Author: Rob Staton (Page 2 of 425)

This is a guest post by Curtis Allen…

Year Two of the Mike Macdonald era in Seattle is finally upon us.

After another offseason of transformative moves on the roster, the Seahawks feel fresher and further removed from a franchise that talked about running the ball and playing tough defense but could not consistently do either.

Gone are high-profile players who did not want to play under this new vision.  In their place are talented and dedicated players who not only fit the system better, they are far better presences in the locker room.

The result is a team prepared to turn the tables on their Week One opponent, the San Francisco 49ers.  For years, the Seahawks have struggled to compete in the trenches with this team and their play-calling has displayed a real apathy about how to properly gameplan for such a talented and well-coached opponent.

No more.  Now the Seahawks have the advantage in talent and experience in the trenches.  They now need to match that talent to a proper gameplan.   How can they do that?

Control the Game with the Offense

The Seahawks are ideally placed to usurp this strategy from San Francisco.  They have the makings of a solid Offensive Line, a Quarterback who understands his assignment, Tight Ends who can supplement the run game, and have invested heavily in Fullbacks and Running Backs to make it all work.  This is all tied together by a new offensive staff that is experienced in taking advantage of the assets they have been provided.

What does San Francisco have on defense?  True, they have stars like Nick Bosa and Fred Warner.  But they also have this:

Week One to know

SF’s most experienced IDLs are:

Jordan Elliot (47.6 PFF on 441 snaps in 2024)
Kalia Davis (47.3 PFF on 260 snaps)

No doubt Nick Bosa will try some inside rushes.

But #seahawks could not ask for a better first game matchup for Grey Zabel and Jalen Sundell.

— Curtis Allen (@curtis93969) September 3, 2025

That kind of inexperience and poor past performance is a weakness that must be exploited.

True, they have invested quite a bit in their Defensive Line in the draft this year.  But expecting cohesion and assignment readiness from the line in Week One is a bridge too far.  Consider Bo Nix’s performance in Seattle in Week One versus later in the season for an example.

Focusing on this strategy is much more than just playing a strength against a weakness.  Let us count the ways this benefits the Seahawks:

1 – It wears out the Niner defense and keeps the Seahawk defense fresh.  It opens up opportunities in the passing game and Wide Receivers Cooper Kupp and Jaxon Smith-Njigba know exactly how to exploit room they have been given.

2 – It keeps the Niners more in their base personnel packages.  Bryce Huff is one of the NFL’s better pass rushers.  On passing downs he will perform well across from Nick Bosa.  However, he is a major liability in the running game, logging 48 grades from PFF in Run Defense the last two seasons.  Want to keep him from wrecking the game?  Keep him on the sidelines by committing to the run.

3 – It is a key to success against this team.  Last year, the Niners conceded twenty explosive runs.  All but one of those were in Niner losses.  The one in the win?  It was of zero consequence, as it was late in the fourth quarter and the Niners were up by nineteen points.  A signature trademark of success against San Francisco has been the ability to get an explosive run.

Data point:  Ten of the 19 explosive runs the Niners conceded were to the right side of the offense.  If they can time a play call to let Nick Bosa rush up field and take himself out of the lane, there are big opportunities there for Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet.

4 – It does not allow San Francisco to play their game on offense.  It puts pressure on Brock Purdy to take the game over, something he is not needed to do very often.  As Purdy goes, so go the Niners.

Speaking of that…

Defend the Edges in the Run and Put the Game on Brock Purdy’s Shoulders

The Niners love to get defenses thinking about misdirection when they run the ball.  They probably run as much to the edges of the defense as any offense in the NFL.

Look at Christian McCaffrey’s run chart against the Seahawks in Week Ten of last year:

No explosive runs conceded (the defense only conceded seven last year) and running up the middle was more of an afterthought than a strategy.  The Seahawks kept McCaffrey contained by setting the edges and not letting themselves get taken out of the play by motion and misdirection.

While they did well in that game, improvement is needed.  Watch Derick Hall allow himself to lose contain on a play where Mike Macdonald is sending blitzers from the other side, so he knows the action is coming his way.

Tank Lawrence was brought in primarily for this exact purpose:  set the edge on defense.  Keep your side of the field locked and make runners choose between moving inside where tacklers are waiting or try running up the sideline against speedy players like Devon Witherspoon are.

