Seattle, WA
Mike Macdonald is drawing praise as Seattle's new coach but the test starts this week vs. Denver
RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Mike Morris saw the field for all of one game because of an injury in his rookie season. Not a lot of time to make an impression on his teammates.
When word leaked out about Mike Macdonald becoming the new coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Morris’ phone erupted making him maybe the most popular player in the locker room.
“It was like, ‘Mike, did he coach you in college?’ And I was like, ‘yeah.’ I got a bunch of those text messages,” Morris recalled. “My mom and dad called me and was like ‘how do you feel about it?’ I was like, ‘I’m really excited.’”
Morris isn’t the only one excited about Macdonald and the possibilities of what could happen in his first season as the Seahawks head coach.
The franchise that employed Pete Carroll for 14 seasons and who had the oldest head coach in the league last year, went the opposite direction hiring Macdonald as the youngest coach in the league at age 37 and with no head coaching experience at any level.
Macdonald is a football nerd, in the most complimentary way. He worked his magic as a defensive coordinator at Michigan — where he coached Morris — before returning to the place where his NFL career started in Baltimore and turned the Ravens defense into one of the most successful and difficult to decipher in the league the past two seasons.
“Yeah, he’s smart. He doesn’t know how smart he is,” Seattle linebacker Tyrel Dodson said. “That guy is just so smart. I thought I was smart. He blows me out of the water.”
But running a team is far different than running a defense. And despite his relative inexperience, those around him in Seattle have been impressed thus far with how Macdonald has taken to the role.
“I just think Mike’s a great listener. He really is, he can take that information in and make decisions,” Seattle general manager John Schneider said. “It’s been really impressive to watch. Like I said, he’s a very direct communicator. He’s going to give me the information, I got it, I’m going to take it over here and I’m going to have the conversation and we’re going to move on.”
Macdonald will make his head coaching debut on Sunday when the Seahawks open at home against the Denver Broncos. He’s now the face of the franchise, although he doesn’t seek the spotlight that comes with being the youngest coach in the league.
He’d rather be in a film room or on the practice field “chasing edges,” — one of the tag phrases he’s latched onto describing what he’s trying to create with the Seahawks.
“We’re always trying to push the envelope. We want people chasing us,” Macdonald said. “So to kind of get to the mentality of we’re not copying anybody it’s going to be our style of play, it’s going to be our team, our way of doing things, never satisfied with where we’re at, no complacency. Kind of a relentless pursuit of creating the vision that we want to create. I think that kind of paints a nice picture.”
While Macdonald is more out front now as a head coach, his defensive mind is what put him on the radar of every team that was seeking a new leader this past offseason.
The Ravens led the league in fewest points allowed and sacks, and were tied for the league lead in takeaways last season. They held six teams to 10 points or fewer in the regular season, including a 37-3 thumping of the Seahawks.
Disguise and creating confusion were the keys to the success in Baltimore, and what Macdonald is trying to implement now with a Seahawks defense that ranked near the bottom of the league in nearly every category last season. The system isn’t overly complicated, but there is a high level of communication and understanding of what everyone else is doing to make the coverage disguises work.
Seattle played an overwhelmingly vanilla defense during the preseason. The first test of how successful it could be comes Sunday.
“I enjoy this defense because I think it’s fun,” Seattle safety Julian Love said. “It’s not monotonous, you’re not just getting to the post. You’re doing different things. The flip side of that you have to be on your stuff.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Seattle, WA
Seattle brings losing streak into game against San Jose
Seattle Kraken (12-14-6, in the Pacific Division) vs. San Jose Sharks (17-15-3, in the Pacific Division)
San Jose, California; Saturday, 10 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The Seattle Kraken look to end a four-game losing streak with a victory over the San Jose Sharks.
San Jose is 17-15-3 overall and 4-4-2 against the Pacific Division. The Sharks have conceded 117 goals while scoring 104 for a -13 scoring differential.
Seattle is 12-14-6 overall with a 5-4-0 record in Pacific Division play. The Kraken have a -20 scoring differential, with 79 total goals scored and 99 conceded.
The matchup Saturday is the third time these teams square off this season. The Kraken won 4-1 in the last meeting. Jaden Schwartz led the Kraken with two goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: William Eklund has eight goals and 14 assists for the Sharks. Tyler Toffoli has five goals and five assists over the past 10 games.
Vince Dunn has five goals and 14 assists for the Kraken. Chandler Stephenson has four goals and three assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Sharks: 5-5-0, averaging 3.4 goals, 5.9 assists, 2.9 penalties and 5.8 penalty minutes while giving up 3.5 goals per game.
