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1976 Players at a Glance

Gordon Riegel

Gordon Riegel was there!


Scanned from Birth of a Franchise

We're still looking for Gordon Riegel. The uncomfirmed files show a Gordon Riegel at Memorial Hospital as the Director of Human Resources.


Sam, Mike and Will at Linebacker

Source: Pro!, the Official Magazine of the National Football League,
August 1, 1976
By Don Fair
P-I Sports Writer

There there is the story of The Three Bears...Seahawks Version.
Their names are Sam, Mike and Will.
Goldilocks is any enemy trying to advance by run or pass.

Scanned from Birth of a Franchise

The porridge?
That's the football.

Sam, Mike and Will are the names -- in Seahawks terminology -- for Seattle's three linebackers in the team's normal defensive setup.

Sam is the Strong Middle Linebacker.
Mike is the Middle Linebacker.
Will is the Weak Side Linebacker.
Or Sam for Strong, Mike for Middle, Will for Weak.

It also helps to know that the bears in this Seahawks saga will be clasd in uniforms numbered in 30s or 50s. And that's only when the defensive platoon is on the field.

Like a grizzly bear, linebackers should be strong as well as ferocious.

And they should be faster -- a lot faster -- than the average bear.

That sets the scene for the Seahawks' tale of The Three Bears.

As the Seahawks head into this, their first NFL season, their linebacker corps shapes up in this fashion:

First Unit -- Curtis at Mike, Hansen at Will, Geddes at Sam.

Second Unit -- Bradley at Mike, Hutcherson at Will, Riegel at Sam.

Green, the team's second-round draft choice, is a probable Mike. Coffield, another rookie, is working with Sam.

It's unlikely that those eight will survive to Seattle's counting league opener against St. Louis in the Kingdome on September 12.

"We'd like to keep six for the season," Peccatiello concluded, "but we can get by with five. And we're really pleased with the linebackers that we have, those we picked up in expansion in particular."

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