If the defense can keep the running game from making much progress, and the offense is running the ball effectively, that takes the Niners out of their offensive comfort zone.  While Brock Purdy is without a doubt a good quarterback, making him responsible for winning the game gives the Seahawks a decided advantage.

In 49ers wins last year, Purdy had a sparkling 9:1 Touchdown to Interception Ratio, a 114.9 passer rating and was only sacked nine times.

Losses were a whole different picture:  11:11, 84.7 and 22 sacks.

I want to cull a point I wrote last year on ways to disrupt Purdy’s process.  I took it from Mike Macdonald’s masterpiece as the Ravens Defensive Coordinator against the Niners:

THAT’S INTERCEPTION NO. 2 FOR @kyledhamilton_!!!!! #ProBowlVote

TUNE IN ON ESPN/ABC!!! pic.twitter.com/v1C25a6s7A

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 26, 2023

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 26, 2023

Macdonald has Roquan Smith, Patrick Queen and Kyle Van Noy crowding the line of scrimmage with three down linemen pre-snap, looking like a big blitz package.  But none of them go at the snap.  They all retreat to coverage and instead Kyle Hamilton (perfectly synching to the snap) comes roaring in off a nickel coverage spot.

Hamilton gets illegally chop-blocked by McCaffrey and then Aaron Banks decides to flop his 324 lbs on him to make sure he is down.

Meanwhile, Nmandi Madubuike and Odafe Oweh beat their men (really, outlast them with a relentless motor) and chase Purdy, who has taken too much time to process who is doing what on defense.

Purdy is forced into a contested throw that Marlon Humphrey bats away and right into the arms of…Kyle Hamilton, who has gotten up and doggedly gotten back into the play.

It is smarts.  Desire.  Toughness.

That is what it will take to defeat the Niners

It is not hard to envision Tyrice Knight, Ernest Jones and Devon Witherspoon in the box and Nick Emmanwori being the blitzer in a similar play concept.

Mike Macdonald has stated several times that he feels he needs to blitz more with his talented defense. 

It will be a delight to see what kind of blitzes and formations he cooks up for Brock Purdy.  When he gets pressured and hurried, his mechanics tend to get messy and he can tend to try to play hero-ball.

When he is more decisive and takes off to run, he is effective.  It might be advantageous to put a talented shadow like Emmanwori on him.  One who can mirror him and occasionally blitz to keep him guessing.

If the offense and defense can coalesce as effectively as we hope they can, this game could be well in the Seahawks’ control.

I’ve spent the day taking the opportunity to watch college football at a non-ungodly hour for once and wanted to share a few notes. Before getting into it I want to mark your card for tomorrow. Curtis Allen’s first watch-notes piece of the season will be published at 7am PT.

— The Iowa vs Iowa State game was fascinating for the trench play. The three players I focused on were Gennings Dunker (RT, Iowa), Logan Jones (C, Iowa) and Domonique Orange (DT, Iowa State). I have all three graded as possible top-64 picks next year.

Orange had the biggest impact early on — getting off blocks, making disruptive plays in the backfield and flashing his pro-potential for a player with a fantastic combination of quickness and upper body power. He looks the part of a NFL defensive lineman and stood out in the early drives where Iowa struggled to get anything going.

Later on Dunker had an outstanding rep against Orange though. He had to get on the run and shoot inside, then engage Orange from an awkward angle. He arrived from a side-on position to the defender but squares up easily, engages contact and drives Orange off the ball and into the end zone, helping Iowa score a rushing touchdown.

I’m not sure if Dunker will stay at tackle at the next level but if he has to kick inside, I think he has massive potential at right guard. Not only that, his movement skills and ability to execute on the run further highlight his zone-blocking chops. He’s one to watch.

Overall it wasn’t the best of Logan Jones. He got very little push in the run game and wasn’t able to displace interior defenders. Pass-pro wise he was decent and managed to hold his ground. I think both Iowa blockers should remain on our radar throughout the year.

— Nobody is going to look at Garrett Nussmeier’s stat line today, or LSU’s result against Louisiana Tech, and spend much time hyping him up. He had an early interception on an underthrown pass. It went 45 yards downfield to the left sideline when it needed to go 55. On the plus side, it wasn’t the kind of calamitous error that dogged Nussmeier at times last year. It perhaps just highlights some arm limitations but I don’t think anyone ever thought he had a Josh Allen style cannon.

