| 15 August 2009
Hey gang. Ain't it a great day for football? My band has a gig that starts at the same time as the game so I have to tape it and watch later after I get back home. Meanwhile, I wanted to bring you a last and final installment of the interviews with players, coaches, and analysts.
These interviews took place Monday and include the first one with Aaron Curry on KJR with Elise. There have been so many interviews the rest of the week that I'd have to make this a full time job to keep up with them. To get these four parts to the series, I had to listed to around 40 hours of interview material and take a small spiral notebook's worth of notes. My wife reminded me that if I didn't think I had a life, I'd better find one pretty damn soon.
I wanted to get this last article out there as promised. What I will do is list the rest of the interviews and provide links so you guys can go listen to them yourselves if you want. Here's a tip: these are all downloadable as MP3 files. I like to download them into my iPod and play them whenever I'm driving somewhere or in a doctor's office or whenever I've got time to kill. So without further ado, here we go:
08/10 Softy Interviews Greg Knapp Link To Interview
Asked where the offense is now, Knapp said he was very excited about the energy and the intelligence of the group. He thought we have a very smart team on both sides of the ball. He noted that in each position room, the coaches were throwing a lot at the players, but the players were assimilating the information well and showing they got it at practice.
The players have really responded, studied, and prepared before training camp. They started reviewing their stuff from the spring sessions and continue to do so and demonstrate it in the evenings and in-between practices on the field. We've got a good start to camp.
Softy noted that we're all trying to handicap what this offense if going to look like and what's going on in Knapp's head. Softy said no on can figure it out. He thought we shouldn't look back to his play calling in Atlanta -- rather, we should look further back to San Francisco and Jeff Garcia and Steve Young when Knapp had a passer and good receivers to work with. He sees him running all this great stuff with Wallace like Vick did in Atlanta, but Wallace is the backup quarterback. For a truer picture, Softy advocates popping in a tape from the Greg Knapp days in San Francisco.
Knapp agreed and said that you have to play to your team's strengths like the passing game in San Francisco and running the ball in Atlanta. He said a lot of it is learning what your personnel are going to be and he said they're still learning here in Seattle. What are the strengths of Julius Jones? What are the strengths of Deion Branch, Nate Burleson, Matt Hasselbeck, John Carlson and so forth? What are the strengths of our offensive line? He said it'll sort itself out as the season goes by. He said they have an idea, but this training camp and preseason is very helpful to the coaches in deciding which facet of the playbook they're going to emphasize based on Seattle's personnel.
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Softy noted that earlier Jim Mora hinted we might see some of the wildcat offense, and so far we haven't seen any indications that they are considering it. He asked if it's something they plan on tinkering with once the season begins and if we might see Seneca and Matt on the field together. Knapp said that they require the player to keep their plans in the "call room" and that he has to hold himself to the same standard. In other words, he dodged the question. Softy took a different direction to get to the same question and asked of Wallace's role is going to be strictly as a backup quarterback or could he be used outside of that spot. Knapp responded that he could be used outside the backup quarterback role and said that they are trying to get everyone involved who can help the team. He noted that Seneca does bring some unique ability to the quarterback position and he thinks that's worth taking advantage of.
Softy related that Mora had said they were looking for the right five guys on the offensive line. He told Greg that he was concerned as far as where the line presently is in its development. First of all, he said he doesn't know how much chemistry they have and that the guys up front haven't played much together. Secondly, he's not sure how good they are when they do play together. Knapp said that he could definitely understand the concern because they've moved guys all around, but he noted that it's only been 8 days of training camp and they still have a lot of time to work together. In one way, it's good that the guys are learning to play the guard tackle or guard center positions because on Sunday's we're only going to suit up 7 guys so they need to be trained at some point to be able to handle multiple positions.
Knapp said that he isn't concerned overall because he feels very comfortable that the offensive linemen during the OTAs and in training camp have made a smooth transition to what he and the other coaches are asking of them. Knapp went on to say that he could understand the concern, though, because you want the five starters on the o-line to be together to practice and communicate, but he still feels the players has plenty of time to do that before the season opens.
Asked if it's possible that Max Unger would be competing for a starting spot this fall and if it's to much to ask of the rookie, Greg said he thinks it's possible. He does note that next to the quarterback position, offensive line is the hardest position for a rookie to come in and learn to play. He said that's because of all the learning that goes on and experience that you need to perform at a high level in this league, so it's a hard challenge for Unger but it is possible that he has a chance to start. That's because he does display the ability and intelligence to do it, but you don't want to force it upon a guy, expecially at the offensive line or quarterback position.
