Super Bowl Update

By Kshell

The Washington Huskies(7-6,5-4 last year, 4th in Pac-12 last year) kick off the fourth season under Steve Sarkisian against the San Diego State Aztecs(8-5, 4-3, 4th in Mountain West last year) at home. This year home for the Huskies will be at Century Link Field home of the Seattle Seahawks. Last season the Huskies won their first season opener since 2007 when they narrowly defeated D-1AA Eastern Washington Eagles 30-27. Sarkisian is 1-2 in season openers at Washington but has won his last two home openers. There will be plenty to be excited about in this game. The Aztecs like the Huskies are a bowl team who lost some key pieces but also return some key pieces. The Huskies will also have some anticipated debuts from some super freshman as these teams square off for the first time since 1997.

In the previous meeting between these two teams back in 1997 the #3 ranked Washington Huskies were coming off a big win at #19 BYU Cougars and were set to take on eventual national champion Nebraska Cornhuskers the following week. This was their home opener against San Diego State which they won 36-3 led by Brock Huard who was 16-26 passing for 313 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. While Rashaan Shehee ran for 72 yards on 16 carries and Maurice Shaw ran for 79 yards on 14 carries. Huard started the game off with a 12 yard touchdown pass to Jerome Pathon in the first first quarter as the Huskies led 7-0. In the second quarter after a  Huskies field goal it was Huard again who connected with Fred Coleman for a nine yard touchdown as the Huskies led 17-3 at halftime.

In the second half the Huskies kept the scoring up as Huard hit Pathon on a slant which he took for a touchdown 53 yards. Then in the fourth quarter Huard hit backup tight end Reggie Davis for a 12 yard touchdown as the Huskies won 36-3. Pathon finished with eight receptions for 182 yards with two touchdowns while Coleman had three for 70 yards with a touchdown. The Huskies held the Aztecs to negative seven yards rushing on that day something these Huskies are hoping they can duplicate.

The Aztecs return six starters on offense and five on defense. They lost quarterback Ryan Lindley who threw for 3,153 yards last year with 23 touchdowns and 8 int's. They also lost running back Ronnie Hillman who ran for 1,711 yards with 19 touchdowns. They do return both starting wide receivers. They return junior wide receiver Colin Lockett who had 56 receptions last season for 970 yards(16.8 YPC) with eight touchdowns. They also return Dylan Denso who caught 49 passes for 634 yards(12.9 YPC) with three touchdowns.

The Aztecs tight end Gavin Escobar who had 51 receptions for 780 yards(15.3 YPC) with seven touchdowns. The running game will see Adam Muema start who played in six games last year. Muema in those six games rushed for 253 yards(6.0 YPC) with three touchdowns. Backing him up is Walter Kazee who in nine games ran for 339 yards(4.6 YPC) with four touchdowns. The Aztecs have ready guys to replace Hillman and they feel like they have a ready guy to replace Lindley as he is a familiar face.

The starting quarterback will be former Oregon State Beavers quarterback Ryan Katz. Katz as a sophomore in 2010 had a solid first year as a starter. Katz threw for 2,401 yards(6.8 YPA) while completing 213 of 355 passes(60.0%) for 18 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. Katz struggled in the famous loss to Sacramento State and after hardly playing against Wisconsin the following week his Oregon State career was over.

 Katz has faced the Washington Huskies before playing in a game back in 2010 which the Huskies won 35-34 in double overtime led by Jake Locker throwing five touchdown passes. In that game Katz struggled he was 17-31(54.8%) passing for 206 yards(6.6 YPA) with one touchdown but three costly interceptions. He also added a rushing touchdown in that game. The Huskies are a much different team than two years as only Desmond Trufant and Talia Crichton started that game who will start this Saturday. That game was also at Husky Stadium while this game will be played at Century Link. The Aztecs are a bowl team with some key offensive pieces back plus a Pac-12 caliber quarterback facing a defense who is starting a former walk-on at corner. The Aztecs offense will look to put up some points but will it be enough against this potent Huskies attack led by Keith Price?

