Super Bowl Update

By Kshell

The Seattle Seahawks recent 19-13 loss to the St.Louis Rams has caused a quarterback controversy. Rookie quarterback Russell Wilson struggled as he threw three interceptions in the loss to the Rams. For the fourth straight week Wilson has thrown for under 200 yards as well. The Seahawks currently have the #1 rushing attack in the NFL, the #2 defense and are just 2-2 because their passing offense ranks last. For third year head coach Pete Carroll is facing an uncomfortable quaterback controversy. Sitting behind Wilson is Matt Flynn who the Seahawks had signed to be their starting quarterback. Due to Wilson's preseason play and perhaps Flynn's sore elbow Carroll decided to go with Wilson to start this year. Now in this following post I'll go over what each quarterback brings to the table while also acknowledging each quarterbacks flaws. I also talk about how the play calling regardless of who is quarterback must improve. As well as I bring up another quarterback controversy that almost sank a franchise quarterback and his third year head coach.

Russell Wilson the current starting quarterback is struggling this year. He is 60-100(60.0%) passing for 594 yards(5.9 YPA) with four touchdowns and four interceptions. His quarterback rating is 73.5 and has 80 yards rushing. Wilson has been hurt by poor wide receiver play and terrible play calling by Darrell Bevell. Wilson brings good intangibles to the table and appears to be the future in Seattle. However, he gets flushed too much when he faces a blitz and can't seem to locate his men down field. His size is hurting him and thus the Seahawks. He has a good running game as Marshawn Lynch this year has ran for 423 yards(4.6 YPC) in four games with two touchdown. He is supported by a great defense which constantly gives him good field position yet the Seahawks are averaging just 17.5 points per game. It's not all Wilson's fault but as quarterback he must shoulder some of the blame.

Matt Flynn was brought in to start for the Seahawks as he signed a 3 year 19 million dollar deal this offseason. During this preseason Flynn was 28-39(71.8%) passing for 204 yards(5.2 YPA) with one touchdown and one interception. His rating was 81.6 and he was hurt by a costly Terrell Owens dropped touchdown against Denver. He has proven he can play well in the NFL too as he had one big breakout game last season against the Detroit Lions where he was 31-44(70.5%) passing for 480 yards(10.9 YPA) with six touchdowns to just one interception. Flynn's rating for the game was 136.4 as he beat out Bart Starr, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers for most passing yards and touchdowns in a single game for Packers history.

The knock of Flynn is he has only started two games in his NFL career. He was a backup in college for three years and a backup in Green Bay for four seasons. Another knock on Flynn is that he isn't mobile so Wilson who avoids a lot of sacks might see Flynn get sacked. Flynn also had a better supporting cast in his tune up games with Green Bay than he will in Seattle. Flynn currently has a "sore elbow" which is still debatable if true or not. However it was sore enough for him to miss a preseason start which allowed Wilson to start to begin with. The main knock against Flynn is that nobody outside of Seattle wanted him this past offseason. Mike Holmgren of the Cleveland Browns passed on him to draft Brandon Weeden. His old offensive coordinator in Green Bay Joe Philbin became the head coach for the Miami Dolphins who needed a quarterback. The Dolphins passed on Flynn as well which should be a red flag. Bottom line is regardless of who Carroll chooses the play calling must improve as both quarterbacks are inexperienced right now.

In 2001 then third year head coach Mike Holmgren brought in Matt Hasselbeck to his starting quarterback of the future. Hasselbeck was completely unproven as he had only attempted 29 passes in his career prior to being traded to Seattle. The Baltimore Ravens had just released super bowl winning quarterback Trent Dilfer to back up Hasselbeck. That is where the problems began as the Seahawks hada playoff roster that year but Hasselbeck simply wasn't ready. The Seahawks had gone 9-7 that year but were 5-7 in Hasselbeck's starts while going 4-0 in Dilfers.

