Quarterback controversy leaves folks sleepless in Seattle

By Kshell

The Seattle Seahawks recent 19-13 loss to the St.Louis Rams has caused a quarterback controversy. Rookie quarterback Russell Wilson struggled as he threw three interceptions in the loss to the Rams. For the fourth straight week Wilson has thrown for under 200 yards as well. The Seahawks currently have the #1 rushing attack in the NFL, the #2 defense and are just 2-2 because their passing offense ranks last. For third year head coach Pete Carroll is facing an uncomfortable quaterback controversy. Sitting behind Wilson is Matt Flynn who the Seahawks had signed to be their starting quarterback. Due to Wilson's preseason play and perhaps Flynn's sore elbow Carroll decided to go with Wilson to start this year. Now in this following post I'll go over what each quarterback brings to the table while also acknowledging each quarterbacks flaws. I also talk about how the play calling regardless of who is quarterback must improve. As well as I bring up another quarterback controversy that almost sank a franchise quarterback and his third year head coach.

Russell Wilson the current starting quarterback is struggling this year. He is 60-100(60.0%) passing for 594 yards(5.9 YPA) with four touchdowns and four interceptions. His quarterback rating is 73.5 and has 80 yards rushing. Wilson has been hurt by poor wide receiver play and terrible play calling by Darrell Bevell. Wilson brings good intangibles to the table and appears to be the future in Seattle. However, he gets flushed too much when he faces a blitz and can't seem to locate his men down field. His size is hurting him and thus the Seahawks. He has a good running game as Marshawn Lynch this year has ran for 423 yards(4.6 YPC) in four games with two touchdown. He is supported by a great defense which constantly gives him good field position yet the Seahawks are averaging just 17.5 points per game. It's not all Wilson's fault but as quarterback he must shoulder some of the blame.

Matt Flynn was brought in to start for the Seahawks as he signed a 3 year 19 million dollar deal this offseason. During this preseason Flynn was 28-39(71.8%) passing for 204 yards(5.2 YPA) with one touchdown and one interception. His rating was 81.6 and he was hurt by a costly Terrell Owens dropped touchdown against Denver. He has proven he can play well in the NFL too as he had one big breakout game last season against the Detroit Lions where he was 31-44(70.5%) passing for 480 yards(10.9 YPA) with six touchdowns to just one interception. Flynn's rating for the game was 136.4 as he beat out Bart Starr, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers for most passing yards and touchdowns in a single game for Packers history.

The knock of Flynn is he has only started two games in his NFL career. He was a backup in college for three years and a backup in Green Bay for four seasons. Another knock on Flynn is that he isn't mobile so Wilson who avoids a lot of sacks might see Flynn get sacked. Flynn also had a better supporting cast in his tune up games with Green Bay than he will in Seattle. Flynn currently has a "sore elbow" which is still debatable if true or not. However it was sore enough for him to miss a preseason start which allowed Wilson to start to begin with. The main knock against Flynn is that nobody outside of Seattle wanted him this past offseason. Mike Holmgren of the Cleveland Browns passed on him to draft Brandon Weeden. His old offensive coordinator in Green Bay Joe Philbin became the head coach for the Miami Dolphins who needed a quarterback. The Dolphins passed on Flynn as well which should be a red flag. Bottom line is regardless of who Carroll chooses the play calling must improve as both quarterbacks are inexperienced right now.

In 2001 then third year head coach Mike Holmgren brought in Matt Hasselbeck to his starting quarterback of the future. Hasselbeck was completely unproven as he had only attempted 29 passes in his career prior to being traded to Seattle. The Baltimore Ravens had just released super bowl winning quarterback Trent Dilfer to back up Hasselbeck. That is where the problems began as the Seahawks hada playoff roster that year but Hasselbeck simply wasn't ready. The Seahawks had gone 9-7 that year but were 5-7 in Hasselbeck's starts while going 4-0 in Dilfers.

Hasselbeck that year was 176-321(54.8%) passing for 2,023 yards(6.3 YPA) with seven touchdowns to eight interceptions with a quarterback rating of 70.9. While Dilfer was 73-122(59.8%) passing for 1,014 yards(8.3 YPA) with seven touchdowns to four interceptions good for a quarterback rating of 92.0. The Seahawks missed the playoffs by one game losing two close games when Hasselbeck had started. Holmgren benched Hasselbeck to end the year and the city had turned on Hasselbeck as the franchise decided to go with Dilfer. Hasselbeck was public enemy #1 in Seattle as the sports were doing well with the Mariners winning 116 games and the Huskies coming off of a Rose Bowl championship season.

The following season Dilfer was named starting quarterback. He would immediately get hurt in the first preseason game(first game at Seahawks stadium) and Hasselbeck would come in to a shower of boo's. The fans wanted Dilfer and wanted Hasselbeck gone. Holmgren now in year four was running on thin ice with this franchise as well as he was only 24-24 after three seasons. His decision to go with Hasselbeck cost the Seahawks the playoffs in 2001 and the fans didn't forgive either guy.

Well in 2002 in the middle of the season Dilfer got hurt so the franchise had no choice but to go with Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck played well down the stretch as the Seahawks went from 4-9 to 7-9 saving Holmgren's job. The following year Hasselbeck was the guy but whenever he struggled you still had that small contingent of fans yelling at the games "put in Dilfer". Hasselbeck would lead the Seahawks to the playoffs in 2003 and 2004. When the Seahawks traded Dilfer after 2004 the quarterback controversy was forever gone. Hasselbeck could relax and led the franchise to the Super Bowl in 2005. His jersey was the most popular jersey in the city as he was the most popular athlete in the city. Holmgren of course ended up winning four straight division titles from 2004-07. I feel like fans forgot that chapter in the Holmgren/Hasselbeck era of Seattle sports.

I think Carroll should make the switch to Flynn. He was brought in to start at quarterback and played well enough in preseason to not lose his job. I think Flynn can handle the pressure better than Wilson as he can see downfield more. He proved on his deep pass to Terrell Owens he can crank up a deep throw. I also fear Wilson is headed towards the Hasselbeck path of 2001-02 where the fans start to turn on him. This team has the #2 defense and #1 rushing attack. This is a playoff team and this fan base is starving for wins. I would hate for Wilson's career to be ruined before it even begins. Hasselbeck got lucky in that Dilfer was injured or who knows how his career in Seattle turns out? You can't expect that to happen again. I think you go with Flynn and see what he can bring to the table as Wilson learns. I'm not writing off Wilson but he is a rookie and I felt when he was drafted he'd compete with Flynn for the job in the second year not his first year.

Regardless of who is the quarterback this entire offense needs to improve. Doesn't matter if Flynn starts over Wilson if they continue to get stupid penalties that kills drives, dropping passes or not running Lynch on third and shorts. I'd also like to see the offense throw short safe passes on first down to get the quarterback in rhythm, The Seahawks face a four game stretch where they will be underdogs in all four games and a coach who is 16-20 right now can't afford to drop to 2-6 in year three. I think Flynn gives you the best chance right now while also helping your future with Wilson developing behind him. I don't want the city to turn on Wilson as that is my fear after this game. I also think Flynn could make a few more plays than Wilson which given that the Seahawks two losses were both close that could be enough. This is a difficult decision for Carroll who has yet to find a quarterback since getting rid of Matt Hasselbeck. Either way whoever the quarterback is the Seahawks must help him out or it won't matter who the quarterback is.

Is Matt Flynn the answer to the Seahawks quarterback problem?

By Kshell

Last week I wrote a piece on how only elite quarterbacks win in the NFL and how the Seahawks right now don't have that quarterback. The Seahawks are left with three choices this offseason which is to sign Matt Flynn who the Green Bay Packers announced they won't franchise, take a risk on Peyton Manning or draft a quarterback. In this piece I'll explore in my opinion the best option which is going hard after Matt Flynn. Just like with the other two options Flynn can offer up a high ceiling but can also blow up in the Seahawks face. I personally feel Flynn is the safest option. I don't know if he is a future hall of famer but I would guarantee he'll play in a few pro bowls with the Seahawks. Despite making only two career starts in the NFL(both were great) Flynn is in high demand as the Seahawks will be competing with the Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins and a few more teams for his services.

