WEBVTT - #505 Packers Unscripted: Sizing up Seattle 0:00:00.800 --> 0:00:14.520 Hi, everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:14.560 --> 0:00:17.959 I am Mike Spofford sitting next to my trusted colleague 0:00:18.000 --> 0:00:21.239 West Hodkuwitz. Were coming to you here from our studios 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:23.520 at lambeau Field. West. Were at the midway point of 0:00:23.520 --> 0:00:28.000 the week here as Packers Seahawks Sunday five forty pm 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:31.760 Central at lambeau Field. An NFC Divisional playoff game is 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:36.400 fast approaching. We will continue our deep dive into Puget 0:00:36.400 --> 0:00:41.040 Sound maybe as we continue to examine the Seattle Seahawks 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:46.080 here and interestingly West. You look at these two teams, 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:49.480 the Packers and the Seahawks, and there aren't a whole 0:00:49.520 --> 0:00:54.600 lot of similarities in how they play, but yet you 0:00:54.640 --> 0:00:56.520 look at their seasons and there are a lot of 0:00:56.560 --> 0:01:00.800 similarities and just how they figure out ways to win. 0:01:01.040 --> 0:01:04.360 I mean, that's the similarity between these two teams. But 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:06.880 in terms of like the xs and os in the personnel, 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:09.160 they are very few similarities. So it's just kind of 0:01:09.160 --> 0:01:11.560 a strange matchup in that sense. It really is. But 0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:14.160 that's why I love it so much, because it's the NFL. 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:16.080 I mean, there's so many different ways you can get 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:18.800 from A to Z and and I think Seattle and 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:20.919 Green Bay have both proved that. But you do mention 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:24.480 some of the statistical parallels between the two. They tied 0:01:24.640 --> 0:01:26.959 for I think second or third in the NFL, third 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:28.240 in the NFL. I think it was second in the 0:01:28.400 --> 0:01:33.000 NFC for the best turnover margin plus twelve on the season. 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:35.560 With how they ended things, they're both really strong red 0:01:35.640 --> 0:01:38.800 zone offensive teams. I think in some areas they've you know, 0:01:38.840 --> 0:01:40.600 I think they're right next to each other and run 0:01:40.640 --> 0:01:43.040 defense in the twenties. I mean, it's just there's been 0:01:43.080 --> 0:01:45.200 a lot of different things that they both seems to 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:48.600 do relatively similar. Now, all that being said, you can 0:01:48.600 --> 0:01:50.600 throw that out the window once they step on the field, 0:01:50.680 --> 0:01:53.120 But seeing you know which team ends up on the 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:56.160 positive side of the turnover battle, which team controls the 0:01:56.160 --> 0:01:58.520 time of possession, which team defends the run better than 0:01:58.560 --> 0:02:01.520 the other. These are all the little tiny boxes that 0:02:01.560 --> 0:02:03.760 you check off and route to figuring out who the 0:02:03.760 --> 0:02:05.320 better team is and who's going to advance to the 0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:08.079 NFC Championship. And then when you just throw in the 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:11.959 fact that outside of teams in the NFC North, they 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:14.760 know each other as well as anybody in the NFL 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:18.600 for non divisional opponents, They've seen each other every season 0:02:18.639 --> 0:02:21.280 for the last six years. I haven't seen members of 0:02:21.320 --> 0:02:23.760 my family for the last six years, So I mean, 0:02:24.000 --> 0:02:26.840 just to see how this is kind of laid out 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:30.360 and played out. Uh, you don't really get the matchups 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:33.880 with Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady and obviously when Peyton 0:02:33.880 --> 0:02:36.520 Manning was playing as much as I'm sure fans would like. 0:02:36.560 --> 0:02:39.400 But they've seen Russell Wilson year after year, and you know, 0:02:39.440 --> 0:02:42.600 seeing him match wits with Matt Lafleur and Aaron Rodgers. 