-time in receptions.
00:21:11
Tristan Amundson
Looking forward, Cups on a multi-year deal with the Seahawks. He needs 62 more catches to get into the top 50 of all time.
Co-Host Tristan's Encouraging Letter
00:21:21
Tristan Amundson
Well, that's what I got for today.
00:21:22
Tristan Amundson
Looking forward to having Tristan back next time. And, you know, Tristan and i live in different cities. we we used to We used to live right next to each other, but now we live in different cities, different states. And, a you know, this week with with the Seahawks getting to the playoffs,
00:21:39
Tristan Amundson
I know that Tristan, he sat down with his fountain pen and his ink well, and he wrote me a letter. He wrote me a letter. It arrived at my mailbox. It was in this beautiful parchment, and it it had a wax seal on it, and I cracked it open, and I read it, and couldn't I couldn't believe what I read, and I wanted to share it with you today. opened this letter, and I'll be honest, it it only had it only had two words on it.
00:22:10
Tristan Amundson
And it said this, Go Hawks.