I mean, they are making the Hawks play on a WEDNESDAY to start the season, and almost had the season opener stolen from us by the Rams/49ers …

Now they’ve got our squad on HBO’s training camp documentary, Hard Knocks. This used to be reserved for the worst teams every year and was avoided like the plague. Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot. Well, sometimes it be like that; but the ‘that’ is a chance to tell the world who we are.

Ya’ see, this team has already played and won a Super Bowl while participating in a constant limelight. Over the course of the last 5 years, NFL teams have blitzed online engagement to an nth degree. Social media teams have blown up, the schedule release seems like a national holiday, and it seems like every single player has a podcast.

Access is the new wave, and it may have something to do with the expansion and proliferation of the sport of American Football, globally. It’s all too much to keep up with, if we’re all being honest.

Remember when I said the Seahawks have already operated within the limelight?

A local documentary called the Sound of the Seahawks rolls throughout the season. Hawks players will probably feel right at home.

Even the front office has gotten its shine, with the offseason documentary entitled: Before the Noise.

The Seahawks have become more accessible and a more integrated part of the Seattle community. Think about just the food: Legion Restaurant, Big Walt’s Kitchen, Bam Bam’s Smash Burger.

Leo Williams was out on the diamond for the Opening Day with the Seattle Mariners. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was at the weigh-ins for the Israel Adesanya UFC fight in Seattle. Multiple star Seahawks players have openly campaigned to bring the Seattle Sonics back to town. They are weaving themselves in deep, into the fabric of the town.

Doesn’t hurt that the Seahawks have one of the strongest cultures in today’s NFL. I didn’t stutter. It’s led by John Schneider, hand-delivered and gift-wrapped for a new owner / ownership group. It’s set in stone in the hearts of one of the more excitable and sports-thirsty fan bases in the country. Every time there is a chance for Seattle fans to show out for a new team (I just want to talk to Dwayne Johnson and the XFL) or sporting event, we do! Clock that.

Check the stats. Then, I want you to put the word out, that we back up. Put the word out that we stand by our teams, as a city. We are a sports town. This opportunity in front of a national audience could serve to seal that knowledge and help to keep the good times rolling. The Seahawks are up for sale by Jody Allen, if you hadn’t heard.

The good news is that the Portland Trailblazers just sold (also from the Allen Estate). Peep this, from Bleacher Report on the sale of the Blazers: “Even before the sale agreement was announced in September, ESPN’s Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst reported Dundon’s intention to keep the Blazers in Portland as part of the deal”.

We need that kind of an agreement and understanding from the jump!

Seattle has other, large things on the horizon. Sea-Town will host World Cup games in the near future for an international audience! When the Sonics come back, there will be celebration in the streets. Ok, maybe at least my street and a few dive bars on and around 99.

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This is a TV show that has won the Sports Emmy 19 times over the years. It’s a big deal.

Fans can expect a healthy dose of Witherspoon, JSN, Kupp, Barner, Love, Emmanwori, Murphy, Zabel and both Charbonnet and McIntosh’s respective recoveries from injury.

Will the affable young white boy, Rylie Mills have some golden interactions with surly vet, Jarran Reed? They are going to dote on Derick Hall and all his hobbies, aren’t they? Can we get Drew Lock a meet and greet with Jeezy? Can we get a 2nd-date (team) update on DK Metcalf to ask him if the grass was really greener? Is Ernest Jones IV destined to fight a whole offensive line in a joint practice? Will they cover Schneider’s drunken jabs at SB MVP, Ken Walker on the way out the door? This may be just the beginning of Sam Darnold’s redemption arc.

Hard Knocks may feel like more of the same of what we’re used to as 12’s… but it is a coming cultural zeitgeist. One that’ll have a few Californians and New Yorkers consider a trip out to catch a game sometime, and maybe see MOPOP, the waterfront, Pike Place, the needle and the Fremont Troll.

They did miss the Ride the Ducks.

We see some of the new players coming into the league talking about having watched the Legion of Boom as kids… (yikes for us millennials doe…). My Haitian Florida homie from Tampa Bay talks to me about having watched Seattle games for the first time when Marshawn Lynch was authoring earth-shaking TD runs. That’s the mark our previous Super Bowl-winning team left. It stands as one of the more prominent thing people in other parts of the country (and world, to an extent) know Seattle for.

The wild thing is that people don’t even know Mike Macdonald yet. BOOOOO to “East Coast Bias”. I didn’t quite believe it when I authored this tweet:

I believe that 1 of the 6 views on that X(tw)eet was none other than Kyle Brandt . If that is assumed to be true, he set out to prove me wrong, that the rest of the country truly does not pay attention to Seattle.

Okay, STOP THE COUNT! Prove me wrong he did. Touche Mr. Brandt , I hereby cease. I cease and desist all of my complaints about the aggravating narrative that Seattle is some secluded outpost of passing interest, forever toiling under the radar of the NFL landscape. I’m going to embrace that $h!t. Underdogs, we like it that way!

