Featuring postgame quotes from the following:

Head Coach Mike Macdonald

"All right. Obviously disappointed we didn't win the game. And as you're going through it, there's just so many things that we need to execute better situation wise. But there's also a lot of good stuff on tape too, a lot of stuff we improved on from last week. So, that's the message to the guys, 'Hey, let's stay steady,' Let's attack the reasons why we lost and where we fell short and then keep improving on the other stuff and make sure we have a heck of a week before we play Cleveland (Browns) and close out the preseason."

What did you think of Sam (Howell)'s first half?

"I thought Sam (Howell) was really sharp. I thought we moved the ball. I thought he made smart decisions. We were in and out of the huddle, which I felt like we could improve that in the second half. Pleased. Piggybacking on his performance last week and then in practices on Wednesday and Thursday."

The second half, what do you think about the issues there with the backups?

"Well defensively, third downs, penalties showing up, decisions that we're making down the field, how the rush and coverage were marrying together. Didn't execute a couple of pressures. Had a penalty there in the fringe for their third-and-long, which you'd like back. Another thing was the third short penalty. Played the run better in the second half, I felt like. So that was a positive. I think Dave said we had one penalty in the first half and we had six in the second half. We'll see what happened on those plays. I felt like we could have made some smart decisions on some of those situations. And offensively, we weren't getting off the field on defense, and then I think we piggybacked it with a three-and-out or a four-and- out or something like that. So, trying to maintain possession and try to take control of the game in that situation would have been good. But, we put ourselves in a situation where the game, Ty (Okada) made a great play with a tipped ball. Jason (Myers) made a great kick. Unfortunately, we didn't close it out."

Do you think about going for it on fourth-and-one just because obviously if you get it, you could run the game out?

"Oh yeah, it was part of the conversation. But we went backwards. So, I just felt like it's okay to at least try to win."

End of the half, 2-minute situation, all of that end of game stuff, is that good for both as coaching staff and for the players as well?

"Oh, it's great. It's great for us. I feel like we're on top of it for the most part as a coaching staff. But players talking through some of the situations, especially with the backups in the game, it's invaluable. So we're really going to take advantage of that time to watch the tape with the guys so everybody kind of hears what's the thinking. This is the first time going through it where they're hearing some of those alerts, things like that. So, it'll be valuable next couple of days."

How do you feel Sam Howell handled the end of the first half, two-minute drill?

"I thought he did a great job. I thought having the three timeouts is—mirrors the execution and the operation that we had going in there. So to be able to have those three timeouts and thirty seconds, you're able to move down the field and work the entire field. And so, I thought he made some smart decisions. The last play before the field goal I thought was a heck of a play by him. Heck of a play by Brady (Russell) there, and then when we made the kick. So, that was a positive."

You said a couple times you want to kind of throw a lot at Tyrice Knight right now. He played a ton last game, he got on the first team stuff in practice, And now this game. What do see in him now that he goes through all of this?

"I told you, he makes tackles. You didn't want to believe me. But, very pleased with the tackles. Time to step it to the next level communication wise, blitz, coverage, play recognition. It's almost like, 'Hey, man, you're not a rookie anymore.' You've got to grow up fast. You've got to be ready to go if your numbers called. So, 'Hey, let's go man.' Let's not be settled with making tackles during preseason."

You've emphasized physicality quite a bit, what has Ty Okada shown on that front?

"Ty (Okada) has done that since I've known him. Great attitude, great spirit. Plays physical, plays the way you want. Great mentality, the guys love him. Plays fast, communicates well. So, he's had a great camp."

Can you give us a sense of the guard tandem you went with to start the game today with (Anthony) Bradford and (Christian) Haynes, how that went?

"You know, I don't know. I mean, it felt like it was going right, but we haven't had a chance to talk about it, but it'll be fun to watch it and see how it looked. But it felt like it looked good."

Was it a different perspective for you not calling the plays on defense tonight or did it give you a more overarching look at the team live?

"Defensively, I'd say, it's tough not to call (the plays). Offensively, about the same. But thinking about what you're going to call next things like that didn't really speed up your between series process. It was a great opportunity for those guys. I thought they did a great job. Calls were in fast. It's interesting to see how they approach some of the situations which kind of opens up for some discussion on how we want to do it. So overall, I thought that was really positive. It's great experience for those guys to game plan and call it on their own."

