Five Questions With: Danny Kelly from Field Gulls

Both the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks are 0-2 to start the 2015 season, but each are entering Sunday's game with a different outlook.  Of course, each side will have fans who think the sky is falling, as well as fans who are eternally optimistic, but for the most part, the Seahawks have a very good reason to be double-digit favorites against an increasingly desperate Bears team.

With that said, we spent some time drinking coffee, thumb wrestling, and playing hangman with Field Gulls head honcho Danny Kelly.  He gave us some insight on his 0-2 Seahawks, and let us know a little more about his team

You can see their version of this post, with yours truly talking about the Bears HERE.  But beware, it's not very uplifting to say the least.

1- From a front office standpoint, you've got Paul Allen (owner), John Schneider (GM), and of course, Pete Carroll (HC). What is the dynamic of that group, and how involved is everyone in the operation?

Danny: One of the biggest reasons that the Seahawks have had such success over the past three years is because of the smooth relationship between Carroll, Schneider, and Allen, in my opinion. Carroll is the real czar behind everything and has all decision-making power over the roster, but he does delegate tons of power to John Schneider to locate and acquire the talent via the Draft and Free Agency.

Schneider's scouting system and keen eye in finding pro players to pursue in free agency or trades has helped make Seattle's roster one of the deeper rosters in the NFL, but it's the coordination between Schneider and Carroll (and his coaches) in developing the players that Schneider finds that makes their relationship so effective. They believe in getting players into their program and then developing them with a system that takes several-years. It's similar to what's gone on in Green Bay and now is happening in Kansas City — the Ron Wolf/Ted Thompson tree of scouting and development where for the most part, you want to use the draft to build your team.

As for Paul Allen, from what we understand, he mostly stays out of things, and trusts Carroll and Schneider to run the team. He'll interject in certain situations, but from what has been reported, is not involved with the picking of players or running of the team. He gives Carroll his full support to run the program exactly how he wants to run it, and I think that's been a big deal for Carroll.

2- Let's just get this out of the way-- after an 0-2 start, the Seahawks are going to be just fine, aren't they?

Danny: Well, in theory, they're definitely still talented enough to bounce back from a really rough start. They have some home games coming up that could help them right the ship, and getting Kam Chancellor back onto the defense could have a really big impact for their effectiveness. That said, the defense has not to this point looked like "themselves" and have given up an average of 30 points per game in their first two (the gave up an average of 15.9 last year). The offense hasn't yet gotten Marshawn Lynch really going and the offensive line is a real work in progress. So, it's certainly not a given that they'll figure out how to solve the issues they've been having in the first two weeks.

Overall though, the first two weeks were expected to be difficult, and coming home gives Seattle a good chance to get their season back on track. If they lose to the Bears this week, all bets are off though. That would be a pretty panic-inducing situation (no disrespect to the Bears, but with Cutler and Jeffrey out, Seattle really needs this win).

3- What rookies are going to make the biggest impact for you guys this season? What about 2nd year players?

Danny: Receiver/returner Tyler Lockett had a great preseason and then returned a punt for a touchdown in Week 1, so his presence has already been felt. He has a few big catches for the offense as well. He's a guy that can be a game-changer in the return game and a real weapon for Russell Wilson to look for on third down, so I would say he's easily the most impactful rookie on the team. Defensive end/Defensive tackle Frank Clark had a huge preseason as well, but has only played limited snaps thus far. If he gets more snaps this week, keep an eye on #55, because he could be in the backfield a lot.

The second-year player to keep an eye on would be Marcus Burley, who played the nickel cornerback spot last week and had a very nice game.

4- Is Russell Wilson a little bit of a crazy person?

Danny: Yes. He definitely marches to the beat of his own drum. We've heard stories that his dad was running mock press conferences on him when he was a small child, and that polished politician-style development definitely shines through. He speaks almost purely in cliches or platitudes and is very buttoned up in terms of what he is willing to go on record about, to the point where it's often joked that he's a robot.

Then, every once in a while, he'll say things that raises people's eyebrows, like how he converses with god or how drinking bubbly water helped heal or protect him from getting a concussion. The nano-bubbles thing even had fans around here slapping their foreheads (then drinking the concussion water to heal themselves) so it's not just a national perspective. That said, he's our weirdo, and generally he's beloved in Seattle and by Seahawks fans.

I've always said that it takes a certain level of crazy person to play NFL quarterback because of the incredible amount of scrutiny that goes into every single throw they make, and so having Wilson be a little bit of a nut, especially when it comes to extreme, unwavering confidence, isn't necessarily a bad thing.

5- Everyone seems to think that NFL fanbases have their own unique personalities and quirks... Who are Seahawks fans?

Danny: It feels like the national perception of Seahawks fans is that we're obnoxious bandwagoners... and while we are definitely obnoxious (especially on twitter) and I think there are certainly some bandwagon fans (which would happen in any city that wins a Super Bowl, let's be honest), the fanbase in these parts has always been extremely strong and passionate, so I don't really buy that bandwagon narrative. It's been over a decade since the Seahawks failed to sell out a game, and ever since I was little the Seahawks have always a major force in the sports landscape in the northwest.

Seattle fans also pride themselves on being the loudest in the NFL — CenturyLink is one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL and the home field advantage up here is among the best on record over the last five or ten years, so there's a ton of pride in that. If you come to a Seahawks game you can expect a lot of ribbing if you're wearing another team's jersey but overall I think people are polite and welcoming.