Halford & Brough in the Morning - What Are The Seahawks' Super Bowl Odds?

Episode Date: December 29, 2025

In hour two, Brough and guest host Josh Elliott-Wolfe discuss all the wild Week 17 NFL action with Too Deep Zone's Mike Tanier (1:11), plus they chat with KJR Seattle's Ian Furness (25:27), as the Kraken get set to host the Canucks this evening.  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.

Arnold goes under center. Tight slot on the far side. Coming back inside is Saubber to block. Sharbonate breaks a tackle and he's in. Touchdown! Seahawks! He broke the tackle of Bobby Brown, the third, in the backfield, and then ran right into the end zone for six.

The Seahawks win, and it sets up what should be a very exciting week 18 game. against San Francisco. It is Halford & Brough. Josh L.A. Wolf filling in for Mike Halfer, Jason Brough here. As always, and Halpert & Brough 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 sands-trustee.com. And this hour of Halford & Brough is for jason.orgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. That's jason.morgage. We're coming to live from the Kintech Studio. Happy holiday.

is from all the team at Kintech, footwear, and orthotics. To the phone lines we go, Mike Tanier, writer, editor, and founder of the Two Deep Zone joins us, as always on a Monday. Appreciate you taking the time, Mike. How are you? I feel like I was just mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Oh, really? Why?

That's unfortunate. It was a late night, and the hardest thing for me at, like, midnight, is trying to get the playoffs scenario is exactly right in my Monday column. I think I messed up three of them. yeah we're all a little bit confused so don't worry about that just yeah it doesn't matter um so as as a seahawks fan i hate to admit this but what the 49ers have done this year is very impressive uh could you perhaps um recap all the guys that they have missed for most of the season and maybe some of the guys that they're going to miss on saturday against the seahawks because they had some more injuries against uh the bears

and just, you can praise them if you want. I think they deserve a lot of praise for putting themselves in the position considering all the injuries they've had. You are asking the impossible of me. You're asking me to try and read off the top of my head, the injury report for the year for the San Francisco 49ers. It's like trying to recite the all of Shakespeare or something like that. The most significant injury last night that was of those

Trent Williams suffered a hamstring injury. And, you know, he's their star left tackle as a hamstring injury on a huge man on his mid-30s. That's not something that heals automatically. Also point out on their injury front, as I frantically pull up their injury reserve, the all-pro linebacker Fred Warner is talking about returning for the playoffs. We're going to see if that's off talk or if it's like, well, maybe I can be back for the Super Bowl, or if it's something where he makes a surprise appearance if they clinched the first round by. But they've been without Nick Bosa for weeks, which is why their pass rush is kind of non-existence.

We don't know where Brandon Ayuk is in this world and what he's doing. And that's a little bit of a worry for society, but he's been gone for a long time. Pretty much you name a guy, including quarterback Brock Party. Everyone except Christian McCaffrey has been heard at sometime this season. And yet the 49ers have muddled true and put themselves in position where they can still get the first round by in the playoffs. Yeah, I guess Kittle has been out as well. He didn't play last night. It's hard to, like you said, it's hard, it's hard to keep up with all the injuries. Meanwhile, the Seahawks and their defense got it done against Carolina. The Seahawks are 13 and three, much better than I expected them to be. And yet, I don't know, maybe it's just me. I'm a damaged sports fan. I'm watching Sam Darnold play. And I'm like, can you knock it off with all the turnovers? Like we can't, They're not winning a Super Bowl if you keep turning the ball over like this.

What do you think about the Seahawks? Yeah, it seems like every Seahogs game I watch is 3-3 at halftime. The offense is playing terribly. And then the final score is 27-10. And it's a win. And like, okay, what on earth happening? And every time is like, well, the defense got a turnover. They got to the ball to 20 yard line.

Donald made one throw, got it into the end zone. Then it was like a long kick return. and they got the ball to 20, and then Donald threw another touchdown, or Walker got it. And, you know, I say the same thing that I say to Seahawks fans, I say to Eagle fans based here in Philadelphia, where I am. It's like, yes, you can see the flaws,

but everybody's got, all these teams have the flaws. Like, the Seahawks do that every week, and they find a way the Eagles have, like, no offense for an entire second half, and they find a way to get a win, and then you get teams like the 49ers, and it's like, man, their offense looks great, you realize they have nobody on defense, and you look at the bears and say, okay, they have these really big offensive games, but then they kind of fall apart in other games.

So there's no super team, at least with the Sealks, you kind of know what you get, and you say, if Donald can cut down on these turnovers, and then play a little bit better sequential football on the first half, you can see that looks, they look like the best team in the NFL, and there's not many teams that can say, wow, if you can solve one thing, you're the best team in the NFL, albeit a pretty big thing when a quarterback is playing bad for like and a half quarters. We talked a lot last week about, you mentioned it, there's a lot of flaws in these playoff teams, and there's not a lot of teams right now that you feel super confident in. Did any of your stance on like how confident you are in any team that is going to make a

playoff push here, are you more or less confident in any of those teams from what you saw over this weekend? A couple of weeks ago, I thought the Bears were going to be an obvious one-and-done playoff team. They're going to be exposed. They are playing much better. better football right now. Calla Williams is playing better. Overall, they can get into shootouts and match up with anybody. So I'm not as down on the Bears as I was before. The Houston

