Eli Manning proves only ELIte quarterbacks win super bowls!

By Kshell

This past Sunday the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17 to win their fourth super bowl championship. In doing so quarterback Eli Manning defeated Tom Brady for the second time in the Super Bowl. Eli playing in the house that his brother Peyton[Manning] built etched his name amongst the elite quarterbacks today. Eli [Manning] also proved a trend that has been developing in today's NFL as well. This year in the NFL you saw three guys pass for over 5,000 yards including Drew Brees and Tom Brady breaking Dan Marino's single season record for most passing yards in a season. This was the year of the quarterback as 10 quarterbacks passed for over 4,000 yards and 20 over 3,000 yards. Three quarterbacks threw for over 40 touchdown passes, five went over 30 touchdowns and 14 over 20 touchdowns. All this without four-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning who missed the entire season. The proof is in the pudding if you don't have an elite quarterback you aren't winning a superbowl.

Besides putting up big numbers these elite quarterbacks are also taking home super bowls. In the last five super bowls(two teams so 10 quarterbacks) here are the following super bowl quarterbacks: Tom Brady twice(2 regular season MVP, two first-team all-pro's, seven pro bowls, single season record holder for touchdowns in a season and two SB MVP's), Eli Manning twice( two pro bowls, two SB MVP's), Ben Roethlisberger twice( Rookie of the year, two pro bowls), Peyton Manning(four MVP's, five first-team all-pro's, 11 pro bowls, SB MVP), Drew Brees( one first-team all-pro, single season record holder for passing yards, six pro bowls, SB MVP), Aaron Rodgers(MVP, one first-team all-pro, single season QB rating record, two pro bowls and SB MVP), and Kurt Warner(Two MVP's, two first-team all-pro's, four pro bowls and SB MVP). As you can see that is an impressive list considering seven quarterbacks have combined won nine regular season MVP's, 11 first-team all-pro, 34 pro bowls and eight super bowl MVP's. Since 2003 the following quarterbacks have won a super bowl: Tom Brady(three times), Ben Rothlisberger(twice), Peyton Manning, Eli Manning(twice), Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers. As you can see this is a quarterbacks league the days of Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson winning super bowls are over. Those quarterbacks I listed unless they self destruct will be going to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. This is why the Seattle Seahawks must act fast because currently they don't have that quarterback(you could argue that they never have).

The Seattle Seahawks came a long ways since last year having five pro bowl players to the zero they've had the last two years. The Seahawks finished with the same record as last year at 7-9 despite a defense ranked in the top 10 and a running back who went to the pro bowl in Marshawn Lynch. The reason for the Seahawks struggles to put it simply was they had no quarterback. While not being bad Tarvaris Jackson also proved he isn't good either. Jackson has never made a pro bowl in his career. Last season with the Seahawks Jackson passed for 3,091 yards(15 games, 14 starts) completing 60.2% of his passes with 14 touchdowns to 13 interceptions on the season. His quarterback rating was 79.2 which looking at these numbers aren't bad. The problem is those numbers aren't good and like the previous paragraph stated you need elite quarterback play to be winners. Jackson is the defination of average to below average. In his career his rating is 77.7, has a completion percentage of 59.4%, touchdown to interception ratio of 38-35 and a starting record that sits at 17-17. Jackson is a servicable quarterback who can be a spot starter if your franchise quarterback is missing one to four games. Anything more from Jackson and your season will be doomed. Which is why the Seahawks must take some chances this offseason on landing that elite quarterback.

