Seahawks get ready for Monday Night

By Kshell

The Seattle Seahawks(1-1) will be hosting the Green Bay Packers(1-1) on Monday Night Football for the first time since 2006 when the defending NFC Champions Seahawks rallied to defeat the Packers 34-24 in a snowy Qwest Field. The Seahawks are riding a five game winning streak on Monday Night including four straight home wins on Monday Night. The Seahawks have the best Monday Night record in NFL history at 17-8(.680). The Seahawks have enjoyed great success in the Monday Night era over the years. The Seahawks last loss on Monday Night was a 43-39 heartbreaker to the Dallas Cowboys back in 2004. That loss was the third straight Monday night loss for the Seahawks which was snapped the following year.

In 2005 the Seahawks were playing a late Monday Night game against the defending NFC Champions Philadelphia Eagles. The Seahawks destroyed the Eagles in that game 42-0 as they led 35-0 which sparked the five game winning streak. That also sparked a streak where the Seahawks would shut their opponents out in three of the next four Monday Night games.

In the Matt Hasselbeck era the Seahawks were 3-1 on Monday Night. He lost his first start to Dallas despite completing 28-40(70.0%) of his passes for 414 yards(10.4 YPA) with three touchdowns and no interceptions while rushing for 16 yards. In his four career Monday Night starts with the Seahawks Hasselbeck was 80-131(61.0%) for 947 yards(7.2 YPA) with 9 touchdowns to 4 interceptions. He also ran for 44 yards as well. Hasselbeck also played well under the lights in Seattle.

Another player who seemed to shine well in big games was Shaun Alexander. He did most of his damage on Sunday Night but on Monday Night he still had good games. Coming off the bench in a loss to the Kansas Chiefs back in 2000 as a rookie he ran for 74 yards on only 11 carries(6.7 YPC) with a touchdown while catching two passes for 13 yards. Alexander played in five Monday Night Games for the Seahawks where he ran for 503 yards on 116 carries(4.3 YPC) with six touchdowns while catching nine passes for 59 yards. His biggest game was the last Monday Night game he played in against the Green Bay Packers in the snow game where he ran for 201 yards on a career high 40 carries(5.0 YPC). The Seahawks have a new running back now who thrives in big games.

Last year in the Seahawks 30-13 blowout win over the St.Louis Rams on Monday Night Football they were led by pro bowl running back Marshawn Lynch who ran for 115 yards on 23 carries(5.0 YPC) with a touchdown while catching two passes for eight yards. He also attempted two halfback passes but both were incomplete. For the Seahawks to continue their win streak on Monday Night they must feature Lynch who has ran for 207 yards on 47 carries(4.4 YPC) with a touchdown this season. Lynch has ran for over 100 yards in six straight home games. During that stretch he has ran for 712 yards(118.7 per game) including 122 last week. He has also rushed for six touchdowns during that stretch while catching another touchdown. Lynch has been terrific for the Seahawks and if he can run effectively while keeping the powerful Packers offense off the field even better.

Tonight will be a special night in Seattle as every Monday Night game is. The Seahawks as a franchise always get up for Monday Night as they have won five in a row including four at home. As a franchise they are 17-8(.680) on Monday Night and 13-5(.722) at home on Monday Night which is also the best in NFL history. Besides Monday Night this is a big game for the Seahawks as they play four of the five next games on the road which for a franchise who typically struggles on the road this is a key win. The crowd will be pumped up which is always a good sign for the Seahawks who always play well on Monday Night!

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!

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.

Raiders busters week: Flashback to 2001

By Kshell

When the Seattle Seahawks(4-2) travel down to Oakland to take on the Raiders(3-4) it will bring back memories of the old AFC West rivalry between these two teams. The big dissapointment in 2002 when the Seahawks moved to the NFC West was they would only get to play their AFC West rivals particularly the Oakland Raiders just once every four years. That meant Seahawks fans and plenty of Raiders fans in the Northwest only get to see the Raiders play in Seattle every eight years so we have to wait another four years before the Raiders visit. The Seahawks and Raiders were usually featured on big primetime games whether it was Monday night games in the 80's or Sunday night games in the 90's it was a huge game. The Raiders lead the all-time series against the Seahawks 27-23 but keep in mind as Seattle was entering the league the Raiders were in the middle of a run that saw them win three Super Bowl championships in a seven year span.

