Field Gulls
Over the cusp of training camp, it is perhaps the perfect time to turn the final page on the Seattle Seahawks’ 2025 Super Bowl-winning team.
The final three episodes of Making a Champion (which started with John Schneider) centered around Rashid Shaheed (ep. 7), Sam Darnold (ep. 8) and Mike Macdonald (ep. 9). Those tied the series—and really the whole vibe of that title squad together in a neat bow before the slate is wiped clean for another campaign.
One of the things themes that stood out when hearing from all three men, was how focused, disciplined and committed to the mission, this team felt.
Shaheed was asked when he realized that the NFC West has a different level of intensity in their level of competition. He said, “It didn’t take me long at all. It took me two drives to realize how serious this team was and how on track we were to our goals.” Shaheed referenced “the intensity and the urgency that everybody had in the building, from the coaches to the players: everyone just believed in one another.”
Shaheed went on to discuss organizational mindset, even while up big (like against the San Francisco 49ers): “I feel like, with this team, it’s definitely foot on the gas. I feel like that’s what our coaches instilled in us: win, loss, up on the board, tie game, you kind of just stay even keeled throughout it all. And you know, just keep your head down, keep grinding it out, ‘cus in this game, you never know. This game could flip like that, as we’ve seen. so, just keep the foot on the gas and you know, never let up. That’s the mindset we’ve had, and that’s how we’re able to finish games so strong.”
Sam Darnold added to the chorus of individuals in this outfit that are constantly able to block out the noise: “You can’t give into, like, anything that they’re saying; whether it’s good or bad, ‘cus like, you’re investing in it. If you invest in something that someone on TV says that’s good about you, subconsciously, you’re going to hold their opinion to a different weight. If they say something bad about you, you can be like, ‘oh, I don’t care’, but you really do, because you validated it by saying, ‘they told me I was good, that’s awesome for me.’”
He goes on to say, “For me, it was just like, not paying attention to what anyone said. That really changed things for me, and I started doing that a few years ago. I really do think football is like, the ultimate team sport. when you start caring what people say about you, that kind of goes against everything that I grew up loving about football. It is the ultimate team sport, and I know that it takes a team to have success. It’s just up to me to be smart with the football and put the ball in the end zone.”...
