Oregon closes out Husky Stadium with win over Huskies 34-17

By Kshell

The #6 Oregon Ducks(8-1,6-0) defeated the Washington Huskies(6-3,4-2) 34-17 in the final game at old Husky Stadium. The Ducks who rushed for 212 yards were led by LaMichael James who ran for 156 yards including a touchdown. The atmosphere was electric as the Huskies honored their 1991 National Championship team amongst others. Unfortunately, the Huskies couldn't suit up the 1991 team and their current team struggled offensively. For the first time all year Steve Sarkisian saw his team struggle which was highlighted by Keith Price throwing two interceptions in the opening half which set up 14 points for the Ducks. The Huskies battled the Ducks but once again came up well short of the victory against their rivals and against top tier opponents. For the Ducks this win sets up a Pac-10 showdown this week as they take on undefeated Stanford Cardinal.

The game started off terribly for the Huskies. After Keith Price completed a 13 yard pass to Chris Polk down the middle it was all downhill from there. Price two plays later threw an interception which was returned to the Huskies 38 yard line. Darron Thomas completed a pass for 13 yards to the Huskies 25 yard line. Then LaMichael James took over first rushing for seven yards to the Huskies 18 yard line. James then finished off the drive with an 18 yard touchdown run to give the Ducks an early 7-0 lead. On the following series the Huskies offense continued to be shutdown and went three and out. The Ducks would take over possession with the ball on their own 35 yard line.

That is when the Huskies caught a break. The Ducks Darron Thomas went back to pass but fumbled the ball. The Huskies recovered on the Ducks 32 yard line. Price immediately completed a 13 yard pass to Jermaine Kearse. After that the Huskies would go backwards and would have to settle on an Erik Folk 42 yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3. On the ensuing kickoff DeAnthony Thomas busted it 69 yards and was tackled from behind by Justin Glenn to the Huskies 21 yard line. The defense got tough and pushed the Ducks high powered offense backwards. The Ducks would have to settle on a 40 yard field goal to give them a 10-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Huskies were driving into Oregon territory after the teams had traded punts. The Huskies were on the Oregon 43 yard line when Price threw another costly interception which was returned 49 yards to the Huskies 34 yard line. James started the drive off with an eight yard run to the Huskies 26 yard line. James again ran for 16 yards to the Huskies 10 yard line. Darron Thomas kept it for six yards to set up second and goal from the four yard line. Thomas then hit David Paulson for the wide open four yard touchdown to give the Ducks a 17-3 lead. The Huskies offense continued to struggle on the next possession giving up another sack. While this time the defense three and outed the Ducks giving the offense the ball back at midfield with over six minutes left in the half.

The Huskies would go on a perfect drive which ate up all the clock so Oregon could respond. The drive began with four straight runs to Chris Polk which he gained 19 yards to set up a third and one from the Oregon 30. Price on a play action hit fullback Tim Tucker for a gain of five yards to move the chains. Once again Price was sacked for a loss of two but Polk would gain eight yards back setting up a crucial third and four. Price hit Jesse Callier in the flat for a gain of five yards to the Oregon 14 yard line. After a short run by Polk the Huskies once again went to the pass as Price connected with Kearse for a gain of nine yards to the Oregon three yard line. Sarkisian called for a fake to Polk and have Price keep it which appeared Price scored a touchdown but was ruled out at the one yard line. On the next play the Huskies faked the fullback dive to Polk as Price hit a wide open Michael Hartvigson for the one yard touchdown pass. The Ducks would drive down but would run out of time as they missed a field goal. The Huskies were only down 17-10 at halftime.

The Ducks began the second half with the ball first. After a penalty the Ducks were starting on their own 10 yard line as well. James began the drive with a 22 yard run  to the 32 yard line. Thomas completed a 12 yard pass then James rushed again for 16 yards to the Huskies 40 yard line. Thomas completed back to back passes to the Huskies 26 yard line. Facing a third and six from the Huskies 26 yard line Kenjon Barner rushed for eight yards to pick up the crucial first down. James ran for six yards to the Huskies 12 yard line setting up a third and four. Barner would again pick up the first down with a gain of eight yards. Facing a second and goal from the one yard line Barner would cap the drive with a touchdown to give the Ducks a 24-10 lead. The Ducks went on a 12 play drive for 90 yards to open up the second half to silent the Huskies crowd. The Huskies were once again trailing in the second half by 14 points to the powerful Ducks team who had crushed the Huskies by over 20 points the previous seven meetings. The third quarter was typically the Ducks big quarter as well so the Huskies offense had to respond to the score.

The Huskies knew the Ducks offense was about to wake up so they had to respond. After an incomplete pass from their own 25 yard line Polk ran for 14 yards to their own 39 yard line. Price completed a seven yard pass to Polk. Facing a third and four Price hit Polk again for six yards to the Ducks 49 yard line. True freshman Bishop Sankey then had the longest run of the game for 19 yards to the Ducks 30 yard line. On the next play Price would hit Devin Aguilar over the middle for a gain of 20 yards. The next play Price threw an out route in the back of the endzone to true freshman Kasen Williams. Williams went up and caught the ball while dragging his feet for the touchdown. After the review the play was confirmed Williams made the spectatular touchdown catch to pull the Huskies within 24-17. For Price he bounced back from two interceptions with two touchdowns giving him 25 touchdown passes on the season which puts him at three behind the school record. More importantly the Huskies answered the Ducks touchdown with a score of their own hoping to make this a game unlike the past seven years. The Huskies defense would have to make a key stop on the Ducks offense to truly make this a game.

The Ducks were facing a crucial third and nine from their own 31 yard line. The Huskies defense had a chance to three and out the Ducks after scoring a touchdown. That is when the Ducks made the play of the game when Thomas hit Paulson down the middle for a gain of 34 yards to the Huskies 35 yard line. Thomas completed a 19 yard pass to the Huskies 16 yard line. James ran for seven yards to the Huskies nine yard line. The Ducks called an option play as Darron Thomas pitched it to DeAnthony Thomas for the nine yard score giving the Ducks a 31-17 lead. The Huskies on the following drive after Price hit Aguilar for a gain of 14 yards were at midfield. Trailing by 14 points the Huskies were facing a fourth and four from the 49 yard line. That is when Price was under pressure tried to shovel pass to Polk but he was stopped well short. The Ducks then put the game away going on a nine play drive ending in a field goal putting them up 34-17. The Huskies fumbled on the following drive but the Ducks missed the field goal.