0:02:42.639 --> 0:02:45.000 Those those are fun things to be able to dissect 0:02:45.080 --> 0:02:47.840 and really look into. But I think another interesting aspect 0:02:47.840 --> 0:02:50.720 of this You mentioned the familiarity and how many times 0:02:50.840 --> 0:02:53.919 these teams have played one another regular season and post 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:57.760 season over the last six or seven years. But yet 0:02:58.280 --> 0:03:01.680 the two thousand nineteen vers to these teams don't really 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:05.799 look like the teams that we've seen in years past, because, yes, 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:09.320 you have Russell Wilson, you have Aaron Rodgers, but Matt 0:03:09.360 --> 0:03:11.359 Lafleur is the new head coach in Green Bay. The 0:03:11.400 --> 0:03:15.079 Packers have a lot of new personnel on defense. The Seahawks, 0:03:15.120 --> 0:03:18.080 the legion of boom is no longer there. In the secondary, 0:03:18.160 --> 0:03:21.560 we talked about how their top running backs have been 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:25.000 injured and they've been, you know, filling in guys who 0:03:25.240 --> 0:03:29.080 don't have at the same level of experience in uh 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:32.919 that offense, so as familiar as they are with one 0:03:32.960 --> 0:03:36.280 another over the over the long haul, over the course 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:39.640 of time, these two teams, the two thousand nineteen Packers 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:42.640 in the two thousand nineteen Seahawks are very different even 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:45.640 from the two that met in November on that Thursday 0:03:45.720 --> 0:03:48.160 night game in Seattle, just over a year ago. Yeah. 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:49.680 And one of the thing I want to be able 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:51.920 to use off of that pivot too, is when you 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:54.400 look at the roster construction, I think one area where 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:56.880 the Packers have kind of caught up to Seattle. In 0:03:56.960 --> 0:04:00.560 one area I thought, I tipped my my captain, John Snyder. 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:02.240 I thought they did a tremendous job with this was 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:06.840 augmenting their roster with veteran players, leadership, and obviously production 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:09.280 on the field. John Snyder has been doing a tremendous 0:04:09.360 --> 0:04:11.400 job of that going back for the last decade now 0:04:11.680 --> 0:04:13.520 Green Bay and a lot of times would end up 0:04:13.520 --> 0:04:16.400 being maybe caught with the undrafted rookie in a certain 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:19.560 position that maybe he wasn't quite ready for or having 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:21.440 to you know place you know, fill out their special 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:23.760 teams units with guys that maybe don't have a lot 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:27.080 of experience with the way that they built this team 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:29.640 this year, you see the Marcedes Lewis is and you know, 0:04:29.960 --> 0:04:32.760 being able to you know, find guys like Ibraheim Campbell, 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:35.920 Tyler Irvin who was a fourth year proh put them 0:04:35.920 --> 0:04:38.280 onto your team and and not have them with this 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:41.240 you know, deer in the headlights kind of look. Not 0:04:41.360 --> 0:04:43.640 only does that allow you to to put guys that 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:45.880 are you know, have been in those situations before on 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:48.280 the offense and a defenseiveside the ball, I think it's 0:04:48.279 --> 0:04:51.120 also allowed your your tie summers of the world. You know, 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:53.640 a rookie that's played on all the core special teams 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:56.480 all season, he's ready for these moments in the areas 0:04:56.480 --> 0:04:59.160 in which he has been asked to play the entire season. 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:02.120 That's one thing I've always been impressed with Seattle about 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:04.000 is I just feel like in all three phases they 0:05:04.080 --> 0:05:06.279 play to their personnel and you're not going to catch 0:05:06.320 --> 0:05:09.280 them being unprepared. Not saying that the Packers weren't. But 0:05:09.320 --> 0:05:11.440 I just think there's a lot of veteran leadership there 0:05:11.640 --> 0:05:14.200 that has helped Seattle through this run. And now when 0:05:14.200 --> 0:05:15.760 you look at Green Bay, when you talk about the 0:05:15.800 --> 0:05:18.359 difference to what that roster looked like last November to 0:05:18.440 --> 0:05:21.240 what they are here in January two twenty, that's what 0:05:21.360 --> 0:05:24.240 stands out to me. They added not only those four 0:05:24.480 --> 0:05:26.880 free agents, but then you look at the Jared Valdiers, 0:05:26.920 --> 0:05:29.120 the Ryan Grants, even though he hasn't been asked to 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:31.960 play yet. All these guys have a lot of pelts 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:33.760 on the wall at this point, and if they get 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:35.600 called upon, they're going to be ready for it. So 0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:38.279 it's just an exciting time. It's an exciting week to 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:41.400 be able to discuss this matchup and the latest