Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Seahawks Can Become The Toast Of The NFC This Sunday

Episode Date: November 13, 2025

In hour two, Halford & guest host Jamie Dodd talk the latest hockey news with Sportsnet NHL writer Luke Fox (1:32), plus they preview a clash of two 7-2 clubs in Sunday's Seahawks matchup at the LA Rams, as ESPN's Brady Henderson (24:21) joins the show. 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.

702 on a thrash Thursday here on the Halford & Breft Show on SportsNet 650. It's actually Halford and Dodd for the remainder of the week. It's been a fun week so far. Wow, thank you. Yeah. All we talk about in the morning is how quickly we can go to bed after the show. Jamie's living that morning show life. It's my first thought every morning when the alarm goes on.

How quickly can I get back into bed? Which I'm sure is a healthy way to go through life. It's such a strange existence. Hoping that the sun doesn't come out so it doesn't interrupt your mind. And it's not a nap. Make it clear. When you go back to bed at 9.45 in the morning, that's a second sleep, everybody.

You are listening to the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Halford in the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Scory Debt Freedom Hat Trick. One, no more interest. two much lower payments and three financial peace of mind visit them online at sands dash trustee.com. We are now in our two of the program.

Luke Fox from SportsNet is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off hour two. Hour two is brats by Jason Homnock at Jason. Dot mortgage. If you love, give them the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at jason.

We are broadcasting live from the Kintech studio, Kintech footwear and orthotics, working together with you in step. Our next guest is an NHL writer for SportsNet regular contributor to the program, Luke Fox, joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sports 10650. Morning, Luke. How are you? I'm doing pretty good.

Just got into the Scotia Bank Arena for morning skate and seeing if the roof's going to collapse on these Maple Leafs already. I was going to say the injury news in Vancouver has been dire, and it's getting to that level, or maybe it already is, in Toronto, because I saw about, what was it, 20 minutes ago, the Leafs have recalled a goalie, and they put Scott Lotton on injured reserve and what I'm waiting for is the news

and I'm assuming you might be waiting for it too on Austin Matthews. And I'll just butt in here because Elliot Friedman just tweeting Austin Matthews injury considered not serious but will miss a couple of games. Chris Johnston saying sideline at least a week with his lower body injury.

So that's the latest on Austin Matthews. So take it away, Luke, some tough times for the Maple Leafs. Yeah, the injury news comes at a really rough time because it's the last thing they need. because they're leaking oil here. They've lost three straight in regulation, and they gave up five goals in every single one of those losses. They can't defend their rank 32nd in goals against per game over 3.8,

which is not the calling card of a playoff team. And their energy is low. The morale's bat. The coach is pulling a lot of strings already. He's constantly mixed. lines. He's tried pulling the goalie. He's tried healthy scratching Batheus

Machelli, who was supposed to provide a little bit of offense, one of their more notable offseason acquisitions. He's reamed them out a couple times in intermissions. He's grasping at straws. And this team needs to

get it together. Now, they do have a couple things going in their favor. Namely, I think, or primarily is the fact that the Eastern Conference is all kind of mushy. And there are very few teams that look like world beaters or, you know, true cup contenders, you know, maybe Carolina, New Jersey, Montreal's had a good start.

But it's not as if the pack is running away from the Leaps. So that is the positive spin is that it's still early. They do have a lot of talent. They should be able to figure it out. They aren't as bad as they're playing right now. Luke, you mentioned the struggles to defend. and, of course, that's a whole roster, five-man unit thing on the ice. It's also the goalie.

But just looking at the blue line and, you know, I know Chris Tannave is injured, he's 35, OEL is 34, Jake McCabe is 32, Morgan Riley is 31. That's a lot of guys that you're relying on for big minutes who are on the wrong side of 30 on that blue line. And again, I know it goes beyond just the guys who are the defensemen out there on any given night. But considering the makeup of the blue line, I mean, what are the. solutions, possible solutions, options for the Leafs to try to become a much tighter defensive team? Yeah, they've had a heck of a time trying to get the puck out of their own zone. They've gotten trapped in there. You know, OEL and Morgan Riley have some puck-moving ability, but beyond that,

it's a lot of guys who are off the glass and out. Now, they were a really good defensive team with this exact same decor just last year. You know, top 10, if not top 5, I would say. like they defended really well in their own zone. And what happened was they had no offense from their blue line last year. And

Bradshaw living poked around, but he didn't make any changes to the personnel of the decor. All his changes were basically third liners up front. So instead what they've asked the guys to do is, you know, maybe pinch a little bit more, get up in the rush

because they were conscious that they needed more offensive contributions. from the blue line, but it's kind of backfired on them. So they've gotten caught. They are, if they're not dead last, they're close to it in rush offense, given up. There's breakaways and two-on-ones going right down their throat every single night. And it's a serious problem. So I think there's a tactical adjustment that needs to be made.

