Halford & Brough in the Morning - Headlines From Olympics + Changing of the Guard in Seattle

Episode Date: July 31, 2024

In hour two, Josh & Jason chat with CBC Olympics Host Julie Stewart-Binks on a wide array of topics including the Soccer Canada scandal, Simone Biles' greatness and Summer McIntosh's massive potential. Later ESPN's Brady Henderson joins the guys to give an update on all things Seahawks football as training camp heats up with the pre-season approaching. This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

701 Wednesday Josh Elliott will filling in for Mike Halford and We are coming to you live from the Studio you can text in 650 650 Dunbar Lumber text line The Bridge Street Dunbar Lumber in

Ladner has moved to Progressway in Tilbury's Industrial Park. More room, more product, more awesome. Details at DunbarLumber.com. Halford & Brough is brought to you by the Dilawri family of Honda dealers. Experience the Dilawri difference today. Visit your nearest Dilawri Honda dealer today. And also, this hour of Halford & Brough

is brought to you by bridge brewing meticulously brewed for quality and taste prime time craft beer is full flavor without compromise at a liquor store near you or visit the brewery to see how it's made and as josh mentioned we are coming to you live from the kintec studio kintec canada's favorite orthotics provider powered by thousands of five-star google reviews sorfy what are you waiting for Kintec, Canada's favorite orthotics provider, powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. Sorfy, what are you waiting for? Kintec, that's what you're waiting for. We go to the phone lines now. Julie Stewart-Binks, covering the Olympics for CBC, joins us.

Thanks for taking the time, Julie. Wanted to start with the breaking news of the day. Canada women's soccer, they appealed. The appeal was dismissed. Wanted to get your thoughts on that. Well, first and foremost, thanks for having me on and good morning everyone good morning canada um i don't know why i just said that but i guess you know good morning good morning waking up somewhere yeah i'm i'm gonna wake up in a bit yes yeah yeah we're all waking up somewhere, some way, somehow. And honestly, I think that it's the process went pretty much how many people expected it to go, which was that it was dismissed and that that the appeal, which, of course, they had wanted to be able to get the six points that they were docked back. I don't think, especially how things have gone and how things have sort of unraveled, I don't think anyone is expecting good news to come from this situation. So, and I think that

the team has been preparing to really have to fight and claw their way through this final group stage game against Columbia, because of course they have to win this game that is today at 3 p.m. for them to advance a draw won't do it a loss won't do it and I've been talking with some of my friends who are actually one of my friends is a former player for Columbia and one of my friends is from there and they said you know the last thing that they want is to go up against a Canadian side that is really sort of hungry for proving people wrong. And, and, you know, we saw Vanessa Gillies post match speech after the, the France or France win the other night, just, just saying like,

we're, we're trying to prove everyone that we're not cheaters and that we have values and we're good players. And it was one, you know, one of the most epic speeches that you'll post games, usually you'll ever hear in Canadian sports history, in my opinion. So I know that this is going to be a really hard fought match because Columbia women's national team is, is stacked. Like they have incredible players.

They their men's team just made it to the Copa America final and did extremely well. I mean, they went to penalties, I mean, excuse me, extra time against Argentina. And their women's side, Linda Casado, just they have so many good players that they've done so well at the Women's World Cup last summer. So I don't expect this to be a cakewalk for Canada. But I do think they come in with like an extra added component of, of that underdog, but like that kind of, you know, they just, they want to, they want to prove themselves right. And we'll see how that plays out on the pitch. Um, so after taking a few days to digest this story and digest everyone's opinions, um, and learning more about the practice of drone spying in

international soccer or soccer in general. Do you think the punishment was fair or do you think the players and the team were hard done by? I think that's just, it's kind of subjective in that realm because I don't think we've really seen something like this sort of happen before. It's been known that there has been cheating in soccer before. We've seen that. We've seen match fixing. We've seen various different things around the world throughout the years. And so it's hard to sort of have any kind of set precedent

of what should happen. I know just hearing on the podcast, the soccer cooligans, they had Tyler Adams, who plays for U.S. men's national team on, and they asked him what he thought. And because, you know, there had come out that the U.S. knew about Canada doing this. And he said, you know, everyone does it, that the U.S. knew about Canada doing this. And he said, you know, everyone does it, whether it's not necessarily drones, it could be people at the stadium that

are there as a quote unquote worker that are just, you know, maybe they're cleaning up or security staff, quote unquote, but they are actually just spying for another team. Like this isn't something that happens in a vacuum. This isn't something that happens in a vacuum. This isn't something that just Canada has done. And so I think this is a big, big issue at large. And Canada, of course, was the one that was caught for it. You don't want to say, well, everyone's doing it, so it's okay. Cheating is not okay.

