Seahawks Extract Revenge over the Rams 20-13

"Fatality!  Noob Saibot WINS..."

Well, that wasn't pretty.  In a game that featured more random penalties than big plays, the Seahawks were able to overcome numerous miscues to secure a win in the season finale.  Still unbelieveable to think that this season is already over.  I'm glad that I've enjoyed the ride because it was over in the blink of an eye.  Now the focus will shift to the postseason, with a Sunday matchup with a Julius Jones bowl or DJ Hackett Bowl looming in the distance.

While this game with St. Louis wasn't the laugher many expected (myself included), it's important to point out that the Rams played a solid, tough game.  It's not going to be fun having to play Jeff Fisher's boys twice a year in the future but we should be up for it.  Hats off to Fisher and his coaching staff for preparing his team extremely well, putting a great gameplan in place, and attempting to outphysical the Hawks.  They actually were for a while there.

After the madness that was the last 3 weeks, you almost had to know that a game like this was in the offing.  It would be icredibly difficult for a team as young as the Seahawks to put together four consecutive blowouts.  I'm ok with that.  The fact that they gutted this one out despite clearly lacking the edge that they had the past 3 weeks was encouraging to see.  Let's not forget, this team was built to win "street fights."  They achieved what they set out to do.
Funny how the Regular Season sort of came full circle.  The season started WAY back in September with a tough divisional game.  The opposition attacked Russell Wilson and was able to consistently generate pressure.  That was probably the most shocking thing about today's game, the Rams ability to consistently dominate the Seahawks at the Line of Scrimmage.  The Cardinals were able to do that to Seattle in Glendale as well. 

Unlike the season opener, when the Seahawks got the chance to punch the ball in the end zone late they got it done.  I'm shocked that Russell Wilson's stats were what they were to end the game.  He was getting abused all day long and kept coming back for more.  He also tied Peyton Manning's Rookie Passing TD record with 26, became the first Rookie QB to go undefeated at home, and finishes the season with a 100.2 QB Rating, the highest in team history.  Gotta love seeing Hass show Russ some love on twitter after the game.  Classy.  All in all, a great day for the new Seattle legend.  Seriously, we love ya Russ!

The second most shocking item of the day had to be the Seahawks complete lack of pass rush.  I think some of it might stem from the fact that Pete Carroll and Gus Bradley don't want to put anything new on film for their 1st Round opponent.  We started seeing some blitzes late in the game and finally saw Bradford take some shots.  Another part of it was the Rams O-Line having an excellent day.  The Hawks rushed out of their Base 4 a lot in this game and were consistently dominated.  Not the most encouraging sign in the word but I suspect we'll see a more creative gameplan next week.

It was incredibly fitting that the game would end on an interception by Richard Sherman.  After the week he had, he deserves getting to enjoy this.  That play was classic Sherm.  He baited Sam Bradford and made an outstanding play on the ball.  The dude is a natural, just so smooth out there!

Funny that Marshawn Lynch was a bit of a question mark in some minds of the 12th Man prior to the season.  With the new contract and his offseason DUI, some were worried that it would be a down year for Beast.  Guess not.  There's not many things in this life that I enjoy more than watching Marshawn Lynch drag a pile or just run in general.  One day I'll be showing my grandkids old highlight clips of Marshawn and what it was like watching a REAL running back play!

As I write this, the Skins are up 14-7 over the Cowboys in the 3rd Quarter.  I embrace the challenge that either team presents and fully believe that the Seahawks will prevail.  I am a diehard after all.  If I had to pick the team I'd rather face it's probably Dallas.  I just can't see that Cowboys team beating a team as tough and nasty as the 2012 Seahawks.  Alfred Morris and Robert Griffin Tres present a tough task for Gus Bradley and Pete Carroll.

Whoever the Hawks end up playing next week, they'll have to do it on the road, and I'm okay with that.  Can this team undertake the "Road Warrior" mentality and embrace it on their way to a possible Super Bowl?  I don't see why not.  After all, all of these guys are noted for their tremendous chip on their shoulder.  This could be just what this team needs.  More adversity. 

Oh, and Browner's back!  Can't wait for Sunday already!  How are you all feeling, my fellow 12's? 

Go Hawks!
 

