Wrangling Chiefs will prove difficult for Seahawks

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, many birds across America will be cooked and carved by household chefs. Based off of Sunday's loss to the New Orleans Saints, the carving came early for Seattle's birds.

Saints' unofficial head chef, quarterback Drew Brees, sliced and diced the Seahawks defense, showing no mercy towards the birds just like the rest of America will tomorrow. Brees was unstoppable, throwing for 382 yards with four touchdowns. Seattle's secondary didn't stand a chance against a high-flying air show like New Orleans.

Fortunately this week the Seahawks host the run-happy Kansas City Chiefs; a task Seattle is better fit to handle.

The Chiefs' rushing attack is dynamic and relentless. The combination of ankle breaker and heart stopper, Jamaal Charles, and straight forward bulldozer, Thomas Jones, combine to lead the NFL in rushing yards at 165 yards per game.

Charles is the NFL's next stud player yet to be exposed by the national media. The third-year runningback out of University of Texas produces stats that make you scratch your head and simultaneously drop your jaw in amazement.

Feast your eyes on this: the NFL's leading rusher, Houston's Arian Foster, has rushed 194 times for 1,004 yards. Charles has rushed 139 times for 848 yards, good for seventh in yards amongst all runningbacks. The other backs in the top ten in rushing yards have at least 40 more attempts than Charles. He averages 6.1 yards per carry. Insanity, I tell you.

The bottomline is that if the Chiefs coaching staff didn't force Charles to share carries with Jones, he would easily lead the NFL in rushing. The Seahawks better wrap up on their tackles this week, otherwise it is going to be a wild day at Qwest.

Quarterback Matt Cassel manages the game with passes between Kansas City's weapon of choice, stealing a defense's soul through endless rush attempts. Cassel is not required for a Chiefs win but occasionally he will show up and shock your defense by hooking up with his favorite toy, wide receiver Dwayne Bowe.

Currently, Bowe ranks 33rd in receptions with 45 but he has an NFL leading, 11 receiving touchdowns. Similar to Charles, Bowe is a physical specimen that doesn't need the ball consistently to produce eye-popping stats. Bowe reminds me of Seattle's Mike Williams. Both players stand tall above their defenders and come up big when called upon.

Speaking of Williams, he is questionable for Sunday's game because of a left foot injury. If Williams is out, the Seahawks need big things from receivers Deon Butler and Ben Obomanu. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is playing like a man on fire right now so hopefully it won't matter who is on the receiving end of his passes.

In order for the hot passing to continue, Seattle's offensive line must control the Chiefs' defensive pressure. Left tackle Russell Okung, is finally starting his second-consecutive game. Okung starting is a huge positive for Hasselbeck and the Seattle offense.

The Chiefs are a young team that hasn't learned to win away from Arrowhead Stadium. The Seahawks run defense must resurrect themselves and stomp out Kansas City's rushing attack. If they keep Charles and Jones to a combined 100 yards, they have a shot for a much needed victory in front of the win-hungry 12th Man.

Hawks must play to their strengths in New Orleans

Pete Carroll and the boys will have their hands full tomorrow in the bayou, this much is sure. What isn't sure is how the Seattle Seahawks will handle New Orleans high-octane passing attack.

The simple answer would be for the Seahawks defense to play the pass. Upon further thought of that game plan, it sounds less smart than it first appears.

When you look deeper at what the strengths and weaknesses of both Saints and Seahawks are, it becomes clear that Seattle does have advantages in their clash with the defending champs. The odds are stacked against the (5-4) Seahawks but they have a shot at knocking off the (6-3) Saints on the road.

At first glance, Seattle already seems to be a lock for a loss against the talented Saints in New Orleans. The Saints rank fifth in the NFL with 276 passing yards per game, riding the arm of the unflappable, Drew Brees. Their passing defense is even better. The Saints secondary allows an NFL low, 166 yards passing per game.

Those are not the numbers Seahawks fans want to see, but there is a silver lining. The Seahawks don't really pass that well anyway, averaging 200 yards a game. Yes, Hasselbeck dominated the Cardinals last week, but lets not kid ourselves people, Seattle is not a threat down-field on a weekly basis.

Coach Carroll's game plan for New Orleans should be to control the clock and win the time of possession battle. Hence, Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett need the ball, often. The Saints' defense allows an average of 110 yards on the ground every week. This is their most glaring weakness. Seattle's runningbacks must abuse that fact.