Easop (Winston Jr.) had the nice touchdown catch. He seems to be getting a lot of catches in practice and games now. What would you say about him?

"Well, Sam (Howell) likes going to so and he makes plays when he's given the opportunity. I don't know where we snap that ball, but once you get to the red zone, that's an opportunity to finish the drive as you get the ball down the field, I think we were running the ball pretty good. That's going to be definitely a point of emphasis for us as a football team is can we close out drives and can we close out games. Because these games will be close. We're going to have a lot of these games during the season, and you want to be on the good side of these things."

Is Jack Westover okay? He didn't play today.

"He's got a hamstring right now, so we'll see. We'll see how long as we're not really sure on the severity."

Are you worried about tight end depth right now? Do you need to add there?

"We'll see. We are figuring out how long it is. So, we might have to do something about, we'll know here in the next few days."

From week one to week two, what are you first impressions without looking at the film and talking to your staff?

"I'm pleased with our mentality. Coming across the country and practicing at 8am your time. Just keep answering the bell. As a coaching staff, it's our responsibility to find the corrections and make it right with those guys. But it's their job to have the right mentality and make sure that they're executing on their end. And so, really the message from here is can we take that step? Can we fix some of these things that we made a mistake with today so we can close these games out and make that jump as a football team."

The week as a whole here, how do you assess kind of the whole time out here in Nashville?

"I'd say overall net positive. A lot of the things we said we wanted to come down here (for). Fortunate to come out relatively healthy. I felt like we got great work with all ones, twos and threes, and special teams. Great to go against somebody else, like you said. And then, it's cool just to spend time with one another. Would've been great to put an exclamation point on it and come out with a win. But, just kind of leaves us hungry for more moving forward. But net positive for the whole week."

Jerome Baker, is he anytime soon back to practice?

"I can't give you a date on when he's coming back, but he should be going here pretty soon."

You assume he will be okay for Week?

"Plan is to have him ready for Week 1."

With Pharaoh Brown, did you get any more clarity on his situation?

"Yeah. Still working through on some things."

WR Easop Winston Jr.

On the touchdown you showed late hands. Where did you develop that?

"I think that's just something I've always did even since I was a kid. That wasn't taught at all. And I'll be honest if it was, but it wasn't. And it was just something that I pride myself on in my game, never letting the DB know when the ball is coming. So, that was kind of a routine thing for me. You know the late hands."

Take us through the whole play and how you got there?

"They showed up in man, didn't see a safety over the top. Obviously, I ran the go route, but I was hoping Sam (Howell) would give me a chance with other guys on the field running routes too. So you've always got to run to expect the ball though. I beat him off the line and seen the ball in the air and I was like, you just have to come down with it."

You worked with Sam Howell a lot during training camp and the preseason. Was tonight about as dialed up as you'd seen him?

"Yeah, for sure, for sure. I love the way he competed tonight. That's my guy on and off the field. We have talked about what we're going to do every game, every practice. He has confidence in all the guys, and we have confidence in him. And he showed what type of quarterback he is."

How did you establish a rapport with Sam Howell?

"It is just practice. And after practice we get reps in too. Just making sure we're always staying crisp. He knows what I'm doing, he knows what I'm thinking. I know what he's thinking. So when games come, it's easier."

How do you guys feel like where you are? It seems like it's pretty competitive for the final spot or two at receiver.

"I try not to look too far ahead. I treat every day as it is. I just try to get better each and every day. I am thankful to God to be in this position, however it pans out, I'll be grateful. I'm just grateful to be here. I know what it feels like to be on the outside looking in. So just to be here another year, like I said, I'm thankful and grateful and I'm blessed. Very very blessed."

Last preseason you said you would give a ball to your mom. Will you give the touchdown ball to your mom?

"Yeah, she'll probably get this one too."

Did you keep it?

"Yeah I kept it. I love getting questions about my mom because she just sacrificed a lot for me. It's a lot of times I wanted to give up on the sport. A lot of times she had to talk me out of a lot of dark places. So being here, I just owe it all to her and I know she watched. I can't wait to talk to her."

How did your mother talk you out of not quitting?

