Sea Hawkers Podcast: The Official Podcast Of The Official Booster Club Of The Seattle Seahawks

It was an ugly game against the Rams that I'm sure most of us prefer not to think about too  much. Russell Wilson rarely has back-to-bad games where mistakes end up costing the Seahawks the football game and three in a row is unheard of. So this episode is dedicated to a full Hawkra cleansing of our flock ahead of the Thursday Night Football matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. Sure, it seems like the Cardinals are in a good place after winning in the final seconds against the Bills, and we get into all the reasons why it feels like things are going in the opposite direction for the Seahawks. Now we get back to neutral ahead of this game though. It's a shorter show this week as we will likely double up with shows on the 'mini-bye' after the game against the Cardinals. (Note from Brandan: No Better at Life mentions this week, so I'm making a prediction in the show notes here that Adam probably has a better at life locked in for the SpaceX astronauts on the next show.) Pick'em League Home at CBS Sports Post 'Go

At the midpoint of the season, the Seahawks are 6-2, but they found another way to lose in frustrating fashion. According to Adam, this was even more frustrating than the loss to the Cardinals, because the team played whatever the opposite is of complementary football. Instead, each phase of the game contributed to something that made it more difficult for another phase. Whether it was giving up a big return on special teams, untimely turnovers, or making a terrible decision on defense when it mattered most, each phase found a way to contribute to the loss. But it's not just on the players, or on the coaches, there is blame to share throughout the organization for some of what we're seeing on the field. Fortunately, for a defense that seems to have most of their difficulty with mobile quarterbacks, there aren't many left on the schedule. Jared Goff is the next man up to face this Seahawks defense. Can the team make the necessary adjustments based on issues we've seen in the recent loss to the Bills and some o

The Seahawks put together what was probably their most satisfying victory over the season, because they did it against their rival San Francisco 49ers. Of course Niners fans will complain about injuries, the turf, Russell Wilson being so good at football that it's somehow unfair, DK Metcalf having more abs than should be legally allowed, and Bobby Wagner keeping a secret stash of voodoo dolls he can deploy as he's running through their offensive line. We could go on. Seattle travels to Buffalo this weekend to take on Josh Allen and the Bills. If the Seahawks can put up 25 points, which according to stats off the top of Adam's head is roughly half of what our team usually scores with Russell Wilson against the Bills, then they'll join a small club of high scoring offenses through eight regular season games. On defense, we will likely see the addition of Carlos Dunlap and the return of Jamal Adams and Rasheem Green. In the second half of the show, we talk about Russell Wilson and the mentorship role that he's d

Sunday's loss to the Arizona Cardinals showed one thing about this Seahawks defense. It's not an issue that can be fixed by a change in defensive coordinator. It's not an issue that can be fixed by the addition of Carlos Dunlap. It's going to take another shift in Pete Carroll's mindset about playing more aggressively in some key moments. Carroll already made the shift on offense, so it's possible this change can happen mid season. We discuss some of the reasons why the change is so important especially with the way the team is operating on offense. There were some positive takeaways from the game against the Cardinals to discuss. DK Metcalf had an incredible play, but Tyler Lockett caught 15 passes for 200 yards and there's barely been a peep about some of his incredible catches coming out of that game. We also look ahead to the matchup with the San Francisco 49ers and why this game is important to have a bounce back game in the division. Antonio Brown is going to the Bucs and Pro Football Talk suggested tha

The Seattle Seahawks are coming off of their bye week. This past week, two games in particular worked out very well for Seattle. The 49ers beat the Rams, which put some room between LA and the Seahawks in the NFC West standings. The Green Bay Packers also lost, which put Seattle at the top of the NFC. They now go on to face the Arizona Cardinals on a weekend that the final two undefeated AFC teams play. The matchup with the Cardinals was supposed to be a chance to see how Jordyn Brooks and Jamal Adams could offer the dynamic the Seahawks wanted to match up against the NFC West. That may have to wait, but Snacks Harrison and Mychal Kendricks could be on the field for the first time in 2020. The 5-0 start for the Seahawks means that Russell Wilson has now had a five-game win streak in six of his nine seasons in the NFL. Looking at his attempts per game, it has been a steady increase from the first streak in 2012 to the current streak in 2020. In the second half of the show, we talk about the decision to keep fa