Texans are the scary team because, you know, again, I look at some of these teams and like, boy, they need this, this, this, and this to get their wins. You know, the Seahawks need the opponent to not run out to a big lead. They really get their win to get a win and, you know, the Eagles, defense

needs to play lights out. The Houston Texans' defensive line just sacks the opposing quarterback into oblivion, whether it's Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert on Saturday. They just sack the opposing quarterback into oblivion. If the opposing quarterback can't throw, you can win even when you're having problems of your own. So I keep looking at that Texans team and like, if they can get home field, if they can get favorable matchups, they've shown that just defensively they can match up and obliterate any opponent to drag them down to their level and get wins. How much stock do you put into, like how a team

is heading into the postseason because right now we got Seattle, San Francisco, Jacksonville, Houston. They're all on winning streaks. Obviously one of Seattle or San Fran are not going to be going into the playoffs depending on what happens on Saturday night, but how much stock do you put into the current

form, I guess, of those four teams? First and foremost, I look at health. Okay, so teams playing better down the stretch is good. Why are they playing down the better down the stretch? In the San Francisco 49ers case, well, it's pretty obvious they are healthier on offense, even with the guys we talked about, they had nobody

a couple of weeks ago, and maybe they're getting used to playing together on defense with all these scrubs and subs, so that's what's happening. So you look at that, then you flip it and look at a team like the Packers, and their injury report keeps mounting and mounting, and you can kind of say the same with the Ravens when Lamar Jackson's injury. If injuries are what's causing a team to fall apart, then you have to respect that. Beyond that, you got to recognize there's fluctuations. There's ups, there's downs. Sometimes you get you, sometimes you, you got the two-point conversion. Sometimes you didn't, and you have to take that all into account, and you can't get too carried away with a team like the Patriots, for example, where they're just beating up on these

terrible teams. It's like, yes, they're very good, but you can't overrate them because they went out there and beat Blue Ruggers 42 to 10 on a rainy Sunday afternoon. What are people in Pittsburgh saying about the D.K. Metcalf's suspension? It feels like they could have used him against the Browns. you know what there's a lot of like back and forth about this and like oh it wasn't his fault or oh you know what he's a victim of circumstance or no he he should actually be suspended longer it's a pretty clear cut set of rules from the NFL where it doesn't say well you're allowed to get physical with a fan if he calls you the wrong word or uses a slur or something like that you are not supposed to be over there interacting with the fan and any way that's physical period. It's a two-game suspension. So fans can fume, you know,

stump their feet, whatever. The suspension is going to impact week 18 because Metcalf will be suspended. And you know what Aaron Rogers needs to do? Aaron Rogers needs to not be so afraid of Miles Garrett that he just throws the ball as soon as he gets it. He needs to not do that. He's got a playoff berth.

He's got other receivers between, besides Marcus Valdos Gantling. And he's just going to have to suck it up and play better football because He had the opportunity yesterday to get a win against a Browns team that got to 10 points and stopped. And he was too busy avoiding sacks to get out there and manufacture a functional offense. Do you think that Lamar will be back for the Ravens? This is a two-part question. And if he is and the Ravens win that game and the Steelers miss the playoffs,

could that be it for Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh? All right. So two parts. Part one, I have no idea with Lamar. No one has any idea with Lamar. It's like reading a fantasy novel when you read the Ravens Injury Report. It's hopeless. So I'm guessing he'll play because I don't think he was that far from playing last week.

And I think the Ravens can win with him. And I think they can even win with Stu Huntley if they just say, here, Dark Henry, here the other running back. I forget his name right now. Go out there. Keaton. Go out there and just run through the Steelers defense. I think Mike Tomlin's job was safe.

All the reports that came out mid-season when the Steelers were struggling said that the Steelers Brass were mulling his contract extension for 2027. Not for next year. Next year is safe. They're mulling whether to give him the extension, the option that they have in his contract. So winning season, another winning season, another year where they played well enough down the stretch before things fell apart. I think Mike Tomlin is safe as the Steelers head coach.

The one do-or-die game or the one meaningful game this weekend that we haven't talked about is the Panthers and Bucks, is it worth talking about? No, it's not. These teams are going to go out and they're going to be like six-point underdogs at home in the playoffs, possibly against some opponent like the Rams, maybe the Seahawks, et cetera. I'll say this, I think the Panthers deserve to win that division because they play tough opponents tough. surprised opponents like the Rams and the Packers, and they're overachieving right now. Buccaneers are underachieving hard. That game against the Dolphins yesterday was a travesty. I was kind of embarrassed for them, watching them, and the Buccaneers really need to hit

the offseason, get some soul searching, maybe hit a reset button on Todd Bowles and all those veterans. They need to do that right now. They don't need the validation of skimming into the playoffs with a fluky win in week 18, then getting hammered by some better opponent. So at one point of the season, Baker Mayfield was in the MVP conversation, and now it's kind of a two-horse race between Matthew Stafford, and we'll see what he does tonight, and Drake May, who has been hanging around that MVP conversation. Is it Stafford clearly in your eyes, or is May close to where he's at? I would actually have ranked it Stafford, and then Josh Allen in May. Josh Allen is falling completely off the chase. which is mildly surprising because it's not his fault

all the things that are happening in Buffalo. I would vote for Stafford. I don't think it's clear cut for Drake May as phenomenal as he's been. The schedule situation is so noticeable. And again, when you see them going out there against the Jets team with like third stringers playing everywhere, it gets a little embarrassing. It gets hard to evaluate.