"I grew up in a spiritual household. My mom's actually a pastor. So, just growing up that way and just leaning on God in those type of situations was something she taught me. It's the foundation I was raised. So I go to her for a lot, for everything. And obviously God is number one in my life for sure."

The correlation between the confidence to go out and execute a few plays. Can you talk about how that just helps?

"I think everybody just gets an opportunity to shine in this offense. I think we're good at keeping defenses on their toes. I feel like they never know what's coming. We go tempo. I just feel like it's a receiver's dream, to be honest. And I think our running backs are loving it too. So I just can't wait to see how we progress moving forward."

Can you go through the details of the two minute situation at the end of the half?

"Oh yeah, that was great. That's obviously something we practice, every practice. Those two-minute situations have a lot of different situations that we practice, but that's one that we do every time. So that's routine when game time comes. When two-minute comes we know kind of how to operate. So when games comes it's a lot easier."

How much does the run complement this offense?

"It's easier and I think it opens up the pass game too. You pound the ball, pound the ball, pound the ball and they bring the safety down, they bring the corners down, the linebackers get nosy and that's when we throw it. So I think it's been a great balance so far."

LB Derick Hall

What was this whole week like, the joint practices, the game tonight, and everything? How much do you think you guys got out of all this?

"I think it was really beneficial for us as a club. Especially with a lot of guys, even some third and fourth-year guys, we've never had a joint practice. It was big for me to be able to see a different color all week and not practice against each other. I think it took the edge off on that piece a little bit, but I think it was very productive for us to go up against someone else all week long. Then, use that preparation for the game today. I think it was really, really big."

Going into your second season, where do you feel like you have grown the most as a player?

"I think just my pass rush. Being able to develop that, that was huge for me in the offseason and that was huge for me in the summer. To develop my big thing, power, and being able to work off of that and now try to start finishing and being more agile around the quarterback and be able to stay on my feet."

Mike Macdonald's defense is complementing your ability to rush in terms of power, how is that working out for you?

"I think it's great. I think the scheme that he has put in place for us is good for not only the edge backers, but the entire defense. He definitely puts us in positions to be successful every time we step out there on the field no matter what. Being able to take what he gives you and being able to play that. Just knowing what you have going on a daily basis. It comes down to just trying to be productive every single day and take the good with it all."

We heard communication is important with this defense, where do you think that is after a couple games?

"I think we are going really, really well. Just from having that first meeting with (Mike Macdonald) in April until now, I think the understanding of the defense, understanding of the scheme across the board is really, really good. I think at the edge position we actually do a lot more, so it takes a little bit of stress off the inside backers. I think it's really good. We're growing and rocking and rolling. We are going to take what came with this loss and see what we can do better and come back out and be ready for Cleveland next week."

LB Tyrice Knight

Mike Macdonald said he wants to throw a lot at you. Seems like you've been out there a ton both preseason games. You got a lot of reps during the week. How do you feel like these past couple of weeks have benefited you?

"I feel like these past couple of weeks have been a blessing honestly. Everybody knew I needed the extra reps and just everything's been planned out for me to try to get better and learn things a better way."

He's mentioning you've got the tackling part down. What is left after the next step. He's talked about you taking reads, drops and different way to play the defense.

"I'd say just diagnosing the plays better. Expanding my vision and stop trying to see too much and focus on my keys ahead. So I just think, honestly just reading all the plays better."

Is anything you are doing now familiar from UTEP (University of Texas-El Paso)?

"Everything is probably just one gap over, but everything seems pretty similar from UTEP."

Are you going to get some kind of trophy for the number of plays you've you played the last couple of days?

"I'm not getting a trophy for that. I know they expect that from me."

When you say you are trying not to see too much and stay focused, can you explain more?

"I would say motions here and there, and just focusing on my keys and not trying to see everything going from left to right, but just keeping a little tunnel vision and focus on what's at hand."

Second part of that is the communication. Once you see that and relaying that to your other players.

"Just trying to get everyone on the same page and make your jobs way easier and know what everybody is doing around you."

With the couple days of joint practices, what do you feel you guys got out of that?

"For one thing, the team just got better just taking this whole trip down here for a few days. Everybody bonding more. But I will say for the joint practices, it felt good going against someone else other than yourself. I feel like everybody tried to see where everybody was at. I'd say it was a pretty successful trip for us."

