There are many great characteristics that make the Seahawks who they are.
For a sport that is often focused on how you play in the trenches, the quality of your quarterback or the play-calling — the Seahawks feel like a different beast.
Their elite-level professionalism has been showcased on Hard Knocks and throughout an off-season where the franchise once again had to combat having the words ‘defending champions’ associated with the franchise. They’ve been able to draw a line, move on and return for another go.
The maturity of the roster is highly impressive. The veteran leadership, mixed with a blossoming younger core, seem to be driven in a way that is not usual. Take Devon Witherspoon for example. No hold-out. No hold-in. No big contract drama, even as talks over an extension lingered. He was at work every day, including the voluntary parts of the off-season. The mentality of the group is highly impressive.
Last night we also saw how well crafted the team is. Players who you typically wouldn’t have highlighted as necessarily being key to the game, stepping up to deliver big moments. Josh Jobe, Nehemiah Pritchett and of course, Drew Lock.
It speaks to the development work of the staff and the front office for consistently producing players who are capable of being developed in the first place. The environment helps — as does the approach of the individual players.
It was an improbable victory. Trailing 10-0 in the second half with your backup quarterback on the field, a first-time play-caller who lost his starting QB after the first drive and the defense, whilst keeping a lid on things, hadn’t produced much in the way of pressure and hadn’t had a sniff of a turnover.
It felt like they might go scoreless at one point, let alone win the game. And everyone had to come together to turn it around.
Suddenly the defense burst into life — the juggling Pritchett interception seemed to light a spark and make everyone believe. The defense ended the game with nine TFL’s, three sacks and three picks.
The offense began to flow — with Drew Lock moving on from a nervous looking first few series to suddenly appearing to be in complete control.
Let’s also not forget special teams. Jason Myers, after a challenging three pre-season games, made every kick with every point being hugely important. Michael Dickson also produced a typically excellent performance.
It was a ‘team’ win from the best team in the NFL. A shining example of what truly makes the Seahawks special. It’s not the glitz of a Hollywood quarterback or the diva superstar. It’s not a front-loaded roster, acquired at extreme cost, in an attempt to buy a title.
It’s a carefully crafted, expertly coached, driven bunch of individuals who have each other’s backs. It’s the grit of the group to stare down the most bleak situation — losing your quarterback after one drive, whilst also playing without other key starters — and still finding a way to win.
For a Head Coach like Mike Macdonald, he must constantly marvel at the character shown by his team. The Colts win. The Rams game in week 16. The NFC Championship rematch. Now this. Perfect examples of not knowing when you’re beaten, fighting through the tough moments and delivering under the biggest spotlight.
Granted, a truly awful second half from Drake Maye contributed greatly. The interceptions were, by all accounts, gifts. And for such an experienced staff it was bizarre how the Patriots handled being 10-0 and 10-3 up against a team facing such adversity with injuries.
Yet you’ve still got to capitalise and the Seahawks did. In a weird way, the Patriots come out of this game with greater quarterback questions than Seattle. Maye had a great season last year but he’s now on a stretch of games, including the playoffs last season, where he’s been a little bit exposed. The Boston media are starting to turn and he’ll be under pressure now.
Meanwhile in Seattle — clearly losing Darnold for any length of time would be massively suboptimal. Yet there’ll be renewed faith in Lock in relief after this performance. And the rest of the team has shown it can rally, galvanise and battle through in support. They can win games within this situation — let’s just hope Darnold’s MRI produces good news and this will merely be a short-term issue (although the way he left the field yesterday and then immediately went for further medical checks suggests it won’t be a quick return to football).
I am leaving Seattle later today and returning to the UK but wanted to say a few things on the trip. Firstly, the hospitality of the people of the PNW has once again been astonishing. There were several moments during the week where I’ve been blown away by the generosity shown to what is essentially a random journalist from Rotherham who happens to write a blog about the team we all share an interest in.
To Brian Nemhauser, who again has gone above and beyond, thank you. To Jason Puckett for an excellent evening, to Curtis Allen and Robbie Williams for their company, to my buddy at UW, to Curtis Rogers and Stacy Rost, to the fellas at Simply Seattle and anyone who came and said ‘hi’ during this week. Thank you. This is a wonderful part of the world, with even better people.
Finally to the community here. I doubt any of this happens without people engaging, contributing and making this, in my admittedly biased view, a great place to talk Seahawks.