Kraken: 1-9-0, averaging 2.2 goals, 4.1 assists, 3.9 penalties and 9.6 penalty minutes while giving up 3.6 goals per game.
INJURIES: Sharks: None listed.
Kraken: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Seattle, WA
Roster Moves: Seattle Seahawks activate Young off IR
The Seattle Seahawks activated wide receiver Dareke Young from injured reserve and elevated running back Cam Akers and offensive tackle Amari Knight off the practice squad Thursday ahead of their pivotal primetime showdown against the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field.
Bump & Stacy: 3 keys for Seattle Seahawks to beat the Rams
Young, 26, has missed Seattle’s past eight games with a quadricep injury. The fourth-year pro is a key special teams member for the Seahawks and was on the field for over 50% of the team’s special teams snaps in each of the six games he’s played this season. He has seven tackles and 10 kickoff returns for 322 yards. He also has two receptions for 48 yards.
Akers, 26, would be making his Seahawks debut against his former team if he gets into Thursday’s game. He played in three games for the Minnesota Vikings earlier this season and totaled 19 yards on five carries.
A sixth-year pro, Akers spent three-plus seasons with the Rams after they selected him in the second round of the 2020 draft out of Florida State. Akers’ best season with Los Angeles came in 2022 when he rushed for career highs of 786 yards and seven touchdowns. He has 2,044 yards and 13 TDs on the ground in 56 career NFL games.
Knight, 24, provides the Seahawks with some depth at tackle with starting left tackle Charles Cross ruled out for Thursday’s game with a hamstring injury. Veteran backup Josh Jones is getting the start in place of Cross.
Knight went undrafted out of UCF and made his pro debut in Seattle’s Week 4 win over Arizona.
The Seahawks face the Rams on Thursday night at 5:15 p.m. Radio coverage begins at 2 p.m. with the pregame show on Seattle Sports 710 AM and the Seattle sports app.
Seattle Seahawks coverage
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• Seattle Seahawks rule out LT Charles Cross for showdown vs Rams
• How Seattle Seahawks and L.A. Rams stack up in NFL power rankings
• Do Rams have Seattle Seahawks QB Sam Darnold’s number?
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Seattle, WA
Alex Carpenter scores twice as Seattle Torrent beat Charge 4-1
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – DECEMBER 17: Alex Carpenter #25 of the Seattle Torrent celebrates her goal during the second period against the Ottawa Charge at Climate Pledge Arena on December 17, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
SEATTLE – Alex Carpenter had two goals and an assist, and Hannah Bilka had a goal and two assists as the Seattle Torrent earned a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Charge on Wednesday night.
Hannah Murphy was 38.1 seconds away from the first shutout in Torrent history before Ottawa finally got on the board late in the third period on a goal from Rebecca Leslie. Murphy made 24 saves on 25 shots in the victory.
Julia Gosling also added a goal on the power play as the Torrent won their second straight game.
Seattle took the lead on Gosling’s power play goal late in the first period with Rory Guilday in the box for a hooking penalty. Ottawa looked like they were going to get the game into the intermission scoreless after clearing the zone in the final 20 seconds of the period, but Carpenter and Bilka combined to find Gosling driving the back post for a finish past Sanni Ahola for a 1-0 lead.
Another power play chance off a Mannon McMahon tripping penalty allowed Carpenter to strike for a 2-0 lead.
A shot from the right circle from Bilka deflected off a skate to Carpenter at the front of the net as she back-handed the puck into the net for a two-goal advantage.
The Charge then lost track of Carpenter in the offensive zone as she found space directly in front of Ahola, beating the goaltender for a 3-0 lead off a pass from Megan Carter off the left boards.
Murphy was sharp in net for Seattle, turning aside 13 shots in the first period alone as Ottawa had the upper hand early. She’d face just 12 more shots over the final two periods combined, with only Leslie’s goal finding a way through.
After Bilka’s empty-net goal made it 4-0, Leslie outflanked Carter and the Seattle defense to get a near breakaway look in on Murphy that she finished to avoid the shutout for Ottawa.
Murphy has been the goaltender for both of the Torrent’s victories this season as the rookie out of Colgate University has been terrific early in the season for Seattle.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
MORE TORRENT NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE
Two late power play goals give Seattle Torrent first win, 2-1, over Sirens
Seattle Torrent set PWHL attendance record in inaugural home-opener
Fans pack Climate Pledge Arena for Seattle Torrent’s historic home opener
Torrent set record for highest-attended U.S. women’s hockey game, lose 3-0 to Minnesota Frost
Julia Gosling scores first goal in Seattle Torrent history in team’s debut
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