Give our team a national feel-good story to ruin. Talking our talk (when we deserve to) in the direction of the beloved darlings of the national media is the only way Seattle ever truly gets any respect or attention. Whether it’s Gary Payton at M.J., Richard Sherman at Brady, Doug Baldwin at Prime, Devon Witherspoon at the world. We. Did. Not. Care.

You are dealing with a team that is riding the cutting edge of modern defensive football schematics. That’s kinda a thing around these here parts… Pete Carroll constructed and conducted the Legion of Boom (with help). Now, the gloom of Mike Macdonald’s Dark Side team will be on full display.

On the John Schnieder show on 4/2, the namesake GM said, “it will allow people to see how beautiful the city is”. Seattle is the Emerald City, and I hope to see it shine in a unique fashion and glint. It’s also known as the Rainy City. Through the fog, a studied, eclectic, focused, forward-thinking and devoted city is there for the highlighting.

From rain, to grunge, to fish, to coffee, to stars like Gary Payton, Ichiro, Ken Griffey Jr., Shaun Alexander and the Legion of Boom… let’s give them something else to talk about.

The Seahawks have A+ juice at this moment in time. You can’t have the secret sauce, but the juice will be flowing. The entire country is now free to be blessed with a peek into how Seattle gets down. It should further help to defend and reinforce our way of life.

Curse be damned.

Could anybody have predicted this season? Don’t you lie to me… What we are seeing unfold before our very eyes is an all-time great run for a Seattle Seahawks HC in his second season.

There are many advanced stats that point to this team being special. In fact, it is no superlative to say that this team could be one of the best in NFL history.

The L.O.B. ain’t gonna like this one… but put some respec’ on it, unc.

How impressive is this? Just a torrid pace of competition in Mike Macdonald’s iteration of the Seattle Seahawks. Those are some very good teams there… want to see something even better?

As far as point differential, this team is among the all-time greats, MFer’s!!! That’s the Tom Brady dynasty Pats, the Greatest Show on Turf Rams, the Brett Favre and Reggie White Packers, the Jim Kelly Bills, Joe Montana 49ers and the ’85 Bears (generally considered one of the greatest defenses ever assembled). The Darrell Green and Gary Clark ’91 Washington team was the least renowned… and they still won the GAWDAM Super Bowl!!!

In fact, the only one of these other 8 teams that did not win the title was the cursed ’90 Bills. That’s a great cautionary tale for the Hawks… No matter how good you are, you still have to get the job done.

Job’s not finished, on some Kobe shit.

With that, any of my readers who have wondered where I’ve gone… I’ve been given the opportunity to contribute over at Field Gulls during this magical season. Catch my work over there.

Mark my words, though. NFL Rants will return soon…

He came back for a very team-friendly contract with incentives in 2023, then again in 2024 for the first year without Pete Carroll as head coach in Seattle since 2010. His numbers have not been bad since, but his QB Rating has fallen each season: 100.9 in 2022, 92.1 in 2023, and 90.5 in 2024. The Seattle Seahawks have, so far, been a 9-win outfit each of those years. This year’s figure ranks him 19th in the NFL this year… that’s Derek Carr territory .

You could blame some of this on the deterioration of the offensive line in Seattle: ranked bottom-5 in run-block win-rate (according to ESPN) and 2nd-worst in the league at allowing pressure (39.9% of drop backs). I think, however, the theme around Seattle over the last couple of years is frustration. Frustration at always being slightly better than average. Frustration at the same results over and over and over again. That consternated vibe carried Carroll out of the PNW and ushered in Mike Macdonald and his crew of cronies.

Mike Macdonald himself (partnered with John Schneider, no doubt) ha(ve)s been unafraid to let solid players go to seek the outstanding. Tyler Lockett got demoted, Stone Forsythe sat on IR, Zach Charbonnet finally got run, 6th and 7th round rookies (Sataoa Laumea and Michael Jerrell, respectively) were given a shot on the offensive line, Sam Howell was traded for, Darrell Taylor, Mike Jackson and Jerome Baker were all shipped out, Josh Jobe took Tre Brown’s job, Coby Bryant took Rayshawn Jenkins’ job, Riq Woolen was once again benched, and the Hawks’ leader in tackles (up until that point) in Tyrel Dodson was straight up cut. It’s a new era, and everyone has a shot to make some noise and prove something to the new head man. This isn’t just ho-hum try your best buds… every position will be evaluated.

