Halford & Brough in the Morning - Seahawks Training Camp Is Here

Episode Date: July 23, 2025

In hour two, Mike Halford & guest host Josh Elliott-Wolfe get the latest Ducks and Kings news from Sirius XM NHL's Jonathan Davis (1:48), plus they preview Seahawks training camp with ESPN Seattle's Brady Henderson (27:12). 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.

7-O-1 on a Wednesday. Sometimes I forget. It's Eurodance Wednesday. This is the music that's playing in Hell's waiting room Is this Euro dance? It's closed enough all right Getting some aqua vibes from those remind you of a Spanish holiday resort. Oh It doesn't

Whatever the opposite of that is it kind of reminds me of. I would hate this if I walked into a Spanish holiday resort and this was planned. Sort of a T-MU brand Spanish holiday resort is this. Good try though. You can only work with what you've got. You have unlicensed Euro dance music. This is it. You are listening to the Hal Ferdinand Brough

show on Sportsnet 650. Hal Ferdinand Brough of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal could get you on the road to being debt-free in just two weeks. Visit them online at sans-trustee.com. We are in hour two of a Eurodance Wednesday here on the Haliford and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650.

Jonathan Davis from Sirius XM Satellite Radio is gonna join us in just a moment here to kick off hour two. Hour two is brought to you by Jason Hominuk at jason.mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you.

Visit him online at jason.mortgage. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio, Kintec Footwear and Orthotics, working together with you in step. To the phone lines we go, Jonathan Davis, Sirius XM NHL radio joins us here on the Haliford and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, Jonathan, how are you?

I'm doing great, how are you? We're good, thanks for taking the time to do this. We appreciate it. So we did a check in on some of the East Coast teams yesterday with Dan Rosen from nhl.com. Got ahold of the Rangers and then went Devils and Islanders, so we thought let's go to the opposite coast and get in on the Kings and the Ducks with Jonathan Davis.

I did wanna start with the Ducks because Mason McTavish's name keeps bubbling to the surface in trade rumors and I know it's a slow summer and because he's unsigned, he'll kind of remain there for now. But for our listeners that might not be entirely up to speed with this situation, can you let us know the current climate and what's kind of led into where things are at between Mason McTavish and the Anaheim Ducks?

Yeah, I mean, I get the sense that Mason McTavish would like a deal in the doestall range. And I think that it's more of, you know, and Pat for Beaks not ready to make that deal. It's a little baffling. I mean, there are a couple of guys out there, you know, and I kind of, I would put Mason McCavish in kind of in the same category as Marco Rossi in Minnesota. I mean, there's another guy that again, that has a tremendous amount of value, but the team is not willing to make that bet yet. What's the holdup from the ducks and verbeaks side of things

with regards to not wanting to make that bet yet? I think it's just the amount of years to commit to Mason McAbish. And I'm a little baffled because I mean, for me, I think this is a guy that is going to wear a letter for this team. But, you know, Pat for Beaks, he's a different beast. And, you know, he just, you know, he's operated

very differently, whether it was the way he handled the John Gibson situation, whether it was, you know, surprising many in Anaheim in drafting Leo Carlson and not Adam Fantilly. I mean, he worked, he's got a different mindset than I think that most of us are accustomed to. But I think for the most part, Pat Forbeek's line of thinking has worked so far, although this is still a very critical year for the Ducks. And this does feel like if they were to entertain moving McTavish, that does feel like a very critical move that could either work really, or blow up in your face. How much more upside is there in Mason McTavish?

I think there's a tremendous, like I said, I think there's a tremendous upside because I, I, I just said, I think this guy wears a letter for this team. I don't think he is to me the type of guy that, that I think that, you you know that Verbeek would want on his team, the guy that would you know will run you know his mother over in the playoffs. He's got a lot of offensive upside to his game so I you know I think this would be but it's still we're in early July we've seen players of greater stature, uh, having to wait longer to sign contracts. So I'm not overly concerned, but I, you know, I think at the end, again, the day I have to believe that something's going to work. He's, I think he's just too important to this team, you know, who's, you know,

but for Beak has done, he's tried to insulate, you know, the younger players like a McTavish with some of the older players. It's funny, you had Dan Rosen on, as you said yesterday. I kind of feel like Anaheim has become New York West. Yeah. Well, they have brought in a lot of former Rangers because it's just now it's Truba, it's Strom, and now it's Kreider. And they also added, and not that he's a former Ranger, but they added Grandland Free Agency as well.

So I can see what they're doing. And it makes sense to bring in some veteran presences to kind of insulate the younger players. The thing that we've talked about, and I wanted to ask you if it was fair to connect the dots or not, but the Ducks moved on from Zegras. So now you've got this Mason McTavish issue,

not a hundred percent sure exactly what it is, but it's there. Is there anything to connect the dots with, you know, Verbeek inheriting these guys as draft picks from the Bob Murray regime and maybe not necessarily being as in love with him as his predecessor? Well, look, I think that was definitely the case with Zegras.