The Seahawks-Raiders rivalry reached a peak in the 1980's that the Seahawks probably won't ever experience again with another team. When these teams played the game was usually on a national t.v. setting. In 1980 the Seahawks who finished the year 4-12 took on the eventual Super Bowl champions Raiders and lost 19-17 in the Kingdome on Monday Night football. The rivalry really heated up in 1983 when the Seahawks swept the Raiders that season beating them 38-36 at home in the Kingdome then down in Los Angeles 34-21. The Seahawks would advance to the AFC Championship game down in L.A. and face off the with the Raiders yet again and this time were crushed 30-14. The Raiders would go on to win the Super Bowl that year.

The following season saw the Seahawks exact some revenge on the Raiders. Seattle would beat the Raiders at home on Monday night football 17-14 then face the same Raiders again in the playoffs. The Seahawks offense would continue to struggle against the Raiders in the postseason. The previous year Dave Krieg was horrible and hall of fame receiver Steve Largent was held to just one catch. Well this year Krieg would pass for under 100 yards and Largent was shut out. The Seahawks despite all that would win 13-7 over the Raiders at home in the Kingdome. That would be the franchises last playoff win for 21 years.

In the 1986 Monday night game saw the Seahawks who would eventually go to the postseason shut out the Raiders 37-0 in front of a sold out Kingdome crowd. They held the Raiders to just 138 yards of offense on the day. The following year the Seahawks would beat the Raiders down in L.A. 35-13 but on Monday night in Seattle Bo Jackson came to town. The game was hyped as a Boz(Brian Bozworth) vs Bo game and Bo destroyed the Seahawks. He bulled over Boz for a touchdown then broke another one for a long touchdown run. When it was all said and done Jackson ran for over 200 yards and the Raiders handed the Seahawks a 37-14 blowout defeat at home.

In 1988 the Seahawks were making a late season run and beat the Raiders at the Kingdome on Monday night 35-27. As was the tradition it seemed like the Seahawks and Raiders would play on Monday night football but these two teams wouldn't play on Monday night again for 18 years. The Seahawks in the last game of the season needed to beat the Raiders in Los Angeles to clinch their first ever division title. The Seahawks would win in a wild shootout 43-37 clinching their first division title. The rivalry continued to be on prime time during the 1990's but there wasn't quite the same playoff implications.

In the 90's the Seahawks series with the Raiders shifted to ESPN's Sunday night football. In 1994 again in the Kingdome saw the Seahawks lose 17-16 when John Kasey missed the game winning field goal attempt. That would mark the last season former two time Super Bowl winning coach of the Raiders Tom Flores would coach for the Seattle Seahawks. In 1995 the Seahawks won 44-10 in a blow out that saw former pro bowl runningback Chris Warren run wild. In 1998 the Raiders won again in the Kingdome on Sunday night 31-18. Then in 1999 in a game that would prove crucial the Seahawks won 22-21 as the Raiders missed a 60 yard field goal attempt. The Seahawks would win the division title the following season.

This series returned to Monday night in 2006 when Seneca Wallace who was filling in for the injured Matt Hasselbeck got his first career start at Qwest field. The Seahawks won 16-0 over the Raiders. They sacked the Raiders nine times that game in a game that they also didn't have Shaun Alexander who was also injured. I'm going to talk about the last time these two teams played as AFC West rivals back in 2001 on Sunday night football.

November 11th, 2001: Oakland Raiders(6-1) at Seattle Seahawks(3-4)

This game took place at Husky Stadium as the Seahawks were waiting for Qwest field to open up in 2002. The Seahawks were just hoping to get a win to keep their playoff hopes alive while the Raiders under Jon Gruden had bigger things on their mind. The Raiders the previous year lost the AFC championship at home and were hoping to this year go to the Super Bowl. The Raiders were also hoping to avoid another letdown in Husky Stadium where they blew a 24-13 lead in the fourth quarter to the Seahawks last year. The Seahawks who were just 5-9 entering the game defeated the 11-3 Raiders 27-24 in a rainy soaked game in December.

