Happy Blue Friday, 12s!
Here's a look at what's 'out there' for today – Friday, May 1 – about your Seattle Seahawks.
Boy…that escalated quickly
Team meetings started this week, and coach Pete Carroll wasted no time in digging into his deep rolodex to bring some energy to the virtual room.
With players and coaches looking on, Carroll began introducing one of the newest members of the Seahawks, veteran tight end Greg Olsen. Only…this wasn't exactly the Greg Olsen football fans have come to admire over the course of 13 seasons.
This is obviously a unique offseason for every NFL team as they prepare for the 2020 season while quarantined in their homes across the country. For Carroll, who puts so much emphasis into building camaraderie during these meetings, the distance is particularly challenging. He touched on the subject while speaking with media at the conclusion of the 2020 NFL Draft.
"We're into the virtual Phase One for the first time ever. Our coaches have spent a lot of time trying to be creative and inventive in how we're going to present stuff to try to capture them," Carroll said. "One of the things about our program is it's so energetic and there is so much interaction and relationship stuff that goes on. This is going to be different. It's going to tax us in a different way. We are looking for all of the edges that we can find and the nuances that we can create that will make this a really special and unique time that will be meaningful."
It doesn't matter who you are or what the topic is--making meetings interesting and keeping your audience engaged is hard, and that was true before virtual meetings were ever a thing. So if you have the ability to bring a comedian like Will Ferrell in for a few minutes to mix things up and provide some entertainment, why not?
By the way, if this isn't the first offensive play of the season, I'm going to be very disappointed:
Virtual School Visits For Military Children
April was the Month of Military Children, and the Seahawks were working hard to bring some joy to American school children stationed in Germany over this past month, done in partnership with USAA.
Safety Ugo Amadi and linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven participated in a virtual school visit with students and coaches at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The kids had great questions for the players and were able to hear their thoughts on team culture, what motivates them, and Luke Willson, among other things.
Separately, tight end Will Dissly had a late night 11 p.m. virtual visit with students from Kaiserslautern High School at the Vogelweh Military Complex in the Kaiserslautern Military Community, where it was 8 a.m. locally. Dissly shared shared insights on playing for the Seahawks and his goals for the upcoming season before turning the tables and asking one of the students what they enjoy most about being a military child.
The sacrifices of military children often go unrecognized but are critical in helping protect our country, so it was a treat for our players to have the opportunity to spend some time with them during their special month.
Social Post(s) Of The Day
It would be hard to lead this story with Will Ferrell's cameo and ignore Greg Olsen's post about it:
Just to mix it up a little bit, I'll throw in one more. Third round guard Damien Lewis posted a preview of what's to come on his Instagram:
More From Around The Web
Seahawks.com's John Boyle answers your questions in a draft-focused edition of the Seahawks Mailbag.
Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times reports on a minor shoulder surgery for K.J. Wright this offseason.
The Athletic's Mike Sando has some unfiltered thoughts from NFL execs on every team's draft.
710 ESPN Seattle's Danny O'Neil shares how the Seahawks thought they would have to choose between Jordyn Brooks and Darrell Taylor, but ended up getting both.
710 ESPN Seattle's Brandon Gustafson discusses the conviction the Seahawks had in taking linebacker Jordyn Brooks.