Hasselbeck that year was 176-321(54.8%) passing for 2,023 yards(6.3 YPA) with seven touchdowns to eight interceptions with a quarterback rating of 70.9. While Dilfer was 73-122(59.8%) passing for 1,014 yards(8.3 YPA) with seven touchdowns to four interceptions good for a quarterback rating of 92.0. The Seahawks missed the playoffs by one game losing two close games when Hasselbeck had started. Holmgren benched Hasselbeck to end the year and the city had turned on Hasselbeck as the franchise decided to go with Dilfer. Hasselbeck was public enemy #1 in Seattle as the sports were doing well with the Mariners winning 116 games and the Huskies coming off of a Rose Bowl championship season.

The following season Dilfer was named starting quarterback. He would immediately get hurt in the first preseason game(first game at Seahawks stadium) and Hasselbeck would come in to a shower of boo's. The fans wanted Dilfer and wanted Hasselbeck gone. Holmgren now in year four was running on thin ice with this franchise as well as he was only 24-24 after three seasons. His decision to go with Hasselbeck cost the Seahawks the playoffs in 2001 and the fans didn't forgive either guy.

Well in 2002 in the middle of the season Dilfer got hurt so the franchise had no choice but to go with Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck played well down the stretch as the Seahawks went from 4-9 to 7-9 saving Holmgren's job. The following year Hasselbeck was the guy but whenever he struggled you still had that small contingent of fans yelling at the games "put in Dilfer". Hasselbeck would lead the Seahawks to the playoffs in 2003 and 2004. When the Seahawks traded Dilfer after 2004 the quarterback controversy was forever gone. Hasselbeck could relax and led the franchise to the Super Bowl in 2005. His jersey was the most popular jersey in the city as he was the most popular athlete in the city. Holmgren of course ended up winning four straight division titles from 2004-07. I feel like fans forgot that chapter in the Holmgren/Hasselbeck era of Seattle sports.

I think Carroll should make the switch to Flynn. He was brought in to start at quarterback and played well enough in preseason to not lose his job. I think Flynn can handle the pressure better than Wilson as he can see downfield more. He proved on his deep pass to Terrell Owens he can crank up a deep throw. I also fear Wilson is headed towards the Hasselbeck path of 2001-02 where the fans start to turn on him. This team has the #2 defense and #1 rushing attack. This is a playoff team and this fan base is starving for wins. I would hate for Wilson's career to be ruined before it even begins. Hasselbeck got lucky in that Dilfer was injured or who knows how his career in Seattle turns out? You can't expect that to happen again. I think you go with Flynn and see what he can bring to the table as Wilson learns. I'm not writing off Wilson but he is a rookie and I felt when he was drafted he'd compete with Flynn for the job in the second year not his first year.

Regardless of who is the quarterback this entire offense needs to improve. Doesn't matter if Flynn starts over Wilson if they continue to get stupid penalties that kills drives, dropping passes or not running Lynch on third and shorts. I'd also like to see the offense throw short safe passes on first down to get the quarterback in rhythm, The Seahawks face a four game stretch where they will be underdogs in all four games and a coach who is 16-20 right now can't afford to drop to 2-6 in year three. I think Flynn gives you the best chance right now while also helping your future with Wilson developing behind him. I don't want the city to turn on Wilson as that is my fear after this game. I also think Flynn could make a few more plays than Wilson which given that the Seahawks two losses were both close that could be enough. This is a difficult decision for Carroll who has yet to find a quarterback since getting rid of Matt Hasselbeck. Either way whoever the quarterback is the Seahawks must help him out or it won't matter who the quarterback is.

By Kshell

Last week I wrote a piece on how only elite quarterbacks win in the NFL and how the Seahawks right now don't have that quarterback. The Seahawks are left with three choices this offseason which is to sign Matt Flynn who the Green Bay Packers announced they won't franchise, take a risk on Peyton Manning or draft a quarterback. In this piece I'll explore in my opinion the best option which is going hard after Matt Flynn. Just like with the other two options Flynn can offer up a high ceiling but can also blow up in the Seahawks face. I personally feel Flynn is the safest option. I don't know if he is a future hall of famer but I would guarantee he'll play in a few pro bowls with the Seahawks. Despite making only two career starts in the NFL(both were great) Flynn is in high demand as the Seahawks will be competing with the Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins and a few more teams for his services.

