Seahawks Stories: Dave Krieg

Published Jan 10, 2024, 5:48 AM
Longtime Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg is the latest guest to sit down with Jim Zorn and Steve Raible. Today’s show: Dave Krieg’s journey to Seattle (04:08), NFL head coaches from the early Seahawks days (10:05), how Dave lasted so long in the NFL (13:49), Dave’s best play in the NFL (18:15), Dave’s game-winning pass to Paul Skansi (23:03), Dave Krieg’s nickname (33:00), what Dave is up to now (39:51), Sam Adkins played a huge role in his career (43:37), and relationships developed in Seattle (45:23).

You're listening to Seahawks stories, teaking you behind the scenes with your favorite Seahawks.

Set back to behind, Zorn, who's back to pass as time looks for the left sideline, throws a bomb down there he's got a.

Man in front.

He makes to grab a travel It's a thirty down of the twenty.

Don't ever get him. He scores touched.

Out Seahawks powered by Seahawks dot.

Com and Zorn later in perfectly a Rabel who goes in to score on an eighty yard pass and run play.

Now, here's your host, the voice of the Seahawks, Steve Raebol and Seahawks legend Jim Zorn.

What another treat? We have another Ring of Honor member. And before we even get to it, and Dave Craig.

Is our guest, today's ee, how are you? Happy New Year? Everybody happy? N NASA are the producer and Dave of course, happy New Year to you.

And before you say anything, I just want to tell you, yes, we had to search along and hard to find a highlight of me and we decided and we decided to use it. I'm going to say that before you say it. Thanks for coming on.

It's great to have you.

Yeah, good to be on rage and any highlight you can give it is a is a big deal. I appreciate that. That's true.

Yes, we Z always shakes his head when we when we play that play because it was listen at that time. It was of course it was still the first year of the franchise, but it was the longest touchdown pass in franchise history. It lasted about six more months.

Let me let me ask you not only.

That race, excuse me a second, but you know I got the play Jim was starting. I got you were one of the best preseason receivers around for a couple of years. I mean, if they had a preseason like that, preseason, I'll poting you would have bet on because you were better and and you could play special teams. I mean, you were like a fantasy football player's green as a preseason player. You know when I when I give an accolade.

You are right on.

And when I got into the league, I actually started with the Dallas Cowboys, and when I go to practice, I'd walk up to the line of screamage. You'd be my rep in training camp and just like Dave saying, preseason and Drew Pearson would be out there and I'd look and then he would step back and let the other guy step forward. He wouldn't he wouldn't run a pattern for me. Were you like that with with Dave when he was.

The first telling But you know what's interesting.

I'm not going to catch a pass. Hey, somebody else go and.

You you quarterbacks can can tell me tell more about this. But when your backups, you know, I obviously I backed up Steve and Sam, but so you start to kind of develop a little more of a of a relationship on the field and practice field with that backup quarterback like Sam and I and Dave. Sure, you know, when you got to got in there and got your reps, I always thought that was interesting because, let's face it, you needed to get the most reps, Jim, because you were throwing the ball to Sam and and to Steve in large measure and and.

That was okay.

But it always it always reminded me that, hey, these other quarterbacks are really good too, because you know, I get a chance to work with them maybe a little more. That's right, Dave, when you were when you got here nineteen eighty right, nineteen eighty rookie free agent. Yes, out of Milton College. You're I know you've told this story a million times, but kind of your first thoughts. Did your coach kind of sent some videotape in and you had a chance to come here.

And real quickly? Yeah, yeah, he knew a guy named Joe Schmid I think was with the Lions and then hit. That's how he met Dick Mansburger, and Dick Mansburger happened to be the head of player personnel there, so they sent two tannisers up home. I'm sure there was spliced together at five or six different times with tape. And according to Jerry Romer Howard Mutt, it depends who you talked to. They both say that they looked at it and think he could make it. So he looked at it and said, call my coach up and we run the library field playing coach football at the time, and with the quarter barrel of beer, and the guy says, come on, Dan, you gotta do in here. You gotta do in here. The Seahawk's on the phone, and I'm like, yeah, right right, I told this kid, yet out he kept playing in the coach you guys get in there on this phone call and then they said to get on a plane. Of course, that was the very first time I'd ever got on an airplane.

Is there a better story? I mean, when it really Jim is shaking his head. No, there's not a better story when it comes to a kid coming out of a small college that nobody really gave much of a chance to because mostly nobody knew about him, and yet to come into the league and then play nineteen years in the National Football League. It's amazing, Jim, you played the same position I think for Dave.

When I saw Dave, it actually has stuck with me all throughout through my coaching career as well as I look for guys that are accurate and can complete passes, you know, can you hit what you're throwing? And Dave was one of those guys. He was very accurate passer. Maybe he didn't have the strongest arm in the league, but didn't need to because he could anticipate and he could throw the ball in a position that the receiver could catch it and stay away from that defender.

You know, Dave, Dave, you you were described as kind of a gym rat kind of guy.

Is that how you would describe yourself as you just.

You love it certainly, Yes, yes, I mean by the time I was five years old, I remember watching the Green Bay Packers. They had Vince Lombardi and Bart Starr and Jim Taylor and really would her batterly. So I'm watching the dang best of the best on black and white TV every Sunday. So then I then I'll go out and visualize even before it was a popular thing, and I'd get a bunch of kids together and I said, we're going to run this play because that's why I saw him do on TV, whereas my dad would say, come on Star whatever. And then I played basketball. Was bossball season, you know, Louel Singer was there. Now he's Kareem M do it bar. So I was always playing basketball and then baseball. I think that's where I got my accuracy from Jim's baseball. Really like I'm playing baseball. But I loved playing sports. I just loved it.