What he did show once again, however, were next-level quarterbacking skills that no other QB is close to matching a the moment. His pocket footwork, mobility, ability to throw on the run and natural throwing talent (he makes it look easy, has a good spiral and release) were there too see. He is by far the quarterback with the most obvious pro-potential.

Look at the touchdown he threw as a case in point. He’s going through his progressions, doesn’t panic in the pocket and moves his feet to avoid the pressure and create the throwing lane. The pass is inch perfect:

 
I think he has the potential to be really good. In particular I don’t think people realise how good he is at escaping pressure and throwing on the move. He is easily QB1 for me.

— The other quarterbacks are getting more hype but I don’t know why. It was another ho-hum day from Cade Klubnik as Clemson struggled past Troy. LaNorris Sellers is a long way from NFL ready and doesn’t justify the hype he gets. Today, in the first half against lowly South Carolina State, he was 6/13 passing for 63 yards.

There’s been a fair amount of frothing at the mouth about John Mateer. He’s fun to watch — creative, unpredictable at times and makes the games he plays in very entertaining. It was that way at Washington State too. He’s a very creative and athletic player.

However, there are issues. He throws way too many side-arm passes. A lot of his throws are at max-velocity even on shorter routes where it’s unnecessary. He doesn’t throw with touch on enough of his passes. Mateer had overthrows and misses in this game.

You take the rough with the smooth. He can help Oklahoma have a much better season this year. He can be a box office college football player all year. But that doesn’t mean he’s a projectable high pick for the NFL draft. At the moment, only Nussmeier warrants clear round one talk.

I think Drew Allar is in the mix for QB2 but as I said before the season began, the other name I would keep an eye on is Sawyer Robertson who had another very productive performance to lead Baylor from way back against SMU to cause an upset. He has the tools. There’s something to work with there. I will watch his tape from today’s game when it becomes available.

— I haven’t watched Allar or Penn State this week but there’s a player to keep an eye on besides the quarterback and the two running backs for the Nittany Lions. Dani Dennis-Sutton is a legit defender. I noticed he had two more TFL’s today. This is a name to remember and he could be a high pick next year.

As I landed in Seattle, like most people do on a flight I immediately turned my phone back on to see what I’d missed over the last 10 hours. The first thing I saw was a tweet noting a contract extension for Abe Lucas. All was well with the world.

Let’s start by talking about Lucas the player. Regulars will know how highly we rated him before the 2022 draft. An outstanding Senior Bowl cemented a late first round grade on my board. I was never quite sure why he wasn’t rated higher. Was it just an injury thing? Regardless, it was well worth the Seahawks taking a shot in round three. Frankly, if they’d have taken him at #40 or #41 I would’ve celebrated the pick.

He showed as a rookie how much potential he had with an excellent first year. Then the injury happened and cast doubt as to what the future held. His return to the field last season was positive and he hasn’t had any setbacks.

Lucas’ showing against Kansas City in pre-season was outstanding, hinting at the prospect of a breakout season, placing him among the very best right tackles in the NFL.

Had the Seahawks waited and Lucas delivered on that, two things could’ve happened. Firstly, it would’ve cost a heck of a lot more money to keep the player. Two, there was the prospect of losing him — which would be a disaster if, as everyone hopes, the offensive line takes a major leap forward this season.

Getting a deal done for this kind of money, just over $15m a year on a three-year extension, is a good balance between providing Lucas with a financial reward, hedging your bets, potentially getting value and allowing the player to reach the market again in his prime.

If the worst happens and Lucas misses time with injury again, this is not a debilitating contract in the slightest. It makes perfect sense to invest in a player like this at a position where finding quality is so difficult.

It’s a great piece of news ahead of the new season.

I am back again this year with Puck Sports, doing a weekly show on Wednesday’s. Please check the video out, give it a like and leave a comment on YouTube if you can. Puck and Jim Moore were the first people to approach me about doing weekly stuff in the Seattle media so I’ll always be grateful for that — so if you can support his channel it would mean a lot to me.

I’m flying out to Seattle in a few hours and can’t wait to return to the PNW.

