Best of the week on The Herd

It’s Seahawks Super Bowl Victory Monday, we’re live in Los Angeles, and my phone’s still buzzing from family back in Washington lighting fireworks; Matt Hasselbeck is moments away, and I’ve got Colin Right, Colin Wrong loaded up.

Where I was right: Sam Darnold’s traits finally met the right situation, and he delivered clean, tough playoff football with zero giveaways and big-time poise.

Seattle seized control with a three to nothing turnover edge, New England’s ground game was stuck, and that offensive line still needs real help.

Christian Gonzalez made a season-saving deep-ball play, Mike Macdonald ran a clinic, and you could feel the tide turning toward defense-first head coaches again.

Devon Witherspoon looks like the league’s most complete corner, and when Seattle kicks him inside and sends him, he’s a heat-seeking missile.

Matt Stafford is fluent in the why at the line, Drake May is still learning the what, and that’s the gap experience creates; quarterbacks change a lot by the late twenties, and Darnold’s proof.

Happy yesterday, a little regret today—I should’ve gone to bed earlier, but what a day; parade’s coming, and Seattle earned every bit of it.

Kyle Shanahan warned it could get lopsided if Seattle protected the ball; on the field, did they just look different to you?

New England’s defense forced field goals and kept it close for a while, but their offense kept punting, the unit wore down, and Seattle’s physical run game leaned on them.

Macdonald calls his own defense; is he so sharp at it that he should keep the sheet in his hands?

He got the job for his play-calling instincts, and he pivoted from a four-man rush identity to a blitz wave when the matchup begged for it; Witherspoon’s pressure score was a perfect example of great defenses hunting points.

Early on, the Patriots jumped routes like they wanted old Sam to resurface; what did that tell you?

They’re savvy on the back end and light on depth, while their offense is young and sputtered, so the defense kept getting rushed back out there; Seattle managed Walker all year and then unleashed K9 when it mattered, and that broke them.

Kenneth Walker’s electric but narrow in role; do you keep the band together or tweak to stay hungry, especially with cap space and a target on your back?

Clint Kubiak likely heading to the Raiders makes the real question who he takes with him—coaches and maybe players fit for his system; that churn can be a reason to keep K9, and remember Kubiak helped bring in Darnold and Rashid Shaheed because he knew exactly how they’d fit.

Darnold didn’t blink for nearly two hundred postseason snaps, and that ‘game manager’ label is lazy when the job is to read the moment and avoid the big mistake.

I call it a game commander—ball security decided these playoffs, and Sam’s confidence comes from the building telling him he’s their guy, which makes steady, unselfish play the standard.

Drake May struggled and they barely used tight ends against Seattle’s corners; any real concern or just health and matchups?

He didn’t look fully right, protection was leaky, and the plan needed more wrinkles because against an all-time caliber defense you have to manufacture a few; learn from it, tweak the approach, don’t overreact.

Postgame was a scene—Ludacris and T-Pain, K9 in a sharp green suit at the MVP stage, and Macdonald looking fresh like a machine.

Big picture, coaching moves swing seasons more than the draft or free agency, so here are five risers: Giants with sturdy lines and Jackson Dart, Commanders with Jaden Daniels back and cap room, Lions with Drew Petsing and stars locked, Chargers shifting to an offensive identity with healthy tackles, and the Chiefs regressing to the mean in close games with reinforcements coming.

Five sliders: Texans in a tougher division with turnover creep, Patriots facing a brutal slate and line fixes, Niners juggling injuries and cap choices at premium spots, Cowboys cap-strapped and imbalanced, and Eagles churning staff while defenses sit on the deep ball.

Way-too-early top tier leans hard on coaching: I’ve got Seattle first, Rams second, then Broncos, Bears, and Chargers, followed by Jaguars, Lions, Patriots, Bills, and the Chiefs.

Hold up—no Eagles, no Burrow, no Lamar, and where are the Texans; this board is wild, and I’ve got thoughts.

Cap math is coming for some contenders, defense travels, and yes, we’ll argue it out because September will shuffle this list fast.