Sea Hawkers Podcast

306: Pete Carroll has conditioned Seahawks fans to expect and appreciate good defense

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 some significant weapons at receiver and had no problem torching the Jacksonville Jaguars defense on Thursday Night Football. Sam tells us why Seahawks fans should be crossing their fingers that his post-game attire is a red Hawaiian shirt.

Congratulations go out to pick'em winners from the last two weeks. Sideline Sockeye for Week 2 and Unlimited Flocker for Week 3.

In the Do Better segment, we learn there's a canary in the coal mine when it comes to finding power rankings that you should ignore. We also learn that Cowboys fans can tend to get litigious when their team is losing. Better at life honors go to Bills fans for coming up with an easy way to create Josh Allen apologies and to former Seahawks receiver Jermaine Kearse who announced his retirement this week.

If you're looking for a Seahawks fan graphic designer, check out Noelle Oliveira's work at noelleoliveira.com or visit her Etsy shop.

Thanks to Executive Producer Brian Shaw for donating the Ugo Amadi prize pack for the pick'em. Go to uamadi.com to check out all of the Ugo Amadi logo gear.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:39:23 — 45.8MB)

305: It’s Raining Sexy Deep Balls in Seattle

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 D.K. 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 night? If they can't, then it will be on Russ to continue to put up points. He should be able to do it after seeing the Cowboys defensive line underachieve in back-to-back weeks.

In the second half of the show, we look around the NFC West from this past week. We also congratulate The Biggest Little Flocker on the Week 2 Pick'em victory. NFL defenses throughout the league need to do better, and so does a Patriots receiver who is trying to erase a nickname that he clearly earned and there is definitive documentary evidence for the reason why. Finally, the Seahawks offensive coordinator and Mr. Unlimited himself both land Better at Life honors this week.

Pick'em League Home at CBS Sports

Post ‘Go Hawks' in the comments for the latest Tiny Pieces of Seahawks Stuff (TPoSS) Giveaway

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Get in the Flock! Visit GetInTheFlock.com
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Listen on our free app for Android, iOS, Kindle or Windows Phone/PC

Call or text: 253-235-9041

Find Sea Hawkers clubs around the world at SeaHawkers.org
Music from the show by The 12 Train, download each track at ReverbNation

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:42:39 — 70.8MB)

304: Seahawks first game showcases new dynamics on offense and defense

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 running the football and in the second half they completely abandoned the idea testing Seattle's defensive tackles.

Against the Patriots, the Seahawks front seven will be tested defensively. New England ran the ball early against the Dolphins and then opened up a passing game in the second half that allowed them to move the ball very effectively against Miami. The Patriots strength on defense is in their secondary, but containing Russell Wilson has never been something New England has had much success with. Let's see if the trend of what we saw on offense against the Falcons continues in Week 2.

In the second half of the show take a look down at the 2019 NFC Champions in the cellar of the NFC West. We discuss the new club that Russell Wilson belongs to and another player who will be joining that club in the near future. A Pro Football Focus power rating and states Adam recently traveled through need to do better. Better at life honors go to the ‘Let Russ Cookers' and to literally everyone not named Skip Bayless.

Pick'em League Home at CBS Sports

Post ‘Go Hawks' in the comments for the latest Tiny Pieces of Seahawks Stuff (TPoSS) Giveaway

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Get in the Flock! Visit GetInTheFlock.com
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Find Sea Hawkers clubs around the world at SeaHawkers.org
Music from the show by The 12 Train, download each track at ReverbNation

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:35:45 — 66.1MB)

303: Strengths and shortcomings of the Seahawks roster, matchups to watch versus Atlanta

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 the importance of improving depth in the secondary in the offseason.

We close out the first half of the show talking about areas of the roster that could come back to bite the team by choosing to focus on depth and familiarity with the team rather than going after higher priced talent.

In the second half of the show, we get a little pushback from one of our newest members of the flock on the pancakes versus waffles debate. We learn about how creative gender reveals need to consider temperature and climate in their decision making, and for people who pump gas and don't move their car before going into the store. Better at life honors go to Dan for helping Adam with trying to get internet in the woods and to the Seahawks for getting through training camp and testing virus free.

Pick'em League Home at CBS Sports

Congratulations to Chris B. who won the August Tiny Pieces of Seahawks Stuff.

Post ‘Go Hawks' in the comments for the latest Tiny Pieces of Seahawks Stuff (TPoSS) Giveaway

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:35:40 — 44.1MB)

302: Seattle Seahawks 2020 Season Expectations

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, D.K. Metcalf, Phillip Dorsett, and Travis “TD” Homer. The blame for the hype goes all the way to the top. By “the top” we mean it goes even beyond Pete Carroll or even the NFL.

The 2020 Podcast Pick'em League is now functional. Be sure and register and create a creative team name. Look for a bonus show later this week as we have even more than we talk about beyond this huge 2020 season kickoff episode. Tune in to hear which former Seahawks player needs to “Do better” and which site has a negative outlook on the Seahawks season. Better at life honors go to an eagle fighting “government overreach” and to our reigning 2019 pick'em league champion.

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