An Alternate Reality Called the Pro Bowl

Sherm Says He Ain't Mad Bro

In every sport, there's always a massive screwjob, the snubbing of all snubs, a disgrace so sickening that the process used to select these "all-stars" is thrown under the microscope.  As luck would have it, the Seahawks were involved, as they always seem to be of late.  I never mentioned this, but anyone find it ironic that the man in the center of the blown call TD run during the Texans/Lions game on Thanksgiving was Justin Forsett, Ex-Seahawk?  Everywhere we go, even when it's to other teams, controversy soon follows.  Anyways, back to the annual All-Star game travesty.

This year's laughable error in the selection process didn't come at the hands of Colts Rookie QB Andrew Luck.  Nope, not by a long shot.  Seahawks CB Richard Sherman is most definitely this Pro Bowl's equivalent to the kid on the back of a milk carton.  Sure, he's got a possible suspension looming over his head but that was not a factor in the selection process which consists of fan voting, NFL players, and coaches.  Regardless, innocent until proven guilty, right?

Let the record show that Richard Sherman shall go down as the greatest snub in professional sports all-star game history. My suspicions that 95% of the rest of humanity are idiots has been confirmed.

This is perfect though. No, seriously. Part of what makes Sherman, the proud owner of 61 tackles, 7 int's, 3 forced fumbles, 2 TD's, and 23 pass breakups (according to Hawkblogger, only the 3rd player in NFL history to do this) so great is the size of the chip on his shoulder that he plays with. He's going to win his appeal and this will all just be more fuel for his fire. Sherman knows that the Pro Bowl "don't mean nothing."  I'm sure he's way more preoccupied with the decision of his hearing and potentially winning a Super Bowl to give a damn about the Pro Bowl. 

My sincerest thanks go to the NFL for continuing to set the bar so low.

What's beautiful about this is that in year's past I would've been screaming at the top of my lungs, now I'm just laughing at this like I'm the town cynic.  I would've clung to Pro Bowl spots as validation that at least somebody out there knew that a Seahawk had a great season.  I used to actually tune in just to catch a glimpse of how they'd look in those generically awful NFC jerseys.  Now?  I simply don't care.  We're out here gunning for Super Bowls and the Pro Bowl game is played the week before the Super Bowl.  Hopefully, these guys won't even get a chance to play in the game, making their selections kind've useless anyway. 

Now, I'll have a really big problem in believing that ANY of these accolades and awards mean ANYTHING if "Tricky Dick" Sherm isn't on the list for All-Pros.  Somewhere over time, Pro Bowl nomations became something broadcasters and hack journalists would trot out over the years as a glorious accomplishment on the part of the player.  If only somebody with the brains back then would've realized that being selected an All-Pro should be the less useless nomination that gets thrown about 10 times a telecast.

Bottom line is, this snub although absolutely awful and logic defying, doesn't faze me at all.  There are bigger fish to fry, a championship to be won.  I expect more snubs in the Rookie of the Year awards.  Something tells me that the voters would love to give a Packer yet another award after the "grave injustice" they suffered early in the year, so Casey Heyward will probably win the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.  The media also has a huge hardon for QB's Robert Griffin Tres and Andrew Luck, so I wouldn't expect any Offensive Rookie of the Year honors for Russell Wilson either. 

I can't wait to see Sherm just absolutely go off on whichever poor field analyst it is that gets the pleasure of interviewing him while he's hositing the Lombardi Trophy.  That's some must see TV waiting to happen right there.  You know CBS would have this thing ready, but we'd hang on every word.

 

Trailblazin' Tanzania - The Russell Wilson Story

Everyone applauds John Schneider's genius, even Tanzania.

The year is 2039. The place? Moshi, Tanzania. Population 206,728. Moshi is the 10th most populated city in Tanzania and is situated on the lower slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano and the tallest mountain in all of Africa. After a lengthy career of covering the Seahawks for a living, as the replacement to Tony Ventrella after his retirement, I finally raised the funds to open up the first ever Seattle Seahawks bar in Tanzania back in 2032! It's been a huge success! The bar's name "Kumi na mbili mtu" means "Twelfth Man" in the native tongue, Swahili.
 