And the way that Canada did it was to be honest not very smart because I've anyone's ever heard or seen a drone before they're not very quiet sounds like a massive bumblebee around you and for me who is I hate bees I hate wasps I'm I'm gonna look up and see what is that you know is that a big wasp coming to sting me? Oh, it's a drone. Oh, why is there a drone here? Okay, you know, so it's like, it gets your attention. It's not the smartest way to cheat. And so I think that this is, it's just kind of, the whole thing is a huge mess in and in itself.

I think if you are cheating, you are going to get caught at some point, unless, you know, you are going to get caught i mean we've seen the the best cheaters in the world get caught at at the olympic level in various different sports and so i think that the precedent has been set that anyone else doing this if you're doing it you better stop doing it because canada has been made an example of and so i think that Canada has been made an example of. And so I think that what has come down does sort of set the tone for what other things might come if anyone else is found to be cheating. Because I think now places will be looking into other countries.

And I'm sure Canada will be looking into other countries as well because, you know, if this happened to them, well, let's see who else is doing this so we're not the only ones going down with the ship. But it's tough for the players there i think that that's really the biggest thing because whether or not they saw footage whether or not they were shown footage like you're an athlete you're you know you're you're you're sitting in a in a room and you're being shown a video of a team whatever video that is you don't have control over

so they're put at this extreme disadvantage of being then now playing at the olympics they've spent pretty much their entire lives trying to like get to this point and now they're just having this this awful scandal around them and everyone uh you know putting a spotlight on them and their character and who they are. And we don't know if any of these players even knew anything about that. So I empathize with them in that regard. And I think it's tremendous what they've been able to do in these conditions. So it's definitely not ideal.

When it comes to Bev Priestman, I think two things really rubbed me the wrong way with her. Number one was her initial comments that seemed to make her feel like she kind of tried to come across heroically almost by offering to sit out that first game against New Zealand. And she said, this is about leadership. This is about sportsmanship. Just me simply offering to sit out this one game while denying the spying allegations. So that was one. The other was, you know, you can read in some of the reporting by Rick Westhead that she was clearly putting pressure on some of these analysts that were

working for her to spy. And these analysts, some of them at least, were pushing back and going, I didn't get into this to spy on other teams. I don't want to be made to do this. What do you think of Bev Priestman and how she's handled all this? And has your opinion on her changed in all this? Yeah, I think you kind of hit the nail on the head there. It does kind of make you feel a bad taste in your mouth when you thought that she was doing something that was, I don't know, it looked like a very, I don't know the right word to say it, but just she was doing sort of the right thing by

sitting out and getting ahead of it and saying okay you know I might have known or might have been around it I'm the coach of this team I take responsibility for people's actions and you're thinking wow that's like that's uh that shows a lot of character on her behalf and then a lot of stuff comes out and you're thinking okay wait a second uh what like you you kind of you know you made a fool out of all of us thinking that did you just gaslight me bev priestman like what's going on here like yeah that's how yeah and then yeah you're like what what is fact from fiction and then you're it's really disappointing because it's like you just kind of expect better, I'd say. I just, I'm just really disappointed in her and in what she's done with the organization

in terms of how she's handled this. I mean, especially with how she's handled it coming out with her original comments and then what we found out through Rick Westhead's reporting. And I think that she shouldn't be a part of the organization if this is how she's going to act and what position she's going to put the players in. to have to be accused of cheating and have to be docked six points at the Olympics, then you do not deserve to be the head coach of this team. Well, I don't think she'll ever coach another game for Canada, so I don't think we'll have to worry too much about that.

On to a better story, and although it doesn't involve a Canadian, I would like to get your thoughts on simone biles's performance yesterday um all the pressure that was on her the millions of eyes uh that were on her watching at home but also you know it was a celebrity filled arena uh and the fact that she had to perform under pressure after dealing with essentially the yips for gymnastics. They call them the twisties in gymnastics. What did you think of her performance yesterday? I mean, it was sensational.

It was next level. I mean, she's in a class of her own. And I think with all the things you just mentioned that she's gone through it's she walked out there she performed with a level of confidence that was that's something like I haven't seen before it's like you I like to liken it to um like she wants the ball with one second left on the clock and the game's tied you know she she seemed to really thrive with that pressure and she, her, it was like her confidence to me just stood out. And I mean, also her, her athletic ability stood out beyond anyone else's. And I mean, the work that she's done on and off of the

gym and, and everything is commendable. And I think that it's, I was kind of just contemplating to myself yesterday thinking, imagine, you know, everything that she went through with Tokyo. And then everything was with just the online bullying, the hate, everything she got, she could have easily just just hung it up and everyone would have kind of forgotten. And she could have started something else with her life, but it's like to be able to go back out there and to do that under that pressure

the entire world is watching you and wondering are you going to mess up again like those are thoughts that go through every athlete's mind when they're competing like I hope I don't mess up or I don't want to mess this thing up. But imagine having the entire world thinking that alongside with you, that's, that is pressure and dealing with that kind of like that mental pressure and that, and having the fortitude to deal with that is, I mean, I'm, I'm, I bowed down, like we're not worthy. That is, this is, this is an athlete that is on, on another level. And I'm,