What has teams excited about Flynn is what he did in those two starts specifically his last start against the Detroit Lions in the last week of the season. For his career Flynn has completed 82 of 132(62.1%) passes for 1,015 yards(7.7 YPA) with nine touchdowns to just five interceptions. He has a quarterback rating of 92.8 for his career. The former seventh round pick from LSU has been backing up Aaron Rodgers for the past four years. After playing well in his first career start last year at New England this year Flynn really got everyone excited after his week 17 pefromance against the Detroit Lions. In that game the Packers defeated the playoff bound Lions 45-41 as Flynn completed 31-44(70.5%) passes for 480 yards(10.9 YPA) with six touchdowns to just one interception. Flynn's rating for the game was 136.4 as he beat out Bart Starr, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers for most passing yards and touchdowns in a single game for Packers history. Flynn has proven in his limited playing time that he is capable of producing at the NFL level. The Seahawks have also had a good history with quarterbacks from the Packers system in years past as well.

Back in 2000 the Seahawks were in a similar situation trying to find a quarterback. That is when Mike Holmgren made the risky move by trading for Matt Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck who had only completed 13-29 passes for 145 yards with two touchdowns as he was Brett Favre's backup with the Packers. The Hasselbeck move backfired on Holmgren at first as he struggled in 2001 and 2002 losing his job to Trent Dilfer. Towards the end of 2002 Hasselbeck finally started to reward Holmgren's faith and he carried that into 2003 with a pro bowl season and leading the Seahawks to the playoffs for the first time in four years. Hasselbeck would lead the Seahawks to the playoffs five straight years and six out of eight seasons. Hasselbeck went on to play in three pro bowls including the Super Bowl in 2005. When it was all said and done nobody was laughing at Holmgren for making the risky move of acquiring the unknown backup quarterback from Green Bay. Holmgren didn't just randomly go after a backup quarterback like Pete Carroll had done with Charlie Whitehurst. Holmgren drafted Hasselbeck in Green Bay in 1998 in the sixth round. Holmgren knew who his quarterback was when he traded for him. Just like the Seahawks are now in a similar situation in their current front office.

The Seahawks current general manager John Schneider comes from the Packers organization and was part of drafting Matt Flynn from LSU. Flynn only started one year at  LSU but that year he won a national championship that year. Despite that he was only a seventh round pick. If the Seahawks decide Flynn is the guy you have to like the fact that Schneider like Holgmren with Hasselbeck knows this player first hand. Schneider has had a good track record on players so far and if he feels Flynn is the guy I trust that decision. Carroll knows the Seahawks need a quarterback as they had five guys make the pro bowl but only went 7-9. Flynn could be the answer the Seahawks are looking for at the quarterback position. Flynn may be inexperienced but has proven in limited time he can be a successful quarterback in the NFL. Schneider has already drafted two pro bowlers, signed an unknown as a pro bowler while trading for another pro bowler. Schneider has proven track record in his short time in Seattle and if he feels Flynn is the right guy then so do I.

The Seahawks have three options this offseason on the quarterback position and I've answered one of them. I'm sold on going after Matt Flynn as I think he can be another Matt Hasselbeck for this franchise. He can be that guy who leads the Seahawks to the playoffs for consecutive years just like Hasselbeck did. Can Flynn lead the Seahawks to the ultimate prize? Perhaps. He could end up being like a Roethlisberger or Eli Manning where he is a lower tier on the elite scale. If the Seahawks sign Flynn remember the guy who is signing him knows him first hand as he drafted him in Green Bay. That has to have Seahawk fans happy knowing that. Signing Flynn is a risk but in this league you have to take risks to win titles and I believe Flynn can be that guy.

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.

By Kshell

This week the Seattle Seahawks(0-1) take on the Pittsburgh Steelers(0-1) in a week two NFL matchup. For most NFL fans this is just a normal matchup that has a team in rebuilding mode traveling to Pittsburgh to take on the defending AFC Champions. For Seahawks fans though this is a revenge game from Super Bowl XL when the Steelers won 21-10 over the Seahawks. To make this game even more interesting is that Bill Levy will be the head ref of this week two contest. He was the head official in that Super Bowl XL game. If you've read any homer Seahawks fan(Big Lo) this has been brought up. The fans are already convinced he is out to screw the Seahawks once again this week. Now in this following post I'll explain five reasons you can't blame the refs for the Seahawks losing Super Bowl XL.