So you did more than just fish were growing up that.

Yes, yes, I mean, remember they had that place up in Kirkland. We got the new place and we would go up there and have some of the most hellacious competitive basketball games ever. Shimon Smith was up there, and Kenny Easley and Jake and Terry Taylor and we were just competing. So we go practice little training camp football like in the summer, like workoffs, and go up there. So there was a lot of gym rats that were on our team. But I loved sports man. I love football with no I love football so much. Jim's got it right. I mean I would have done anything to play football.

When when you got there, Dave as a as a rookie free agent, a quarterback, and you know we got it.

Was stony still. There was Steve Meyer still there.

Yeah, yes, yes, had the band back I think, but but you still had Sam and Jim. So what did you think when you got to Cheenie and you look, here's a quarterback room and this is the National Football League? Did you think to yourself, Dave, Hey, if I work hard, I can make this team. Or wow, this is this is.

You're forgetting Matt Cooper. You're forgetting Matt Kopeck. Dave, there was two three other guys in front of me. There's a training camp pitcher. We had this guy Jim that was my uncle was Johnny Kye. Everybody's looking over aught him up a genie and you can see number seventeen. I'm up on my tiptoes looking it was my rookie year, and I'm like, that's how I was looking like to get a job. So I was a seventh string guy. I didn't know really who Jim Zorn was, and I never knew who Steve large was till I saw him, and I'm going, that's Steve Largent. Like he's five to ten with that apro.

Matchie, yeah, matching his wife Terry's apro.

Yeah, yeah, yes, I mean that's all I really knew. And then practice was just to me. Nobody out there ever said, oh, that's the kid from Milton. Nobody. Once you get in the NFL, they don't care if you come from Saying Quentin or Milton. As long as you can play.

That's right. Hey, was let me ask you a question. Was Mike I.

Played with some guys that should have been in San Quentin.

Was was Mike Tye? Was Mike Tye already on the team when you when you got in?

No? No, no, no, no, oh that's so funny. He came in next year and they said he was a quarterback from Maryland. I said, you go to I was on this podcast. I would laugh. I said, you play quarterbacks at Maryland?

Oh my god, we large and I went.

He came in.

We went to a mini camp.

They had a rookie mini camp, and here's Mike Tice in the camp and he's a quarterback, just like and just like Dave saying he was quarterback. That's this is the best, the best of the best that you can get. Honestly, he couldn't throw the ball about thirty.

Yards and you know, he just literally threw like so or you know, my daughter Coley could throw like that, you know, basically.

But wasn't he an inspiration then? I mean you think about what he did, yeah, and what uh you know, and what he accomplished after that. I didn't know that he came in, yes, yes.

No, no no doubt, yeah, no doubt about it. I have much respect. I know Mike's family and all that, because mom and dad. But it's still hilarious that he was actually a quarterback. But I'll tell you another bear story. Do you want to talk about stories? I thought about this just about four or five years ago. Randall Borris was a tennis Tennessee quarterback, a quarterback and then he came into the NFL to play running back. That's even more difficult because you know you're going up there and getting hit every time, even in practice, you know. So that's another guy that was a good inspirational story. But tays, Yeah, he played tight end, then I need to catch passes, and he'd get a little pete talk about him. Man.

You know, that's interesting you say that Randall was a QB at Tennessee because we had Sherman on last week and another quarterback and we drafted Think about this, We drafted Sherman as a wide receiver and then he became a running back.

Happy.

Yeah, but she was one of those guys. He could have played any position. She was when I ended my career in my last two years, Shearman Smith, who I started my career with, was my running backs coach with the Tennessee Titan. That was so funny.

Oh yeah, that is funny when you think about this for a second, Dave. We played with guys we mentioned Mike tye Uh and Jim Zorn, guys who played their positions well when they were here. They were teammates with us, and they went on to become head coaches in the National Football League. I mean, that's that's pretty remarkable that you and I.

This a slap at me like that, what happened to you? How come you do become a head? No?

No, not at all.

No, it's a it's a it's a it's kudos to those guys, to Jim and to Mike and how you know, guys can play their entire career and and not have that kind of connection. And here we got a couple of guys that came out of that, that whole process with the early Seahawks.

League coaches, and that.

Would be a testament. I would say to Jack, Mike McCormick, and Chuck Knox to help play the groundwork for Jim, and I suppose Mike and also Mike to learn the West Coast offense. Jim, you should tell people what it's late to go home from. I write Action Past twenty five strong to twenty two Texas. You know what I mean? Like when I got when I got to the West Coast offense, I'm like, Whyn't not a car like this? I was running learn how to drive? What the hell is this? I was six thirty six. We didn't change a prop from nineteen eighty to nineteen whatever. It was like. I got there. I got there, I said, oh my gosh, they from the three step drop, they from the five step drop. And after I got I'm doing all that, they go, We're gonna bring in Jill Montana. I'm like, why the hell did I do all that? You're bringing? But what an offense that was, Jim, Oh my gosh, I should have stayed there. And you want to talk about other place, you know, as when we were talking about places Detroit. Imagine this is for an offense. They had Kevin Glover, Dave Lukes, three or four of the guys that were all pro offense line, and then they had Barry Sanders, Herman Moore, Johnny Morton.

I was there.

I was there with Jo with Jamo, I was there with UH, with Herman Moore. I was there with UH, with Barry, with Barry.

Yeah, and I remember, and I think I said this, Jim, do not.

Agree that Helond Moore was a great, great receiver.