The Seahawks this offseason have three choices at the quarterback position and only three options. The first option is through the draft whether you trade up, wait for a guy to fall to you or grab him later on in the draft. The next option is to go hard for quarterback Matt Flynn of the Green Bay Packers who is set to be a free agent this offseason. The last one has the best possible short term value but also could be the most disasterous which is signing Peyton Manning. The Colts have basically said they are drafting Andrew Luck and both they and Manning are working on the exit strategy. Tomorrow in a piece I'll be writing I'll further explore this very topic on what the Seahawks should do going forward with their quarterback problem. If this piece has taught you anything is that the days of game managing quarterbacks hoisting the lombardi trophy appear to be dead for now. Sure Alex Smith, Mark Sanchez and Joe Flacco can lead you to a title game appearance but those guys aren't playing on Super Bowl Sunday. Those guys aren't hoisting the Lombardi trophy either. The Seahawks franchise has already tasted title game appearances and super bowl appearances. We want the whole thing right now which is a Super Bowl championship trophy! If the Seahawks are to ever get that trophy they must find an elite quarterback or expect many more Super Bowl Sunday's where the confetti drops down and it isn't blue and green. If you want to win a championship you must acquire an elite quarterback there is just no way around it.

Rookie Baldwin has big day in Seahawks stunning 36-25 upset win over Giants

By Kshell

The Seattle Seahawks(2-3) stunned the New York Giants(3-2) in the medowlands 36-25. Seahawks defense recorded a safety, a pick six while forcing five turnovers during the game. Seahawks no huddle offense continued to work this week as the Giants were on their heels entire first half. Marshawn Lynch had his best game of the season rushing for 98 yards with a touchdown. Tarvaris Jackson started the game off red hot then was injured as his backup Charlie Whitehurst threw the game winning touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks will now have a quarterback controversy. While the main star in this game was rookie wide receiver Doug Baldwin who had eight receptions for 136 yards with the game winning touchdown. For the Seahawks season to matter this was a must win. Now the Seahawks will head into their bye week at 2-3 and kicking themselves for losing last week 30-28 at home. The Seahawks won a game on the road which nobody expected them to do. This was the first win in the Eastern time zone for the Seahawks since 2007. This was an all around great team win for Pete Carroll and his Seahawks. The Seahawks the last six quarters actually look like a playoff football team.

The Seahawks did something against the Giants they hadn't done the previous four games which is score in the first quarter. In fact the Seahawks continued their no huddle attack which worked so well in the second half against the Falcons. The Seahawks began their drive from their 20 yard line which they let Tarvaris Jackson come out throwing. Jackson began the game with a completion to Ben Obomanu for a gain of nine yards. Jackson hit Lynch for a gain of 17 yards. Jackson hit Obomanu again for a gain of 11 yards to the Giants 43 yard line. After a four yard run by Justin Forsett to the Giants 39 yard line Jackson completed yet another pass to Sidney Rice for a gain of 16 yards. The Giants committed a 12 yard penalty helmet to helmet giving the Seahawks the ball on the 11 yard line. After an incomplete pass Jackson finished off the drive with an 11 yard touchdown pass to Obomanu to give the Seahawks an early 7-0 lead. For the Seahawks that was the first time all season long they had scored in the first quarter as the no huddle confused the Giants defense. Jackson was five for six passing on the drive for 64 yards including the touchdown.

The Giants were led by their quarterback Eli Manning who would respond to the Seahawks score with a score of his own. The drive began with a short run by Manning then a 13 yard run by Ahmad Bradshaw which he followed up with a five yard run. Manning hit Mario Manningham for a gain of 17 yards to the Seahawks 43 yard line. Manning hit Jake Ballard for a big gain of 28 yards to the Seahawks 15 yard line. After a short three yard run by Victor Cruz, Manning finally finished off the drive with a 12 yard strike to his tight end Ballard to tie up the game at 7-7. For the drive Manning was three for three passing for 57 yards with a touchdown. The Giants made that drive look pretty easy on the Seahawks secondary as it appeared Manning was poise to have a big day. He would have a big day yardage wise but far as being productive not as much as many expected.

What would happen next was a crazy swing of momentum trading places for both teams. After a Seahawks punt the Giants had the ball on their own 14 yard line. Facing a third and seven from the 17 yard line Manning was sacked by Chris Clemons which Manning fumbled. The ball was recovered by Earl Thomas on the Giants 11 yard line. After an incomplete pass the Seahawks gave the ball to Marshawn Lynch who fumbled the ball right back to the Giants. The Seahawks defense would three and out the Giants after the missed opportunity to take over on the Giants 48 line. Lynch would make up for his mistake as he busted his longest run of the season. Lynch ran for 47 yards down to the Giants one yard line showing a rare burst of speed. Lynch rushed for his second touchdown of the season with a one yard plunge to give the Seahawks a 14-7 lead on the road.