I do believe that it is in the best interests of the team to bring back Geno Smith if you can get him on a relatively cheap contract. I mean, the man is 34 years old… a grandpappy in NFL eyes. Seattle already fired its offensive coordinator in Ryan Grubb, so a little continuity in another transition year couldn’t hurt. That’s also the reason I think the Hawks hire an experienced play caller this time around, but that may be an article for another day. Bring the offensive leader back at a figure that doesn’t break the bank, and if he can’t get it done, you have Sam Howell and hopefully some kind of draft pick as the contingency plans. You’ve got to believe all of the chemistry and good will Smith has banked in Seattle could lead him to offer a hometown discount at this point in his career as well. If the team around his is elite and cohesive next year, if he is not under constant siege in the pocket, he is a capable trigger man that knows his weapons.

Having that been said, let’s dive into the possible destinations that could beckon to Geno Smith, if the Seahawks ring of trust disagrees with me and wants to do a clean sweep. If Smith winds up parting with Seattle as a part of the next steps of the Mike Macdonald era (which Kenneth Arthur seems pretty convinced will happen), there should be demand for a capable passer. Maybe not from former teams in the Jets and Giants, but there will be a market for his services. Wherever he goes (especially be it in Seattle), I’ll wish him success.

In Alphabetical Order:

Carolina Panthers

• This is an absolute wild card to start with, but the QB coach for Geno during his breakout year is now the HC in Carolina. Smith could be very attracted to playing in a similar system that he found a lot of success in, proving that it’s his surroundings and not his age that’s responsible for regression. Los Panteras invested in the offensive line this past offseason, signing OG’s Robert Hunt and (former Seahawk teammate) Damien Lewis. Dave Canales know the value of this, as the team he just left his post as OC for (the Buccaneers) have the 4th-ranked line (according to PFN) going into Week 18. Think Smith disagrees with the Seattle GM’s stance on guards after this season of hell behind John’s joke of a line? This would also be the locale with the shakiest hold on the job, as Bryce Young has shown a bit of improvement late in the season.

Cleveland Browns

• What if there is a true competition with Deshaun Watson? Watson has been underreported as the worst trade of all-time… don’t give that to Russ! Watson has been bad, even despite Cleveland’s OL being 11th in pass block win rate, according to ESPN. Our guy G. would pray for line play that solid. The Browns chose the wrong guy, seeing Baker Mayfield (who they basically said wasn’t a grown up (lol)) advance to the playoffs with the Bucs once again. There are a couple of Seattle boys on the line there as well, and Cedric Tillman could come to life as a downfield threat once again. Divisional matchups against Russ, ladies and gentlemen?

Indianapolis Colts

• This one could make a lot of sense. Indy has a strong tradition of very good offensive line performance (something Geno should covet at this point in his career), stout defense and is chock-full with playmakers. Sounds like the kind of environment that Russell Wilson got at the start of his career! Ok, enough about him, this is #7 we are talking about. Anthony Richardson is physically astounding, but 38 out of 38 qualifying quarterbacks in QB Rating this year. That’s bad, and Shane Steichen is coaching for his job this year… Flacco ain’t gonna cut it.

Las Vegas Raiders

• Edit: Removed the New Orleans Saints here, replacing the Black and Gold of NOLA with the Silver and Black that now colors the desert. Pete Carroll is back and he will rise again! (Ok, maybe a LITTLE TOO CLOSE TO HOME there ) The man known to chew gum, rock Nike Monarchs and find elite DB’s everywhere he goes could look for a little help from one of his “all-time favorite guys“! The new head man of the Raiders is an enjoyer of savvy vet QB’s on cheap deals who can take care of the ball and rally the troops. Or cheap rookies… but the team may be too far off from the top of the draft to go the young route. G-Money rolling the dice down the seams in Sin City could bring some needed excitement to town.

Tennessee Titans

• The Titans finally benched the mayo man, Will Levis. There are a lot of similarities between the offenses and defenses of both Tennesse and Seattle, so the transition could be eased down in Cashville. The Seahawks even conducted joint practices with the Titans this past offseason, getting intimate with an opposing squad in a hostile environment. Coach Callahan brought his POPS in to help fortify the offensive trenches and may prefer a more traditional pocket passer than what he has in Levis.

You don’t want to go to these teams Geno, what can we do to make this thing work for one more year?!

It would be a treat to see Geno Smith back with a commiserate contract. We’ve seen him play at a high level, he can navigate pressure well, he is a respected leader and he’s still hungry. Worst case scenario, if Father Time has him in his clutches and his play sinks next year… maybe you roll with him until the wheels come off and put you in position to draft a young prospect. That or Sam Howell saves the day… J.J. McCarthy? Joe Milton??? One thing is for sure: Seattle won’t be able to properly evaluate the effectiveness of any quarterback until they fix the offensive trenches and blocking schemes.

In turn (and in a strangely unexpected twist), playing Fallout recently has reminded me of my love for football. All these layered and massive open world RPG’s that I loved as a kid are a different beast now. I’m immeasurably more analytical than I was as a kid.

When I was 13 years old, I was not going to look up the best gun tiers or the easiest path for this or that type of character build. Back then, I just knew I wanted the mad chill blue turtle.