The Huskies had one last chance to make this a game in the fourth quarter. Price completed a pass to the fullback Tucker for a gain of seven yards to the 27 yard line. Price on the following play was sacked and was laying on the ground appearing to have hurt his non throwing shoulder. Nick Montana came into the game facing a third and 10 from the 20 yard line. Montana completed a long pass down the sideline to Kasen Williams for 53 yards down to the Oregon 27 yard line. Price then immediately came in for Montana and hit Kearse over the middle to see Kearse drop the ball. On third and 10 Price had Kevin Smith in the endzone wide open but Smith had the ball hit his number for the drop. On fourth down Price was rushed out of the pocket and threw an incomplete pass. From there on out the Ducks ran out the clock for the 34-17 victory over the Huskies.

The Ducks won the game 34-17. They were led by LaMichael James who ran for 156 yards(6.2 YPC) with a touchdown. Kenjon Barner ran for 41 yards(4.1 YPC) with a touchdown as well. Darron Thomas was 13-25 passing(52.0%) for 169 yards(6.8 YPA) with a touchdown. David Paulson had three receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown. For the Huskies their offense struggled behind Keith Price who was 24-35(68.6%) passing for 143 yards(4.1 YPA) with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Nick Montana in relief was 1-1 passing for 53 yards. The running game struggled as Chris Polk rushed for only 80 yards(3.3 YPC) but did have six receptions for 31 yards. Bishop Sankey had 21 yards rushing on two carries including the longest run for the Huskies. Another true freshman had a breakout game in Kasen Williams who had six receptions for 79 yards(13.2 YPC) with a touchdown. The receptions and yards were a career high for Williams. Aguilar was next in line with two receptions for 34 yards. Kearse was held to just 24 yards receiving on three receptions. Kevin Smith had just one reception for 14 yards. The Huskies offense was just shut down all game long.

All in all, the Huskies just aren't ready to beat top 10 teams like the Oregon Ducks. The Huskies in their last 13 games are 0-3 against top 10 ranked opponents but 10-0 against the rest. That shows the Huskies are a good program but not a great program. Steve Sarkisian has this program progessing pretty well which is taking time. The Ducks dominated the line of scrimmage and until the Huskies improve up front they aren't going to win these type of big games. In front of a great atmosphere under the lights Husky Stadium will be closed for a year. Even though the Huskies lost these seniors have helped change the program for the better. The Ducks are the class of the Pac-12 and until a team dethroans them they will remain on top.

Observations:

- The atmosphere was pretty incredible pregame. Very rarely does legendary head coach Don James go to the games anymore. There was definately a who's who on the sidelines. You had several big names as all the Husky legends were at the game. James did the opening coin toss and the crowd gave him a thunderest standing ovation. James while at Washington went to six Rose Bowls, won four Rose Bowls, won an Orange Bowl and most importantly won a National Championship in 1991. James was also 10-4 in bowl games while at Washington when he coached the Huskies from 1975-1992. The 1991 team was honored as well as other Husky greats throughout the contest. It was nice seeing Don James and Jim Lambright at the game as well as many other great legends.

- I'm a big fan of the Huskies wearing the black uniforms.This was the first and probably only time I was disappointed though. Most Husky fans were hoping the Huskies would come out in the 1991 uniforms to honor the 1991 team.

This was also the final game in old Husky Stadium so I was hoping the Huskies would wear traditional uniforms. Like I said I'm not against wearing the black uniforms the Huskies were previously 3-0 all-time when wearing the black uniforms. I think in the Apple Cup wearing the black uniforms would be terrific as well especially if the Cougars are wearing their all grey's. Had the Huskies won this game the uniforms wouldn't be an issue though.

- The Huskies have to stop killing themselves with dropped passes. Last week in a win over the Arizona Wildcats the Huskies receivers dropped several passes including a touchdown and two more that went for interceptions.

This week Jermaine Kearse continued to drop multiple key passes. Devin Aguilar had some key drops as well. No drop was bigger than Kevin Smith who as you can see let the ball hit off his number for a wide open touchdown. Price had poor numbers but his receivers aren't helping him at all. The Huskies receivers are too talented to be dropping as many passes as they have been dropping the last two weeks. Hopefully going forward the dropped passes problem goes away or the Huskies might lose another game or two.

- The lone bright spot on offense was wide receiver Kasen Williams. Williams has had a struggling first season with the Huskies. Prior to two weeks ago Williams season high for yards receiving in a game was only 30 yards. In the last two weeks though Williams has played really well. Last week in a win over Arizona Williams had two receptions for 60 yards including a key 48 yard reception.

This week Williams had easily his best game in a Huskies uniform. He had six receptioins for 79 yards with a touchdown including a 53 yard reception. The last two weeks Williams has been part of the offense and has made long receptions. For the year now Williams has 20 receptions for 236 yards with three touchdowns in eight games. Williams came in as a heralded five star recruit but the Huskies receiving corp has been pretty loaded. That was nice to see Williams have a breakout game in a big game. Williams touchdown catch in the endzone was an incredible touchdown reception. He went up to grab the ball and held on for the tough catch. Williams is a future star and look for Sarkisian to feature him more in the next coming weeks especially if the other receivers are dropping passes.

-  Chris Polk for only the second time all year was held under 100 yards rushing and was also held out of the endzone. First time all year he was held under 100 rushing and without a touchdown in the same game. Polk's longest rush of the game was only 14 yards as the Ducks defensive line dominated the Huskies upfront.

Polk for being shut down still had 111 total yards offense. Polk also tied for the team lead in receptions with six as he had six receptions for 31 yards. On the year Polk has rushed for 1,096 yards(5.3 YPC) with nine touchdowns. He has also caught 24 passes for 280 yards with three touchdowns on the season. Polk has yet to have a game where he was held to under 100 yards of total offense. Polk had a rough game but showing why he is a good player still had a productive game when it was all said and done.

-  Keith Price had his worst game as a Husky and has appeared to have slowed down since starting off so hot. Price was sacked six times last game and threw two interceptions. Price has thrown five interceptions the last two weeks after throwing only five interceptions his first seven games. Price was checking off way too much this game throwing the ball 35 times yet only passing for 141 yards.

Price had two interceptions that led to 14 points for the Ducks. For the year Price is still having a great season completing 66.8% of his passes for 2,133 yards(7.8 YPA) with 25 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. Price is only a sophomore quarterback so growing pains was bound to happen. He will have better days ahead of him and hopefully this was just one of those games. The receivers dropping all those passes are hurting his touchdowns and interceptions the last two weeks. With more help for his receivers and his offensive line Price can be comfortable and play "Keith Price" football once again.