For the first time in franchise history, the Seattle Seahawks are undefeated through the first five games of the season. This week's show starts off with a fair amount of concern over the health of our fellow fans. Just how many more of these kind of endings can Pete Carroll expect us to endure? While the first half against the Vikings wasn't much to get excited about, the ability of the defense to hold Minnesota to only 13 points to start the game may have been the most important factor of that half. The Seahawks only needed five good minutes of offense in the second half to help get the team to their first 5-0 start. Looking at the offense, DK Metcalf not only had the game-winning touchdown reception, he added another touchdown along with a huge 40-yard catch on fourth down. It was an incredible game for Metcalf. We also highlight some of the biggest moments from Russell Wilson on the final drive of the game, and some of the other members of the Seahawks offense. Looking ahead to the next four games, Seattl

The Seattle Seahawks are 4-0 for the second time in franchise history. They've also scored 30+ points over four games for the second time in the Russell Wilson era and the third time in franchise history. The other two stretches were in 2015 and back in 1986. Joining the show to talk about the 31-23 victory over the Dolphins is Doug Chanselle-Hary, or DCH as he is often referred to on the show. Russell Wilson threw for 360 yards and two touchdowns, and despite continuing to be on pace to tie Peyton Manning's record for touchdown passes in a season, we gripe about some of the touchdown passes that were left out there on the field. Mixed reviews on the defense this week from the crew as there was only one punt on the day for Miami. However, they turned the ball over twice and they managed to hold Miami to field goals up until the point the Seahawks were up by two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter. Coming up this Sunday night is a matchup with the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings have not won a game against Pe

The Seattle Seahawks are 3-0 for the first time since 2013. So why does it feel different three games into the season than it did back then? One difference is that Russell Wilson has now set himself apart from the league and has some of the best weapons on offense of his career. But the defense has given up more passing yards to opponents than any other team in history. The 2011 Patriots and Packers and the 2018 Chiefs were playoff teams that had similar issues in the secondary through the first three games and went on two win a lot of regular season games. We take a look at what that means historically for a team's Super Bowl chances. We also get into the highlights from the last game against the Cowboys, the players who stood out, and some of the strange moments from Sunday's game. Sam Marcoux of the Perfectville Podcast joins us to preview Sunday's matchup with the Miami Dolphins. While Ryan Fitzpatrick may not be quite at the level of quarterback's the Seahawks have faced in the first three weeks, he has

The final play of the game will define the latest matchup between the Seahawks and Patriots, as Seattle earned the 35-30 victory. However, listening to national programs, you'd think Cam Newton had the breakout performance of his professional career. Cam may deserve a mention, but Russell Wilson should get the credit as the best quarterback in the game with his five touchdown passes to five different receivers. The balance of the offense shifted back closer to what we've come to expect from Coach Pete Carroll, but we're continuing to see some new things, too. Wilson didn't shy away from the challenge of going up against the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year either. Because they went right at Stephon Gilmore, this game will be remembered as the one where we knew DK Metcalf is on his way to stardom. Looking ahead to the Dallas Cowboys matchup, the Seahawks are going to need to stop Ezekiel Elliot both on the ground and through their screen game. Can the line stop Zeke the same way they held up Newton on Sunday

