Notes, quotes from Seahawk’s 16-3 win over Chargers

The Seahawks opened the preseason with a dominating 16-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. The defense led the way and stifled the Chargers offense in the first half when the Seahawks had a majority of their starters playing the first quarter and part of the second. The Seahawks defense allowed the Chargers offense 198 offensive yards, 77 rushing and 121 passing. Chargers were 2-13 on third down and 0-2 on fourth down attempts.

POST GAME QUOTES

MIKE MACDONALD

Opening Statement:

“Alright, it’s good to see everybody. Hey, great first start. I’m just proud of the mentality and the focus that we had taking the game on. It felt like the guys played really hard, it felt like they were focused. It’s the first game, so it’s the first time doing all the operational stuff for real. I thought our operation was clean for the most part. I got a bunch of notes written down as the game unfolded on things that we’re going to want to chase and debrief on. Overall, I’d say that it’s a foundational first game. This is something we want to build on. There’ll be plenty of details on tape that we’re going to dive into and I can’t wait to watch the tape and see how the guys did.”

ON INSTALLING CONFIDENCE IN NEW DEFENSIVE PLAYERS

“We played the majority of our starters on defense, so we definitely wanted to start fast and get a feel for getting the calls in, subs getting to experience situational ball for real, and the guys were locked in. I thought we did a good job of getting the calls in fast and the guys communicated well on the back end, especially when they started going fast there. I think it was a third drive or so. It was very important.”

ON EXPECTATIONS OF THE GAME

“I always expect us to go out and play hard, play physical and be clean. If it’s not the way we want to look, then we’re going to want to make that right. It wasn’t a perfect showing by any stretch, but it was a solid start. I think the guys know that we should be able to take a jump here moving forward. We’ve got a big week ahead of us practicing against Tennessee and then having another game against those guys. So we’re looking forward to that.”

ON PLAYERS THAT STOOD OUT

“I thought our front played really well. The back end was clean with the first couple guys, we felt their presence backthere. I felt they tackled well. With their first time tackling for real, especially with the ones and twos, it felt like the guys who got involved were taking good angles for the most part.”

On QB Sam Howell’s performance:

“I thought Sam played really well moving the offense. Not all the starters played. I think a couple of the interior offensive line guys that were the only ones in there. It was great to see them come back out in the second half and move all the way.

On sentiment towards the team:

“I love our guys.”

On hopes for the identity of the Seahawks this season:

“A style that’s really tough to play. All the edges that we’re chasing, our mentality. We want to be rock solid, together and connected. We want everybody to be pushing in the same direction and we’re not there yet, but that’s the vision and the guys know it. We’re on our way. The faster we can push together, the further we’ll go. That’s step one.”

On closing drives:

“We want to close drives out, for sure. The guys know that. We’ll look back at how we blocked it and all that, but it would have been great to finish that drive out.”

On sentiment towards the team:

“I love our guys.”

On hopes for the identity of the Seahawks this season:

“A style that’s really tough to play. All the edges that we’re chasing, our mentality. We want to be rock solid, together and connected. We want everybody to be pushing in the same direction and we’re not there yet, but that’s the vision and the guys know it. We’re on our way. The faster we can push together, the further we’ll go. That’s step one.”

SAM HOWELL

Howell was 16 of 27 for 130 yards, was sacked twice threw one touchdown to Brady Russell and had seventeen rushing yards on four carries.

On operating in a game:

“Yeah, it was good to get back out there. We’ve been going against ourselves for these past few weeks. It was good to get out there against a different opponent. I thought the guys played well. Obviously, the defense, I thought had a really good game. Offensively, we did some good things. We could have scored a little more points, I thought. I would have liked to finish that drive there early in the third quarter where we got stopped on the one. Overall, I thought we did some good things.”

On Head Coach Mike Macdonald:

“Coach was great. You know, the first time for him [as a head coach of an NFL team]. Obviously, a first-time head coach. He was great. I thought he did a good job. He did a good job of getting us ready for the game. Obviously, it’s a little different when it’s the preseason, but he did a great job. He was great before the game. Great in the huddle before the game. He did a great job and guys are buying in, for sure.”

On his training camp:

“I thought the first couple of days that I wasn’t my best, but after the first two days or so, I feel like I’ve been playing some good football, especially this past week. I thought I had a good week of practice. I think I’ve definitely gotten better each and every day. That’s what I’m going to try and continue to do.”

On using his legs to make plays:

“That’s definitely something that I’ve always kind of done my whole career. Especially on third down, I can try and make some plays with my feet. I think that’s just part of my game and something that, whenever I’m out there, I’m going to try to use. Especially on third down, especially when they’re playing man coverage. When they’re playing man coverage on defense, there’s a lot of room to run the ball for the quarterback. When you get man coverage, you kind of look. Obviously, you’re trying to throw the ball first, but I know there are good opportunities to run.”

On his performances in games:

“Obviously, you try to be really good every single day and try to be the same player that you are in practice. When the lights come on, I try to take it to another level, for sure. I think part of his question here was using my feet you don’t get to see a whole lot of in practice because you’re not live, you know? You don’t really get those live plays. I feel like that’s a really big part of my game and something that I bring to the table. I try to be the same player each and every day.”

On TE Brady Russell’s touchdown:

“Yeah, that was awesome. Definitely, when I threw it to him, I was kind of just expecting him to get the first down. It’s great when you have a guy that can run after the catch and make guys miss. Brady has had a really good camp. He’s doing a great job. Every time he’s in there, I’m going to try to keep finding him, for sure.”

On the goal line situation:

“We were running the ball really well. I was fine with the decision to run the ball there on fourth down. Just try to get it in. We definitely have to find a way to finish that, but play-call wise, no, I thought it was pretty good.”

On third-down conversions:

“I thought there were some of them where we could have done a little better of a job. Obviously, have to go back and look at the film, but I thought there were some things that we might have left out there, but you’re not going to be perfect. We moved the ball well and controlled the game. I don’t know what exactly the time of possession was, but I know we had it for most of the game. We played some good, complementary football, for sure.”

On confidence in the offensive install:

“For sure. Obviously, every single day that you can rep the system and rep the plays in the system is another day to get better. I think we’ve done a really good job as an offense of finding what things we need to get better at and focusing on those each and every day. I think that’s definitely paid off for us. We have a good group of guys. A lot of guys that really love ball and want to get better. I’m really excited about what we have on our football team.”

SNAP COUNT AND STATS

PRO FOOTBALL FOCUS NAMES DERICK HALL PLAYER OF THE GAME

After giving out it’s player grades, PFF gave it’s highest grade to Derick Hall

Seahawks defensive end Derick Hall put together an impressive performance across 26 total snaps Saturday night. Hall displayed promising pass-rush talent en route to a 20% pass-rush win rate on the back of two pressures and another pass-rush win. He was also excellent against the run, notching four stops from 11 snaps against the run.