They need to stop stretching the zone and trying to come out far apart. They need to come out together, I think. believe. They need more communication. You know, I was talking to some of the players in Boston after the morning skate before they lost that game. And they were like, you know, our communications are up. We don't know where everyone's going. And it's a bit of a head scratcher because these are all veteran players. But, you know, I think when losing, losing creeps in, doubt creeps in and you're not talking as much. Maybe you're not feeling confident. So they need to get it

together. And, you know, I think some of those answers have to come from within because They don't have a lot of trade chips. But if things don't start turning around quickly, I think Tray Living will have to look at maybe making a change back there on the blue line. Where does former Vancouver, Connecticut Zedora, rank on the Toronto Public Enemy List right now? Yeah, he might be above Sam Bennett now. Yeah, wow. And above Brad Marchion.

So he takes out Scott Lawton Saturday night, the first game, and then a couple nights later, he takes out, Austin Matthews and Max Stomi tries to pick a fight with them like good on Max for showing the passion but the timing of it was off you know the Leafs were down 4-1 they get it to 4-3

and then Max Stomi goes after Zedorov just as you know momentum starts swinging the least way he goes in the box Kasternak scores another power play goal and it really backfires on them but yeah he's he's way up there in terms of public enemy

number one right now. We're speaking of Luke Fox, NHL writer from SportsNet here on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Speaking of former Vancouver Canucks, their former head coach, Rick Tocket, now in Philadelphia. So Flyers lose last night, 2-1 in overtime to Edmonton. I know recently you had a piece,

you ran through a bunch of different NHL stories and had some pretty interesting back and forth with Trevor Zegris, who's off to an unbelievable start in Philadelphia and him and the relationship between him and Rick Tocket, who he calls Taco, which I'm sure Rick Tocket loves. It's an interesting one. I did not think,

that this was going to work at all when I heard that Zegrois was going to Philadelphia, but lo and behold, I've been wrong. He's been good. What were some of your takeaways from speaking with Zegris in Philadelphia? The biggest thing was just how happy he was. You know, he was careful not to say

that he didn't like his teammates in Anaheim or, you know, he kind of steered clear of talking about the coaching staff in Anaheim, but he basically admitted that he had lost a little bit of lumps for the game. You know, wasn't as excited to come to the ring. and one of the first things he said to me was practices are so fun like talk I love talk its practices

I love all the guys here you know he was just basically saying that he feels at home and you know I think it's a lot of you know feel good play good like he's in a better state of mind he's enjoying the game he's off to a great start

it's one of those classic hey maybe the guy just needs a change of scenery and it's funny like I not not in my conversation with him but in another article I read that you know he missed the seasons like you know California every day is the same and I think he kind of likes like okay now it's getting a little

chillier it's getting to be hockey weather and some guys just just prefer that so good to see that he's that the trades worked out for him that he's feeling good uh Anaheim seems to have not skip the beat in losing him so it seems to be one of those win-win situations I talked to a few guys about Rick Tockett, and they're all, like, all aboard on him.

One of the things that a couple guys mentioned is that he's unintentionally hilarious. Like, the players seem to be getting a kick out of him, too. And the other thing is, this guy, the one thing they all say is this guy played and played at a high level. And sometimes, you know, if the coach hasn't played or had success as a player, it doesn't always resonate. His words don't always resonate as deeply with some of the guys, because players, relate to other players. And maybe that's not fair all the time, but there is some truth for that. So, yeah,

interesting, you know, I don't think the Flyers are, you know, there yet, but they seem to be taking a step. Zegroes seems to like being a part of that, and he needs a new contract, so maybe he'll get one and that relationship will continue. I'm just hung up on Zegris

enjoying the changing of the season. So we found the first NHL player who doesn't want to go to the rink and flip-flops every day. This is incredible. the presses here. You mentioned the the mushyness of the standings in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers are part of that. Pittsburgh, of course, has gotten off to this incredible start. The Islanders are right around the playoff bar. I mean, even Boston, a team that I don't think a lot of people had many expectations for. They've won seven in a row and they're right there

in the playoffs in the Atlantic Division. Which of those teams that have kind of surprised and gotten off to a much better start than anticipated? Do you think has the goods to stick around and at least flirt with a playoff spot down the stretch. Yeah, well, I mean, I think a few of them. I think it's, I don't see separation coming. Like, it could be mushy right to the end. This is kind of Gary Bettman's dream, right? The parody NHL.

I'm still not completely sold on Pittsburgh, but I have been impressed by what they've been able to do in the first month of the season. I wonder about Boston guys. you know, just watching them play a couple times within a week here. They seem very organized and disciplined, and I don't even think Jeremy Swayman was particularly great, but they seemed to not get down when a couple softies went in.

I think they could get even better. You know, they played well, even with Charlie McAvoy out of the lineup. Marco Stern, like the guys have been saying, like, right from camp, there was a little bit more buy-in. I think they just needed a refresh. And I think maybe some of that comes from feeling a little bit embarrassed. So heading into last season, they were tied with the Leafs with the longest active playoff streak.