I think it's, I just would have thought it would have been less of a case with McTavish. But you're right. I mean, you know, people can talk about the fact that the Ducks, you know, made a big, you know, drafted Zegras where they did and he's no longer here. But as you said, that was not Pat Verbeek's pick. It was Bob Murray's pick. So is it? Sure.

I mean, it's possible that, you know, that Pat Rabique is trying to put his stamp, he is putting his stamp on this team. And as I said, look, I think Rabique, I think, is in the last year of his deal. And for Anaheim, I just think making the playoffs is just, it's integral for this. I think he needs to make the playoffs this year. Or at least come a lot, you know, come even closer. You know, they had a huge jump last year, what was it? 20, 21 points. It's interesting that when you look at draft Kings, you know, I was looking just at projected points for teams and Anaheim's was only four more than they had last year. That's not going to be good enough to make the playoffs. I think that they're, I think you're going to have a bigger bump, but I just think that you win with guys

like Mason McTavish. And I think Verbeek felt that you don't win with a guy like Trevor Zegras. It's interesting you brought up the point totals. I also was looking at that last night and prepping for today. And you know, they finished with 80 last year. And I thought this has got a better chance,

I think with the moves that they've made, especially behind the bench with Cuenville to be closer to 90 than to 80, but it still won't be enough to get them in the playoffs. So you mentioned Verbeek's in the final year of his contract, they want to make this step forward. I did notice that ownership kind of fired the bell, or you know, sounded the bell this off season,

saying like, we want to take this step forward. We've been almost too irrelevant for too long. How much pressure is there collectively in that market to make that big jump this year? In the market, zero. Right. I mean, let's be honest, there really isn't pressure in this market, I mean, whether it's Anaheim or it's LA, there's no pressure, but I think there's the internal pressure

for Pat Verbeek more than anything. And, you know, look, to make the moves that he did with, you know, he took it, he's taking a big chance with Kreider. But, you know, look, I think that the idea that Kreider wants to, that decided that he, you know, look, I think that the the idea that that Kreider wants to that decided that he you know he was going to come here and He's going to play for Quenville and he's going to get the audio Look, they they're their power play and penalty kill was absolutely atrocious Last year and Kreider has the potential to fill and improve both those spots But that's where the pressure is. The pressure is for Pat Verbeek to take this team, as I said, to another

level. Look, you see it with the signing of Joel Quenville, the trades that they've made, and the signings that they've made. So there's the internal pressure, but there's not the pressure from outside media or fans. It is how for the breath we're joined by Jonathan Davis of Sirius XM switching to the other team you mentioned there, the Kings. What did you think of the work they've done this off season to this point? Well I think it's, I'm not really sure what they're doing to be honest with you guys.

It, uh, is the roster better than it was at the end of last year? Yes. Because, you know, in Brian Dumalin and Cody Cece, those two defensemen, uh, we'll play in playoff games if the Kings get there. They didn't trust their, their trust their bottom, you know, their bottom pair defense. They didn't trust their fourth line last year in the playoffs. So, you know, in adding Perry and Armia and CC and, and, and Dumalin, they've got four guys that will, will play. But the last time I checked, you know, Connor McDavid and, and

or Leon Dreisaitl is not playing for the Kings and Corey Perry's playing on a fourth line in LA. I just don't see where the production is. And in the case of, you know, Cody Cece has to thank Ken Holland. I mean, Ken Holland has signed into two big deals, both in Edmonton and LA. You know I think those CC and Dumoulin would have been great signings five or set five to seven years ago. I think that they are guys that can help get you potentially to the playoffs but I don't you know their numbers tend to drop off when the competition rises in the playoffs. You've got four defensemen on the Kings this year that are 31 plus. Um, and this is a summer for drew Dowdy that, you know, I get the sense it's,

it's more about, you know, rehabilitating the ankle than, you know, getting himself ready for the season and training. I mean, he's got more rehab to do than training. And so I, I, I'm not not I'm not very fond of it. And still the big one out there is, you know, Ken Hollins talked about Adrian campaign, they've had talks with his agent JP Barry, and that's a deal like if they don't get campaign signed, then this organization is in big trouble. Big trouble. I know you follow the betting markets closely and I don't think there's any odds out on this right away.

So I'll ask you to maybe even set them for us. If you were gonna do first coach fire to start the season, where would Jim Hiller be on that list? He would probably be, he's gotta be in the top two. Like if this team gets off to, you know, I say give them 20 games and we'll see where they're at at the 20 game mark. And if it's not somewhere, at least NHL 500, I think that they make a move.

