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Seattle Seahawks Playing to Personnel Strengths in Ryan Grubb’s Offense

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Seattle Seahawks Playing to Personnel Strengths in Ryan Grubb’s Offense


RENTON, Wash. – Making the leap to the NFL for the first time, in many ways, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb inherited an offensive unit offering parallels to his record-setting Washington Huskies attacks from the past two seasons.

Most notably, after lighting up the skies in Montlake with a trio of future NFL draft picks at receiver last year in Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, and Ja’Lynn Polk, Grubb returned to the Pacific Northwest after an incredibly brief stint in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to work with as close to an NFL equivalent for that group as possible. Aside from three-time 1,000-yard receiver DK Metcalf and iconic wideout Tyler Lockett, he also would have the opportunity to work with a rising star in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, giving him an exciting trifecta to build his offense around once again.

While the offense has yet to explode in regard to putting points on the board, early results have been quite encouraging pairing Grubb with veteran quarterback Geno Smith and Seattle’s immensely talented receiving corps, including Metcalf and Smith-Njigba becoming the first pair of Seahawks to catch 10 passes and post 100-plus receiving yards in the same game in a 23-20 win over New England last weekend.

“Obviously we’re really blessed with the guys that we have here skill wise and I think that it puts a lot of stress back on the defense if they are trying to shut one guy down,” Grubb said on Thursday. “I think it gets really obvious if there are brackets on one player or they’re trying to take a guy away, you know that there’s going to be the ability to open up the other lanes and I think that Geno [Smith] does a good job of understanding the progression and when the primary is one guy versus another guy.”

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Though it remains early in the season, Grubb has done a fantastic job so far of maximizing his personnel in his first two games in the sky box. Per Sumer Sports charting, the Seahawks currently rank ninth in 11 personnel usage with three receivers, one running back, and one tight end in the formation (75 percent), allowing more opportunities for Metcalf, Lockett, and Smith-Njigba to all be on the field at the same time.

In comparison, Grubb’s predecessor Shane Waldron, who now resides as the play caller in Chicago, only used 11 personnel 63 percent of the time in 2023, which ranked 17th in the NFL. Interestingly, that was a higher rate than Waldron’s second season as coordinator on Pete Carroll’s staff in 2022 when the team ranked 25th in 11 personnel usage (53.4 percent), but in his defense, that was before Smith-Njigba arrived on the scene as a first-round pick.

Even after a quiet first game, Metcalf’s eruption in Foxboro vaulted him to 158 yards receiving in the first two weeks, the 12th most in the NFL ahead of the likes of Dolphins star Tyreek Hill and Lions star Amon-Ra St. Brown. Aside from his typical home running hitting ability demonstrated on a 56-yard touchdown last weekend, in a changeup from previous seasons, he has also been utilized more frequently as a weapon in the quick game to create with the ball in his hands, racking up 65 yards after the catch so far.

As for Lockett, the 10th year veteran hasn’t had as many targets in the first two games as Metcalf, but he has still been incredibly reliable when Smith has thrown his direction. Incredibly efficient with nine targets, he ranks 14th in the NFL with six first down receptions on eight total receptions, including a clutch one-handed grab late in regulation against the Broncos in the season opener and a 16-yard catch in overtime that set up Jason Myers for the game-winning kick last Sunday.

But no player has benefited more from Grubb’s arrival than Smith-Njigba, who had a much-anticipated coming out party against New England with a career-high 12 receptions for 117 yards and has seen his snap percentage skyrocket from 64 to 82 percent compared to 2023. Thus far, while he has been a factor in the short passing and screen game, his average depth of target has jumped up more than three yards compared to his rookie season, and his ability to manufacture yardage after the catch proved invaluable on Sunday with Seattle’s run game being stagnant.

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“In situations like that, you got to be willing to find other ways to control the football and time,” Grubb said of using Smith-Njigba as an extension of the run game. “There were some times when it was frustrating, I felt bad. We had a couple of three and outs and that’s hard on Mike [Macdonald] and the defense and that’s certainly not what we want. We want to be able to hold the clock and take care of some time, but if you can get high percentage completions, which Geno [Smith] certainly was, you have to certainly substitute that.”