In conclusion, this game was a tough loss but overall a great day. My friend Camden Rider went to high school with Jon Brockman so I had the pleasure of talking to Brockman prior to the game. You couldn't even tell he was an NBA player(besides his size) as he was just a low key person. As for the game itself the Huskies as a program will have better days. Sarkisian as a coach will have better days as will his quarterback Keith Price. The Huskies lost to a top 10 team and now must turn their focus onto USC. The Huskies are still a 6-3 football team who has a chance to be the third best team overall in the conference this week with a win over USC. The Huskies program is still going in the right direction while Husky Stadium is closed for over a year. I'm going to miss Husky Stadium quite a bit and I hope the Huskies open up their new temporary home Century Link with a victory in two weeks.

Seattle Sounders to face Santos Laguna in the Champions League Quarterfinals

By Money Mike


The CONCACAF Champions League knockout round draw took place earlier today at the CONCACAF Headquarters in New York City and after all the quarterfinal pairings and the possible matchups for the Semifinals and the Championship, the knockout stages is all set and ready to go for the month of March. The Seattle Sounders who finished second in Group D have been drawn against Mexican club Santos Laguna finished on top of Group B. The first leg will be somewhere between March 6-8 at CenturyLink Field and the second leg will be a week from that time between March 13-15 south of the border in Mexico. Each round is played over two legs, with away goals rule taking effect in this tournament, so the chances of a series being decided by two 15 minute extra time periods are very little. Remember our preliminary series against San Francisco F.C. went to extra time because San Francisco won the first match on their home soil 1-0 and then Seattle originally won the 2nd leg 1-0 at home, so that's where extra time had to come into place. The Sounders went on and scored another goal in extra-time and was able to hold ground the rest of the way in the 2nd leg and win 2-1 on aggregate. The winner of this series will take on the winner of the LA Galaxy/Toronto FC series.


CONCACAF Champions League
(Home teams listed first)

Quarterfinals

First leg (March 6-8 2012):*

Seattle Sounders FC vs Santos Laguna (Mexico)
Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) vs Pumas UANM (Mexico)
Toronto FC vs Los Angeles Galaxy
Morelia (Mexico) vs Monterrey (Mexico)

Second leg (March 13-15 2012):*

Santos Laguna (Mexico) vs Seattle Sounders FC
Pumas UANM (Mexico) vs Isidro Metapan (El Salvador)
Los Angeles Galaxy vs Toronto FC
Monterrey (Mexico) vs Morelia (Mexico)

Semifinals

First leg (March 27-29 2012):*

Semifinal 1 - Toronto FC/LA Galaxy vs Seattle Sounders/Santos Laguna
Semifinal 2 - Morelia/Monterrey vs Isidro Metapan/Pumas UANM

Second leg (April 3-5 2012):*

Semifinal 1 - Seattle Sounders/Santos Laguna vs Toronto FC/LA Galaxy
Semifinal 2 - Isidro Metapan/Pumas UANM vs Morelia/Monterrey

Finals

First leg (April 17-19 2012):*

Winner of Semifinal 2 vs Winner of Semifinal 1

Second leg (April 24-26 2012):*

Winner of Semifinal 1 vs Winner of Semifinal 2


*Dates to be determined

MLS Cup semifinal recap

By Money Mike

Well the Sounders may be out, but that doesn't keep me from recapping the MLS Cup playoffs. Today we found out who will be playing for the MLS Cup title two weeks from now and who will be packing their bags and heading home one game away from the MLS Cup final. The playoff system has turned into a land of confusion because of the wild card positions where an Eastern Conference team would end up in the western conference bracket or a Western Conference team possibly ending up in the eastern bracket. The fact that Seattle was knocked out the playoffs was because the Quarterfinal was a two game home-and-home series where whoever scores the most goals in the series moves on and if the series ended all square after 90 minutes in the 2nd leg, there would be two 15-minute overtime periods and if still tied, the series would be decided by penalties (There's no Golden Goal). After that, the semifinals and the championship is single elimination. This round was the semifinal where the winner heads to the final.

Sporting Kansas City vs Houston Dynamo (Houston wins 2-0):

Well after missing out on the playoffs last season, the Houston Dynamo are moving on to the MLS Cup for the third time in franchise history. The previous two times they were in the final in 2006 and 2007, they won the MLS Cup. They move on to the Championship after defeating Sporting Kansas City 2-0. Andre Hainault opened the scoring in the 53rd minute after Adam Moffat whipped a cross to the back post. The ball bounced around and fell to Hainault who tapped it in to make it 1-0 Dynamo. In the 87th minute, Sporting Kansas City were caught on a counter and beat on a counter. Luiz Camargo split a through ball which sent Carlo Costly behind the defense and through on goal, and the Honduran international made no mistake, banging a shot off the post and in to put the Eastern Conference final beyond reach.

I got to tell you, keeping track of the MLS teams all season long and tracking what Sporting Kansas City has accomplished since moving to their new home ground back in June after all they went through in their first eight games of the season, all on the road of course, winning the Eastern Conference regular season title and then getting knocked out of the playoffs one game away from a trip to LA is just a major disappointment and Teal Bunbury knows it. It's been an up and down year for Bunbury, struggling through injury which left him off the U.S. squad for the Gold Cup. Despite his struggles, the 21-year old did manage to finish the year with 9 goals and 5 assists in 29 matches and will start to get better in years to come. But that picture says it all, a missed opportunity at reaching the final and qualifying for the 2012-2013 CONCACAF Champions League is just tough to swallow and Teal Bunbury and the rest of the Sporting Kansas City players will be feeling the pain for a few days.