What has teams excited about Flynn is what he did in those two starts specifically his last start against the Detroit Lions in the last week of the season. For his career Flynn has completed 82 of 132(62.1%) passes for 1,015 yards(7.7 YPA) with nine touchdowns to just five interceptions. He has a quarterback rating of 92.8 for his career. The former seventh round pick from LSU has been backing up Aaron Rodgers for the past four years. After playing well in his first career start last year at New England this year Flynn really got everyone excited after his week 17 pefromance against the Detroit Lions. In that game the Packers defeated the playoff bound Lions 45-41 as Flynn completed 31-44(70.5%) passes for 480 yards(10.9 YPA) with six touchdowns to just one interception. Flynn's rating for the game was 136.4 as he beat out Bart Starr, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers for most passing yards and touchdowns in a single game for Packers history. Flynn has proven in his limited playing time that he is capable of producing at the NFL level. The Seahawks have also had a good history with quarterbacks from the Packers system in years past as well.

Back in 2000 the Seahawks were in a similar situation trying to find a quarterback. That is when Mike Holmgren made the risky move by trading for Matt Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck who had only completed 13-29 passes for 145 yards with two touchdowns as he was Brett Favre's backup with the Packers. The Hasselbeck move backfired on Holmgren at first as he struggled in 2001 and 2002 losing his job to Trent Dilfer. Towards the end of 2002 Hasselbeck finally started to reward Holmgren's faith and he carried that into 2003 with a pro bowl season and leading the Seahawks to the playoffs for the first time in four years. Hasselbeck would lead the Seahawks to the playoffs five straight years and six out of eight seasons. Hasselbeck went on to play in three pro bowls including the Super Bowl in 2005. When it was all said and done nobody was laughing at Holmgren for making the risky move of acquiring the unknown backup quarterback from Green Bay. Holmgren didn't just randomly go after a backup quarterback like Pete Carroll had done with Charlie Whitehurst. Holmgren drafted Hasselbeck in Green Bay in 1998 in the sixth round. Holmgren knew who his quarterback was when he traded for him. Just like the Seahawks are now in a similar situation in their current front office.

The Seahawks current general manager John Schneider comes from the Packers organization and was part of drafting Matt Flynn from LSU. Flynn only started one year at  LSU but that year he won a national championship that year. Despite that he was only a seventh round pick. If the Seahawks decide Flynn is the guy you have to like the fact that Schneider like Holgmren with Hasselbeck knows this player first hand. Schneider has had a good track record on players so far and if he feels Flynn is the guy I trust that decision. Carroll knows the Seahawks need a quarterback as they had five guys make the pro bowl but only went 7-9. Flynn could be the answer the Seahawks are looking for at the quarterback position. Flynn may be inexperienced but has proven in limited time he can be a successful quarterback in the NFL. Schneider has already drafted two pro bowlers, signed an unknown as a pro bowler while trading for another pro bowler. Schneider has proven track record in his short time in Seattle and if he feels Flynn is the right guy then so do I.

The Seahawks have three options this offseason on the quarterback position and I've answered one of them. I'm sold on going after Matt Flynn as I think he can be another Matt Hasselbeck for this franchise. He can be that guy who leads the Seahawks to the playoffs for consecutive years just like Hasselbeck did. Can Flynn lead the Seahawks to the ultimate prize? Perhaps. He could end up being like a Roethlisberger or Eli Manning where he is a lower tier on the elite scale. If the Seahawks sign Flynn remember the guy who is signing him knows him first hand as he drafted him in Green Bay. That has to have Seahawk fans happy knowing that. Signing Flynn is a risk but in this league you have to take risks to win titles and I believe Flynn can be that guy.

My top 5 favorite Mike Holmgren memories in Seattle

By Kshell

This week the Seattle Seahawks(2-3) travel to the Cleveland Browns(2-3) in an important game for both teams. This will also be the first time the Seahawks face off against Mike Holmgren who is now the president of the Browns. Holmgren won't have much of an impact on the game itself although the Browns are experiencing his impact already and will in a few years. In this following post I'm going to talk about my five favorite Holmgren moments in Seattle. While in Seattle Holmgren coached for 10 seasons, leading the Seahawks to seven winning seasons, six playoff appearances(hadn't made the playoffs for 11 years prior to his arrival), five division titles and one NFC championship. Holmgren is the franchises all-time winniniest coach and in playoff victories as well. Holmgren's stamp on the Seahawks franchise when he was coach for 10 years and also general manager for four years was the greatest run in the Seahawks franchise history.

5. Holmgren's final game at Qwest Field:

Very rarely does a team win one for a coach but I always felt the Seahawks won that game for Holmgren. Holmgren was introduced last as he ran out of the tunnel during a trying 3-11 season as they took on the 9-5 New York Jets. It was a great gesture the Seahawks did for Holmgren having him run out of the tunnel.

The Seahawks pulled off the upset winning 13-3 over the Jets. Holmgren unlike most successful coach was strict but always appreciated the fans. Holmgren never had outbursts to the media and always handled himself with class. After the game was over who he actually defeated Brett Favre the quarterback who he'll always be linked with. Holmgren jogged around the whole stadium slapping hands with the fans and waving to all the fans showing his appreciation. Holmgren who was basically forced into retirement never once blew up on the Seahawks. The Seahawks players showing how much Holmgren meant to them pulled off the upset over the Jets as Holmgren walked away from Seattle a winner.

4. Holmgren builds the greatest offense in Seahawks history:

Mike Holmgren inherited Walter Jones who is the greatest Seahawks offensive lineman ever. From there Holmgren built what was eventually the Super Bowl offense. Holmgren drafted Steve Hutchinson with the 17th pick in the 2001 draft, signed Robbie Tobeck, drafted Darrell Jackson, signed Bobby Engram, drafted Shaun Alexander and traded for Matt Hasselbeck.

Holmgren for all the flack he received as a GM actually was pretty good. He traded the Seahawks 10th pick in the draft(Jamaal Reynolds-Bust) to the Packers for Matt Hasselbeck and the 17th pick(Hutchinson). He also traded Joey Galloway for two first round picks to the Dallas Cowboys which was Koren Robinson who was a key contributer to the 2003 and 2004 playoff teams. Oh the other player was Shaun Alexander who won the 2005 MVP. The Holmgren-Tim Ruskell relationship started to fall apart when Ruskell let Hutchinson go. A move had Holmgren been GM never would have happened. The Seahawks haven't had a thousand yard rusher since letting Hutchinson go. With Hutchinson and big Walter Jones the Seahawks had the best rushing attack in the NFL from 2001-2005 and had the #1 ranked offense during their 2005 Super Bowl season.

3. Defeating the Dallas Cowboys 21-20 in the 2006 NFC wild card playoffs:

On a national scale this is probably the most famous Seahawks win in franchise history. Heading into this game the defending NFC champions were banged up. The 9-7 Seahawks had lost MVP Alexander for six games, pro bowl quarterback Hasselbeck for four games. Heading into this game the Seahawks lost three of their four top cornerbacks including Marcus Trufant. Despite being at home nobody expected the Seahawks to win this game as the Dallas Cowboys featured Tony Romo and Terrell Owens. Holmgren making a bold prediction all week long stated the secondary will not be the story of the week. Well Holmgren was right on that one instead it was a fluke play which ended up ending the career of hall of fame coach and friend of Holmgren's Bill Parcells career.

The Seahawks battled back to take a 21-20 lead over the Cowboys. The Cowboys had the game in end all they had to do was make a field goal for the win to eliminate the Seahawks. Instead Tony Romo fumbled the ball and the hero from the last time the Seahawks beat the Cowboys Jordan Babineaux stepped up again making the saving tackle on Romo. After the game it was recorded Holmgren screaming in joy to his guys "I told you secondary you weren't going to let me down!". Holmgren put his neck on the line and his players responded like they always did for him. Holmgren is like a father figure where you know not to walk over him but you care for him so much you can't help but rise up for that man.

2. Trading for franchise quarterback Matt Hasselbeck:

After Jon Kitna and Brock Huard proved they weren't the franchise quarterbacks during a 6-10 season in 2000 Holmgren knew he needed a quarterback. So Holmgren shocked everyone when he traded for a guy he drafted in the 6th round for the Green Bay Packers. Holmgren traded the 10th pick in the draft to the Packers for the 17th pick and Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck at that point in his career had just 29 pass attempts in his NFL career. Holmgren at the press conference said in a half joking/half serious matter "This right shoulder right here will decide how long I'm coach here."