In totality, in a revelation that shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to understand, the Seahawks have been a vastly more effective offense when Metcalf, Lockett, and Smith-Njigba have all been on the field at the same time. Per Douglas Clawson of CBS, they have averaged 6.7 yards per play with those three all on the field. If any of them subs out, however, that number plummets a full three yards to 3.7.

Given the depth Seattle has at receiver with capable targets such as Jake Bobo and Laviska Shenault on the 53-man roster, Grubb will have to figure out how to improve efficiency whenever Metcalf, Lockett, or Smith-Njigba checks out for a play. The team should still be able to move the football through the air with two of the big three on the field along with other complementary targets.

At the root of the issue, the Seahawks still have a lot of work to do improving the play of their offensive line, which ranks 31st in Pro Football Focus’ pass blocking grade (53.3), 31st in ESPN’s Pass Block Win Rate metric (38 percent), and 31st in ESPN’s Run Block Win Rate metric (65 percent). This has not only limited Grubb’s ability to attack downfield as much as he would like to his arsenal of receivers, but also took the run game out of the equation for extended periods.

Despite the protection and run blocking concerns, however, Smith has been masterful excelling in spite of the pressure for Seattle, deftly moving the pocket to create time to get the ball to his receivers while completing 73.9 percent of his passes. For his part, Grubb deserves his share of credit for scheming around those issues in the trenches with the quick passing game to help his quarterback out as well, and he expects the line will continue to progress as center Connor Williams and the rest of the group builds chemistry.

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“It’s always a work in progress,” Grubb said of Seattle’s line. “I’ve always felt like that’s the situation anytime, I felt like that at Washington and I think our best football is ahead of us at the offensive line spot and I think any good offense would tell you their offensive line’s got to grow during the season and I think they will. I mean Connor’s only two games in with this offense and I think he’ll continue to get better and I think he does an outstanding job, but those guys are still gelling. I don’t think there’s any question and when they get that down, I think their best balls ahead of them.”

Sitting at 2-0 going into Sunday’s home matchup with the Dolphins, as Grubb acknowledged, the Seahawks are far from a polished machine on offense with plenty of question marks to address moving forward. But if early signs serve as any indicator, he will be looking to get the ball to his trio of playmakers on the outside as much as possible while moving all three players all over the formation, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that gives the team the best shot at success in the rugged NFC West.

Assuming Smith continues to thrive in Grubb’s system and the offensive line comes together as the coordinator believes it will to open up more deep shot opportunities as well as a more consistent run game, with a tandem of receivers in Metcalf, Lockett, and Smith-Njigba that few other NFL teams can match at the center of the attack, the potential remains for Seattle to build an offensive juggernaut capable of carrying the team to a division title this season.



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VIDEO: Scream Club Seattle keeps growing, midway through first year

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VIDEO: Scream Club Seattle keeps growing, midway through first year


(Story originally posted 8:22 pm, updated 12:32 am)

By Torin Record-Sand
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

From a distance, they looked like a regular crowd of people enjoying a nice evening walk on the shores of Lincoln Park. But they were gathered here for a singular purpose: to scream. Since September 2025, the Scream Club Seattle has met at Lincoln Park on every third Sunday to scream, led by head organizer Amber Walcker. No explanation, justification, or invitation to scream is needed – come as you are. “There are some harder emotions people come here to deal with, sure, but some people also just come to scream.” head organizer Amber explained.

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Tonight’s crowd showed the club is rapidly growing. From around a dozen or so participants in the first gathering in September, tonight seemed to attract around 40 people gathering to let it all out.

As the sun started to set, and everyone was finally gathered together, the Scream Club was ready to begin.

There are only three screams, organizer Amber explained. The first, she said, is a scream to get used to doing it in public. The second scream is there to ground you. And the final – and longest scream – is there to let you have an emotional catharsis.

She also wanted to make sure people were taking care of their vocal health beforehand. As she told everyone to walk a little bit from the meeting place and start to gather near the shore, she instructed the crowd to hum for a few minutes on the way, to warm up the vocal cords.

