Matt Mikolas

Matt Mikolas is the Program Director of 89.9 KGRG-FM and www.kgrg.com, where he hosts "The Locker Room" 10-12 Monday nights. He's the former intern on Mitch in the Morning on KJR-AM Seattle, 950 AM, and 102.9 FM. Matt also announces play-by-play for Green River Community College athletics, and the South King County Colts semi-pro football team.

Harvin Trade is Best Offseason Move Hawks Could Have Made

Published March 11, 2013 | By Matt Mikolas | Posted in Seahawks

Percy Harvin is the long-term upgrade Seattle needed to make.

Bar-none, no bones about it, the Seahawks needed a dynamic play-making wide receiver, and now have maybe the most explosive player in the entire NFL.

If you’re going to do something, might as well do it right.

If you’re a fan who is reluctant to get excited about this deal, simply remember this. This is not the kind of move that John Schneider usually makes. Our front office likes to build a team slowly, methodically, through the draft and by out-scouting the rest of the league. Schneider and Pete Carroll wouldn’t have gone through with this deal, picked up the tab, which could end up being a contract upwards of $120 million, and given up three draft picks if they weren’t 100 percent bought in on what Harvin will bring to the Seahawks.

And in case you need a reminder of exactly what that is going to be, keep these things in mind:

Sidney Rice‘s most productive year — 1,312 yds, 8 TD — came in 2009 when he played opposite Percy Harvin, who had 790 yds and 6 TD of his own.

Harvin may be the league’s most dangerous kick returner, having already racked up 5 TD with a 27.9 yard per return average.

And, my favorite attribute: versatility. Not only has Harvin lined up at running back, but he also creates a situation for Seattle that can maximize the production from all of their wide receivers. A trend in the NFL when it comes to big receivers has been to move them around from the flanker to the split end, and even in the slot, where receivers like Brandon Marshall have proven they can be most dangerous. With a stretch-the-field receiver like Harvin joining Golden Tate… Continue reading →

Sleepy Seahawks Lose Control in Playoff Picture

Published November 25, 2012 | By Matt Mikolas | Posted in Leisure, Seahawks

Tonight, when looking over my fantasy football league standings, I had a revelation, which I announced to my roommate, who was looking over different win/loss scenarios that would allow him to squeak into the playoffs: “There’s nothing better than controlling your own destiny.”

These Seahawks had every opportunity to do that. Looking at the NFC, most scenarios would say that 10-6 would be the road map to the playoffs. A win on Sunday would have Seattle looking at a 7-4 record, looking for three wins out of five, with three games left at home, where they’ve yet to be beaten this year.

Instead, what they chose to do is lose another very winnable road game to a lesser team, leaving their fate in the hands of the rest of the NFC.

Isn’t this getting old?

OK OK, go ahead, tell me about how it’s the longest road trip in the NFL. About a 1o am wakeup. About home field advantage meaning loud crowds on defense, and strange surroundings.

Even after all that bullshit, doesn’t there come a point where we say, “you’re professional football players. Fucking play like it.”?!

Or does Pete Carroll have to go all Hoosiers on the team, and tape measure the height of the goal posts and the length from end zone to end zone???

At some point can’t we as fans expect that when we have a team which has better players at every position on the field, EVERY POSITION ON THE FUCKING FIELD, it won’t matter if they play in Seattle, LA, London, China, Mars, WHEREVER, everyone will wake up and play like the pro football team they’re supposed to be??

Apparently not. Because the Seahawks find themselves staring 6-5 right in the face, and now may lose two of their biggest defensive… Continue reading →

Follow the Yellow Brick Road … To the Playoffs

Published November 6, 2012 | By Matt Mikolas | Posted in Seahawks

Good feelings abound in the Emerald City.

And no, not from the celebratory THC that I know is pumping through so many Washingtonian’s bodies right now.

Playoff fever is about to be in full swing.

Maybe it hasn’t hit every Seahawk fan yet, but I assure you, after next week’s unabashed red-ass beating of the New York Jets, there will be hardly anything but positivity pulsating through the Northwest’s football fans.

And why not?