Look, he's got three years plus an option left on his deal. I think, you know, look, and it's not an exorbitant salary, so it's not something that management couldn't eat, but, you know, this team still did have a, you know, 100 plus points regular season last year. They just, you know, Ken or Jim Hiller just, you know, he folded come playoff time. And so I think he deserves the opportunity to at least, you know, show that he's more like the regular season coach, but guys, I still think like their, their biggest problem still lies on the blue line and the Gabberkopf

loss is significant only be, you know, more so because of what they brought in to replace him. This is a huge year for Brant Clark. Like the Kings need to take the training wheels off of Brant Clark and allow him to be the guy that they drafted in the first round. It wasn't Ken, you know, like Pat Verbeek this, you know, Ken Holland didn't draft Brant Clark, but you know, they've got to let this guy just be and let him make mistakes because he's going to, but enough's enough.

It does feel like they've been waiting for that next wave to kind of come in and take over Brent Clark, Quinton Byfield, and it just hasn't fully happened yet. And instead, there's a lot of reliance on, you know, 37 year old Anjay Kopitar, 35 year old Drew Doughty. How much pressure on those two this season Okay, well, okay, let's go to the first point the first thing you raised about they've been waiting for players to emerge I've said for years that that Quote unquote they hate their prospects like they just don't believe in them. They've never trusted them pressure I

Really don't believe that there's pressure. I think that guys, you know, to be honest with you, I really think that these guys are kind of happy they've won their two cups. I think that they would like to win, but I've always said that I just, I really feel this is a team that likes to win and doesn't hate to lose. I think that, you know, I think Drew hates to lose. I don't know if I feel that the captain hates to lose. I think he really likes to win.

I don't, I just don't think he hates to lose. And he's in the final year of his deal. I mean, he said it, I've said this many times. He told Scott Oak on after hours three years ago that he was going back to Slovenia when his contract was up. Now he could change his mind. He hasn't indicated anything that he will, but I just don't know how this team bounces back

after what they went through last year. Like that was just demoralizing a lot. So it was the first time I thought they would actually get through the first round. And I mean, if they get off to that slow start, if they do, I think it could be a really, I've picked them to miss the playoffs. Oh, wow.

Okay. Because that's funny, we're gonna get into this in a little bit talking about the Pacific division I think it could be a really, I picked them to miss the playoffs. Oh wow, okay. Because that's funny, we're gonna get into this in a little bit talking about the Pacific division and our way too early predictions for it. And LA was the one that I had the most trouble with trying to predict because, I mean, you go back historically over the last few years, you pencil them into one of those top three spots

in the division, but I do wonder about the residual effect especially mentally of all those losses, and especially last year where you're right, it felt like they were finally going to get over the hump and it ended up being more of the same, more first round disappointment. Yeah. And so I just, like I said, I look at the additions and they're hoping, they're expecting a lot from Corey Perry. I mean, first of like, I, I, first of all, it's going to be great theater when Perry goes into Anaheim in a King's uniform, like that. I can't wait for that one to happen.

Um, but I, I just, like I said, the roster is better than it was last year. I just don't know if it's, I just don't think it's good enough to be You know a team that gets out of the first round. I just don't I don't see it And I and especially when I look at the blue line with a 35 year old dowdy a 31 year old CC You know Joel Edmonton at 32 played Essentially his first full rate, you know regular season in five years. And so it could be a very tired group back there. And the other thing guys, outside of DOWD,

last year, they escaped injury. Like they did not have one other injury throughout the year. Knock on wood for them, you know, that they can survive that again, but it's not likely. So, you know, if this roster is challenged depth-wise in any way, they're going to struggle because there's not guys down at their AHL team at the Ontario Rain that are stepping up ready to take someone's spot.

JD, this was awesome, man. Thanks for taking the time to do this today. We appreciate it. Enjoy the rest of the summer. We'll get caught up as we get closer to training camp. Always a pleasure, guys. Have a great rest of your day. Thanks for having me. Deb, you too, thanks.

That's Jonathan Davis from Sirius XM NHL Radio here on the Haliford and Breff show on Sportsnet 650. Way too early predictions for the Pacific Division, although it's not that early. Two months, two months. Feels as though the majority of work has been done through free agency and this robust secondary trade market

we've been dying for has yet to materialize. It's coming, eventually. It's gonna show up. Just wait till your on vacation. Yeah, the moment that I leave is, that's when everything's gonna happen. Where are you going with this based on what's happened through the first half of July? So I have just a run through I'll go through all eight teams

Oh, wow Vegas Edmonton one and two. I think it's hard to like you could put them in any order It's hard to argue that any other team is gonna vault up into the top two. Yep, and then I have The Vancouver Canucks in third in third so you are also like JD predicting a drop off for the Los Angeles Kings. Yeah, I think the thing you mentioned, it does feel like it's going to be, it's just, it's gotta be so difficult to, you know, get up for another season and be like,

okay, this is the year we beat the Edmonton Oilers after you've lost four times in a row in the first round to them. I just feel like that is going to accumulate a bit. And I don't like what they did this off season. I don't think they did enough. And I do feel like there's too much pressure on, on Kopitar or at least too much reliance on Kopitar

and Drew Doughty to be the guys in LA. Okay. I, so I've got Vegas, LA and Edmonton. I'm going chalk here. I just, I think it's unchanged. I'm not sure what position those three are gonna be in, but I think LA is still too good to fall out that dramatically. The only piece of significance that they lost this

off season is Gavrikov. And I know, but you know, as JD said, they've got other young defensemen that that might actually force them to open up and afford more minutes to which I think could help them in the long run. Still a very good team, right? And still a team that throughout the regular season has enough depth and talent and the way that they play.