At first the move backfield on Holmgren as Hasselbeck struggled during the 2001 season. The Seahawks were 5-7 with Hasselbeck while 4-0 with Trent Dilfer missing the playoffs by tiebreaker. Many fans were frustrated that Holmgren didn't go with Dilfer all season long. Holmgren often said he isn't going to sacrifice the long term success for a quick playoff appearance. After starting off 4-9 in 2002 rumors were circling that Holmgren was going to be fired. Hasselbeck caught fire and the Hawks finished 7-9 to end the season. After that the Seahawks went to the playoffs five straight seasons. For Hasselbeck he finished his Seahawks career with three pro bowl appearances, completed 60.2% of his passes for 29,434 yards(6.9 YPA) with 174 touchdown passes to 128 interceptions. Hasselbeck ended up winning five division titles, and won five playoff games including the NFC championship in 2005.

1. Taking the Seahawks to the Super Bowl in 2005:

The Seahawks entire 2005 season was a make or break season for Holmgren. The 2004 season had great expectations but fell short losing once again in the playoffs. This was a win a playoff game or leave town type of year for Holmgren. The team responded with a franchise record 13-3 season that saw seven Seahawks make the probowl including Alexander winning the MVP. That season included memorable wins over the Dallas Cowboys 13-10 as the Seahawks trailed 10-3 with two minutes to go only to win in regulation. The Seahawks also beat the New York Giants 24-21 in overtime as Jay Feely missed three field goals.

In the playoffs though the Seahawks lost Shaun Alexander to injury against the Washington Redskins. The Seahawks the #1 seed still won the game 20-10 behind Hasselbeck as Holmgren got the playoff monkey off his back. The following game against the Carolina Panthers in a game I was in attendance the Seahawks crushed the Panthers 34-14 which was the greatest win in franchise history. Prior to Holmgren the Seahawks had won the division title just once and had never made it to the Super Bowl. Holmgren turned the Seahawks into a top five franchise from 2003-2007 as only the New England Patriots and Indianopolis Colts had better records.

In conclusion, Holmgren won't make an impact on the game today but I'm glad Seahawks fans are talking about Holmgren. He set the bar high for this current group of Seahawks to achieve and what made him so great was he valued the importance of the quarterback. Holmgren will always be a legend in Seattle and I can't wait for the day he is elected into the Seahawks ring of honor. As you can see Holmgren did so much for this franchise and although he'll be up in the booth or maybe even on the sidelines it will feel weird seeing him not with the Seahawks. I will now know how Packers fans felt when Holmgren coached against them. This will be strange but let's remember all the great things Holmgren did for this franchise.

Top five reasons you can't blame the refs for the Seahawks losing Super Bowl XL

By Kshell

This week the Seattle Seahawks(0-1) take on the Pittsburgh Steelers(0-1) in a week two NFL matchup. For most NFL fans this is just a normal matchup that has a team in rebuilding mode traveling to Pittsburgh to take on the defending AFC Champions. For Seahawks fans though this is a revenge game from Super Bowl XL when the Steelers won 21-10 over the Seahawks. To make this game even more interesting is that Bill Levy will be the head ref of this week two contest. He was the head official in that Super Bowl XL game. If you've read any homer Seahawks fan(Big Lo) this has been brought up. The fans are already convinced he is out to screw the Seahawks once again this week. Now in this following post I'll explain five reasons you can't blame the refs for the Seahawks losing Super Bowl XL.

Now before I go into the five reasons let's examine those poor calls. Not to mention all the little calls the Steelers appeared to get away with there was four major calls that went against the Seahawks. The first call was the offensive pass interference on Darrell Jackson which wiped out a Seahawks touchdown. Jackson did appear to push off but it was a ticky tack call. The Seahawks had to settle for three points on that instead of the seven they wanted. The second missed call was on the Ben Roethlisberger one yard touchdown run. Roethlisberger even admitted on Dave Letterman that he didn't score but what isn't brought up is that was third and goal from the one yard line. Good chance the Steelers go for it on fourth and goal from the one. The third questionable call was the hold on Sean Locklear which nullified a completion to Jerramy Stevens down to the Steelers one yard line. The hold was very questionable but again in football there are no guarantees. You see teams fail to score from the one yard line quite a bit and even if the Seahawks do score there they are up 17-14 with around 10 minutes left in the game. Hasselbeck would throw an interception on the following play instead of overcoming that call. On the fourth call which was a bad call Hasselbeck was called for a tackle below the waste which is legal. What is lost in all that is that missed call didn't affect anything. So yes there was some missed calls and questionable calls in that game which a good team would have overcame. The Seahawks didn't overcome the Steelers that game for five reasons which I'm going to list.

5. Josh Brown missed two field goals.


During the game the Seahawks kicker Josh Brown missed two field goals. Now Brown's misses were of 54 and 50 yards which aren't chip shots at all. Still these kicks were in a dome and had Brown made his kicks the Seahawks would have trailed 21-16 going into their final drive which would have been for the win. In the NFL every point adds up. If Brown could have made those first half kicks that could have built the Seahawks lead where the Steelers would start to press a little bit. Not blaming the game on Brown but he's had better days during his time with the Seahawks that is for sure.

4. Darrell Jackson ran horrible routes which cost the Seahawks 11 points.

The Seahawks big play receiver Darrell Jackson during his career with the Seahawks was the defination of a system receiver. He ran horrible routes during his time with the Seahawks and had terrible hands. The Seahawks had a touchdown called back due to Jackson pushing off the Steelers defender. It was unnecessary to do that as well. Hasselbeck delivered a nice pass to Jackson who simply decided to push off as the Seahawks had to settle for three points. Then right before halftime the picture I have is of Jackson attempting to catch a long bomb. As you can see he has the catch but he had zero sideline awareness as he didn't drag that second foot. The following season same thing happened in the Dallas Cowboys  playoff game and announcer John Madden said "It's amazing how I see Jackson and a year later he is still running horrible routes right on the sidelines giving his quarterback no chance to complete that pass ". Jackson's poor route running cost the Seahawks 11 points and seeing how they lost by just 11 points those were huge.

3. Mike Holmgren didn't feature league MVP Shaun Alexander as much as he should have.

During the 2005 season the Seahawks had the best record in the NFC at 13-3. The Seahawks also had two all-pro offensive lineman in Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson. The Seahawks featured Mack Strong who was also first-team all-pro as well as pro bowl center Robbie Tobeck. Behind those great blockers Shaun Alexander in a contract year was a man who couldn't be stopped. Alexander that season rushed for 1,880 yards(5.1 YPC) for an NFL record 27 rushing touchdowns.  During the NFC championship game win over the Carolina Panthers Alexander ran for a playoff franchise record 132 yards with two touchdowns.

That is why everyone was surprised that Alexander had just 95 yards on only 20 carries. It wasn't like he was being shut down as he was averaging 4.8 YPC during that game. Instead the Seahawks threw the ball 49 times with Matt Hasselbeck when the game was a one possession game throughout the entire contest. Mike Holmgren  in some of the Seahawks big playoff losses and regular season losses would forget about the running game. Hasselbeck is a good quarterback but the games where he is asked to carry the team the Seahawks usually lost those games. If Holmgren pounds Alexander instead of blaming the refs Alexander would have been Super Bowl MVP instead of hated on by the Seahawks fan base.

2. Jerramy Stevens opens up mouth but couldn't hang onto the ball.

Heading into the Super Bowl Seahawks tight end Jerramy Stevens had a war of words with Steelers outside linebacker Joey Porter(thanks to Walter Jones was a non factor). During the Super Bowl game Stevens was costly to his team dropping at least four passes during that game. Stevens may be the only Seahawk who has ever scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl but he also stalled plenty of Seahawks drives. During the 2003 and 2004 seasons the Seahawks had a problem with dropped passes which cost them big games. This game was no different with Stevens drops. If Stevens had played like he had all season long(his only good season) there is no blaming of the refs. Instead the Seahawks are remembering what a great season they had. That game appeared to have affected Stevens as the following year the Seahawks fans turned on him booing him and he simply was never the same player. Stevens proved that it's one thing to talk crap but it takes a real player to back it up. Stevens failed to back up his war of the words and it cost the Seahawks the Super Bowl win.