As Stafford, it seems like week and week out was facing tough tests. Betting line is Stafford minus 230. Drake May plus 180 If I were betting on it I would take May because of the juice But I do think that Stafford is going to narrowly wind up winning the award Do you have a Super Bowl favorite right now

No No I don't It is so frustrating It's so frustrating To look at the AFC first round Battle And see that it's between the Jaguars, Broncos, and Patriots And I look at that like

What happened to everybody Yeah What happened to Mahomes and Jackson Jackson and Josh Allen and knowing that you could be confident in the teams that are up there. How about that throw that Josh missed? The throw that Josh Allen misses in the two-point conversion at the end where he's got Shakir open in the back of the end zone and the fact that they needed that play, the fact that they went through three and a half quarters and it's like we've only got like six points on the board

and we have to do something. That's remarkable. If the Rams had clinched home field advantage, I would say the Rams are the Super Bowl favorite, suddenly as this wildcard team going to cold weather stadiums the NFC is anybody's ballgame and frankly I think

the AFC is as well yeah the bills I keep coming back to the bills in the AFC because in a year where the chiefs miss the playoffs I guess the Ravens could still make it

but they also could miss you don't even win your division the Patriots are back there like did I think this might be too aggressive a question, but like, what did, they didn't miss their window, did they? I mean,

did they have their chance? I mean, Josh Allen's still young enough that he can be an elite quarterback, but like, of all the years, this is the year they should have been still could, but this is the year they needed to take advantage of. Yeah, and it's going to be a sole search. When they get eliminated from the playoffs, if they get eliminated from

playoffs, it'll be a sole search. I don't think they missed the window. I don't think Sean McDermott needs to get fired or anything like that. I think the offensive coordinator probably needs a change. I think they need to look long and hard at the idea that they went into this season with no go-to-wide receiver. We do not need go-to-wide receivers. We can just go-out there with Josh Palmer and Khalil Shakir,

and you can see Josh Allen just wondering who he's going to throw. If he's got to throw more than 10 yards downfield, does anybody going to get open for him? So they might have to make those big splashy changes that they've been kind of avoid making for a couple of years. But you're right, it's disappointing. It's shocking that the bills have a lot. sees this opportunity. And that's why I turned back to the Houston Texans,

where it's like, their biggest problem was they lost a couple of games early in the season. They have been very good lately. They have the best defense in the NFL. Yes, their offense is a little bit of a mess. But in a year where there's no clear-cut favorite, the team that can get a half dozen sacks per game might be the team you have to look out for.

Do the chiefs, have you thought much about what the chiefs need to do to reload? I mean, they have to, probably move on from Travis Kelsey. And one of the things I've been saying is they've got to address the possibility of playing normal ball. They've been playing video game football for years with Patrick Mahomes, and it has worked, and it has been incredibly successful. And this year, doing the thing where he's going to run around in circles and make these

impossible throws, and that's going to be the generate, that's how you generate offense, and your running game is a complete afterthought that only gets you, like, you know, three yards a carry for like, you know, 10 carries a game. They might want to look at, why don't we be more of a fundamentally sound team that runs something more traditional? That might mean beefing up the offensive line. That might mean getting a running back who's more of a power back to do Derek Henry things for it, some of the things like that.

Again, I don't think they've missed their window. But they do have to question, what if Patrick Mahomes isn't ready on September 7th or whatever, how are we going to address getting back to the Super Bowl, not in 2026, but over the next two to three seasons. Another disappointing season for Joe Burrow and the Bengals, do you think anything happens with Joe Burrow or is he back and since he at the start of next year?

You know, you never say never, but I noticed that like pro football talk was really like going into the whack-a-doodle trade scenarios over this weekend. Like, what if the Ravens want to trade Lamar Jackson? And what

if the Bengals want to trade Joe Barrow? And a lot of that stuff is fan service, you know, for frustrated fans. Jets fans want to be like, oh, you know, we've got like five first-round picks. We can get Joe Barrow. I don't think it happens. What I think is much more likely is that Joe Barrow is going to be involved in this decision-making to find probably a new head coach, if not a new head coach, a new coordinator.

If not that, how are we going to address in the draft? Maybe getting guys for you on defense or do you need one more offensive linemen. Barrow isn't going anywhere except that he might be going into an almost general manager rule as the Bengals try to turn these things around. Hey, Mike, really appreciate you taking the time and enjoy all the very important games this weekend. Absolutely. Take care and happy New Year to you guys. Thank you.

You too. There is Mike Tan, your writer, editor, founder of the Two Deep Zone. How comfortable are you with Sam Darnold in a week 18 decide the division game? Listen, I was in this position one year ago. I know what you're doing, Vikings fan. It sucked. It sucked so bad. I'm not comfortable, but then I look around the NFL and I don't know if there's a team that is comfortable with their situation.

I'm thrilled that the Seahawks are in this position. But yeah, I'm a little nervous about Sam Darnold. I'm a little nervous about, you know, the pass protection at times too. Like it's not just him. There's sometimes when it doesn't look like he has very much time. This is interesting because this surprised me a little bit. Guess the point spread. I'd guess the line for the Seahawks' 49ers game on Saturday down in Santa Clara, the home of the Niners.