They fall off a cliff. They trade some significant chunks at the deadline. They tumble right down the standings. They have injuries. And I think there was a sentiment among that group that that's not really us. Yeah, we might not be cup contenders anymore. but we're a team that's good enough to be playing relevant games. Fraser Minton looks really good, part of the Brandon Carlo trade.

And they have some experience. They're doing this without Elias Lindholm in the lineup, too, guys. So when he comes back, that'll help solidify things. So I'm not saying they're going to be a cup contender, but I think they'll be contending for a wild card spot for sure. Seven game win streak for the Bruins, the longest active one in the NHL right now. Over in the West, we made mention of this yesterday.

although it changed overnight with the mammoth winning and the Blackhawks getting a point. So going into yesterday's action, the two wildcard teams in the West were the Chicago Blackcox and the San Jose Sharks, and I can't remember the last time that we said that. I know it's early, but how much attention have you been paying to what Macklin Celebrity is doing with San Jose and what Connor Redard is doing with Chicago? Yeah, lots, Mike. And I think that's because it's an Olympic year and, you know, those guys are obviously motivated to drag their teams out of the basement. but also fight for what are going to be some highly contentious forward spots on Team Canada.

I mean, what an opportunity, right? Like, are they ever going to get a chance to play in Olympics with Sidney Crosby again? Probably not. And, you know, if you're a kid growing up in Canada, what a dream that would be. So why wouldn't you pour your all into the first three months of the season and try to make an impression on Team Canada's management? And then the happy byproduct of that is your club team is doing well. and it's been a, it was like a slow, slow burn or slow, like a long time brewing,

but it seems like we're finally starting to see this next generation try and take over. You know, these, and it's great for, you know, the franchises in San Jose in Chicago because that's a lot of years where you're at the very bottom. And San Jose in particular, I've been in that building a few times in the last couple years, and I was just stunned at how many empty. seats there were. So the fact that there's some excitement, you know, add Will Smith, the Celebrini hype too, I think it's great for those markets. There's finally seeing some turnover. Luke, this was great, buddy. Thanks for taking the time to do this today. We really appreciate it.

Ten games tonight on the slate. Enjoyed. It should be a lot of fun. We'll do this again soon. Okay, sounds good. Thanks for having me on, guys. Have a good one. Yeah, you too. Thanks for coming on. That's Luke Fox, NHL writer from Sportsnet here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650. So back to the Vancouver Canucks. You laid out a few things that you're going to be paying attention to storyline-wise going into this three-game road swing through Carolina, Florida, and Tampa, or Tampa and Florida. Let's get the chronology right here.

You mentioned Quinn Hughes. This is an interesting one. Let's bring this up, apropos of nothing, the post-game media availability that has gotten a little bit of consternation from certain media folk about how short, despondent, dejected, Quinn Hughes sounded and looked

and the thousand yards stared the 10,000 yards stare at times afterwards. I just want to get out in front of this and say I don't have a problem with anything that Quinn Hughes does in his post game media availability because I think it's reflective of what happened

during the game. I think Quinn Hughes is built up and of goodwill with everyone that if he is short and maybe even dismissive in post game media availability. It's the remnants of a game and quite frankly

a season that's not going his way and his frustration's boiling over. Now I know some people will push back and be like you're a captain. There are certain responsibilities that you were bestowed, you know, with great honor of wearing the sea comes great responsibility. I get all that. But he's not a robot. And if you're

going to be, and if there's a moment where someone is pissed off or angry or frustrated, I don't mind seeing it in the moment because I think that's even more reflective of where he's at and where his team is at than if he was to go through and give some stock answers about what happened

moments prior. It just feels like it's not just moments though. It's permanent, almost. And you could point to, well, they're permanently in a really tough spot. So that's how he's reacting. That's kind of where I'm going with this. Fair enough, right? I do understand that element, but you also would love to see your captain do what he can to try to change the vibes, right?

Rather than lean into it, rather than kind of wallow in it and be like oh yeah everything sucks so i'm going to be kind of miserable about it which i get as you said he's human and it must be it must be really tempting yeah to go that direction but i also understand the perspective of well can't you try to rise above it at least some of the time not maybe not every game maybe there are going to be moments where as you say it's we just lost and that sucks and dempco got hurt and i'm i'm i'm really ticked off so i'm going to be really short and to the point fair enough, but it just feels like that's the default setting now. For me, the captain

of the team is a reflection of the team and I think that to be perfectly honest, his post-game media reactions is pretty accurate and pretty spot on. I've never been one for putting on airs for the point of putting on airs. We used to joke that if you wanted to hear what

Bo Horvout was going to say in his post-game media availability, just play with Travis playing. Or play the last one. Yeah, right? Or whatever Greener said, that's what the captain was going to say. And I'm like, that's fine. and that's a media obligation but in the bigger picture is that leadership

is that is that really what he's thinking or is that what he thinks the captain is supposed to do because those are two different things right you know I believe sometimes you can make a statement by not just saying the right thing

and doing the right thing right like people and that's a choice that each individual has to make when they're left to be the leader of a team I do think so sometimes hockey players and even captains do this thing where they're like performatively upset. I'm not saying Quinn Hughes is pretending to be upset, but there's this idea that we just lost the game and I know fans are angry. So I have to seem really pissed off now. Yeah. And I've seen that too.