Yes, but he he run He ran the best fade stop of any of any receiver I've ever been around. And Johnny Morton was actually pretty good inside as well as playing outside.

Uh.

But yeah, Herman Moore was very, very good. He was limited on some of the routes that he could run. But uh man, that's that fade stop was was something else where.

He'd run a go round a minute.

I'm gonna get I'm gonna give Harmon Moore some better credit that man. So I first time I got a chance to throw them. Scott Mitchell's there, he gets hurt against the book the comedy Student against Mike homegrin. Mike always reminds me of this, and and his wife gat us up by like seventeen points, and then I go on, guy hurt his ankle and that funny, and I go in there in a halftime and we come up. We scored like twenty one points just knowing out ross from the inside slot receiver. But Herman Moore, if I threw a hissed to him, Jim, he could reach his hands out almost take a Mega John, extend his hands and catch the ball of his hands. He was sixth floor. He jumped seven to at the University of Virginia. He could run in russ he could run fades. You could throw the ball up to him and he could catch. He was like a Dale turner even more athletic.

Yeah, he was a vacuum cleaner outside.

He really was.

For those folks who don't remember, and I hadn't remembered Dave the Lions, but Dave Craig Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Tennessee Oilers, three time Pro bowler, I mean, obviously in the ring of honor, a varied career. Again, as we talked about, from a guy from a small college, what was it, Dave that propelled you to have such a great career, such a long lasting career in the national football Do you think it was fear?

Fear I'm going to tell you right now, simple feel as a motivator, Heck yeah, feel. I don't want to go back to Wisconsin and working in the paper miller for Roat Router Number one, when you go to another team, When you go to another team, it doesn't matter what you did, because you have to go there and prove yourself all over again. So now you're fearful of can I live up to this? So it makes you even more. It just I always like to have a chip on my shoulders, some type of thing, you know, when it was in high school, there was always this other kid that was a guard to trying to play quarterback, and it was you know, I always there. But in football you have to go prove yourself. That's what people don't understand. When backup quarterbacks go somewhere, they got to learn a whole new terminology, vernacular. It's all the same, but they call it different things, and you got to learn all that, and then you got to learn the defense of how they call it. Then you got to prove to your teammates that now you're just studying quarterback. You other got to just look that you had all the paint and you've got to be as good, if not better than him, but still be authentically natural at the same time.

Yeah, and that's what's really unique about one of the unique traits that Dave had when he played.

Is the ability.

And I think it's really hard to be in one place learn a system, go to another place. You're not just learning the different vocabulary. There is a different concept as well out there on that offense and what they're trying to do, but you also have to learn what they're calling defenses and nuances of coverages that one coach may see a little bit differently than the other, and hey, we don't want to attack here, we want to attack here. But you, when you were at the other place, you attacked the other side. And for him to be able to do that, you got to think that's pretty special to be able to flip all that in your mind and then make it work, and then believe in it and make the other your teammates around you believe in it as well. Wouldn't you say, those are some things that you had to do to make it work for you.

Dave certainly, certainly learning all that stuff. But then he going back to the rags question a little bit too. Then. Also the more I go back home, the more I see my buddies, they ever talk about football. But I do know that when I played, when we went to Milwaukee, you're played in Green Bay or Chicago, somewhere near. All my friends would be there, So I was playing for them too, because not many guys come from Russall Wisconsin up there. I'm playing in the NFL. You know, It's just it's it's very rare. So also I played for my friends and the guys from Milan. The school closed down and then like I said, man, I love playing football so much. I love if you got to do gassers, I'd help the linemen try to get Come on, let's go to make everybody better. I mean it was a shock to me when I first came there and they smoked cigarettes in the locker room. I'm like, surely you can't wait till later on. I'm like, winning has to be like there's somewhere both marbles and Chesterfield one hundred.

Now, hey, David, who did you Who did you hang with when you were on the Seahawk team? Like who do you remember?

My first year? Oh?

Yeah, just who were you?

There? Was there a guy named Jeff cd raves Jeff.

CB Jeff C.

Yes, yes, yes, I shoved that. No, No, I shouldn't hung around with him, but I did a couple of nights, and then most of the time it was Shank and Mini and we didn't go out much. I don't remember. I remember, oh Bick minor Greg Johnson?

Aren't you around? Uh another off? Yeah, yeah you were so Shank Shank why.

I think he came from a small college state.

I think that's what I thought too.

I think he was an All American wrestler, All American Tackle Park at grind Valley State. You want to talk about a guy that loved and wanted to play football. He would run. He was drafted in the fourth of fifth roun by the Sea. He put his vest on. He was constantly getting in shape. That's the first guy I met on my second airplane ride ever was Ron. I think I saw him. I was like, are you going to sail to Holy Krsher? All this big? You know, he's six foot eight two and eighty and no fault. I'm like, holy question. I'm like, I just see it from because you're bigger than all these guys. And then another one. He's fast. For all, he was fast, he could do all this stuff, and he was a wrestler. Became we became like best friends.

You know, all right, David, I'm gonna put you on the spot. Give me a couple of what you would consider the best your best play. And you know it may not be a touchdown throw, but when when you look back at your career, you said, man, that was something I was really proud of that particular play.

Give me a couple of those.

Any team, Well, oh shoot, okay, I'll tell you one real smart one you'd really like this. I was at the lines and we played every year they played Thanksgiving Day, and I would get text from Joel Montana and the guys and the Chiefs because they saw that I took over for Mitchell and all the coach had done good. And now I'm on Thanksgiving the football so the coach, I'm more. And Dave, older guy, Jim Dave, he just passed away to uh the Lion's offensive from Alliance.

