THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Something special brewing with these Seahawks

The Mariners plan to do some intrasquad stuff today.

Have a little fun.

Go back over some fundamentals.

Now, they won’t gain a thing in the American League Division Series, which doesn’t even start ‘til Saturday.

Meanwhile, the neighborhood Seahawks (remember them?) also are scheduled to jostle around in a practice session today.

But hey, unlike the Mariners, the Hawks WILL gain some ground in the standings.

Seriously.

Mike Macdonald’s bunch is 3-1, which put them in a three-way tie atop the NFC West when they sat down to breakfast this morning.

By the time they have their cereal tomorrow, though, one of those teams almost surely will have another loss.

Nice progress for the Seahawks, especially when you don’t have to break a sweat.

The way this works is that the Rams and 49ers, the other two division teams with 3-1 records, face each other tonight in Los Angeles.

Barring a tie, one of those two West clubs will absorb a loss this evening.

Now, let’s say Seattle disposes of the Bucs at Lumen Field on Sunday.

Voila!

The Hawks would be tied with tonight’s winner with 4-1 records.

FRANKLY, I think this might one of those rare seasons where the Seahawks begin quietly in the shadow of their baseball neighbors — then startle everyone by proving to be one of the NFL’s truly elite teams.

No, I mean it.

Plenty of development is necessary before we can start yakking about the Hawks in the same discussion as the Eagles, Bills, Ravens, Lions, Packers and other blue-chip programs from the civilized parts of the country.

Yes, the offensive line still needs work, especially if the Hawks want to dominate games with their outside zone running game.

On the plus side there, however, running back Kenneth Walker III finally looks healthy and capable of exploding at full gallop.

Going another direction, teams occasionally have won Super Bowls with just two main ingredients: a quarterback and a true, shut-down defense.

Might the Hawks have these ingredients?

I’ll confess that Sam Darnold didn’t exactly give me goosebumps when he was signed to run the offense.

I feared this might be a change from one ordinary QB (Geno Smith) to another, with the only bonus some savings on salary.

But you know what?

I really LIKE the way Sam stands in the pocket to throw and marries that with the ability to stay engaged and be accurate on the move.

Those types of plays are going to happen a lot on play-action stuff that comes off the outside zone running game.

It’s not absurd to see an experienced NFL quarterback leap into a different level altogether when a coordinator gets him back to the rhythm that made him good in the first place.

If you don’t believe me, talk to Jared Goff — a QB reborn.

Remember that I mentioned two “musts” if you’re going to be a special team without having stars at every position?

Besides a competent QB, you need a fast, violent defense that grabs games by the scruff of the neck.

I’VE SEEN enough, I think, to believe that Macdonald is a “defense whisperer.”

The guy has a knack for it.

Players learn complicated packages and don’t even realize what’s new in their tool kits.

Great defense is all about being able to adjust, to switch alignments and coverages, and still do all those things fast.

Macdonald somehow teaches all these things — without making them seem anything but obvious.

When we get another few weeks into the season, we’re going to take a long look at DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) and explain why it’s the best measurement of a defense.

You need to see how Macdonald has made dramatic improvements in DVOA at every level he coached — high school, college, NFL.

There’s no doubt that Seattle enjoys having its NFL calling card be all about a bruising defense.

Macdonald might be building Legion of Boom II.

The early weeks of the 2025 season have shown us a few things about the league.

There’s room for another elite team or two, for starters.

Don’t be shocked, either, at the strength of the NFC West.

We’ll see plenty of changes, certainly.

But right now, today, while everyone is thinking about baseball, I want to sneak in a prediction that the Seahawks will make the playoffs.

And dish out some bruises on the way.

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Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens (like today, you know).

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”