I find it hard to believe that the mental breakdown after another loss to the Oilers in the playoffs is going to completely unglue them. I have things I'm worried about. I am worried about what Copa. If this is indeed Copa Taurus final tour of duty in the angel, I am a little worried about what it looks like. He doesn't strike me as a guy that's going to take his foot off the gas.

If anything, I think it'll be a motivating factor to try and have one final good push before if this is the end that he'll just, you know, he wants to go out on a high. So I think there'll be a personal motivation there. I brought up the Jim Hiller thing because I didn't think Jim Hiller was going to survive last year, especially the, let's be honest, awful performance, coaching wise in the playoffs that he had in the opening round against Edmonton and the challenge that turned that entire series. I was surprised that they brought him back.

I thought the moment that they brought them back, it was as soon as they brought them back, the conversation about how long it's going to be until he's dismissed started for me. But despite all that, I've still got Vegas, LA, Edmonton in no particular

order as the top three. I think the top three remains on change. I think the Canucks move into fourth in the division. And yes, I do think they get in as one of the wild card teams. I think Minnesota drops out as a wild card team I have no Pacific Division teams in the wild card so that means I guess I have LA out of the playoff picture because I think the teams in the central are gonna be too

good Dallas Colorado Winnipeg for sure I think they stay the same Utah I think takes a really big step this year call me Thomas Drance the way I'm just all aboard the Utah train. So that was my one concern with, I had Minnesota dropping out and then I had, is someone gonna replace them or is it gonna be a team from the other division? Utah is the ultimate wild card going into this year.

I think a lot, here's the thing, a lot rests on the shoulders of Correll Vegemelka, one of our favorites here, the name to say at the Halford and Brough show. And you know, it'll be a test when it comes down to the amount of pressure like you're gonna get. It's different from being a good regular season goalie and all do defense to the guy playing in a lot of games that don't matter down the stretch to now all of a sudden

you're being relied upon. I do think that the Canucks, again, classic famous last words, if everything goes right and everyone stays healthy, they've got they've got the defensive depth and the goal tending to be a playoff team. I don't know if they're going to have I mean, I think I know this as currently constructed, they won't have enough offense to be considered a legitimate contender, but I think that they can get into that 9698 point threshold on the strength of good defense and good goaltending especially with the tandem a healthy tandem of Demko and Lankan and The issue there is that they're one of those teams where everything needs to go

Right and there's other teams where they can afford some things to go wrong and still be a playoff team Yeah, I have them. I have them around 100 points ish because I do think the the tandem is going to be a big part. But I also I've I've long been aboard the the optimistic side of the alias Pedersen bounce back. So where are you on Anaheim in this whole mess? Because we just finished talking about Anaheim, I think is going to be such a sexy pick for

a lot of people. And they're going to be like, oh, look at me. I'm putting the Anaheim, I think, is going to be such a sexy pick for a lot of people. And they're going to be like, oh, look at me. I'm putting the Anaheim ducks in the playoffs. I don't think I think they're going to be the Utah of last year, this season, where they are again, they're a sexy team for people to pick. But I think ultimately, they're not going to take that big of a step. Like, I do think they'll be closer to around 90 points. They'll be in the playoff picture.

But I don't think they're really going to factor into. They didn't factor into my predictions. Yeah, mine. Now, I just looked at it last year and I was like, God, despite the fact that they had a step forward, they were still 10 points behind the Canucks in the standings. Yeah. Also, we need to address the Calgary in all of this. I felt like Calgary wildly overachieved and punched out of its weight class all last year in an admirable way. It was, it pained me on multiple occasions to come in here and heap praise on the Calgary Flames,

but they were one of the most likeable teams in terms of the way that they played and the resilience that they showed throughout the year. I think that's tough to do two seasons in a row. One, I don't think you creep up on as many teams or you're not a sort of like cakewalk, at least in terms of perception. And I do wonder if this is the year that they finally move on from, you know, Rasmus Anderson, Nazem Kadri. Where did you have Calgary in all this?

