Seahawks Opening Night notebook: Goal-line nightmare revisited

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Not surprisingly, Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald was asked what he would do if his team was at the New England Patriots' 1-yard line in the final minute of the Super Bowl and needed a touchdown to take the lead.

It was 11 years ago that the Seahawks faced that same situation against the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.

Instead of handing off the ball to star running back Marshawn Lynch, quarterback Russell Wilson attempted a pass that was intercepted by Malcolm Butler, clinching the Patriots' 28-24 victory.

Would the Seahawks call for a run or a pass if the situation arose again?

"Is Beast Mode in the backfield?" Macdonald replied, using Lynch's nickname, while meeting the media at Super Bowl Opening Night.

Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold faced the same question.

"I know that's a sore subject for a lot of people (in Seattle), but, uhh ... we'll say pass," Darnold said with a laugh.

--With their defense drawing comparisons to the "Legion of Boom" that helped the Seahawks to two Super Bowl appearances a decade ago, this year's unit decided it needed its own identity.

The players settled on the Dark Side.

"We had a few names come, thrown at the wall, and I think the Dark Side stuck because one of Coach Mike's messages is a play style and a place that nobody wants to play ... and in Seattle it gets dark during the wintertimes and we shut some teams out this year, no points on the board," defensive lineman Leonard Williams said. "So we have a very suffocating defense, I would say, and that's why we came up with the Dark Side."

Added safety Julian Love: "We carry ourselves way different than those guys, than those legends. We're just trying to create an identity for ourselves."

--Seahawks receiver Cooper Kupp, the MVP of Super Bowl LVI while with the Los Angeles Rams, was asked about coming from Eastern Washington University in Cheney, a Football Championship Subdivision school.

"It was a steppingstone," Kupp said. "It was one step along this path, along this journey. I don't think of it as overcoming anything. That was my path to continue playing football in college and gave me an opportunity to be in front of the NFL people and go out there and make my dream a reality.

"There's really good football players across the nation, (Division II), (Division III), all over the place. Any opportunity to play football, I'm all in on."

--It wouldn't be a Super Bowl opening night without an appearance from Guillermo Rodriguez, the sidekick from "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

Rodriguez presented Darnold with a button that read "Ham for Sam" and then a giant ham-shaped foam hat before encouraging media members to chant "Ham for Sam!"

Darnold briefly donned the hat before switching back to his baseball cap.

Rodriguez also gave Darnold an apron with "Ham for Sam" on the front.

--Field Level Media