The Seahawks defense continued to dominate the Giants forcing them to punt on the following possession. The Seahawks took over from their own 13 yard line up 14-7 in the second quarter. Facing a third and seven from the 16 yard line Jackson hit Doug Baldwin for a gain of 21 yards. Jackson hit Baldwin again for a gain of 25 yards to the Giants 38 yard line. Lynch followed that up with a run of 13 yards to the Giants 25 yard line. Lynch then had a six yard rush to the 19 and after a first down run by Forsett was called back due to holding. Second and 14 Jackson hit Obomanu for a gain of six to set up third and eight from the Giants 23 yard line. Jackson hit Obomanu again for a gain of seven yards to set up fourth and one from the 16. Carroll decided to go for it as Jackson ran for two yards on a quarterback keeper to the 14 yard line. Jackson hit Obomanu again for seven yards to the seven yard line. On second and three fullback Michael Robinson ran for two yards to the Giants five yard line. Facing a third and one Robinson ran again for a gain of three yards to the two yard line. Robinson who had one carry all season would receive another carry going for a yard but fumbled on the two yard line so the Seahawks came up empty. Later in the game Earl Thomas intercepted Manning to the 50 yard line but the Seahawks offfense couldn't take advantage of the mistake.

The Seahawks would have the ball at midfield with under two minutes left in the half up 14-7. Jackson hit Leon Washington for a gain of six yards but after getting sacked was facing a crucial third and five. Jackson instead of throwing the ball away lobbed the ball down the sidelines to be picked off. Giants had the ball on their own 41 yard line 51 seconds left in the half. Manning would begin the drive hitting Hakeem Nicks for a gain of 12 yards. With 29 seconds left he hit Manningham for a gain of 10 yards to the Seahawks 37 yard line. Manning then hit Nicks for a gain of 18 yards to the Seahawks 19 yard line. Manning finished off the drive hitting Nicks on a fade pass burning Walter Thurmond who is filling in for Marcus Trufant. Despite dominating the first half the Giants had tied the game up at 14-14 heading into the second half.

The third quarter began with both teams trading off punts. The Seahawks took over on their own 29 yard line which saw Tarvaris Jackson rush for a gain of 11 yards to their own 40 yard line. In the process Jackson was injured and had to leave the game. Jackson wouldn't return and was replaced by Charlie Whitehurst. After a short run and a penalty Whitehurst hit Baldwin for a gain of seven yards to set up a third and eight. Then the Seahawks had another false start setting up a third and 13 which Whitehurst hit Baldwin for a gain of 10 yards. Punting from their own 47 yard line John Ryan pinned the Giants on their own five yard line. The Giants from their five yard line tried a stretch play to backup runningback Ware which was blown up by Anthony Hargrove. Hargrove tackled him in the endzone for a safety to give the Seahawks a 16-14 lead.


With 2:13 left in the third quarter the Seahawks took over with the ball on their own 34 yard line. On second down Whitehurst hit Rice for a gain of nine yards setting up a huge third and one from the 43 yard line. Whitehurst hit Rice over the middle with a bullet for a gain of 11 to the Giants 46 yard line. After an incomplete pass the Seahawks then turned to Lynch who busted an 18 yard run to the Giants 28 yard line. After back to back runs by Lynch set up third and five from the 23 yard line. Whitehurst was then sacked by former Seahawks safety Deon Grant pushing the Seahawks all the way back to the Giants 33 yard line. That set up a 51 yard attempt by Steve Hauschka who missed the game winning kick last week badly. This week Hauschka drilled the 51 yarder with ease. In fact he made it look so easy that looking back maybe Carroll knew what he was doing by asking Hauschka to attempt the game winning kick from 61 yards out. In the fourth quarter with now their backup quarterback on the road the Seahawks were leading 19-14 over the Giants. The fourth quarter would be a wild quarter with plenty of momentum changing plays for both sides. What happened next for the Giants is the type of play that normally would have broke the Seahawks spirits instead they kept playing through it.