I'd probably go, like, Niners minus two and a half, three? Seahawks minus one and a half. Really? Surprised by that. Yeah. I would think the Niners are the favorites. Yeah, I mean, maybe it just comes down to injuries and stuff. I definitely would have said the Niners, especially just Brock Purdy last night.

He looked. He looked really good. And he's looked pretty good since coming back from injury, too. I don't know. I obviously have more confident. in Purdy than I do in Darnold at the moment. I just kind of think that they have the swagger that I think the Seahawks defense has, but I don't know if the Seahawks as a whole have it as much as the Niners do.

I mean, the Niners defense didn't look great last night. No, definitely not. Definitely not. And they miss a few guys. Okay, we've got a little bit of an update on the Jake DeBrasse situation. He is expected to be a healthy scratch for the Canucks tonight. against the Seattle Crackin, and Elliot Freeman and Kyle Bacoskosk

dove into this a little bit on 32 thoughts. You can download the podcast now, but here is the bit on DeBrusk. Adam Foote has been very careful this year not to pour gasoline on the fire. Like I actually liked that he came out and admitted it, said yes, it's a reset. He's been struggling.

We want to get him going again. but I just think the way it is right now in Vancouver with them looking to move people it's impossible not like it's almost like a no-win situation at this point in time because foot comes out and they handle it the right way they say he doesn't say you're going to have to see the lineup tomorrow or we're going to keep you guessing

he comes out right and says yes we're doing it he as you said de bros comes right out and says yes we're doing it and immediately it's they're trying to get out in a way it was no trade clause like it's you can't you just can't escape it jake de bros because in the second year of a long-term deal you know he's still playing a bit for them um it's not like dave it's not like you're looking at what they're doing with him around this and saying the opportunities aren't there, so I don't know that we're there yet, but just because of, you know, what they're kind of going through and what the mission is kind of of their group right now, the story explodes. And plus it's also, it's Vancouver, which is a white hot market as we know. It explodes into something really big. But I still want to wait and see a bit, but I understand why it becomes a big deal.

I mean, Nebraska is one of these guys. where I'm kind of like, why keep them? Why not explore the trademark? And now the answer might be because the Canucks want to be back to competitive next season. Retooling with a little bit of a hybrid form. Right. A hybrid rebuild. But, you know, he has a full no move clause, so that could be a factor in things.

But tonight against the Seattle Cracken, he won't play. Hoaglander will come into the lineup. There's another change to David Kamp is going to be a healthy scratch. God, I'll miss him. Oh, man, he's so creative. Atu, Ratu, is back in the lineup, and Ratu will center Drew O'Connor and Kiefer-Shirwood. So that's a good opportunity for a robust line

and a good opportunity for Ratu. Connor's playing pretty well. Sherwood's pretty consistent in his effort. Another interesting line, okay? The top line, Pedersen and Besser, yesterday at practice at least this could always change but yesterday at practice we're back together on the line

with Evander Kane so you know Besser I mentioned earlier in the show I thought he had a really quiet night offensively didn't play very much against the San Jose Sharks was out there on the 5 on 3 PK which was a little confusing but I know it worked out

it did yeah on the 5 on 3 they give up the 5 on 4 but Besser actually made a couple clears on that and then the second line is Rossi, and I'll be curious to get some people's takes on what they've seen from Rossi, because I haven't really seen much. Rossi is between Garland and Ogren, who gets bumped up to the top six. So something to watch for tonight in Seattle. For the crack inside of the story, Ian Furness is going to join us next. We can also talk a little Seahawks with Ian on the Halford and Brough show

on Sportsnet 650. And before we go, Halford & Brough is brought to you by Duick Otter. group find out why nobody beats a duick deal since 1926 visit duke gm on marine drive downtown in richmond and at duke otter group dot com hey it's jamey dodd and thomas strance get your daily dose of canucks talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2 on sports net 650 or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app I love this. This is our unlicensed This Week in baseball music.

You told me to keep this one in the rotation. It's a good one. When is Twib Notes coming up? Are you two young for this week in baseball? Yeah. Do you remember that? No. There was a reboot of it in the 2000s.

I remember watching that one. There's a, there were a couple baseball shows I remember watching, but I don't think this week in baseball was one of them. I like the music. It's good music. Makes me sad. I'm getting old. I was such an old man watching the juniors.

It's like, fancy passes. Stop it! It's like, where is the Jordan Tutu on this team? Go hit someone. Welcome back to Alfred and Brough. No Mike Halford this week. It's Josh Elliott-Wolf filling in, Jason Brough, for three days. And then he's gone on Friday.

Halford & Brough is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Get out of the penalty box of debt and back in the game with the financial fresh start. Visit sands-trustee.com. This hour of Halpern-Broadp is for 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. That's Jason. Dot mortgage.

We go to the phone lines now. We welcome in Ian Furness, host on Sports Radio KJR in Seattle and TV studio host for The Cracken. I appreciate taking the time. Ian, how are you? Gentlemen, good morning. Happy Monday. And you know what? I've thought about this.

done this show, well, a number of times. I don't think I've ever done it when both Jason and Mike were both there at the same time. Really? And I think, I think Halford's the guy that's never there. Like, does he have something against me? What's going on? Yeah. You're like, trouble in paradise? What's going

on? What the hell is going on? But yeah, happy Monday, happy game big, Canucks fans. Let's go. Yeah, so the cracking got a win over the flyers. How's the season gone for Seattle? Well, it's been up. And then it was down.