This year the Seahawks were in middle of a quarterback controversy. The Seahawks started the season off 1-2 then ineffective starter Matt Hasselbeck went down. That allowed Trent Dilfer to come in and the Seahawks won two games in a row to improve to 3-2. When Hasselbeck returned Mike Holmgren insisted that Hasselbeck was the guy. The team then lost two games in a row. The Seahawks this game were going to simplify the playbook for Hasselbeck and feature second year pro Shaun Alexander who was also filling in for the injured Ricky Watters. This was another big game for this rivalry as this game was featured on ESPN Sunday night football.

After a quiet first quarter that saw the Seahawks lead 6-3 with two field goals by Rian Lindell the second quarter featured some scoring. The Raiders scored the first touchdown when Rich Gannon hit Tim Brown for a four yard touchdown pass to take a 10-6 lead. The Seahawks would respond when Matt Hasselbeck would hit Darrell Jackson for a nine yard touchdown pass to give the Seahawks a 13-10 lead at halftime. Hasselbeck would connect with Jackson for more touchdown passes than any other receiver in his career.

The second half would begin terribly for the Seahawks as they gave up a 90 yard kickoff return to Terry Kirby for a touchdown giving the Raiders a 17-13 lead. The game was pretty cold as well in the 40 degrees and the crowd wasn't so confident. Husky Stadium is a loud stadium and Seahawk fans have proven they are loud in the Kingdome and especially Qwest field. For whatever reason the Seahawk fans at Husky Stadium just weren't very loud. That would change later in the game. After a Raiders field goal giving them a 20-13 lead the Seahawks Shaun Alexander would begin to take over the game.

The Seahawks would begin to feature Alexander on the next series and Alexander would tie the game with a six yard touchdown run. Alexander would then get some revenge for Seahawks fans on the Bo Jackson run back in 1987. Alexander would take the hand off cut up the middle then was gone for an 88 yard touchdown run. As he was running he could see himself scoring the touchdown on the giant scoreboard at Husky Stadium giving the Seahawks a 27-20 lead. The Seahawks crowd was going crazy like it was a Husky win going to the Rose Bowl. Alexander in the fourth would add another touchdown run this time being just a 10 yard run giving the Seahawks a 34-20 lead. The Seahawks would eventually hang on for the 34-27 win for the rivals last AFC West game against each other.

That was probably the best game of the year for the Seahawks. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck who wasn't the pro bowl version of Hasselbeck that would would all enjoy from 2003-2007 enjoyed his best game of the year. Hasselbeck was 15 of 23 for 181 yards and a touchdown. He would also run for 34 yards. The star of the game was Shaun Alexander who set a Seahawks franchise record for rushing yards in a game. Alexander would run for 266 yards on 35 carries for three touchdowns. This was a breakout year for Alexander that saw him score over 15 touchdowns starting a streak that would last until 2005 of scoring over 15 touchdowns or more ever year.

That Raiders team would go on to lose to the Patriots in the famous "tuck-rule" game. Head coach Jon Gruden would leave after the season as the Raiders would finally reach the Super Bowl in 2002. As for the Seahawks they would go 9-7 and finish the year missing the playoffs because the Raiders lost to the Jets on the last day or the Seahawks would have faced the Raiders again in the playoffs. The Seahawks would enjoy great success in the new NFC West reaching the playoffs five consecutive years and winning four division titles in a row.

All in all, this series means a lot especially to the fans. The atmosphere at the old Kingdome when the Raiders came to town was a great feeling and that is the one shame about the Seahawks going to the NFC. I'm still glad the Seahawks are in the NFC though as odds say they wouldn't have achieved the amount of success in the AFC West as they would in the watered down NFC West. The only good thing about the rivalry last every four years is when the Raiders come to town in 2014 you'll hear such stats such as the Raiders haven't won in Seattle since 1998. Anytime you can put a burn on the Raiders I say go for it. On the flip side the Seahawks haven't won in Oakland since 1997. Here is hoping the Seahawks with that same quarterback Hasselbeck who is now a veteran instead of a first year starter end that streak over the Raiders.

Seahawks take on the Arizona Cardinals for first place in NFC West

By Kshell

This Sunday at Qwest Field the Arizona Cardinals(3-2) travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks(3-2) in a NFC West showdown. These teams have won the last six division titles yet don't really have much history with each other. So I'll touch briefly on the past but mainly focus on the present.