Natives had been clamoring for a Seahawks bar in Tanzania for decades after Seahawks QB Russell Wilson brought the city of Seattle it's first Super Bowl in the 2012-13 season. After uttering "I'm going to Disneyland" and his famed "Go Hawks!", Wilson then smiled and said "This one's for Tanzania!" Word caught on all the way from Dar es "Rashaan" Salaam to Zanzibar that the people of Tanzania finally had a Super Bowl MVP.
 

Wilson, of course, went on to win 14 more Super Bowl's and Super Bowl MVP's, although he donated most of his rings and MVP trophies to retired teammates, family members, and notable Seahawks draft busts during the era despite pleas from the 12th Man to hire retired QB Colin Kaepernick, formerly of the rival San Francisco 49ers, to hold his other 5 rings during public appearances. In typical fashion, Wilson said that he "hoped Kaepernick found peace and happiness after the years of abuse he took from the Seahawks and the 12th Man." He also finished his career with every single passing record of all-time, except for All-Time Interceptions and Times Sacked, both lists where is a noticeable absentee.
 

Many were shocked that Wilson didn't go for one of the greatest records of all. Most seasons played. When he retired last year, he said that he had too much respect for what George Blanda had done for the game for him to attempt to outlast his record. He then chimed in that "playing til I'm 50 was good enough for me, Go Hawks!" Wilson's 26 years with the Seahawks is the longest such run in modern sports history, let alone the NFL, leading the Brits to call him "The Sir Alex Ferguson of Seattle."
 

I'm writing this memoire today, to be sent back to the future by a new time machine created by Russell Wilson, to tell you about today's great event. Russell Wilson is here, in Tanzania, at Kumi na mbili mtu, for the unveiling of the golden statue that the locals have erected for him. The solid gold statue is life-like in size and weighs one whole ton. It took 12 years to complete. Wilson, the man that he is, agreed to come to Tanzania for this preseason's opener in order to raise the ceremonial 12th Man Flag that sits atop the bar. He did not sleep once on his flight over, instead, he studied the history of Tanzania and the Rosetta-Stone Swahili edition. He had mastered the language after the 19 hour flight from Sea-Tac. This is what he said to the people.
 

"Hakuna muda wa kulala. Sisi wote tulipata sisi wote tunahitaji. Mtu wa kumi na mbili na Seattle Seahawks upendo Tanzania. Nenda Hawks!"

Which of course in English means:
 

"There is no time to sleep. We all we got we all we need. The Twelfth Man and the Seattle Seahawks love Tanzania. Go Hawks!"

Now, let's get back to reality!

Trail-Blaz-er... Merriam-Webster defines it as "a person who makes a new track through wild country" or "a pioneer; an innovator." Synonyms include pioneer - pathfinder. You could also add a basketball team hailing from the Pacific Northwest region. Ironically, there's a new trailblazer in the Pacific Northwest, and his name is Russell Wilson and damn Damon Stoudamire and the rest of the infamous "Jail Blazers" squads could have used him for a role model! If you looked in the dictionary in 2039, after Russell Wilson's 26 year career is over, you'll probably see his face next to the word trailblazer.

He's seemingly erased years of suffering from the minds of 12th Men and Women everywhere and replaced it with a feeling of hope and pride. He's made it so that a 5'10 Quarterback (funny how after the draft everyone wanted to scramble to give him inches, now it makes for a better story if he's even shorter) coming out of high school doesn't have to abandon his dreams of being a professional quarterback. Fittingly, he can try and become the next Russell Wilson. The question marks surrounding Johnny Manziel's stature and whether he can succeed in the NFL now suddenly start to go away.

Russell Wilson is to undersized quarterbacks what Jackie Robinson was to African-American baseball players back in the day. Obviously, the context and magnitude of Robinson's achievements are much more impressive and historically important, no matter what Wilson achieves. However, in terms of breaking down barriers for those that follow behind you, they are one in the same.

I've sat in amazement over Wilson for the past few weeks as he's continued to progress at lightyear speed and my brain can hardly register it. As Seahawks fans, we're not used to this kind of success. This kind of instant gratification. Well get used to it 12's, because with #3 at the helm this team is going to be an amazing team with legitimate Championship aspirations every damn year for over a decade. You can just feel it.