What happened next to the Seahawks was a rather unfortunate play that at the time looked like turned the game for the worse. Facing a second and 18 from their own 27 yard line Manning hit Victor Cruz for a gain of five yards setting up a big third and 13 from the 32 yard line. Manning would roll to his right then throw the ball up for grabs. Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor tipped the ball in mid air while cornerback Richard Sherman went for the ball. Cruz caught the ball with one hand then rumbled for a 68 yard touchdown score to give the Giants 20-19 lead. Since the Giants were up by just one point they decided to go for two. Manning saw the Seahawks defense was weak up the middle so he audibled to a running play to Bradshaw up the middle. The Giants led 22-19 with 11 minutes left in the game.

After the Giants defense stuffed the Seahawks offense their offense took over up three points. The Giants then looked like the Giants of old which has hurt them in the past with a costly turnover. Facing a third and seven Manning would hit the hero Cruz for a gain of five yards only for Cruz to fumble the ball. Chancellor recovered the ball on the Giants 25 yard line to give the Seahawks new life. Whitehurst couldn't take advantage of the great field possession as the Seahawks didn't even advance the ball a single yard. Hauschka would tie the game up with a 43 yard field goal at 22-22 with 10:15 left in the game. The Giants would go on a long five and a half minute drive starting from their own 20 yard line. Bradshaw began the drive with two runs of 12 yards to their own 32 yard line. Manning would then hit a 17 yard pass to the 49 yard line. Manning hit tight end Ballard for a gain of 32 yards as he was dragging defenders down to the Seahawks 19 yard line. After a Bradshaw run of nine yards then a short rush the Giants had first and goal from the seven yard line. That is when the Seahawks defense would get tough and hold the Giants to a field goal. The Seahawks were trailing 25-22 with less than five mintues to go for Whitehurst needed a field goal for the tie and a touchdown for the win.

Whitehurst would create a quarterback controversy with this drive starting on his own 20 yard line. Whitehurst began the drive hitting Baldwin for a gain of 22 yards to their own 42 yard line. After an incomplete pass and a short three yard run by Washington the Seahawks were facing a huge third and seven from their own 45 yard line with 4:03 left in the game. Whitehurst hit Baldwin for a gain of eight yards for the first down. Whitehurst then hit Anthony McCoy down the middle for a gain of 20 yards to the Giants 27 yard line with a little over three minutes left. After a rush of no gain for Lynch is when Whitehurst would hit his biggest pass of his career. Whitehurst had a hard count which caused the Giants to jump offsides. Thinking the play was over most of the Giants defenders quit on the  play which Whitehurst saw a wide open Baldwin to his left. Whitehurst hit Baldwin for the go ahead touchdown to give the Seahawks a 29-25 lead with 2:37 left in the game. On the drive Whitehurst was four for five passing for 77 yards with the go ahead score. Whitehurst who to that point hadn't played very well will create a controversy for sure. More importantly for the Seahawks they had to stop Manning who was shredding their secondary with 2:37 left in the game up just four points.

Manning had one last drive left in him to scare Seahawks fans. Manning began the drive hitting Bradshaw for what should have been a two yard gain but Aaron Curry missed the tackle. Bradshaw would turn that into a gain of 15 yards to their own 35 yard line. Right before the two minute warning Manning would hit Cruz again for another huge play which went for 41 yards to the Seahawks 24 yard line. The Giants had to score a touchdown but time was no longer a problem for them. Manning then hit Cruz for a gain of 19 yards to the Seahawks five yard line with 1:27 left in the game. After a five yard penalty the Giants had the ball on the Seahawks 10 yard line. Manning hit Cruz who originally slipped on his route, then attempted another one handed catch. As he was going to the ground the ball slipped off his one hand as Brandon Browner snatched the ball. Browner then made his way up the right sidelines for a 94 yard interception touchdown return to give the Seahawks a commanding 36-25 lead with a little over a minute left in the game. That return was the longest interception return in Seahawks franchise history. The game would end as Manning was driving the Giants then would thrown another interception to Chancellor at the Seahawks 42 yard line. The Seahawks pulled off by far the biggest upset of the weekend winning their first road game on the east coast since 2007.