You can be accountable, but still give some depth to your answers, right? Go into your thought process a little bit. And nobody's going to stand here and accuse you of, oh, look, he gave a 30 second answer. That means he doesn't care about the loss. I think it just shows a little bit of a higher degree of professionalism. Now, all of this, of course, is also tied back to his contract status because the reason fans are zeroing in on his body language, how he's responding in post game interviews, all of this stuff is they're looking for any clues about which way he might be leaning

when it comes to where he wants to sign. And so it's hyper under the microscope in a way it wouldn't be if he was under contract for another six years. Because then it's like, well, okay, he's going through a tough stretch, but whatever, he's here, he's locked up. Now everything is under the microscope as potential evidence that he might want to leave. And that makes it tough. But one thing that isn't, and the most important thing is the effort and performance he's putting out on the ice. Yep.

If that took, and I know some people will be like, I can already see slipping signs. Well, not enough of them because you can still tell when he's out there, he is giving it an absolute max effort. yeah there's some lapses and yeah there's some mistakes and those are natural because anyone that plays the amount that he does on this average a team is probably going to make those but if you want to talk about where he's at in terms of buying and commitment

and wanting to win he was the one that came back after what looked like a serious injury and got out there and jumped right back on the power play that to me speaks more volumes than him deflecting a question about Thatcher Demko's importance to the team which to be fair he has answered and we all know what the answer to that question is you know so I get the frustration

in the moment and I understand and kind of appreciate a captain who's like this is how I feel right now and I don't need to do the song and dance you know Gurp wrote in a good text Gurp from Surrey to the Dunbar Lumber text message in basket what's hilarious is people hated when Bo Horvatt gave the same answers and was more positive when the team was playing like expletive and now people are hating on how Quinn is reacting so in theory you can never win GERP, that's a very good point. You can't really win because I think everyone wants something of their captain. And oftentimes, unfortunately, it's the opposite of what they do, right?

If you're being positive, they want you to be more realistic. And if you're too realistic, that means you're being too negative and they want you to be more positive. Well, and I do think we hold captains to an unfair standard. Like because you got the sea put on your jersey now there's this idea. A lot of responsibility with it. That you can kind of single-handedly shift to the direction of the franchise. and that is obviously unfair. But I do understand

where some of the frustration is coming from. I think I get it a little more than you do. I have a little more time for it because there's an element of professionalism to it for me. I get it. You're frustrated.

We all get it. We all understand that. And you're allowed to be frustrated. Just ratchet that professionalism up a little bit. You can still be frustrated. You can still be frustrated. That's fine. You can just give a little more.

Okay. We got to do the one to watch Bratzi, by Limitless A.V., Vancouver's most trusted audio-visual integration experts. Last night, Matt Vei Michkoff scored a goal yesterday. The run that we are on with the Limitless AV-1. Incredible. Yeah.

So I'm a little worried about doing this, but at the same time, also kind of excited. I am going to go to Calgary tonight, but I'm not going to take anybody from the Calgary Flames. Instead, North Vancouver's own Macklin Celebrini. and the San Jose Sharks will be in Calgary tonight. Celebrini and Bedard, it seems like on a nightly basis. They're going back and forth trying to one up one another. So last night, Bedard scored in an eventual loss to the New Jersey Devils in overtime. So now it goes back to Connor Bedard.

So, sorry, to Macklin Celebrity. So Celebrating and the Sharks are in Calgary tonight. You can watch it on Sportsnet. It's a 6 o'clock puck drop. Macklin Celebrini, tonight's one to watch. Brought to you by Limitless A.V., Vancouver's most trusted audiovisual integration experts specializing in seamless video conferencing solutions and hybrid workspaces.

Book your personalized tour of their experience center today. Visit them online at limitlessav.c.a. We're at the midway point of the show. Coming up, some Seahawks talk. Brady Henderson, our Seahawks insider from ESPN is going to join as ahead of a huge game on the weekend between the 7 and 2 L.A. Rams and the 7 and 2 Seattle Seahawks.

You're listening to the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet, 650. Hey, it's Big Nazar. Have your say and join me on the people. People's show with big takes and even bigger bets, weekdays three to four on Sportsnet 650, or wherever you get your podcast. Ball bounces. Are you kidding me? It goes to DLoggin.

Another touchdown. Seahawks! Holy catfish! Lightning strikes twice for the Seahawks defense. 732 on a thrash Thursday here on the Halford & Brough show featuring Jamie Dodd on Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough of the morning is brad to by Sands and Associates. Only a license insolvency trustee can cut your debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees.