Anyone questioning if Pete Carroll could drastically shift the dynamics of the offense and defense from last season to this season got their concerns answered in the Seahawks Week 1 game against the Atlanta Falcons. Their 38-25 victory featured an aggressiveness on offense rarely seen in previous years. No give up plays on 2nd and long, going for it all on fourth down while the Seahawks had the lead, and Russell Wilson looking as though he was in complete command of the offense. Defensively, Carroll used Jamal Adams to generate pressure in a way we haven't seen him use that position in the past. We saw nickel and dime defenses. With those exciting changes, there remain areas of significant concern. With the Seahawks leading by three scores and a relatively immobile quarterback in Matt Ryan, Seattle's defensive line still wasn't able to get into the backfield with any regularity. Late in the game we didn't see punishing runs by Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde to help put the game away. Atlanta had early success r

It was a big weekend for Seahawks news ahead of the Week 1 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. On Saturday, the team released its 53-man roster which highlighted the strengths and shortcomings we've been discussing a lot in the offseason. Now it's official-the defensive line has some big question marks. The next day, we learned that Jadeveon Clowney would not be returning to Seattle. Although reports showed that offers made to Clowney were valued at the range of the contract he ultimately signed, he is going back to the AFC to play in the division of his former team. To kick off the season, the Seahawks will take on the Atlanta Falcons. Matt Ryan was down with an injury last season and even though Seattle had a huge halftime lead, it ended up disappearing toward the fourth quarter. Are we going to see the Seahawks employ a similar strategy this season with their offense to try and go up big early against teams? Perhaps giving up more than 450 yards in the air to Matt Schaub last season was enough to emphasize t

It's time for the annual assessment of our Seattle Seahawks before we head into the regular season. This first game against the Atlanta Falcons is coming up in less than three weeks! We talk about the areas of the team that improved the most in the offseason, the areas that we feel still need improvement, and at least one issue from 2019 that hasn't been talked about enough for how big of a problem it was for the team last season. On offense, will the Seahawks "Let Russ Cook" or will Pete Carroll shift to a more conservative approach and adopt the "Hammer the Rock" philosophy? Without preseason games, we can only go off the clues we've been given by some of the transactions. We can also go off some of the clues through short video releases to see how the offensive line is shaping up, but we also have to consider the competition when hyping up our own players. The offseason hype is in full swing when it comes to players like Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, Phillip Dorsett, and Travis "TD" Homer. The blame for the h

Prior to the deal for Jamal Adams, the Seahawks offseason addition of Quinton Dunbar was the biggest trade of the offseason. The likelihood that Dunbar would play for the team looked low throughout offseason, but now that his legal issues have been resolved Seattle’s secondary will get a big boost with both Dunbar and Adams. As we watch for a boost on the defensive line, the only recent addition was to sign Branden Jackson back to the team. But could we see something soon around Jadeveon Clowney, Everson Griffen or Clay Matthews? Our Know Your Rival series continues as we look at the moves the San Francisco 49ers made in the offseason. They’ve made some complimentary moves to address their biggest losses, but there are question marks that go along with each of those moves. With the 49ers coming off a Super Bowl loss, we discuss some of the same issues that the Rams and Seahawks had to endure after a big loss. After the break, an article confirms our thoughts about how NFC West QBs are ranked outside of Seattl

In a trade the Seattle Seahawks could not have timed any better for our podcast, Jamal Adams is now heading to the Pacific Northwest. Why was the timing so important? We can now celebrate a milestone of the show with some good news rather than talking about our rival that is the defending NFC Champion. Instead, we talk about the risks associated with the Adams trade, the various reactions among Seahawks fans and some questions about the team that still remain going into the season. As part of our milestone episode, Steve Raible joins the show and he talks about how announcing Seahawks games could be very different in this 2020 season. He shares some moments from his career with the team and we even talk about the popularization of the "Holy Catfish" call and the play from Marshawn Lynch's career that put the term in the consciousness of Seahawks fans. After the interview, we talk about the NFL Top 100 list, some of the recent roster cuts by Seattle and which 80s to 90s era Seahawks tattoo we would get. We clo