The Seahawks won this game on the road despite allowing a career high 420 yards passing to Eli Manning. Manning finished the game 24-39(61.5%) for 420 yards(10.8 YPA) with three touchdown passes but three interceptions with a fumble too. Victor Cruz had eight receptions for 161 yards with a touchdown but a costly fumble. The Seahawks defense caused five turnovers and a safety. The Seahawks had two quarterbacks play well today. First starter Tarvaris Jackson was 15-22(68.2%) for 166 yards(7.5 YPA) with a touchdown and an interception. Charlie Whitehurst off the bench was 11-19(57.9%) for 149 yards(7.8 YPA) with the game winning touchdown. Both quarterbacks benefitted from a breakout game by Baldwin who had eight receptions for 136 yards with a touchdown. Ben Obomanu also had six receptions for 51 yards with a touchdown. Rice had four receptions for 38 yards. The Seahawks also saw Marshawn Lynch have his best game of the year. Lynch rushed for 98 yards(8.2 YPC) on 12 carries with a touchdown. Lynch also caught four passes for 33 yards which proved to be his best all around game. The Seahawks safety play was great as well with Thomas and Chancellor each recovering a fumble then also intercepting a pass.

All in all, the Seahawks needed this win very badly as they improve to 2-3. The Seahawks have officially ended all "Suck for Luck" talk which will make some fans happy while other fans will be upset. The Seahawks offense actually played pretty well due to the no-huddle offense as both quarterbacks played pretty well while Lynch had his second best game as a Seahawk. The receivers made some plays which was nice to see that if Rice doesn't make any plays then nobody can. The defense despite giving up so many passing yards caused turnovers which is what defenses are all about in today's game. Overall, this was a huge win for the Seahawks this season as they are trying to defend their NFC west championship. Carroll showed with that win plus the Saints win last year he can beat his opponent despite not having as much talent as the other team. Carroll showed he is a top tier coach and hopefully the wins will start following him.

Observations:

- We have a quarterback controversy in Seattle due to Whitehurst hitting the game winning pass. Like last year with the win over the Rams I'm going to stick with the starter. I felt Jackson out played him and dating back to last week Jackson has played well in the no huddle offense Jackson threw for 166 yards completing 68.2% of his passes in the process. While Whitehurst threw for 149 yards while completing 57.9% of his passes in the process.

I think I'll trust Carroll's player evaluation over mine. Carroll has seen these guys in practice every day plus in the film room. Jackson started off slow but is looking pretty decent especially in the no huddle offense. Whitehurst looked a lot better than he did during anytime last season. Are either of these quarterbacks going to take the Seahawks to the promise land? No. I do like the fact that the quarterbacks both of them when asked performed well. I do like how both seem to have improved quite a bit over last season.

- Doug Baldwin has been a terrific pick up for the Seahawks. Baldwin was an undrafted receiver out of Stanford who made the team. For the season Baldwin has had 20 receptions for 330 yards(16.5 YPC) with two touchdowns already. That puts Baldwin on pace to catch 64 passes for 1,065 yards with 6.5 touchdowns. Those are great rookie numbers let alone a guy who was undrafted coming out of college. Considering second round pick Golden Tate still is taking forever to adjust to this offense that is impressive.

Baldwin had a breakout game with eight receptions for 136 yards with a touchdown. He caught the winning touchdown pass and was constantly catching big passes. This is the third week out of five games Baldwin has led the team in receiving yards for that particular game. The Seahawks might have found a gem in Baldwin like they did last season with Mike Williams.

- Marshawn Lynch finally had the type of game Seahawks fans have been waiting for. Lynch ran for 98 yards on just 12 carries with a touchdown. Lynch also caught four passes out of the backfield. Lynch did have a costly redzone fumble but he rebounded nicely with a long 47 yard run. Lynch actually showed a burst of speed for once which I haven't seen him do all season long. This was easily Lynch's best game of the season given the amount of yards he had, the yards per carry, the amount of receptions and even the touchdown. Going forward this is what the Seahawks need from Lynch if they have any chance of being a playoff team this year. Lynch needs to factor into the passing game more often in my opinion so when he does get shut down he is still a productive member to the team.