permutation 0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:44.160 of this rivalry over the last decade. Yeah. Well, and 0:05:44.240 --> 0:05:46.520 it seems as though with these two teams you sort 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:49.880 of get the latest permutation of the team on a 0:05:49.960 --> 0:05:51.760 week to week basis. And what I mean by that 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:54.240 you look at the Seattle Seahawks. We talked all season 0:05:54.279 --> 0:05:58.000 long about how the Packers keep finding different ways to win. 0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:00.840 They make some key plays in the worth quarter. Maybe 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:03.800 it's on defense with an interception. Maybe it's on offense 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:06.120 with a big third down conversion. Maybe it's a big 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:09.120 punt on special teams that flips the field. Those are 0:06:09.160 --> 0:06:10.960 the ways in the fourth quarter of the Packers of 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:13.840 won games. You look, you look at the Seahawks West. 0:06:13.880 --> 0:06:17.080 This is a team, a defense that in sixteen regular 0:06:17.080 --> 0:06:21.240 season games, had twenty eight sacks, not even two per 0:06:21.279 --> 0:06:23.720 game over the course of the regular season. So what 0:06:23.720 --> 0:06:25.840 do they do in the wild card game in Philadelphia? 0:06:25.880 --> 0:06:29.160 They sack Carson Wentz and Josh McCown a combined seven 0:06:29.200 --> 0:06:34.679 times cent of their sack production of the entire season. 0:06:35.080 --> 0:06:37.360 They get it in one game in the playoffs when 0:06:37.400 --> 0:06:39.480 they got to have it on the road to stay alive. 0:06:40.040 --> 0:06:42.920 That's that's what has defined the Seahawks. That in some 0:06:42.960 --> 0:06:45.200 ways is what has defined the Packers. When we talk 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:47.520 about you find a way to win, you do what 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:51.240 it takes that day to chalk up the w and 0:06:51.279 --> 0:06:53.440 move on. So a funny little side story to this, 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:56.000 I have to put together the game program for all 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:59.920 these Packer home games, which is just a joyous joy 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:03.120 as venture for myself. But I was working with Alexei Kinnard, 0:07:03.120 --> 0:07:05.320 who is one of our production assistants here, and she 0:07:05.480 --> 0:07:08.280 was getting together the dope sheet that natela Cassio, Tom Fanning, 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:11.320 all our wonderful people up in communications put together and 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:14.200 in that is the in the league ranking section where 0:07:14.200 --> 0:07:16.400 they realist out the leaders on the team and all 0:07:16.440 --> 0:07:20.080 these categories. And I'm looking at Seattle's and it's Jaren 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:24.080 Reid with four sacks. Four s and I literally like, wait, 0:07:24.120 --> 0:07:26.200 double check that that can't be right. It can't be 0:07:26.240 --> 0:07:29.000 four sacks because I thought Jadave and Clowney maybe had more. 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:32.000 He only had three. So like they just for whatever 0:07:32.080 --> 0:07:33.920 reason this year, and I think it probably goes back 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:35.800 to what you were saying yesterday, where it isn't quite 0:07:35.800 --> 0:07:39.680 the dominant defensive yesteryear, but they have good personnel and 0:07:39.720 --> 0:07:41.600 they played to it. Ken Norton Jr. Has been a 0:07:41.600 --> 0:07:43.640 guy that has been there for many years now. He 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:46.400 understands what Pete Carroll's looking for, and they understand the 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:49.040 strengths of that defense. It just so happens that for 0:07:49.080 --> 0:07:53.440 whatever reason, the big pressure statistic this year wasn't something 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:56.480 that Seattle really thrived in. Yeah, it's it's it's interesting 0:07:56.480 --> 0:07:57.960 how that played out. I want to get back to 0:07:58.040 --> 0:08:00.200 that in a second, but I need to take care 0:08:00.240 --> 0:08:03.480 of some sponsor business. Select Cousin Subs locations are now 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:06.960 offering delivery. Whether you're ordering catering or your favorite sub, 0:08:06.960 --> 0:08:09.800 They're delivering right to you when you order online at 0:08:09.800 --> 0:08:13.960 Cousin Subs dot com. Cousin Subs we believe in better. Yeah, 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:17.920 it's interesting the way the way this season has evolved 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:21.840 because I don't think I don't think this particular version 0:08:21.880 --> 0:08:26.280 of the Seattle defense has um something that is their 0:08:26.320 --> 0:08:29.160 trademark to speak. And I think in a lot of 0:08:29.200 --> 0:08:32.880 ways this Packers offense with the first season of Matt 