About his relationship with Matt Hasselbeck, Knapp said that taking over from Mike Holmgren, who has been Matt's only play caller, is tough. Knapp acknowledges that he has some big shoes to fill in that department but it's been kind of a perfect storm as he describes it. From the beginning, when he first talked to Matt, he told him that he was at a point in his career and in this league where he feels comfortable and confident, seeking input from a guy who is one of the best quarterbacks in the league with years of experience.
He wanted to know what Matt was comfortable with, what he likes to run in the red zone or the two minute drill. Knapp said it was a good mesh. They met twelve to twenty times in the off-season and discussed what Matt’s likes and dislikes were as well as things like what kind of cadence he perfers to use and how he manages the huddle. He thought they would get on the same page quicker that way and it seems to have worked very well with the individual meetings. Knapp says their relationship is very good and that Matt brings a lot to the table with his ideas for the offense. My observation would be that anyone is more enthusiastic with a plan in which you are invested with your own ideas and creativity.
At the same time, Knapp says that Matt understands that when Knapp believes in something as a coach, he has to do it that way. He's trying to tap into Matt's brain and use his years of experience.
Asked about Jones, Duckett, and Forsett, Knapp thinks they're a great threesome who can get the job done. He was then asked why he thought he could run the ball effectively in Seattle. Knapp said he has to go back to experiences with Warren Dunn who had his career-best season under Knapp when they built this system together. Justin Fargas also had his best career year under Knapp and this system. Twice before Knapp has gone through the transition where it was new to the linemen and running backs only to have them have very productive seasons.
Through his experiences, he's very confident that he can make it work in Seattle too where he feels he has as good or better talent to work with initially. He sees similar examples in Seahawks practices as he saw in his previous stops and that fuels the expectation that it will end in a similar result. He likes using multiple backs and says it's important to get them all involved as the season progresses so they're all comfortable by the playoffs. He doesn't want any one back to be worn out by the end of the regular season in December and January, so he will be using all three running backs to keep them fresh throughout the season. Based on his confidence from previous jobs, he feels that we'll have similar success here too.
I guess that means a top 10 running game, Addicts. If he does that, I can't believe we won't have a top 10 passing game to go with it because of what such a successful running game can bring to the table with respect to the passing game.
Knapp doesn't feel we need to have a 1200 or 1300 yard back to have a successful running game. He says as long as you're running efficiently, then the team will be fine and they won't need that marquee yardage guy.
About the receivers, he said that in 15 years in the league, this is by far the most competitive receivers group he's ever seen. The best thing about it is they're competing so hard for the 50/50 ball. The 50/50 ball is when the quarterback is on target and it's a tight throw and it's between the wide receiver and the defensive back to make the catch. Knapp noted that the whole group of receivers has competed well for that 50/50 ball. He thought that the wide receiver position will be the hardest position to judge and make the cuts at. Asked to name a weakness in the receivers group, he couldn't come up with one.
This was one great interview with Knapp and one that you should hear with your own ears if you have the time.
08/10 Softy Interviews Jordan Kent Link toInterview
Jordan says the difference between last season and this one is night and day. He feels that he’s made another quantum leap in his understanding of his position and what's expected of him. He's much more at ease and comfortable this year and everything’s been more consistent. He feels he's playing faster, sharper, crisper, and with more confidence. He says it's great to see his progress week to week and month to month.
He was reminded that it's one thing to do the job in the preseason and quite another to get the job done in the regular season. He was asked what happened last year when he did great in the preseason and then disappeared once the regular season started. Jordan said that he wasn't as prepared as he thought he was and things spiraled out of his control. He thinks this year will be different.
The receiver duties have changed for the team this year where they're running a wider variety of routes and using different splits. There are a lot more different variants. Asked about Housh, Jordan says he's taken to emulating his work ethic because he goes hard at everything and never lets up.
08/10 Softy Interviews Leroy Hill Link to Interview
Asked how much the defense has changed this year, Hill said although a lot has changed, it's still a basic 4 -3 defensive set and that there's only so much you can really do differently. There's different terminology, a lot more blitzes, and much more intricate nuances to the blitz package as well as much more detail in general. He said that the defense was frustrated last year in part because they couldn't be very aggressive, but Mora changed all that. Leroy said they're going to send the linebackers more this year but noted that some teams you can't blitz a lot and that fans have to understand that's just the way it is.