To learn how, visit them online, it's sands dash trustee.com. We are in hour two of the program with the midway point of the show. Brady Henderson, our Seahawks insider from ESPN. It's going to join us in just a moment here. Our two of this program is brought to by Jason Hamanuk at jason.mortgage, the most metal of all the mortgage brokers. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at jason.com. To the phone lines we go, Brady Henderson, our Seahawks insider, joins us now from ESPN on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Morning, Brady. How are you?

What's up, fella? Would you guys describe me as the most medal of all the Seahawks reporters? I have, as a matter of fact, yes. are the most metal of all of our Seahawks insiders, of which is only one, but still, you're the most metal out of all of them. I don't know, Bob Condota. It's pretty, pretty metal. Yeah. Okay, let's get into the Seahawks stuff.

I actually want to look back first on what the Seahawks did to the Cardinals on Sunday, because that was an absolute first half obliteration. The second week in a row that they've done that, and the third time this year, if you want to count what they did, the New Orleans Saints, how much talk was there in the aftermath of this team's ability to pounce on teams early and put them away before the game gets to halftime. Yeah, it's the second week in a row where, I mean, remember in that game before that Washington game, they scored touchdowns on each of their first four drives and another

hot start. So, I mean, it wasn't that long ago where, you know, remember there was this crazy streak of games where, you know, the Seahawks went however long it was without scoring a touchdown on their opening drive. It was like the longest streak in the NFL, and now here they are. just come out of the game like gangbusters, and, you know, I'm sure you can credit a lot of things to that, but typically teams script their opening plays. And the funny thing is those are, a lot of times, those are really geared towards being kind of fact-finding missions, right?

Like you script a play to see what a team does when you give them this look, and you're really trying to get information for the rest of the game, and yet here they are, they're not only getting that information, but they're scoring touchdowns in the process. And so, yeah, I mean, this offense is really humming, and then you saw, I think the most encouraging thing was you saw that run game going, get going in the second half. And like how many times, as good as the Seahawks offense has been this year, how many times have you seen them in positions to where, okay, this is typically where you see a team try to close out a game with the four-minute offense, you hand it off, and, I mean,

they've ended up closing out a lot of those games, but they haven't really done it the way they would prefer to because the run game just hasn't been there, and there was. And they did that despite losing Jalen Sandel and having Olu Olu with Timmy at center there. And, you know, Arizona's not a good football team overall, but they are a good run defense. So I think that was pretty encouraging. I have noticed, especially on social media, just this absolute loving for what Mike McDonald has done with this team. And I think on Sunday, maybe that had a lot to do with the fact that as a defensive guy, the defensive performance that he, and to be fair, Dexter Lawrence put up in that game.

seems like with every week there's another wrinkle or facet or something new about this defense that grabs people's attention. I know the pass rush has been there all year and their line has been good and they've been a run stuffing unit, but to be able to score with the defense and especially the way that Lawrence did it, kind of made it extra

special on Sunday against the Cardinals. Yeah, they do not blitz a whole lot. I looked this up a couple days ago and I want to say they have the third lowest blitz rate in the NFL. And that's probably not what they planned on doing going into this season.

I mean, I don't think McDonald looks a whole lot in Baltimore, but I don't think the plan was to do it this infrequently. And I think you're seeing that for a couple of reasons. One is probably don't want to further tax a secondary that has already had to have a bunch of backups in there, right? When you send, you know, a linebacker or in some cases a defensive back, I mean, you're taking a guy out of coverage and you're stressing your secondary. and I don't think they've wanted to do that any more than they really have to

when you've got back up at safety, back up at any position at any given time. The other reason is they just don't really have to do it all that much because their front floor is so good at getting pressure on its own. I want to say I checked after the Washington game, and I think with just a standard format rush, they were something like seventh in terms of getting pressure. So every defensive coordinator would love to have a front floor like that that can get home to where they don't have to blitz

and they can keep as many guys in coverage as possible. But when they do blitz, you know, good things typically happen. And, you know, he scored two touchdowns on, it was crazy, on nearly identical plays. I mean, Cooper Cubs said it best. He said it was like deja vu. I've never really seen anything quite like that. But, yeah, I mean, this defense is, we all know it's a very complex defense.

And, you know, with the exception of the market, Lawrence and Nick E. Manwari, basically every key player was here last year. And I think what you're seeing is, you know, guys who have now a season and a half under their belt in this system, you know, that's really taking hold with them. And I think that's probably a part of the reason why you're seeing that whole group hit at stride right now. Yeah, and one of the many reasons this matchup against the Rams is so highly anticipated is that defense, defensive unit and Mike McDonald is the defensive coach going up against Sean McVeigh and Matthew Stafford.

