Super Bowl Update

By Kshell

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!