Now before I go into the five reasons let's examine those poor calls. Not to mention all the little calls the Steelers appeared to get away with there was four major calls that went against the Seahawks. The first call was the offensive pass interference on Darrell Jackson which wiped out a Seahawks touchdown. Jackson did appear to push off but it was a ticky tack call. The Seahawks had to settle for three points on that instead of the seven they wanted. The second missed call was on the Ben Roethlisberger one yard touchdown run. Roethlisberger even admitted on Dave Letterman that he didn't score but what isn't brought up is that was third and goal from the one yard line. Good chance the Steelers go for it on fourth and goal from the one. The third questionable call was the hold on Sean Locklear which nullified a completion to Jerramy Stevens down to the Steelers one yard line. The hold was very questionable but again in football there are no guarantees. You see teams fail to score from the one yard line quite a bit and even if the Seahawks do score there they are up 17-14 with around 10 minutes left in the game. Hasselbeck would throw an interception on the following play instead of overcoming that call. On the fourth call which was a bad call Hasselbeck was called for a tackle below the waste which is legal. What is lost in all that is that missed call didn't affect anything. So yes there was some missed calls and questionable calls in that game which a good team would have overcame. The Seahawks didn't overcome the Steelers that game for five reasons which I'm going to list.

5. Josh Brown missed two field goals.


During the game the Seahawks kicker Josh Brown missed two field goals. Now Brown's misses were of 54 and 50 yards which aren't chip shots at all. Still these kicks were in a dome and had Brown made his kicks the Seahawks would have trailed 21-16 going into their final drive which would have been for the win. In the NFL every point adds up. If Brown could have made those first half kicks that could have built the Seahawks lead where the Steelers would start to press a little bit. Not blaming the game on Brown but he's had better days during his time with the Seahawks that is for sure.


4. Darrell Jackson ran horrible routes which cost the Seahawks 11 points.

The Seahawks big play receiver Darrell Jackson during his career with the Seahawks was the defination of a system receiver. He ran horrible routes during his time with the Seahawks and had terrible hands. The Seahawks had a touchdown called back due to Jackson pushing off the Steelers defender. It was unnecessary to do that as well. Hasselbeck delivered a nice pass to Jackson who simply decided to push off as the Seahawks had to settle for three points. Then right before halftime the picture I have is of Jackson attempting to catch a long bomb. As you can see he has the catch but he had zero sideline awareness as he didn't drag that second foot. The following season same thing happened in the Dallas Cowboys  playoff game and announcer John Madden said "It's amazing how I see Jackson and a year later he is still running horrible routes right on the sidelines giving his quarterback no chance to complete that pass ". Jackson's poor route running cost the Seahawks 11 points and seeing how they lost by just 11 points those were huge.


3. Mike Holmgren didn't feature league MVP Shaun Alexander as much as he should have.

During the 2005 season the Seahawks had the best record in the NFC at 13-3. The Seahawks also had two all-pro offensive lineman in Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson. The Seahawks featured Mack Strong who was also first-team all-pro as well as pro bowl center Robbie Tobeck. Behind those great blockers Shaun Alexander in a contract year was a man who couldn't be stopped. Alexander that season rushed for 1,880 yards(5.1 YPC) for an NFL record 27 rushing touchdowns.  During the NFC championship game win over the Carolina Panthers Alexander ran for a playoff franchise record 132 yards with two touchdowns.

That is why everyone was surprised that Alexander had just 95 yards on only 20 carries. It wasn't like he was being shut down as he was averaging 4.8 YPC during that game. Instead the Seahawks threw the ball 49 times with Matt Hasselbeck when the game was a one possession game throughout the entire contest. Mike Holmgren  in some of the Seahawks big playoff losses and regular season losses would forget about the running game. Hasselbeck is a good quarterback but the games where he is asked to carry the team the Seahawks usually lost those games. If Holmgren pounds Alexander instead of blaming the refs Alexander would have been Super Bowl MVP instead of hated on by the Seahawks fan base.