- This was an impressive win for Carroll and his group. He saw his best corner Marcus Trufant miss this game and second best receiver Mike Williams miss the game. His starting quarterback(Tarvaris Jackson) went down in the middle of the game as well. This was a team who gave the Seahawks their most embarassing loss of the season last year when the Seahawks lost 41-7 at home to the Giants. For Carroll to have his team rebound from that tough home loss to Falcons and win on the east coast was very impressive. I don't know if Carroll is the best president in the NFL but I do know the man can coach up talent as well as anyone in the NFL. Carroll didn't buy into the top 10 draft talk like he didn't last year. Carroll is trying his best to win this year because in the NFL you can't afford to tank a season or you could be out of a job very quickly.

In conclusion, this was a must win for the Seahawks and they responded well. Carroll has this team believing even though their fanbase(me) isn't quite yet believing. The Seahawks will now head into the bye week at 2-3 then take on the Cleveland Browns whose team president is Mike Holmgren. The Seahawks had a great game from their offense, defense and special teams. This was a total team effort and they had several opportunities to get down on themselves which they didn't. The Seahawks defeated a good team on the road and maybe as the season goes on this young team can play better together. The Seahawks showed sunday they are far from being dead in this NFC West playoff picture which Carroll has his team believing they can repeat as division champions.

Seahawks Hope to Bounce Back Against the Giants

(Photo Courtesy of @RGray525)

By Wyatt Lyles 

Tomorrow the Seahawks take on the New York Giants in their final game before the bye week. Sitting at 1-3, it would be nice to get a win here and not be 1-4 going into the bye. In order to do that, though, the Seahawks need to make some adjustments. Here are my three keys to winning Sunday's game. 

1. Run the ball well

This Giants team is one that that has allowed a running back to get 100+ yards on the ground in back-to-back weeks. Overall, they're allowed about 117 yards rushing per week. this is something that the Seahawks will need to capitalize on if they hope to win this game. While the run game hasn't exactly been all that spectacular, the offensive line has been getting better, and if there was any week to finally break out big, this would be the week. The Seahawks need to keep on committing to the run and feeding the ball to Marshawn Lynch. If he can get himself heated up, we could see another Beast Mode run sometime here soon. 

2. Beef up the pass rush 

After four games, the Seahawks only have five sacks as a team. Last week, they had zero sacks. This is something that has been a bit of a problem with their defense thus far. The run defense is great. The secondary has been adequate. The pass rush, however, hasn't been great. They just aren't generating enough pressure on the quarterback. They aren't forcing them to make bad throws. They're pretty much just standing around watching the quarterbacks throw the ball. That's why they've only got two interceptions thus far as well. They need to get back there and force Eli Manning into mistakes in order to get an edge in this game. Make him throw on the run, make him throw it away fast before he gets hit, just throw off his rhythm. Just don't let him stand back there and take his sweet time. That won't help you win any games. 

3. Keep making improvements on special teams 

Special teams was the focal point of this team last season. They are what kept us in most games. That hasn't been the case for most of this season. In week one, they gave up two special teams touchdowns. In weeks two and three, they just couldn't get any nice returns going. Last week, however, they started to see sparks of life. Leon Washington had a couple nice returns that put us in great field position to start drives. As we all know, football is a game of field position. If they can give us a short field to start drives from, it can go a long ways to scoring points and winning games. Hopefully they can continue with the success of last week's improvement and help us win this game. 

With all this said, I'm not completely confident that the Seahawks can win this game tomorrow. I think that if they play they way they did in the second half last week, but only for the whole game this time, a win is totally possible. I just don't know if that will happen. I am totally ready to be proven wrong and surprised though. I look forward to a greta game either way. 