 

I could hardly care if this comes across as huge homerdom. I hope it does. Russell Wilson is giving us reason after reason to be a homer. It's fun watching him play, it's incredible to see how he handles himself, and it's amazing to see how he handles real life and other people. He's a genuine role model not just for kids, but for human beings everywhere. All the people who complain about modern athletes need take one look at Russell Wilson to realize that they're not all the same and that some of them are real, good people. He's honestly the first athlete I can think of, that when faced with a tough real life situation a few weeks ago I thought... "What Would Russell Do?" Shit, it helped! It made me work hard and keep focused on what was at stake. And I've never met the guy!

With Russell, we know what we get. Hard work, consistency, improvement, leadership, poise. You get so much from this guy out on the field and off the field. No moping around like Eli (yeah, 2 rings, whatever), disinterest like Cutler, throwing teammates under the bus like Brady, none of that. That's honestly part of what's making it so fun to watch this guy succeed. There ought to be a meme going around by now that shows a picture of Wilson and then says "Sends dick pics... to his wife."

And hey, not to say everybody's got to be a saint out there. After all, Saints are being falsely accused of being sinners now anyways. Wouldn't want that. We've got our Marshawn's, Leroy Hill's, and we love them too. But just once, finally once! We have our "Face of the Franchise." A genuinely elite player who makes a fan out of everybody. The only people who will be able to dislike him are the ignorant and the miserable. Sure, his enemies will always hate him, but they'll always respect him and what he can do to beat you.

Trust me, I know what you're feeling right now. You're head and your heart are at war right now. Your heart is telling you to believe that Russell Wilson and the Seahawks can overcome any obstacle yet your head is telling you to remember all the times you've imagined success for the Seahawks only to see it come up short in a blaze of agony. Don't worry, you can believe in Russell Wilson! It's what Russell Wilson would do.

Tunes from the Jukebox: I Guess it rains down in Africa? Had a solid rotation of "3030" by Deltron 3030 and "Toto" by Africa playing for this one.

Discuss. Does Russell Wilson go down as the greatest human being in the history of life? In the words of Mike Leach... "well, that's a stupid question."

 

Marshawn's Last 21 Carries on Earth

Would YOU want to tackle this man?!?

It would be completely fitting for the Mayans to be correct and the world to end this Friday.  After all, the Seahawks appear to have found their franchise quarterback (just kidding about the appear part!), look like the most dominant team in the NFL, and I'm attempting to have some fun with numbers.  All clear signs that the world will probably end this weekend.  For those who don't know, I'm atrocious at math.  I won't mince any words.  When I was a kid I was a numbers prodigy when it came to sports but that was more because of my photographic memory and that's still the case.  However, when thinking about Marshawn Lynch's production from the past 2 demolitions, I had to investigate. 

At a glance, the numbers are simply incredible.

ATT/Yds/YPC/TD/Lng
21/241/11.4/4/54

Don't forget to sprinkle in 6 First Downs.  So 10 of the 21 carries, nearly 50%, have resulted in either ANOTHER SEAHAWKS FIRST DOWN! or a Touchdown!  When you look at that line, you just can't help but smile.  I know I can't!  The first thing that pops out to me is that it looks like something Lynch probably put up in a game against Cal-Poly or UC Irvine while he was at Cal.  You see games like this in college all the time.  When you sit back and reflect upon the fact that this is actually TWO games against NFL defenses, in back to back weeks, it's even more amazing.

Really, since the Chicago game Beast Mode has been especially, uhh... beasty?  Beastly?  Whatever the case may be, it's obvious that Marshawn is following suit with the rest of the offense and thriving with the continued use of the Zone-Read Option.  The hesitation it causes when diagnosing the play is an absolute nightmare for opposing defenses.  Not being able to anticipate the run and swarm Lynch is getting a lot of "defenseless" players roughed up out there.  There's probably not many things scarier than Marshawn Lynch coming at you with a full head of steam while you haven't even decided whether or not he has the ball.  As you stand there flat flooted and scrambling to recover, a calm washes over you as you realize that the Oakland Tech product is going to leave you a mangled mess laying in a cloud of dust.

The fun with numbers doesn't stop there.  I wanted to dig deeper to see where 'Shawn's successful runs were coming from.  I'm broke as a joke, so NFL Replay for me this year.  Next year, it will be a required buy for me as I further try to advance my coverage of the Seahawks.  I'd be really interested to see these 21 runs broken down by formation.  That's what's missing here.  However, let's have fun with what we've got, shall we?