The road has been laid for this team to waltz into the playoffs without so much as a trip on the dance floor. 10-6 is likely, 11-5 is doable, and even 12-4, however crazy to think about from where this team started, is even in very fuzzy view out past the horizon.

And we don’t even need a wizard to grant it to us.

This team is amazing at home. With NY, St. Louis, San Francisco and Arizona left as the home schedule, it’s foreseeable that Seattle could run the table in their own building. That would mean only one road win against either Miami, Buffalo, (in Toronto) or Chicago would give them a 10-6 record.

The likelihood is that they will lose in Chicago, and it’s about a 50/50 chance they win against San Fran. But think about it. Other than those two games, they should run away with this thing. The schedule and tie breakers all point Seattle’s way.

With all this team has been through this season — a rookie quarterback, a stagnant offense, radio parody songs — the fact that they could be the hottest team going into January no longer seems far fetched. It actually seems in reach, if not outright expected.

Where they go from there, of course, is completely up in the air. This is a team… Continue reading →

Ghost? No! It’s the Seahawks’ Defense That’s Scaring You

Published November 1, 2012 | By Matt Mikolas | Posted in Seahawks

Happy Halloween.

There, that’s probably the friendliest tone you’ll hear in this post, and I wanted to bid everyone a good holiday!

Now, to the Seahawks.

What was glaring from their win over New England was the fact that they got gashed up by Tom Brady to the tight ends and backs across the short middle. There wasn’t a whole lot of concern, because after all, it’s TOM BRADY, and most of the passing offense of New England goes through the tight ends.

Then came San Francisco. Seattle’s defense wasn’t able to hold on, because of the 49ers 2nd half adjustment to using the passing game in the short middle of the field, which manifested itself in dump-offs to the running backs. After that, it was obvious that the book was out on the Hawks defense: Stellar on the edges, but vulnerable in the short middle.

All that’s been confirmed after Seattle’s latest loss in Detroit. After giving up 12-16 3rd down conversions, and seeing 19 passes completed to tight ends and running backs, it’s obvious that this is a full-fledged problem in the Seahawks defensive scheme. Any team wanting to move the ball on Seattle just has to put on the last three weeks of tape and see that if you take the outside receivers and send them downfield, the short middle will be open for dump-offs. Nearly every time.

Yikes.

The scary thing is, it’s easy to pass this defense off as one of the best in the NFL. They currently rank 3rd in points allowed, and have faced some of the league’s top quarterbacks. But the only statistic that really matters is the one that indicates which team has the most points at the end of the game.

Conventional wisdom said that the Seahawks might be ok… Continue reading →

QB Switch?: It’s Not Yet Time to Fold on Russell Wilson

Published October 3, 2012 | By Matt Mikolas | Posted in Seahawks

The Seahawks are now 2-2, and have the lowest ranked passing offense in the NFL. Like we didn’t see this coming.

But Seahawks fans, I guarantee you, we’re not the only ones who foresaw this possibility. The front office and Pete Carroll had to know this was a possible route this season would take when they decided to start a rookie quarterback.

There are some, and by some I mean many, who are calling for Russell Wilson to be benched, and for Matt Flynn to start. To them, I say be patient. Let the process work.

There is no way that Pete can bench Russell after four games, two of which were Seahawks victories. Rookies need time to adjust to the speed of the NFL and the disguised elements of pro defenses. That’s just a fact. Now, Russell does have physical limitations where are becoming more increasingly prominent, but this isn’t news. We all knew he was short. The big guys over in Renton knew he was short. Nothing’s changed.

There’s almost zero chance that a rookie quarterback is going to step in, light the world on fire from the get-go, and lead his team to a 3-1 or 4-0 record in the first quarter of the season. Seattle has taken the right approach, with trying to bring him along slowly, rely on the defense and special teams, and eek out a couple of wins against quality opponents. The time will come to open up the offensive playbook, and I’m sincerely hoping that the time is VERY VERY soon. But in the meantime, we have to let the quarterback develop and learn. Will we lose a game we probably should win because of it? Yeah, probably. But most of us had the Seahawks starting the season at 2-2,… Continue reading →