1. Seahawks were missing two key safeties during the game.

Earlier in the season the Seahawks had crushed the Houston Texans on Sunday Night football 42-10 to improve to 4-2 on the season. Later that night starting free safety Ken Hamlin who was at a night club(in the wrong part of town) decided to pick a fight with some other guys at the bar. There was a huge brawl and when the dust had settled Hamlin was knocked unconcious. Hamlin was lucky to have survived his act of stupidity but was out for the remaining of the season.

Filling in for Hamlin was safety Marquand Manuel who had played great in replacing Hamlin during the season. He would play so well the Green Bay Packers the following offseason would grossly overpay for him. During the game Manuel would end up pulling a hamstring and would have to miss the rest of the game. He was replaced by what should have been third string safety Etric Pruitt who was exposed as was fellow safety Michael Boulware. The Seahawks would allow the longest run in super bowl history when Willie Parker would open up the second half with a 75 yard touchdown run. Boulware would whiff on the tackle while Pruitt took a terrible angle on the play. Earlier in the game on a third and 30 Roethlisberger would complete the pass setting up their first touchdown because the safety play allowed the receiver to get behind them. Then the dagger of the game with the Steelers up 14-10 the Steelers did a reverse touchdown pass to Hines Ward for a 43 yard touchdown. Neither safety was in sight as Ward had blown past Marcus Trufant for the touchdown to go up 21-10.

In conclusion, that is a shame the NFL is having Bill Levy ref this game because it showed the NFL how idiotic some of our fans can be. The officiating in that game was pretty bad but as I pointed out with better execution the Seahawks walk away hoisting the Lombardi trophy. Some fans just love to live in denial but they don't realize they give the Seahawks a bad name. You'll hear words like "revenge" this week but with both teams making so many changes it's just another game. The Super Bowl loss will always haunt this franchise but I feel like the Seahawks fans aren't look at the whole picture. Instead of making excuses remember the Seahawks didn't play well enough to win that game. This sunday when Levy throws his first flag on the Seahawks I'm sure homers will be complaining but keep in mind there are always other factors that dictate an NFL game. That loss still hurts but the Seahawks lost for more reasons besides the officiating. The Seahawks take on the Steelers this week hopefully win or lose fans can simply accept the outcome without having to make excuses.

Seahawks history with season openers

By Kshell

The Seahawks led by Pete Carroll take on the San Francisco 49ers this sunday down in San Francisco. This will be the second straight season that the Seahawks open their season with the 49ers. The Seahawks are 6-3 since moving to the NFC in their openers. The Seahawks are led by the new face of their franchise safety Earl Thomas who appears to be the only jersey that is safe to buy nowadays. The Seahawks are also opening up with a new era of quarterback play with Tarvaris Jackson making the start. This will be the first time since 2000 when Jon Kitna started against the Miami Dolphins that Matt Hasselbeck won't be starting for the Seahawks. The Seahawks are a team in transition heading into this opener against the 49ers just like last season. What I'll do in this following post is I'll bring up the Seahawks history in season opening games.

I'll start with last years season opening win over the 49ers. You can read more in depth about the win by clicking on this link . The Seahawks were expected to do horribly last season while the 49ers were predicted by many to win the division. The Seahawks were being dominated in the first quarter and a half trailing only 6-0 as the 49ers had to settle for two field goals and were stuffed on a fourth and goal. The Seahawks finally scored when Matt Hasselbeck after hitting Mike Williams with a long pass scored on a one yard quarterback keeper. Then shortly after that Jordan Babineaux intercepted an Alex Smith pass which set up a Hasselbeck touchdown pass to Deon Butler. To start the third quarter Marcus Trufant then intercepted Smith's pass and went for a 32 yard touchdown to give the Seahawks a commanding 21-6 lead.  Hasselbeck would later hit Deion Branch for a three yard touchdown to go up 28-6. The Seahawks would win 31-6 as Hasselbeck would go 18-23 for 170 yards passing with two touchdowns and another one rushing. The Seahawks had began the Pete Carroll era with a win. Prior to Carroll only the coach he replaced Jim Mora Jr. the year before had won his first season opening game which the Seahawks shutout the Rams 28-0.

The Seahawks as a franchise begin in 1976 and in that year they played their first ever game at home against the St.Louis Cardinals. The Seahawks at first played like an expansion team as they trailed to the Cardinals 23-3. Jim Zorn would then start the comeback as he would hit Sam McCullum for a 15 yard touchdown to pull within 23-10. That was also the first touchdown in Seahawks franchise history. After allowing another touchdown the Seahawks were trailing 30-10. Zorn then hit McCullum for a 72 yard touchdown bombs to pull within 30-17. Zorn on the following drive scored on an eight yard touchdown run to pull within 30-24. The comeback would stop just short as the Seahawks would fall 30-24. Zorn would finish the game 17 of 37 passing for 292 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He would also rush for 26 yards with a touchdown. McCullum finished with four receptions for 112 yards with two touchdowns. Hall of Fame wide receiver Steve Largent finished with five receptions for 86 yards as well.

The Seahawks would lose their first eight season openers including losing all four at home in the 1970's. In 1983 at Kansas City the Seahawks had highly drafted running back Curt Warner take his very first career of his NFL career for a 60 yard touchdown. The Seahawks would lose that game and would have to wait until 1984. The Seahawks were playing at home to the Cleveland Browns and because of a scheduling conflict with the Seattle Mariners the Seahawks were playing on a Monday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. Most of the fans were at work and the game wasn't on t.v. The Seahawks would destroy the Browns 33-0 as they were building from the momentum of their AFC Championship game appearance from the year before. In that game though the Seahawks would lose second year running back Warner for the season. That year the Seahawks would go 12-4 but lose to Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins in the second round of the playoffs.

The Seahawks as a franchise have struggled in season openers. In the 1970's the Seahawks went 0-4, in the 1980's went 4-6 and in the 1990's went 2-8. The Seahawks are 13-22 all-time on season openers and 6-10 at home with 7-12 on the road. Then everything changed with the Matt Hasselbeck era. Hasselbeck went 7-3 in season opening games including 4-0 at home. Mike Holmgren was 5-5 in season opening games but began his career 1-3. In 2003 the Seahawks blew out the New Orleans Saints 27-10 which includes a famous knockout by rookie safety Ken Hamlin. The Seahawks were led by Shaun Alexander as he ran for 108 yards with a touchdown while catching another touchdown. Hasselbeck completed 12 of 23 passes for 137 yards with two touchdowns. That was the start of the Seahawks making five straight playoff appearances and winning six of their next eight season opening games.

In conclusion, the Seahawks haven't had the best history of season openers but lately they are 6-2(.750) which is good to know.  The season opener is pretty important as of 1990 only 24% of week one losing teams have made the playoffs. In years the Seahawks have made the playoffs they are 7-4 in season openers but did lose in 2005 the year they made the Super Bowl. The season is almost here and hopefully this Sunday can add to the list of many great Seahawks openers in the past. This is a divisional game against another team many expect to do poorly. Hopefull Jackson can light it up by hitting Mike Williams early and often. Carroll is 13-1 in season openers dating to his NFL and college days. Carroll will be looking to gain some revenge on Jim Harbaugh as he makes his 49ers debut down in San Francisco. The Seahawks open the season this Sunday and I'm sure everyone who is tired of watching the Mariners sucking are excited!

Rodgers leads Packers to Super Bowl win over Steelers 31-25!

By Kshell

The Green Bay Packers are bringing the Lombardi trophy back home to Titletown, USA. The Packers were led by Aaron Rodgers who will no longer have to look over his shoulder and see Brett Favre's shadow. Rodgers the Super Bowl MVP was near perfect in the win over the Steelers throwing for 304 yards with three touchdowns despite several drops from his receivers. The Packers took advantage of three Steelers turnovers and turned those turnovers into 21 points. Despite a late rally by the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger the Packers were victorious. The Packers have won the Super Bowl for the fourth time in franchise history but first time since 1996 when Mike Holmgren and Brett Favre ran the show. The Packers will celebrate this victory while the Steelers will be kicking themselves as they blew their chance to become elite status. Both these franchises have young franchise quarterbacks so they'll have plenty of chances to get back to this big game. At the start of the year yours truly predicted the Packers would win the Super Bowl which you can read right here.



