Sam Darnold had just been picked off four times by the Rams, and the Seattle Seahawks were hurting, a significant setback in Week 11.
Seattle linebacker Ernest Jones IV stepped up to the microphone and with unvarnished vigor defended his quarterback. In the wake of the 21-19 defeat, Jones reminded reporters that Darnold had carried the team all season in a moment that instantly went viral.
The Seahawks wouldn’t lose another game — a string of 10 consecutive victories that ended with a win over New England in the Super Bowl.
As the NFL heads into free agency this week, beginning with Monday’s opening of the legal-tampering period, the other 31 teams might do well to study what the Seahawks did a year ago, using chemistry and culture to ultimately lift the Lombardi Trophy.
The Seahawks won it all with a quarterback many people had given up on, a 31-year-old receiver whose best years ostensibly were behind him, and a defensive end from the Dallas Cowboys who had played in just four games the year before. What’s more, Seattle parted ways with a quarterback and receiver who for years had been cornerstones of their offense.
If the NFL is a copycat league, lots of teams will look to emulate the type of moves made by John Schneider, Seattle’s general manager, who traded Geno Smith and DK Metcalf, and signed free agents Darnold, Cooper Kupp and DeMarcus Lawrence in rebooting the franchise.
What some people might not notice is each of those acquired players had a pre-existing relationship with a coach on the Seahawks’ coaching staff. Lawrence knew the defensive coordinator. Kupp knew the receivers coach. Darnold had played for the offensive coordinator.
Moreover, there was a brotherly bond among the players, reflected in Jones’ vociferous defense of his quarterback. That’s the elusive chemistry, a quality every attempts to create.
High-performance psychologist Michael Gervais worked closely with the Seahawks last season in helping the players strengthen their relationships with each other. He did the same with Pete Carroll’s championship teams in years past, both at USC and in Seattle.
Gervais said the Seahawks didn’t just find the right players for their system but put an extraordinary emphasis on those players building bonds.
“What most head coaches or organizations will do is say, ‘Yeah, let’s go paintballing in the offseason,’” he said. “That’s not it. What the Seahawks did is they fundamentally put inside the rhythm of business an allocated time across the season to invest in the relationships.”
That’s the template. Now, for the market.
Starting Monday at 9 a.m. PDT, teams can legally negotiate with representatives of unrestricted free agents to agree to terms on contracts. No deals can officially be signed until the new league year begins Wednesday at 1 p.m. PDT.
Finding those less-heralded performers will be the challenge this season because the market is not overflowing with eye-catching players.
The quarterbacks include Malik Willis, Kyler Murray and 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers.
Among the running backs are Kenneth Walker III — who was most valuable player of Seattle’s Super Bowl win last month — Travis Etienne Jr. and Rico Dowdle.
The receiver class includes three household names in the twilight of their careers: Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel and Stefon Diggs.
The most coveted offensive player for a lot of teams might be former Baltimore center Tyler Linderbaum, ranked by Pro Football Focus as the fifth-best at his position and someone who improved his PFF grade in every season since entering the league five years ago.
Each of the four teams that made it to the conference title games last season — the Seahawks and Rams, Patriots and Denver Broncos — had outstanding defenses.
Among the defensive standouts in this class of free agents are edge rushers Trey Hendrickson, Jaelen Phillips and Odafe Oweh; linebackers Quay Walker and Tremaine Edmunds; and defensive backs Alontae Taylor, Riq Woolen, Jaylen Watson and Reed Blankenship.
After agreeing to terms with Khalil Mack on Saturday, the Chargers have roughly $80 million to spend under the salary cap, fourth most in the NFL, according to Overthecap.com. The Rams are 12th with about $27.5 million of room.
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