I'm really proud for her as just, you know, as a fan of these great stories, as a fan of her as an athlete. I think we all wanted to see her succeed. Those are the stories in the Olympics. We want to see people achieve their dreams, right? Like it's having covered the Olympics being on the ground in Tokyo. I saw so many tears, but for not winning, like because, you know, most of it is not winning. And so it's really difficult to see people lose and to see people win and to see happy tears and to see someone overcome some of the greatest hurdles of all time in front of everyone is just a huge success story for,

for all of us to be able to witness. We're talking Olympics with Julie Stewart Binks. Julie, did they do the triathlon today? Did they, did they dive into the river and did they all survive the swim in the sand? Yep. Sounds like they did it and they all survived. And, um, it's,

it, I, you know what, I, I had a dinkling. They were still going to go through with it, um, because it's the Olympics. And, you know, I think that, um, I have actually haven't yet seen the video I'm about to do, uh, updates on, on it, but I'm looking forward to seeing the video of it because just seeing everyone swimming in the sun is, you know, there's been movies made about it,

but it will be interesting to see kind of how everyone was able to do amongst, you know, everyone was wondering how it was going to go down. I'm sure no one grew like another arm in the last hour or anything like that. Not yet. Not yet. Okay, yeah, I don't want to put a bow on it yet. But, yeah, I went forward, and I'm sure that they are all very happy about it too. I wanted to ask about the biggest story I think of the Olympics so far for Canadians,

on an individual level, at least. Summer McIntosh and what she's been able to do, what she continues to do. What have you thought of her performances? Well, I mean, I just did an Instagram story, just sort of like really just in awe of a human being. Like we just talked about Simone Biles and her mental fortitude and her confidence and all that. I mean, look at Summer McIntosh. You can say, you know, she hasn't gone through the same kind of upheaval and sort of challenges that Simone Biles has, but she has this, I mean, she is,

as we've heard a generational talent, but man, wow. Just, I mean, at 17 years old to be this good in so many different races as well, to have won two medals in three days at 17 years old, I can't even dream of something that good in my entire life. That's, I mean, hang it up now. You could just literally be like Tara Lipinski,inski you know you won the gold and just go on and live your life i mean she's already accomplished everything that like i mean she still has other races to swim in of course and she's swimming in the semis today of the 200 meter butterfly which is a race that she succeeds in quite well so um i mean it's it's really just remarkable i think we're all just really lucky

to be able to witness her in this and to also see her it's like seeing connor mcdavid and juniors like you're seeing it and you're thinking wow this is we're seeing someone really really special right now and you're thinking they're gonna go on and do great things and we're i mean we're watching her do the great things. And also like, that's not a Connor. David does not hold a flame to hold a candle to summer Macintosh. She's won a lot of stuff. So,

uh, you know, not to put any. Summer Macintosh is better than Connor McDavid here. I said it right there. Okay. All right. There are two different sports and the completely two different, two different disciplines and everything but uh no she's been a great story and even just

I live in the U.S. I live in New York City and I I've seen the Americans really being very um enthralled by Summer McIntosh I know the L Ledecky family was very worried about her for the 400-meter freestyle, and, of course, she did beat Katie, and Katie came third. But Katie is, of course, an extremely decorated Olympian and will be competing in the 1500-meter swim today. But it's just really cool to see the whole world also get behind her. Because, you know, as Canadians, it's like, we're very, you know, self-deprecating and kind of like think of ourselves as,

as not the world sort of like reigning power, especially in summer Olympics. Right. But then we see summer Macintosh dominate the summer Olympics. It's, it's really, it's really special. And that's really cool to see the whole world talking about her. So, I mean, I come, I commend that girl. I, when I was 17, I mean, I wanted to go to the Olympics and track and field, but that, that obviously hasn't happened yet.

It's still good. Hang in there. LA 2028. We're working on it. I'll be the oldest Olympian. Well, because Jill Irving and dressage, unfortunately, 61 years old, she's not competing because her horse is not doing well. But, you know, maybe I could take on maybe I could get that as being like the oldest sprinter ever at like however old I'll be when I make it to the Olympics. You got four years. And Julie, thanks for joining. I brought this up on this show right now. You know, just when I make it to the Olympics. You got four years. And Julie, thanks for joining us today. I'm really glad I brought this up on this show right now. Just glad I went down that rabbit hole.

