Why The Seahawks O-Line Has Improved + Seahawks vs Rams Preview w/Brian Baldinger | Seattle Sports

Why The Seahawks O-Line Has Improved + Seahawks vs Rams Preview w/Brian Baldinger | Seattle Sports

Let’s go to Brian Baldinger right now. Make sure we have enough time to chat with him. Uh, nobody’s breakdowns are better, man. Especially if you’re interested in what’s going on upfront on offense and defense. Baldi, thanks for taking a few minutes with us. We appreciate it. Hey, good morning, guys. Good to be with you, man. What’s happening out there on the West Coast? Well, we’re pumped, man. I mean, we’re getting ready for like game of the year type of thing here. Seahawks and Rams. Feels like that. God, it feel like a big game. Let let me start here cuz both both of these teams have offenses and defenses that are both ranked in the top five in terms of points. Looking at the Seahawks, which do you like better, their offense or their defense? Uh gosh, good question. Yes. Uh if I had to choose just because I’m a big Leonard Williams fan and um I remember a couple years ago he was thinking about retiring and like he’s as good as anybody in this business right now. So, I I guess I’ll say defense. I’m a Mike McDaniel fan. Leslie Frasier, Leonard Williams. I like the big guys. I I’ll say I’ll say the defense. And it’s kind of a shallow reason, but you know, Big Cat’s a you know, he’s a diver. He can hold his breath longer than me. I’m I’m jealous. So, I’ll go I’ll go defense. When was he thinking of ret that he was thinking of retiring? Yeah. I I I remember hitting him up last year. Like he was he had a great year last year. I remember hitting him up and he was like, “Yeah, you know, maybe I won’t retire now.” You know, like things are going pretty good. So, he was definitely, you know, crossing his mind. He got married this year. Maybe he just, you know, just wants to open a, you know, sushi restaurant or, you know, catch tuna and, you know, um, you know, make, you know, play with toys and stuff that he does. But like, I don’t know. Like, were you disappointed at all, Baldi? I mean, when Sunday Night Football had to empty the tank and they had to empty every possible story they had on every Seahawk player. Were you a little disappointed in the spear fishing videos and pictures that Baldi wasn’t involved in those ones? No, I wasn’t. I wasn’t disappointed. Like you, you know, they they should, you know, make the main thing the main thing, Brock. Like, you know, just show show the good stuff right there. Yeah. Yeah. Well, the good stuff has been this offensive line, Baldi. We’ve had you on for years and years and it’s always been lamenting this line and oh my gosh and how can they get it right and they’re always so overwhelmed and it’s 50 sacks a season and 40 sacks and all of a sudden man this thing is has come together up front. You study it every single week. What jumps out to you about the group up front offensively? Well I mean you could go okay Graves Abel’s made a huge difference and he has. I think it’s just the way that they’re all playing together you know right now. I think, you know, as a group they’re playing well, including the tight ends. You know, AJ is a really good blocker. Um I I feel like, you know, Robbie is a good fullback and a good Hback. Like, I just feel like the whole group has as one has really uh come together. And so, you know, if you look at and I think, you know, Bradford’s been there, but I don’t think he’s ever played better than he’s playing right now. And even if they lose Sundell like they did last week, you know, Olu comes in and, you know, he’s a really smart guy, undersized, but super smart. You know, like it didn’t feel like they skipped a beat when he went out. It’s good to see Big A, you know, healthy. And Charles, I feel, is playing his best football. So, like, it’s all coming together at once right now. We’ve talked a lot about personnel groupings this year, more than I ever remember. and Brock has taught me well about 13 personnel and 22 personnel and all the ways the the Seahawks have found to get more big people out on the field. As as you watch not just the Seahawks but the league in general, h how much are you seeing teams going to bigger and bigger personnel groupings? Oh, it’s it’s um it’s a leaguewide trend. In fact, this weekend with the Rams, I mean, they dress four tight ends and play all four and all four have caught touchdown passes. And you know, Davis Allen is a great blocker, a lead blocker, and you know, Parkinson, you know, obviously from Seattle has always been a good multi-dimensional player. Um, like Higgby has been a, you know, when they went 11 personnel, he was a tight end of the field, but they played three tight ends the other day against San Francisco probably as much as was probably the number one package. And so, but you if you’re looking at the teams that are are good offense right now, are running the ball effectively, most of them are in at least two tight ends and a lot of them are in three tight ends right now. And you’re going to see it a lot against the Rams this weekend. Are we seeing a little turn, Baldi? Are we seeing a turn in the offensive lines? It started last year. I thought I’ll be honest with you, Brock, I started tracking teams that were running it more than they was throwing it. I mean, the Eagles ran it more over a hundred times more than they threw it last year. Obviously, Saquon was was a big reason why, but you know, Detroit, uh, you know, New England, I just saw the Patriots, Brock, on Sunday. They run it more than they throw it. I think they’re trying I think teams are trying to limit the exposure that the quarterbacks get in this business and trying to reduce the amount of hits that they take. And