Scoring summary:

Houston Dynamo - Andre Hainault (unassisted) 53'

Houston Dynamo - Carlo Costly (Luiz Camargo) 87'

Misconduct summary:

Houston Dynamo - Calen Carr (caution; Reckless tackle) 17'

Sporting Kansas City - Julio Cesar (caution; Reckless foul) 30'

Houston Dynamo - Luiz Camargo (caution; Reckless tackle) 55'

Sporting Kansas City - Roger Espinoza (caution; Dissent) 74'

Houston Dynamo - Carlo Costly (caution; Shirt removal) 87'

Lineups:

Houston Dynamo - Tally Hall; Andre Hainault, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Corey Ashe; Danny Cruz, Adam Moffat, Luiz Camargo, Brad Davis (Jermaine Taylor 39'); Brian Ching (Carlo Costly 78'), Calen Carr (Will Bruin 68')

Sporting Kansas City - Jimmy Nielsen; Matt Besler, Aurelien Collin, Julio Cesar (Jeferson 82'), Seth Sinovic (Omar Bravo 85'); Chance Myers, Graham Zusi, Roger Espinoza (Davy Arnaud 75'); C.J. Sapong, Kei Kamara, Teal Bunbury

Los Angeles Galaxy vs Real Salt Lake (Los Angeles wins 3-1):

With the Los Angeles Galaxy advancing to the MLS Cup final and the fact that Los Angeles was chosen to host the 2011 MLS Cup final, you would expect LA to win the final. The Galaxy earned a spot in the final after defeating Real Salt Lake by a score of 3-1. LA got on the board first in the 23rd minute. Omar Gonzalez was pushed to the ground from behind in the RSL penalty area and referee Jorge Gonzalez pointed to the penalty spot. Landon Donovan stepped up for the LA Galaxy and put the spot kick away with ease. RSL answered back two minutes later. Off a Javier Morales corner, Jamison Olave headed the ball back across goal for Alvaro Saborio who flicked it in to the goal to level things up. In the 58th minute, LA re-took the lead. David Beckham again doing what he does best. Curling in a trademark cross to the far post for Mike Magee who headed it goalwards from point blank range and in off the hands of Nick Rimando to put LA up 2-1. 10 minutes later, LA puts the icing on the cake in the Western Conference. RSL started to push numbers forward and LA made them pay on a counter attack when Landon Donovan fed Robbie Keane who started to slow down as he was approaching the penalty area, the Irish international made a nice cut to full Jamison Olave and ripped a shot low and into the far corner to seal the win and a place in the MLS Cup final.

Ever since David Beckham has arrived to MLS in 2007, the league has started to become one of the top leagues in the world and that American soccer is starting to grow. Now remember, I listed him at no. 1 when I gave you guys my Top 5 worst Designated Players in MLS history, but I may over look that if LA were to win the MLS Cup on November 20th. It's just disappointing to have guys like David Beckham and Landon Donovan on your team and not win a league title with both of them on your team. In 09' the LA Galaxy reached the final as we all know, this one was in Seattle. The match went to penalties and the Galaxy ended up losing to Real Salt Lake. Last season, the Galaxy were knocked out of the playoffs in the semifinals, losing 3-0 at home to FC Dallas. Now this year, in what could be David Beckham's final season in Major League Soccer, will Beckham finally win an MLS Cup title?

Scoring summary:

Los Angeles Galaxy - Landon Donovan (penalty kick) 23'

Real Salt Lake - Alvaro Saborio (Jamison Olave, Javier Morales) 25'

Los Angeles Galaxy - Mike Magee (David Beckham, Robbie Keane) 58'

Los Angeles Galaxy - Robbie Keane (Landon Donovan) 68'

Misconduct summary:

Los Angeles Galaxy - Juninho (caution; Reckless foul) 56'

Real Salt Lake - Javier Morales (caution; Reckless tackle) 70'

Los Angeles Galaxy - Sean Franklin (caution; Delaying a restart) 93'+

Lineups:

Real Salt Lake - Nick Rimando; Robbie Russell (Ned Grabavoy 70'), Jamison Olave (Tony Beltran 82'), Chris Schuler, Chris Wingert; Andy Williams (Luis Gil 75'), Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales, Will Johnson; Fabian Espindola, Alvaro Saborio

Los Angeles Galaxy - Josh Saunders; Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, A.J. DeLaGarza, Todd Dunivant; Landon Donovan, David Beckham (Michael Stephens 89'), Juninho, Mike Magee; Chad Barrett (Chris Birchall 63'), Robbie Keane

Washington Huskies take on their bitter rivals Oregon Ducks

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies (6-2,4-1) take on the #6 Oregon Ducks(7-1,5-0) in the final game at old Husky Stadium. The Ducks recently have had  the Huskies number winning seven in a row which were all by 20 points. Last year the Ducks won 53-16 and Steve Sarkisian has yet to see his Huskies score 20 points in a game against the Ducks. In fact the Huskies offense hasn't scored more than 20 points against the Ducks defense since 2007. The roles in this rivalry has shifted for 80 years the Ducks were hoping to become what the Huskies were. Now the Huskies are hoping to become what the Ducks are. This game will feature plenty of offense as the Ducks are averaging 47.5 points a game good for fourth overall in the nation. While the Huskies are averaging 35.6 points per game which is good for 26th in the nation. This game will have plenty of fireworks in front of the greatest defense in Pac-10 history as the 1991 Washington Huskies are going to be honored before the game.

The Oregon Ducks offense bread and butter is their running game which features plenty of threats. Leading the way is heisman finalist LaMichael James who has rushed for 905 yards(8.4 YPC) with eight touchdowns. James has been banged up which hasn't hurt the Ducks offense at all as Kejon Barner has filled in rushing for 560 yards(7.1 YPC) with seven touchdowns. You also have the dangerous DeAnthony Thomas who has rushed for 340 yards(8.5 YPC) with four touchdowns. He has also caught 25 passes for 382 yards(15.3 YPC) with six touchdowns. The Ducks also have a quarterback controversy but both have played well is why. Darron Thomas who led them to the national title game last year this season has completed 61.4% of his passes for 1,380 yards(8.5 YPA) with 18 touchdowns to five interceptions. He has also rushed for 108 yards with two touchdowns. His backup quarterback Bryan Bennett has made one start this year and filled in nicely in two other Pac-12 games. Bennett has completed 53.3% of his passes for 361 yards(8.02 YPA) with six touchdowns and no interceptions. He has also ran for 190 yards on the season. The Huskies has to do a better job stopping the run than they did against Stanford or Nebraska. The Huskies offense features a powerful unit as well which will have to match the Ducks offense score for score.