I mean, Stafford playing just some incredible football this year. McVeigh continues to evolve that offense and add wrinkles and different looks. What are some of the key things you're looking for in that matchup? The Matthew Stafford versus the Seahawks defense matchup? And what do you think that is going to hinge on in this upcoming game? Well, first of all, it's a fun matchup. And this is, I mean, go back to when the Seahawks hired Mike

McDonald's. Why do you hire Mike McDonald? Well, because you have two of the NFL's best offensive minds in your own division in Cald-Shannahan and Sean McVeigh. And you knew from the moment they hired him that, you know, it was going to be fun watching these guys match with, you know, twice a year for however long it's going to be. And so this is, and, you know, now we get to see it with both teams at seven and two. So, you know, one matchup, I am, I'm looking forward to seeing really one player. I'm looking for. forward to seeing how much they use him is Rick Wollin. And, you know, he has clearly been demoted in some sense to the number three

cornerback. Like, Josh Job, you know, won that job from Wollin earlier in the season. But Wollon has, you know, played quite a bit because they just had injuries to either Devin Wetherspoon or more recently, Job. And I think in those last three games, Wollin has really played a lot better. And I don't know what exactly is clicking. Maybe it was hearing his name, you know, being floated around in trade speculation, which was very real, by the way.

The trade speculation was very real. It was not made up. But whatever it is, he's playing a lot better. And I want to say, I wish I had the number right in front of me, but over the last three games, I want to say he has the fourth lowest passer rating against in terms of, you know, defenders who have seen at least, you know, X amount of targets and coverage as the nearest defender. So the bottom line is he's

playing a lot better, and it does make me wonder if, okay, you know, this is obviously Sean McHae's offense, as we know, heavy on 11 personnel, so you're going to be in positions where it makes sense to have three or maybe four defensive backs, or, you know, three

or four cornerbacks out there at once. And so I imagine you're going to see Wolin play quite a bit in this game, even if Josh Job comes back from concussion. And, you know, he's going to have to play well because on the other side of the ball, you've got Devante Adams, Pooka Nakua, and you've got a pretty good passing attack there. So that's going to be one matchup. I'm looking forward to Zoom. Over the Seahawks' last three

games, Rieke Wullen has allowed a passer rating of only 39.6 is the nearest defender in coverage. Fourth best among 128 players who have been targeted at least 10 times in that span. I got that from Brady Henderson, the most medal of all the Seahawks insiders. I got that up his Twitter timeline. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. We are previewing the Seahawks Rams game with Brady Henderson, our ESPN Seahawks Insider here on the program. J. Rock and the Okanagan to the SportsNet 650.

Dunbar-Lumber text message in basket, Brady. He writes, please ask Brady Henderson about the injury this week, and he said, please, twice. So I'm now turning it over to you. Injury status for the Seahawks this weekend, Brady. All right, well, I got you. Yeah, so there's three, I would say, three big question marks. Ernest Jones with the knee injury, Tori Horton,

I think he's got a groin and a shin injury. And then Josh Joe, as I mentioned, he had the concussion that kept him out last week. So all three of those guys were listed as limited participants yesterday. And before practice and obviously before we got the injury report, Mike McDonnell, he does not really like giving a ton in the way of midweek injury. injury updates, but he did say that it's looking positive and that they're optimistic with all three of those guys. So I can't tell you definitively that they're going to play, but I can tell you that

it looks like it's trending that way. And then the only other injury that I guess to keep an eye on is Grace Abel who popped up on the injury report yesterday. He was limited. But other than that, I mean, they got a lot of guys listed on their injury report, but I would say those are the three or four significant question marks. right now. No shortage of storylines going into this one. It's two seven and two

teams. It's for first place in the NFC West. Some would say it's for who's going to be or who will be the best team in the NFC. There's also another couple storylines. One in particular that you wrote about Cooper Cup and his return to Los Angeles and the Rams team where he sort of rose to prominence. It became

at one point the best receiver, at least statistically in the National Football League. What did Cop have to say about going back to L.A.? And I guess his time in Seattle thus far. Yeah, I mean, the trend nowadays, and whenever, you know, someone plays their old team, whether or not it ended poorly there, the sort of reflexive reporter joke is to call it a revenge game. Right. Now, normally, this would be kind of your classic revenge game, just given the way that it ended there.

He made it very clear about, you know, how he disagreed with the decision to move on and how hard it was on his family. But I can tell you that nothing that he said either in March when he signed with the same. Seahawks yesterday when he spoke at the podium or even on Monday when I had a good one-on-one with him, nothing he said indicates that he's viewing this as like a revenge game. And in fact, he said, and I think this just speaks to how much of a pro Cooper Cup is, he said, you just, you can't make any game about yourself and you're doing a disservice to your teammates if you say, like, well, I want this game more than that game because then, you know, why weren't you giving your all for that other game?

So Cooper Cup is, I mean, I'll say it again, he's just a consummate pro. And, you know, this is a guy who teammates talk about him being there, I mean, beating some coaches into the office. And he's typically the first, you know, player's car that you see in the parking lot. On Wednesdays, he gets there at 5 a.m. And he does that because he wants to get up to speed, you know, on what kind of the quarterbacks are doing so that he can be on the same page with them when he sits in on their film session.