Asked about the new guys on the defensive line, Hill responded that Cole is plugging the hole well and that Redding just creates havoc whenever he's on the field. As for Curry, (Softy calls him "the creature"), Hill thinks that's the perfect name because he's just a beast. Leroy observed that he doesn't have to worry about his contract now and so he's just going out to play his game.
Hill said that Mora gets involved in the defense and gets in the huddle. He wants everyone to play technically sound defense against San Diego this weekend.
08/10 Ian Interviews Kyle Williams Link to Interview
This was a short interview that just lasted a little over three minutes.
He noted that Wahle will be missed a lot and that he learned a lot from him. Williams feels like he has a great opportunity to play this year. Last year was a dream come true to be a starter and he feels that the experience he got was invaluable in brining him to the point where he could truly challenge for playing time. It helped immensely in getting used to the speed of the game.
Kyle noted that he thought the offseason was easier in the NFL because in college, you still had papers and assignments due but in the NFL you can concentrate totally on football with no distractions.
He noted that Mora and staff are more fired up than Holmgren and his staff was. He said this training camp is more like a college atmosphere.
08/10 Elise Interviews Aaron Curry Link toInterview
Aaron said that during his holdout, he wanted to be in camp with his teammates more than anything and it was hard to sit out and wait for his contract to be finalized. He said that every player has an agent they hired to take care of business and they have to step aside and let them do their jobs. Curry did note that he had a self-imposed dealing of eight days that he could hold out before urging his agent to get it done so he could get in camp. Oddly enough, his hold out lasted just eight days.
Even though he's the top rookie on the team, he still has to carry helmets around for the other linebackers. When he did get to camp, the other linebackers just told him it was time to get to work. When Elise asked him about his contract and all that money, he replied that signing his name meant to him that he could get on the field and play football. He said that was more important to him than the size of the contract. I'm quite certain that his agent didn’t see it that way, though.
Lofa and the other linebackers said that he didn't miss too much as they were still running the base defense which had been installed in the offseason OTAs. Asked by Elise what he was doing with himself the last week while he was waiting for his contract to get done, Curry said that he played Playstation, walked the dog, and spent time with his wife. He had DVDs and notes from training camp and he went back over them and reviewed what he could and worked on his position stuff.
Curry missed eleven practices in all. Asked what his goals for the game Saturday were, Curry said he's a guy who takes things one day at a time and said that all he can control is the moment he's in now. He takes it one play at a time and goes full speed and makes sure he takes care of his responsibilities. The decision of who plays where and when is up to the coaches who get paid to make those decisions. All he can really do is play fast and play hard.
Asked if he's getting extra reps with the staff to get up to speed and what the biggest challenges are to get ready, he replied that all the details and the little things have to be right. He said that everything is very detailed and he can get lost in those details of every coverage and the blitz details but that the coaches are doing a good job of catching him up.
He feels comfortable that he'll get caught up very soon and continues to grow with the team. Asked if he feels pressure, he said that football is something that he chose to do as a career and that he's at ease with everything going on around him. Asked again about rookie goals, he once again reiterated that he takes one day at a time and just plays fast and hard. What he wants to see out of the defense is it building itself into the relentless and hard defense that Mora wants it to be.
Here are the other interviews, for which I've provided the date, interviewer and interviewee, and a link to the interview. They provide a wealth of information for the well-informed fan to pick up on. I've listened to most of them but don't have the time to detail them out for you guys if I don't want to be single again and spending half my time looking for love. Some ultimatums you just can't ignore. I'll come back with my observations after watching the game after I get back from the gig tonight. By then you'll have already heard everyone else’s take on the game and mine will probably be just reiterating what's already been said, but I'll try to come up with something new for you guys.