And now it's back up again. We're all good down here. Things are good. Four straight wins, season high. But yeah, it's been a, it's been an interesting year. They started out great. And then they hit the skids really in December, a one-night-on-one stretch end of November, early December. And then, you know, right before the Christmas break, three straight wins all in California.

And then, you know, a win last night of our quality Philadelphia team. You guys saw them on the road last week, I know. And so big win last night, I think. and then, you know, we'll see what happens tonight against the strangest team in the NHL that doesn't like to play at home, but apparently can play really well at home on the road. So, yeah, it's an interesting year, but Seattle's been hurt. Like, I mean, Cracken have really been banged up. They're getting healthier.

Jared McCann came back last night. He's only played, I believe, 17 games this season. That's hurt them quite a bit. Vince Dunn and Benamont, two are their top two defensively missed a game last week. They still won. You know, they've got Jane Schwartzman. might be the most important player in some ways. He's been out for some time now.

So they've had a lot of guys banged up throughout the year, but they're getting healthier and they're getting better. And they're a weird team too in the sense that they don't have the superstars. And I know people, you know, especially national guys, hate this team because they don't have the superstar and they need to do what you guys are being told to do. And that's sort of their part. And that's how they got to the playoffs a couple years ago. And if they get in there again this year, that's the same way he'll get in this year, too.

Gruberra played well last night against the Flyers. his save percentage up to 9-17. What's the story with him? Is he back? Yeah, you know, I think with him, the last couple of years have been a big-time struggle. There's no doubt about that. And maybe it's just Colin Zumanello is their new goaltending coach.

He was in Coachella Valley. When Groovy got sent down last year, he was there and kind of got things right. And when they made the coaching change this year, they hired Colin to come up to Seattle with the big club. And I don't know if there's, I'm assuming there's a connection there, but he just looks different this year. He's calmer in the net. He sees everything well.

He's been really elite. And it's interesting because Elaine Lambert said start of the year and really made no bones about it from training camp through really up until the last couple of weeks that Joey DeCord is our number one, period, and the story. He kind of insinuated a couple games ago that, you know, maybe that it's more of a rotation now and maybe up for grabs. And, you know, I think, you know, the old iron sharpens iron, both guys, I mean, Joey's played better when Phil's played better and vice versa. And so, you know, you don't have to lean on one guy. They both play, I mean, you know, what's going on with this team this season when they've won? It's been because of elite goaltending. And that was the case again last night with Groovey.

That was a case during all four games of this winning streak. But, yeah, he's played really well. He just looks like a different goal to goaltender. I'm assuming it'll be decorant tonight, though, since Groovey went last night going against Vancouver. I think what Lankin is going for you guys. but yeah it'll he's just a different net minor he looks good and last the last couple of years it was a struggle I'll give you this number last year he had 56 possible points in his starts 23 starts and I think they got 16 points out of those 56 with groovy last year so I mean already he's

surpassed that so it's been a nice start for him so four games ago the crack and trade mason marchment and it kind of felt like they were going down the cellar route maybe and then they win four games in a row now they're one point out of a playoff off spot by point percentage in the playoffs right now. What is the direction of the team this season? Well, they want to make the playoffs like everybody else, but I think

there's for a lot of reasons. New franchise you want to get back in. You know, Marchman just didn't work. For whatever reason, he didn't work. Is it a coincidence that there's four and oh since he left? I don't know. Maybe. Could be. Just didn't want to be here. Didn't work out. Didn't fit in.

You know, there's other guys getting iced time now, guys like, you know, Ellie Tolvenin and have elevated their game quite a bit. I think with, you know, with with Seattle, it's the unique situation of being in year five, making the playoffs in year two, getting this to be really excited on board, hockey fans all around. And then the last two years have been kind of down years, years three and four were, you know, the building is still full for the most part, you know, TV numbers and all that are still good. but, you know, there's a lot of competition for the sports dollar in Seattle, as you guys know, and, you know, both other major league teams, the Seahawks and the Mariners are playoff teams this year.

Interestingly enough, the last time that was the case. The Cracken also ended up making the playoffs the same year as well. So that was three years ago. But I think there's a push to get there. I think they want, you know, you guys know better than anybody. The NHL, this whole thing about let's rebuild or do this and retool, there's no tried and true way to do that. Like, yeah, it'd be great if you could get one of the top two picks in the draft because it seems like there's two maybe possibly generational players there,

but that's based on the luck of a lottery. Well, super. You know, free agency is a hard road to go down unless you're named Florida, Tampa Bay, or Vegas, it seems like. Maybe L.A., but you get aging guys there. And we have the advantage in Washington. We don't have a state income tax. Does that matter? Some people say it does.

Some don't. So you have to build within. And like I said, Seattle's done it through the state. some of their parts and they're hoping some of these young guys do pop at some point but they're a good hockey team well-coached hockey team. Lane Lamber's made a massive difference this season.

They just don't have that elite superstar that everybody likes to talk about around the league and kind of feels like, I mean, sure, it'd be cool to go out and get, you know, Connor McDavid or somebody like that, Nathan McKinnett. That'd be awesome. But those guys don't grow on trees last I checked. So they're doing it this way and hopefully it'll work out.