so, uh, and I think they’re trying to balance things up. you’re seeing more and more teams like Seattle, like the Rams, where the quarterback is back under center. They’re not in shotgun all day. And so I I feel like there’s been a shift that’s going on. Uh it’s obviously a big part of what uh you know, Clint does and what McVey does and Kyle and but it’s it’s it’s I feel like it’s traveling around the league, even in Philadelphia where uh Jaylen Herz has lived in shotgun at Alabama and Oklahoma and to begin his career in Philadelphia, he’s going under center. not a lot but a little bit more than he ever has. And so I feel like that’s that is a real trend in this business. So what’s the antidote if you’re a defense and and you’re seeing more of these, you know, larger personnel groupings and you’re seeing more under center, more of that style play action, what is the antidote as a defense? Well, you know, the D defenses that we saw where it was one linebacker or the safety like they’re going to go away. You know, you wanted to play faster. You wanted to have more speed on the field. Well, if they’re hitting you the way, you know, Seattle was hitting, you know, Arizona the other day, uh, I don’t know that you can afford to play. You know, you’re going to see more reduced fronts where they’re covering up the two guards in the center. That’s a leaguewide trend to try and contend with it a little bit. And so, you know, the defense has had to get bigger, too. And so, and more big guys on the field. And so, that’s what you’re seeing around the league right now. Do do you think a guy like Nicki Muri or that style of player can help with that? He he jumps out to me just with his size at that position as somebody who could make life difficult on a McVey style offense with four tight ends. Yeah, I mean, look, I mean, that’s what Kyle Hamilton is in Baltimore. Um, you know, you it’s a real chess piece to move around, to blitz, uh, to play, you know, stand up against tight ends and be able to take them on but still be able to play the deep half of the field. um you know like in some ways guys like Kyle, guys like uh M and Warry like they’re they’re it’s positionless football and you can’t really say okay this he’s a safety you know he because he’s not he’s you know he’s playing a lot of different positions and you know you use that as sort of your matchup piece depending on what formation you’re getting and what they like to do out of these formations because you know linebackers think if they if they know the formation they know the play and and largely you kind of do if you watch enough of this over a period of time. You listen to the Luke Keequleys and Bobby Wagner, guys that really understand offense. Um, so then you you start matching Nick up against certain looks and um it’s effective. You know what else may be coming back, Saul? The big nose tackles. Big Ted, I’m into that. 260 pound Leavon Kirkland linebacker. Big boys. Biggest dude you ever had to try to move back in your day? Baldi? Uh, well, Reggie White, you know, Reggie was I remember I became a it was a lot easier being a teammate with Reggie than to play against Reggie. But I remember we had this electronic scale uh in the bathroom going into the showers and, you know, like guys would step on the scale, see what they were before, you know, weigh in, whatever. Like Reggie would get on the scale in in December after four months of, you know, basically going to sleep before practice before he terrorized the league on Sundays. and like he would get off the scale when it was like at 330 or 335, but it was rising. He just didn’t want to see the final figure, you know. So, you know, it was easier to be a teammate of Sirrausa. Um, wait unknown. Weight unknown. Um, it was a lot easier to be a teammate with Tony than it was to play against Tony. Yes. And so, I prefer being teammates with u, you know, with big elephants than it is to, you know, play against him. Reggie White. And, how about Gilbert Brown lining up next to him? Oh, he’s the gravedigger. I mean, one of the great nicknames in all of sports ever. The gravedigger. He sacked a quarterback. He’s out there digging a grave for that quarterback, man. The gravedigger. Absolutely. Do you remember Gilbert Brown’s commercial? It was like for Burger King or something where they kept calling him fat. And then he looked at the camera and said, “And I’m getting fatter. I loved it. That guy was hilarious.” Back. I’m laughing. I got to see it. I’m going to look it up on on YouTube when I finish this. Oh, so a couple of the biggest keys, Baldi, last couple minutes here with you. We always love uh I love the time and everybody loves your breakdowns and I’m glad you and DJ are doing a podcast. DJ’s a guest of ours every week and just love all the content you guys create. So, if you look at it now, what is today? Wednesday, hump day, first day of the week of of work for the guys and you kind of project to Sunday. What will be a few of the biggest keys, you know, really to the outcome for a monumental game here for both? Well, I’m not going to, you know, uh, make a revelation here, uh, Brock, but honestly, like those I think the weakness of this Rams team are the corners. And I I expect Jackson Smith and Ja like just like he did last week, you know? I mean, nobody nobody runs routes like that or very few run routes like that. I mean, I would I would attack those corners on the outside, Rashid E. They already have a package for him. Like, I would attack those guys number one. Uh if you don’t get to Matt Stafford, he’s going to get to you. Like he’s going to find the open guy. He’s going to throw it with anticipation. He’s going to be highly accurate. So you got to figure out ways to get to Stafford. Um