Nowadays, as an analyst by profession and an avid Seahawks fan by heart, I try to understand the full picture. I’m searching for every advanced stat and any blip on the radar about who will be and who should be the next player to pop off. Believe me, fantasy football does not help with this mindset. It’s so easy to see players as commodities and statistics.

You see, back in the days I just knew my favorite star player would come through in the clutch. It was not about letting a company with a three-letter acronym grade my local great (not that PFF or PFN are bad things). The Seahawks were superheroes to me in my infantile fandom. It was a pure love and devotion to watching and letting my opinions form through observation. Not through an unhinged message board community (not that Reddit is a bad thing).

How about this: what if this is our chance as 12’s to see football with fresh eyes? No matter what you thought about the transition to a new coach, football is new. I mean hell we got our first joint practice this year! That was a new thing to learn for all of us, in a season of newness.

All of my characters in RPG’s now are optimally built super machines. I’ve usually looked up the most optimal way to approach each mission, and the meaningful impact of any major decisions I make as a player. This is basically me playing rpgs in my 30’s:

Just kidding, I still enjoy. Much as I try to read the numbers and learn more deeply about where the team’s strengths and weaknesses are, that doesn’t take away from the joy of a hard-fought game/boss/match.

Mike McDonald has apparently been in his bag lately. I hope to sit and watch Mikey Mac play his brand of football… The new Seahawks, brand of football, against the New York Jets this week. That will be a joyous activity, as I attend for my first game ever at MetLife Stadium in the Big Apple. There’s something about exploring a new city (guided by either your in-game pip boy, or your IRL Yelp app) that transmutes your emotions into the highest forms of joy, excitement and alertness.

Firing Pete Carroll was leaving the vault. We are wandering across the wasteland of Seahawk fandom to see what we can scrounge before the next pivotal moment in this adventure. I encourage us all to take it in, and see the simple joys of football that many of us fell in love with in our formative years.

After choking out the Arizona Cardinals, Mike Macdonald said: “I just think a credit goes to our coaches and our players, and everyone in the building of just like, understanding of what we’re trying to build and when it’s not that way, then you just hammer away. Just go to work and work on our processes, and try to figure out, schematically, what we’re good at. Puttin’ our guys in better situations… so it’s just kind of everybody working together all the time, stayin’ together, trustin’ the process, and then you have games where you feel like you played pretty good and helped your team win the game. But it’s about consistency”.

In a coach’s first year, they commonly want to boil their philosophy down to the most crucial aspects. To see a franchise be built from the ground up is akin to the type of experience I had as a kid seeing cranes and dump trucks. For my Fallout players, do you remember assigning your first perk and fighting your first ghoul? Sometimes we’ve got to revel in those simple joys of observation and experience.

The Seahawks looked ferocious and promising against the Falcons a couple weeks back. Then the squad got absolutely basted by the Buffalo Bills at home this past weekend in an embarrassing loss. It was the worst home loss for the Seattle franchise since before the Pete Carroll era… Some fans will hate to hear that I’m still bringing up Pete Carroll. But a portion of this fanbase believes that Pete should’ve never been fired in the first place… at least not yet. You can disagree and I won’t hate it but let me explain.

Carroll finally got to use all of the draft picks that came in the huge, franchise-altering gamble that was the Russell Wilson trade. We can look back now with 20/20 hindsight and act like it was no big deal, but that took a set of brass stones to pull off that move. All of that ammunition doesn’t necessarily pay off when the players are rookies… I believe that Pete Carroll should’ve been given one more year for all of that talent to coalesce and converge. Hell, he got to 9 wins and was fighting for a playoff spot in the final week of the season!

All of you fans bashing those of us constantly bringing up Coach Caroll as a comparison can go somewhere and take several seats. We are allowed to feel hurt about the firing of a franchise legend, one who put Seattle on the pro football map and delivered a trophy to a region where no other coach had succeeded before. We are allowed to expect improvement and promising play from his replacement. There are playmakers on this roster and Pete Carroll proved that.

I’m not just going to buy into Mike Macdonald because Seattle fans wanted something new, and some TV personality called him a boy genius… he needs to prove it to me before I have the belief in him that I had in the previous coach. Before I’m willing to pronounce it a win that we replaced Peter Clay Carroll.

Some of us do have heightened expectations now. That’s what happens when you have a good long marriage/relationship, the bar is raised. That doesn’t make me a fair-weather fan, as I will be in front of my TV every Sunday whether it’s torture or not… And no, Evan, I’m not willing to give him a pass for poor play. I don’t believe the Hawks have a poor roster!

On the other side, I am also sick and tired of seeing all the tweeters, screaming to blow up everything and trade our best players after each loss. It is the epitome of hyperbole.