Now everyone's going to be like, that poor horse. Whatever happened there? Julie, thanks for taking the time today. Enjoy the rest of the Olympics. It was a pleasure chatting with you today. Thanks, guys. Appreciate you having me on. See you, Julie.

So during all that, Josh and I are pulling a total Halford and watching the water polo. Fully enthralled. Spoiler alert. The Canadian women, I don't know if it's over yet, but they were doing pretty well against China. And God, I just said that like Trump, didn't I? China. Let's not start there. Let's not start that.

Um, and, uh, we were talking about water polo and how that's a sport that, you know, we rarely ever watch, but when we do watch it, we're like, that's way rougher than I thought it would be. It's also like, it's the most, whenever I think of, Hey, what's the most challenging sport? I think water polo. Really? The most challenging?

Yes. In terms of like, man, I could eat a lot of skills. I've played water polo with a couple of cocktails in Cabo and just in the pool. I mean, not at the Olympic level, but close. Are you like bouncing on the ground a little bit? Yeah, I use the ground a little bit. Yeah, they don't use the ground in water polo. I know.

If they did, then I'd be like, no. It's actually quite rough too. Like it can get chippy. I've been watching and there's like. They grow the toenails water polo. I know. If they did, then I'd be like, no. It's actually quite rough too. Like it can get, it can get chippy. I've been watching and there's like. They grow the toenails out? Yeah. I would grow my toenails out. Oh yeah.

For sure. Even more than they already are grown out. And they're grown out to a like dumb and dumber level. Don't treat the fungus, you know, let it kind of fester. Yeah. Yeah. Old fungus foot brough. You don't want to go up against him on a one-on-one in water polo.

I know you guys wanted to talk about, there's a lot of water stories in these Olympics because, of course, they had the water story with the Sen and whether or not they'd be able to do the triathlon. They did that today. But apparently, apparently, we got a slow pool over in Paris. The pool is slow. This was my what we learned. It's water, though. How can there be a slow pool? I did my research on this, too.

So did I. Okay. Let's explain this together. I'm going to explain how there can be a slow pool in the Olympics because I have heard references a few times to like, well, we're not really expecting many records to be set in Paris. And I'm like, why not? No world records have been set yet.

No world records and there maybe won't be any world records. Okay, so how can there be a slow pool? Basketball Ben, you explain this. Okay, so the minimum depth for a pool for the Olympics has to be two meters. This pool is 2.15 meters in depth. But the other Olympic pools in the last four Olympics have been three meters.

Okay. So this makes a difference. Could they not afford the extra depth of the pool or something? If you make it the pool deeper, you lose lower bowl seating. Oh, I see. And it's built on top of another structure. Okay. So structurally, it didn't make sense for them to

actually build it that deep. Okay. So they made it 2.15. Now this makes a, like I've studied all of this now, reading about this. It's a world of difference. When you are like swimming and kicking and thrashing to make waves and stuff, and it goes

down to the bottom of the pool and then it reverberates back up. Yeah. Now that creates more friction on the swimmers. Right. And since that distance. And that's a bad thing. And that's bad.

That slows them down. Okay. And that distance is now shorter for the waves to come back up. And it's not three meters, it's 2.15. And so all the times we're seeing have been drastically slower than a lot of these swimmers personal best

ben nye the science guy over here and i'm like this is very interesting that is interesting and then some people like it's psychological like it's getting in their heads about it too and i'm like okay well summer mcintosh in the 400 free was a second and a half slower than her best time right and everybody else was a second and a half slower than their best time usually too. They should have a stint meter for pools. They should. You know, explain a stint meter. A stint meter is a device that measures the speed of a putting green.

So the greens are running at a 12 today. Right. That would be very fast. The pool is running at a 9.8. Yeah. But Beijing was a 10.5. So what was, was that, was where a bunch of records said in Beijing? at a 9.8. Yeah. But Beijing was a 10.5, so. What was that?

Were a bunch of records set in Beijing? Beijing and Rio de Janeiro was, I think there was eight world records set there. There was five in Tokyo. There's been zero. That's just because the water was green in Rio. They wanted to get out as quickly as they could. Do you think the swimmers jumped into that pool or heard about that pool

And they were like It's a slow pool It's one of those slow pools Well that's what the psychological effect is It's like okay well now everyone's going into it Being like it's a slow pool But then there's Summer McIntosh They must be able to feel that too right

The experience of them But Summer McIntosh as we were just talking about The amazing mindset She's like yeah we're all in the same pool. My goals are still the same goals, and I want to set good times and win races. Someone just texted in, you know how there are fast and slow tracks in track and field though, right? I didn't know that. Nope.