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:36.160 Lafleur and everybody getting adjusted to the new system and 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:39.240 and Aaron Rodgers working his way through the playbook and 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:41.679 all the processing that he does at the line of scrimmage, 0:08:41.840 --> 0:08:44.360 I don't know if this Packers offense necessarily has a 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:49.439 trademark in year one of la Fleur system, but by 0:08:49.480 --> 0:08:51.800 the same token when you get when you get into 0:08:51.800 --> 0:08:56.199 the postseason. We heard Matt Lafleur and Aaron Rodgers talking 0:08:56.320 --> 0:09:00.400 last week about the bye week, the self scout process, 0:09:00.440 --> 0:09:02.840 finding what you do best, and maybe cutting back on 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:06.040 some of the different concepts and segments of the playbook 0:09:06.080 --> 0:09:08.400 that you study it and they didn't go as well 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:10.880 as you had hoped, And so you pair things down 0:09:10.920 --> 0:09:13.479 a little bit, and you have to believe the Seahawks 0:09:13.480 --> 0:09:16.719 defensively when you look at their numbers, you know, twenty 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:19.280 twenty second and twenty six in the league one or 0:09:19.320 --> 0:09:21.360 the other in terms of yards allowed, points a lot 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:23.920 on the season. I mentioned the low sack total. They 0:09:23.920 --> 0:09:27.080 haven't been very good in the red zone relative to 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:30.960 the rest of the league. But you know, with Pete 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:33.440 Carroll and the way he coaches defense, and as long 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:35.800 as he's been doing this and as successful as he's been, 0:09:36.440 --> 0:09:39.960 he's gonna put the best defense he can out there 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:42.440 in terms of this is what we've done well this year, 0:09:42.520 --> 0:09:44.480 and so this is this is what we're going to 0:09:44.679 --> 0:09:48.280 ride uh and try to make it work against whatever opponent. 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:51.240 That's the sense that I get in terms of how 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:53.920 you go about it when over the course of the 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:57.760 regular season you weren't some highly ranked Juggernauts. Absolutely, and 0:09:57.800 --> 0:09:59.520 I want to address that, But first off, I need 0:09:59.559 --> 0:10:01.760 to give mysel up a correction, because we're all about 0:10:01.800 --> 0:10:05.320 accuracy here on Unscripted. It was Reshime Green that led 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:07.679 them in Sex, not Jared Reid. He only had two 0:10:07.720 --> 0:10:10.360 and a half. Green had four. Yeah, and I actually 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:12.840 really enjoyed, you know, Pete Carroll spoke to They haven't 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:14.840 really had much of media availability yet this week, but 0:10:14.880 --> 0:10:19.160 he spoke to their reporters on Monday, and I thought 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:21.760 he made two really great points. The first one was 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:23.880 Green Bay is as difficult as any place in the 0:10:23.960 --> 0:10:26.400 NFL to play, especially this time of the year. And 0:10:26.440 --> 0:10:28.040 I mean the record bears it out there. Oh and 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:30.480 three going into this at least under Pete Carroll trying 0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:33.360 to you know, turn that around from their perspective. But 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:35.439 the other thing, when you look at the way he's 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:37.360 going to have this team ready. He said, we are 0:10:37.360 --> 0:10:39.440 going to be as ready as we can be for 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:41.800 this matchup and what it's going to take. And I 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:44.840 think when you look, you know, with what Pete Carroll 0:10:44.880 --> 0:10:46.920 has done, it always felt like he's an underrated coach. 0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:49.200 I know that sounds weird because he won a Super 0:10:49.240 --> 0:10:51.200 Bowl and he's been there for a decade now, but 0:10:51.240 --> 0:10:53.679 when you just look at the entire gamut of what 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:55.559 he did at the college level and the pro level, 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:57.400 you go back and watch some of those clips of 0:10:57.440 --> 0:10:59.600 him as an assistant coach in places in the early 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:02.040 nine ease. I mean, this guy's been doing it for 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:04.920 a long time. He's a master motivator and he also 0:11:05.080 --> 0:11:09.160 understands his personnel to the tiniest of details, and that 0:11:09.280 --> 0:11:11.079 is I think