The Cardinals are the answer to a trivia question having been the first NFL team to win at Qwest Field back in 2002. The Cardinals rallied from 10-3 and then 13-10 to win 24-13. When the Seahawks were moved the NFC West they had to contend with the Rams, the 49ers who were in transition then the lowly Cardinals. The Cardinals were a mess in the NFL bringing in coaches every other year, changing quarterbacks had no stability or tradition. The Cardinals had never hosted a playoff game since they moved to Arizona.

The Cardinals used to play their games at Sun Devil stadium which was the deadest atmosphere in the NFL. The Seahawks dominated this series early on winning three out of four at Sun Devils stadium. The Seahawks in 2003 on their way to the playoffs swept the Cardinals by a combine score 66-10. The Cardinals finished the year 4-12 and last place as usual.

Then in 2004 heading into the Cardinals game down in Sun Devils stadium the Seahawks had acquired hall of fame wide receiver Jerry Rice. The Seahawks were upset to the Cardinals 25-17. That was Matt Hasselbeck's worst game in the Mike Holmgren era completing only 17 of 41 passes with four interceptions. The Cardinals were led by the all-time leading rusher in NFL history Emmitt Smith who ran for 106 yards and a touchdown. The Seahawks defeated the Cardinals in the rematch at Qwest field 24-21 even though the Seahawks almost blew a 24-7 lead. The Seahawks win that win clinched their second straight playoff berth. Shaun Alexander led the way with 154 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

The following year in 2005 Alexander continued to crush the Cardinals. The Seahawks spanked the Cardinals in a game at Qwest field which I happen to attend 37-12. The Cardinals new free agent acquisition Kurt Warner was knocked out of the ball game. Alexander ran for 140 yards and four touchdowns in the blowout win. Then the Seahawks faced the Cardinals in lowly Sun Devils Stadium again and won 33-19 which marked Mike Holmgren's first win for the Seahawks after the bye week. Again Alexander crushed the Cardinals rushing for 173 yards and two touchdowns. That would be the last time the Seahawks would win in Arizona.

The Cardinals in 2006 opened up a new stadium in Glendale and the atmosphere changed in Arizona. The Seahawks raised their NFC Championship banner against the Cardinals in their home opener in 2006. The Seahawks won 21-10 and Alexander ran for just 89 yards and a touchdown. The return trip to Arizona saw the Seahawks get upset 27-21 to the Cardinals.

In 2007 the Seahawks were upset again in Arizona 23-20 in a game that the Seahawks gave away when Hasselbeck and Alexander collided in the backfield for a fumble. The rematch in Qwest was electric as the Seahawks had a chance to clinch their fourth straight division title. The Seahawks won 42-21 and at that point in their careers Alexander was done so Hasselbeck was asked to carry the team. Hasselbeck sure responded in front of his family who was there because his brother Tim was on the Cardinals. Hassebleck was 22 of 33 for 272 yards and four touchdowns while the Cardinals Kurt Warner threw five interceptions. Little did anyone know that would be the Seahawks last win over the Cardinals.

In 2008 and 2009 the Cardinals have dominated the Seahawks and won the last two NFC West championships. The Cardinals in 2008 even reached the Super Bowl. The Cardinals in 2008 handed Mike Holmgren in his last game as head coach a loss. The series hasn't featured many great games and there is no tradition between these two teams. The Seahawks are 0-4 all-time at the Cardinals new stadium but just 5-3 at Qwest Field against the Cardinals.

This year look for Qwest Field to be rocking this Sunday. The Seahawks haven't hosted a big game since the 2007 season when they defeated the Washington Redskins 35-14 in the Wild Card playoffs round. The Cardinals will be bringing in an undrafted rookie quarterback Max Hall who is 1-0 all-time in Seattle dating back to his BYU days. The Seahawks under Pete Carroll are dominant against the run making teams one dimensional. In fact Seattle is second in the NFL behind just Pittsburgh against the run. The Seahawks as long as they hang onto the ball look for them to jump on the Cardinals early. The Cardinals with an undrafted rookie quarterback in the loudest stadium in the NFL with no run game could be a good day for the Seahawks.

All in all, this isn't a must win by any means but it would sure give the Seahawks a leg up. The city wants a winner so badly with the Sonics leaving, Huskies football struggling and the Mariners being terrible. Qwest field despite having a team who won just 9 games the last two years is still loud. I was at the first preseason game and it was loud the entire game. In fact in the fourth quarter you could have thought it was a regular season game. If the Seahawks keep winning look for the Qwest to be even more impossible to win at. Be loud 12th man this Sunday and lets get the Seahawks to first place.