For the Huskies their passing offense has been terrific this year led by Keith Price. Price, last season made his first career start at Autzen stadium on the road. So this will be the first team Price will have ever started against twice. For the year Price has completed 66.5% of his passes for 1,990 yards(8.4 YPA) with 23 touchdowns to eight interceptions. Price has plenty of receivers to throw the ball to. Seniors Devin Aguilar has 28 receptions for 427 yards with three touchdowns while Jermaine Kearse has 31 receptions for 395 yards with six touchdowns. Kearse also has ran for 13 yards which includes a touchdown. James Johnson this season 26 receptions for 330 yards with three touchdowns. Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins has 21 receptions for 335 yards with four touchdowns. Youngsters Kasen Williams has 14 receptions for 157 yards with two touchdowns and Kevin Smith has 11 receptions for 102 yards. Smith also has ran for 41 yards on just three carries including a touchdown. The Huskies passing attack has been great this season and lately teams have been game planning to stop the pass which means Chris Polk has been running wild.

The last two weeks teams have been game planning to stop Price. Polk has responded rushing for 287 yards with six rushing touchdowns and one receiving. For the year Polk has ran for 1,016 yards(5.6 YPC) with nine touchdowns. He has also caught 18 passes for 249 yards with three touchdowns. Polk recently passed Napoleon Kaufman for most 100 yard rushing games in his career at Washington. He also tied Kaufman for most 1,000 yard rushing seasons with three. Polk has became a receiving threat out of the backfield catching passes that aren't screen passes. The Huskies are 8-0 when Polk carries the ball 25 times or more. This season Polk has ran for over 100 yards in seven of the eight games while scoring a touchdown in seven straight games. Look for Sarkisian to pound Polk to control the clock as the only way teams recently defeat the Ducks is punching them in the mouth by being  physical.

In conclusion, this will be a fun game regardless of the outcome. The Huskies will be honoring their seniors as this will be the last game they'll ever play at Husky Stadium. Then the 1991 National Championship team will be honored as Don James will flip the coin toss. The Huskies more importantly are trying to take back the Northwest which was theirs for the longest time. The Ducks currently own the Northwest and these two schools are constantly recruiting the same type of players. The atmosphere at the game should be electric and the scoreboard operator better be paying attention as both offenses have shown the ability to score mass points. I'm sure Sarkisian will try to grind Polk to control the clock while Price moves the chains on third down. This will be a great game between the Northwest two best schools as both programs are on the way up.

Sounders rally falls short losing 3-2 on aggregate to Real Salt Lake

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders were 3-nil down coming into the 2nd leg and in need of a three goal win to force extra time and at least a four goal win to take the series. They ended up with only two as they won the 2nd leg 2-0, however, they fell 3-2 on aggregate which means the 2011 season is over and also Kasey Keller long and memorable career is over. Real Salt Lake will move on to the MLS Cup semifinal against either the LA Galaxy or the New York Red Bulls. For the Sounders, they have still yet to make it past the MLS Cup Quarterfinals. In 2009, they were knocked out by the Houston Dynamo. In 2010, they were knocked out by the Los Angeles Galaxy. Now this year, they were knocked out by Real Salt Lake. It's gonna be tough to come by for a couple of days, but none the less, the Sounders are getting better and better and I believe that they will soon put their hands on an MLS Cup.

The Sounders almost got the breakthrough early on. Erik Friberg's cross was deflected right to Fredy Montero who touched it just wide right of Nick Rimando's goal.

The Sounders had to make two early subs in the first half, bringing on Lamar Neagle and Roger Levesque for Brad Evans and Alvaro Fernandez due to injuries.

The biggest save of the night was defender Tony Beltran clearing Jeff Parke's volley off the line with his head. So many opportunities that could've resulted in a comeback win in the series for the Men in Rave Green.

The Sounders got on the board in the 56th minute. Lamar Neagle sent in a cross for Mike Fucito who was pulled down by Tony Beltran and referee Jair Marrufo wasted no time pointing the penalty spot. Beltran was also booked for the challenge. Ozzie Alonso stepped up to take the penalty for the Seattle Sounders and he would drive it low and right down the middle to put the Sounders on the board in the series, making it 1-0 in the second leg and 3-1 RSL on aggregate.

Five minutes later, the Sounders got another goal. Lamar Neagle first-timed a Fredy Montero pass into the far corner and all the sudden, the Sounders were back in the series. The Sounders continued to attacked all game, but in the end, Real Salt Lake did well enough to hang on and win the series.

Scoring summary (first leg):

Real Salt Lake - Alvaro Saborio (Chris Wingert, Javier Morales) 41'

Real Salt Lake - Alvaro Saborio (Javier Morales) 53'

Real Salt Lake - Ned Grabavoy (unassisted) 88'

Scoring summary (second leg):

Seattle Sounders FC - Osvaldo Alonso (penalty kick) 56'

Seattle Sounders FC - Lamar Neagle (Fredy Montero, Osvaldo Alonso) 61'

- Real Salt Lake advances 3-2 on aggregate

Misconduct summary:

Real Salt Lake - Tony Beltran (caution; Tactical foul) 55'

Real Salt Lake - Nick Rimando (caution; Delaying a restart) 56'

Seattle Sounders FC - Roger Levesque (caution; Reckless tackle) 62'

Seattle Sounders FC - Leonardo Gonzalez (caution; Reckless tackle) 92'+

Lineups:

Real Salt Lake - Nick Rimando; Robbie Russell, Chris Schuler, Chris Wingert, Tony Beltran; Andy Williams (Ned Grabavoy 57'), Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales (Luis Gil 89'), Will Johnson; Fabian Espindola, Alvaro Saborio (Yordany Alvarez 76')

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; Zach Scott, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Brad Evans (Roger Levesque 21'), Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg, Alvaro Fernandez (Lamar Neagle 14'); Mike Fucito (Sammy Ochoa 76'), Fredy Montero

Introducing football PAR to our Huskies and Cougars

By Kshell

Last week the Washington Huskies were destroyed by the Stanford Cardinal 65-21. As usual after a loss I called up my friend Brian Alfi to talk about the game. He is usually the calm one while I'm into firing anyone who has a shaved head and resembles Nick Holt at that point. So that is when we created a system called football PAR. It is points above replacement level as a way to try to judge if our defense is doing poorly or not. The system is pretty simple as you go by how many points you allowed on defense vs that team and compare it to what they average per game on offense. Then I took it one step further and applied this offense to see how many points the offense scored against our opponents defense vs what our opponents defense normally gives up. For a key explanation let's say the Huskies are playing UCLA and the Bruins allow 28 points per game while scoring 25 a game. If the Huskies beat the Bruins 40-35 their offense would get a +12 while the defense would receive a negative 10. What this basically does is takes away strength of schedule and it is set up like a golf handicap. So for now I'll go over the Washington Huskies offensive PAR and defensive PAR while also going over the Washington State Cougars offensive PAR and defensive PAR. Then on friday I'll rank the PAR's for every team in the conference then the following Monday morning I'll release the updated PAR's for the conference each week.