I had Calgary just behind Anaheim and a sneaky hot take, well, definitely a hot take. I had Seattle finishing last. Okay. San Jose seventh. I'm so out on Seattle. You really don't like. And then I looked at the point totals from last year and I was like, man,

San Jose had 52 points. Yeah, it's going to be tough. So that was the thing is there was a lot of good energy and youthful exuberance coming from San Jose last year, but they were wretched. They could not defend. They could not keep the puck out of their own net, and they lost a ton of games. It didn't seem to knock the shine off of Smith and Celebrini. The vibes were so good.

And I think like Tyler Toffoli being their dad was a big part of it. Like everyone's just kind of having a good time. The issue with that also is I don't know if that carries over from year to year, because losing that much, you need to have some progress forward. And I do think it'll be better this year, but in saying that it's harder to be worse.

They got Adam got out, so they'll be okay. Yeah, that was the, that's gonna put them over the top for sure. Okay, we gotta go to break. When we come back, we're gonna turn our attention to the National Football League and the Seattle Seahawks training camp starts today. This afternoon in Renton, Brady Henderson,

our ESPN Seahawks insider is gonna join us. We're gonna break down everything. New quarterback in Sam Darnold, new wide receiver in Cooper Cup and a new offense coordinator in Clint Kubiak. A lot of new on offense for the Seahawks. We'll look at everything. Coming up next with Brady Henderson

here on the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Josh L.A. Wolf is here for the vacationing Jason Ruff. This is a track that everyone can agree with. Yes. If there was only a producer cam to go along with the host cam, Ben was doing a little chair dance, a little hand wave action, A-Dog was bobbing his head along with a little grin on his face. I love your own dance ones. You know what, when I see you guys bobbing your head, I'm like, I nailed it. Yeah.

It was a good one. There we go. It was a vibey track, Ben. There was no Spanish resort though. No, it was better than the the Spanish resort one You are listening to the halferd and brough show on sportsnet 650 halferd and brough of the morning is brought to you by sands and Associates not just sands also their associates BC's first and trusted choice for dead help with over 3,000 five-star reviews visit them online at sands-trustee.com

We are in our two of the program. We're at the midway point of the show. Brady Henderson, our Seahawks insider from ESPN, is gonna join us in just a moment here. Hour two of this program is brought to you by Jason Homonuck at jason.mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around

to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit him online at jason.mortgage. To the phone lines we go, the Power West Industries hotline. It's Brady Henderson here now live on the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Morning Brady, how are you? Good morning.

Been a while fellas. How's it going? It has been a while. It's going well. Thank you very much for joining us. Just hours ahead of the start of Seahawks training camp in Renton It'll get underway this afternoon and there is no shortage of storylines going into training camp. Let's start on offense We've mentioned it a couple times throughout the show. There's a new quarterback and Sam Darnold

There's a bunch of new wide receivers highlighted by Cooper Cup There's a new offensive coordinator in Clint Kubiak. So a lot of new on the offense here. How quickly can Sam Darnold and this revamped offense come together, Brady? I think that is one of the big storylines of training camp because you know, it's so fascinating that the offensive defense are in such different positions as I see it. You know, the defense, which finished, you know, despite some struggles early on, finished ninth in the NFL in points allowed last season.

They returned basically every key starter from last season in addition to the coordinator in the scheme. The offense is on the total opposite end of the spectrum when you consider that all those guys you mentioned, it adds up to five new starters with, you know, Graze Abel, the rookie first round pick, who's going to be sliding in at left guard and then assuming Elijah Arroyo replaces Noah Fant at a tight end as number one tight end, that's going to be five new starters on offense. And all five of those guys weren't even with the team last season.

So five new starters in addition to a new coordinator. And one of those new starters happened to your quarterback too. So as long as I've been covering the Seahawks, I can't remember an off season where they totally transformed the offense to the degree that they just did. And so yeah, I think as good as you feel about the defense with all the continuity there, I mean, the offense is very much a question mark just because it takes time for, you know, for units to come together. And, you know, you don't, you just don't have any of that broken continuity. And so I think that's going to be one of the

big, you know, to the extent that you can really tell how it's coming together during training camp. I think that's going to be one of the, it's going to be one of the big things to watch just because a lot of that's gonna be one of the big things to watch just because a lot of new pieces on that side of the ball. With all those new pieces in mind, how do you expect this offense to look? What kind of style should we expect the Seahawks to go with offensively?

I think the first thing that people are gonna notice is they're gonna run the ball more. And I think that Ryan Greb, frankly, sold Mike McDonald to Bill of Goods last season. people are going to notice is they're going to run the ball more. And I think that Ryan Grubb frankly sold, uh, Mike Mcdonald to Bill of goods last season. And that was, you know, Mike Mcdonald, when he was searching for his first offensive coordinator, he obviously has a, you know, a defensive minded guy wanted to find a coordinator who was going to run the

ball. And that was a big question he had with Ryan Grubb because Ryan Grubb had coordinated some of college football's most past heavy offenses both at UW and Fresno State and Grubb was able to convince him that he would switch gears and run the ball and as we all know he did not do that so I think you know Mike McDonald was really intent on this time around finding a guy who was going to be true to his word and run the ball and he found that guy in Klugekubiak. So they're going to run the ball. It's going to also look different than Grubb's offense in the sense that it's going to be way more under center. And that was, I think, another kind of issue with the offense last season and kind of a product of the fact that

Ryan Grubb had spent his entire coaching career in college where as we know teams live in shotgun you know sometimes 90 plus percent of the time it's just a shotgun style offense and that was really the case for the Seahawks offense over the first half of the season until I think McDonald put his foot down over the by and said you got to you got to operate under center more well that's really what Kubiak does you know naturally they were one of the operate under center more. That's really what Kubiak does naturally. They were one of the highest under center offenses last season in New Orleans, and that's really been his thing.