Seahawks take on the Rams for divisional battle

By Kshell

When the Seattle Seahawks(2-1) go on the road to take on the St.Louis Rams(1-2)this Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome in St.Louis, Missouri first place could be on the line in the NFC West. The Seahawks have dominated the Rams of late having won 10 consecutive games against the Rams including five in the Edward Jones Dome. The Seahawks are looking to end their road woes having won just three roads games in the last two seasons but two of those three wins were against these Rams. This rivalry has pulled a complete 180 in the last 5 years. The Rams had beat the division champion Seahawks all three games in the 2004 season including twice at Qwest field.

I was at that playoff game in the 2004 Wild Card rounds and having left that stadium that was the most depressing sports loss I had ever been a part of. When Bobby Engram couldn't haul in that touchdown pass the Rams had won 27-20. The Seahawks as a franchise seem to be doomed. The Seahawks after making the playoffs just once in a span from 1989-2002 had just lost back to back heartbreaking games in the Wild Card playoffs. The Seahawks had some big free agents as well with Walter Jones, Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander. Head Coach Mike Holmgren was on the hot seat as well and could be fired. The Rams had the Seahawks number that season, earlier in the year at Qwest field the Rams overcame a 17 point deficit to win the game in overtime.

In the following season the Seahawks brought back Matt Hasselbeck and Walter Jones to long term contracts and Mike Holmgren was brought back. Shaun Alexander however was just franchise tag. The Seahawks were heading back to their house of horrors and were just 2-2 on the season. To make matters worse the Seahawks were down their top two receivers in Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram. No need to fear Joe Jurevicius is here. He would have 132 yards receiving on the game. Shaun Alexander would add 116 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the day. When Shaun McDonald fumbled the punt with 2 minutes to go the Seahawks would win the game 37-31 after giving up the opening kickoff for a touchdown. The curse had been broken and the Seahawks finally had ended the Rams curse. Little did the Rams know that the Seahawks wouldn't lose to them again.

After the Seahawks made the Superbowl and swept the Rams the previous year in 2006 they had two nailbiting games vs the Rams. The first meeting again took place in St.Louis where Seattle found themselves without league MVP Shaun Alexander. The Seahawks(3-1) were trailing 21-7 at halftime to the Rams(4-1). Then newly acquired wide receiver Deion Branch had a big game catching two touchdown passes. Josh Brown having nailed two 49 yard field goal attempts hit a game winning 54 yard field goal as time expired and the Seahawks won 30-28. In the rematch at Qwest field the Seahawks found themselves without MVP Shaun Alexander or pro bowl Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. The Seahawks led by Maurice Morris 124 yards rushing on the game won 24-22 again on a Josh Brown game winning field goal. Nate Burleson had a huge 90 yard punt return for a touchdown to give the Seahawks a lead late in the fourth. That would be the only competive game from the Rams at Qwest field from 2005-2009.

In 2007 down in St.Louis the Seahawks(6-4) taking on the 2-8 St.Louis Rams found themselves trailing 19-7 at halftime on the road. Branch would add a touchdown as would Josh Wilson on a kick off return touchdown. The Seahawks would win the game on a Leonard Weaver 5 yard touchdown run up the middle. With Seattle leading 24-19 the Rams had the ball on the goal line but fumbled the ball and Seattle had recovered and once again pulled out a huge win in St.Louis.

In 2008 Josh Brown had left the Seahawks for the Rams and again the Seahawks found themselves in a battle with the Rams in St.Louis. Seattle was trailing 20-13 at one point in the fourth quarter. Tied the game up on a T.J. Duckett touchdown run. Then Olindo Mare the kicker who had replaced Brown kicked the game winning field goal.

Typically in this series recently the Seahawks blow out the Rams at Qwest field but as I just pointed out at the Edward Jones Dome the game will most likely come down to the wire. Given how Seattle has played on the road in the past years this game should come down to the wire. Just remember it wasn't always that way.

Top five most memorable games in the Seahawks-49ers NFC West rivalry

By Kshell

The Seattle Seahawks take on the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington. Since these two teams have been NFC West rivals in 2002 they have played some memorable games. I'll post the five most memorable games in this short NFC West rivalry. I will also do a little feature of famous players who played for both teams.