Similarly, the Seahawks are allowing 104 rushing yards/game but that stat doesn't truly reflect how great Seattle has played against opposing runningbacks. That unit shut down many good runningbacks for the first five weeks. Lately, the Seahawks defensive line has been riddled with injuries. Defensive tackle, Colin Cole, is still out with an ankle injury. Cole's battery mate, Brandon Mebane, is active and will make his mark on the Saints rushing attack, as will the healthy linebacking core of Hawthorne, Tatupu and Curry.

The Saints rushing attack gets a boost this week with the return of the dynamic Reggie Bush. Coming off a broken fibula, Bush shouldn't be at his best which will give the Seahawks a chance at locking up half of the Saints' offense. With New Orleans offense you need to pick a side to defend. As scary as it sounds, Seattle has to force Brees to pass.

Keep the ball out of Brees' hands and the Hawks might get their third(?!) road victory this season.

Seattle explodes on Arizona

There were many moments in yesterday's victory 36-18 over the Arizona Cardinals that summarize the Seattle Seahawks rollercoaster season so far. Injured or not, Seattle players continually show the will to win.

Wide receiver Mike Williams and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck were feeling it all game Sunday. Hasselbeck threw for 333 yards and one touchdown, while Williams caught eleven balls for 145 yards. Both players deserve the game ball for their outstanding performances. They also share a unique story about redemption.

Hasselbeck made a triumphant return to the playing field yesterday, twice. The Seattle Seahawks quarterback first returned to the starting lineup Sunday afternoon after missing last week's slaughtering at the hands of the New York Giants. Then after a great first half by Hasselbeck, he hurt his non-throwing hand right before halftime.

That injury meant the much maligned Charlie Whitehurst was once again thrust into the starting role. Just four plays after, Whitehurst promptly threw a pass to the guys in red. Thankfully, the Seahawks defense held up and forced Arizona to punt.

Whitehurst played one more series while Hasselbeck returned from the locker room and warmed up on the sideline. The Seahawks survived that series and Hasselbeck made his second dramatic entrance onto the field much to the Cardinals dismay.

Speaking of breaking hearts, Mike Williams haunted the Cardinals' secondary all game. Even if the 6'5 receiver looked covered, he wasn't. He reached for balls and contorted his body to ensure only he would catch the pass.

With performances like that, Williams is in line for the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award. Before Seahawks head coach, Pete Carroll, took a chance on his former USC star, Williams was known to be an utter failure. He was drafted very high in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft because of his dominance in college under then USC coach, Carroll.

Williams caught an unbelievably low, 44 balls in his time before joining Seattle. With Seattle this season, he has 46 catches. The most ridiculous part to this return to greatness is the fact that he did not play in the NFL for the last two years, gaining 50 pounds during that hiatus.

Today, Williams looks like the future. I can't honestly remember the last time the Seahawks had a legitimate number one receiver. Pair him with him with other studs in their prime, runningbacks Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett, and you have a solid offensive base for the future.

The future at quarterback is definitely not Hasselbeck but this much is sure, he is the man right now. Hasselbeck haters better be quiet after yesterday's vintage performance on the road.

Sunday's road victory is vital to Seattle's mentality as they prepare for the defending Super Bowl champs, the New Orleans Saints. Arizona's quarterback Derek Anderson, can't hold New Orleans' quarterback Drew Brees' jock. Thus, the Seahawks secondary needs to make the plays that they failed to do in Scottsdale if they expect to hang with the champs.

Time for Carroll to make his mark

The first time these teams met, the play of both teams was hideous. Six turnovers combined low-lighted the scrum for NFC West supremacy.

The battle of the birds continues this Sunday down in Arizona as the (4-4) Seattle Seahawks take on the (3-5) Cardinals. Both teams haven't won since their meeting three weeks ago at Qwest Field.

The Seahawks have been blown out two weeks straight, 33-3 at Oakland and 41-7 against New York. Meanwhile the Cardinals have scored 59 points combined in their two losses since Seattle. Both losses were by a mere three points to Minnesota and Tampa Bay.

A loss is a loss, but I'd much rather lose like Arizona than Seattle. The Seahawks aren't even putting up a fight. To win in the NFL you need leadership first and foremost. This team needs it's coaching staff to make an imprint. The players aren't the only problem. The offensive scheme is terrible.

