What the Seahawks Coordinators said during their Weekly Press Conferences

Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde , Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak, and Special Teams Coordinator Jay Harbaugh were joined by the Seahawks on Thursday during their Weekly press conferences.

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR ADEN DURDE

Q. The last time you faced the Rams there was a lot of explosive plays. As you diagnose those plays, do they all come back to the same things, something similar, or were there different reasons?

ADEN DURDE: There was a few different reasons, and some of it is just execution and some of it is communication. Some of it is just angles and allowing people to run. So there is a few different reasons here and there that we have to clean up.

Q. Looking at something like that, how much of the reaction is, I should have been there versus I was totally fooled on that play?

ADEN DURDE: I think when you look at tape, just kind of irks you at times when you see plays against you that happen. You got to look at it critically and fix it and understand what we got to do and how we got to play and these different things and just get over it.

Q. Stafford’s no-look passes, how do you combat that?

ADEN DURDE: They’re difficult. He’s an elite player and knows how to manipulate people. You have to kind of own your area and get ready for it. He can do it at any given moment. That’s the reason why he is who he is. He’s great.

Q. They didn’t have Davante last time they have him back now; similarly, like they used three tight ends so heavily as well. How do you expect them to mix things up maybe different than last time?

ADEN DURDE: I think like you have to look at what they’re doing now when he’s back and how they’re playing and how they used him in the past and how other people have been featured when he’s out and how well they’ve done. They do a great job of like utilizing their personnel, and you see kind of the respect you’ve got after these guys is that other people come in and play at a very high level. You just have to be ready to execute and be ready to play who you have to play.

Q. What makes Stafford’s hard to bring down?

ADEN DURDE: His understanding of what’s in front of him, the speed that he plays with, the release that he gets the ball out with. He’s one of the best O-linemen on the field.

Q. You guys had a really high percentage this year of getting pressure on your stunts and things like that. What is the general sense…

ADEN DURDE: Selflessness. Execution of how you help your brother and how you set him free and communication pre-snap and understanding what you’re doing. To me that’s the execution of good game running. He’s about working together. I know it’s such a simple answer, but any team I’ve been around that does that is the guys become connected and they know how to work together. Different guys do things different ways. You can’t cookie cut something and say they’re all going to do something. Leo is a lot different than Byron (Murphy II), so you can’t do it the same way. It’s like D-Hall needs to know that and Law needs to know that, they need to put work in together to work out who can do it with who and you work like that.

Q. Selflessness is something that’s come up a lot. How do you — it’s easy to talk about, but is that coaching? How do you get that?

ADEN DURDE: I think it’s Mike. He creates an environment where you can be yourself. Creates a vision we all want to follow and every day we push to get there. I think the more you do that and drive towards something and the people around, coaches and players, see how hard you work for something, you own your role, you respect that, and just that energy is contagious. It just flows through. I think that’s is what builds trust. Being consistent every day, the same person.

Q. Not that you guys don’t switch personnel out on defense, but like a lot of times you’re in nickel, you’re going to be with your guys out there. A lot of times you’re trying to — defenses are trying to match personnel groups the best way. The fact that you can just be like, this is what we do, this is what we got, how much does that help to have this defense make to where the guys are doing what they’re doing and it’s going to be these guys out there?

ADEN DURDE: Yeah, it does help a lot. The front changes a little bit in certain situations, but having the guys out there makes versatility, allows you to do a lot of different things in the same grouping of people, which helps. It’s just how we play.

Q. Rams started the first game with explosive runs. Second game with some successful early down runs. What do you have to do to start the game better defending the run?

ADEN DURDE: It’s not just the run. It’s everything. We need to understand that we need to get our cleats in the ground, understand what we’re doing, understand where our keys are, and get ready to play. I think if we can do that we can be way more successful in those situations, but you make a great point?

Q. You guys started to get after Stafford in the second half. No sacks in two games.

ADEN DURDE: Thanks. (Laughter.)

Q. Do you chalk that up to like getting balls out quickly, not a whole lot you can do, versus there are things you can do?