QB Sam Howell

How would you rate tonight over all the days you have had as a Seahawk?

"I thought it was pretty solid. Would have liked to finish that drive, I think it was kind of in the middle of the second quarter, with a touchdown. But for the most part, I thought it was pretty solid. Would have liked to score a few more points, but that is the only thing I would say."

It seemed like you guys on the offense started going more up-tempo and things started working a little better?

"Yeah, we had a two-minute drive situation at the end of the half. That is something we work on a lot in practices. Those tempo, those two-minute, end of half, end of game situations, we spend a lot of time doing that type of stuff. It is something we are very confident in, something that we feel like is definitely a strength for our offense. I think everyone feels very comfortable when we go up-tempo."

Getting the actual game reps of that versus just doing that in practice, what do you get out of it going through it in a game.

"I wouldn't say it's much different. We do a pretty good job of making the operation in practice pretty realistic. With the clock and utilizing the timeouts, we do a really good job in how we drill those things in practice. When we come out here in the game, it's really not much different."

You said the first couple practices of camp weren't what you wanted; what do you think you have shown in the first two pre-season games in the weeks since?

"I'm just trying to be consistent and put good ball on tape. Complete the football and try to move my team down the field and score points. I'm just trying to be as consistent as possible, and trying to help this team win games."

The decision making in Ryan Grubb's offense, where are you at with that?

"I feel pretty good. I feel like in both these two games I have made some pretty good decisions for the most part. I'm sure looking on tape, maybe we'll see some things I could have done differently. It's good to have things that you can improve on, so we will look at the tape and see how we can get better for next week."

You hit Easop (Winston Jr.) for the touchdown on the two-minute drive. How has that connection between you two grown? Seems like in practice as well he is a guy you throw to a lot.

"Yeah, Sop (White Jr.) can play. I love Sop. I love getting to play with him. He's got great hands, great ball skills, some of the best ball skills I've ever seen. In practice he makes some ridiculous catches. He's great versus press coverage. He's got a great release package. When we were in the red zone today, they came up and pressed him and all I had to do was hold the safety a little bit and knew Easop was going to do the rest. He's a good player and I love playing with him. I love when he's in there for sure."

What does that tell you about the receiver depth here? That he's a guy doing all the things you just said yet battling for a job.

"Yeah, me and (Jake) Bobo were talking about it today, we're deep at receiver. It's only my third year in the league, but I've never seen a receiver room this deep. Especially with the twos and the threes that we have. It's really impressive and a good problem to have. Unfortunately, every single guy can't make the team. That's the tough part about this business, but we got some really, really good football players in that room."

When your running game is like it was with (Kenny) McIntosh today, what does that do to the offense in your ability to use all your weapons that you have, tight ends, wide receivers, and even the backs?

"It makes it easy. When you can be balanced on offense it makes it way easier to throw the football. It starts up front with our o-line. They played a really good football game. They were great in pass game. They were great in the run game. We were moving those guys off the ball. K-Mac did a good job running the ball, and all the backs did. When we can establish the run game early on, it sets the tone and opens everything else up in the passing game."

You probably couldn't tell any individual blockers in front of you, did you have any sense with how Anthony Bradford and Christian Haynes did as new guards?

"Yeah, both of them were great. They both did a great job. Those two guys have been having a great camp. They have both gotten better each and every day. It's fun watching those guys grow. (They) are two young guys and two guys that I think both have a very bright future in this league. It's definitely fun to play behind those guys, because they are going to do what it takes to get the job done."

How has the team gotten closer and bonded over the week in Nashville?

"That's a great question. It was a great idea to come out here and bring pretty much the whole organization. We had a great dinner Thursday night. The guys really got to spend a lot of time together and I think that's what builds a team. Spending time, especially away from home, on these road trips together is something that is really important to Mike (Macdonald). Building that culture, building that family-like atmosphere here with this team, and I think he's doing a great job in doing that."

What did you learn about Mike Macdonald and Ryan Grubb being with them on this trip?

"They love football and they love this football team. They want to do whatever it takes to get this team to where we need to be. They want to win just as bad us players want to win. It's fun to play for coaches that really want it."