The Seahawks pulled off a trade on Saturday for an immensely talented safety. Jamal Adams was an All-Pro in 2019 and second team All-Pro the year before. Seattle is getting a player who immediately gives them another player on the defensive side of the ball that opposing teams will need to account for. But it also came at a big cost.  While Pete Carroll and John Schneider have dealt first round picks in the past, no trade comes close to the amount of risk associated with this deal. But giving up two future first round picks, it means that if an injury occurs that gives the team a top 10 pick - the Jets will now be the beneficiary.  Did the Seahawks also make a mistake by not using a similar trade package for help along the defensive line? The next few weeks will tell us if Seattle is actually satisfied with the moves they've made up front or if there is more work to be done ahead of the Week 1 game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Please help out the show by nominating the Sea Hawkers Podcast for the 15th Annual People's Choice Podcast Awards. You can visit podcastawards.com to register and make the nomination in the Sports category. There's less than a week left. We missed the cut last year and would really like to make it this year.  Before we get to the Arizona Cardinals offseason and their outlook for 2020, we discuss the decision to cancel preseason games. It will be the first time since we've been doing the show that we don't have a preseason crush going into Week 1 of the NFL. Included in the changes is how the team has allowed season ticket holders to opt out for their seats this year. We also discuss the PFF rankings for the Seahawks defensive line and how Michael Bennett's retirement means one less veteran who can come back and help offer some improvement. There's still some time before the season and as we review the Cardinals you'll understand that there isn't much difference between the lowest ranked team and being middle

The month of July is traditionally the month where we look around the division at the other NFC West rivals to get an idea of how the landscape has changed since the previous season. That tradition continues for our show this year, but instead of bringing on other podcasters this season, we're going to be putting in the work and doing the research ourselves. Kicking off the month of July is the Los Angeles Rams. They have a new logo, they have new uniforms and they have a new stadium. Those three things help add up to a 10-6 season according to some of our favorite Rams fans. With a significant loss of talent in the offseason, it's tough to see where the Rams find a way to improve off last season. The offensive line hasn't improve and that will prove to be the single biggest factor in the Rams decline. We take a look at an article of the top six offseason moves for the Rams, and that alone should provide the kind of clues that it's going to be an uphill battle for coach Sean McVay. In the second half of the s

This is normally the time of the offseason where we would talk about the Seahawks finishing up OTAs, instead we're talking about the end of the team's zoom meetings. With the relatively lack of news, some of the biggest news still remains the comments from Pete Carroll revisiting the team's decision not to sign Colin Kaepernick. We provide some of the context that Carroll may have been unwilling to offer in the press conference with the mindset of trying to protect his team, while at the same time trying not to hurt Kap's chances of getting back into the NFL, and not wanting to talk about the potential for added distractions. Where have the Seahawks spent their money this offseason? In an offseason where there was potential to bring in some big name talent, to this point they've generally spread the money out rather than spending big in one spot. Can we really believe that Carroll is content with the job they've done to this point in the offseason? The potential for a 2020 season may even be in jeopardy, but

NFL teams are returning to their facilities starting on Friday so that is hopefully a positive step toward having an NFL season this year. The Carlos Hyde signing may be sending a less than positive signal about the health of Rashaad Penny though. The guys talk about how a potentially troubling aspect of the signing is how playerprofiler.com has Eddie Lacy as the "best comp" for Hyde. Jadeveon Clowney remains unsigned and the latest rumors say he turned down a deal from the Browns worth $12 million with incentives up to $20 million. Are the Seahawks really going to be content with the players they currently have on the defensive line going into the season? Pete Prisco's Top 100 list hit the street recently, which means it's time for a trip to Prisco's World. How has Prisco gone from having Russell Wilson ranked so low in the past to now being on team "Let Russ Cook"? We also go down the list and talk about the rankings of some of the players from our NFC West rivals. In the second half of the show, we respond

Bobby Wagner met with reporters on Monday and it turned into a conversation more than a news conference. Many of the news stories that came out yesterday and today are based on this call, and this will give you the full context of what was discussed. I cut out some of the audio problems that came up during the call, silence between questions, some "ums" and the four football questions that took away from the conversation that dominated the call.