Seahawks 17 - Giants 24 

Giants humiliate Seahawks 41-7

By Kshell

When Pete Carroll took over the Seahawks he knew there would be some growing pains. Carroll never figured though it would ever get this bad especially at home. The New York Giants(6-2) made a strong statement they are the best team in the NFC as they gave the Seahawks(4-4) their worst loss in Qwest Field history. The Giants made life tough on Charlie Whitehurst who not only was making his first career start in the NFL but had never even thrown a pass in an NFL game.

The Giants thoroughly kicked the Seahawks tails in on Sunday. The game was never once in doubt. After forcing a three and out on the Seahawks the Giants took over on offense. Right away Seahawks fans knew they were facing a different Eli Manning. The Giants were driving but when Eli hit Kevin Boss from Western Oregon for a 10 yard gain he had fumbled which the Seahawks recovered. The Seahawks then did nothing and had to punt the ball back to the Giants.

The first of many bad penalties hurt Seattle as they down the punt on the 26 but cause of a five yard penalty the Giants elected to have Seattle re-kick the ball. Jon Ryan then shanked the punt and the Giants had the ball on their own 48. On third and 9 the Giants received a 16 yard penalty which extended their drive. The Giants got on the board when Ahmad Bradshaw ran it in from two yards out. The Seahawks again failed to get a first down and were forced to punt and Jon Ryan again had a bad punt.

The Giants again caught a break when facing a third and eight they received a five yard holding penalty from the Seahawks. That play resulted in a first down which Manning took advantage of. Manning went deep to Hakeem Nicks from 46 yards out for the touchdown to give the Giants a 14-0 lead. On the ensuing kickoff the Seahawks muffed the kickoff and the Giants recovered and ran it back to the Seahawks four yard line. That is when Bradshaw ran it in for another touchdown from four yards out. The Giants had led 21-0.

The only bright spot in the game for the Seahawks happened on the following kickoff. Leon Washington almost busted a touchdown and return the short kickoff 57 yards to the Giants 32 trying to make up for his earlier fumble. The Seahawks started to use the run game as Marshawn Lynch busted a five yard run, then had the greatest seven yard run you'll ever see carrying Giants defenders down the Giants 21 yard line. The Giants had committed a penalty giving the Seahawks the ball on the 11 yard line. Then Justin had a loss of one, the Seahawks committed another penalty giving them second and 16 from the 17 yard line. Charlie Whitehurst then hit Mike Williams in the hands but the ball bounced off his hands for an interception which was returned 28 yards.

The Giants had dominated the Seahawks in the first quarter outgaining the Seahawks 151-15 in the first quarter. The Giants had ran 17 plays to the Seahawks 13 plays. The Giants would continue the domination in the second quarter. The Giants after that interception would go on an 11 play 73 yard drive which would take up 5:31 in time of possession which was capped by Manning hitting the other Steve Smith from six yards out to give the Giants a 28-0 lead.

The Seahawks after a solid drive which saw them run nine plays would end with Whitehurst throwing a bad interception intended to Mike Williams. Whitehurst was ineffective to say the least in his first career start. The Giants would then go on a 10 play 86 yard drive that would take up 4:11 in time of possession ending with Manning throwing his third touchdown pass of the day to Kevin Boss from Western Oregon from five yards out to give the Giants a 35-0 halftime lead. The Giants dominated the first half as the Seahawks exited to their locker room hearing nothing but boo's from the 12th man. The Giants had outgained the Seahawks 309-71. The Giants had ran 39 plays to the Seahawks 27 plays. The Giants held the ball for 18 minutes and 10 seconds in the first half. While the Seahawks had the ball 11 minutes and 50 seconds.

The Giants would continue their domination into the third quarter. The Giants would finally punt on their first possession the only punt all game long for them. After another Seahawks three and out the Giants drove down the field for a field goal giving them a 38-0 lead. After the Seahawks went three and out again the Giants went on a 15 play 78 yard drive and held the ball for 8:29 and settled for another field goal giving them a 41-0 lead. The Giants ran 23 plays in the fourth quarter to the Seahawks 6. The Giants outgained Seattle that quarter 107-7. After three quarters the Giants had outgained the Seahawks 416-78. Pete Carroll was always on the right side of those contests while at USC never has he been blown out like this.