Oh Dave, I'm more.

And day anyway, he called the plane. He goes, we're gonna run a free flicker. So you know, we got Barry Sanders, so many things. You're gonna hand off the ball of Barry Sanders. So I'm gonna HNT. But he says, if you see this coverage, don't do it. So I kind of I kind of got better. If there was a time when I was my second year, Jim, you'll appreciate this. Jerry Rum calls Jay zero and whatever the outroutes are sure, And so as I dropped back, I handed the ball off whoever the running back was, and then it got fumbled and I go to the sidel and he goes, what were you doing? I said, I forgot it was a play action passes. You better get your head out of here, he goes, you better get your head. You guys are laughing. I mean I had a lot of funny things happened to me. I go to sea. He says, you better get your head. You better get your head out of your beat or you won't be here very long. And that was my second year. We were playing on in the Rams down in the preseason.

Tell me this were you? Uh, what years were you?

I'm not doing my sport, Jim Jim, Jim Jim. I'm just finishing.

So tell me about Barry.

Tell me about he made he may ever receive her better because they're always if they had there. What's in the box? You're throwing it ninety four? Oh my gosh, you ran for two thousand hours. The next year. That was the most incredible human being to play with, Like sitting in his locker next Dame and Eric went and he would just sit there like he just you know, just did nothing, like he just went one hundred and eighty yards, the most humble guy. And his dad introduced him. I went to the Hall of Fame. When he got introduced, his dad said, I to introduced you in the second best running back into Hall of Fame because his dad, he said, Jim Brown was the best. This is the second first one. So anyway, we're playing the Bills thanks to Living Big Game, and sure enough they have this coverage on the Califinn I want to throw a touchdown pass, so we run the play. Sure enough, he says, let's run it again. I'm like, okay, so the second player we do the three flock that we score lot. Isn't that crazy?

Yeah, so you're going to do it?

And then we did run it twice.

Who'd you throw to twice?

The first place the cover the first place that they were in cover too, so we couldn't do it.

So who who'd you throw it to?

You remember Herman Moore? Herman Hermon Moore.

All right, I got one for you.

And then there was a game winning that raves. You must have broadcast this more. Imagine this. They're telling you before the game or maybe before a pregame war. I'm saying, want to tell me too far ahead? Just like when I first started. They didn't tell me to the day of the game. Chuck says, we're gonna Chuck says, we're gonna throw a bomb on the first play, and that's not something you normally want to hear it right away. We win the coin toss, We're to throw a bomb in in Denver, first playing game. No no cadence like red set, no sound, all that stuff. Goose Berg Bliss dropped back about five gods high as far as I can. They'll turner runs under it. First play the games goes eighty yard touchdown.

Do you remember that one? Like it was yesterday and a great.

That was crazy. I mean, you just hit an outstand outstretched hands and big long legs. That's one guy. I wish now that I'm a little bit more mature and older and see things.

I can, I can actually wish Dave.

I wish I could have helped there at a little bit. He was an awesome, awesome receiver, and I could have spent more time on helping him to get better, But I was trying to get better myself at the same time.

Dave, he was one of the only guys I think, on our on in my experience, nobody knew how fast he was. They like, we never really had a forty time on him or something.

Do you do you?

Yeah, I didn't. I mean he could. He didn't care about one against Lester, Like didn't even phase him. Like, No, he just wanted to go play and catch the ball. We should utilize him a little bit more. That's what I'm trying to.

Say to Okay, my Dave Craig play. And of course I'm jaded because it's with the Seahawks and I know you had great plays with a lot of other teams.

Well, it's the only get your guests only get two. I thought you said just name a few, and you just gave me two. And are you gonna cut me off?

No, I'm going to give you another chance, but I'm gonna do I'm going to do my pipe before you start again, because I may not get another word in edgewise the way this is going. But it was you had had a really tough day against Thomas the linebacker at Kansas City, and I think you got sacked like seven times. And they weren't you know, I mean, guys were just it was like he was just running over everybody. It didn't matter who was blocking him. But he was in the backfield almost before you got the ball. And the eighth one that you avoided him and threw the game winning touchdown to Paul Scanzy. Was is for me, one of the most memorable plays. And I wasn't doing play by play then Pete was. But I just remember how crazy exciting that was, that finish and uh and you made it happen by avoiding the eighth and then throwing a dart.

And then a year or two later on teammates with Derek and Marty. And by the way, they used to have Bill kaher was on their staff, Herman Edwards was on their staff, Marty Schottenneimer Marty's but they had they were one of the best defenses, I mean off defensive line, linebacker all the way back there. But yes, that play was great and Scans it couldn't have happened to a better guy. There's another guy, Rusty loved that guy. Special teams. I'll do whatever it takes. Yeah, I was a star at Washington. I was as my freshman year at the Festa ball I was the MVP. I went from Pittsburgh to see I'll do whatever you want. I'll be a miniature Steve, larger, tough, tough Paul Stansy. I'm so glad that he caught that touchdown pass. I'm so happy for him and our team and narm Johnson kicked the extra point to actually win the game.

And you know, I saw Scans a couple of weeks ago. He came by the stadium for the for the game. I don't remember which one, but we had a chance to talk, and I'm telling you, he is just as kind of quiet and.

And sort of him as he was back in those days.

And he's a fifty something now, just like I'm going to say the rest of us, No, the rest of us are way older than that.

