Biggest Surprise at Half-time

[Ad Hawk]

Now that the first 1/2 of the season is over, what is your biggest surprise? Is there a player or three that stand out to you in ways you could not imagine? Did you expect to see 125-140 YPG on the ground? Is Sam playing above your expectations? Is it play-calling, or press-conference honesty?

For me, the surprise is that even in our wins, it has seemed they could have been much more lop-sided with just a couple plays going our way. This year's Hawks have won in convincing fashion, yet left a lot on the field undone. Against the Commanders, it seemed like more of was cleaned up, and it still could have been worse if the O didn't take their foot off the passing game. Our two close losses are the same--a couple plays away from a perfect record. That's surprising to me.

 

[glenwo2]

As a long-time Darnold Stan, I'm NOT surprised with Sam Darnold like many are.

I knew he'd continue playing well on the Hawks even though I was basically alone on an island thinking this.

The biggest surprise, to me, has been the OL and how quickly it came together and improved.

Gray Zabel turned out to be the The single most IMPORTANT draft pick to date for the Hawks.

His performance is why Darnold is getting time in the pocket to throw the ball as opposed to running for his life.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Darnold. He has absolutely exceeded my expectations. Also, the jump from year 1 to year 2 by Coach Mike. VERY impressive.

 

[oldhawkfan]

I think my biggest surprise is how well the offense is playing. Going into this season, they replaced the QB, got rid of two starting WRs, essentially have two new starters on the o line, a new OC, and a new offensive system.

2024 was the year of the defensive makeover while 2025 has been the year of the offensive makeover. Traditionally, defenses usually hit their stride after a few games. Last year, they replaced a couple LBers midseason and then the defense started to play better. By the end of last year I was super hyped about this defense.

Going into this season, it was the offenses turn for a makeover. Offense generally takes longer to gel. I figured by midseason we would start to see the semblance of a fair to middle offense. Count me as one fan who is pleasantly shocked at how quickly this offense has come together.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this Seahawks team is good. Really good.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

And it was a little under the radar during the Mariners big run, especially out here in Washington.

 

[Ad Hawk]

Gray Zabel turned out to be the The single most IMPORTANT draft pick to date for the Hawks.

His performance is why Darnold is getting time in the pocket to throw the ball as opposed to running for his life.

There's no doubt about Zabel's contributions to O-Line and Darnold's success.

Imagine a Right Guard of his ability on this line too... fun to dream, isn't it?

 

[Trackhawk]

The biggest surprise to me, is how successful the passing game has been, despite our heavy use of 12 and 22 personnel sets.

I kind of wonder if they are seeing something to take advantage of with modern defenses who are used to facing off against 10 and 11 personnel sets.

I’m also surprised at the overall lack of success of the running game, given our focus on it.. We currently lead the league in rushing percentage at 48% of offensive plays, but are second worst, with an anemic 3.7 YPC, 0.2 YPC better than the NFL’s worst Niners.

This is also probably attributable to our preference for heavy formations. Defenses of stacked the box against us, more than any other team.

Defense has basically been what I expected. Near the top of the league, with some growing pains. Special teams has been not exactly surprising, but certainly has been a breath of fresh air.

 

[kidhawk]

My biggest surprise has to be Drake Thomas. I never thought of him as more than a depth/special teams guy but here he is taking starting jobs and causing havoc out there every week.

 

[Ruminator]

The nearly-impossible-to-defend Darnold-to-JSN connection. Truly, the Hawks have made some stellar draft picks in the last couple of years.

 

[Sperrydogg]

I guess one thing I wanna know is what happened to Jared Ivey. I thought we were gonna see a lot of him but I don’t think he’s even played

 

[Seahawkfan80]

The fact that they did not drop back and start playing prevent the win defense. I expected it and even thought that the Refs may assist. But they called a fair game. Wierd.

 

[Ad Hawk]

Ty Okada has been a bit of a surprise to me, too. His INT last night was a thing of beauty; I was sure he was OB.

 

[Ozzy]

As a long-time Darnold Stan, I'm NOT surprised with Sam Darnold like many are.

I knew he'd continue playing well on the Hawks even though I was basically alone on an island thinking this.

The biggest surprise, to me, has been the OL and how quickly it came together and improved.

Gray Zabel turned out to be the The single most IMPORTANT draft pick to date for the Hawks.

His performance is why Darnold is getting time in the pocket to throw the ball as opposed to running for his life.

I thought Darnold was a massive upgrade over Geno so I'm with you there.

I think for me the biggest surprise is how well the defense is playing even with key starters out almost every week. Macdonald is doing some really cool stuff. I knew he would be a big upgrade for us on that side of the ball but his ability to scheme around injured players is incredible. A lot of guys can put together good stuff when they have all their pieces but Macdonald has a way of filling voids.

Zabel has been awesome as well.

 

[Ostatehawk]

I thought Darnold was a massive upgrade over Geno so I'm with you there.

I think for me the biggest surprise is how well the defense is playing even with key starters out almost every week. Macdonald is doing some really cool stuff. I knew he would be a big upgrade for us on that side of the ball but his ability to scheme around injured players is incredible. A lot of guys can put together good stuff when they have all their pieces but Macdonald has a way of filling voids.

Zabel has been awesome as well.

This defenses ability to function with truly key personnel on the side line is amazing.

 

[GemCity]

Hmm….need to think about this.

In the interim, I was surprised they showed the Commanders cheerleaders in slow mo last night. Hubba hubba

But for real…it’s the defense dominance. Emmanwori…D-Law…Jobe…I’m awestruck. We all knew the caliber of Big Cat, Spoon…even Murphy considering draft positioning. But, we’ve got guys like Okada…Thomas
….folks stepping up.

As a Buckeyes fan, not surprised by JSN. Darnold showed out last year but, I’m a bit surprised as to how well he fits with the Hawks.

Shit…the whole damn thing. I’m surprised by the whole damn thing. This team is the best one we’ve had in the last decade and the scary part is, they haven’t even come close to reaching their peak.

Guys have been out….we have a rather weak OG…imagine when everything gels.

Bravo JS & MM.

 

[MORGULON]

Passing game has surprised me. It's so much better than last season. Trade Geno Smith and DK Metcalf ? No problem.

I'm not saying I was in the doomsday camp but I'm surprised they're as good as they are.

And I think they'll be even better by the end of the season with more ppl involved than 90% JSN. They'll have to . Last night , Wash DC was doubling Ngjiba at times .

Or trying to.

 

[Shane Falco]

Ty Okada has been a bit of a surprise to me, too. His INT last night was a thing of beauty; I was sure he was OB.

That was an insane catch for a CB. He looked like one of the top WR's going up and getting that.

 

[Wsumatt1982]

There's no wrong answer here. I'm gonna go with something slightly different.

Point differential. We are top 6 in the league with a couple teams ahead of us playing 1 more game. That means we are dominating in all 3 phases, and only getting better with key pieces not contributing.

Also #1 in DVOA while being the only team in the league in top 5 in all 3 phases. Just a metric, but a strong indicator.

 

[Frank12]

The Darnold, JSN connection is my biggest surprise, the next biggest would have to be Drake Thomas & Ty Okada...

 

[MontanaHawk05]

One thing I didn't see coming, because I'm generally pretty cynical on intangibles, is JSN's steps forward. He's basically become uncoverable in this scheme, and a big part of that is Cooper Kupp's influence. JSN himself has repeatedly talked about this. He's a gamebreaker now.