The Packers in this Super Bowl game never once trailed throughout the entire game. The Packers are dropping some early passes finally started to amount a drive against the Steelers defense. After a dropped pass killed the Packers first drive Rodgers as he would all game would hit his passes on the second drive. Rodgers would hit Jordy Nelson for a gain of nine to set up a third and one. Then James Starks would rush for eight yards for a first down to the Packers 37 yard line. After another first down conversation by Starks to the Packers 46 yard line. Rodgers would hit Brandon Jackson for a 14 yard gain to the Steelers 38 yard line. Then facing a third and one from the Steelers 29 yard line the Packers called for a play action pass to Nelson who had dropped an earlier touchdown. This time Rodgers hit Nelson for the 29 yard touchdown pass to the right corner of the end zone. The Packers would take an early 7-0 lead on the Steelers after a Rodgers touchdown pass.



The game went from bad to worse for the Steelers. After a holding penalty which backed the Steelers to their own seven yard line Roethlisberger would throw an ill-advised deep pass. That pass was intercepted by Nick Collins and was ran back 37 yards for the touchdown to give the Packers a 14-0 lead. Believe it or not that 14-0 lead was huge as no team had ever came back from 14 points down to win a Super Bowl. Collins did receive an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty which would give the Steelers good field position. The Steelers starting on their own 36 yard line would go on a 13 play 49 yard drive which would eat up over seven minutes in time of possession. The Steelers would have to settle for a Shaun Suisham 33 yard field goal to cut the score to 14-3. After the Packers would go three and out the Steelers would have a chance to grab momentum. Roethlisberger would be intercepted once again at midfield with four minutes to go in the half. The Packers would try to take advantage of Roethlisberger's mistake and put the game away.



Aaron Rodgers would waste little time to take advantage of the Steelers mistake. Rodgers would hit Jennings for a four yard gain then would hit Nelson for a gain of 16 yards to the Steelers 33 yard line. Starks would then run for 12 yards to the Steelers 21 yard line. Rodgers would then fire a pass down the middle to Jennings for a 21 yard touchdown with 2:24 left in the half. For Rodgers that would be his second touchdown pass of the first half. The Packers would take a commanding 21-3 lead against the Steelers. No team had ever came back from 18 points down in the Super Bowl. The Steelers would make a game of it right before the half though. You see you can't put a team who has won two Super Bowls in the last five seasons away that easily. The Steelers were left plenty of time to still try and salvage the half and get some momentum going into halftime. This is when Roethlisberger would finally start hitting his passes to make the game interesting.



The Steelers started on their own 23 yard line knowing that they must get a score or any hopes at a championship would most likely end. Roethlisberger on the first play would hit Antwaan Randle El for a gain of 37 yards to the Packers 40 yard line. The Packers on this drive would lose both starting cornerbacks Charles Woodson(2009 Defensive MVP) and Sam Shields. Facing a third and 10 from the Packers 40 yard line Roethlisberger would hit Hines Ward down the middle for a 14 yard gain to the Packers 26 yard line. Facing a second and nine from the Packers 25 yard line Roethlisberger would hit Ward once again down the middle for a gain of 17 yards to the Packers eight yard line. Then Roethlisberger once again hit Ward to complete the drive hitting Ward for an eight yard touchdown pass. Up until that touchdown Roethlisberger had five interceptions to just one touchdown in the Super Bowl. With that touchdown the Steelers close the gap to 21-10 at halftime. The Steelers trailed by just 11 points and the Packers two starting corners along with Donald Driver were out of the game.



The Steelers would begin the second half by three and outing the mighty Packers offense. After a poor punt and penalty the Steelers had the ball at midfield. The Steelers didn't even attempt a single pass on this scoring drive. The drive began with Rashard Mendenhall running for 17 yards to the Packers 33 yard line. Facing a second and seven from the Packers 30 yard line Roethlisberger would rush for six yards setting up a third and one from the Packers 24 yard line. Isaac Redman took the carry on the short yardage situation and ran 16 yards to the Packers eight yard line. That is when Mendenhall capped the drive with an eight yard touchdown drive to cut the lead to 21-17. The Steelers defense would three and out the Packers offense once again. The Steelers then went on a nine play drive to the Packers 29 yard line but Roethlisberger would get sacked. The Steelers would then miss the 52 yard field goal attempt.



The Steelers had all the momentum in the game and it had appeared they were going to complete the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history. The Steelers with the ball on the Packers 33 yard line would hand off to Mendenhall who had crushed the Packers to that point but Clay Matthews would force the fumble. The Steelers would turn the ball over for the third time in the game. The Packers then had new life on their own 45 yard line. Facing a critical third and seven from their own 48 yard line Rodgers would hit James Jones who had dropped a few passes already. Jones made a great diving catch on the sideline for a gain of 12 yards to extend the drive. On second and 10 from the Steelers 40 yard line Rodgers would hit Nelson only Nelson would drop the pass. The Packers would have four drops on the game. Rodgers not losing faith in his teammate would hit Nelson on a key third down conversation for a gain of 38 yards to the Steelers two yard line. After getting sacked Rodgers would hit Jennings for an eight yard touchdown to take a commanding 28-17 lead with under 12 minutes to go. That would be Rodgers third touchdown pass of the game. The Steelers weren't willing to go away so easily though.



The Steelers with their season on the line would do what they've done all night which is answer back with a score of their own. After a Roethlisberger completion for nine yards he would hit Mike Wallace for 16 yards to the Packers 46 yard line. Roethlisberger would hit Wallace once again for 14 yards to the Packers 32 yard line. After a holding penalty and a pass of two yards Roethlisberger was facing a critical second and 18 when he hit Ward for a gain of 15 to set up a third and three from the Packers 25 yard line. On third and three Roethlisberger would hit Wallace on a perfect fade pass for the touchdown to cut the lead to 28-23. The Steelers would go for two to cut the lead down to a field goal. Roethlisberger in shotgun would run a play that you would see at Autzen Stadium with the Oregon Ducks. Roethlisberger would take the snap run to his left then option pitch it to Randle El who scored on the two point conversation. With seven and a half minutes to go the Packers would have the ball up only 28-25. This would be Rodgers defining drive and the biggest drive of his life. Like he had all night long he would deliver once again.



The Packers would begin this crucial drive from their own 25 yard line. Rodgers would get sacked on the first play of the drive. Then Rodgers would hit Nelson for a gain of nine yards. After a critical false start penalty the Packers faced the biggest play of their lives which was third and 10 from the 25 yard line. This is when Rodgers despite throwing three touchdowns in the game would complete the biggest pass of his life. He would hit Jennings on a seam pattern down the middle for a gain of 31 to the Steelers 44 yard line. Had the Packers failed there the Steelers would have great field position with over five minutes to go in the game. Starks on the next play would rush for 15 yards to the Steelers 29 yard line. Facing a second and nine from the Steelers 29 yard line Rodgers would hit James Jones for a gain of 21 yards to the Steelers eight yard line. After two short completions the Packers faced a third and goal from the five yard line which Rodgers pass hit Nelson in both hands but was incomplete. The Packers would settle for a Mason Crosby 23 yard field goal to go up 31-25. The Steelers would have two minutes and only one timeout left to try and win the game.



The Steelers would have one last shot from their own 13 yard line. Roethlisberger would hit Heath Miller down the middle for a gain of 15 yards to their own 28 yard line. After a pass for five yards to their own 33 yard line the Steelers would then have three straight incomplete passes. The last one hit Wallace in both his hands but was dropped. Steeler fans including Roethlisberger at the time would argue that there should have been pass interference called. There was no such call and the Green Bay Packers were going to win the Super Bowl! Head coach Mike McCarthy joins legends such as Vince Lombardi and Mike Holmgren as the third coach in Packers history to win a Super Bowl. The Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had to sit his first three years after falling to the late first round. Remember the San Francisco 49ers debated on who to take with the first pick overall Aaron Rodgers or Alex Smith. Rodgers wins the MVP for the Packers and has now won as many Super Bowls as Brett Favre. Rodgers is creating his own legend in Green Bay and the Packers are experiencing a run of quarterbacks not seen since the 49ers had Joe Montana hand the torch over to Steve Young.