But he would tell me stories. He goes, he goes. Do you remember I said, did I ever run you into coverage? Once in a while he goes. Sometimes he goes. One time, we're playing Gilbert and cover two. He's the slow receiver and you're not supposed to throw an out route, but it was a two minute drill, so I'm like trying to kind of guide go by that little so I throw them out row and like gil Bird lights him up. Come back to the same play, the same thing. I'm like, oh my gosh, he reminded me of that. But but I'm so glad Stans, I'm so glad that Stan's caught that that was a good game. We the best games are the games, like you know, coming back from being benched, or you get an injury and you're coming back. People don't realize the mental stuff. I remember coming back from a separated shoulder and going out there and trying to play or your thumb and by the way, I do want to mention doctor h Stan Herring and Gary Fuce. Gary fuch that put the first plate in my thumb, and Stan Herring helped fix my back. But coming back from injuries is another thing. And you got to come back there and just play like nobody cares if you're hurt, just like they don't care what college you're from.

That's that's an interesting point you made because Jim is sitting here, and Jim was, you know, starting quarterback for pretty much his career and then toward the.

End, Dave you were.

You were backing up, but you ended up playing a lot when guys got hurt, and you still had to be prepared right just like you were.

A starter, except you didn't know if you were going to get in the game that day.

I got kind of mad at Eric Kramer he got hurt the second or third game of the season. I'm thirty seven years old with the Bears, and now I'm going, oh my gosh, I got to play the rest of the year. And then the first thing he played was the Raiders, so that made it even better. But yeah, I got to play quite a bit right up until the end when I got to Tennessee. Now I watched Steve McNair. You want to talk about audibles. What did he do one time? He's such a great athlete. They're playing the Baltimore Ravens with Ray Lewis and all these guys, and he drops back. I think he audible to a running play. That's exactly what he did. He audible to running play and he dropped back what he's been up for a pass and then he proceeded to run thirty seventy years can't cut. They're all thinking that, they're going, I'm like, dude, what happened? He goes I forgot out.

Uh, there's a there's a story. There's a story out there, and it is Dave. Dave, myself and Sam Atkins really were the only three to ever witness uh this particular situation that happened after or during an evening meeting the night before a football game in.

Bellevue, in Bellevue, Washington, and.

Anybody can walk into the past. It can happen anybody, I know.

But it happened when all three of us were there, and it would be okay that that he ran into it, but then it knocked him down.

Who ran into it?

Ken?

Ken? So he's our quarterback coach, and you know, we break up. Okay, Chuck had his his State of the Union for the team meeting, and we're going to break up.

And now we're going to go and fine tune the last thing.

And I'll be darned. We walk out outside. We're going into another room and there's a sliding glass door there and we're all right behind Kenny and man, he ran smack into it. Man, and we it probably took us fifteen minutes to you know, get composed after that because there was a nose smudge of oil where he hit the he hit his nose first. Oh man, that'll be something that all three of us really, you know, we can all eyewitness that story for we've told it for years and years and years.

Oh goodness, that was there. Next morning. Well listen, I mean, Kenny was one of Chucks boys, and you know he was. I mean when I got the different places, you could tell things run a little bit differently. And that was you know, the way they had the way they ran things like Marty was wearing good business like and hard practices like Chuck. But they paid a lot more attention at detail in practicing stuff. Your drops what you're looking at. Yeah, and you critique a lot more every every place you go to.

It's different, sure, And part of that I would expect comes from as you guys got further into your careers.

Obviously my name after.

Six, but as staffs grew, you had just more people with eyes on. I mean we talked about it here before, Dave, and that is you know, early on, Jerry Rome was the quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator, receivers coach. So he just send us over to another part of the field and we'd stand there and just throw the ball back and forth until it was time to go seven on seven. That's right, And not saying that that helped or hurt anybody. Yoda was Steve large It was going to be Steve Largent, regardless of whether he had a coach working with him or not. I would expect that part of that was just more people that saw you and coached you up as you went further into your career, made you know that detail that you're talking about.

Hey, hey, out up Jerry Rome's name. I got to tell you something. So nineteen eighty and I make it there, I make the team, and all I did was call my daddy, goes, well, what happened? I go, well, they put I got a name, I got a jersey, my name on the back, and I got the best seats in the house. I'm on the sideline, you know. So I told my dad I made the team. Right, There's no lay in the heck I could have played. I go over to the gym's house once in a while, Mercer Island. I'm like, wow, and I go over there and I go I watched FELM. I know what the heck, gys look, I'm just watching the game. You know, I didn't really know how to watch number when Sam samummam. When I threw seventy five and I threw the Sam McComb. It's a strong side hook round. I threw it tim my first time ever, dropping back, He's like and he started yelling at me. I hit him right in chest and yelled at me. But Jerry, Roll, listen, listen, my very first start nineteen eighty you guys go to Cincinnati. I think Turk Schoenart was going to be the quarterback there. And we're playing anyway. So it's just a regular first first game of the season for everybody, but for me, it's my first NFL game. I'm on the my parents drive all the way down from Wawsa. So remember how we took those tests, Jim in eighty and eighty one.

Yep, yep, Jerry.