Coaching aside, Seattle's chances soar now that they get their field general back. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck returns from the concussion he suffered at Oakland. Hasselbeck alone gives Seattle the mental intangibles to win. He has proven for many years that he has the ability to will a team to victory but this season has shown to be his most difficult task yet.

The offensive line is supposed to be a quarterback's piece of mind in the sense that he doesn't need to worry about them. Hasselbeck does not have that luxury anymore. His line is bruised and battered. Head coach Pete Carroll has been forced to mix and match free agent offensive linemen seemingly every week this season. The ever-changing unit has impressed at times but overall it is truly a mess.

The Seahawks defense gets a boost up the gut this weekend with the return of Brandon Mebane. The Seahawks' stud defensive tackle missed the last four games with a calf injury. His return is helpful but not the answer. Fellow tackle Colin Cole is still out and defensive end Red Bryant is on injured reserve for the season.

Seattle proved in Chicago a month ago that they can win on the road. The Seahawks were healthy that weekend and it showed. Left tackle Russell Okung dominated that game and so did the Hawks. Seattle's defense was ferocious, relentless and healthy. This Sunday, Okung's playing status is questionable and the defense is hurting.

This team needs to dig deep and play like men. Coach Carroll has to conjure up the fire that took USC to such great heights. Come on Hawks, show us the will to win.

Earn everything. Always compete. Right Pete?

Mariners lose their voice, Niehaus dead at 75

As far as Seattle is concerned, Dave Niehaus was baseball. If his warm voice was filtering through the A.M. static you knew it was summer and you were going to hear some stories.

Baseball is a unique sport to call as a play-by-play announcer. Baseball is a game of patience with many moments between the action. Those moments are filled by color commentary so the listener stays focused but necessarily on the game at hand.

Many times the words spoken between pitches are of stories about baseball's rich history or better yet, first-hand experiences by the radio announcer. Mr. Niehaus wielded the ability of words and story telling. Unfortunately for Seattle and baseball fans everywhere, Niehaus passed away yesterday at the age of 75.

The best way I can express my love for Niehaus is the undeniable chills that course through my veins when I hear one of his famous calls replayed. The best call of all-time is the Mariners game winning double that rocketed that amazing 1995 team past the New York Yankees and into the next playoff round.

"'The '95 call "

Reliving that franchise defining play arouses an incredible feeling, a feeling that reminds me why baseball has always been America's past-time. Baseball is notorious for being slow developing and hard to watch, especially on television. But when the right voice is calling the game, those negatives disappear.

I think every baseball fan should experience a radio broadcast of a major league game. There is nothing like sitting in your backyard on a humid summer night listening to a legend like Niehaus call a game. It is classic Americana.

Niehaus is irreplaceable and the Mariners know that. On behalf of all Mariner fans, we will miss you Dave.

Here's hoping you fly, fly away, to that great baseball diamond in the sky.

LeBron's passing is "Magic"

The endless summer of hype surrounding LeBron James' exodus to South Beach is over. Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and James are expected to set the bar for wins and exotic nightly stat lines. Now the Miami Heat just have to play. If only it was that simple.

The Heat began the 2010 season with a loss. The defending Eastern Conference champion, Boston Celtics, turned down the Heat in 88-80 victory on opening night. Can you believe it? Apparently you can't just roll the ball out on the court with all that talent and chalk up a win. The games must be played. The Heat opponents are going to give the Heat their best shot on a nightly basis.

For their first seven years in the NBA, James, Wade and Bosh have excelled on teams in which they each were the focal point. Now they must learn to share and compromise. That seems like a lot to ask of these ridicously talented players but no one is asking, it is a must.

Eight games into the season, the Miami Heat are 5-3 and fresh off an overtime loss to the Utah Jazz. This is hardly what the experts predicted but it's very obvious to this expert (yours truly) that the Heat are getting better each game because of a major change in LeBron's game.

For the Heat to consistently scorch opponents they must allow LeBron to run point. If you have ever watched LeBron, you can't help but notice he passes better than anyone in the game. Each assist is powerful and accurate. It reminds me of the way Peyton Manning operates. All Manning requires of his receivers is to be in the right place at the right time. If the receiver can get there, expect the ball to hit them in the chest.

LeBron is a "small" forward, standing 6'8 and 240 pounds. Typically, a small forward is a great shooter and slashes toward the hoop for easy points. But Miami already has that covered in the incomparable, Dwayne Wade. Basketball is all about spacing and I just don't see how LeBron, Wade and the seven-footer Bosh, can "fit" on the court together.

