Russell Wilson, Michael Bennett, and Earl Thomas press conference notes

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, DT Michael Bennett, and FS Earl Thomas spoke to the media this afternoon. Here's a recap (my notes) of what they said. First published at Reddit.

Russell Wilson:

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• It will be a battle (against the Packers). Looking forward to a great football team. Great fans. Looking forward to this game.

• Continue to make the plays, in practice and in games. It will transfer over from practice into games.

• On the pre-snap blocking calls made by Russell and Drew Nowak: "I think there can be more communication from everybody, starting off with me, and just get up there and really talk. I think we did a good job of that, especially in the second half. We made some great calls, guys did a phenomenal job of blocking up, and we adjusted at halftime."

• Tyler Lockett is a phenomenal receiver and returner. He works really heard but also learns from the vets (asks lots of question, has a knowledge for the game). Respect for how he prepares and takes care of himself. Catches balls and kicks/punts 15-20 minutes before practice.

• Didn't have as many series as we wanted to in the first half so we got limited in getting Jimmy Graham involved. But in the second half we had a lot of plays (like 83) and so he got involved and was able to get the ball. But we throw the ball to the open guy, disperse the ball.

• Thinks we did a good job on the empty set once we adjusted to them. Gotta the ball out quick.

• Hurry up can definitely help the offense in having a sense of pace and tiring out their defensive linemen and defense in general. It can make their calls a little bit softer in the sense that they can't make their calls as quick and remove their ability to sub in new players like they'd want to. It is important though to get first downs, because if you get stopped quickly the defense is out there quickly again.

• "I just like putting pressure on the defense. Any time you can do that it's a good thing. ... Ultimately it gives us more plays, too. It's a good thing, but at the same time you still want to be able to hand the ball off to Marshawn Lynch, you still want to hand the ball off to Fred Jackson and let them make plays, too."

• On how the play-calling is different in the no-huddle: "It's one of those things that Bevell and I are really coordinated together mentally. I usually make the calls, but I know what he wants. That's all the meetings, that's all the practice, that's all the work you put together and all the time you spend here."

• People want me to take the ball a certain number of times. I got the best back in National Football League next to me. I try to hand it off to Marshawn as much as I can.

• Green Bay has an active front with Julius Peppers and Clay Matthews. Their secondary knows how to be in the right spots at the right time. We gotta be on our P's and Q's.

Michael Bennett:

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• Aaron Rodgers is the best QB in the NFL, outside of Russell Wilson because he is on my team, so I get him that shout out. Aaron Rodgers doesn't get enough credit for his scrambling. Great player overall for everything he does.

• Think Rodgers is a class act, learned from the toughest player ever at QB in Brett Farve. Gets back up after he gets hit.

• Rodgers talks a lot, obviously he is the "discount double check." Brings energy to the team when you see your QB get hit and he gets up laughing.

• When he gets hit he hears moaning sounds.

• I buy that it isn't a revenge thing for them playing us. Only the media and the fans bring up what happened last year. He knows it's a new year, the teams are different and it's a new game. New players in new positions. Agree with him, see it as a new game, not revenge.

• Has a horse ready to ride after the win (not a bicycle).

• Made some mistakes against the Rams. As a fan I can see the perspective of not being used to seeing mistakes like that. Gotta come back and not make those same mistakes. We got young players and they gotta understand the intelligence it takes to play at this level. You gotta also learn how to come back after a loss.

• Lacked communication, just like in a marriage bad things happen when you have bad communication. When communication fails they score TD's. We were like a bad marriage with bad communication and weren't on the same page.

• We miss Kam Chancellor, not just because of how he plays but his leadership. We had multiple chances to win that game. I wonder if we had won would they have said "they don't need Kam," it's all about wins and losses. If we win on Sunday they won't be talking about it. We just want Kam to come back, no hard feelings. We want him to get his just do. We miss his love, he is our brother.

• Is worried that in the NFL you have a short life span to make money and do great things. One year you can be great and then the next be bad. I worry about the money situation, when you are losing money in this league you don't get a chance to make as much money, and your earning power is now. I worry about when you are paying the team back, it is coming out of your pocket, after tax, not pre-tax.

• My situation is different than his. "I got a wife & three kids. My wife would not let me hold out." Respect what he is doing, but I know he respects what I am doing too. Showing the team what type of person that I am, what type of leader I am, what I am willing to do, how far I am willing to go to when I am playing in the games.

• Kam of course would have solved some of the communication issues, when Kam is out there we are dealing with one new guy (Rubin) but when Kam is out we are dealing with five new guys. Poised to know that we have to get them better.

• My wish isn't that I will be rewarded for not holding out; My wish, my (only) goal is to get back to Santa Clara and have a good time. Be in a championship opportunity.

• He's slightly overweight, but outside of Marshawn Lynch, I think (Eddie Lacy) is the hardest back to bring down in the league.

• Ray Lewis is from a different generation, different generation type of football. His opinion is from a commentator. His rep is different than Kam's, Kam is in a different situation. I respect that Kam is in a short window to make money and is trying to maximize.

• Decision was hard for Mike, went up to the last day on thinking if I would hold out or not. You can't go out on the field and worry about that though, if you do you can get hurt, get a concussion, and if you get one you hope you can get some of Russell Wilson's water so you can feel better.

• Rodgers knows to take a sack and not force a play and put your team in a bad position.

• The good soldier routine, the showing up and not holding out worked for Forrest Gump so hopefully it works out "for me".

• Packers O-line gets their credit but not enough. They have been to the playoffs 6 years in a row and get the least sacks.

• I disagree with some of the things Richard said yesterday. That Black Lives matter is more about the social injustice, not that blacks kill blacks and whites kill whites. Its about the people that are supposed to protect you hurting you. I agree with the BLM movement.

• Richard and I have conversations and we disagree about some things.

Earl Thomas:

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• Shoulder is feeling good.

• First time out was great, got a lot of confidence from that game. Didn't know what it would feel like to tackle somebody. Once I felt impact it felt good.

• The way we move, with rhythm is where we are missing Kam. But we aren't focusing on that. We are focusing on us, bringing our best. Once we get a good feel for all the pieces around us we will play better.

• Earl thinks he has a different understanding of the game right now, see more now.

• Everything that happened was basically on us. Whether it be communication, not understanding what situation it was, it is all fixable stuff, I guarantee we will fix it.

• Dion Bailey responded great, seeing Dion cry after the game really touched me. Made me think about me in pop-warner, crying cause I hating losing. Vets told him to learn from it, grow from it. I line up with that guy 9 times outta 10.

• Rodgers is so creative, can make every throw off his back foot. He can scramble, other than that I haven't been focusing on his positives, gotta look for his weaknesses.

• Rodgers understands football, is very smart and understands our D and concepts.

• Been hard every time we have played him. Gotta fight and outlast him.

Relevant Tweets:

• @JaredStanger: Connecting the dots a little bit, but based on where Seahawk scouts have been recently, I think they're looking pretty hard at strong safety

• @SiriusXMNFL: Seahawks LB Bobby Wagner: We know we have some stuff to clean up, we can't let what happened Sunday, happen again. On Kam Chancellor: He's a great player and a great teammate but we have to worry about the guys in the locker room right now. There's a business side to this game, so we have to control what we can control and go out and win.

• ‏@RobDemovsky Packers left tackle Bryan Bulaga leaves practice with knee injury, status for Sunday vs. Seahawks in doubt.