ADEN DURDE: There are definitely things you can do. You’ve got to win quicker at times. You’ve got to understand the down and distance you’re in. You’ve got to understand how you work together and all these things. Sometimes I’ve got to put the guys in a better position. There are mixes of things. We do say pressure and hits do matter. They matter. You’ve just got to keep pressing and it will come. You don’t chase sacks, you just got to rush. That’s how it works.

Q. Their O-line isn’t chalked full of All-Pros or anything, but they’re a good group. What stands out about the O-line?

ADEN DURDE: They play tough. They get off the board in the run game, which allows them to kind of stay in front of the sticks. Ball comes out quite fast and they make decisive decisions. I think they play well together. They’re a good group.

Q. Knowing they were so aggressive on fourth down starting last game, how does that change setting the team up mindset-wise going into this one?

ADEN DURDE: I don’t think that changes. In today’s game you got to be ready for everyone in situations. I think we’ve done a good job of that. That’s that Death Zone football mentality that we talk about. You have to be constantly ready to go. These are games people are trying to win. The only outcome is winning. It’s like in those moments you got to be ready to bow up and go.

Q. DeMarcus Lawrence had a forced fumble vs. the 49ers. When you’re watching DeMarcus Lawrence, is there a sense of anticipation…

ADEN DURDE: On that one, yeah, definitely. I was watching the play and I saw Chenna go inside. As I saw him go inside, I caught Law’s collar coming around the edge and I was like, it’s out. It was. Cool thing to see.

Q. When do you know a game has presented itself? When you get a feel, is it the plays you looked at that they ran?

ADEN DURDE: It’s different things. At times it presents itself like you prepared and it is the game plan that you thought. At times it’s like we need to adjust. This is what we’re doing. At times it’s certain players are playing extremely well. We can do certain things. Certain players aren’t playing as well. I think every game presents itself in different ways and it’s how fast you can see that that allows you to be successful earlier.

Q. Are those Plan Bs, Cs built in? Are you doing anything…

ADEN DURDE: Not as much. It’s more like us discussing it, us adjusting, and us getting things fixed. You have to find answers because when you’re playing against really well-coached teams they’re looking for answers, too.

Someone’s game plan is right. Okay, now the next person needs to adapt, next person needs to adapt. It’s a constant flow of that I think.

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR KLINT KUBIAK

Q. Did you have a call with your brother after the past week?

KLINT KUBIAK: He’s my brother. I love him. We both beat each other over the years. I’m just so proud of the work that he’s put in. Just such a blessing to be in the same league with him and get to see him couple times a year. So that was a really special moment just to share this game with him, all three of those games.

Q. Is this the different aspect of Sam Darnold we’re watching now?

KLINT KUBIAK: Just reveals his toughness. Nothing that we haven’t already known. He’s a real leader to be able to fight through that pain and go play and play a good football game. He’s going to keep fighting through it, just like a lot of his teammates. Just like both of the rosters, that’s part of the league. However many games we’re into right now, nobody is fresh. No player, no coach, and Sam is no different.

Q. Mike Macdonald said that he’s already feeling better than he did any time last week. How has that shown up?

KLINT KUBIAK: Well, it shows up when he goes out there, and in the reps that he gets, he looks like Sam. He looks healthy.

Q. First touchdown drive, the first and 20 throw, the second first throw he makes and the touchdown, was that a sense of like, okay, he’s fine or…

KLINT KUBIAK: Sam was so confident with us going into it. We didn’t change a thing. He looked like himself once the game got going. Obviously got Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, but our training staff did a great job getting him ready to play.

Q. A number of you guys referenced all years the types of ways you have won games. Whether it’s close, overtime. When it comes to this situation, do you ever talk about those specific outcomes and games, or is it just an internal knowledge of you can win a game whether your quarterback is at 100%, or whether you…

KLINT KUBIAK: I just think it’s the culture that Mike has set. We’re more process driven than results. Results take care of themselves when you handle your business. This league is so hard. Players and coaches are so talented that you never really know how it’s going to play out. You just go in there and you play your best football, and whether you have a 40-point game or you score 10, the goal is to win. So that comes from Mike.

