A Grip on Sports: It’s hard not to want to binge watch to the end of the Seahawks season already, but, like the players, we have to take it week to week

A GRIP ON SPORTS • For a few years, anyway, some streaming services would throw every episode of a series out there on the same day. Allow those of us who enjoy the binging mentality the opportunity. Then it stopped. Week to week became the norm again. Sort of like the NFL.

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• But unlike a pro football season, binging entertainment is still an option. All it takes is a little patience and self-control. Staying off social media. Avoiding spoilers. Again, just like the NFL.

Here we are. In the middle of the NFL’s long, long season. Unless you’ve been out of the country – in the deepest reaches of the Amazon Basin perhaps – or in cryo-sleep, binging is not an option. You have to ride the week-to-week wave that is the NFL.

It is a bit different than college football in that there is more parity. The 2008 Detroit Lions were an outlier. The league is designed to have a couple dozen 9-8 or 8-9 teams. A few dynastic ones, sure, and, on the other end, the Raiders, but otherwise, parity. Mediocrity if you prefer. But the any-given-Sunday stuff isn’t just the name of a football movie my son loves. It is true. To a degree.

The Seahawks were a better team last Sunday than the host Falcons. Nothing in their performance the previous three games would have indicate that. And yet it happened. They won. They won handily.

Great. Made Monday morning better in many Northwest homes. Has allowed those who like to wear those 12 T-shirts to walk around work with a little hop since.

Meanwhile, those who are charged with keeping the fans happy – and that is everyone connected to the franchise – have to turn the page. Move on. Prepare for this week’s challenge, which is, sadly, more formidable. The Buffalo Bills are in Seattle. Quarterback Josh Allen. Coach Sean McDermott. A solid, blue-collar roster. The ship righted after a two-week slump that resulted in back-to-back road losses to Houston and Baltimore. Favorites this week by almost a field goal.

Both teams lead their respective divisions – edge Seattle, as the AFC East is a disaster at the moment – though only one, Buffalo, entered the season with expectations of a deep playoff run.

The Bills will always have them, as long as Allen takes the snaps and controls games with his arm and legs. The Seahawks? In 2024 they are just trying to take it week-to-week. To see what first-year coach Mike Macdonald can do in rebuilding a winning culture. And try to improve the roster whenever possible.

That last one was behind the second move in a fortnight designed to upgrade the defensive front. Last week, front-office head honcho John Schneider brought in tackle Roy Robertson-Harris from Jacksonville in exchange for a sixth-round pick. Tuesday he bolstered the linebacking corps by sending Jerome Baker and a fourth-round pick to the Titans for former L.A. Ram Ernest Jones IV. Both trades are designed to plug up the sieve that is the Hawks’ rush defense. Both need to work for Seattle to have more success. Week to week.

• The other part of the NFL that is undervalued? Injuries. Everyone has them. It’s not negotiable. Nor can the league make an inherent unsafe contact sport less damaging to the participants bodies – try as it might.

The Seahawks have had more than their share, it seems. But it’s not true. Some positions have been hit hard, like right tackle, but for some odd “it’s-just-the-nature-of-the-game” reason, that’s not unusual. Reserves must step in. Scheme changes happen. The injured rehab and return as fast as they can.

This week Seattle seems to be on the upside of the injury diagram. More players coming back than heading to the injured list. Maybe not quick enough to help against the Bills but as a hope for the near-future? Sure.

• By the way, I am one of those folks who would rather watch an Apple+ or Netflix or Hulu series when every episode is available. The services don’t want us binging anymore? Try to stop me. This old man hasn’t watched Jeff Bridges portray the second chapter of his secret life yet. Have to get through the latest Middle Earth adventure first. Then find out who committed the most-recent murder in that New York apartment building. Luckily, I caught up with the slow horses already. They went by quickly this year.