5. 49ers at Seahawks,November 12, 2007: This was the second Monday Night Football game for the Seattle Seahawks vs the 49ers in the franchises history. The Seahawks were fresh off an overtime loss to the Cleveland Browns and lost former league MVP Shaun Alexander to injury. The Seahawks couldn't run the ball at all the first 8 games of the season and were just 4-4. Mike Holmgren then vowed to throw the ball and screw the run.

The Seahawks with a loud roaring crowd on Monday Night came out throwing. The Seahawks on the first possesion didn't run once. Hasselbeck capped the drive with a 1 yard touchdown pass to tight end Will Heller. The Seahawks were up 10-0 at the end of the first quarter and were up 17-0 at halftime.

Hasselbeck was the star of the game going 27 of 40 passing for 278 yards with two passing touchdowns. Maurice Morris filled in nicely for Shaun Alexander rushing for 87 yards and a touchdown. The Seahawks defense was dominant that game. The Defense for the second time in four years shut out the 49ers at Qwest Field. Alex Smith threw for a horrific 114 yards on the day. This was the Seahawks third shutout in their last four Monday Night Games. The Seahawks were just 4-4 but used this game to spark a 2nd half run. The Seahawks would end the season winning their fourth straight division title and had a 10-6 record.

4. 49ers at Seahawks, December 14, 2006: This was the first year of the special Thursday Night games on NFL Network. Most fans couldn't watch this game and for Seahawks fans thats a good thing. The weather was a down pouring rain the entire game. This game was also the biggest upset in this NFC West rivalry.

The Seahawks the previous three seasons had swept the 49ers including allowing just a combined 3 points in the previous two games at Qwest Field. The defending NFC Champions who were 8-5 at the time took on the 5-8 49ers who had the leagues worst record in 2004 and 2005 seasons combined. After jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead the Seahawks stalled offensively and the game was 7-3 heading into the 4th quarter.

The 49ers erupted in the 4th quarter scoring 21 points. Alex Smith threw for two touchdowns that quarter and also ran one in. The 49ers had swept the Seahawks that season led by Frank Gore rushing for over 350 yards on the year against the Seahawks. This was the low point in the Seahawks season. The Seahawks would end the season with a 9-7 record but still win their third straight NFC West championship.

3. 49ers at Seahawks, October 12,2003: This was a big game for the Seahawks. They were on a national primetime game on Sunday Night football taking on the defending division champions. The 3-1 Seahawks were trying to show the rest of the nation that they were finally ready to take that big step. They were taking on the 49ers who were 2-3 heading into this game.

The Seahawks jumped out to a 17-0 lead midway through the 2nd quarter. Mack Strong ran for a 21 yard touchdown to give them the 17-0 lead. The 49ers had a field goal at halftime to trail 17-3. The Seahawks were showing the nation they were for real then the 2nd half happened.

The 49ers scored a touchdown to begin the half. The Seahawks offense was doing nothing all 2nd half. On the 49ers second touchdown they botched the hold on the extra point for Seattle to remain with the lead 17-16. That point would prove very costly. The 49ers would finally take the lead 19-17 and the Seahawks were showing everyone in the nation they weren't for real. Mike Holmgren in a famous picture went off on the Seahawks offense on the sidelines.

The Seahawks drove down the field and Josh Brown hit his first career game winning field goal. The Seahawks would hang on to a 20-19 win on national tv. That botched extra point ended up deciding the game. The Seahawks would finish the season making the playoffs by just one game.

2. Seahawks at 49ers, December 27, 2003: The Seahawks were coming into this game 9-6 and needing this win to have any shot at the playoffs. The 49ers were 7-8 under first year head coach Dennis Erickson. The Seahawks entered the game with some road woes. The Hawks were 8-0 at home but just 1-6 on the road. The Seahawks started off sluggish and found themselves trailing 14-0 in the 2nd quarter.

The Seahawks offense would rally the team. Matt Hasselbeck would hit special teams standout Alex Bannister for 31 yards then Alexander added a touchdown to tie it up at 14 in the first half.

Trailing 17-14 in the 4th quarter Hasselbeck would hit Koren Robinson for the game winning score to put the Seahawks up 21-17. The Seahawks would win 24-17. The win would put the Seahawks at 10-6.