We took this test and I would get yes, I would get sixties and fifties, there'd be more red ink on my paper. Well, this is before we even this is before we even took the test. So we're in one of those meetings, and you were there in nineteen eighty rates and they asked questions around the room, and they'd asked me a question. I couldn't answer it, so I go to Mark Bell. When Mark Bell answered it, then I go, oh my god. So I take this test. So I take this test, so I'm lovely bro. I take this test and the next morning, now they grade the test, so I get my test back it's got like a fifty seven. He couldn't even give me a sixty fifty seven. It's got red ink on it. I mean, this is a great of the game. So I'm like that, I'm like, look, and I start to get real emotional. I kindly and at Andy Circles. I couldn't even play in this game if I had to. That's what Jerry Room wrote on the top of my paper. So now I get that, and I walk out of the meeting room and I'll play the elevator. Is those two people that drove all the way down to watch their son. And I got tears in my eye, and I go, Jerry, this is my dad and my mom. He just gave me a fifty seven. Professor. It was so humiliating. Yes, I didn't know how to study. I didn't know anything about I didn't know anything, man, listen. I didn't know how a tire tie. I remember the second plane trip I took large and I went to the go out them. I came out and someone my clip on tie was sticking out and he snatched it and he goes, look, he's got a clip on tie. He said. He everybody on the plane. I'll never forget that tire tie.

Yeah, you defended yourself the way you had to, and that was that chip on your shoulder made you a Ring of Honor member and a quarterback.

Yeah, it's almost little things. You're exactly right. It's almost little obstacles and adversities you have come. No matter what they are, they're humiliating, but at the same time there there are opportunities for growth if you let them be correct.

Yeah, I know one of the things that you that has always been a badge of courage for you, and that is your nickname, and that I hate that.

I don't know why we want to talk about that. I mean, what is wrong with you guys? You know, and you're and you're gonna bring it up. I'm the whole thing. So I said to know, let me just there's a hijack and do this correct.

Let me just say when when we were in meetings because we had some time and Jerry coached almost everybody on offense, we would have a meeting and one one time a week, Jerry Rome would say, Okay, tonight's to night where you're gonna give We're gonna vote on a nickname. And I don't know who the first was the first one Yoda? Or was Steve Largent or was I can't remember who? The first one was mine?

Mind every nickname? I got the last one.

Let me, let me explain what happened.

So everybody on the team, including you, Raves, you got to Jim.

Listen, listen, it's not your nickname. Why are you explaining of this?

Yeah, So.

We put him up on the on the board and it wasn't a whiteboard because we only had chalkboards.

Right, So where you vote and.

You you get to pick out Okay, give me two names, Now give me one. And so there was three names left and one of one of the end ones for Dave, and it was obvious he was going to be named mud Bone. It was just obvious that.

Was it, and no idea. Well, you know, I don't remember even who came up with it. It was I know exactly.

Who who is.

Bone?

I know you, Jim, you finished the story of that.

Who came up with bones?

Oh? Yes?

Byron Walker?

Byron Walker. He was the one.

So here's here, here's the thing of this I want to buy and asked that what's this mug mine? Because it's a Richard Pryor album. I listened to it, so I listened to it. It's so rich. Paul is this comedic album and he's talking about an old man on a pitch in two old Mississippi and it goes kind of like this. I don't remember when I first went to my bone. It was in two four old Mississippi, and he was.

I did so before you guys ask questions, Steve label of all people, just be prepared that, which usually what makes you a good reporter and the iconic reporter that you are, Steve very more. And I'm just surprised that you try to do it Barbara Walters on.

Me and make me cry at the end of the podcast.

No, I would never do that, but I will say that Jim was z Man and that sort of made sense, and I was peaking.

Of course, anybody's gonna talk about other people's making names when they're only good one we rage just what raves?

What do they call you? Rage? No?

Peaches? Peaches from that's.

So sweet you But you don't like that? Do your age?

Not? Especially?

No?

But I will say.

That, yeah, yeah, yeah, So now you know what I feel. That you want to talk about my nickname teachers, that's what I'm gonna call the teachers there. We got the mustache. He's trying to go any Jersey in this office.

All right, So here's the here's the deal with and with I think we've talked about this with Steve.

Uh.

We had Remember we had a we had a Halloween costume party as a team, and everybody came with funny stuff.

I remember Sharon and I were.

Rage. I don't want to talk about Halloween parties. I just can't do, Okay.

So anyway, Steve and Terry came as Princess Leah and Yoda, except except that Steve was Princess Leah and Terry had the rubber mask on. And what was funny was the rubber mask looked a lot like Steve's face with the you know, the Yoda mask. So he became He instantly became Yoda. And when I went to Washington, d C. And he was a congressman, I walk in his office and there's all his staff around and all those people, and I saw him on the far side of the room and I yelled, Yoda, and everybody in the room stopped and looked at me, like, this is a this is Congressman largin Well Steve knew who I was talking to, and he came over and we hugged, and then we went back in his inner office and sat there and shot the breeze for a while.

But those things lived with you.

And I know Steve probably doesn't like Yoda either, And sometimes it's tough for me not to just say Yoda. It just kind of it just sort of comes out. Now you I don't call Mudbone. I call you Dave, and always have, and Sharon always calls actually Sharon, Sharon likes you a lot better than that.

My call me Dave. My friends, my friends call me Dave.

Okay, all right?

And and yes, and we used to have a place down in Arizona when and Dave has been down there for a long time now and we used to visit and his he is one of the I will and I don't hear. I don't want to embarrass you, but you were one of the most thoughtful people because you're you always ask about Sharon, and she appreciates that, and she sort of has always kind of felt like, you know, he was like a younger brother. We took him under our wing and then look at what he became. But she just she adores you and I for the life. And you don't know why.

Listen. I've got a story too, Dave.

When I when I was here, we were having our second child, Sarah and Dave came to the hospital to see Joy and you know, congratulate us and stuff like that. He told the hospital that he was my brother. That's the only way they let him in. And so we have a picture of Dave in the hospital room as my brother and taking pictures with Sarah.

Oh gosh, and yeah, yeah, he's very.

Very that's right.

The good stuff, Dave, the good stuff will follow you around. The good things in your life will always follow you around. And and you know, and football was just part of.