So it's gonna be under center, they're gonna run the ball a lot. It's gonna be an outside zone rushing scheme. And part of that is they're gonna get the quarterback outside the pocket. And that's another thing that Ryan Grubbs, the offense didn't really do all that well last season and so when you talk about you know their ability to protect Sam Darnold with an offensive line that I think it's fair to say it's still a question mark well that's gonna be one part of it is you're not gonna have the quarterback just dropping back and being

a sitting duck in the pocket they're gonna move the pocket they're gonna get the quarterback outside of it and to make him a moving target for pass rushers Okay with regards to running the football I know you wrote about the key position battles specifically a running back and you wrote that while no one has said out loud that The running back one job is up for grabs. Nothing really seems certain in the backfield How did you handicap it going into camp? What do you expect to see out of the the running backs when training camp is over in the backfield. How did you handicap it going into camp? What do you expect to see out of the running backs when training camp is over in the preseason starts?

The first thing I'm going to be looking forward to seeing today is whether or not Ken Walker is even practicing because as I mentioned in that word there, you know, he missed some time. He was sort of kind of half in half out, you know, he was doing some of the individual drills, but none of the team drills. And the word from Mike McDonald was he has an ankle injury that is not that big of a deal. It sounds like it's minor, but it was big enough to keep him from practicing. And that's really kind of been the story with Ken Walker and the third. It's just kind of been one injury after another.

And he's not a guy, you know, like some other running backs who are some other players who are really going to push through you know discomfort I think he's a guy who feels like he needs to be as close to 100% as possible for him to step onto the field and so you know some of the what I alluded to there about you know could we see a little bit more of Zach Charbonnet I think that could just happen naturally because Walker does tend to miss time, excuse me. But I just think that it's a mystery, right? There's a new coordinator running a new rushing scheme. And one thing we know about Charbonneau

is he's a very disciplined player, very disciplined runner. The one thing you always hear the Seahawks compliment him on is how much of a professional he is. And I think one of the knocks on Walker, in addition to just the availability being an issue for the last three seasons, is that he hasn't always been the most disciplined runner.

Sometimes he kinda looks to hit the home run a little bit too much. It doesn't just take what's there. And so, one of the, I think, requirements for a running back in a wide zone scheme is you got to hit your landmarks. You got to be here at a certain point and you got to take what's there. And I think Charbonnet has maybe done a little bit better job of that over his career than Walker has. So that's why I think that, look, even if the injuries don't come into play, I kind of wonder if, if he could cut into Walker's workload as the number one guy.

We're speaking to Brady Henderson, our ESPN Seahawks insider here on the Haliford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Seahawks open training camp today and Renton later this afternoon. Another question with regards to running the football, Brady, how much do you expect to see Jalen Milrow, the third round quarterback draft pick out of Alabama, to be implemented into this offense in terms of utilizing his ability to run the football?

It won't be challenging Darnold for the starting job a quarterback or anything like that, but it seems as though there would be a push to get his athleticism and ability to run the ball into some sort of package or packages as the Seahawks get this season underway. Yeah, it is important, excuse me, to make that point that he's not here

to challenge Sam Darnold. And he may not even challenge Drew Locke for the number two job, but the plan is to play him a few plays a game in packages that are designed to take advantage of that excellent running ability that he has that excuse me one second guys sorry about that I'm bad one all good a cough and I got something in my throat but yeah the plan is to play him a few plays a game and really not like he's gonna be running the ball every time

because he does have a good arm so he is capable of throwing the ball. The accuracy is a bit of an issue that's one reason why the thought is that he's not really ready to come in right away and compete for a Starting job, but his legs are NFL ready and you saw that in college that he is a dangerous dangerous runner Very fast very elusive. And so yeah, they're going to take advantage of that. I think one of the things that will be interesting to sort out is how exactly does Clint Kubiak

do that? Because it's easy to talk about it a few months ahead of the first game of the season. It's easy to talk about, yeah, they'll just take, you know, they'll take Darnold off the field and put Milro in there. But it's fascinating to me like how that's going to work in the moment because, you know, when Sam Darnold does all the heavy lifting and let's say he leads an 85 yard drive to get them to the five yard line, is it going to be easy for Clint Kubiak to say, okay, Sam, nice job,

thanks for doing all the heavy lifting. Now we're going to put Jalen Milrow in, we're going to put the rookie in and he's going to score the touchdown. So I mean, I don't think Sam Darnold is like a very ego driven quarterback who's really going to get all that upset about that. But it is kind of fascinating to think that, you know, if the plan is really to use him near the goal line, that is kind of a delicate balance that I think a coordinator will have to strike that hey You do want to let Sam Parnold get some of the glory and and let him pay off some of those long drives as well But you know, it's not just going to be goal line I think it's going to be they're going to use Millrow all over the field