With that, the crowd walked towards the shore.

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“On the count of one – two – three – scream!” said organizer Amber.

You can see our video of the proceedings here. After the screaming, we talked to a few participants about why they came out.

“There’s not one thing that’s really making me want to scream. There’s a lot of stuff going on for me, a lot of emotional ups and downs. Screaming into the ocean together gives you a sense of community.” said Jessie.

“This is my third or fourth time coming to scream. With the political climate, with everything that’s happening, getting together with local community to scream feels more productive than screaming into the internet on social media.” said Ursula.

“This is my first time coming out.” said Liz. “I screamed after the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, and I really felt something. I realized I’ve been feeling a lot of frustration recently, and it felt like coming here was a healthy way to get it out rather than screaming at your neighbors.”

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Organizer Amber recognizes much of what they were saying. “Meeting like this can be an important element to have in your mental health toolbox. It’s rare to have scream therapy.” She shared an anecdote about the therapeutic origins of the group, which originally started with a chapter in Chicago. “The founder was a life coach. Their girlfriend was having a bad day, and they encouraged them to go to the Chicago Pier and just let it out. He walked her through the process, and that was that. Eventually they invited more people to come do it.” She hopes to bring that same therapeutic energy to the practice here. “It’s a moment of emotional release more than anything else. Depending on what’s going on in people’s minds, everyone will come here with a different mindset and purpose. We’re providing a safe space to do that.”

Scream Club Seattle meets at Lincoln Park on the first Sunday of every month, and they are also starting to meet on the third Sunday of every month at Golden Gardens in Ballard. Tentatively, the next events will be in Lincoln Park on April 5th around 6 PM, and Golden Gardens on March 15th around 5 PM. If you’d like to know more, you can find them on Instagram here or look at their future events on their Eventbrite page here.





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Detectives Investigating Robbery, Shooting Over $20 Necklace – SPD Blotter

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Detectives Investigating Robbery, Shooting Over  Necklace – SPD Blotter


Seattle police detectives are investigating a robbery and shooting of a 23-year-old man over a $20 necklace in Pioneer Square this morning.

At about 12:40 a.m., patrol officers responded to a shooting in the 500 block of 2nd Avenue. There, they found a victim, bleeding, with a gunshot wound to his right thigh. Police and the Seattle Fire Department treated his injury. Medics took him to Harborview Medical Center (HMC) in stable condition.

Police determined that the victim just left a bar, getting into the passenger seat of his friend’s car, when the suspect, wearing a ski mask and armed with a firearm, approached him and demanded his necklace. They struggled over the item, and the suspect shot the victim in the leg. The shooter fled in a vehicle with the necklace before police arrived. The value of the “chain” is about $20.

Detectives in the Robbery Unit responded to the scene and HMC. Anyone with information is asked to call the SPD Violent Crimes Tip line at 206-233-5000. Anonymous tips are accepted.

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Incident Number: 2026-57536



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Fast Start for Kraken Win, Homestand | Seattle Kraken

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Fast Start for Kraken Win, Homestand | Seattle Kraken


That stretch begins with five more home games: A skilled and successful Carolina squad Monday, followed by St. Louis (for the second time in a week) Wednesday, Ottawa next Saturday, then Nashville (just behind Seattle in the West wild-card race) on March 10 and then finishing with Western Conference leader Colorado March 12.

Stars Shine and Star-Crossed Hat Trick

Vince Dunn opened the scoring in his 600th NHL game. Jordan Eberle topped the best Kraken-season goals mark with his 21st and 22nd goals of the year, with 23 games left to flirt with his first 30-plus goals on the year since his sophomore season in 2011-12. Joey Daccord registered 27 saves on the victorious night, including nine high-danger chances in the first 40 minutes alone.

To the fans’ disappointment, the slick-stickhandling Daccord missed a historic goalie goal by inches. But the sellout crowd was rewarded when Eberle cashed in on the Vancouver empty net. Eberle now has four two-goal games this season.