Where's Shane Wright's game? Yeah, good question. It's funny, I said that to my producer last night during the game, you know, down on the IFB. I just said, well, what's going on with Shane? He just looks like a guy that's not playing with a lot of confidence, to be honest with you. You know, they've really juggled their lines quite a bit, especially because of all the injuries.

And I think he's just trying to find his game right now. Last season, he really kind of took a step forward. I always caution people a little bit. He'll turn 22 next month. like he's still really young and I know it feels like Shane Wright's one of those guys just like 25 or 26 because we've been talking about Shane Wright

since he was 15 right in the Ontario League so but you know he's a solid player who hasn't taken the next step yet but I think as we all know in the NHL not everyone is going to be Macklin Celebrini or whatever and jump in at age 18, 19, 20 and be an elite player

and be that dynamic guy he's he's a good hockey player that just it just kind of looks like he's missing maybe a little confidence right now. I don't think there's a ton of worry about him. I think it's just a matter of finding a way to get him feeling good again about his game. But I think he'll be okay. But yeah, there's certainly some questions, 14 points and 36 games. He's not going to be a 40 or 50 goal score. Yeah. I bet there's worry about him. I bet there's worry about him. I remember when he fell to the crack and they were like, oh, we're looking good here, you know, Baneers and right down the

middle. And, you know, Baneers is a good player, but none of these guys are elite. And, you know, That's an issue we've got in Vancouver right now. We don't have an elite center up here. We thought we had two. Wait, wait a second. Wait, wait a second. What about the number 40? No, he's not.

He's not. He's not anymore. I mean, like, that's the thing, right? That's what you, that's what makes hockey teams, you know, down the middle. Number one defensemen, a great goalie, goal scoring, where you're good. And the Canucks, you know, they have Thatcher Demcoe right now. And if he's healthy, that's, you know, they've got a chance. But otherwise, they're in, you know, the Connors

are in big trouble. And I look at the Cracken, and they've gotten there in a different manner, certainly. But the Cracken don't have, they don't have a number one center. They don't have an elite scoring winger. They don't have a true number one. Like Vince Dunn, good player, not going to win a Norris trophy. And their goaltending has been up and down. So it's really hard to compete for a cup. If you're coached well, you can, you know, I think Lane Lambert has come in a little bit like Rick talks. did here in Vancouver and said, all right, we're going to lock it down and we're going to play really good defensive hockey because that's the way we have to do it. But your ceiling is

always going to be limited when you don't have the roster and you play that way. Yeah, I would think that I would say that I think from their standpoint that, you know, if you're looking at, Maddie Baneers is a really good two-way center. He plays, he and Chandler Stevenson play against the best lines every night. If you really watch Maddie play, I mean, he wins every clock battle he does everything right uh he's not going to same thing he's not going to be a 40 goal score is he going to be you know a 60 point guy i think they hope so and and believe he can be that but yeah he's probably a two Shane wright's probably at best a two when it's all said and done I know they love berkeley cat you know he's 19 he's been

playing both in the middle and on the wing this year he's still looking for his first goal but you guys watch him play that watch 77 play tonight you guys There's going to be some ooh and on ball. It's the way he sees the ice, he gets around. But yeah, you're talking about, do you have that elite, elite guy? I don't know. I mean, maybe Jake O'Brien ends up being that in two or three years. But that's two or three years down the road.

And you're right. Like, you need to have that guy and probably two or three of those guys to get to that level. Brennamontour is really good. I mean, they're top two defensemen. They're on two different pairs of Montour and Dunn. You know, I, you know, there's six guys and they've got eight defensemen that can all play right now, really good. Goaltending, Joey's fine.

Like, Joey's a good enough goalie to get you there. And Grooby's bounce back is what it is. But, yeah, they don't have a top guy. And I think that's why there's doubt about these guys. Are they a True Cup contender? No, not right now, not today. But hell, in the West, there's only one anyway. Does it matter?

Because there's a juggernaut in Colorado last night check. Like, who cares? I think Minnesota might be there too right now. They picked up a pretty decent player. He's all right, yeah. I mean, he's all right. I can't ever imagine getting rid of a guy like that. No, it's crazy, right?

Who would do that? Well, let's think for a guy that got taken off PP1 the other day. You guys think William Off number of the first power play in that last power play. What's going on up there? I don't know what's going on up here. I don't know.

Half the time, I really don't know. Let's talk a bit about the Seahawks because I'm a huge Seahawks fan. And Josh is a huge Vikings fan. So Josh went through the Sam Darnold experience last year, and now we're going through the Sam Darnold experience, and it's been unbelievably good for the most part. But I think I'm not alone among Seahawks fans going, like, I like a lot about this team, but we got to knock it off with the turnovers. Like, you're not

going to win a Super Bowl if you keep turning the ball over. Like, let's face it, like Sam Darnold is doing for the Seahawks too much. Yeah, it's watching watching him play. the Sam Donald experience is something else. And, you know, the NFL and Mike McDonald, they'll tell us every week, well, you know, it's results-based business. It's not like watching college football where someone's got to vote on it, and all that thing. And that's true.