Some of them are bouncier. Some of them are bouncier? I believe. I'll do my research. I think it has to do with the heat too. Yes. Oh, okay yes oh okay temperatures and all that would there be a wind factor in certain stadiums that makes sense potentially let's get to the bottom of this for what there's no wind in a pool uh well yeah that's true outdoor pool maybe outdoor pool the in la they're gonna be the pool's gonna be in sofi so they gotta oh really yeah. That's where the pool is? I didn't know that.

The pool is going to be at SoFi Stadium, so they have to build it there, obviously. Okay. Hopefully they make it a deep pool. Well, in Athens, it was an outdoor race. That's right, yeah. So maybe that was some factors in there. What year was that?

2004. See, I don't remember that one, remember? Right. Yeah. Perdita does, though. Perdita does, yeah. I did not get a text back. All right. Perdita does though. Perdita does. Yeah. I did not get a text back.

All right. Brady Henderson is going to join us next. We'll talk a little Seahawks training camp, all the big stories coming out of Seattle. Of course, there's a new regime in Seattle. Mike McDonald is the new head coach. The Pete Carroll era is over. What are the big stories in Seahawks training camp? We'll ask Brady

Henderson. Coming up next on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. 733 Halford and Brough. Euro Dance Wednesday. I like thisord, Umbra. Euro Dance Wednesday. I like this one. It's good. Brings the energy out.

Yeah. We actually got a text in about water polo. Apparently PJ, the water polo player, texts in, hey gents, they do nail checks in water polo before the matches. So no growing out toenails. So do you think you can, like, I guess there's no way around that. Strategy right before the game. They bring out a ruler, and they'll be like,

you got to go in and cut your nails, man. First of all, it's illegal. Second of all, it's gross. I'm doing that to Mom one before the show. Nail check? Nail check tomorrow? Okay. All right. one before the show. We don't want this. Nail check? Nail check tomorrow? Big brough. All right.

Take off the shoes. They don't even rule. They just shame you. Right. Yeah, they're like, and your nails are yuck. You got a gross one. Halverd and Brough is brought to you by the Dilawri family of Honda dealers. Experience the Dilawri difference today.

Visit your nearest Dilawri Honda dealer today. You can text in, get your What We Learns in to the 650-650 Dunbar Lumber text line. We need more of those. Also, this hour of Halford & Brough brought to you by Bridge Brewing, meticulously brewed for quality and taste. Primetime craft beers, full flavor,

without compromise. At a liquor store near you or visit the brewery to see how it is made. We go to the phone lines. Brady Henderson covers the Seattle Seahawks for ESPN, joins us. Thanks for taking the time, Brady. How are you? What's up, fellas? I apologize for the technical issues we had yesterday. I'm still not sure what happened, but I'm glad that we could connect today and talk. No worries. What's it like in the new era post-Pete Carroll at Seahawks training camp?

Yeah, it's different. I mean, everything about it is different. I mean, the practices look different. They sound different. And, you know, just observing Mike McDonald, that is another big difference. I mean, one thing that's kind of funny about me and every other reporter, I'm sure we're kind of keeping a close eye on McDonald, just trying to see how he coaches.

And you really notice that he blends into a practice in a way that Pete Carroll didn't. I mean, Pete Carroll always wore the khakis, and you could spot the silver head of hair from anywhere on the field. And Mike McDonald sort of blends in a little bit more with the other coaches. and you could spot the silver head of hair from anywhere on the field. Mike McDonald sort of blends in a little bit more with the other coaches, but when you see him, you really notice that he has a much different coaching style than Pete Carroll, and Pete Carroll was more of a teacher, but I think he was more focused on the big picture, whereas Mike McDonald is kind of a details coach and he'll get involved in things and you know I witnessed kind of this I think a

pretty interesting interaction the other day after practice where he really got on an undrafted rookie over something that the guy was doing he was supposed to be doing something and instead he went inside after practice and McDonald sort of lit him up in a way that I never saw Pete Carroll do in 14 years of covering him. And so McDonald is definitely more stern than Pete Carroll was. And he's willing to kind of really get on guys in a way that, you know, Pete Carroll just really he was a more gentle, had kind of a more parental style than that, whereas McDonald is probably closer to what you picture when you really think of a football coach. I mean, I don't mean to sound like he's a drill sergeant or like he's Bill Belichick or anything like that,

but he will get on guys in a way that I really never saw Carroll do. What is, in speaking with the media, has there been anything that he's been hammering home that he wants to focus on at this training camp? Not really. Nothing that he really tells us about. I mean, I think not to make everything a comparison between him and Carroll, but it's really one thing that has struck me in the way that he answers questions is that he really will not gas guys up the way that Carroll