So, you know, you're looking at a guy, you're talking about a guy who, as he has described it, has never really been, like, the most physically gifted. He ran like a four, six or something coming out of Eastern Washington, you know, an F, you know, a lower division school. And so he's always had to find the mental edge by just outworking people. And so I think that's important to keep in mind when you look at Cup, the season he's having, you know, the numbers, I mean, I think he's on pace for about. 700 yards. So he's very much a complimentary piece of a passing game at this point. But I think you've got to realize that his value to a team goes beyond just the bottom line numbers because he's a guy who brings a lot in terms of the tone he sets with his work

ethic and just the knowledge that he shares with teammates from, you know, a guy who is just a very brilliant football mind. The guy's got future coach written all over him. The Sunday night game against Washington, the NBC broadcast and the cameraman picked up a moment where he was coaching up all these very inexperienced receivers that had to step in for that game because of all the injuries. And you could see that it was a guy who actually relished working with young players. So it wouldn't be surprised if he gets into coaching when it's all said and done. But for the present, last game was also the first game with Rashid Shaheed in the mix. Didn't play a ton.

I think he only got 21 of 62 offensive snaps. but did you get a snapshot or an idea of what it might look like with Shaheed in there and how that might open things up even further for Kopp and then J.S.N, who doesn't really need things opened up anymore than they already are, given how well he's playing. Yeah, you know, he did, like you said, I think he only played 23 snaps. I imagine that that would have been more if it hadn't been a blowout

and, you know, you hadn't really pulled your frontline guys late in the game like they did. So I thought it was interesting that, you know, it seems like they maybe held a few things back, knowing that, you know, you've got this big game against the Rams coming up and probably benefit from a little bit of element of surprise. I mean, he didn't run, didn't seem like he ran a ton of downfield routes, which, you know, when you think of Rashid Shahi, that's what you think of him being one of the NFL's best deep threats, which he is. but you saw him on an end around. You saw him on like a smoke screen and then even lining up in the backfield, which I thought was interesting. And, you know, they lined him up and gave him a toss and he gained 10 yards on it.

Like we all thought, myself included, that the impact he was going to have on their run game was going to be more indirect in terms of, you know, trying to get defenses to take a defender out of coverage to really, you know, honor his deep speed. But you saw him directly impacting the run. game by taking a toss there. So it looks like one of those guys who can do a lot. And, you know, the danger when you get a guy like that, I think we've seen it.

We saw it with Percy Harvin, you know, a decade ago, over a decade ago with Darrell Bevel, who was a good offensive coordinator, but just couldn't really figure out the best way to use Percy Harvin. That's one thing you know is not going to be an issue with Clint Kubiak because he's had Rashid Jihad, had him for a full, I guess, maybe half a year because, uh, Rashid got injured. But, you know, the bottom line is he knows how to use Rashid and there's a lot of ways to do it. It is the Seahawks three and a half point road dogs in L.A. on Sunday. It's a 105 kickoff. It's the game of the weekend. Brady, thank you very much for taking the time to do this today. We really appreciate it. Enjoy the game on Sunday. It should be a beauty. Sounds good, fellas. You guys enjoy it too. Thank you.

Thank you. Brady Henderson, our Seahawks Insider from ESPN here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650. Let's dive back into the Canucks talk here is we've got a few minutes before we go to break. The regular co-host of this show, Jason Brough, despite being on vacation, still putting in the work on Twitter. Still waking up and immediately thinking about the Canucks. It's great. It's great. Definitely on a sign of problems at all. So Jason Brough on Twitter is pointing everyone in the direction of a recent piece by Sportsnet freelance analyst Adam Vingen, who was also our guy that did boots on the ground in Nashville earlier in the year. That went well. It did.

For McGinn. So speaking of things maybe not going well, Thatcher Demko's absence might not go well for the Vancouver Canucks. Because in his most recent piece about how Demko's absence is going to test the Canucks ability to clean up their defensive lapses, Adam writes that Demko has covered up for a lot of those lapses, saving 10.9 goals above expected this year. Now, this was something that you and I talked about yesterday.

And I actually asked Randi Bjanda the question when he came on at 8 o'clock that it seems weird that a team that is missing this many players and is trying to keep its head above water isn't doing the traditional NHL thing of clamping down as much as possible and keeping as many pucks out of their net. As a matter of fact, the goals against over the last few games

are more indicative of a team that either can't do it or is chasing offense so much that they're allowing a lot of chances the other way. Or maybe there's a third option and it's just this is the way the team is built and designed that they're just not that good defensively. Well, but it's not supposed to be way the team is built and designed.

No, go back a couple months and we were all talking about defense and goaltending is the strength of this team. Inadvertent build, if you will. Yes, an inadvertent build. But we're used to seeing now this team be really solid defensively. Even in the mess of last year, they never really collapsed defensively as a team. And I think it's pretty easy to see. I don't think you have to be an X's and O's expert watching this team to see that that,

that famous structure, right? We all love that buzzword when Tocat was here and he talked about it a lot. And hey, it worked in a lot of ways. That has lapsed. And it's not just the penalty kill. It's five on five as well. How many goals has the opposition scored that are basically tap-ins at the back post? That is just completely unlocked that part of the Canucks defense.

