A couple of decade in the past, the final time the Seahawks and Patriots performed within the Tremendous Bowl, Michael Gervais stood on the Seattle sideline as the ultimate moments performed out: the Seahawks marching downfield, Malcolm Butler’s stunning interception, Seattle left slack-jawed as New England celebrated.
Gervais isn’t a participant or a coach. He’s a efficiency psychologist. After that recreation, he performed an vital position: serving to the Seahawks course of the gut-wrenching loss. Gervais had been employed a couple of years prior by Pete Carroll, then the Seahawks’ head coach, who believed in creating gamers mentally, not simply bodily, at a time when sports activities psychology wasn’t as mainstream.
“He made it a part of the water we have been consuming,” Gervais instructed NBC Information. “It was a part of the air we have been respiration. It was embedded by means of the tradition.”
This season, the Seahawks’ tradition had a brand new venture: the redemption of quarterback Sam Darnold.
As soon as labeled a draft bust, Darnold had been forged apart by numerous groups. Throughout these years, he had gone in search of higher teaching, had rebuilt his confidence and eventually landed with the Seahawks, a group that occurred to prioritize the psychological a part of the sport.
Darnold has performed so nicely this 12 months that he’s led Seattle all the way in which to the Tremendous Bowl, the place the Seahawks will play — guess who — the New England Patriots on Sunday. On the largest stage possible, Darnold can have an opportunity to exorcise Seattle’s demons and full his personal arc from castoff to champion.
“He understands how a lot his group believes in him and has his again,” Seattle coach Mike Macdonald, Carroll’s successor, mentioned at a information convention this week. “So simply maintain firing away, man, maintain being you.”
Darnold at all times had the pedigree of a Tremendous Bowl quarterback. Rising up in San Clemente, California, he was graded as a high highschool recruit and began at USC for 2 years, turning into a hero after he mounted a comeback win over Penn State within the 2017 Rose Bowl. He had an enormous arm and flashed athleticism. Pundits applauded when the Jets took him No. 3 within the 2018 draft.
However for his first 5 seasons, Darnold discovered himself caught on dysfunctional groups — first the New York Jets and later the Carolina Panthers. In that point, the Jets and Panthers cycled by means of 4 head coaches and 5 offensive coordinators, together with interim coaches changing these fired midseason. On these groups, Darnold threw virtually as many interceptions as touchdowns.
He had two low factors in 2019, his second 12 months within the league.
That September, the Jets have been taking part in the Cleveland Browns on “Monday Night time Soccer.” Darnold had simply been recognized with mononucleosis, the ailment generally described as “kissing illness,” and was dwelling recovering.
Throughout the broadcast, ESPN displayed a graphic exhibiting Darnold wanting critical and declaring towards the viewer in the kind of pose seen on outdated Uncle Sam posters. Subsequent to him have been the phrases: “OUT INDEFINITELY MONONUCLEOSIS.” Instantly, it went viral on social media.
“He was getting made enjoyable of fairly good on the web for a pair weeks,” Jordan Palmer, Darnold’s longtime private quarterback coach, instructed NBC Information. “He simply needed to sit at his home. Issues weren’t going nicely. Now everybody will get to make enjoyable of you.”
Later that season, the Jets have been taking part in on “Monday Night time Soccer” once more, this time in opposition to the Patriots — and Darnold had one of many worst video games of his life. He turned over the ball 5 instances and the Jets misplaced 33-0. He was additionally sporting a microphone for the TV broadcast. At one level, ESPN caught him speaking on the bench throughout a weak second.
“Seeing ghosts,” he mentioned.
That went viral, too. Folks made extra jokes. Right here was proof the Patriots had rattled Darnold to the purpose he didn’t appear to know what he was doing. “Seeing ghosts,” Palmer defined, is definitely a typical phrase amongst coaches.
“Simply eyes in every single place,” Palmer mentioned. “Seems like there’s greater than 11 [defenders] on the market. Generally that’s as a result of the quarterback has no concept what he’s doing, and generally that’s as a result of the quarterback might’ve been higher ready for that scenario. And I’m not weighing in on which one it was.”
In 2023, Darnold grew to become a free agent for the primary time. He turned down “a lot better alternatives,” Palmer mentioned, to signal with the San Francisco 49ers, to spend a season backing up Brock Purdy and being coached by Kyle Shanahan, a number one NFL offensive thoughts.
Palmer in contrast it to a businessperson returning to high school for an govt coaching program. “They return there to get a distinct perspective, possibly a distinct mind-set about the identical downside they at all times see,” he mentioned. “It was a 12 months of simply resetting. Go to follow the place you’re not getting ready for the sport, you’re simply getting higher your self.”