Maybe at times when they need a spark But that's the other thing too is doing that and not making it seem like you're pulling Darnold because he's struggling. Really, I think the trick will be to try to do it in a way that makes it seem like that was the plan all along. So that's the run game. The receiving core also having a bit of an overhaul. DK Metcalfe, Tyler Lockett out, Cooper Cup, Marques Valdez-Scantling. And what do you expect from those two? Yeah, it's, I don't think that they got more talented at wide receiver. I think they got, and you know, they didn't really get younger either because Cooper Cup is what, five years older than

than DK Metcalfe was and Marques Valdez-Scantling is also 30 years old. So they didn't really get younger. They got a little bit cheaper and I don't think they got a whole lot better. I think the one thing that they're really looking forward to or I guess I should say one of the reasons why they traded Metcalfe was because it just got really difficult behind the scenes and we all know that he requested that trade. But my understanding is that was not the all know that he requested that trade. But my understanding is that was not the first time he had requested a trade is that he had been so unhappy over the last few off season that he had actually requested multiple trades. So when it came time, you know, this off season, you know, he obviously was up for an extension.

So in addition to just the inherent risk of giving a massive third contracts, uh contracts to somebody, they also had to weigh the fact that this guy had been unhappy for a while. So I think they are looking forward to just less drama and not having to deal with just some of the, all of the drama that came with DK Metcalf and not just the stuff on the field where he sort of loses his temper and has those moments of selfishness. They are looking forward and not having to deal with that, but the fact of the matter is he's a more durable, more talented player than Supercup is.

For as good as Supercup is and as much as he's accomplished, he doesn't really strike fear in the hearts of defenses the way that DK Metcalf has with you know the four three speed and the six four two hundred twenty pound body and so the hope is that Mark Wenzelt at Scanlan can give them some of that. He is really in terms of like on the field he's the guy who's probably going to try to replace DK Metcalf more just as that, you know, big fast receiver, but he's not as big, he's not quite as fast, he's older and, you know, just hasn't accomplished nearly what Metcalf has. And so I think that is going to be one of the things to watch is can they replace, can

they truly replace DK Metcalf? I think Elijah Arroyo to some degree is gonna factor into that but it is it is a bit of a gamble because you know they obviously had the reasons for moving on from Metcalf and I understand all of them but I don't think you can say that they necessarily on the field got better without him. We've talked a lot about the offense and then rightfully so there are a lot of questions on the offensive side, but the defense, it does feel like there's a lot of confidence, a lot of the same pieces coming back. Are there any question marks on the defensive side?

Well, yeah, I think the one big question mark I have right now is whether or not they have enough on the edge. And if you turn into Wosoo is healthy, I still think that would be a question mark, you know, I sort of, I'll, I'll borrow kind of an analogy that some of my local radio friends have used, which is that, you know, they have kind of compared their group of edge rushers to a pitching rotation. And the idea is, you know, they've got a lot of like, pretty good number two, number three starters, you know, you turn into woesoo, let's say when he's healthy, he's a solid number two, number three starters. You know, you turn into Wosu, let's say when he's healthy,

he's a solid number two, number three guy. Derek Hall, Boye Mafay, same thing. Like both guys with double digit sack potential, but none of those guys have ever sniffed a Pro Bowl. You know, none of them are a true ace and that's really what this rotation is missing. And so that I think is the case for at least exploring a trade for Trey Hendrickson although it sort of sounds like there's some progress being made towards keeping him there in Cincinnati. I mean they did go out and get to

Marcus Lawrence who at one point in his career he was probably an ace but now he's you know at 33 years old coming off the foot injury, he's probably, you know, again, a number two, number three guy. And so, and I think even with Nwosu, with the injury that he has, and he was coming off knee surgery, you know, you might be down one of those number two and number three guys for the first few weeks of the season. And so that is one position I still think they could look to add to. Jadamia Clowney is still out there. I believe that, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if they made a run at Vaughn Miller before he signed with Washington. So you feel good about, you know, every part of the defense, at least in terms of the depth,