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WSU: Maybe the Beavers just wanted to get their 2025 football schedule finished. Maybe put all the conjecture about who they will play in the last year of a two-school Pac-12 to bed. Maybe that’s why the Cougars and Oregon State announced Wednesday they will meet twice next season, both in November. That finished off the OSU 12-game schedule. Washington State? As Greg Woods tells us, it still has two open dates, even with the Northwest double-dip. … Recruiting never stops. Just ask Jake Dickert, the Cougs and Greg. He has this story on a three-star linebacker who says he is headed to Pullman in the fall. … It will not be easy for WSU to read San Diego State’s signals. And it should not be. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, Jon Wilner takes his weekly look in the Mercury News at BYU and Utah. … Just how is all that travel working out for Washington and the other three former Pac-12 members now in the Big Ten? It seems to have more of an impact than many of the western four admitted it would. … I mentioned health above. It seems Oregon is getting healthier as the top-ranked Ducks – and their mascot – prepare to host No. 20 Illinois. … Oregon State finished up its 2025 schedule not only with the second game with WSU but also adding a home-and-home with Appalachian State. … A Beaver player moved from offense to defense to help out. He will be on that side of the ball this week at California. … A couple Colorado players earned praise from their head coach. … A Michigan transfer has helped bolster the Utah secondary. … A former track athlete is doing the same for Arizona State’s offensive line. … Expect USC to ramp up the pressure against Rutgers. … With a bunch of injuries, many Arizona reserves have had to step in – and up. … In the Mountain West, how big is Friday night’s showdown between host UNLV and Boise State? The Rebels expect a record crowd. Why not? After all, Las Vegas is pretty dead on Friday night, right? … How good has Colorado State been this season? … Coaches have a different perspective on how the season has been going, at least at Wyoming. … In basketball news, San Diego State has lost its top returning scorer for a while due to injury.

Idaho and EWU: Let’s shake it up, shall we? Let’s start with basketball today, as the preseason Big Sky predictions are out. Neither of the two regional schools are well thought off by their peers, no matter the gender. Dan Thompson has a story on where the Vandals and Eagles fell in all the preseason projections. … OK, back to football. Dan has this story on Eastern seeing this week’s trip to Moscow as a chance for the defense to show out against the 11th-ranked Vandals. Mainly because UI is suffering from a rash of injuries on that side of the ball. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, it amazes us how many family legacies end up playing at Montana. … In basketball, we can pass along stories from Montana, Montana State women and the men and the Portland State men and women.

Preps: Here it is, week eight of the GSL football season. And we get the game of the year. Undefeated Gonzaga Prep at undefeated Mead. The winner is not only the GSL champion but also the area’s top 4A seed to the postseason. Dave Nichols has a preview of the matchup leading off a roundup of what’s ahead this weekend. … Dave also has a roundup of Wednesday’s action in the area.

Indians: Hey, more from Dave. He checked in with the work at Avista Stadium, found the weather has been cooperating and gives us an update on how the remodel is progressing. Jesse Tinsley has a series of photographs as well.

Seahawks: I covered yesterday’s trade in the column above. Whether it makes the team better we leave to Matt Calkins in the Times. … And others from around the nation. … Abe Lucas is back at practice. He’s part of the reason I wrote the injury wheel seems to be turning the Hawks’ way. Now, how is DK Metcalf doing?

Zephyr: Three players will be out for a while, called to international duty by their respective countries. That news leads off the S-R’s latest local briefs column.

Kraken: Seattle is mixing and matching on the forward lines.

Storm: Not sure if this political endorsement will cost the Storm any fans. That’s usually why sports franchises don’t take stands. 

Sounders: Albert Rusnak may be in line for a contract extension. At least his people and the front office are talking about it.

Mariners: The interlude between the final games of N.L. and A.L. championships series and the start of the World Series is about to end. Friday night, 5 p.m. in Los Angeles. Dodgers and Yankees. Have $6,000 to spend? That will get you a decent seat. Decent, but not great. Or, for free, you can watch on TV. The beer is cheaper at home too.

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• A quick heads up. Not going to be here Saturday morning. Basketball season is starting and there is an early game looming that day. Sorry. I’ll be back Sunday for sure. Until later …