what has allowed them to create winning 0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:13.120 game plans, especially this time of the year. It's what 0:11:13.160 --> 0:11:15.320 has allowed them to get on some runs. So, yeah, 0:11:15.320 --> 0:11:17.280 when you look at all the statistics, it doesn't look 0:11:17.280 --> 0:11:20.400 tremendous for Seattle, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, 0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:23.079 but they find ways to win. Last week was a 0:11:23.120 --> 0:11:25.679 great example of it on offense, where you know they 0:11:25.720 --> 0:11:28.520 had seventeen carries from the backfield for nineteen yards. Well, 0:11:28.559 --> 0:11:31.160 they got their receivers going. There's been times when you 0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:33.480 look at Hollister this year, who's what the third or 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:36.480 fourth tight end that's been up for them. Luke Wilson 0:11:36.520 --> 0:11:38.760 didn't even start the season with them before returning, and 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:42.600 now he's the quote unquote starter. They find ways to win. 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:44.520 And when you have a team that has been beat 0:11:44.600 --> 0:11:46.920 up and banged up and has had to weather injuries 0:11:46.920 --> 0:11:49.600 throughout the course of the season, they've been able to 0:11:49.600 --> 0:11:53.000 to maneuver the maneuver those pieces around. Then again going 0:11:53.040 --> 0:11:56.200 back to John Snyder, Quandre Diggs gets added mid season. 0:11:56.280 --> 0:11:58.800 You heard all the things in Detroit, how much of 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:00.520 a loss that was for them. That was a very 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:04.360 emotional transaction for them to lose him, and he goes 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:07.160 to Seattle and has helped be a fixture, and that's 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:11.080 that defense. So all these things add together that it 0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:14.280 doesn't matter what the full season says at this point, 0:12:14.320 --> 0:12:16.280 it's what did you look like in your last matchup. 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:18.800 That's the only thing that you can really go off of. 0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:21.840 I think when you try to predict, if you even can, 0:12:22.280 --> 0:12:24.520 how these postseason matchups are going to play out. Yeah, 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:26.280 I mean, I think there's an argument to be made. 0:12:26.320 --> 0:12:29.120 And I know Pete Carroll is a coach that a 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:31.480 lot of Packers fans despised, and you know they don't 0:12:31.480 --> 0:12:34.640 like all the TV shots of him chewing his gum 0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:37.120 and cheering and pumping his fists and all that kind 0:12:37.120 --> 0:12:39.000 of stuff. I get it, trust me, I get it. 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:41.840 But I think there's an argument to be made when 0:12:41.840 --> 0:12:45.160 you look at all the injuries the Seahawks have dealt 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:47.120 with this year. They've had, They've been banged up on 0:12:47.160 --> 0:12:50.000 the offensive line over the last couple of years, they've 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:54.360 completely replaced that legion of boom secondary, they've had all 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:56.720 the injuries that they've had at running back throughout the 0:12:56.720 --> 0:12:59.400 course of the year, some key positions. On top of 0:12:59.400 --> 0:13:04.600 the fact that San Francisco was a rising, highly competitive 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:08.400 team obviously this year, and that division also included the 0:13:08.440 --> 0:13:11.400 Los Angeles Rams, the defending NFC champions who went to 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:15.600 the Super Bowl, and yet this Seahawks team came an 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:19.960 inch away from winning the division championship in the NFC West. 0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:22.679 I think there's an argument to be made that, regardless 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:26.040 of what happens from here on out with the Seahawks, 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:28.960 this might be Pete Carroll's best coaching job that that 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:30.840 he's done there. And that's saying a lot for a 0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:33.480 guy who's gone to two Super Bowls and all sorts 0:13:33.480 --> 0:13:36.760 of playoff appearances and whatnot. But we talked about this 0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:40.040 in some respects, you know, in other years with Mike McCarthy, 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:43.960 where when there's so much to have to overcome to 0:13:44.000 --> 0:13:46.840 create a successful season and to get where you are, 0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:50.640 those are sometimes the ones that become the best coaching jobs, 0:13:50.640 --> 0:13:55.680 not necessarily the the championship season that everybody remembers. Yeah, 0:13:55.760 --> 0:13:57.600 and and there's a couple of those things that jump 0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:00.240 out to you, certainly with McCarthy. I think you always 0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:02.120 look at thirteen and how they kept themselves in it 0:14:02.160 --> 0:14:04.679 and fifteen how they were able to pull through despite 0:14:04.880 --> 0:14:07.320 the litany of injuries they dealt with. But from Pete 0:14:07.360 --> 0:14:10.040 Carroll's perspective, it isn't just how he managed this team, 0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:13.360 it's how him and that whole organization has kept them afloat. 