All in all the Green Bay Packers are the Super Bowl champions led by Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers was 24 of 39 passing for 304 yard with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Rodgers would have a quarterback rating of 111.5 for the game. His counterpart Ben Roethlisberger would have his struggles early but played well in the second half. For Roethlisberger he would finish completing 25 of 40 passes for 263 yards with two touchdowns but two very costly interceptions. The Packers took advantage of the Steelers turnovers scoring 21 points off the Steelers three turnovers. The Packers themselves did not turn the ball over but were far from perfect. The Packers had a few dumb penalties but many were killed by dropped passes. Nonetheless the Packers led by Rodgers are the Super Bowl champions. Not like Ted Thompson and other Packers management needed "validation" on choosing Rodgers over Favre but today definately gave them that. The Packers are the world champions despite being in the smallest city in profesional sports. Nobody can ever take away this championship from Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers!

Observations:



- Mike McCarthy joins Mike Holmgren and of course Vince Lombardi as Super Bowl winning head coaches in Green Bay Packers history. When the Packers hired McCarthy he was a fairly unknown coach at the time. He had came from the San Francisco 49ers organization. McCarthy hired as head coach after the Packers went 4-12 in 2005. McCarthy was hired over Sean Payton who would join the Saints in 2006. McCarthy in his first year started off slow at 4-8 but the Packers won four in a row to go to 8-8. Meanwhile Payton led the Saints to the NFC title game so I'm sure some fans in Green Bay were thinking they hired the wrong guy.

In 2007 McCarthy in just his second season led the Packers to the NFC Championship game. Led by Brett Favre have a resurgence in his career the Packers hosted the NFC title game only to lose to eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants. That is when the Packers underwent a change which was rough for a coach entering just his third season. The Packers decided to say good bye to Brett Favre despite being one game away from the Super Bowl. The Packers traded him to the Jets for a third round draft pick(Which was traded to move up in first round to select Clay Matthews). In 2008 the Packers suffered only their second losing season since 1993 with Aaron Rodgers.

Last year was another tough year for the Packers and McCarthy. The Packers finally made the playoffs again only to lose 51-45 in a wild Wild Card playoff loss to the Arizona Cardinals. What made the year so tough was that Brett Favre played for the Minnesota Vikings and swept the Packers. The Vikings also played in the NFC Championship game. The Saints with Sean Payton who the Packers passed on won the Super Bowl that year.

This year the Packers were the trendy pick to go to the Super Bowl. The first game of the year they lost starting running back Ryan Grant. The Packers lost 13 players to the IR including stud tight end JerMichael Finley. The Packers had heartbreaking losses this year losing six games by just 20 points. The Packers never once trailed by seven points at any point in this season(20 games including playoffs). The Packers were out of the playoffs with two games to go had to beat the Giants and then the Bears to advance. Then the Packers had to upset the Eagles on the road, Falcons on the road and then the Bears. Now the Packers are the Super Bowl champions and nobody will ever question hiring Mike McCarthy. Seeing how the San Francisco 49ers had McCarthy the whole time but never promoted him. Now McCarthy is kind in Green Bay. The previous two Super Bowl winning coaches have a street named after them when will McCarthy get his?



- What do Tom Brady, Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger all have in common? Won a Super Bowl right? Well that and those are the last four losing quarterbacks in the Super Bowl. Showing that possibly experience in the big game is overrated.

In three of those four guys cases(Warner lost to Roethlisberger) the Super Bowl winning quarterback had never played in the big game before. Brady lost to Eli Manning who before that year had never won a playoff game in his career. Then Peyton Manning lost to Drew Brees who before that year had just one career playoff win. Now Roethlisberger lost to Rodgers who before this year had played in just one playoff game in his career.

Just goes to show you that Super Bowl experience could be overrated as Super Bowl winning quarterbacks are losing to first time quarterbacks. The days of Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson and Rex Grossman starting Super Bowls appear to be over. In the past four Super Bowls all seven quarterbacks(Roethlisberger went twice) have gone to a pro bowl. Since 2003 only Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger have been to the Super Bowl in the AFC. While 10 different teams in 10 years have gone to the Super Bowl in the NFC since 2001.



- This Super Bowl will be remembered as the Super Bowl that Aaron Rodgers finally escaped the Brett Favre shadow. He has been terrific taking over for Favre throwing for over 4,000 in his first two seasons and just missing it in his third season as a starter in the NFL. In the life of the NFL though you are measured by what you do in the playoffs especially if you are a quarterback.

Rodgers heading into this year was 0-1 in the playoffs but that playoff game was hardly his fault. In his first career playoff start the Packers lost 51-45 in overtime where Rodgers threw for 423 yards with four touchdowns including a rushing touchdown and just one interception. This year Rodgers was also on fire in the playoffs passing for nine touchdowns to just two interceptions while rushing for two touchdowns. In his career in five games he is 4-1 while completing 67.8% of his passes for 1,517(305.7 per game) yards. Rodgers has thrown for 13 touchdowns to three interceptions with three rushing touchdowns in his playoff career with a rating of 112.6.

Another decision the San Francisco 49ers fans have to be kicking themselves over. Just like Tim Lincecum with Seattle fans Rodgers is from the Bay Area. Rodgers was stellar for California yet the 49ers chose Alex Smith with the #1 pick overall. The 49ers haven't been to the playoffs since 2002 while the Packers have had just two losing seasons since 1993. The 49ers could have easily had the Rodgers-McCarthy combo instead they sit at home wondering what could have been?

The Packers chose Rodgers although he wasn't a need. The Packers had Brett Favre already who never gets injured as he started 296 consecutive games in his career from 1992-2010. Rodgers was to good of a value to pass up with the 24th pick plus Favre had threatened retirement since the 2003 season. The Packers didn't want to be like the Arizona Cardinals this year where their quarterback retires and the franchise falls apart. Instead the Packers did what the 49ers of the 80's did which was trade a second and fourth round picks to acquire Steve Young. The 49ers had a nice transition from Montana to Young where they enjoyed great success from 1981-1998where they were the premiere team of the NFL.

All in all this is why the Packers are a great organization. Unlike the Seahawks who didn't draft replacements for Walter Jones, Matt Hasselbeck or Shaun Alexander the Packers drafted Rodgers. The Packers had a rough 2008 season but that was one season and now they are World Champions. Just remember Seahawks fans the Packers are mostly a roster of draft picks and the guy who did the drafting for the Packers is current Seahawks general manager John Schneider. The Seahawks are in good hands with Schneider unlike Tim Ruskell who appeared clueless when it comes to the draft. This Super Bowl win was also good for the NFL. Shows why the NFL is the best sport that a small city like Green Bay can hoist it's fourth Super Bowl Championship is incredible. In baseball they would have already moved same goes for the NBA but in the NFL they are one of the better franchises. Well this Super Bowl wraps up a great NFL season. Hopefully in September we'll have a season but we shall see. I'll continue to post about the labor stuff in the offseason so don't worry. What a great season and congrats to the Green Bay Packers on winning the Super Bowl!

The Bears are who we thought they were

By Kshell

"The Bears are what we thought they were. They're what we thought they were. We played them in preseason — who the hell takes a third game of the preseason like it's bullshit? Bullshit! We played them in the third game — everybody played three quarters — the Bears are who we thought they were! That's why we took the damn field. Now if you want to crown them, then crown their ass! But they are who we thought they were! And we let 'em off the hook!"- Dennis Green following a crushing Monday Night Football loss to the Bears 24-23

Whenever I think of the Chicago Bears at least recently I think of that Dennis Green rant. That rant also hits home to me because during that season to be more precise the Seahawks season ended in Chicago 27-24 in overtime. That loss hurt as everyone knew some key people on the Seahawks run of four consecutive division titles were getting up there in age. This Sunday at Chicago the Seahawks have a chance to avenge that loss although so very few players are on the Seahawks roster who were there in 2006. Just like that year nobody gave the Seahawks a chance to win that particular game against the Bears despite being the defending NFC Champions. I'll get that game in more detailed shortly.