Today I made the first of a new weekly appearance on Bump & Stacy (Tuesday’s at noon PT). You can watch the segment here (please do — and also like the video and share around if you can):

Plus don’t forget to join us for the latest Seahawks Collective at 5pm PT:

Draft media bares its backside over Arch Manning

Last season Manning started two games in relief of an injured Quinn Ewers. He showed nothing in those two starts to feel like he was destined to be a first round pick, let alone anything more. With Ewers now in the NFL, Manning had his chance to justify the hype. Instead he showed what a player starting his third college football game under center often looks like.

I feel bad for him. Dan Orlovsky ridiculously called him a ‘generational talent’ after the game, bemoaning the Longhorns for not letting him loose as a passer. He’s shown nothing to warrant that label. He merely has a ‘generational’ second name.

Pair this along with all the various draft pundits — including nearly all of the big names — putting Manning at the top of their ‘way too early’ mock drafts and big boards. How the heck can anyone justify that? In what world is he a better overall talent for the 2026 draft than Caleb Downs?

He isn’t ready for the NFL. In fact he’s a mile away. And guess what? Anyone with only three college starts is going to be. Like nearly every human he’ll need at least two years of starting to get a proper picture as to what he is in the league. He’d benefit from playing longer than that in college, because we can see how extra time and playing experience has helped the likes of Jayden Daniels, Cam Ward, Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr in recent years.

Make a note of the people who put Manning at the top of their boards and keep it in mind. They are either under pressure from editors to build up the Manning name as a story, they had their head turned by the second name and forgot to actually do any scouting or they simply don’t know what they’re talking about.

Stop with the lofty projections for 2026. Stop calling him a ‘generational talent’. Let him play games for Texas for two full seasons and at some point next year let’s have a conversation about how he’s developing, like we would any other quarterback.

Against Ohio State he looked like a dear in headlights for most of it. He isn’t ready for NFL chatter and nobody should’ve expected him to be.

Garrett Nussmeier is the real deal, Cade Klubnik is not

I wrote last week that Nussmeier was easily QB1 and that Klubnik had become overrated. I think the LSU vs Clemson game justified that take.

Nussemeier is a very natural passer. His release is sound, he throws with anticipation, there’s good velocity on his throws while retaining the ability to deliver with touch, he can move around surprisingly well and throw on the run with accuracy and he handles pressure better than the other draft-eligible QB’s. He had more pro-level throws last season than any other quarterback in college football. He also had too many ‘WTF’ mistakes and that’s why he returned to LSU, to cut those down. He did that against Clemson with zero turnovers.

His stat-line would’ve looked even better but for a terrible officiating call to take a clear touchdown off the board after a perfect throw and catch was ruled out:

This throw from Garrett Nussmeier to Barion Brown is insane. Ridiculous ball placement. pic.twitter.com/I9vOQZnhr5

— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) August 31, 2025

Nussmeier did not disappoint in this game. Remember, he was also playing a loaded defense with two prospective first round defensive linemen, playing behind a patched up offensive line that lost four starters to the NFL last year.

People seemed to have forgotten all the positives from last season and it was surprising to see Todd McShay grading Klubnik ahead of Nussmeier when he did his quarterback rankings recently. The Clemson quarterback showed here why that was a bad take.

Too many of his passes were off-target — thrown too high or behind. He had a lousy interception that was hopelessly overthrown. Klubnik had a chance to drive at the end and get a game-tying touchdown and couldn’t deliver. He didn’t have a touchdown in the game.

He’s a good athlete and can move around well. We saw some decent gains with his legs. However, Nussmeier is just on a completely different level as a passer. Going into the season I gave Klubnik a tentative early day three grade and frankly didn’t see anything last night to make me think that was harsh.

Nussmeier on the other hand was the only quarterback I felt worthy of a firm ‘could go in round one’ grade. If he can continue to limit the errors, keep winning with LSU and have a strong season as the leader of that team (he’s now wearing the fabled #18 jersey) — he has every opportunity to be the top quarterback taken next year.

The other players who impressed in the game included LSU transfer cornerback Mansoor Delane, who played very well. Avieon Terrell the Clemson corner also flashed. I liked the look of Clemson linebacker Wade Woodaz before he left the game with a shoulder injury. Pass rusher TJ Parker had his moments but I expected a bit more from Peter Woods given the changes to LSU’s offensive line.

