Every Tuesday and Thursday on Bump and Stacy, we introduce a few trends, predictions or takes to decide whether the prediction has merit or is nothing but hype. It’s a segment called “Hype Train,” and a few Seattle Seahawks predictions made it this week.
Do you agree?
• Verdict: All aboard
Everyone boarded this one. The NFL’s Nov. 5 trade deadline is still a few weeks away and given Seahawks general manager John Schneider’s history of making moves there, it’s hard to see the acquisition of defensive tackle Roy Robertson-Harris as being the only one for Seattle.
Jags insider details what Seahawks get in trade addition to D-line
Maybe I can convince you to buy a ticket, too. So let’s talk about Schneider’s history of moves and the reason for moves.
It’s easy to look at a team that entered the season with few Super Bowl aspirations, and is now in the midst of a three-game losing streak, and think it’s in win-now mode. But that’s not what a trade deadline move has to mean. Throw out your perception of buyers and sellers in baseball. When you win as often as Seattle has, you don’t get shots at top-five picks; the highest pick Schneider has ever made came courtesy the Russell Wilson trade and Denver Broncos’ nightmare 2022 season. So you find talent where you can, and sometimes in more creative ways. If that means acquiring at the deadline, then that’s just another way to round out your team.
Would acquiring a guard or edge rusher help Seattle win more now? Perhaps, so there’s certainly incentive. But Schneider’s best acquisitions at the deadline have turned into multi-year stints, like safety Quandre Diggs or tackle Duane Brown. Both were talented players in unique situations that made a real return on investment possible: Diggs was injured and with a then-dysfunctional Lions club, while Brown was in the midst of a contract issue with a Texans team that probably felt they could get younger at the position. Their loss was Seattle’s gain.
I don’t know that a scenario like that exists around the league for some offensive line help right now, but you better believe Schneider will be picking up the phone.
• Verdict: All aboard
Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb has struggled to get the run established, though you can probably turn to offensive line woes or falling behind the sticks for part of the explanation.
Still, to avoid being one-dimensional, the Seahawks will need to be stubborn here. They showed a willingness to do it against the 49ers. Walker more than doubled his carries from the week prior and had a rushing score.
There’s also opportunity against a Falcons defense that’s allowing almost as many rushing yards per game (142) as Seattle (144). Granted, Atlanta is one of the hottest teams in the league and will enter Week 7 on a three-game win streak, having scored at least 36 points in each of their last two contests, but look for Seattle to test a team that gave up 160 there to the Bucs two weeks ago.
• Verdict: Empty train
Quarterback is the most important position in football, and struggles there impact a team more than struggles from any other position. But the Cowboys haven’t won a Super Bowl since the mid-90s – 30 years next year, or two years before Prescott was born.
The only constant with Dallas’ failures in the postseason has been Jerry Jones. It doesn’t make Prescott immune from criticism – as one of the league’s highest-paid passers, there’s a bar he must always clear. But the only people Jones needs to be angry with (rather than a pair of sports radio hosts) are himself and the front office he’s oversees that failed to make moves earlier this offseason.
• Verdict: Mixed
My co-host Michael Bumpus wasn’t boarding this one with me, but listen here: you don’t hate pumpkin spice as much as you think you do.
We all love to make fun of pumpkin spice. Its introduction marks the end of summer and that always feels so much sooner than you’d want (except to those of us who prefer fall, hello).
It’s delicious. There’s nothing wrong with it. You associate it with a basic personality and … well, you’re not wrong, but it’s also amazing.
And while Bump doesn’t agree, Mariners reliever Colin Snider did on an episode of The Dugout with us last month.
“I actually am, I have to admit. I’m a sucker for the pumpkin,” Snider said.
• Salk: Why Seahawks should explore a DK Metcalf trade
• Seahawks place cornerback on IR, making room for trade pickup
• The roles health, personnel play in Seahawks’ issues against run
• Huard: What should alarm Seahawks coaching staff the most
• Why Bump feels Seattle Seahawks can fix their run game
The Cincinnati Bengals boosted their playoff chances slightly with the Week 6 win over the New York Giants — and one former quarterback isn’t counting them
New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen had updates on two of his WRs Wednesday afternoon, and neither were good.Chris Olave will not play Thursday night aga
The Kansas City Chiefs still have time to make a trade for a wide receiver but that doesn't mean the fan base isn't irritated that one of the team's biggest riv
As the NFL trade deadline—dated November 5—nears, questions continue to rise about whether the Detroit Lions will be buyers in the wake of Aidan Hutchins