Good afternoon, 12s. Here's a look at what's happening today – Monday, May 17 – for your Seattle Seahawks.
Quandre Diggs Joins The Athletic's "Seahawks Man 2 Man" Podcast
Seahawks safety Quandre Diggs has been an interception machine since being traded to Seattle midway through the 2019 season. Diggs had six interceptions in 65 games for the Detroit Lions compared to eight interceptions in 21 games for the Seahawks. It's safe to say he's fit right in with Pete Carroll and Ken Norton Jr.'s unit.
Last Friday, Diggs joined The Athletic's "Seahawks Man 2 Man" podcast with Michael-Shawn Dugar and Christopher Kidd for an exclusive interview. In the episode, Diggs discussed why he's changing his jersey number, what makes the Seahawks a special franchise and how difficult it was to build team chemistry last season. He also discussed how close he always is with all his teammates, how he impacted the Jamal Adams trade and more.
You can listen to the full episode here and read some of the highlights below:
On why he's changing his jersey number from 37 to 6:
"As you guys know, my brother (and former NFL DB) Quentin Jammer, he wore (No. 6). So I always kind of wore it to honor him at every level of football I played, from little league to middle school to high school to college. Now in the league, this is the first time that I'll be able to honor him. Before (the NFL) did the number change deal, I was going to switch to 23 to honor him for his career in San Diego (with the Chargers). Then when they did the number change I hit him up and asked 'What number you think would be best, 6 or 23?' He was like 'I think 6 would be clean.'"
The NFL changed the rules for jersey numbers in 2021, as defensive backs are now allowed to wear any number from 1-49. Diggs and Jammer both wore No. 6 in college at Texas. In the pros, Jammer wore No. 23 for the Chargers and Broncos.
On what makes the Seattle Seahawks such a special franchise:
"First of all, the fans are the best in the league, by far. When I got traded here I didn't know what to expect because I was coming to a new team, I didn't know if these guys knew me. The fans just showed so much love. The 12s are passionate as heck. But you get there and you got Pete Carroll. In my mind, Pete's a legendary Hall of Fame coach just because of what you see is what you get with him. He's always got that energy, he's always going to be walking around with that spunk, that old man confidence. That's who he is every day. The way he runs it is almost like college. You get in the building and it's just a family. You're shooting basketball and hitting golf balls, doing all types of stuff together. You don't do that everywhere. But the icing on the cake is you're winning. I don't go into a week where I don't expect to win. I expect to win every week just because that's what Seattle is known for -- it is known to win, to be competitive, to go to the playoffs."
On how COVID-19 impact team chemistry last season:
"Yeah (COVID affected team chemistry). We would always go to (Shaquill Griffin's) house on Tuesday to go watch film, eat, just hang out as DBs, get to know each other and go over certain stuff. Then they started telling us, 'You can't do that because if one of you got COVID and all of you are over there, you're going to knock out the whole DB room.' So we never really could get together. Our meeting room upstairs around the lake, we could never get the whole DB group in there because it was too many people in one room.
"So, our reps that we really needed came in the games. Then, you throw in injuries. I get kicked out in Week 2, Jamal gets injured in Week 3, (Quinton) Dunbar gets injured in Week 2, then Shaq gets injured in Week 6. I'm the only one that's playing every game, and I got a different corner here, a different corner here, different nickel here, different safety here. It was a bunch of moving pieces."
Ugo Amadi Delivers Free Shoes To Children In Nashville
Ugo Amadi has been a fixture in the Pacific Northwest since he began playing for the Oregon Ducks in 2015. The Seahawks drafted him in 2019 as he continued his stay in the PNW.
On Friday, Amadi returned to his hometown of Nashville, Tenn. as he hosted a community shoe drive. Amadi, along with 20 other NFL players there to help him, gifted 375 pairs of shoes to help the underprivileged community of children. The event took place at Rose Middle School where the kids were able to meet the players and take home their free shoes.
DeeJay Dallas Gives Inside Look At Offseason Boxing Workout
Seahawks running back DeeJay Dallas had a solid rookie campaign in 2020 after being selected in the fourth round. He had three total touchdowns in 12 games while compiling 108 rushing yards and 111 receiving yards. In 2021, Dallas is looking to take the next step after Carlos Hyde signed with Jacksonville in free agency.
Dallas has been working on a unique training program this offseason -- boxing. On Sunday, the Miami product dropped a vlog on his YouTube page with an inside look at his boxing workout.
The vlog gave fans some great behind-the-scenes access to Dallas' workout routine. It also included an interview with his trainer, who explained the many benefits of boxing workouts.
This was Dallas' first vlog, but he said he plans to make many more. Be sure to subscribe to his account here and follow him on Twitter for more updates.
Social Post Of The Day
Russell Wilson spoke at NC State's commencement ceremony over the weekend. Here's a clip of some inspiration he dropped on the class of 2021:
More From Around The Web
Boyle also has more on what Pete Carroll thought of DK Metcalf’s track & field performance.
Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times wrote about 2020 second-round pick Darrell Taylor, who returned to the practice field at the VMAC this weekend.
Jake Heaps of 710 ESPN Seattle on why it’s so critical for the Seahawks to find a role for Marquise Blair this season.
Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic revealed his observations from rookie minicamp, including information about D’Wayne Eskridge, Tre Brown and more.