First I'll start off with the offense and put the PAR numbers down after each opponent.

vs EWU- Points scored:30, EWU points allowed: 29.6. PAR= +0.4

vs Hawaii- Points scored: 40, Hawaii points allowed: 26.6. PAR= + 13.4

@ Nebraska- Points scored: 38, Nebraska points allowed: 22.5. PAR= +15.5

vs Cal- Points scored: 31, Cal points allowed: 26.4. PAR= +4.6

@ Utah- Points scored: 31, Utah points allowed: 20.6. PAR= + 10.4

vs Coloraado- Points scored: 52, Colorado points allowed: 38.3. PAR= + 13.7

@ Stanford- Points scored: 21, Stanford points allowed: 17. PAR= +4.0

vs Arizona- Points scored: 42, Arizona points allowed: 34.9. PAR= +7.1

Total: Huskies are +82.1 for the season which is an average of 10.3 per game. The Huskies offense is scoring 10 more points a game against what their opponents normally allow on defense. The Huskies offense this season has yet to have a negative PAR rating which is pretty impressive.

Now I'll shift my focus to the defense which is how this whole thing was created. You'll find some things coming up on the defense after this study.

vs EWU- points allowed: 27, EWU average: 28.7, PAR = +1.7

vs Hawaii- points allowed: 32, Hawaii average: 34.3. PAR= +2.3

@ Nebraska- points allowed: 51, Nebraska average: 35.9. PAR= - 15.1

vs Cal- points allowed: 23, Cal average: 28.8. PAR= +5.8

@ Utah- points allowed: 14, Utah average: 23.3. PAR= +9.3

vs Colorado- points allowed: 24, Colorado average: 18.8. PAR= - 5.2

@ Stanford- points allowed: 65, Stanford average: 49.5. PAR= -15.5

vs Arizona- points allowed: 31, Arizona average: 30.4. PAR= -0.6

Total: Huskies defense is negative 17.3 on the year which translates to negative 2.2 points per game. The numbers that stand out to me are against the teams with equal talent or below talent the Huskies are positive 13.3(plus 2.2 a game). Against superior opponents the Huskies are at negative 30.6(15.3 points per game). So against the teams the Huskies should beat their defense holds their opponents on average to two less points than they average. Against the elite teams(like Oregon who we are playing) the defense gives up 15 points above what they average.

I now turn my attention to our rivals on the east the Washington State Cougars. We'll see how Paul Wulff's offense and defense grades out with this system.

vs Idaho State- points scored: 64, Idaho State allows: 37.2. PAR= + 26.8

vs UNLV- points scored: 59, UNLV allows: 40.6. PAR= + 18.4

@ San Diego State- points scored: 24, SDSU allows: 25.3. PAR= -1.3

@ Colorado- points scored: 31, Colorado allows: 38.3. PAR= -7.3

@ UCLA- points scored: 25, UCLA allows: 31.9. PAR= - 6.9

vs Stanford- points scored: 14, Stanford allows: 17. PAR- -3.0

vs Oregon State- points scored: 21, Oregon State allows: 29.9. PAR= - 8.9

@ Oregon- points scored: 28, Oregon allows: 21.3.  PAR= +6.7

Totals: The Cougars are +24.5(3.1 per game) but the bulk of that was built in the first two games. Since the first two games the offense is at -20.7(-3.5) which isn't good. The Cougars offense was supposed to be the strength of the team and they have only scored more points than their opponents allow three times and only against Oregon in confererence play.

Now we'll see how the Cougars defense is doing now that we know the Cougars offense is actually underachieving.

vs Idaho State- points allowed: 21, Idaho State average: 20.1. PAR= + 0.9

vs UNLV- points allowed: 7, UNLV average: 18.9. PAR= + 11.9

@ SDSU- points allowed: 42, SDSU average: 29.0. PAR= -13.0

@ Colorado- points allowed: 27, Colorado average: 18.7. PAR= - 8.3

@ UCLA- points allowed: 28, UCLA average: 24.8. PAR= -3.2

vs Stanford- points allowed: 44, Stanford average: 49.5. PAR= +5.5

vs Oregon State- points allowed: 44, Oregon State average: 23.0. PAR= -21.0

@ Oregon- points allowed 43, Oregon averages: 47.5. PAR= +4.5

Totals: Cougs are at negative 22.7(-2.8 per game) and if you take away the first two games the Cougars defense is at -35.5(-5.9). So whatever an opponent averages when they face the Cougars you can tack on 5.9 points to that average. This also goes with the eye test as the Cougars defense grades out well in four games the two blowouts and in conference play just two games. The two games were against Stanford and Oregon which the eye test tells you they played well defensively.

In conclusion, this is a little stat I figured is a fair way to judge teams. I mean allowing 35 points to Stanford is a "win" as their offense is so good while allowing  24 to a Colorado is "bad" as they aren't very good. For the season Steve Sarkisian and his Huskies are at a positive 8.1 points per game meaning if their opponent on average isn't beating their  opponent by more than eight points a game the Huskies will win that game. While Paul Wulff and his Cougars are only at positive 0.3 and if you take away the first two games he is at a negative 9.4 for the season. Meaning unless the Cougars opponent on average is losing by more than 10 points a game the Cougars won't win. Based on this the Huskies should finish the season 9-3 with a narrow win over USC by two points. While the Cougars based on this won't win another game the rest of the season finishing at 3-9 if you take away the first two games. If you don't the Cougars take away the first two games the Cougars still finish at 3-9 as they dropped their winnable games already. Like I said from here on out I'll keep updating these rankings only I won't go through each game like I just did. Just wanted to show you my formula is all and I'm curious what the rest of the conference looks like!

Bengals use big plays to crush Seahawks at home 34-12

By Kshell

The Cincinnati Bengals(5-2) spanked the Seattle Seahawks(2-5) in Seattle 34-12 behind three big touchdowns while the Seahawks offense continued to struggle. The Seahawks who were held to just 27 yards rushing on 18 carries(1.5 YPC) until the final two plays of the game when Leon Washington ran for 34 yards on the ground. Pete Carroll decided Tarvaris Jackson was too hurt to start so he went with Charlie Whitehurst who once again gave the team nothing so he decided Jackson wasn't too hurt to play anymore. The Seahawks outgained the Bengals 411 to 252 yet lost the game due to mistakes. The Seahawks had several dropped passes,  a punt return for a touchdown go against them then an interception returned for a touchdown. The Seahawks also botched a redzone attempt at the end of the half and while the Bengals didn't do much the Seahawks made sure they didn't need to. Now that the Seahawks are 2-5 while the San Francisco 49ers are 6-1 the season appears to be headed towards NFL Draft talk going forward.