Other notes

— Alabama left tackle Kadyn Proctor is often talked-up as a top-10 pick. I didn’t even have him projected for round one based on my summer tape study. I think he’s too big and clunky and doesn’t move well enough. Against Florida State he was beat multiple times off the edge, giving up two sacks and six pressures. I really don’t understand what some of the draft media are seeing. The same goes for Alabama linebacker Dontae Lawson. He’s just not a projectable player early, yet I keep seeing him listed on big boards. He’s not physical enough, not quick enough and he doesn’t play the run well when he’s asked to come downhill.

— Penn State’s Dani Dennis-Sutton was very impressive against Nevada. He looks strong and powerful on contact, he clearly has some quickness for his frame, he gets low into his stance almost like a linebacker and uncoil’s to launch into contact. DDS has plenty of base power, violent hands and he’s capable of demolishing tight ends who try to block him. This was my first chance to really watch him and he flashed first round talent.

— Drew Allar had a reasonably good performance. He moved around and made plays on the run. He has really come on as a passer since year one and just looks far more comfortable throwing to all areas of the field. He had a nice touchdown pass with decent placement from a difficult body position. The problem is he’s very big and not the most agile. He does give you Brock Osweiler vibes at times but let’s not forget Osweiler was a high pick made by John Elway. Allar has talent and could be QB2 behind Nussmeier but he’ll face tougher challenges than a fairly routine win at home against Nevada.

— One of the players of the weekend was Jermaine Mathews Jr the Ohio State cornerback. He had a great interception of Arch Manning by running the receiver’s route. He almost had another, undercutting a route and deflecting the ball into the path of Sonny Styles (the linebacker couldn’t quite complete the catch). Mathews Jr is a bigger corner, he’s physical and looks the part. He did give up the Texas touchdown later on but his coverage was good — he just needed to be a little more physical with the receiver and do a better job playing the ball. He caught my attention and I want to see more.

— Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King is fun to watch. He has some skill as a passer and he’s a strong runner. As we saw last year, he’s also an absolute warrior. Against Colorado on Friday, his offensive line was a shambles. He had no time to throw and often had to make things happen with his legs. He did it superbly. There’s a player here and I can’t help but feel he’s being slept on a little bit. King won’t be a high pick but he has some tools to work with, plus he’s willing his team to compete every time he’s on the field.

— Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson flashed physical tools in a heavy defeat to Auburn, who were simply too good on the night. Defensive end Kedric Faulk, for example, showed why he could easily be a top-10 pick next year. Robertson has the size and the traits to be an intriguing draft prospect but I’m not sure he’s there yet on a technical level. Neither do Baylor look good enough to truly elevate his stock.

— No player brings me more joy to watch than Utah’s Spencer Fano. It’s not often you watch a highlights video to see a right tackle but that’s how he plays. He jumped off the screen multiple times with his footwork and agility at his size, his outstanding power and control at the point of attack and he just moves people with ease. Fano is one of the most controlling, bullying linemen I’ve ever watched. He’s a pancake machine. At one point in the game he dropped a defensive lineman to the turf, buried him, then got up and looked for a second defender to block on the run. A truly incredible talent and a player destined to go very early. I can’t wait to watch the full game tape of the UCLA beatdown.

It’s the biggest trade in some time and everyone has an opinion on the Micah Parsons-to-Green Bay deal.

There’s been talk about whether the Seahawks should’ve outbid the Packers and pulled the trigger themselves. I’ve gone back and forth in my own mind on that question for a few weeks. I’ve decided to say no and I’ll explain why in a moment.

Firstly though, we have to accept that it was never likely to happen. The peerless Brady Henderson, who everyone should pay attention to when he speaks on these matters, ruled it out some time ago. The Seahawks were never going to make this move, didn’t want any of the drama attached to Parsons and were never seemingly considering it.

For anyone wondering if that’s the right stance to take, remember that the Seahawks have Parsons’ former coach on their staff in Aden Durde. Not only that, they signed DeMarcus Lawrence earlier this year. In almost no time at all, Lawrence and Parsons exchanged an online war of words following an interview the former did with Brian Nemhauser where he questioned his chances of winning a Super Bowl in Dallas.

Considering how much the Seahawks have praised Lawrence’s veteran leadership, and given his apparent disdain for Parsons, it’s hardly surprising they didn’t fancy bringing him to the PNW.