I have come to the conclusion that I cannot be lying in wait to scorch the new coach at every turn just to prove my point. Of course I want the Seattle Seahawks to do well, that’s my team! I hope the man is good. It’s true that he may not have all of the personnel to fit his scheme on the roster yet. This off-season would be a good time to flush the parts and positions that don’t jive with his vision this year. I hope Coach Mike is willing to play young players and do the testing necessary to see who can be building blocks for the future.

Let’s give him this year to show promise and another year or two to really make his imprint on this team. It does take time to get out of the contracts of the previous regime, but the thing is this is not a completely new regime. John Schneider is still here as a prominent presence in the organization. The coaching factor is now a big variable.

Whether you have hopeful and protective feelings towards Mike Macdonald or whether you are slightly bitter and distrustful: let’s all sit back, not attack each other, and enjoy the ride. There is still a lot of season left to learn lessons and come to conclusions.

It’s on the new coach to keep showing why he was hired, and how he can continue to evolve and adjust the team. It’s possible that this team is not a contender for the playoffs like they have been annually. In that case, I do, hope we lose the bandwagon portions of the fan base, I’d love to advance in line for season tickets!

No matter what happens in the coming election, we all still need to live together work together and strive for our own goals. These athletes are better people than us if they can solve in-fighting between people from all over the country (hick boys to hood boys) better than we can, sitting at home or moving throughout our day. Everything doesn’t have to be life or death. That goes for football and politics, ya looneys. We can’t let the powers that be pit us against one another just for their own gain.

Real life is so unlike the circus hellscape that is Twitter / X / Elon’s playground. Take a chill pill, chase it with some H20 and let’s get ready to face each other out in real life. Sometimes we make the mistake of confusing our community with a warring tribe. Don’t.

Well, Seattleites may soon learn the hard way that it’s tough to follow a legend. It’s also tough to make any sweeping conclusions following an early game loss against the previous year’s NFC Championship runner-up. As much as I want to point the finger and scream, “see, that’s why we should’ve never gotten rid of Pete!!!”, the truth is that it’s early. The players may still be learning Macdonald and OC, Ryan Grubb’s playbooks. On top of that, the entire starting defensive line was out and injured .

I will stop just short of providing any insights following the MNF ‘L‘, but I want to redirect our attention towards what is coming up for the season. It will be exciting to see who steps up, how young players develop, and most of all: How a Mike Macdonald team handles adversity. Don’t forget that we now have the league’s passing yardage leader (among other advanced stats). Did the Lions truly deal a deathblow to the fraudulent confidence of the young Hawks, or will they bounce back even stronger?

One thing we cannot take away from Coach Carroll was that he was a leader of men. Players gravitated to him and many times had their best years under him. There is much more to learn about these new-age Seattle Seahawks, as this is just the start of the implementation of Mike’s philosophy and scheme. Let’s talk about the upcoming settings in which these lessons will start to unfold.

Top 5 Most Exciting Remaining Seahawks Games

• V. New York Giants (Week 5) A get-right game? The Seahawks (and especially the defense) should be eager to wash the taste of that loss from their collective mouths. Facing a team that Seattle dominated just last year could be just what the doctor ordered. Let’s just all be honest about how much we drink to drown the sorrows in this one, eh?

• V. San Francisco 49ers (Week 6) Call me a glutton for punishment, after Seattle has lost the last 5 meetings against the 49ers. That’s two and a half sweeps bruh . The team in Santa Clara is also dealing with some bad injury luck themselves and looking up to the Hawks in the NFC West standings. The day we make the Niners bleed their own blood is the day we’ll see the light at the end of their tunnel of NFC West terror. Here’s to hoping the defensive line is back to full strength by this time. It’s also prime time TNF with the exulted throwback unis

• @ New York Jets (Week 13) Seattle heads to the Big Apple to face off against Aaron Rodgers and his new fling (Gang Green, not any of the substances that came to mind for you right there). This is another team with a lot of hype, which provides an opportunity to make a statement. Rodgers is hoping for another ring, but the Hawks will want to crash the wedding and get a little revenge of their own. I’m also biased, since I’m looking forward to a non-work trip to the NYC for this game!

• @ Chicago Bears (Week 17) Our first look at the chosen one, #1 overall pick, Caleb Williams. He’ll be utilizing former Seattle resident and UW star, Rome Odunze at wideout against Woolen and Witherspoon. Da Bears have an underrated defense, while Seattle could have an underrated offense (if the offensive line is fixed by this time). Shane Waldron revenge game…?

• @ Los Angeles Rams (Week 18) The Rams brought upset to Seattle’s team psyche and destruction to Seattle’s offensive line in Week 1 last year, after an offseason of low-key hype for Carroll’s cadre of compatriots. Can the Seahawks take advantage with Aaron Donald out the door? Watching McVay and Macdonald match wits will be fun. The Rams have a lot more young talent now… and they’ll be playing this game inside the apparently impressive SoFi Stadium. Oh yeah, McVay wanted Byron Murphy II in the draft, so let’s wave our shiny new toy in his face!