The Bengals took the opening drive and drove 58 yards on 12 plays eating up eight minutes before the Seahawks held them to a field goal giving the Bengals a 3-0 lead. The Bengals tried to pound the run to Bernard Scott filling in for the injured Cedric Benson to control the clock. Scott ran the ball six times for 18 yards while Andy Dalton was five for five passing for 35 yards. The Seahawks who were starting Whitehurst quickly went three and out as the Seahawks had to punt from their own 24 yard line. Jon Ryan had a punt that went 65 yards that outkicked his coverage as Adam "Pacman" Jones made it "rain" as he returned the punt 63 yards to the Seahawks 26 yard line as Ryan tackled him. The Bengals continued to use ball control as Scott ran for nine yards to the Seahawks 17 yard line. Scott rushed for three more yards for the first down to the Seahawks 14 yard line. Dalton finally passed the ball as he found Jerome Simpson down the middle for a 14 yard touchdown giving the Bengals a commanding 10-0 lead as the first quarter was coming to an end. The Seahawks who had Whitehurst starting looked bleak as he proved the previous week he simply can't get the job done. Whitehurst responded to the score and actually appeared to show a resemblence of an NFL quarterback on the following drive.

Starting from their own 21 yard line the Seahawks already trailing 10-0 started their drive. After a Bengals 15 yard penalty which gave them the ball on their own 36 the Seahawks went to work. Whitehurst completed a pass to Zach Miller for a gain of 17 yards. He completed another pass to Sidney Rice for 15 yards to the Bengals 33 yard line. After a sack and a penalty facing a third and 19 from the Bengals 42 yard line Whitehurst hit Ben Obomanu for a gain of 13 yards which was short of the first down but gave the Seahawks a chance at a field goal. Steve Hauschka nailed the 47 yard field goal to open up the second quarter to cut the lead to 10-3. The Bengals then went three and out giving the ball back to the Seahawks. After the Seahawks went three and out Whitehurst saw his day end as Carroll had enough of his ineffectiveness. The Seahawks defense continued to play well as they once again three and outed the Bengals offense.

The Seahawks had made a quarterback change putting in the supposedly injured Tarvaris Jackson for Whitehurst. Starting from their own 28 yard line Marshawn Lynch fumbled the ball giving the Bengals possession on the Seahawks 31 yard line. The Bengals would self destruct committing back to back 10 yard holding penalties giving them the ball first and 30 from their own 49 yard line. Dalton would complete back to back passes setting up a third and 20 which the Seahawks defended well forcing the Bengals to punt from the Seahawks 41 yard line. For the Seahawks on their own 11 yard line facing a third and 10 Jackson hit Rice for a gain of 11 yards which Carroll had to challenge as the spot was off. The Seahawks ultimately would have to punt the ball back to the Bengals as they took over on their own 16 yard line after wasting the previous opportunity. There would be no wasting this possession for the Bengals.

The Bengals starting on their own 16 yard line would run Scott for a gain of three yards. Dalton would hit first round pick A.J. Green for a gain of six yards setting up a third and one. The Seahawks gave the Bengals a first down on a six yard penalty giving the Bengals the ball on the 31 yard line. On third and six from the 35 yard line the Seahawks committed another penalty this time a 14 yard penalty giving the Bengals another first down. Facing a third and 11 Dalton hit a crucial 14 yard pass to move the chains to the Seahawks 38 yard line. It was the Bengals who had a penalty pushing them back to the Seahawks 43. That is when the Bengals dialed up the long ball as Dalton hit Green who blew by the Seahawks secondary as Earl Thomas was late for the touchdown giving the Bengals a 17-3 lead. The Seahawks ended the half with the ball on the Bengals three yard line with 14 seconds left fourth and two with no timeouts. Carroll decided to go for it then the Seahawks called a run to Lynch who got the first down with a gain of two yards but time had expired so the Seahawks trailed 17-3 at halftime.

In the third quarter the Seahawks offense starting from their own nine yard line were facing a second and 10. That is when Jackson hit Ben Obomanu on a deep pass for 55 yards to the Bengals 36 yard line. With second and eight from the 34 yard line Lynch had his longest run of the game for nine yards to the 25 yard line. Jackson then completed a pass to Rice for 15 yards to the Bengals 10 yard line. The Seahawks offense would stall on the seven yard line and would this time elect to kick the field goal. Steven Hauschka nailed the 25 yard field goal cutting the lead to 17-6. At that point Seahawks fans were really wishing they had those three points that Carroll passed up on in the first half. The Bengals offense would take over to start the fourth quarter. At the Seahawks 48 yard line Dalton tried to go deep but Kam Chancellor intercepted Dalton on the 13 yard line then returned it eight yards to the Bengals 21 yard line as the Seahawks finally were having momentum on their side.

Facing a third and 11 from their own 20 Jackson would hit Doug Baldwin for a gain of 31 yards to the Bengals 49 yard line. On the next play Jackson would hit Rice for a gain of 35 yards to the Bengals 14 yard line as the Seahawks moved the ball 66 yards in just two plays. Still riding the hot hand Jackson completed a pass to Golden Tate for a gain of nine yards to the five yard line. This is when the Seahawks turned to Lynch who ran for three yards and the first down to set up first and goal from the two yard line. Lynch would then score his third rushing touchdown of the season from two yards out. Trailing 17-12 now the Seahawks decided to go for two but Jackson's throw to Obomanu was incomplete. After a long 45 yard kickoff return by Brandon Tate giving the Bengals the ball  on their own 43 yard line. The Bengals would eventually settle for a field goal giving them a 20-12 lead over the Seahawks with under five minutes left in the game.

