Huard: ‘This is the closest Seahawks team I’ve ever seen’

In the immediate aftermath of Sam Darnold’s lowest point of the season – a nightmare four-interception performance that sunk the Seattle Seahawks in a 21-19 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 11 – linebacker Ernest Jones IV stepped up to the press conference podium and delivered an impassioned defense of his quarterback.

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It was a moment that came to epitomize the tight-knit brotherhood of this particular Seahawks team.

They haven’t lost since.

The Seahawks are flying high into Super Bowl 60, riding a nine-game win streak into Sunday’s showdown against the New England Patriots. And while there are many reasons the Hawks are back on football’s biggest stage for the first time in over a decade, their strong team chemistry has been an undeniable factor.

“This is the closest Seahawks team I’ve ever seen – either as a player or covering it,” former Seahawks quarterback Brock Huard said Friday on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk. “And it’s not 1 through 53. It’s 1 through 70.

“They don’t have a practice squad. They’ve got a ‘ready squad.’ And those guys have been ready all year for whenever and however their number was called.”

‘1 through 70’

As Huard mentioned, Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald and general manager John Schneider have referred to their 17-man practice squad as the ‘ready squad.’ And when discussing their team, they’ve termed it a 70-man roster instead of 53.

The idea is that any player could be called upon at any time. And throughout the season, there have been countless instances of backups or ‘ready squad’ players rising to the occasion after injuries test the team’s depth.

“They will win Sunday because they will be 70 strong – not 53, not 22,” Huard said. “Their 1 through 70 is deeper, tougher and closer than any group I’ve ever seen.”

“They’re just a bunch of selfless dudes,” he added. “… This group is just buttoned up, selfless, egoless – not about me, all about everybody else.”

Listen to the full Brock and Salk conversation at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Tune into Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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