did. I mean, you could ask Carroll about an undrafted rookie who, you know, might end up, you know, being cut a few weeks later and Carroll could describe them as though they're going to be like an impact player for the Seahawks. You know, he just had a way of really talking guys up. I think he used that to try to build guys guys confidence um whether it was a starter or you know that undrafted rookie that I mentioned uh you know Mike McDonald is really not like that I think he's a lot more measured in what he says and I think he seems to be more uh just kind of cautious in sort of over hyping guys and um I'm sure that there is a method to that I'm sure there's a reason behind that but it has

struck me that you know if you look for McDonald to say something you know really to shower a guy with praise he's probably not going to do that do you think that was an intentional do you think they intentionally hired someone who was going to be fairly dramatically different from Pete Carroll? In some ways, yeah. I think first and foremost, they hired him because he just is this bright mind. Obviously, he coordinated the best defense in the NFL the past two seasons, and they felt like that was really what this team needed. But yeah, I would imagine that some of Pete Carroll's doing was maybe just kind of a lack of discipline that crept into this team and maybe a lack of accountability. That's just kind of my own observation.

I'm not in Jody Allen's head, so I'm sort of projecting what I think that maybe was part of her rationale. You sort of saw a lack of discipline really creep into this team the last few years. And so, yeah, I do wonder if part of the appeal with McDonald is getting some guy who would probably, you know, hold this team more accountable, hold players more accountable than Pete Carroll. And that's not to say that, you know, Carroll's style didn't have its own merits. I think, you know, I mentioned that he never really was a guy who was a screamer and a yeller and who would, you know, really light guys up. His whole idea there was that, you know, you sort of get more out of players. That doesn't really make players better when you do that. That was always his philosophy. And he was more about sort of empowering players. And

the way that you get the most out of them in his opinion was you kind of let them be themselves and that really worked for guys who were self-disciplined but you also saw guys who you know maybe didn't have as much of that self-discipline they sort of took a lot of rope that carol gave them and they took more and more and i think it became an issue with some players so with a new head coach and some new personnel, are the Seahawks going to be better defensively than they were last season? I think they will, yeah. And part of that is they can't be much worse, certainly against the run.

But I really do think they will be better. The one thing that we have heard about this defense is it is just so hard to decipher. And we saw that when the Seahawks scored three points against Baltimore during that November blowout in Baltimore. And then that's just the one thing that we keep hearing about it is it really presents a lot of problems for offenses because it makes it really hard to know where guys are lining up, what position guys are playing, and what they're going to be doing. And I think this defense requires, I mean, it's difficult to execute because there's so many moving parts to it.

And that's one interesting thing that you may see when you watch them on TV is just you're trying to pay attention before the snap how much communication there is between defenders I mean just watching from the sideline during practice it looks like literally everybody is communicating with somebody and it just looks like complete chaos it's it's more organized than it appears I'm sure but that communication is necessary because there's just so many moving parts and there's so much complexity to it. And everybody needs to make sure that they're on the same page. And that is going to cause a lot of issues for offenses,

which is the quarterbacks aren't really going to know what somebody is going to do, where they're going to be coming from, what position they're playing. And so I think the element of surprise, I mean, I think that defense, just the team in general, but that defense really underachieved last year. I don't think they had the talent to be number one necessarily, but they had a lot more talent than what they showed. And like

McDonald has shown that he can get a lot out of players like he did in Baltimore. And so there's a thought in the building that this defense, there isn't really much of a difference talent-wise between this defense and what McDonald had last year year and obviously we know what he did with that group the last couple years in baltimore so yeah i would say this defense should be quite a bit better than last season especially against the run who are the key new additions to the roster

well byron murphy is the one that comes to mind he was the uh you know the 16th overall pick he was in terms of the way the Seahawks saw it he was the best defender in the draft and um you know by the time they got to pick really there was only one other defensive player that had gone off the board and it was a guy that they weren't even going to draft, because of a neck injury. So they really had their pick of defenders, and he was their guy. He kind of got off to maybe an underwhelming start. And, you know, one thing I mentioned about Mike McDonald, how he's really not going to gas guys up. You know, he also will sort of call guys out.

And he said at the start of it that, I think he said that Murphy needed to get in better shape. That was at the start of it that um i think he said that murphy needed to get in better shape uh that was at the rookie mini camp and you know since then murphy has looked you know pretty good now he does have kind of a very odd situation hanging over his head um his agent came out with a statement the other day saying that he's the victim of an extortion attempt i'm sure you guys have uh read some of the details on that. Very bizarre story that I'm sure has not been easy for him to deal with, even though it was definitely a situation of his own doing.