That, right, You're exactly right. I don't want to keep going on here. But last night I told you we were talking a little bit. I took tway my daughter because it was nice talking to you and BS and what you like we always do and sparring. And my daughter thought, so, who is that guy? So that's the guy that wants me to do the podcast, and I don't know if I want to do it. We're talking, she goes, how do you know I've knowed since nineteen eighty you've known him for since nineteen eighty about that rade.

Yeah, hey, and so and so.

There's a lot of things. There's your family, which I'm so much closer to my family, even though the boys aren't a big I love you guys and all that stuff, but they go hunting and fishing and you do stuff together, play golf, pickleball. And my daughter has really helped with the family because she's brought a little bit more emotion into it and all that stuff. So it's like a team. Though when you're in it, you're in a locker room. Man, I can't. I wish I could express this to everybody out the world, so that you can show that you can all get along no matter what. You know what I mean, yeah, because there's nothing like a player's locker room. There's nothing like it.

Nothing, David, What do you do today? Most of the time? What are you doing?

I want to get worked out before I did this because I want to go hit golf balls at about It's only open until four thirty down here. For some reason, I worked out a little bit. I just got back from the Rose Ball Man, what a venue. Oh my goodness, gracious, Yeah, I was at the game Aldana. I drove all the way there. My daughter flew there. She's Alabama grad and I watched Alabama Michigan. I thought there were very trogodd offenses, like, oh my gosh, but it was what and then the b two bombers come around. I'm like, you couldn't even hear that thing and it came right over the top of us in the venue when the sun sets. I can see why it's called the granddaddy of them all. It is just what a field. So it was like San Diego's field. Remember the oad field of San Diego down at Jack Murphy. Oh my god, I thought it was like a track. I mean I even fell faster.

Yeah yeah, yeah, Well that's good. So you are involved with your family a little bit more than you had been when you played. Obviously we all are, uh, but you do other When I.

Was playing, my family, my family came second everybody. No, no, that's not true. I mean, can you imagine too well to think about this, uh, Rage and Jim, because I went the six different teams. Can you imagine moving Joy from Blah blah blah to Detroit. I think you kind of did it a little bit, but joinly went the Green Bank back in Seattle, right well.

On Washington, Washington, Washington, that I coached for the Lions with Bobby Ross, coach.

For the Chief. Student. You you coached for the Chief, didn't. That's the other thing. I'm not going to cry. Yeah, hey, I'm not going to cry milk here.

But I moved joy nineteen times in my career.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, So that side of it is. That's why I said that's enough even for me, and I wan't want to put my family through it. So I just said I'm not doing that. I was pretty obvious coaching the coaching part of it. The coaching part of it would have been fun, but man, the time commitment, I just don't get. I'm so glad coaches do it, but I just couldn't do it. After playing nineteen years, that's the last thing you want to do is go sit back in those offices for another six months in a row.

It was it was it was time to take a break. In fact, that was I was going to ask you, had you ever thought about wanting a coach because you learn from so many really good coaches and with all those systems, all that stuff in your mind. Same as Jim you just you didn't want to spend that much time.

No, No, some guys, I think some guys are like you can see even on TV Danner Rofski's on there now. He is a backup. But some of the backups know more about the technical side of football than the actual quarterbacks. Troytman's pretty good at it because he I mean, he actually played. But there's not a lot of guys that can take the playing into coaching. It's just sometimes it's like Joe Joe Montana would not be a good coach. La wouldn't be a good coach Marino because they wouldn't have the patience to go, this is what I mean, dude, Like you know, nobody can do it like you. You know, And that's that's some of it.

Yeah, yeah, well.

Listen, wait, wait, wait, there's another guy, Matt Kavanaugh. I wrote him Jim yep, sure, ye I know man, Yeah, yeah. He was my quarterback coach down there, and he really was a good Yes, he was a good, good quarterback coach. Yes.

And as I remember, Sam uh Sam Hankins had there was some thought that when Jerry was had an opportunity maybe to be a head coach in the USFL or the World League or whatever that was, and.

Somebody who knew the offense really.

Well, I'm sorry I raised the interrupt because I think I got to mention this, Jim at this. If I don't mention this to be here, it would be crazy. So the first game that if you broke your ankle. I remember I said to you guys, didn't tell us before the game, so imagine the other guy would be mule, and they didn't tell either of us. He probably thought didn't know for sure. But Sam helped me as much as we also watched BOM. Sam was such a good teammate, telling me all this stuff you need to hear, all that kind of stuff. He was such a good I can't even imagine Sam going, man, I'm getting my first chance to and then begin to give it to me and then I actually do good and he's over there helping me. And then he'd always helped me study so that I want to get sixties up while I was getting eighties and nineties like the rest of you guys pretty cool. Muell would do that step aside and yet still help me and and and that's that to me, that was a big deal.

Sam's Sam's nickname is is Mule, so we all call him mule.

You call him mule.

Uh.

But Sam actually helped me out one one year, uh in recent history, because I coached in an All Star game, uh one of the NFL p A Bulls or the East West Shrine Game, and he was on my coaching staff. And he's got a real good feel for football. So Dave, you're right. I mean, he's he is all in and he doesn't have to be in the spotlight, but he knows ball and he knows how to listen.

If it was Sam Atkins, there won't be you know, they won't you know, Steve Rabo with the Seahawks because he does is always George farm and writes these names down that well, that needs to be said. I know, I'm right about that. I think it needs to be you know, everybody's second rass, every player every year. How does he know all that? Sam Adkins right that.

That's great, that's.

Great, I said it.

Yeah, that's right.