This year the Seattle Seahawks have already proven they can walk into Chicago and defeat them which you can read here. In that game Mike Williams due to his size destroyed the Bears catching 10 passes that game. That game from start to finish and given the opponent was the Seahawks best game of the year in the short Pete Carroll era. The Seahawks hope to continue to attack the Bears secondary with Mike Williams and attack Cutler with the corner/safety blitzes.

The Seahawks will be hoping to snap their seven game road losing streak in the playoffs. In fact the last time the Seahawks won a playoff road game Dan Marino was just a rookie quarterback and Joe Montana had won just one Super Bowl. That year was in 1983 when nobody gave the Seahawks a chance against Dan Marino and the Dolphins who had the best record in the AFC. The Seahawks won that game but would go on to lose the AFC Championship game in Los Angeles(Where Seattlehawk94 was there in person).

In that seven game losing streak the Seahawks have lost to three teams who went on the Super Bowl and three of those games were lost in overtime. One of those losses happened in Chicago four years ago today. During the 2006 season the defending NFC champions Seattle Seahawks were hurt by injuries. The Seahawks had lost Shaun Alexander for six games, Matt Hasselbeck for four games. In the playoffs the Seahawks lost both starting cornerbacks Marcus Trufant and Kelly Herndon the last week of the regular season. The Seahawks won a memorable playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys 21-20 because Tony Romo couldn't hold on to a snap for basically an extra point. The Seahawks were 9-7 and had lost three of their last four games heading into the playoffs but still had that championship swagger.

Meanwhile in Chicago the Bears were enjoying a terrific season. The previous year the Bears were the #2 seed in the NFC but went one and done to the Carolina Panthers(Who were destroyed next week by the Seahawks). The Bears also enjoyed the NFC's best record behind an amazing defense led by Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. The Bears also had a great running game with Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson. The Bears also featured a game changer on special teams in rookie Devin Hester. The only thing holding the Bears back was Rex Grossman who makes Jay Cutler look like Tom Brady. Nobody gave the Seahawks a chance as the Bears had already killed the Seahawks 37-6 on a primetime Sunday Night football game. Should be noted the Seahawks were without previous league MVP Shaun Alexander.


The playoff rematch would feature the last great game of Shaun Alexander's career. The Seahawks found themselves trailing 14-7 when Shaun Alexander began to take over. Alexander would tie the score up with a four yard touchdown run. Still the Seahawks found themselves trailing 21-14 when Thomas Jones ran one in from seven yards out. The Seahawks would get a field goal from Josh Brown to pull within 21-17. Then once again Alexander would give the Seahawks the lead with a 13 yard rushing touchdown to give the Seahawks a 24-21 lead. The Bears would eventually tie up the score 24-24 then win in overtime on Robbie Gould's game winning 49 yard field goal 27-24. The Bears would go on to the Super Bowl. The Seahawks would go home asking tons of what if's.



After a tough loss like that there was plenty of blame to go around. One guy you couldn't blame was Shaun Alexander who ran for 108 yards on 26 carries with two touchdowns against this tough Bears defense. One guy who took blame was Matt Hasselbeck who was 18 of 33 passing for 195 yards with a touchdown and a costly interception that tied the score up at 24-24. Another guy who many blamed was Mike Holmgren. The usually conservative coach took some risks this game going for it on fourth three times with the Seahawks failing to convert twice. Utlimately the blame it to be at the hands of Tim Ruskell who let all-pro guard Steve Hutchinson walk. Having an all-pro would have been nice on those key third/fourth and short situations.

Now that painful loss has nothing to do with what will happen this Sunday in Chicago. If anything that game proves that the Seahawks can play in the cold weather before and that weather shouldn't be a factor. The Seahawks already defeated the Bears this year in Chicago so they know they can win there again. The Bears have been playing much better as of late but Jay Cutler is still the quarterback. Cutler will be playing in his first career playoff game while Matt Hasselbeck will be playing in his 11th career playoff game.

Since 2003 quarterbacks making their first career start are 5-19 in the playoffs. Some former pro bowlers have lost their playoff debut like our very own Matt Hasselbeck, Matt Ryan, Phillip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, Vince Young, Carson Palmer, Tony Romo, Marc Bulger, Trent Green and Eli Manning. That is a pretty impressive list and with the exception of Young you would take all those quarterbacks over Jay Cutler. Cutler never even played in a bowl game in college. Cutler hasn't played in very many pressure like situations in his career.

At the end of the day whether the Seahawks will win or not they have a chance. The Bears like in 2006 are the better team. Just like in 2006 I think the Seahawks can compete with the Bears and then watch Cutler fold under pressure. If your a Bears fan and your team is trailing in the fourth quarter are you confident in Cutler? I'm guessing probably not. While the Seahawks with a veteran like Hasselbeck know he is capable of playing in pressure situations. He has started a Super Bowl before and has even played in a playoff game in Chicago. Hasselbeck has been there and done that while Cutler will be learning on the spot. I think regardless of the outcome Hasselbeck and Cutler will be the stories of this game. Just remember though the Bears are who we thought they were, nobody takes the sixth game of the regular season like it's bullshit! I'm not willing to crown the Bears ass just yet and hopefully after Sunday the Seahawks can finally earn some respect.

Seahawks-Giants preview: Flashback to the rise of the 12th man

By Kshell

When the New York Giants(5-2,winners of four in a row) travel to Qwest Field to take on the Seattle Seahawks(4-3,3-0 at home) it bring up memories of some of the greatest crowds in regular season history. The Seahawks come into this game pretty banged up as it appears the injury bug has attacked them again. The Seahawks will be without starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, left tackle Russel Okung, they also lost defensive end Red Bryant for the season. By all accounts the Giants should roll in this game but since it's at Qwest field anything can happen.

The Giants appear to be the "best" team in the NFC this year. I throw the term "best" out there loosely as no team in either conference has stepped forward to take the claim as the best team. The Giants started the year off slow going 1-2 with the lone win against Carolina. Then in a Sunday Night game they sacked Jay Cutler nine times and shut down the Bears. The cries for Tom Coughlin to be fired had stopped after that victory. Coughlin has now veteran quarterback Elli Manning running the show.

The Giants are a disciplined football team with a quarterback who is hitting his prime years. Just like that this is Eli's seventh season in the league. Eli has cemented his legacy with the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII upset over the undefeated New England Patriots. It wasn't always that way for the Giants in fact Qwest Field in 2005 and then again in 2006 represented a house of horrors for the Giants. They had a young quarterback in Eli Manning and Coughlin appeared to be over his head when matched up against future hall of famer Mike Holmgren.

The Seahawks crowd the "12th man" received national attention against these Giants. Now the number 12 was retired back in the 1980's but nobody noticed nationally. That was until a Thanksgiving week game where first place was on the line in the NFC took place. A game in which the Giants had outplayed the Seahawks on offense and defense. I'll flashback to the most famous regular season game in Qwest field history.

November 27, 2005: New York Giants(7-3) at Seattle Seahawks(8-2)

When the Giants came to town this game had a different feeling to it than usual. This wasn't a Sunday or Monday night game either just a standard 1 p.m. game. The Seahawks fans had heard all week everyone bash their team. From Skip Bayless to Michael Irvin and everyone in between. All the media "experts" picked the Giants to win because they were tougher than the Seahawks who were "soft". Well the 12th man took that as a challenge and were so loud it frustrated the Giants all day.

After each team was struggling finding a way to score the Seahawks on their third possession started to get some yards on the Giants defense. The Seahawks facing a first and 10 from the Giants 35 decided to do a play action fake to eventual league MVP Shaun Alexander to suck the defense in. It had worked as Matt Hasselbeck threw it deep to Joe Jurevicius who went up and caught the ball for a 35 yard touchdown to give the Seahawks a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. The crowd was going nuts as this was just the start to a big day from Jurevicius.

The Giants midway through the second quarter finally caught a break. When Hasselbeck hit reliable Bobby Engram for a first down, Engram had fumbled the ball giving the Giants life. The Giants though began shooting themselves in the foot first giving up a sack and young Eli Manning fumbled the ball. Then one of 12 false starts happened killing the drive but Jay Feely made a 39 yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3.