Q. How do you assess the running back spot behind Ken, with Zach being out?

KLINT KUBIAK: Yeah, I think between George, Cam, we got guys that can play. We got some talented backs, and I think it needs to be said how important Zach Charbonnet has been to our team and how much we’re going to miss him. When you think about what is a Seahawk, a guy that’s smart, tough and dependable, that’s Zach Charbonnet. One of the most impressive individuals I’ve been around. You know, a lot of our success has come because of his leadership this year and we’re going to miss him.

Q. Speaking of Zach, he’s such a big factor in the pass game, whether it’s protection or getting out routes and those sorts of things. How is the absence going to show up there for you guys?

KLINT KUBIAK: I think that’s our job as coaches, is to get everybody ready throughout the entire season. We got to go put it on tape this week, see how good of teachers we’ve been throughout the year. I think that’s why John Schneider has done a great job giving us really smart, dependable players below Zach, so I’m excited for their opportunity.

Q. Not that you necessarily need to give kind of bigger workload, but given the body of work you guys put together this season you think he could handle that?

KLINT KUBIAK: The proof is on the film. He played some really good football. We have all the confidence in the world with him to carry a heavier load, but it’s not all on him. He’s got to help behind him. We’re counting on him.

Q. Rams have created turnovers in both the contests and seem to be pretty aggressive and jump in some routes. How do you change that this time around?

KLINT KUBIAK: They got a really good defense. Those guys are very well-coached and just great players all around. All we’re trying to do is just be better than the last game. We have turned it over and that’s what they do as defense. They do a great job of taking the ball away. We got to execute at a higher level.

Q. Amari Kight got significant playing time on Saturday. What did you see from him and how much credit does Grey Zabel get for still being a constant on that side of the line?

KLINT KUBIAK: Amari has been an impressive young man since he came in. Doesn’t say much but he loves football and he’s gotten better. A lot of credit to our coaching staff, Coach Benton and JO (Justin Outten) and Rico (Rick Dennison) and Q (Quinshon Odom) of developing him and the whole group. Grey Zabel has been a stud all year. Anybody playing next to him at left tackle is going to be more successful.

Q. Josh Jones has not been able to practice for a little while. What does it say about the performance he put in week 18 when he was not feeling his best?

KLINT KUBIAK: It was a critical part of our season and Josh stepped up big time. Again, that’s why we brought him in Baltimore. We still expect that from him here at the end of the season.

Q. Mike was talking the other about with Jax, he’s the same guy whether he’s having a 150, two-touchdown game or the ball is not coming his way. When you’re coaching and you’re seeing how your guys react, what do you see during the game from him in that regard?

KLINT KUBIAK: I would just echo what coach said. It’s boring but that’s what great players are. They’re consistent, they don’t miss practice, they make plays on Sunday, and I think Jax made a lot of plays without the ball, which is a credit to him blocking and being a really good teammate. He is obviously going to be your go-to guy, but we can count on him in other situations.

Q. What was your experience like you first playoff game coaching at Lumen Field?

KLINT KUBIAK: It was spectacular. It was unbelievable. Love the fans. Gave us obviously a great advantage with the crowd noise. But it’s really how it’s been for every home game. Our fans are unbelievable. As an assistant coach on other teams you always felt it, so it was good to be on this side of it.

Q. Jake Bobo talked after the game about what he learned about run blocking from Cooper Kupp. When you have a receiver who is All-Pro and former player of the year and all that, what does that say…

KLINT KUBIAK: I would put myself in that same category. I’ve learned a lot from Cooper. He’s teaching me things every week, bringing ideas to our staff that we use every Sunday. He’s a phenomenal Hall of Fame brain and a guy that’s made a lot of plays for us. Gets a lot of credit for the way he blocks and he should, but he has made some really big plays in the pass game and we’re going to keep relying on him there.

Q. Jalen Sundell, what kind of growth have you seen from him?

KLINT KUBIAK: I think even going back to the offseason, Jalen stood out with his leadership. You could just see him getting more confident in the scheme and what we’re asking him to do. You know, seeing him run off the ball has been really cool. He’s a pro’s pro. Glad we got Jalen.