The 2024 NFL Season will be the largest leap of change to actual gameplay since the 1970 NFL Merger.

Recently we heard about the outlawing of “hip-drop tackles” via officiating, for the 2024 NFL Season. Now, this is tough because I’m all for player safety, but this is undoubtedly the next rule change in a long line of them that has made everything easier on the offense. Quarterbacks and wide receivers are now protected, and the point-scoring and excitement has been optimized for and catered to. Many current and former players voiced their displeasure when this ban was announced.

This hasn’t been discussed a ton, but the league also decided to push the NFL trade deadline back a week. There is an extra game, but that still moves the deadline forward an incremental amount, when compared to the overall length of the season. Will this cause a slight uptick in some teams tanking and some teams loading up? I hope not.

Even the positive changes, like the NFLPA proposal to modify/move OTA’s comes with a catch. This is a piece that will fit the inevitable puzzle of adding an 18th game to the NFL schedule. We are also getting broadcast coverage moving more and more to the streaming platforms… welcome to the future of reality TV and cash cow-ism.

On that note, I want to point out that there is now a Hard Knocks documentary for every part of the year (including offseason)! This year, we’re even following a whole division, getting all up in their biz during the season. That’s mad nuts, even for a nut connoisseur. I’m grateful for more access and peaks behind to scenes of how things work, but don’t you think there’s a reason that coaches don’t want their teams to be on it? It’s added pressure that can have dudes acting out of character.

I love the game of football, so expansion to other professional leagues in different countries around the world (similar to pro basketball) sounds like an enticing idea. There’s no way Roger Goodell has eyes on competing with soccer (fútbol)… right? I just hope this league doesn’t start acting out of character.

NFL marketing IS currently devising detailed and strategic marketing for global expansion (which can also be accelerated through their partnerships with international streaming giant, Netflix). Will the Jaguars from Duvall County someday end up in the U.K.? Will there someday be teams in Brasil, México and/or Nàìjíríà? Will Tyreek Hill someday cross up a North Korean fruit stand vendor?

New NFL kickoff rules have dropped, and I’m kind of excited to see how it plays out… but it possibly eliminates Hall of Fame talents and kick return fits like Devin Hester and Dante Hall. As Coach Cowher points out, it will also do away with the onside kick part of the game. The punt play is still here, but those kinds of returns are half as likely to score. I mean, we have an entirely new phase of the game being introduced and replacing an old one at the highest level of football!

DeAndre Hopkins is petitioning the league about flag football. Cool idea, but I’m going to recommend treating flag football as the more PR-friendly version of the sport like artists are treating AI. Flag football is now in the Olympics?? This dude is lowkey cold, but brah… have several seats!

Look, this pains me as a defensive guy at heart. This is becoming a different game?? {How I wish Zuck+IG would let us embed vids…} Are the rules really about player safety…? Or more points and more revenue?

Teams are now building new stadiums with retractable roofs to attract other sports events and acts. State-of-the-art venues sounds great, but what about playing football in the elements? That’s something that is defining of American Football, and a feature that is found nowhere else in major sports…

There are current developments, like the implementation of new-age tech to replace the chain gang, that I think are welcome and necessary. I also see the new Guardian Cap allowance as really great, and a positive thing for football, but the league does not want team logos to be covered long term… Paint the cap to match?

This article about the caps makes me think about: if WRs, DBs and QBs don’t have to wear them, will the NFL eventually keep creating rules and structures to place more value on the passing game? Have they already? I’m no conspiracy theorist (maayyybe a smidge), but it would make some sense. There was a time after the Will Smith movie about CTE that I considered that the concussion issue could ultimately end the sport of American football one day. A pivot to the passing game could be the reason for survival.

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For those paying attention to the incoming rookie class, there was a record 23 offensive players taken in round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft! Only 9 defenders were taken!! 14 consecutive picks were offensive players. The previous record was 7 to start a draft!

In fact, there has never been a run of 14-straight players on one side of the ball at any point in an NFL draft. We’ve also never seen 5 of the first 10 picks being QB’s in a draft, but it happened. And directly after, 2024 broke its own record that stood for two draft picks when Bo Nix was taken at #12 by the Denver Broncos! Six of the first 12 picks in the draft were quarterbacks.

Does that mean this should be the greatest QB class in history? I’m no college ball expert, but you can call me skeptical… Nix was a player that was being projected by all the draftniks for the 2nd round. Such is the desperation for QB’s these days, that we see that desire manifesting itself in a propulsion up the draft board for all of these young signal callers.

These things also go to show the now outsized impact that passers have on the game of football. They are protected and even supported by the rules like never before in history. Just ask Tom Brady.

I heard Mike Macdonald seem to bring up an 8 DB formation?? Do I need to clean my ears? I was a DB when I played (MTHS/MHS) but… good lord.