Marshawn Lynch Carries By Quarter (ATT/Yds/YPC/TD)
1st Quarter - 10/90/9.0/2/2nd Quarter - 7/98/14.0/1
3rd Quarter - 4/28/7.0/1
4th Quarter - NOT FREAKIN' AVAILABLE!

If I told you that the Seahawks would be crushing teams at the end of the season and that Marshawn Lynch would have ZERO, zilch, nada, goose egg carries in the 4th quarter over a 2 game stretch you'd be doing cartwheels.  When you consider 'Shawn's history with back/foot problems this can only bode well for the Seahawks as the season continues.  Getting your workhorse back quality rest down the stretch while annihilating the opposition is extremely rare.  Consider the fact that the Beast has only carried the ball four times in the second half of the past 2 games COMBINED and you further get the picture of how devastating this offense has been.

Marshawn Lynch Production By Direction (ATT/Yds/YPC/TD)
When Shaun Alexander was in town, the misconception was that Alexander achieved all of his success running behind Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson. While it's true that that remains one of the greatest LT/LG duo's in football history, the Seahawks still managed to have success running behind Robbie "I think I sharted" Tobeck, Chris "50 Shades of" Gray, and Sean "Not Heather" Locklear. Similarly, a developing common theme amongst 12's is that Russell Okung is holding it down while Breno Giacomini is holding back the Seahawks. Let's take a look at Marshawn's production going left, middle, or right over the past 2 historic games.

LEFT - 9/88/9.7/3
MIDDLE - 5/79/15.8/0
RIGHT - 7/74/10.5/1

Keep in mind that Marshawn's 54 yard run up the middle against Buffalo obviously alters the numbers just a little.  I would not expect the Seahawks to rack up 15.8 YPC while rushing up the middle.  However, the point is that Marshawn has been picking up chunks of yardage no matter who he's designed to run behind.  Giacomini caught a lot of grief, from myself as well, for his penalties plague from earlier in the season.  He's put aside the penalties of late and has been impressive in run blocking.  He deserves some credit.  Another guy who deserves credit is John Moffitt.  Asides from being one of my favorite Seahawks, John's also been the Seahawks good luck charm.  It just seems that whenever he's in the lineup the Seahawks have put up monster games on the ground.  Maybe he's rubbing fruit on his jock strap for good luck like Pedro Cerrano in the movie Major League.  Maybe he has a voodoo doll named JoBu.  Whatever he's doing, it's working and his good juju is rubbing off on the Hawks offense.

Also interesting to note that 'Shawn has scored 3 times when running behind Russell Okung and Paul McQuistan.  Leon Washington and Russell Wilson have also ran it in when running to the left side.  They'll never be confused for Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson but Okung and McQuistan have been mauling, as well as ass-blocking, the opposition as of late.  Back to Marshawn and his beastliness...

Marshawn Lynch Production by Down (ATT/Yds/YPC/TD)
Let's take a closer look at Marshawn's production by down over the past 2 games, shall we?

1st Down - 13/96/7.3/2
2nd Down - 7/112/16.0/1
3rd Down - 1/33/33.0/1

That 3rd Down stat certainly stands out, huh?  Beautiful.  It's obvious that the Seahawks have been extremely successful running on 1st and 2nd down over the past 2 games.  Hell, they've been extremely successful at everything.  While they haven't had many 1st downs this shows that the team is leaning on Russell Wilson on 3rd downs.  The few opportunities Wilson has faced on 3rd down have usually ended up in a Seahawks First Down, which is great news.

Want to know what's really incredible about Marshawn's production over the past 2 games?  Over that span he has not had a carry for negative yardage or no gain.  He's had 3 carries of 2 yards, 2 carries for 1 yard, and 1 for 3, otherwise every other rush he's attempted has ended up going for at least 4 yards, which is usually the benchmark for a "solid" run.

The Niners come in to town, so it's time to put these numbers aside and focus on preparing for a legitimate All-World defense.  11 Yards Per Carry just ain't gonna happen.  Last season at the CLink, we saw Marshawn score the first rushing touchdown the 49ers had allowed all season.  Skittles rained down from the stands and the frustration on the face of the 49ers defenders was visible.  However, San Fran got the last laugh.  Hopefully this time it'll be Marshawn who laughs last.



Hold My Dick, the Remix