This was a Saturday game so the Seahawks would have to wait for a Cowboys loss or a Vikings loss. Both teams had lost so the Seahawks at 10-6 were going to the NFC playoffs for the first time in four seasons. This would also be the last game for Jeff Garcia and last game Terrell Owens would be a member of the San Francisco 49ers.

1. 49ers at Seahawks, October 14, 2002 This was the monday night game in Seahawks Stadium history(it was then called Seahawks stadium). The Seahawks were 1-3 going into the game against the 3-1 49ers. This was a back and forth game with a memorable ending.

After trailing 10-0 the Seahawks rallied to take a 14-10 lead when Bobby Engram ran back a punt 61 yards for a touchdown. The Seahawks clinging to a 21-20 lead going into the 4th quarter were about to experience the most disrespectful play in Seahawks history.

Jeff Garcia would hit Terrell Owens for 37 yards for the game winning touchdown beating Shawn Springs. After the touchdown Owens pulls out a sharpie from his sock and signs the ball. He then tossed the ball to someone sitting in Shawn Springs suite. Its one of the most iconic images of the decade. Holmgren was furious. Al Michaels and John Madden were absolutely stunned at the lack of respect.

The Seahawks would lose 28-21 dropping them to 1-4. The Seahawks would win their last 3 games of the season to be 7-9 to save Holmgrens job. The 49ers at the end of the season would win the division with a 10-6 record and then fire head coach Steve Mariucci. The 49ers have not made the playoffs since.

Now I'm going to go through some players who played for both sides or coached for both sides:

Jerry Rice, SF 1985-2000, Sea 2004 The most greatest receiver of all-time played the majority of his hall of fame career with the 49ers but he did end his career with the Seahawks. With the 49ers Rice caught 1,281 passes for 19,247 yards and 176 touchdowns. For his one season with the Seahawks he provided leadership to the team and help them win their first division crown in five seasons. He caught 25 passes for 362 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Julian Peterson, SF 2000-2005, Sea 2006-08 Julian Peterson the only player to make the probowl with both teams. He made the probowl with the 49ers in 2002 and 2003(first team all-pro) and made the probowl with the Seahawks all three seasons. Peterson was a pass rusher from the outside linebacker position. He struck fear in quarterbacks in the league and at times he was considered the best outside linebacker in the NFC. In six seasons with the 49ers Peterson had 21.5 sacks and forced 7 fumbles. While in three seasons in Seattle Peterson forced 24.5 sacks and forced 9 fumbles.

Ricky Watters, SF 1992-94, Sea 1998-2001 Ricky Watters was a versatile running back. He could catch passes and run the ball. He helped the 49ers reach the NFC championship game in his first two season there then in his third year he helped the 49ers win the Superbowl scoring 3 Touchdowns that game. He made the probowl in all three of his seasons with the 49ers. He would end his career with the Seahawks. He was the offensive leader and the guy in the huddle who could bark instructions. He ran hard with Seattle and was a big part of the 1999 AFC West Division championship team the first Seahawks team to make the playoffs since 1988. Believe it or not Watters actually had more yards rushing and more total yards of offense with the Seattle Seahawks.

Pete Carroll SF Defensive Coordinator 1995-1996, Sea Head Coach 2010-present Yes current Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll was once coordinator under George Seifert in the 90's. Carroll is the third consecutive head coach for the Seahawks who was once a coordinator for the 49ers. Pete Carroll is now ask to turn around the culture and attitude of the Seahawks.

Mike Holmgren, SF Quarter Backs coach 1986-1988, offensive coordinator 1989-1991, Sea Head Coach 1999-2008 Mike Holmgren began his professional career with the 49ers learning under Bill Walsh. While in San Francisco Holmgren was the quarterbacks coach for Joe Montana but was credited with the development of Steve Young. In fact the 1989 49ers led by Holmgren as offensive coordinator was believe to be the greatest offense team in NFL history. Holmgren while in Seattle transformed the division. It must have been strange for 49ers fans to see the Seahawks roll off four consecutive division titles while watching the same offense that Bill Walsh ran. When the Seahawks played the 49ers under Holmgren the Seahawks held a 9-5 record.

Well I hope you guys enjoyed the top five memorable games in the Seahawks-49ers history. I know I forgot several players who played on both sides but I thought I'd just spotlight a few who made impacts for both teams.