2. Jerramy Stevens opens up mouth but couldn't hang onto the ball.

Heading into the Super Bowl Seahawks tight end Jerramy Stevens had a war of words with Steelers outside linebacker Joey Porter(thanks to Walter Jones was a non factor). During the Super Bowl game Stevens was costly to his team dropping at least four passes during that game. Stevens may be the only Seahawk who has ever scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl but he also stalled plenty of Seahawks drives. During the 2003 and 2004 seasons the Seahawks had a problem with dropped passes which cost them big games. This game was no different with Stevens drops. If Stevens had played like he had all season long(his only good season) there is no blaming of the refs. Instead the Seahawks are remembering what a great season they had. That game appeared to have affected Stevens as the following year the Seahawks fans turned on him booing him and he simply was never the same player. Stevens proved that it's one thing to talk crap but it takes a real player to back it up. Stevens failed to back up his war of the words and it cost the Seahawks the Super Bowl win.


1. Seahawks were missing two key safeties during the game.

Earlier in the season the Seahawks had crushed the Houston Texans on Sunday Night football 42-10 to improve to 4-2 on the season. Later that night starting free safety Ken Hamlin who was at a night club(in the wrong part of town) decided to pick a fight with some other guys at the bar. There was a huge brawl and when the dust had settled Hamlin was knocked unconcious. Hamlin was lucky to have survived his act of stupidity but was out for the remaining of the season.

Filling in for Hamlin was safety Marquand Manuel who had played great in replacing Hamlin during the season. He would play so well the Green Bay Packers the following offseason would grossly overpay for him. During the game Manuel would end up pulling a hamstring and would have to miss the rest of the game. He was replaced by what should have been third string safety Etric Pruitt who was exposed as was fellow safety Michael Boulware. The Seahawks would allow the longest run in super bowl history when Willie Parker would open up the second half with a 75 yard touchdown run. Boulware would whiff on the tackle while Pruitt took a terrible angle on the play. Earlier in the game on a third and 30 Roethlisberger would complete the pass setting up their first touchdown because the safety play allowed the receiver to get behind them. Then the dagger of the game with the Steelers up 14-10 the Steelers did a reverse touchdown pass to Hines Ward for a 43 yard touchdown. Neither safety was in sight as Ward had blown past Marcus Trufant for the touchdown to go up 21-10.

In conclusion, that is a shame the NFL is having Bill Levy ref this game because it showed the NFL how idiotic some of our fans can be. The officiating in that game was pretty bad but as I pointed out with better execution the Seahawks walk away hoisting the Lombardi trophy. Some fans just love to live in denial but they don't realize they give the Seahawks a bad name. You'll hear words like "revenge" this week but with both teams making so many changes it's just another game. The Super Bowl loss will always haunt this franchise but I feel like the Seahawks fans aren't look at the whole picture. Instead of making excuses remember the Seahawks didn't play well enough to win that game. This sunday when Levy throws his first flag on the Seahawks I'm sure homers will be complaining but keep in mind there are always other factors that dictate an NFL game. That loss still hurts but the Seahawks lost for more reasons besides the officiating. The Seahawks take on the Steelers this week hopefully win or lose fans can simply accept the outcome without having to make excuses.

By Kshell

The Seahawks led by Pete Carroll take on the San Francisco 49ers this sunday down in San Francisco. This will be the second straight season that the Seahawks open their season with the 49ers. The Seahawks are 6-3 since moving to the NFC in their openers. The Seahawks are led by the new face of their franchise safety Earl Thomas who appears to be the only jersey that is safe to buy nowadays. The Seahawks are also opening up with a new era of quarterback play with Tarvaris Jackson making the start. This will be the first time since 2000 when Jon Kitna started against the Miami Dolphins that Matt Hasselbeck won't be starting for the Seahawks. The Seahawks are a team in transition heading into this opener against the 49ers just like last season. What I'll do in this following post is I'll bring up the Seahawks history in season opening games.