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In a bizarre twist, when Eberle scored that empty-netter, Kraken fans rightfully cheered and tossed headwear for what was presumed to be a hat-trick score. But after Eberle scored, the scoring change on the Kraken’s power play goal was announced when off-ice officials realized Eberle’s shot had just ever-so-slightly deflected off Matty Beniers’ skate. So no hat trick for the second time this season. Linemate Jared McCann and hat-tossing fans thought the Kraken’s all-time leading scorer had notched a hat trick earlier this season, only to have it reversed when an offside infraction by, wait for it, Beniers, erased the goal.

Eberle joked post-game that maybe fans deserved some hats. The Kraken captain also said when Daccord missed by inches on his goalie goal, he was on the bench saying, “he got it, he got it.” Post-game, Eberle said, “It’s just a matter of time before he gets one” because he greatly admires the goaltender’s puck-handling skills.

The Kraken came out fast Saturday night with two goals, a couple of near-misses, lots of scoring attempts and pucks on net during the first 20 minutes. One near-miss was a hard wrist shot from Jordan Eberle that clanged off the far post. But no matter, Eberle scored a pivotal goal in the second period, getting in front of a Vancouver shot and chasing his own ricochet to create a breakaway with his still-elite speed. The 35-year-old Seattle captain went to his lethal backhand to beat Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen. Eberle’s tally re-upped the two-goal lead.

Good night for Kraken special teams as well. The penalty killer snuffed an early third period Canucks power play to keep the two-score cushion. Later third period, Matty Beniers scored on the power play, deflecting an Eberle shot, to push the score to 4-1. Chandler Stephenson earned his second point of the night with the primary assist. Same for Dunn, who notched the second assist. The Kraken needed just 10 seconds to score the man-advantage marker.

Captaining His Best Kraken Season…

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It is Eberle’s 21st goal of the season. The next one he scores will set a new high as a Kraken for the teammate everyone calls “Ebs.” That makes it three of five seasons that Eberle has scored 20 or more goals. Eberle almost scored again later second period when matching cross-checking penalties on SEA forward Kaapo Kakko and VAN defenseman Filip Hronek. The ensuing 4-on-4 play was dominated by the Kraken quartet of Eberle, Matty Beniers, Brandon Montour and Ryker Evans. Beniers stood with some moves and an improv that had future Hall of Fame play-by-play man John Forslund saying, “Beniers did everything but score.” It was heartening to see Seattle flexing its offensive chops with a 3-1 lead.

The Kraken scored twice in an opening 20 minutes played to order, returning to the hard forechecking game they exhibited on a heater 10-game streak before the Olympic break. The starting goalie did his part, stopping all nine of Vancouver’s shots in the first 20 minutes to bring confidence to the first-intermission home locker room.  

Jumping Out of the Starting Blocks

The Kraken faithful were mega-decibel loud during the announcement of the starting lineups, welcoming back Olympian bronze medalists Kaapo Kakko and Eeli Tolvanen, as well as Seattle teammates. This week’s two road losses forgotten, replaced by rousing cheers for starters and fourth-liners Freddy Gaudreau, centering Jacob Melanson and Ben Meyers (on the wing for the first since a road matchup in LA right before the winter holiday break).

Defenseman Cale Fleury and Ryker Evans rounded out the skaters in front of Joey Daccord. It’s not a stretch to think head coach Lane Lambert was sending a message with his fourth line and third pair getting the first shift after losing two games in the Midwest by a composite score of 9-2.

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Saturday morning, both defenseman Vince Dunn and Lambert both talked about what would be the ideal first 10 to 20 minutes in this Pacific Division showdown with rival Vancouver.

“We need to play simple and hard and direct,” said Dunn, who was playing in his 600th NHL game, 333 with Seattle. “I think we’re very connected when we can get our forecheck going. I think the way we play as a five-man unit is that we slow teams down and don’t get scrambled in our own end. We’re more patient in our own end and letting guys accept their positions and roles and areas that they need to defend in.

“Right away, we need to start shooting pucks … the past two games, the shot count hasn’t been where we wanted it to be in the first 10 minutes. So let’s get some looks and see what happens. Let’s see if we can get the other team scrambling.”



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