‘Hard Knocks’: Seattle Seahawks recap: An emotionally charged Episode 4

Episode four of “Hard Knocks” did not pull any emotional punches. It tugged on the heart strings, and made you feel for the team. While there were some happy moments, there were also some heart breaking ones as well. Let’s get into it.

“Hard Knocks” Episode 4 recap

Jake Bobo is seen as The Enforcer on the offense. The “Draymond Green” to Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s “Steph Curry” as wide receiver coach Frisman Jackson put it. He does all the things that do not show up on the stat sheet

Coach Mike Macdonald held a meeting of the leadership council to try to come up with strategies to keep the energy up in the team and hold everyone accountable.

Sam Darnold takes his position as a leader on the team seriously and puts a lot of the accountability on his shoulders.
Position coaches also hold themselves accountable, and preached toughness, responsibility, consistency, and playing to a high level in each of the position meetings.

During an all-team meeting, Mike and the team celebrated Brady Russell becoming a father, and you could tell how proud Brady was.
Mike took a moment to celebrate the life of a mentor of his who passed away, O.J. Brigance, who Mike said was the model of what it meant to be a man, and someone who he could go to whenever he needed a word of advice. He stated that Brigance would message him each game day, and was cheering for the Seahawks last season. He passed away from a long battle with ALS, and when Mike was tearing up and getting emotional, the team supported him.

We have heard tales of it, but we finally got to see John Schneider show off his film knowledge by testing the coaches with a movie quote. The answer: Steve Martin from “Three Amigos”. Classic comedy.
Got a peek behind the curtain and got to see John talking to Trevon Diggs, who said he did not feel a 100 percent healthy last season, but now having a full offseason to put in the work with physical training and strength training feels as though he got his twitchiness back. He is ready to prove himself on this team.

With the heat in Nashville, the coaching staff was emphasizing getting in high carb meals with high protein and drinking plenty of electrolytes. Still, a few players went down in joint practice due to spasms, including Montorie Foster who got a good talking to from his parents after practice.
We got to see Bobo go down with the torn ACL, and you could tell how much that loss impacted the team. Teammates and coaches alike were downtrodden after seeing him go down and scream in pain.

The rookie talent show was a fun watch. Most of the rookies kept to AJ Barner’s instructions and did solo acts, though a couple did duets. Some had rolled up napkins thrown at them. However, Uso Seumalo stole the show with his acoustic rendition of “No Woman, No Cry” by Bob Marley.

The quarterbacks bonding getting custom cowboy hats together was fun to see. Not going to lie, I am a bit disappointed Sam did not get the neon green 14 on his hat as he requested. Regardless, seeing Drew Lock at the end of the episode wearing his cowboy hat on top of his ballcap was pretty amusing.
Seeing the emphasis on the small details that mattered during the preseason game was cool to see. Drew was able to take the second team offense down the field against the first team defense of the Tennessee Titan, capping it off with an Elijah Arroyo touchdown, and Foster’s run block that allowed Jacardia Wright’s 69 yard touchdown was fun to see.
The Bud Clark injury was rough to watch, however, seeing how his fiancée and child supported him while he was getting the brace on was both tough and heartwarming. “Think about the unicorns” got me chuckling.

Uso Seumalo being the leading force on that fourth down stop was huge for him. He is fighting for a spot on the 53 man roster, and that was a huge boost for him.
Mike’s message at the end of the episode was key. He emphasized how they had improved this week, and that he can see the improvement and was proud of the team and the work they were putting in. Though they lost the game, they won in other ways and improved.

What were your favorite moments from the episode? Comment down below and let’s have a discussion!