you know, if you let him set his feet or at least move a little bit where he can set his feet, he’s generally not going to miss. So how are you going to, you know, what’s what’s Mike going to do here this week in order to get free hitters to speed him up, to heat him up, like that? That would be that. Um, and I I think that look, they’re they’re going to run Kyron Williams and Blake Corm in some level of uh combination. They’re both really good backs. They’re good between the tackles. Like, you can’t give those guys alleys to run through. They’re they’re really good physical backs. Like, you got to limit those spaces that they can get to because they will feed those guys enough for the play action pass to really take off. And that’s ultimately what they end up doing. So, Leonard Williams is my favorite player on this team. I just love watching him and I’m glad we we’ve talked about and I know that you’ve got the the spear fishing relationship with him, but I’ve got a a guy that is fast becoming a competitor in terms of my favorite player on this team and I did not think it was going to be the case when they signed him this off seasonason, but Demarcus Lawrence has just been I I just love watching him. Have you done any breakdowns on Demarcus Lawrence and what he does? Well, I I showed him like scooping and scoring two touchdowns last week. I mean, that was pretty obvious. But, um, the one thing about Tank and that, you know, that’s his nickname and, you know, I mean, I remember when he was in Dallas before he got he got his second contract and I didn’t think he played, not that he didn’t play as hard when he got his second contract because he had injuries because he’s undersized, but he has unbelievable movement. He’s a very difficult guy to stay in front of. Uh, and he plays the game really hard. Like Tank is a really good player. Um, I think he needed a new space. Like I thought I I you know, look, Dallas has their issues. Um, sometimes you’re a part of that those issues. Sometimes um you could be a culprit, but at the same time like his effort and the amount of football he has seen allows him to play really fast. So it was a good sign he’s been healthy. That hasn’t always been the case the last few years, but nobody can deny the effort that Tank plays with. And I don’t know how he’d hold his breath, Sulk. Like, you know, probably not a spear fisherman because you really got to hold your breath. But his arm length and extension, if he were to ever become a spear fisherman, it’d be lights out for any eel, any garbage down there. Like he his arms, Baldi, I don’t know how you block a guy like that. I mean, he his arms are so long. He gets his hands on you first. And as you said, with all the experience, it feels like it’s game over. Well, you know, the there is a reason why that measurable is seems like it’s so important, especially when you get to the combine because it it just allows you a longer obviously a longer reach to get your hands on people, to get to tackles, to stay in the passing lane longer. Um, length is important and um, it shows up it shows up on defense I think more than it shows up in offensive tackles and guys that you know get pushed inside to guard and things like that. Will Campbell’s arms are too short, but he looks like he’s a pretty good tackle to me. But I, you know, on defense, if you get guys with that kind of length, I think it it shows up uh, in tackles, it shows up in assists, it shows up in, you know, tip balls and getting in the passing lane for quarterbacks. You deal with eels when you’re spearfish. Is that part of the deal? I’m not a big fan of eels, right? Like I let them just go. The eels are snakes. Like I don’t like snakes, right? You can’t kill them. You know, they they’re their their nerves always. I killed a snake one time in my sister’s backyard, a rattler. And uh you know, I I you know, I was like Dave Crockett. I skinned it, made a like a headband out of it. But I figured, you know, I’ll just put the the rest of the snake like on a in a dish and I’ll put it in the in the refrigerator. What? Man, when my snakes are well, I thought, you know, maybe she could cook it or whatever, you know, and um when she saw that, but the snake’s nerves are still innervated even after you kill it, even after you skin it. So, she saw a skin snake in a refrigerator still moving and that that that put her on her backside. I can’t believe she’s talked to you. I I don’t think I’d ever talk to you again. That would be I didn’t think about it like that. That really would be it. That’d be the end of our relationship. I was I was selfishly just thinking about the the headband that I created. Unbelievable. Baldi, thank you. Uh that was not where I thought that story was going to go, but I guess you just never know. Thanks, man. Great stuff as always. We really appreciate you. Thank you, Baldi. See you, Brian. There you go, Brian Baldinger. I wasn’t expecting that. That was that was a surprise.

NFL Network Analyst Brian Baldinger joins Brock Huard & Mike Salk (Brock & Salk) to discuss the Seahawks dominant defense, improved O-line and preview the HUGE Rams matchup.

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0:00 – Leonard Williams’ dominant play
2:15 – Seahawks improved o-line play
3:30 – League shift to under-center big personnel
6:15 – Defense countering bigger personnel
7:15 – Big Defensive linemen
9:30 – Seahawks vs Rams preview
11:15 – Demarcus Lawrence’s Impact

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Listen to The Brock & Salk Show weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. live on Seattle Sports 710 AM and the Seattle Sports App, or on-demand wherever you listen to podcasts.
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