08/11 Mitch Interviews Colin Cole Link To Interview
08/11 Mitch Interviews Matt Hasselbeck Link To Interview
08/11 Softy Interviews Courtney Taylor Link To Interview
08/11 Ian Interviews Michael Bumpus Link To Interview
08/11 Elise Interviews Gus Bradley Link To Interview
08/11 Elise Interviews Deon Butler Link To Interview
08/12 Softy Interviews John Carlson Link To Interview
08/12 Ian Interviews Eric Williams Link To Interview
08/12 Elise Interviews Dave Boling Link To Interview
08/13 Softy Interviews Justin Forsett Link To Interview
08/13 Softy Interviews Gil Haskell Link To Interview
08/13 Softy Interviews Red Bryant Link To Interview
08/13 Ian Interviews C.J. Wallace Link To Interview
08/13 Ian Interviews Olindo Mare Link To Interview
08/13 Ian Interviews David Hawthorne Link To Interview
08/13 Gas Interviews Nate Burleson Link To Interview
08/14 Mitch Interviews Julius Jones Link To Interview
08/14 Softy Interviews Aaron Curry Link To Interview
08/14 Softy Interviews Lincoln Kennedy Link To Interview
08/14 Softy Interviews Max Unger Link To Interview
08/14 Ian Interviews Rob Rang Link To Interview
08/14 Ian Interviews Joe Newton Link To Interview
08/14 Ian Interviews Ben Obomanu Link To Interview
Overall in this series, links and summaries to 38 different interviews with players, coaches, and analysts were provided as well as additional links to 23 more for a whopping 61 links available. You can go back and listen to all those great sources of information that detail what's happening to the players and coaches who make up our football team tfor which we all have such great passion. If you've listened to every hour or read the summaries which where provided, you can consider yourself to be a pretty well informed member of the Seahawks faithful with good information at your fingertips with which to impress other fans, dazzle friends, or in some cases dominate blowhards. I hope you guys got as much out of the series as I did by going through each interview with a finetoothed comb.
I thought before I left the interview series though, I'd summarize what I thought were the five most recurrent themes expressed throughout the series. These are in no particular order, they just represent what the players, coaches, and analysts agree on almost universally.
1) The offensive line is the area of most concern going into the preseason games. Coaches and players as well as the analysts interviewed brought that up most often by far when asked what was the part of them team that they worried about most. A lot of that concern was centered on whether Walt Jones would be able to play well this season and whether Locklear would be switched to left tackle. Most interviewees were uncomfortable with the thought of Locklear in relief of Walt. The rest of the concern is centered on the center (not to coin a pun) and/or right guard position where respectively Spencer is hurt and no player is stepping up and claiming the right guard spot.
2) Rob Sims has shed his reputation for not playing well and has won back fans and coaches alike with his inspired off-season preparation and his hard work in OTA's and now training camp. Called by several interviewees the most improved player from last season to this one, Rob has handled our best defensive linemen (Redding and Mebane) in drills better than any other offensive lineman (remember that Walt hasn't been practicing) and he's showing that he could be that player most thought he would after his rookie season. Personally, I love that one because I was one of those who had written Sims off before the season started and I always love it when a player comes back out of the doghouse to reclaim his position as a valuable member of the team. It's almost like getting a new stud player on the team, one you didn't expect to be there but came like an unexpected gift. With all the questions at guard, having Sims living up to his potential will be an important cog in the offense this season.
3) Having the fans able to attend training camp was big not only with the fans but with the players too. Almost every player mentioned how the fans were an inspiration and caused them to work harder and take more care with how they executed their drills. Lots of players said they didn't want to look bad in front of the fans. It almost sounded like they would less like to look bad in front of the fans than the coaches. Isn't it great for those of you who have been able to attend a training camp session that you've been an integral part of the team this pre-season and that you've put your stamp on quality assurance just by being there?
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4) Jim Mora is running a high-tempo, aggressive training camp. Every seasoned player mentioned the quick tempo as compared to previous camps they had participated in as well as the attention to detail and the pace of the drills. Also, it was brought up several times that the practices aren't interrupted for anything, in stark contrast to when Holmgren would frequently break off the practice to go through a play over and over until it was right. Mora prefers that nothing interrupt the practice schedule and that they identify the problems and errors in the film room and then schedule time to work on identified areas of concern at a subsequent practice.
5) Cory Redding is a beast and a rare find. A top quality defensive lineman who can play both end or tackle, is in the absolute prime of his career, and has good character and isn't a locker room nightmare is almost impossible to find as a free agent or available in a trade. Players like that at those positions are like gold and teams tend to hold on to them tenaciously. Redding, by all accounts from everyone interviewed, is the real deal at both defensive end and defensive tackle. Through a series of events which led to Detroit alienating the big defensive lineman by failing to improve the team and becoming a winner, Seattle got themselves a prime-time player at a position where they've been needy for several seasons. Redding was probably the most mentioned player in the interviews.
Now the fun starts in ernest with the first pre-season game and throughout the interviews, the players have mentioned hardly being able to contain themselves because they're tired of going up against each other and want to hit someone for real with malice and forethought. Let the games begin.
Hasta,
Bill T
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