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:15.360 I mean, you look at it, Mike. They had to 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:17.320 stare themselves in the mirror for a long time for 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:19.360 a couple of seasons. Now, they didn't fall in those 0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:21.320 kind of dulg rooms that the Saints did, and even 0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:23.680 to some extent the Packers did with these you know, 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:26.680 six and nine and one seven and nine type seasons. 0:14:26.720 --> 0:14:29.680 But you remember Earl Thomas being carted off the field 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:33.280 and the questions with with Richard Sherman. And it wasn't 0:14:33.320 --> 0:14:35.760 just that the legion of boom Era ended. It was 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:38.320 how it ended and what they had to do to 0:14:39.040 --> 0:14:41.760 keep their ship afloat. And they did that and they've 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:43.960 been able to create I think, not that there was 0:14:43.960 --> 0:14:46.200 anything wrong with the past culture that was their identity, 0:14:46.240 --> 0:14:49.120 but they forged a new one now with this current makeup, 0:14:49.160 --> 0:14:50.680 in this current group. And then you bring in the 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:53.360 Marshawn Lynches of the world. You know, I know they 0:14:53.360 --> 0:14:55.080 were saying they want to get Lynch going more. But 0:14:55.120 --> 0:14:56.960 you and I have been talking since the beginning. I mean, 0:14:57.040 --> 0:15:00.360 just the the idea of him reinserting himself off into 0:15:00.400 --> 0:15:02.360 that locker room and what that could do, not only 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:04.000 for the veterans that are still there, but some of 0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:05.760 these young guys that have looked up to him. I mean, 0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:08.720 those are important voices to have. It's not always just 0:15:08.800 --> 0:15:11.080 about having a hundred forty yards rushing, although I'm sure 0:15:11.080 --> 0:15:14.000 the Seattle Seahawks would willingly take it. It's about what 0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:18.000 those guys can do to formulate a culture, chemistry and 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:21.080 make themselves believe. I think that's what Seattle has done. 0:15:21.240 --> 0:15:24.040 They believe. It's on the Packers now going into this 0:15:24.080 --> 0:15:25.880 matchup on Sunday, to say, you know what, we're the 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:29.080 healthier team, statistically, we're the better team, were the more 0:15:29.120 --> 0:15:31.280 complete team, and we're going to be the team advancing 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:33.640 to the NFC title game. What do you make of 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:37.880 Pete Carroll's assertion earlier this week, he made it pretty 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:40.680 clear that he wants to get Marshawn Lynch more involved. 0:15:40.720 --> 0:15:42.640 He wants to feed him the ball more. Now we've 0:15:42.680 --> 0:15:45.720 seen his limited involvement in the two games that he's 0:15:45.760 --> 0:15:48.480 been back, but Lynch does have a rushing touchdown in 0:15:48.520 --> 0:15:51.200 each of those games, against San Francisco in Week seventeen 0:15:51.240 --> 0:15:54.920 and then against Philadelphia in the wild card game. We 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:59.360 also saw the rookie running back Homer fumble on his 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:02.920 first postseason carry against the Eagles last week, which the 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:05.880 Seahawks fortunately were able to recover. I think that through 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:09.720 a little bit of a scare into um maybe what 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:12.080 they were planning to do in some respects against the 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:15.320 against the Eagles. That's just speculation on my part, but 0:16:15.400 --> 0:16:17.600 I'm just curious what your thoughts are on. When we 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:19.520 hear from Pete Carroll like, Yeah, we want to get 0:16:19.600 --> 0:16:21.240 Lynch the ball more, we want to we