I watched the first half in the hotel and will watch the second on my phone in a restaurant. Before heading out though, I wanted to share some thoughts…

— With the usual caveats of acknowledging this is only pre-season and the Chargers played their backups, that was a highly enjoyable first half of Mike Macdonald football. The Seahawks look refreshingly different. They’re doing the fundamental basics right, they look angry and intense. There was a physical quality we haven’t seen in years. Thank goodness for change.

— The defense in particular was outstanding. They set the edge well, they created pressure without needing to be tricky and just looked better than the opponent. LA’s first six drives included five three-and-outs and an interception. Byron Murphy, Boye Mafe and Derick Hall looked like three terrors. Tariq Woolen looks well set to return to his best form. The linebackers flew to the football. The defensive backs were everywhere and could’ve had multiple picks. Seattle looked young and aggressive.

— Mafe was flying off the edge, Hall’s power was on full show and Murphy already looks so dynamic rushing inside. This trio of high draft picks need to become Seattle’s pass rushing future and the early signs here were encouraging. They were far better than LA’s backup O-line.

— Michael Bennett is a treasure in the booth because he has no filter. He was very critical of the defense a year ago because their fundamentals were appalling. This year? “What we’re seeing that’s different from last year is the fundamentals. Shedding blocks, setting edges.” He’s spot on. For too long we accepted sloppiness and bad defense. Those days, thankfully, seem to be gone.

— The Seahawks just look organised and well coached. Everyone was on top of their brief. All three sides of the ball were sharp.

— Although the O-line had some nice physical moments of their own in short-yardage situations and the team ran the ball well, pass-protection was a concern. Stone Forsyth and McClendon Curtis showed the depth at tackle is not good and neither looked comfortable. The Seahawks, like most teams, can ill-afford injuries at tackle.

— Sam Howell played a solid half. He checked down nicely when that was the best option, he converted key downs with his arm and legs. His decision making was generally good and there were no turnover worthy plays. This was a very solid two quarters for Howell, playing within quite a vanilla arrangement for this pre-season game. He took very few risks and wasn’t asked to force the ball downfield, apart from one overthrown pass to Jake Bobo.

— Brady Russell has something about him. He showed a great finish on the touchdown to open the scoring. He settled into good areas to provide a target and he has some suddenness to his movement. He provides special teams value and he’s athletic. I like what I saw from him. George Holani equally has some value and made a nice cut to exploit great blocking off the edge from Pharaoh Brown and Tyler Mabry.

— Dee Williams has special teams value which will help his cause.