The Seahawks avoided their first home shutout since 1992 when Whitehurst hit Ben Obomanu for a 36 yard touchdown pass. That was Whitehurst first career touchdown pass in the NFL. The Giants would then go on a 19 yard drive chewing up over 13 minutes in clock before finally getting stopped. The Giants would win the game 41-7 handing the Seahawks their first home loss of the year. That was the Giants biggest road win since 1992 against the Redskins. The Giants outgained the Seahawks on the day 487-162 and held the ball for 42:34 and ran 79 plays to the Seahawks 37.

This game looked like a BCS college team playing a sub Division-1 school. It had that feel to it from the very start. Eli Manning would enjoy a great game passing 21 of 32 for 290 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. His quarterback rating was 125.8 on the day. The Giants also ran on the Seahawks with Brandon Jacobs running for 78 yards on 11 carries(7.1 YPC), Danny Ware rushing for 66 yards on 13 carries(5.1 YPC) and Ahmad Bradshaw 19 for 57 yards(3.0 YPC) and two touchdowns. Hakeem Nicks had six receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown.

While the Seahawks numbers were horrible Charlie Whitehurst might be holding a clipboard for another four years after this game. He defianetly didn't win the job from Matt Hasselbeck today in going 12 of 23 for 113 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He posted a quarterback rating of 44.3. The running game was iffy as Lynch had just 11 carries but 48 yards(4.4 YPC). Mike Williams who was a stud the last few weeks has been a no show again for the second straight week catching just two passes for 25 yards.

At the end of the day the Seahawks were shown first hand what it will take to be at the top of the NFC. The Seahawks are still tied for first place in the division and close the year out with four out of six at home. The Seahawks need to forget about these last two weeks which saw them outscored 74-10 which is unexcusable in the NFL. I knew this would be a transition and rebuilding season so I'm not losing faith in Pete Carroll yet.

Observations:

- Injuries are starting to pile up on the Seahawks as Brandon Mebane has missed the last four games. Red Bryant who was great at stuffing the run is done for the year. Matt Hasselbeck had to miss yesterdays game as well. Russell Okung looked great against the Bears but has now missed the last two weeks. The Seahawks need to get some of these guys back.

- What happened to John Carlson? Carlson had just two receptions for nine yards this game. Here are Carlson's numbers after starting off nicely the first three games. Against the Rams he had just one catch for 15 yards, against the Bears just two receptions for 21 yards, against the Cardinals just one reception for three yards, then against the Raiders he had three receptions for 47 yards(one was 35 yard catch) and now today two receptions for nine yards. Carlson has just 22 receptions on the year and 13 of those were in the first three weeks.

- Ever since the Chargers game teams aren't letting Leon Washington beat them anymore. As you saw against the Giants they were constantly squib kicking the ball to Washington so he couldn't beat them. That is a smart strategy because when he or Golden Tate aren't getting big returns the Seahawks aren't scoring points.

- The Seahawks should have signed Randy Moss. He may be over the hill but defenses have to respect him which opens up guys like Mike Williams underneath. Moss is a game changer on offense and the Seahawks don't have that. This offense has scored just two touchdowns in the last 12 quarters of football. The Seahawks offense has scored just four touchdowns in their last five games that won't win to many games.

- The Seahawks had a rude wake up call that no matter what they do this year they aren't ready for the big boys of the NFL. Unfortunetly they still have to play the Falcons and at New Orleans in the second half of the season. The Seahawks need to get healthy to have any chance at winning these games.

The goals for this year shouldn't change. This is a bad division that the Seahawks are still tied for first place in. The Seahawks are still a good home team who will be favored in three of their final four home games against. The Seahawks can still win the division get some false hope going forward. Get this young roster a playoff game or two experience would be huge. Pete Carroll is patching things up on this Seahawks roster and games like today certainly doesn't help but he is doing a good job. The Seahawks have a huge game this week down in Arizona win that game and they are back in position to win the NFC West for the fifth time in the last seven years.

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.