He is.

He has been an amazing help and he was an amazing teammate. And as we wrap this thing up, Dave, one of the things that that when we talk to guys of our era. You know that started back in the late seventies, and for you, nineteen eighty is we still talk about and with the same guys that we knew back then. You talked about teammates, you talked about being in a locker room and on a team. Those are the kind of things that nobody can take away from you. And the minute you're back with those guys, it's just like you were sitting in your locker back in nineteen eighty or eighty one. It's just that relationship that always that always stays with you. And you know you had it for nineteen years with a whole lot of different teams, but those relationships will always be there, right.

Yeah, it's so true. And I want to tell you one more thing about the adversity. Remember I told you about the test before that number one first game, do you guys number when we went to Dallas, we played three games in eleven days, remember Ras, and all these needles were sitting there in the Turney room. I'm like, what are those needles about? And as I that was forty and then so the game is fifty seven to six years to sitting on the sideline talking to Rusty do you want me to go in and tie it? How did you do that? Near George Jessel?

He we were getting ready to go. I think punt it away or kick it return the kickoff again? I said, you know I would run out and then tell the return team you know, right left or middle?

Sure?

And uh And.

We nobody knows George Jessel anymore. But Georgie Jessel was an old comedian years and years ago. He used to be on Johnny Carson and Rusty and I started doing an impression of Georgie Jessel.

He talked like this all the time.

He said, hello, John how are you?

We start talking like that, and we're getting there butts handed to us by the Cowboys.

It's fifty seven to six. We didn't even make the extra pay.

It was terrible. It was just terrible.

And you said you want.

Me to yes?

And he said what do we want to do? And he said, you know what should we do? He said, well, let's not go in and win it all ones. And I said, and now here we are now Jack but Terra standing on the sidelines with his arms folded, you know, watching his.

Team Lammer, you guys go out and Rusty.

And I just think This is just crazy, you know. And here we go back out on the field again.

So do you know who I threw the touchdown pass to?

Ron? Oh? Was it? Finish the story?

That's what That's what.

They started story. They both tell about their start of it, and then okay, they finish your So can you imagine it? Listen, can you imagine this? Fifty seven to six, We're going into the fourth quarter. Jim was a start, started the whole first up, they go, We're not gonna let him take a beating. We're gonna put Sam out there for the third quarter.

I think is Awa wend yep right at halftime?

Yeah, and then you think we're tired out exactly exactly, so, so they put in some This is kind of humbling because now you're the third string guy. I'm over here, I'm going this game. I'm thinking Cowboys. Randy White scared me. Jerry's decided to put Jim back in the game. And the boy i'd lively get in I didn't get it. And I'm on the plane, I'm taking a shower. Yeah, Sam was getting hurt. That's the only reason I got in the game. Too. Everybody put did his through his lip, his mustache. Yeah, he couldn't call the place. A lot of going there and take a snap in nineteen eighty, we couldn't call the play because his lip even throw his mustache and Tom Jackson run his tooth way through his lip was lying on their car. Time out, but King on Lumber call time out. But Sam would get hurt a little bit. But I did not even play any game. So I'm on the airplane and Jerry comes back says, you know I didn't play you. I'm like, no, I'm kind of pissed. I'm like, I want to quit. I want to fly to Wisconsin. And he goes, I would have ruined your confidence as you going out there, and he's kind of right. I'm glad he didn't. I would have been just shell shocked. But Jim really go back into a game at fifty seven and six, I would have been pissed. I said, no, what's the other guy? What Herman Weaver?

In Weaver was our punter up.

In the third string quarterback.

And that was Thanksgiving Day, Thanksgiving Day, Yeah, that was that was the third game in eleven days. I remember, and I remember, you know the shots because Merlin Olsen came into the locker room before Jack got there and saw this, and he said, oh my god. He knew how banged up we were, and he said, this could be a rough one today, and I said, yeah, it might be, and it turned out.

To be that way. All right, anything else Z that you need to know before?

Yeah, yeah, I got as all as we're talking about needles real quick. I did get my introduction to Tardal. In nineteen ninety five, I played for the Cardinals. We went four and twelve. Somewhere somewhere during the off season or somewhere during training camp, my elbows started hurting my job. If you get pickle ball, rock and ball elbow, it's called and it started hurting my ow. So we had to do practices where the offense won twice in the time in row, and then they had these needles. I either take a shot of Torda on the butt even for preseason games. Made you feel great. But gosh, yeah, they don't make that anymore. That's what you did back in the old days. I'm telling you.

Well, back in the old days, they smoked cigarettes in the locker room, as you mentioned, Yeah, that was.

When I came out of my mouth like I smoked them through.

Well we didn't, none of us did, uh.

And we we all have the great stories we all you know, remember in those early days. And Dave, I hope it wasn't too much of an imposition to call you last night and say, hey, come on and join us today, because we've wanted to get you on here and listen. Your royalty when it comes to the Seahawks and fans especially and in the Ring of Honor, and we'll always be thought of that way, uh. And we just we just appreciate it, and thank you for taking the time.

Brother, Thank you, David, appreciate it.

Jim Williams, I appreciate My daughter said you can't not do that with your friend Dad, so I had to do it.

She shamed you to him.

I'm glad that's right.

Z Man and Peach will will we have. Thank you for that, and thank all of you for listening to Sea Yak stories. It's it's always a treat to catch up with some of these semi old guys. And until the next time, Zee, thanks so much. David again, thank you, and we will see you folks next time.

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Hosted by the Voice of the Seahawks Steve Raible and Seahawks Legend Jim Zorn, Seahawks Stories feat 
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