Q. Do you think it’s a coincidence that the run game has really taken off since Eric Saubert has been in the lineup?

KLINT KUBIAK: I don’t think so. He’s been a valued member of our squad. Just all five lineman playing together, having guys healthy throughout the year plays a big role so guys can get better together. Our training staff and the way Mike structures practice has been really vital to keeping guys healthy. You can’t get to that time of year without everybody, so having a healthy crew that continues to practice every day and get better together is a big factor.

Q. The other Jalen, Milroe, we haven’t seen him in a while; you guys see him every day. What does his development look like this year?

KLINT KUBIAK: He has to do it away from all the attention just like a lot of young guys. I’ve seen him get better. When coach gives him the opportunity to practice he’s producing. Just a guy that really works hard and loves the game. Same person in April with his love of the game, and his ability to want to improve has stayed throughout the year while not getting the reps. Obviously he’s made of the right stuff. Obviously his mom and dad taught him how to work and we’re really grateful to have him.

SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR JAY HARBAUGH

Q. Julian Love was talking about with the new kickoff rules, how you talk to the team about whoever gets ahead of this can really have an advantage. How big of a focus was that?

JAY HARBAUGH: He has a good memory. We talked about that last year and then it’s kind of evolved again this year, and maybe it will in the future. Yeah, still feel the same way. There is more football being played with just more competitive snaps and everything, and like anywhere else, if you do a good job you can give yourself an advantage, give the offense a shorter field, defense a longer field, and guys really bought into that.

Q. How, if any, have you seen your meetings change, whether it be the questions they’re asking, the details they’re looking for in some of the special teams game plans, has that changed over the last year or two?

JAY HARBAUGH: Yeah, I think it’s improved. I wouldn’t say there was ever a lack of buy-in or focus or intent. What you do see is just the growth, and like anywhere, exposure to a certain way of doing things and systems, you’re going to see that improvement of this is how we do things, this is the common language we’re speaking, tacit knowledge of now a guy who is an older guy helping a younger guy, taking him under his wing because he knows exactly what the expectation is, or ‘Hey, this is what Coach is looking for.’ So I would say most of the things like that, but that makes a big difference as opposed to at the beginning when you’re trying to explain every single thing of exactly what you’re trying to get accomplished. So really a major credit to the guys that did an excellent job with all the things we asked them to do.

Q. Now you’ve had two years in the NFL. What do you know now that you didn’t know when you came in?

JAY HARBAUGH: There is not enough time to be able to say. Somebody out here asked me that I think last year at some point, maybe in the offseason. I think I said something to the extent of I imagine I’ll have the same answer next year because it’s just the nature of coaching and football, is that the game demands that you evolve and that you grow and keep getting better. It’s an amazing thing about it. You want to do that for the players because they deserve the best. They deserve the best answers and schemes and for you to have really good solutions to things for them to be able to look good and play well and for us to win. It’s one of the cool things about our profession, is just you learn and you realize, ‘Man, I can’t believe I used to do it this way or that way. It’s one the great things about it.’ So tons of stuff, and yeah, I would be hopeful that I have the same answer every year.

Q. On Rashid’s (Shaheed) touchdown what’s a detail that you noticed about that that we may not have seen?

JAY HARBAUGH: There is so many things, and so many things that seem minor but they add up to make a difference. There is a lot of them. I think there is a lot of aspects of the blocking that would be fun to point out, but one thing that’s neat is ‘Shid (Rashid Shaheed) is so fast in that he just gets, ‘Oh he’s so fast, but the first portion of the run when he really manipulates the coverage with his initial angle, he knows where he’s going to go the whole time, but by pushing the ball vertically before he winds it back the same way you would ask a runner to do on, you know, duo inside zone. That’s so critical to the play working. It is true that he’s super fast, but there is a nuance to it beyond just being genetically gifted, that he has to be able to bring to life and have the patience (like), ‘Yeah, I know I’m going to go there. I’m going to stay here until the last possible second even though it looks like I might get tackled before I wind the ball back. It’s neat, and that’s an aspect of his game that he worked hard at. It helps the blockers look really good, too.