You just, you know, you get to the point where you're playing in playoff games and you can't not take care of the ball. And, you know, I think the interception he had yesterday throwing the former Seahawk Mike Jackson was just egregious. it just can't happen his throwing angle is really low it is which is interesting

he gets a lot of balls knocked down at the line of scrimmage but then guys what he'll do he'll come back there was a there was a third or fourth down play that he threw a quick slant to JSN that was like a throw that we never see

we never saw that from Gino maybe Prime Russ maybe you know he's got mobility that's underrated Donald's are really The thing I think that gives us hope I think in Seattle with Donald is this

His demeanor is really good And every guy I've talked to this season It said the same thing Like he doesn't get too high It doesn't get too low And that's what you need in a playoff game Like he is he's a guy That just kind of keeps his emotions in check

And he doesn't get rattled If he makes a mistake They've got an issue at right guard with Bradford He's just maybe the worst right guard in football And I'm not just saying that. I also live with a recently graduated college football lineman who yells on TV with me every, you know, every weekend my son. But so, but it just tells me how bad his footwork is and how his reads are bad and all those things. But, you know, all those things said, this team's going to go as far as the defense carries them.

Like that's the, that's the, that's the, it's funny, we just talked about Lane Lambert. Like, can the Crack and make the play? playoffs. Yeah, I mean, the Lane Lambert way of coaching compared to what the gong show was the last two years, the last year of Hack and last year with whatever they were doing with Bilesma. Lambers brought a system in with Schneecloth and Taylor as two assistants that gives these guys a chance to win every single night. Even during that losing streak, it was a one and two goal game with a couple empty netters mixed in all the time. So they're actually the same way. You know, they're going to win games because the defense is going to keep them in every single game. And they're a funny defense. They'll bend a lot. You just watched the game yesterday.

First play the game, 12-yard run by Rico Dattle. They move the ball a little bit. Then all of a sudden, okay, we're done. We'll stiff it up. We'll cause you go for it on fourth down. We'll get a stop. We'll move on and give the offensive ball. And away we go.

Opportunistic turnovers, a phenomenal defensive line. And you know what's interesting, guys? We just talked about, like, having a high-end guy in the NHL. In the NFL, if you don't have high-end pass rusher. Yes, yes. A guy named Bosa, whatever, right? If you don't have that guy on your defense, it's rare that you have a great defense.

Well, this defense doesn't have that guy. You know, their leading sack guys have all less than 10 sacks, but they do it with, wait for it, some of the parts. They do it with the sum of the parts. And DeMarcus Lawrence has had an incredible year. Dallas has to be kicking itself right now for that move. And, you know, so, I mean, you look at what he's done along the way. and then Byron Murphy's had a resurgence

and Chenanoos who's healthy again and Byron Murphy, I mean all these guys Sharon Ree at 32 years old has been phenomenal really deep, good defense-aligned they don't have the high-end guy. They don't have that guy. But then go back to 2013, who were their two best pass rushers

when they won the Super Bowl? Michael Bennett and Cliff April. Neither one of those guys was an all-pro, really good players, but not all pros, right? So it's kind of the similar system like, okay, we're going to build this thing through the sum of the parts. Devin Witherspoon might arguably be your best defensive player. He's going to be at best, a second team all pro, probably, I mean, he's a pro bowler, but

I mean, everyone's a pro baller. Jason, you're a pro bowler. I mean, that's the NFL. Everybody gets to be a pro bowler, but it's, but that's how they do it, if that makes sense. And so they kind of do it differently, but this team's going to go as far as a defense, as long as Sam doesn't have the games that he had the last two games last year with Minnesota, Josh, as well as he doesn't have those guys.

But this, outside of Bradford, this offensive line is far better than that offensive line he played behind in Minnesota last year. That thing was just a nightmare for Sam and teams took advantage of it. One final question, Ian. Yeah.

I think the culture of the Seahawks has improved under Mike McDonald. I think Pete probably lost the room a little bit. He did. What did you and what did Seattle sports fans think of DK getting himself suspended for the final two games for the Steelers and the fact that it might cost the Steelers a playoff spot. Yeah, I hate it because I feel like the dumb guy in the room

and that happens often here in Seattle when I'm on the air every day. I don't know if you go through that, Jason, every now and then. Quite often. Yeah. So you can relate. It's, you know, when you put yourself out there. But I was a DK fan. You know, up until I took the cracking job two years ago. I was with this team every game home and away. And I liked D.K. I thought he was in some ways misunderstood. I think if, and I went back, I did a whole breakdown of when his personal foul penalties were and none of them ever cost them a game. Like never, you know, they were all at the end of a game or they were offsetting or what have you. But, you know, it was bound to happen where he was going to snap at some point and teams knew that. The San Francisco 49ers will put

things up on the dry race board. Like literally put it up on the dry race board. Like literally put it up on the dry race board you can get this guy to take a penalty and the thing you know john schneider's brilliance is not just drafting because he's been he's had great drafts i know there's a streak where they weren't very good but that's also when you're drafting 31st and 32nd every year his drafting is great but you know what is the best attribute to john schneider is maybe any GM in any sport is is he'll Kenny rogers no one to hold him no one to fold him and no one to walk away and no one to run and he knows when to run. And with D.K., Russ,

Gino, you know, there's others over the year. Jamal. Well, Jamal was a Pete Carroll signing. I mean, that was like, hey, John, go get me, Jamal. That's one of my least liked Seahawks of all time. And I was not a D.K. fan because he just, he was so talented, but, you know, I wasn't around him. But he just seemed like a guy that was, this was like a snap,

what we call in hockey a snap show. Like, you know he's going to blow his top. like that Lions fan seems like a tool to me like he seems like an attention getter and I mean I don't think he said anything racist which I don't know why DK insinuated that but he does seem like a tool but like guess what you're going to have to deal with that

there are some some fans that would love to get the best of you and because he couldn't control himself now he's put his team in a really tough spot yeah in 17 years of covering the NFL enough Seahawks. I only saw one incident with fans and players. It was in Jacksonville.