I'll start with last years season opening win over the 49ers. You can read more in depth about the win by clicking on this link . The Seahawks were expected to do horribly last season while the 49ers were predicted by many to win the division. The Seahawks were being dominated in the first quarter and a half trailing only 6-0 as the 49ers had to settle for two field goals and were stuffed on a fourth and goal. The Seahawks finally scored when Matt Hasselbeck after hitting Mike Williams with a long pass scored on a one yard quarterback keeper. Then shortly after that Jordan Babineaux intercepted an Alex Smith pass which set up a Hasselbeck touchdown pass to Deon Butler. To start the third quarter Marcus Trufant then intercepted Smith's pass and went for a 32 yard touchdown to give the Seahawks a commanding 21-6 lead.  Hasselbeck would later hit Deion Branch for a three yard touchdown to go up 28-6. The Seahawks would win 31-6 as Hasselbeck would go 18-23 for 170 yards passing with two touchdowns and another one rushing. The Seahawks had began the Pete Carroll era with a win. Prior to Carroll only the coach he replaced Jim Mora Jr. the year before had won his first season opening game which the Seahawks shutout the Rams 28-0.

The Seahawks as a franchise begin in 1976 and in that year they played their first ever game at home against the St.Louis Cardinals. The Seahawks at first played like an expansion team as they trailed to the Cardinals 23-3. Jim Zorn would then start the comeback as he would hit Sam McCullum for a 15 yard touchdown to pull within 23-10. That was also the first touchdown in Seahawks franchise history. After allowing another touchdown the Seahawks were trailing 30-10. Zorn then hit McCullum for a 72 yard touchdown bombs to pull within 30-17. Zorn on the following drive scored on an eight yard touchdown run to pull within 30-24. The comeback would stop just short as the Seahawks would fall 30-24. Zorn would finish the game 17 of 37 passing for 292 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He would also rush for 26 yards with a touchdown. McCullum finished with four receptions for 112 yards with two touchdowns. Hall of Fame wide receiver Steve Largent finished with five receptions for 86 yards as well.

The Seahawks would lose their first eight season openers including losing all four at home in the 1970's. In 1983 at Kansas City the Seahawks had highly drafted running back Curt Warner take his very first career of his NFL career for a 60 yard touchdown. The Seahawks would lose that game and would have to wait until 1984. The Seahawks were playing at home to the Cleveland Browns and because of a scheduling conflict with the Seattle Mariners the Seahawks were playing on a Monday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. Most of the fans were at work and the game wasn't on t.v. The Seahawks would destroy the Browns 33-0 as they were building from the momentum of their AFC Championship game appearance from the year before. In that game though the Seahawks would lose second year running back Warner for the season. That year the Seahawks would go 12-4 but lose to Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins in the second round of the playoffs.

The Seahawks as a franchise have struggled in season openers. In the 1970's the Seahawks went 0-4, in the 1980's went 4-6 and in the 1990's went 2-8. The Seahawks are 13-22 all-time on season openers and 6-10 at home with 7-12 on the road. Then everything changed with the Matt Hasselbeck era. Hasselbeck went 7-3 in season opening games including 4-0 at home. Mike Holmgren was 5-5 in season opening games but began his career 1-3. In 2003 the Seahawks blew out the New Orleans Saints 27-10 which includes a famous knockout by rookie safety Ken Hamlin. The Seahawks were led by Shaun Alexander as he ran for 108 yards with a touchdown while catching another touchdown. Hasselbeck completed 12 of 23 passes for 137 yards with two touchdowns. That was the start of the Seahawks making five straight playoff appearances and winning six of their next eight season opening games.

In conclusion, the Seahawks haven't had the best history of season openers but lately they are 6-2(.750) which is good to know.  The season opener is pretty important as of 1990 only 24% of week one losing teams have made the playoffs. In years the Seahawks have made the playoffs they are 7-4 in season openers but did lose in 2005 the year they made the Super Bowl. The season is almost here and hopefully this Sunday can add to the list of many great Seahawks openers in the past. This is a divisional game against another team many expect to do poorly. Hopefull Jackson can light it up by hitting Mike Williams early and often. Carroll is 13-1 in season openers dating to his NFL and college days. Carroll will be looking to gain some revenge on Jim Harbaugh as he makes his 49ers debut down in San Francisco. The Seahawks open the season this Sunday and I'm sure everyone who is tired of watching the Mariners sucking are excited!