want to 0:16:21.320 --> 0:16:23.880 ramp this up more. It's almost as though he's saying, 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:26.480 we want to try to get back to that Seahawks 0:16:26.520 --> 0:16:29.080 postseason team that we've been in the past. Yet, of 0:16:29.080 --> 0:16:33.160 course Pete Carroll is as aware as anyone that this 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:35.600 is not the same team. That he's had in the past, 0:16:35.640 --> 0:16:37.920 like we've been talking about. Yeah, so what I when 0:16:37.960 --> 0:16:40.080 I heard those words, And I've watched both of these 0:16:40.160 --> 0:16:42.200 these last couple of games. I watched the San Francisco 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:44.680 game too. Yeah, what stands out to me? What I 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:46.920 kept thinking the back of my mind is what Buffalo 0:16:46.960 --> 0:16:49.440 went through this year. Uh. Now, don't get me wrong, 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:53.520 Singletary is a much more accomplished, higher highly touted pick 0:16:53.600 --> 0:16:56.880 here than what Homer was. But they also had Frank Gore. 0:16:57.360 --> 0:16:59.960 Frank Gore is steady, Eddie. He is the veteran. He's 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:02.440 seen every situation and when you give him the ball, 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:06.240 you know he's gonna be, you know, smart with it. Singletary, though, 0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:08.920 has the bigger threat of the home run. That's the 0:17:09.119 --> 0:17:11.280 question I think that they need to answer right now 0:17:11.280 --> 0:17:13.520 with how they want to use Travis Homer and how 0:17:13.560 --> 0:17:16.960 they want to actually go on about incorporating Marshawn Lynch. 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:18.399 And I think a lot of that is dependent on 0:17:18.480 --> 0:17:22.040 game situations. If it's me, you know, Homer was a 0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:24.240 draft pick of their's. Obviously we've talked about all these 0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:26.240 other guys that have come through for them, But I mean, 0:17:26.240 --> 0:17:27.960 this is a guy that they felt good about going 0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:30.680 back earlier to the summer, and even though he didn't 0:17:30.680 --> 0:17:33.359 get his opportunity right away, there was obviously something that 0:17:33.400 --> 0:17:36.359 they liked in him, and he's younger. I see that 0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:38.119 guy is the guy that if I'm the coach, I 0:17:38.160 --> 0:17:40.879 want to get him out there early. And depending on 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:43.800 what that game looks like a halftime, that's when the 0:17:43.840 --> 0:17:46.600 Marshawn Lynch Show begins. Because you just know he's gonna 0:17:46.600 --> 0:17:49.359 be smart with the football. He's going to be consistent because, 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:52.080 as you said, you know you don't want to speculate, 0:17:52.119 --> 0:17:54.359 but I think it isn't even that big of a speculation. 0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:56.679 When you have an unproven young running back and they 0:17:56.720 --> 0:17:58.840 put the ball on the ground, there's gonna be questions there. 0:17:59.200 --> 0:18:02.159 There's gonna be some uncertainty, and at the very least 0:18:02.160 --> 0:18:04.119 with Lynch, you know what you're getting. Now. All that 0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:06.520 being said, I have to give credit where credits due 0:18:06.960 --> 0:18:09.560 Marshawn Lynch. Even though the yards per carry aren't exactly 0:18:09.560 --> 0:18:11.840 what I think everyone probably wants them to be so 0:18:11.920 --> 0:18:14.760 far his goal line dive, I was really impressed with 0:18:14.760 --> 0:18:17.000 the vertical he got on that. I was not anticipating 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:19.120 that from a thirty three thirty four year old running back, 0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:21.320 and even some of the small things he's done well, 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:24.160 the way the way he powered that one in inside 0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:27.119 the five against the Eagles last week, that was an 0:18:27.119 --> 0:18:30.960 impressive run. That was the beast mode power run. Uh, 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:33.600 you know, in a short yardage type situation that that 0:18:33.640 --> 0:18:36.480 you're used to seeing and and maybe maybe it was 0:18:36.520 --> 0:18:39.919 seeing that that that's prompted Pete Carroll to say, Okay, 0:18:39.920 --> 0:18:42.760 maybe maybe Marshawn has his he has his legs back 0:18:42.840 --> 0:18:45.000 under him again, Let's let's maybe see if we can 0:18:45.119 --> 0:18:46.960 ride this guy a little bit. I just think the 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:49.359 fact that Pete Carroll put that out there, and the 0:18:49.400 --> 0:18:52.439 fact that if there is anybody in you know, in 0:18:52.480 --> 0:18:55.320 the NFC divisional round who's going to have fresh legs, 0:18:55.359 --> 0:18:57.680 so to speak, it's a guy like Lynch, even though 0:18:57.800 --> 0:19:00.280