Let’s also not forget controversy plagued Parsons’ pre-draft process following reports over a hazing complaint at Penn State. It makes for difficult reading.

The point is there was plenty of background and experience with this player to make a call before you even get into the price of a contract and trade. The Seahawks, as with other teams, could’ve gone all-in to acquire Parsons and chose not to.

Now onto the other reasons why I wouldn’t have done the trade:

1. The need to retain stock

The Packers are in a different place to the Seahawks. They’ve drafted a quarterback in round one, had multiple years to assess Jordan Love and then signed him to a big extension. They are at a stage in their process where they are 100% committed to their man. In the last two seasons they have a 1-2 playoff record and want to smash through into a serious contender.

The Seahawks haven’t qualified for the playoffs for the last two seasons. They haven’t had multiple years with their quarterback and will spend this season assessing Sam Darnold. Nobody can say with any certainty whether they’ve found ‘the guy’. They are realistically where the Packers were a couple of years ago, starting out with Love under center.

They might need to draft a quarterback next year. Spending your next couple of first rounders on a defensive player won’t feel very wise if you have an elite defense in 2025 and are let down by the QB. What then?

I appreciate that an elite defense would also help Darnold and the offense and Parsons is clearly one of the best in the business. If Darnold plays badly, though, there’s nothing an edge rusher can do about that. The Seahawks are duty bound to see how this year goes at quarterback and review things in a few months. They are not yet in a position like the Packers where it is time to push all of the chips into the middle of the table.

2. Mike Macdonald can succeed without an elite pass rusher

He won a Head Coaching gig in Baltimore by creating the #1 ranked DVOA defense in 2023. That year, the Ravens led the NFL in sacks with 60. Their best pass rushers were Nnamdi Madubuike, Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy.

None of their defensive tackles or pass rushers ranked in the top-15 per PFF grade. Roquan Smith ranked 17th at linebacker. None of their cornerbacks ranked in the top-50. Kyle Hamilton was the ninth best safety.

It paints a picture of clever scheming and the cumulative group being the main factor, rather than relying on difference makers.

We saw that in Seattle last year as the defense developed into one of the better units in the league. Leonard Williams played at a fantastic level most weeks but overall, the Seahawks were not relying on a superstar or two just playing better than anyone else. It was the whole unit succeeding.

This doesn’t mean the Seahawks are guaranteed to continue growing in 2025 and won’t in the future require a blue-chip difference maker. They might as well let Macdonald crack on first, though, before rushing to try and accelerate growth.

It feels a little bit like he thinks he needs a certain type of player — low maintenance, committed, prepared to do their job within structure. I suspect he’s more comfortable adding a veteran like Lawrence and complementing them with the youth of someone like Nick Emmanwori, rather than going for the splashy big name who suddenly gets $47m a year.

As with the quarterback position, this should be a year for assessment. If he can push the Seahawks towards having one of the top defenses in the NFL without having to go all-out to acquire someone like Parsons, as he did in Baltimore, then they can keep their resources and avoid taking on a massive outsider contract.

3. The price would’ve been too much

Parsons is a top player, clearly, and that comes with a hefty price-tag. Sacrificing Kenny Clark and two first rounders is reasonable for the Packers. Given the Cowboys seemingly wanted to fix their run defense with a quality defensive tackle — would you have been prepared to give up Leonard Williams? Or wave away Byron Murphy — a top-20 pick — after just one season in the league? I wouldn’t have been comfortable with that.

On top of this, $47m a year for a non-quarterback feels especially rich even with an expanding salary cap. The Seahawks have a number of young players approaching the time where they can expect to begin negotiations over second contracts. Do you really want to set an extraordinary bar for their expectations? Or cede leverage with an obvious, ‘well you gave him a massive deal’ counter to anything you offer?

Can Parsons even live up to the contract? After all, the Cowboys only won one playoff game during his four years with the team. It’s not like they didn’t have talent on the offensive line, at quarterback and weapons either. His presence did not automatically turn Dallas into a big winner. There may be reasons for that, such as coaching or even Jones’ meddling. The point is though, adding Parsons was never going to guarantee anything. For $47m a year, millions more than the next best pass rusher in the league, that’s an eye-watering price to pay when it might not be necessary to push Macdonald’s unit to the top of the tree.