To combat this problem, Miami's coach, Erik Spoelstra, has LeBron bringing the ball up the court as if he is the starting point guard. In the last four games, LeBron has dropped 12, 10, 9, and 14 assists respectively. Magic Johnson anyone?

This change in LeBron's game is genius. It allows Wade to continue scoring at will and it frees up Bosh to post up whenever the matchup allows it. Now, no one is saying LeBron isn't getting his. Just because he passes more than he shoots doesn't mean he isn't scoring at will anymore. He is. Currently, he is averaging 20 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists.

These players all have gigantic egos and for this pairing of the titans to succeed, they each will compromise their previously unrivaled individual stat lines for unrivaled W's.

Giants quiet the 12th Man, stomp Seahawks

Has anyone seen the 12th Man?

They're about 67,000 strong, really passionate and were last seen entering Qwest Field yesterday afternoon. Authorities suspect the New York Giants stole their tongues late in the first quarter after Seattle gave up it's third touchdown.

Sunday's 41-7 thrashing at the hands of the Giants should be a wake-up call, eluding to the fact that Charlie Whitehurst is a bum. The Seahawks had no chance.

Whitehurst couldn't hit anyone with the ball, except for his two interceptions. His only touchdown pass came in the final minutes when Whitehurst connected with the usually irrelevant Ben Obomanu. It's hard to imagine how much worse Whitehurst could play if the game was on the road.

Coming into this game, the Seahawks were focused on forming an offensive line that could actually hold up for three to five seconds. Mission accomplished. That unit played very well together considering the Giants constant pressure by their freak athletes. The strangest stat of this game has to be the zero sacks allowed by either team.

Too bad the strong play of Seattle's line didn't boost Whitehurst's stock whatsoever. He should not start again for the Seahawks unless Hasselbeck remains concussed. Hasselbeck's status for this weekend is unknown.

The Giant's Eli Manning looked sharp in the first half. He threw three touchdowns and his shifty runningback, Ahmad Bradshaw, scored twice. As the second half wore on, the Giants continually handed their second and third-string runningbacks the ball until the clock ran out.

The 12th Man was so throughly embarrassed by the second quarter, that Qwest Field might as well have been the 18th hole of the Masters considering how quiet it was while the players worked.

Whitehurst and the Seahawks defense deserve a verbal beat down by head coach Pete Carroll for their effort Sunday. The NFC West may be open for the taking but Seattle isn't acting like they want anything but a high lottery pick in the 2011 draft.

Careful what you wish for Hawk fans...

Run for the hills! The tidal wave of inevitability is upon us!

Many Seahawk fans asked for it. Seattlites have yearned for the day Charlie Whitehurst replaced the face of Seahawks football, Matt Hasselbeck. At 1:15, Sunday afternoon, Whitehurst makes his first NFL start ever at quarterback against the New York Giants.

When Whitehurst steps onto the field he will have the 12th man on his side, until his first interception. He will need to hook-up with his under-used safety valve, tight end John Carlson. Who knows maybe Whitehurst can do what Hasselbeck couldn't, throw more than seven yards down the field at a time.

The scary part of this game is a Seattle make-shift offensive line versus a Giants defense that has literally knocked out three starting quarterbacks this season. The Seahawks offensive line is so bad and injured that it could make Peyton Manning look average, i.e., it might not matter who plays quarterback for Seattle

Just to clarify this drastic change by Pete Carroll, Hasselbeck suffered a concussion in last week's beating by the Oakland Raiders. I do not believe coach Carroll would start Whitehurst if Hasselbeck was healthy. Seattle is in the midst of a playoff push, is it not?

New York (5-2) comes into this game about as hot and rested a team could be. Quarterback Eli Manning is passing for high totals every game but is still susceptible to an interception on any given throw.

The Giants' runningbacks are Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. Bradshaw is the ankle-breaker always looking for the big play. Jacobs is a basically a bulldozer standing at 6'3, 24o pounds. Look for New York to pound the ball against the beat-up Seattle defensive line.

The Seahawks lost stud defensive end, Red Bryant, for the season earlier this week. Tackle Brandon Mebane hopes to return Sunday as does fellow tackle, Colin Cole. If those two play this weekend, the Seahawks have a shot at stuffing the run but if not, it's going to be ugly.

Manning has a stable of great young receivers lead by second-year wideout, Hakeem Nicks. Nicks leads the NFC with eight touchdowns. Seattle will be without cornerbacks Kelly Jennings and Walter Thurmond so expect Nicks to have a huge game.