The Huskies team will go where Keith Price takes them. Price is a quarterback very few teams can stop especially a mountain west type team. Last year Price completed 242-362(66.9%) of his passes for 3,063 yards(8.5 YPA) with 33 touchdowns(school record) to only 11 interceptions while rushing for three touchdowns. He was at his best in the 67-56 Alamo Bowl loss to Baylor. Going up against heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin III it was Price who stood out that day despite the loss. Price was 23-37(62.2%) passing for 438 yards(11.8 YPA) with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for 39 yards with three touchdowns. Price is hoping to build on that game and that season this year.

Price may have lost some weapons but he does return some key guys as well. His main target will be Kasen Williams who caught 36 passes for 427 yards(11.9 YPC) with six touchdowns which put him in a three-way tie for second place. He was also only a true freshman last season as he was a five star recruit coming out of high school. Another target Price will have is Austin Seferian-Jenkins who likeWillliams didn't disappoint as he was all pac-12 honorable mention for tight end. Seferian-Jenkins this past season caught 41 passes for 544 yards(13.3 YPC) with six touchdowns. He was also a five-star recruit true freshman last season. Price will also have two guys making their first career starts in their first career games as Huskies. The Huskies will also be having the debut of another heralded five-star recruit in Shaq Thompson.

Shaq Thompson will be making his highly anticipated debut for the Huskies. He is a five-star #1 safety in the nation and #3 player overall in the nation coming out of Sacramento California. He'll also play some offense as he ran for 1,134 yards with 15 touchdowns on only 120 carries as a senior. As a junior he ran for 1,882 yards with 25 touchdowns on 164 carries. He'll be a much added addition to the defense as well as the offense.

The Huskies are also starting four-star wide receiver Jaydon Mickens. Mickens is the 45th ranked receiver in the nation on scout and 11th ranked receiver in the nation on rivals. During his senior year Mickens was an all around athlete as he caught 32 passes for 558 yards(17.4 YPC) with seven touchdowns, he also ran the ball 82 times for 378 yards(4.61 YPC) with 13 touchdowns. He even attempted 32 passes on the year for 238 yards passing. The other starter is true freshman Kendyl Taylor who is a three-star recruit out of Arizona. During his senior year he caught 87 passes for 1,132 yards with 16 touchdowns. He also ran for 558 yards on 68 carries as he led his team to the state championship game where they lost snapping a 53 game winning streak. This Huskies recruiting class was pretty good as they were ranked for the third straight year but these three guys will be making their debuts in the starting role this Saturday.

The big question mark on offense this Saturday could be who replaces Chris Polk? Well for now not even Steve Sarkisian knows he has listed Jesse Callier and Bishop Sankey as co-starters. Callier as a freshman had 413 yards rushing (5.4 YPC) with 18 catches with 98 yards (5.4 YPC).  As a sophomore Callier battled injuries and thus his production fell off. Callier had just 260 yards rushing (5.5 YPC) with a touchdown. He had seven receptions for 65 yards and had 576 kickoff return yards.

While Sankey is a four star running back and 17th rated back in the 2011 class.  In his first season with the Huskies Sankey ran for 187 yards (6.7 YPC) with a touchdown. He also added six receptions and 134 yards in kickoff yards. With the Aztecs running a 3-3-5 nickel defense which is set up to stop the pass look for the Huskies to try and establish the run game. Many of their big passing plays came on play action passes which can only work if the run game is going. In short spurts both Callier and Sankey proved they can get the job done. Now there is no more Chris Polk to bail them out we'll see how these two can handle the work load. Those questions will be answered tomorrow in the first game in the post Chris Polk era. I think the Huskies are in good shape with these two plus others like Kevin Smith, Mickens and Thompson who will add to the running game.

The Washington Huskies look to win their second straight season opening game for the first time since the 2006 and 2007 seasons. The Huskies also look to win their third straight home opener since winning four straight from 2000-03. The Huskies are favored by 14.5 points and should win this game without needing some sort of miracle like last season. I think Sarkisian has learned his lesson from the Eastern Washington game as he dialed back the offensive playbook quite a bit which almost cost him. I think the Huskies will treat this game like any other game so look for them to pull out all the stops. The Huskies are 1-1 all-time at Century Link Field will take the field against a hungry Aztecs team as both teams are coming off bowl seasons. If the Huskies hope to continue to grow as a program they will take care of business as they prepare for a tough match up the following week at LSU. For now the Huskies hope to start the season off 1-0 for the second straight year and give their fans a victory to open the season for a third straight year.

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.