And again, we can talk about injuries all we want. But you look at the blue line. They've got their top four guys in the lineup now. Quinn Hughes, Philip Ronick, Marcus Peders, and Tyler Myers. Those are all veteran defensemen that I was high on as a unit coming into the season. I think the team was. I think the market generally was. So yeah, you can say, well, Lucas Reichel at center.

That's not a good defensive fit. That's true. That's 100% accurate. But there's other pieces here. It shouldn't look like this. And to your point, it has been interesting that there hasn't been any thought of we're going to park the bus. And in some ways, that's to add him foot's credit. Like I respect the bravery involved in that to say, yeah, we're under man, but we got to go and try to score goals.

And they have looked more dangerous offensively. With Demp go out now, and you're already asking Kevin Lankton to do so much, I wonder if it's time to turn that dial aggressively back towards defending. And if you can, right? I mean, it's easier said than done in a lot of instances. There's a lot of people that say, well, just play a low event and park the bus. But, you know, NHL players are creatures of habit. And when they're doing things one way, it is very difficult on a dime to change directions.

And I honestly, it is more difficult than you think it would be. It's not just about playing Plinko and flipping Pucks out because then all you're doing is just waiting for the next wave of attack. The Canucks are giving up five goals with regularity right now, and that is not a recipe for success in the National Hockey League. If you go back, I'll just take the start of November because that's the easiest benchmark here. It begins with a 5-2 loss in Minnesota. That's followed up by a 5-4 win in Nashville, which is not a defensive performance by any stretch. You're allowing four to a Nashville team that isn't all that offensively inclined.

What happens then? You follow up that with another 5-2 loss to Chicago. You come back home, you play Columbus, 4-3 win. Fine performance, but you're still giving up three to a Columbus team and you force Lankin into a lot of saves that game. Then you come back, and what have the last two games had in common? You're giving up five goals and losses again, 5-4 to Colorado and 5-3 to Winnipeg.

You can quibble about what? where the goals are coming. Are they coming on the penalty kill? Are they being scored into an empty net? Are they coming in overtime? It really doesn't matter. The fact of the matter is that they give up too many goals for a team that is this average. And it really do.

A big part of their defensive performance over the last couple of seasons. Yes, it was the structure in the defensive zone, but it was also the way they played offense. They just wanted to hold the puck in the offensive zone a lot of times. And it drove fans crazy. And I get that because their offense looked completely unthreatening sometimes. But you know what it did? it kept the puck 200 feet away from their own end. That was a point of emphasis from Rick Tocke.

And I think now we're seeing, even if you disagree with it ultimately or say, you know what, that was just too low ceiling and they had to move on from that approach, which is fair. I think we're starting to see why he made that bargain, which was when you open it up a little bit and you are more offensively inclined, this is what it looks like for this team going back the other way. Also, I think it's easier to open it up when you've got Demko in there, which was the entire premise of this conversation, when Demko's there, and unfortunately it sucks to say this because I don't think this is entirely Lankin's fault, but they are a different team when Demko's in net than when Lankan is in net. I know that this goalie tandem was built to be, we give ourselves a shot either

night when these guys are in. Sorry, any night when either of these guys are in, but through 18 games, I mean, I'm not speaking out of turn here. Like, this is a fair assessment, right? Like, they're a different team when Demko's in net than when Lankan's in net. I mean, Demko's significantly better at his best than Lincoln. Right, and now he's not available. And with the style of play that they have, like, this road trip could get out of hand.

But you could say that with any road trip that this team plays right now because it doesn't necessarily matter the opponent. The opponents are finding success offensively against this team. The difference here, the difference here is that you've got, as you mentioned, three games and four nights,

all on the road against teams that do have the ability to fill it up with the offensive of players that they have in their lineups. And you're probably going to have to play Patera at some point. Yeah. Which is not something that any Canucks fan thought they were going to see before the 20 game mark of the regular season, which is where we're at. It could be grim.

Maybe this team will defy expectations. Maybe they'll be able to dial it back and park the bus. But right now, with how valuable Demko has been in terms of playing goals, you know, saving goals above expected, it doesn't cast a lot of optimism going into this trip. Okay, we're up against it for time. we've got to go to break. More Canucks Talk to come with Thomas Drans from the Athletic Vancouver and Canucks Talk

right here on SportsNet 650. That's at 8 o'clock. Also at 8 o'clock, we're going to be giving away two tickets to see the Vancouver Giants this Saturday. 7 o'clock Langley Events Center. The opponent is the Edmonton Oil Kings. If you want to watch it in person,

we are giving away a pair of tickets. Phone number here, 604-280-650. That number again. 604-280-650. Be caller. number five at 8 a.m. for a pair of tickets to see the Giants play this weekend against Edmonton. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show with Jamie Dodd on Sportsnet, 650.