A healthy Seahawks team could handle the ferocious Giants at Qwest but today the edge is surely on New York's side.

Durant, Thunder do it the right way, together

The front page of the Oklahoma City Thunder website states "Rise Together".

That mantra makes sense for a team so young and determined to succeed before they should. The Thunder player's average just under 25 years of age. That ranks third youngest in the League behind Minnesota and Memphis.

'Behind' is a relative word in this case. Minnesota and Memphis are far behind O.K.C. in many ways, but mainly in realistic chances to consistently beat great teams. The Thunder's best two players are both 22 years old.

Point guard, Russell Westbrook's stock is growing exponentially each season. Last season he averaged 16 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds per game. Through his first three games this season, Westbrook is averaging 22 pts., 7 asst., and 6 reb. per game.

Only an All-NBA First Team player could make Westbrook's numbers look less than amazing.

Enter small forward, Kevin Durant.

At 29 points per game, Durant leads the NBA in scoring this season. He doesn't seem to want to relent from last year's pace of 30 ppg. The reigning scoring champ Durant, has officially surpassed Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade and LeBron James as the League's best shooter.

In fact, Durant proved to the world that he is a force to reckoned with by leading the USA team to gold this summer. He was named MVP of the 2010 FIBA World Championship. The USA squad steamrolled the World's best teams, going 9-0. Pretty amazing stuff.

Back in America, the Thunder have a mighty tough task ahead of them. The NBA's Western Conference is stacked head to toe. Standing above the competition is the Los Angeles Lakers. This Lakers team is comprised of the one and only, 5-time NBA champion, Kobe Bryant and a bunch of great sidekicks.

Last June, Bryant and company knocked the rising Thunder out of their first playoff berth in Oklahoma City. The Lakers beat the Thunder 4-2 in the first round but the clinching sixth game was decided by one point. Needless to say, O.K.C. had a chance to oust the eventual champs.

Recently, Sport Illustrated approached Kevin Durant about being on the cover of S.I.'s October basketball issue. The magazine initially thought they would feature Durant and his best teammates, Westbrook and Jeff Green. Durant refused.

Instead, he requested that he be featured with less-known foreign players, Thabo Sefolosha and Nenad Kristic or he wouldn't do it. So S.I. conceded and granted Durant's selfless wish to showcase his unknown teammates.

As the inexperienced Thunder learn the only true way, trial by fire; they continue to build towards a ever-brightening future, together.

Halloween in Oakland was a freaky as it sounds for Seattle

It was all trick and no treat for the Seattle Seahawks blowout loss in Oakland.

Halloween in Oakland is not much different than any other day by the Bay. Scary.

The Raiders worked the Seahawks over, allowing only three points and sacking Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck eight times.

Oakland's 33-3 win was a spirit crusher. Oakland didn't allow a first down until more than 27 minutes into the game and gave up just 162 yards of offense, including 47 on the ground.

If that isn't frightening enough, Seattle's previously unbreakable run defense was shattered by the Raiders' Darren McFadden and company. The breakout runningback McFadden, sliced and diced his way to 111 yards on the ground. There was a bevy of spot carries by other Raiders who added another 128 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Even maligned Raiders quarterback, Jason Campbell looked like a stud against the Hawks. Campbell threw for 310 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. The Hawks are supposed to ruin average quarterbacks like Campbell, just like they were supposed to do with the Rams' Sam Bradford too. Instead, Seattle's secondary gift wrapped a win to each team.

So much for Seattle's reliable fallback strength. The defense looked tired and very beatable.

Seattle's running game was completely shutdown by the Raiders' strong defensive line. Marshawn Lynch rushed nine times for a putrid seven yards. Justin Forsett was equally ineffective, gaining eleven yards on five carries. Those two were supposed to dominate Sunday's matchup with a usually ineffective Raiders defense. Not this time.

To be fair though, head coach Pete Carroll tightened the leash on his runningbacks too quickly. I understand that when a team falls behind, the coach calls a lot more passing plays. But when your passing game stinks as bad as Seattle's does, why not dial up more than 14 rushing attempts for your best offensive players?

Either way, the Seahawks were badly beaten and now they come home to face the NFC's best team, the 5-2 New York Giants. The Seahawks will be tested against a powerful team this Sunday but as always, anything can happen at Qwest Field.