if not the, you know, maybe not the high end superstar talent outside of Leonard Williams and Devin Witherspoon, feel good about that just every level. That one spot that I think that they could still look to add to is just another edge rusher to kind of bolster that depth, especially knowing that Uchenna Nwosu may have to miss the first few weeks. So in light of everything that we've gone over here, a lot of new faces on offense, maybe some learning curves ahead for the entire group and the strength of this team being Mike McDonald's defense. I know it's early to do this, but is it fair to suggest that we might be in line

for a lot of low scoring slugfest defense first type games this year. That might be the identity of this year's Seattle Seahawks. I think that's totally fair. Yeah, I absolutely. I mean, you know, I've learned covering the NFL for what, 15 years that you can have everything on paper look like it's going to happen one way. And you have, you know, so many sound reasons to think that's going to be the case. And then all of a sudden, you know, they're winning, you know so many sound reasons to think that's gonna be the case and then all of a sudden You know they're winning you know 3128 right games over the first two weeks of the season, but yes on paper

It totally looks like that's gonna be the style especially early on as the offense Finds its footing and I mentioned that this defense finished ninth in the NFL in points allowed and they basically brought everybody back The only guys they didn't bring back Were guys that they cut because they weren't playing all that well, right? You know Ray Sean Jenkins Draymond Jones and then you know, there was maybe one other guy there and so Really everybody they wanted back is back and then made a couple key additions into Marcus Lawrence The guy just mentioned and also Nick Emea-Warri, who is not gonna start right away,

but is going to play quite a bit at the second level as a Nickelback. Some people may wonder, well, why would you spend what, the 35th overall pick on a Nickelback? Well, just consider that position, your Nickel back is on the field in today's NFL about as often as you know a rotational event might be or maybe even more so nickel back you don't really think of it as a starter

but essentially it is and the guy is super talented he's not gonna challenge Kobe Bryant for a starting job right away in fact I would not be surprised if they end up getting an extension done with Kobe Bryant because they view him as an ascending player on the back end of their defense. But Nicky Manowarri there as a potential difference maker to a defense that finished the year very strong with a brilliant defense of mind in Mike McDonald. I think they've got a lot of good pieces on defense. Brady this was awesome thank you for taking the time to do this today we really appreciate it enjoy day one at training camp should be a lot of fun we'll do

this again soon. Alright fellas I survived before the major coughing fit hit me so thanks for bearing with me I'll talk to you guys later. Thanks buddy very impressive Brady Henderson mid coughing fit here on the Haliford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Some news as training camps open across the National Football League. A former Seattle Seahawks quarterback, Russell Wilson has officially been anointed the week one starter for the New York football giants. Brian Dable, the head coach, apparently wanting to get out in front of any potential QB controversy, given they've got Jackson Dart there,

who they spent some pretty high draft capital on, and they've got Jameis Winston there as well. Dable, July 23rd, as soon as possible, wanted to put any QB controversy to bed and said, "'No, Russ is our guy, week one.'" That'll do it. Soon to be 37-year-old old Russell Wilson the starting quarterback in New York I believe they're over under for wins this year is five and a half. They're gonna be so bad

They're gonna be a bad team. I do not I do not believe in the New York Giants experience this season I do think I like I I think Malik neighbors is really good. Yes. I don't know about anything else outside of that I think I think, um, I think they could exceed five and a half wins. I do. I do not. I think that not by much. Who, who are they going to be? Not so much, but I think they can exceed five and a half wins. I'm looking at their schedule and I don't even, I don't know if I see four wins. This is what Josh and I do. We actually, actually we say comments like let's just go through the schedule

It's like now they're gonna win three games. They might beat the Saints. Yep, right? Yeah, okay roll through it They play Washington. Okay, that's a tough one Dallas I can see you know what I can see them Yeah, yeah Russell Wilson is their starting quarterback Yeah, right, okay. Go chiefs. That's tough chargers. I can see them beating the charge. They're not being the charges Yeah, keep going Saints Saints. I can see them being the same Eagles. That's tough Broncos That's tough Eagles again. That's tough Niners Yeah, okay. Keep going bears

Yeah, I can see the beating the Bears yeah yeah they will Packers Lions Patriots they could be the Patriots Commanders again Vikings Raiders Cowboys Vikings and they cannot beat the Vikings just remember those games at the end of the year if any of those teams are out of the playoffs those become coin flip games I don't think five and a half is that crazy. They're not a good football team. I want to make that abundantly clear. They're going to be bad. And all I'm looking at is that Russ's stats over the last two years were by no means heinous. It was, it was more than enough to

be a sub average quarterback in the NFL. Good for him. Yeah. and kind of back your way into, I don't know, a handful of wins. We'll see what happens though. Okay, before we go to break, I need to tell you about the BC Lions, July 27th, this Sunday, bring the family to celebrate generations of Lions fans at the Family Traditions game. As your Lions take on the Ticats,

get your tickets at bclions.com. We're gonna go to break on the other side. We're gonna come back with Thomas Drantz, lots of Canucks talk coming up next on the Halford and Bref Show on Sportsnet 650.