And now, player empowerment is stretching to an NBA level? Are players starting to have the leverage to pull strings like fully guaranteed contracts and no-trade clauses? This may only increase with the vote for the trade deadline being pushed back a week (week 9). Elway, Manning, Favre, Brady, Rodgers, Watson, Wilson have all flexed the leverage of the rarity of their expertise to get what they wanted.

Don’t even get us jabbering about how NIL will possibly change everything about football one day.

And now, with the 3-helmet rule, we’ll have NBA style jersey switcheroos too. I like an alternate uni, but one of the beautiful things about the NFL is that the jerseys are classics. The NBA has some classics too, but they rarely wear them, eschewing those for experimental and loud outfits. It’s no wonder NFL teams are ahead in branding.

And finally, on cut down day (like we wouldn’t notice), a vote to make private equities a part of the game. Is this a good thing for the game of football? I have serious and persistent doubts.

I’ll admit it: I’m anxious about the direction of the game of football that I grew up with. A gritty, physical, yet graceful, lay-everything-on-the-line sport unlike any other. I proudly shed literal blood, sweat and tears on the field, learning about hard work and camaraderie even by necessity with those whom you must cooperate with.

Maybe we can make the game safer, but this game was always like stepping onto a battlefield for me. I get it. When men are making a fortune or losing that fortune based on injury luck, it must suck. But that’s the gladiator game of football that I grew up and fell in love with. Remember this football?

Do I sound like an old head if I say: let’s hope this movement doesn’t go TOO far? Look at how Seattle has rolled with a cheap vet and then traded for another cheap contract to stay within contention of SF who have a $1M bargain of their own in Purdy!

My fear is that this becomes a business of rentals, red tape, endorsements and mercenaries playing flag football. I just hope we (including the next generation) don’t lose the love of the game and the love and loyalty to a cause, no matter how long it takes. I hope we don’t lose out on what makes football inspiring and unique. Buckle up.

This is one of those seismic events that most 12’s will remember exactly where they were when they heard the news. Is it a universal truth that you don’t realize it’s the golden years of your life until that time period has passed? Sometimes the sense of finality in sports is wild.

Why is Pete Carroll no longer head coach of the Seattle Seahawks? He racked up the most wins and the highest win percentage of any coach who has ever walked the sidelines for the Hawks, shocking the world, garnering rare national spotlight for Seattle, Washington and bringing the city its first ever Lombardi trophy. Didn’t he deserve to walk out on his own terms as a 72-year-old legend?

Straight off top, I don’t necessarily agree with the decision. I thought that Pete Carroll should’ve been given at least one more year to guide this young core and reap the rewards now that he finally got to spend the entirety of the bounty of draft capital that he received for the trade of Russell Wilson.

I don’t necessarily agree with the decision, but I can see how one could justify it. Let’s explore.

When I look at the roster situation of the Seattle Seahawks, it appears ‘fairly straightforward’ how you could set about improving the offense: resign Damien Lewis, let the award-winning Olu Oluwatimi start at center as a sophomore and draft an elite offensive guard and a versatile TE at some point. Boom, we can cook with that. Geno (Pro Bowler) Smith can cook with that, along with all of the other weapons in-house.

The problem is, I don’t know how to fix the defense Seattle’s defense (Pete’s expertise) was supposed to have sneaky good potential this year… but it fell flat, even leading the league in missed tackles

The team spent on Dre’Mont Jones, brought back Bobby Wagner, Jordyn Brooks made a miraculous return from a torn ACL to have a breakout year, Boye Mafe broke the franchise record for consecutive games with a sack, Jamal Adams came back from injury, (Ta)Riq Woolen was a DROY runner-up last year, Devon Witherspoon might win DROY this year, Quandre Diggs finally had a healthy offseason, Uchenna Nwosu was coming into his own as our top pass rusher, Jarran Reed had a CPOY type season, Derrick Hall was drafted in the 2nd round, Julian Love was a captain from NYC that joined up, Michael Jackson, Coby Bryant, Tre Brown and Devin Bush provided depth *INHALES*.

This defense had flashes of ability, but gradually morphed into a liability on the ground, and one of the league’s worst in general.

That last sentence is not hyperbole: Seattle’s run defense and total defense the last two years have been worst in the NFL. That’s with supposed playmakers littered throughout. Maybe that’s why Pete had to go.

My personal favorite candidate for successor would be Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator, Mike MacDonald at this point. He took a defense that ranked 19th in points and 25th in yards the previous year and had them ranked 3rd in points and 9th in yards the next!

As an encore, MacDonald’s Baltimore defense was 1st in points and 6th in yards in 2023. Additionally, the Ravens were 1st in takeaways, 2nd in red zone defense, 7th against third downs and 2nd against 4th downs (some categories that Seattle was very poor in this year). He pulled off a similar resurrection job for the other Harbaugh brother at Michigan and is known as being a hard worker.