I think it was 2016 or 2017. And that was a racist remark. A player got kicked out of the game for the Seahawks and he's walking off. I was standing right there with our photographer and some stuff was said. The words that you can't use were said. And the guy tried to get up in the stands

and, I mean, kind of almost knocked us over on the way up there. But that rarely happens in the NFL. So for him just to go over there, It just tells you you're not, your focus is not where it should be. And, yeah, I mean, John just, Schneider did the great job and just saying we're going to move on. Now, there's a part of me, this is the sick part of me, the twisted part of me, guys that thinks, what if D.K. was had Clint Kubiak as his offensive coordinator.

Because I really truly feel like there was a lot of times. I mean, I covered the game in L.A. It was infamously the Tuesday night football game. If you remember this, remember the Tuesday night game, and the Seahawks didn't score in the first half. They're playing the Rams, key game. They tried to get in the playoffs. And D.K. walked off before the last play of the first half,

he walked the length of the field into the locker room at halftime. Well, watching that game from the press box, he was open, like not just on that play, but a million plays. And Russ checked. Now, this is breaking news. Russ was short. Russ couldn't always see over the line at scrimmage. But that was part of the problem.

They weren't getting in the ball. And I could understand it. I had no problem with a guy being frustrated because he's open. He's working hard. And D.K. ran every route hard. Still does. Yeah. Even if he's not seeing the ball.

And he's one of those guys as Uber competitive. He wants it. But at some point, yeah, Snap Show, great way to put it. At some point, you just got to cut bait. And he wanted so much money that it was time to move on. And look what JSN's done this year. I mean, physically not even in the same category, same league as what D.K. is. but he's going to put up a real he has a chance to put up a you know more more records as the

week goes on he won't set the all-time record i don't think in terms of receiving yards but he's going to be damn close when it's all said and done it would have been nice to see what kubi i could have done with dk but but it was the right move you weren't going to pay that guy that kind of money much like the same with russ gino and jamal i'm with you i've never been around maybe a worst kind of locker room than jemal adams ever and i've been doing this for a long time in a lot of different sports. I mean, Jamal helped get Pete fired.

I could tell you that right now. Jamal helped get Pete fired. He wasn't even good. He wasn't even good. No. Like, D.K. was legit good. You could see, man, like, when he's on, he was so good.

They never found a spot for Jamal to be good at. He got all those sacks because they blitzed him all the time. And, I mean, you can blitz a, if you blitz a safety at a really high rate, Just by accident, you're going to get double-digit sacks. It doesn't mean, here's a problem. When you don't get there, there's probably a big play behind you. He had the worst hands of any defensive back I've ever seen in the NFL.

I mean, it was just embarrassing. So now they try to make him a linebacker, a Will linebacker in Vegas. That hasn't worked out very well last I checked. I mean, nothing's worked out well in Vegas. So, yeah, it was the right move. I just know this, guys, the NFL playoffs this year for an NFL fan are going to be unbelievable. Like just as much as, and I don't even know if I agree with the Minnesota. I did the play-by-play with the Minnesota game here two weeks ago.

And I thought, okay, they're all right. Like, they're okay. They're not Colorado. Like, Colorado is going to, should walk to the Stanley Cup final in the, in the, in the AFC and NFC in football. Good luck. I know you guys are able to do the gambling stuff up there on your apps and everything. Good luck picking the winner. Good luck picking the winner because it's as wide open as it.

has ever been, which makes it a ton of fun in the NFL this year. Ian, appreciate you taking the time. Enjoy the game tonight and whatever Sam Darnold gives you on Saturday. Enjoy it. Can't wait to see the game tonight. The good Canucks, since it's on the road at 11.8 and 2, can't wait to see what happens. That should be a good game. I appreciate it, guys.

Take care. There is. Ian Fernas, host on Sports Radio, KJR, in Seattle TV studio host for The Cracken as well. Canucks taking on the Cracken tonight in Seattle. and it is a Canucks game day. So it's brought to you by Panago. Game Day, the Panago way, get any large pizza plus cheesy bread for only 2499. Use code Canucks at panago.com.

Pana, go for it. Restrictions may apply. Coming up next, I'm going to talk to Satyar Shah from Canucks Central. You hear him often. Do you think Sad is getting a little tired of doing the postgame show? Yes. Yes. I promise you that is happening.

And he'd be like, no, I love doing it. It's awesome. We work such a, such a fun, easy job. Yeah. I just, I know it's getting him. Do you think he's tired of talking about the Canucks? Yes. Yes.

Just in general? We're going to make him do it more. In about five minutes, we'll talk to Satyar Shah from Canucks Central on Halpert-enbruff. Josh Elliott Wolf in for Mike Alperdon, Sportsnet, 650.