The Giants followed up that field goal by three and outing the leagues top offense. On the Giants ensuing possession they drove 79 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown. On third and goal from the seven, young Eli hit Jeremy Shockey for a seven yard touchdown which had some controversy. You see to make a reception you need both feet well Shockey when he caught the ball in the end zone had one foot land then Seahawks safety Marquand Manuel hit him so hard forcing the ball to come out. It couldn't have been a fumble since he was in the endzone but it should have been an incompletion. The ruling on the field stood and after the initial zoo of the crowd the Giants took a 10-7 lead going into halftime. The Giants were also dominated the game to that point outgaining the Seahawks 189-136.

The Seahawks began the second half pretty disastrously. The Seahawks turned the ball over on their first possession when Matt Hasselbeck threw an interception. The Giants already up 10-7 had the ball on the Seahawks 26 yard line and could put the Seahawks away. The Seahawks defense got tough and held the Giants to a Jay Feely 43 yard field goal. The Giants led 13-7 but would make a costly mistake that would allow the Seahawks back into the ball game.

The Giants after three and outing the Seahawks offense again were driving. The Giants had the ball first and 10 from the Seahawks 36 yard line. Eli went back to pass and went for the home run ball to put Seattle away but instead he was picked off by Michael Boulware who then returned the interception 40 yards to the Seattle 44 yard line. After being shut down all game long Shaun Alexander finally busted out. Alexander would carry the ball four times for 40 yards on the drive setting up another Hasselbeck touchdown to Jurevicius from 16 yards out. The Seahawks despite being outplayed would take the lead 14-13 heading into the fourth quarter. Unlike years past the Seahawks proved against Dallas earlier in the year and the Rams in St.Louis that they can win the close games.

The Seahawks like they had done all year would have that one final drive to put teams away in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks weren't blowing fourth quarters anymore because the offense would have a nice long scoring drive. Well this game was no different. The Seahawks would go on a 13 play 80 yard drive that took up almost seven minutes in time of possession. On that drive Hasselbeck would hit Jurevicius on two key third and longs for first downs. On the Giants 14 facing a third and 11 Hasselbeck would hit Engram for a gain of 10. That left Mike Holmgren with a tough decision.

With 5 minutes left in the game Holmgren must decide if he should kick the field goal forcing the Giants to score a touchdown or risk going for it on fourth down. He decided to go for it on fourth and one. The play call was very simple and in fact I knew what play the Seahawks were running. Back then everyone knew what the Seahawks would run on third or fourth and shorts and yet not once during the season were the Seahawks stuffed. That is because they would run the ball to the left which feature All-Pro fullback Mack Strong lead blocking for league MVP Shaun Alexander, would then follow the blocking of Probowler Robbie Tobeck at center, All-Pro Steve Hutchinson at left guard and All-Pro left tackle Walter Jones. Alexander not only got the first down but he scored his 20th rushing touchdown of the season from four yards out. The Sehawks held a 21-13 lead and left the game in the defenses hands.

The Giants young quarterback actually played pretty well in the hostile environment. Young Eli would lead his team down the field. Manning on the Seahawks 18 yard line hit Armani Toomer for a touchdown to pull within two points. Manning on the drive was four of six passing for 54 yards. On the two point play Manning would hit Shockey to tie up the score and crowd was stunned.

The Seahawks would go three and out so quickly that allowed the Giants to win the game in possible regulation. The Giants had great field position on the 50 yard line. After Manning completed two passes the Giants ran the ball to Tiki Barber to line up for the winning field goal. With four seconds left and on the Seahawks 22 it was looking like the Seahawks were going to lose at home. Then Jay Feely who had been 23 of 25 kicking field goals on the season missed a 40 yard chip shot wide left. The crowd was roaring in excitement as the Seahawks had survived. The Seahawks then won the coin toss and it was looking good for the Seahawks.

The Seahawks offense again continued to go backwards and gave the Giants great field position again. The Giants had the ball at midfield. The Giants had the ball at the Seahawks 31 yard line when the 12th man came calling yet again. The Giants would committ their 12th and final false start penalty of the game which is unheard of in the NFL. That back the Giants up five yards. On third and 15 Manning had hit Shockey for a completion to the Seahawks 26 yard line. The catch appeared questionable so Holmgren gambled and called a timeout to give the booth more time to review it. The booth reviewed the play and it was an incomplete pass. That set up a tough decision for Tom Coughlin which is try and kick a 54 yard field into the Hawks Nest when Feely had just missed from 40 yards out on the same side of the field. Another option was to punt the ball and play field position but Coughlin didn't want to give the Seahawks another chance so he decided to kick the field goal. Feely again missed the kick from 54 yards out. The crowd was energetic as the Seahawks had life still.

The Seahawks drove the ball to the Giants 40 yard line but couldn't do anything and were forced to punt. Making things worse punter Tom Rouen punted the ball out of bounds so the Seahawks couldn't pin the Giants. On the first play the Giants runningback Tiki Barber who would finish second in the NFL in rushing yards that year behind Shaun Alexander would rush up the middle for 49 yards to give the Giants another opportunity. The Giants had the ball on the Seahawks 27 yard line and again left it up to Jay Feely to put the Seahawks away. When Feely first kicked the ball it had appeared good but he missed it from 45 yards out. Michael Strahan was so confident he was running on the field and had to stop to get his helmet. There is a famous shot of Shockey pointing at the Seahawks crowd celebrating until he realized Feely has missed the kick.



This time the Seahawks stopped messing around. Facing a first and 21 from their own 24 yard line Hasselbeck hit D.J. Hackett for a 38 yard pass to the Giants 38 yard line. Then Alexander took over rushing the Seahawks to the Giants 15 yard line. That set up Josh Brown who kicked the 36 yard field goal to give the Seahawks an amazing 24-21 win in overtime.

The win was incredible as the Seahawks had no business winning this game. The Giants had out gained them 490 to 355 in yards. Out rushed the Seahawks 166 to 127 and threw for more yards 324 to 228. The Giants had 25 first downs to the Seahawks 17. The Giants also won the turnover battle two to one. The Seahawks had fumbled the ball four times but lost just one and went three and out six times. The Giants did themselves in with 16 penalties including 12 false starts and three missed field goals where each one could have won the game .The Seahawks win was so unlikely that Mike Holmgren gave the Seahawks fans the game ball.



The Seahawks had a great game from Joe Jurevicious who had 8 receptions for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Hasselbeck ended up 21 of 37 passing for 249 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Eli Manning out performed Hasselbeck at times passing 29 of 53 but 344 yards and also had two touchdowns with an interception. Shaun Alexander carried the ball 31 times for 110 yards and a touchdown. The Seahawks couldn't stop Tiki Barber as he became the first and only runningback to rush for over 100 yards on the Seahawks running for 151 on just26 carries.

That was indeed a great win for the Seahawks as it gave Qwest Field the mystique that nobody could beat them at home. The Seahawks would finish the year 13-3 and would go 8-0 at home. The Seahawks would then win both home playoff games going to the Super Bowl. While the Giants finished the year 11-5 and were upset at home in the playoffs. In fact the Giants the NFC East champions were shutout to the Carolina Panthers who the Seahawks defeated in the NFC Championship game.

The following year in the much anticipated rematch at Qwest Field the Seahawks destroyed the Giants. The Seahawks behind the debut of newly acquired receiver Deion Branch constantly ran four wide receiver sets that confused the Giants. Matt Hasselbeck would throw for a career high five touchdowns as the Seahawks would race out to a 42-3 lead in the third quarter and led 35-3 at halftime. Eli Manning would throw three interceptions in the first half as well. The Giants would tack on some cheap points at the end to lose 42-30 but the game was decided in the first half. Many Giants players questioned Coughlin saying they were simply outcoached.

If someone had told me that not only would Coughlin somehow keep his job after that season but win a Super Bowl the following year I would have called you crazy. Now the only player who made a real impact for the Seahawks that game Lofa Tatupu who had 11 tackles is the only player left. The rest are either retired, left or in Hasselbecks case injured. There was a time that Qwest Field meant automatic loss. Well the Seahawks are 3-0 this year so hopefully the Qwest Field spell over the Giants can continue. One can only hope.