But yesterday in practice in the one-on-one pass rush drill, he had one of the more dominant reps that you will ever see in that drill. He just completely drove back. Nick Harris, one of their backup centers, just drove him back with just some unreal power, and then he beat him on the very next snap with a lot of quickness off the line. So he's got a lot of tools in the tool bag, as they say,

and he's going to be a big-time player for them. I don't know if technically he'll be a starter just because they've got a lot of guys up front. They've got a pretty deep rotation, but he's going to be a big-time player for them. I don't know if technically he'll be a starter just because they've got a lot of guys up front. They've got a pretty deep rotation, but he's going to be a big-time player for them. He's going to be a guy that maybe they really haven't had. Certainly, they haven't had that body type because that's a pretty uncommon body type for that position, but him and Leonard Williams and Draymond Jones and Jaron Reed, I think that's the makings of a pretty formidable defensive front. Tell us about the new coordinators under head coach Mike McDonald. Yeah, we're really still learning about those guys. You know, Ed Dirty, the defensive coordinator,

he's obviously the D coordinator, but McDonald is going to call the plays. And so I think that has really freed up Dirty to be more hands-on. He's a lot more hands-on than you typically see a coordinator be just in practice. He's working with guys on technique and everything. But really this is McDonald is by and large, the defensive coordinator. He told us from the start that he's going to call the plays until he, until, you know, there comes a point where he figures

that the defensive coordinator is ready to take over those duties and that that would free up McDonald to really be the head coach of the team on game day. But in the meantime, it's going to be McDonald calling plays. And then Ryan Grubb, we heard one interesting aspect, one tidbit from Tyler Lockett the other day about how he thinks this offense is going to be better on third down. And obviously anybody who's watched Seahawks football last year and really for the last decade knows that that's been a giant Achilles heel. But Lockett said last year that there may have been too much focus on routes that were just sort of focused on getting to the sticks. And he sort of said it made it too predictable or too easy for defenses to defend

when they would just sort of sit on those routes at whatever yard line was needed to make the first down. And Lockett, I thought, gave quite a bit of insight into how this passing game should be tougher to defend. And he said that you might have a route that's at the sticks, but you might also have a longer route that's playing off of that. I also think just anecdotally from watching this team, the checkdowns are going to be a lot more available to them than they were.

It was really head-scratching the last couple years watching this offense, and rarely was there a checkdown opportunity for Geno Smith to take. It didn't look like what other teams look like. You just see that the quarterback often has that outlet when things downfield aren't available. You see that outlet, that check down to a running back or to a tight end or something like that. And that just seems like there's going to be a lot more of those available.

It really wasn't a big part of the Seahawks offense last year for whatever reason, but I think it should be this year. I mean, when you look at the talent on the Seahawks offense, DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jackson Smith, Njigba as the wide receivers, and you got Kenneth Walker III as the running back. We all know the quarterback is Geno Smith, and while he may not be one of the elite quarterbacks in the nfl he's played pretty well at times for these seattle seahawks what is the big question around the offense is it the offensive line is it the protection uh what are what are the questions that are people that people are asking down there? It's definitely offensive line. Yeah, that is, I think, easily the biggest question mark on this team.

And, you know, a big part of that question mark is the question mark with Abe Lucas. And, you know, when he's going to return, how good is he going to be? So he had the knee surgery to try to repair a patella injury that, you know, obviously kept him out for most of last season. And even when he was back last year, he really wasn't himself. And the reason why Abe Lucas is such a big deal to get him back is because, A, I think two years ago, he was probably their best offensive lineman as a rookie. And then when you look at just the makeup of this group this year, it was a bad group last year um and

i think lucas getting back to full strength represents you know the best chance for an upgrade from last year's team i don't i don't know if lincoln tomlinson is going to be a big upgrade over you know damian lewis um at left guard i don't know if you know either anthony bradford i mean anthony bradford started 10 games at right guard so if he wins that job it's basically going to be the same guy who was there um and i don't know if he's an upgrade over phil haynes i don't know if you know christian haynes is going to be an upgrade over any of those guys and christian haynes i think is the other guy who's got a chance uh to win that job at right guard and he was a third round pick so this would be enough yeah yeah right the third round pick pick from UConn.

And so, I mean, I guess, you know, George Stant would be an upgrade over the, you know, handful of right tackles that they had playing in Lucas' absence last year. But really, Lucas is the X factor of that group just because he's so good. And so it is kind of a mystery as to when exactly he's going to be back and whether he's going to be able to stay back and how effective he's going to be just because, you know, I think that from what I've heard from people in the building

is that they feel like the surgery is going to fix the issue, but it has taken a lot longer for Lucas to come back than he wanted to. And, you know, just because of that and because of the injury last year, I think it is fair to question whether or not that is going to continue to be an issue. Again, he's their best chance at an upgrade, and they really need him to come back to full strength. Who's going to be the starting tight end?

