Head Coach Mike Macdonald Recaps The Week 14 Win Over Atlanta

SPEAKER_1 (0:02)

Coach, what was the coolest part about watching the team react to what Nick Emmanwori has been doing, and just some of the other key contributions?

Mike Macdonald (0:11)

Wow, yeah, I think you come out of that game, I think that's kind of the last image that's in my mind, is the guys celebrating with each other. You know, just the joy they have when their teammates have success, and, you know, just kind of, you know, talk about 12 is 1, that's it right there, just in a nutshell, and happy for Nick, all the work he's put in, he had a tremendous game, guys were excited for him, so that was really cool.

SPEAKER_3 (0:40)

Corbin?

Corbin (0:44)

Coach, Anthony Bradford's been under quite a bit of scrutiny over the last couple of seasons, but it seems like he's really playing clean football and pass protection these last several games, including yesterday. Where have you seen the most growth from him this year, working with John Benton as this season has progressed, particularly in the pass protection aspect?

Mike Macdonald (1:02)

Well, yeah, I think, you know, AB graded out as our highest offensive lineman yesterday, and he's playing hard and he's got a great punch. I think his overall confidence is probably at his high point in his career at this point.

Practicing really well, practice is hard. I mean, doing all those steps that it takes, you know, to end up putting good football out on the field. I know there's some plays that are minuses or plays that, you know, aren't up to par, but there's a lot of great plays as well. And I thought he had a good game yesterday.

Corbin (1:40)

Hi, Akata, Drake Thomas, Josh Jo, all came into this league undrafted. Two of them ended up with multiple teams before they landed here in Seattle. Seeing what those guys have been able to accomplish, Josh, what do you think are the biggest keys for a player who was passed over in April to succeed in this league? And how does your system foster that ability for guys like that?

Mike Macdonald (2:00)

Man, that's a doozy right there. Well, I think that the first thing that comes to mind is you got to give props to our personnel department. I mean, they just do a great job. It feels like every person we bring into the building, especially in the last two years, you can see the potential. You can say, hey, you're really excited to work with these guys. And our coaches have done a phenomenal job of setting out the time to work with them as well. And on the players' front, it's have a great attitude and freaking get after it every day. And just practice the way we practice. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, but prepare your tail off, come in with a great attitude, and compete.

And I think one of the things that we do, I wouldn't say it's like a schematic thing. I just think as a program, we get a lot of reps and we practice our young guys a lot and we coach those guys up. I mean, all those reps are coachable reps and we see it as an opportunity for our guys to grow. So, I'm not sure how everybody else does it, but that's what we believe in.

Corbin (3:04)

Thanks, Coach.

SPEAKER_5 (3:06)

Brian.

Brian (3:08)

Yeah, Coach, with all this rain coming our way, I'm just kind of curious philosophically, do you embrace that as a team in the Northwest and want to get the guys outside so they have an advantage, or do you want to make sure you protect them and keep them out of harm's way? How do you balance those two?

Mike Macdonald (3:23)

Well, you might have seen the mural in our building, so that might give you a good answer for what we're looking for, but it depends on who you ask around here and what they prefer. To me, if it's safe to be outside and the footing is good, then that's what we're going to prefer to be, but if the footing gets too slippery and we're at risk of guys being on the ground and things like that, then we'll probably be inside.

Brian (3:47)

And then I'm just curious, when you look at the team now and the defense in particular, and you will watch film now, what are the biggest differences between how the defense is playing now versus the beginning of the season?

Mike Macdonald (4:04)

Man, I thought you were going to ask, compared to last year, I thought I had a decent answer ready.

Brian (4:09)

I know how you'd answer that.