4. Drafting well and smart trades is still the key

It’s very rare that big ballsy trades get you to the promise land. The only recent example is the Rams with their ‘F those picks’ approach that clinched a Super Bowl. Their big move was to acquire a quarterback and pair him with Sean McVay. That is a lot more understandable than going big on a defensive player. The quarterback being their big move is more palatable than trying to pump investment into the defense to prop up Jared Goff (who they sent to Detroit in the deal for Matthew Stafford).

Most other contenders are built like the Eagles. Savvy veteran trades that are more about value than splurge, smart drafting, knowing who and what you want to be and player development.

It’s plausible to argue, as we often have, that the Seahawks need some of their good young players to become ‘great’ in order to take the next step. It’s also likely they’ll need to hit on a trade or two in the future — such as the 49ers did with Trent Williams and Christian McCaffrey.

Those are calculated moves though. I’m not sure the big splash is the way to go and those moves (Percy Harvin, Jamal Adams) didn’t work for the Seahawks in the past. They’re better off being opportunistic and although the Leonard Williams and Ernest Jones trades were quite expensive rentals initially, given both re-signed, the deals look more favourable over time.

They’ve drafted well recently and need to continue doing that. They undoubtedly will continue to search for opportunities in the trade market. They now have the staff — offensively and defensively — to develop talent.

If it was as easy as ‘acquire and pay a big name player then immediately become a contender’ someone would’ve outbid the Packers.

The Seahawks were right to sit this one out.

Firstly, let’s address the way the new Seahawks uniforms look. People are saying it’s an Oregon Ducks tribute act. I beg to differ.

Every Seahawks uniform in history has contained some element of the colour green. It’s also a colour synonymous with the Pacific Northwest. It was inevitable that these new uniforms would also have green on them.

This doesn’t make them the Ducks.

The design is supposed to be modern and different. This isn’t an attempt to be traditional. If we’re going to say that every grey jersey with some trendy design on it, that also carries the colour green, is effectively an Oregon uniform — I think that’s looking for a problem.

Some have noted the design looks quite similar to a previous Oregon uniform where they had ‘steel ridges’ designed into the shoulder-pad area with a metallic green number. I’d also point out that Oregon have had so many different uniform combinations — including multiple in-season — that it was always going to be very easy to find the one that was a bit similar to this.

As far as I can tell the Ducks have never had a helmet that reflects different shades of blue and green, with blue socks. So unless we’re saying the Seahawks can never have a wolf grey uniform with a modern design — I think we should just let this one slide.

I do think uniforms matter in team sports. It’s your identity. You want to be able to see the uniform on TV and instantly recognise your favourite team.

I’m also a big traditionalist. I think teams should stick to age-old classics. I want the Seahawks to make the throwbacks their permanent uniforms. They look great and it’s an identity that can stand the test of time.

However, I also think the league should market these ‘special’ one-offs. It’s nice to see different ideas and modern twists for the occasional game here and there. Rather than make the throwbacks a three-game experience every season, why not use them for 12 or 13 games and then trot out something a bit different like these rivalry uniforms for the rest?

In soccer, teams change their uniforms every year and it creates a lot of income. We don’t want the NFL to go down that road, so giving teams an opportunity to produce some new merch without tampering with a classic look could be important.

I also think it’s good for fans to have new things to buy. I have a lot of typical Seahawks gear, plus other sports teams I’ve become attached to over the years. Buying merchandise is often something I’ll do when visiting a new city. Having some different looking Seahawks stuff to buy is fun — and people aren’t obliged to buy it if they don’t like the look.

In terms of the design itself I think it looks clean, interesting and different. All-white/grey uniforms can look quite boring sometimes but this isn’t. The ‘soundwaves’ on the shoulder liven things up, the number is complemented well against the ‘Seahawks’ wording which looks good centrally. Blue socks balance out the helmet and ensure the thing isn’t ‘too’ grey.

More importantly, these are way better than the ‘action green’ uniforms we’ve been forced to stare at for multiple years. I also find it off that people seemed to really like the original wolf grey uniforms but are opposed to these.

I’d like to see them build on this concept in the future, perhaps with a navy blue version to be used at home. That would be a really nice thing to do — but only after re-introducing the throwbacks as the home/road primary look.