Q. Is that built into the design of the return?

JAY HARBAUGH: Yeah, those things are built in. You try to plan for them. The amount of space in the play can lend itself to some unpredictability sometimes. Within reason you try to say, ‘Hey, this is probably where the ball will be caught. This is what your initial course will look like, because it’s going to have this affect on the defense, and then you’re going to go do that.’ Doesn’t always play out exactly that way, but, yeah, you try to give them tools to be able to help the whole thing come together.

Q. So that return was mostly by design, the result was mostly by design? Did it go as designed?

JAY HARBAUGH: Yeah, on that particular one I thought it would stay to the left of the kicker. Yeah, you have ten players that you’re blocking, or nine or eight depending on the play. Each person, you think you know what they’re going to do, but you’re never sure what they’re going to do in that moment. So one guy goes left when you think he’s going to go right and the ball might find a way in the different gap. You try make sure that players know, ‘Hey, I’m pretty sure this guy is going to do this. If he doesn’t, this is what might happen’, and you try to prepare them for things like that without burdening them with 1,000 possibilities. You’re trying to find that balance. That played out very close to what we expected. Still there is that element of chaos that makes football and special teams in particular really, really fun.

Q. People have compared the new kickoff to have kind of like a run play. Do you look for inspiration in run offenses and things like that when you’re designing returns?

JAY HARBAUGH: I would agree with that statement, but I wouldn’t say it’s like you’re going out looking for specifically run plays. On special teams you see and find inspiration all over the football field, whether it’s offense or defense. So you’ll see things and say, ‘Oh, maybe the way an offense might manipulate a really good edge setter or pass rusher to try to widen them or slow them down.’ You’ll get things like that happening on kick return as well. So I think especially with how creative our offensive and defensive coaches are, you can see things in our own building where like, ‘Oh, we could do something like that even just beyond the run game.’

Q. I think that’s five touchdowns you guys scored this year with the four returns and the one in Pittsburgh earlier this season. (Regarding putting points on the board.) To do it that way, what does that mean to you that you guys have been able to do that?

JAY HARBAUGH: Really just proud of the guys. They deserve to have all the success just because like we were talking about before, the investment that they have, that they put in day in and day out, unselfishness and commitment to doing it right and respecting the opponent in the process. They deserve to have success. In our world a 20-yard punt return might be three, four of those in a week in the NFL. Two first downs, that’s a big play, but probably get lost in the shuffle of most games, and in our world those things are a big deal. So when you have touchdowns happening where it’s everyone notices, it is, it’s a little extra cool because you just want it for them because they get to get some limelight and people talking about them. And a lot of those guys are so much of the spirit of your team and they bust their butts. Just cool to see them get recognition for that.

Q. Mentioned Rashid Shaheed’s speed. Beyond that, that’s the obvious part. What makes him special?

JAY HARBAUGH: There is a vision element. There is a courage element. Probably the two things that come to mind. He also fields the ball really clean, which is underrated. Especially now you’re seeing a lot of untraditional kicks and kickers have issues fielding the ball. That’s costed teams dearly field position-wise at times. So that’s a kind of thing that gets taken for granted until you see it happening. You’re like, man, really glad we have a guy that catches the ball so clean. That gives you the chance to get the play started really well, and then the speed at which he can catch the ball moving forward, to be able to rock into it and catch the ball with momentum is one thing, but when you’re the fastest guy on the field and you’re doing that, there was a return in our game, the second one that he caught at like the five or six yard line, he’s at like the 12 in like a quarter of a second. The speed at which the ball gets up on the defense, that’s such a small detail, but makes a huge difference. We had to talk to our guys about understanding that when he gets the ball at the five, it’s as if he’s catching at the eight or the nine, and it’s going to affect the timing of the blocks and the spacing and all that stuff. I could go on and on. Yeah, it’s a lot more than just him being fast. He works really hard at it, which is neat.

Q. When their kicker tried to trip them on that, what were you thinking when you saw that?

JAY HARBAUGH: Yeah, I saw right away. I just was hoping they would call it just because it’s not allowed. That’s all I’ll say about that.