Say that Seattle ends up hiring Dan Quinn… that in itself will usher in a philosophical change to this defense. DQ’s scheme (which was 1st in takeaways the two years previous to this one) in Dallas is modified from what he ran in Seattle under Pete Carroll, and he has seen success everywhere he’s been.

If the Hawks decide to go with someone like Lions OC, Ben Johnson as head man, that may signal that general manager, John Schneider could believe the league is moving closer and closer to a QB-dominant game. While I think it somewhat minimizes the impact of Mike McDonald’s scheme contributions in a disguising defense, this well-written think piece almost convinced me in the last hour before publishing this article that Johnson could be the right choice. Do you go and get B.J. and offer Ejiro Eviro the defensive coordinator job for a young, dynamic tandem of new school football minds?

It simply could’ve been time for a change not only in scheme, but also with a new voice and a new vibe. The Seahawks got absolutely bullied in a must-win game at home against a Steelers team struggling to score points (the league’s 5th worst in this category), and down to its 3rd string QB, bruh. The Steelers shredded Seattle for 202 yards on the ground (132 of which being after contact)!

In one of the most sad and deflating Seahawks losses I can remember in some time, Pittsburgh rushed for over 100 yards less than 1/3 of the way through the 2nd quarter. Pittsburgh racked up more total yards (468) than at any time in their last 5 years as a franchise. Pete himself, after the loss to Pittsburgh: “Mindset needs to be different than it was”.

Isn’t mindset what has always so clearly defined what Carroll is able to instill in his team? By almost all measures, you can state that there was regression this year, not improvement. Seattle regressed in: points per game, points per game allowed, turnovers, turnovers forced, penalties, passing TDs, completion rate, rushing yards, run defense, etc.

John and Pete even took a big swing this year, mortgaging a bit of the 2024 future by trading a 2nd-round draft pick for defensive tackle Leonard Williams, in an attempt to go for it this year. That stab failed.

Team Chair, Jody Allen (sister of the late owner, Paul Allen) made the bold move last year to allow her mildly criticized (at the time) head coach and general manager to trade away the most popular quarterback in franchise history, in an unprecedented move. For a year, it looked like it worked: Pete shocked the world and snuck into the playoffs with a reborn Geno Smith at the helm.

This year, Jody boldly let go of an all-time franchise coach. Coach Carroll embraced adversity and attacked every game, every practice with childlike fervor and focus. We Seattle fans owe him much awe and gratitude for the winning culture he instilled, and for all the ways he made us smile and cheer.

“It’s been an honor, and a thrill to be a part of this program, and I’ve loved every minute of it. And you’ve watched me love it, in particular”

— Snippet from Pete Carroll’s final press conference

Peter Clay Carroll was clearly the best thing to ever happen to pro football in Seattle. Coming from a dynastic run at USC, he became 1 of 3 coaches to win both a Super Bowl and a national title (Barry Switzer, Jimmy Johnson), and is the only HC in history to win at least 10 playoff games and 5 college bowl games. I mean DAMN.

From being criticized during his first year on the job for being the first losing team to make the playoffs in 2010, to then upsetting the defending champion New Orleans Saints that same year, unleashing the Beast Quake on the world. From unafraid to let 3rd-round pick, Russell Wilson earn the quarterback job over hyped (at the time) addition, Matt Flynn. From insane and improbable comeback wins against the Packers, to major changing of the guard moments against the 49ers to the most convincing Super Bowl win ever witnessed against the Broncos.

Carroll was a SoCal rockstar hiking up to the oft-gloomy, sometimes shimmering emerald outpost of the PNW to inject energy and confidence into this organization. We need to give him his flowers, as the architect of one of the most sustained and dominant defenses of all-time. Unfortunately, we are far off from that point in time now.

In the immortal words of Harvey Dent: “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain”. At least Seattle fans can take solace in Pete Carroll leaving as a hero and legend, his firing a shocking move to most Seattleites after never hitting any marker of ineptitude. Mayyyybe we’ll even get a team to give up a pick for him in the near future??

Someday I will write a proper ode to Pete Carroll and the influence, excitement and passion that he brought to Seattle. For now, we must pivot to picking up the pieces and what must now be done. A man named Schneider is now even more prominently featured as the driving force behind Seahawk football.

The Isley Brothers have made a career out of adapting with the new waves of music, which can sometimes be an elusive trait for many artists. This is John Schneider’s chance to keep the Seahawks riding the summer breeze to stay ahead of the curve of where the league is going. Let’s not forget that he is a competitor as well, and has earned the chance to call the shots.

While it’s easy to be either of (or both) nervous and excited about the future, it’s difficult to say goodbye to an all-time franchise legend. Will the future of the Seahawks hold more triumph than pain? That is never a known, or a given in life or in football.

All we can do as 12’s is journey, with our bindle sticks, into the great unknown. Thank you for everything, Pete Carroll.