That wouldn't be the last time Tate burned the Seahawks. The Seahawks offense went three and out and were forced to punt from their own seven yard line. Ryan had a 49 yard punt as Tate fielded the ball then made some defenders miss as he went up the sideline for the game clinching score. Tate ran back the punt 56 yards for the game clinching touchdown giving the Bengals a commanding 27-12 lead over the Seahawks. The Seahawks though didn't quit as they took over on their own 33 yard line. Jackson completed a 16 yard pass to Baldwin to the 49 yard line. Jackson completed his next two passes for 21 yards converting a crucial third down to the 35 yard line. After the third down incomplete pass Jackson was injured as Whitehurst came into the game with 1:40 left. Whitehurst hit Zach Miller who dropped the pass which was a theme for the Seahawks all game long. The defense would three and out the Bengals as they used up all their timeouts. Despite limping out there Carroll decided to go back with Jackson instead of Whitehurst despite the fact the game was out of reach with a minute to go in the ball game. Jackson showing a ton of heart for his teammates didn't want to be pulled much like Keith Price against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Jackson would be picked off though as the Bengals Reggie Nelson went 75 yards down the sideline for the touchdown to give the Bengals the 34-12 win.


The Bengals won this 34-12 in what is usually a tough road matchup. The Seahawks have now lost five games in a row to their old conference the AFC. The Bengals were led by the quarterback the Seahawks passed on Andy Dalton who was 18-29(62.1%) for 168 yards(5.8 YPA) with two touchdowns and two interceptions. His main receiver was A.J. Green who had four receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown. While Bernard Scott ran for 76 yards on 22 carries(3.5 YPC). Meanwhile the Seahawks were led by Tarvaris Jackson who was 21-40(52.5%) passing for 323 yards(8.1 YPA) with an interception. While the starter Charlie Whitehurst was 4-7(57.1%) for 52 yards(7.4 YPA). The main receivers for the Seahawks were Sidney Rice who had seven receptions for 102 yards. Ben Obomanu had four receptions for 107 yards while Doug Baldwin had five for 73 yards. The running game was led by Leon Washington who had 34 yards rushing on just two carries. Meanwhile Marshawn Lynch had a terrible game rushing for only 24 yards on 16 carries(1.5 YPC) with a touchdown and a fumble. This was a tough loss for the Seahawks who allowed two return touchdowns while their offensive miscues cost them once again. This has been a trying year for Seahawk fans which doesn't look to have any hope in sight for this season at least.

All in all, the Seahawks drop to 2-5 and have lost their last two home games. They will once again go on the road to Dallas this week a place they haven't won at since 2002. This year appears to be going down the drain and unless the Seahawks can somehow find an offense in the offseason I don't see next season being any different. The Seahawks when they were 2-3 had two winnable games coming up and they lost them both as the offense scored 15 points in those two games. The league has figured out the no huddle offense they run and the quarterback play continues to be suspect. This year has turned into what the Seattle Mariners just experienced a try out for the youngsters. Sadly as Seattle fans that seems to be how our teams are lately always waiting for next year and this Seahawks season is no different.

Observations:

-  Marshawn Lynch is proving yet again why the Buffalo Bills are a smart franchise to get rid of him. Lynch had another lackluster game with 24 yards rushing on 16(1.5 YPC) with a fumble while being shutout in the passing game. Lynch isn't getting holes but he also is slow. Lynch unlike the other running back in the same city Chris Polk is simply a short yardage. He can't beat you in other ways with his speed or with his pass catching ability. Lynch is proving to be a bust minus the one big run in the playoffs last year. This is a position the Seahawks have neglected far too long and must draft a runningback this year as Lynch has proven time and time again he isn't the answer at runningback for this franchise.

For the year Lynch has ran for just 263 yards(3.6 YPC) with three touchdowns and only 11 receptions for 83 yards. In six games this year Lynch has rushed for under 40 yards in four games and under 30 yards in three games. He has averaged less than 4.0 YPC in five games and less than 3.0 YPC in three games and even less than 2.0 YPC in two games. He has been a total disaster and once the Seahawks fans realize this the easier life will become. When the Seahawks let Lynch go he'll just be a goaline back for some other team. He has proven he isn't a starting runningback in the NFL.

- Tarvaris Jackson has actually impressed me this year. He has shown a ton of courage as he is getting killed this season having been sacked 20 times despite playing only 21 quarters this season. This past game despite obviously being hurt Jackson still threw for over 300 yards even though his receivers didn't help him out with all the drops. Jackson has shown he can be a nice backup quarterback who can fill in for the guy when he goes down. Jackson by no means is ever going to be the guy but unlike Whitehurst who obviously doesn't belong in the NFL Jackson has proven he still indeed has value. Jackson is also showing he is a better leader than I had ever thought he was and the fans are slowly starting to embrace Jackson(it doesn't hurt that Whitehurst has killed any chance of a controversy).

For the year Jackson has completed 60.9% of his passes for 1,335 yards(6.8 YPA) with six touchdown passes to six interceptions for a quarterback rating of 78.5 which is about what I expected from him. That shows he is an NFL quarterback but also shows he isn't a franchise quarterback that will lead you to the promise land anytime soon. As is I wouldn't mind him starting the year next year as the starter as the Seahawks hopefully are developing their first round draft pick at quarterback.


- Pete Carroll inherited a team that was short on talent and on the defensive side of the ball he has done a terrific job. He moved Red Bryant to defensive end, drafted Earl Thomas with 14th pick overall. He traded for Chris Clemons and signed Brandon Browner off the scrap heap. He got good value in the draft with Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman and K.J. Wright showing he does know defense pretty well.

On the offensive side of the ball his moves have bombed. Russell Okung who was taken sixth overall can't go a game without jumping for a false start. James Carpenter was a questionable draft pick as well as he continues to be burned every week. Carroll traded 20 spots down in the second round plus gave up a third round pick for Whitehurst which has been a bust move. Gave up two draft picks for Lynch who has been terrible as well. Drafted Tate in the second round who has given the Seahawks very little. The Seahawks offense this year is averaging a pathetic 15.5 points per game in an offensive era where the rules are set for the offense. Carroll's teams are committing way too many penalties as well. I do think Carroll is a good head coach just not sure if he should be team president. There obviously needs to be an offensive guru in his ear this next offseason as he has shown he knows defense while showing he knows nothing about offense.

In conclusion, this years Seahawks season won't be very fun. From here on out there will be draft talk and rebuilding talk once again. There won't be any magical playoff runs like last season which is too bad. The Seahawks appear to be headed towards their fourth straight losing season something they haven't done since 1991-1994 which like this included a transition from their franchise quarterback to having nobody next in line. The fans aren't as patient with Carroll as most Seattle fans are I've noticed. This season has gone down the drain quickly with this embarassing home loss 34-12. Now the Seahawks despite us just now entering November and the season isn't even half over yet are already talking about next year. This should be another depressing final two months of the season much like 2008 and 2009 were.