Oh, it'll be Noah Fant. Yeah, it'll be Noah Fant, no doubt. I mean, they gave him a two-year, a 22 million dollar deal to come back and free agency and that that deal really my eyes kind of popped when i saw that just because um they didn't they didn't sort of treat him like an 11 million dollar a year tight end last year now part of that was they had a pretty deep tight end room and um you know so i think some of the targets just got spread around so the fact that they're paying him 11 million dollars a year means that they've got to throw the ball to him a lot more uh than they did last year to really justify that contract and i think they will i mean obviously

disley and parkinson are both gone uh they signed pharoah Brown, but I think, and I know just from watching this, that Pharoah Brown is not going to be much of a pass-catching threat. He's there to block, and that's what they really value him as. And then A.J. Barter is, I think, the fourth-round pick that they drafted out of Michigan. I think he could be more of a pass-cer than he was in college, but I still think that in terms of the passing game in that tight end room, it's really going to be Noah Fant just because of the money that they paid him. Yeah. One final question. What did you think of the

news that Rashad Penny had retired, former first round pick of the Seahawks? I think he's only 28 years old. Yeah, he is only only 28 but it really wasn't surprising just based on how much of a toll those injuries have taken on him and um you know he had the nagging injuries the hamstrings he also had some pretty serious ones and it just didn't feel like um he was gonna have a long NFL career and it sounds like he had sort of fallen down the depth chart there in Carolina. They signed him to maybe try to revive him and reunite him with Dave Canales and Brad Edzik, coaches who had coached him in Seattle.

But yeah, that wasn't surprising, just knowing all the injuries and all the toll that that's taken on him. I think, you know, Seahawks fans who maybe maybe heard this story before but I think the interesting story about the the draft pick was that um you know a lot of people in the building wanted to take Nick Chubb in 2018 and really he was the guy that they were going to take and then they made a last minute switch over to Rashad Penny and the irony in that decision is that you know the reason they made that switch is because in in large part, because Brian Schottenheimer, who was their offensive coordinator, who had coached Nick Chubb at Georgia,

he was concerned that Nick Chubb was not that natural of a pass catcher and that he wouldn't be all that useful on third down. And the irony there, of course, is that the Seahawks never threw the ball to their running backs, either under Schottenheimer or under any other coordinator that Pete Carroll had in Seattle. And so it was bad process there in making that switch from Chubb to Penny. And it was also just some bad luck because Penny really was a durable guy at college. He never missed a game in college, and he was very durable. Then all of a sudden, it was just one injury for him after another in the NFL. Brady, great catching up with you.

I hope you're able to play a little golf while you're covering training camp as well. Hopefully the weather's going to improve a little bit over these next few days. Enjoy the rest of your week. Well, where there is a will, there is a way. So I will find my way onto a golf course. I promise you that. But thanks for having me, guys. Good catching up with you.

See you, Brady. That was Brady Henderson from ESPN talking a little Seattle Seahawks. Our next guest is an in-you'll-know, Thomas Drance. And Drance has been doing a lot of work with the coaching staff, both in the AHL and the NHL. He's written a couple pieces lately.

He had a sit-down interview with Manny Malhotra, the new head coach in Abbotsford, just going over all the challenges and all, frankly, the work that Manny Malhotra has to do in order to get caught up in that job. Malhotra's never been a head coach in any capacity, certainly not in the pros. But he's also just, I'm talking about Drancer here But he's also just, talking about Drancer here,

he's also just written an article on how the Canucks coaching staff might adjust next season in order to tackle some of the issues that they were facing, especially near the end of the season and definitely into the playoffs. And that is a lack of goal scoring, frankly, a lack of shots. It's a tough challenge for the coaching staff because we're talking about a guy that won best coach of the year.

So he obviously did a lot of things right. And a lot of that surrounded the defensive side of the game where the Canucks were dramatically improved. It looked like they actually knew what they were doing in their own end. But it might have come at the expense of a little bit of the offense and a little bit of the creativity. So I think Drance has had a bunch of conversations with people in the organization, and I know he had a long conversation with Rick Tockett. He wrote an article about that. And it's going to be interesting to see how this coaching staff approaches next season, the preseason training camp,

because you want to make the adjustments and you want to score more goals, but you also don't want to sacrifice everything that you accomplished last season defensively and it's gonna i i feel like it might be really easy to fall into that trap as well of like hey you might commit to making these offensive changes but if they don't catch initially i wonder how much of a commitment they're going to have to trying to make that work yeah before they just go okay you know what we had things working in some fashion last year let's just see if it happens again and and it's uh it's gonna be like a tight line to walk for rick tockett and figuring out what that

balance is because a lot of things went right for them last year offensively but it was also very bounce-based. And if you can find a way to make that more sustainable while also retaining what you were doing defensively, that's kind of the difference between being a team that can make the playoffs consistently to potentially doing more in the playoffs. So Thomas Jantz is coming up next on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.