Hasselbeck; play us out

There was plenty of conjecture to go around regarding whom should start for the Seattle Seahawks following last Sunday's loss against the Falcons. Seattle fans will bitch and moan no matter who is chosen to lead this reeling franchise in Tampa this weekend.

Much of the drama was taken out of the controversy immediately by a swift announcement. Head coach Pete Carroll made it clear today that Matt Hasselbeck will remain in his starting role.

Hasselbeck's 10 seasons of experience, 5 playoff berths, 17 interceptions and 5 fumbles lost this season apparently outweighs Whitehursts' brief career as a backup with 3 interceptions and 2 fumbles lost. Some would say Carroll is just picking his poison but his decision makes sense.

Despite the continually horrid play of St. Louis, San Francisco, Seattle and Arizona; one of these teams will make the playoffs. If that team is to be Seattle, Hasselbeck must start a home playoff game at Qwest.

Say what you will about Hasselbeck and his constant turnovers, but the man has to be our guy if Seattle wins the West. Whitehurst doesn't frighten a defense anymore than Hasselbeck does these days. Yet, having been there before definitely counts for something in the playoffs.

Even if Seattle makes it there, they probably won't advance. That is fine. You know why? A playoff berth was hardly in the Seahawks sights 6 months ago. It is all gravy from this point on. The fans want more, but Seattle isn't prepared to take that next step yet.

So Matthew, why don't you show Seattle one last time that you have a little gas left in the tank and conjure up some magic by taking this division.

Play us out.

NFC West, who wants it?

The Seahawks are not a good team. They aren't very talented. They are hurt. They are underachievers. Or are they?

This preseason I predicted to my football friends that the Seattle Seahawks would win six games. Eight wins would be fantastic. We bantered back and forth about if that was good enough for a playoff bid. In most NFL divisions, the team that finishes with a .500 record, is second place at best. All divisions, except in the alternate universe known best as the NFC West.

None of the West's teams "deserve" a playoff bid, but one team will inevitably "earn" one. That's the rules. In fact, that team gets to host a home playoff game. Can you believe that? With the way the NFC conference and especially the NFC South division is shaping out, the defending-champion, New Orleans Saints, will have to play on the road against the NFC West winner.

That scenario is thanks to the Hotlanta Falcons who have survived a gauntlet and conquered a battery of great teams (including the Saints) on their way to the NFC's best record at 11-2. Atlanta is not a lock to finish on top of New Orleans in their shared division because the Saints, despite their early Superbowl "hangover", still stand at 10-3 overall.

Either way the season finishes out, the bottomline remains the same. New Orleans or Atlanta will be forced to travel to Seattle, St. Louis, or dare I say, San Francisco despite playing at much higher level than any of those wanna-be teams.

But who will that black sheep team be?

Will it be those underachiever, (5-8) 49ers? Crawling back from the dead after losing their first five games this season?

How about that overachieving (6-7) Rams team? This team lost 15 games last year. They start a rookie quarterback. But something about them is dangerous and it's that same rookie. St. Louis' beacon of hope, #1 overall pick, Sam Bradford.

Or is it the tease of the West, your (6-7) Seattle Seahawks? This football team likes to mess with it's fans heads. They love to pull on the 12th Man's heartstrings with wins they shouldn't get and lose those home games in which they are clear favorites. Who are these guys? I'm not sure if they know either.

Most NFL fans and the national media will scoff at anything related to this abomination of a division. That's fair. Yet, the last three regular season games will prove interesting to those involved because all these events are leading up to January 2nd, 2011. On that Sunday, the Seahawks and Rams will clash at Qwest Field; most likely with the title on the line.

To the loyal fans, my recommendation is to hide your kids, hide your wife and cover your eyes; whether you like it or not, an NFC West winner will host a home playoff match and have an odd-defying shot at winning the Superbowl.

A rematch by the Bay and a shot at redemption

Round 2, ready, fight!

Come Sunday, it will have been three months to the day that Seattle put the 31-6 beatdown on rival, San Francisco.

The final score doesn't tell the story of that opening game. The 49ers were marching the ball up and down the field on the Seahawks defense. To make matters worse, Matt Hasselbeck threw an interception on the first drive. Things were looking scarily like last year. But Seattle managed to luck out on a couple occasions in which the 49ers settled for field goals.

After the 49ers' second field goal, Seattle flipped the switch and never looked back, scoring 31 unanswered points. Sound familiar?

Let's go back to this past Sunday's game with Carolina. The Seahawks looked down and out against a team that embodies the "seller dweller" profile. Worse yet, Seattle was confused on how to stop rookie quarterback, Jimmy Clausen. Things appeared grim, until halftime. Coach Carroll spoke and adjustments were made. The result? 31 answered points to finish 31-14.

In the second half, the Seahawks rallied as a team. The runningbacks clicked with their offensive line. The lesser-known receivers stepped up in place of the starters. The defense woke up from their trance and realized they were playing a rookie that has one win under his belt and promptly responded. Lastly, the special teams unit was once again special because of Mr. Leon "Neon" Washington's kick returns.

This is how a borderline playoff team like Seattle must play if they expect to be the last team standing in the NFC West.

Now Seattle must travel to the San Francisco Bay where an underachieving team awaits their chance at redemption. The 49ers' roster is not as scary as it was the first time around. Star runningback, Frank Gore, is out for the season. Former backup and Heisman winner, Troy Smith, is now quarterback.

San Francisco has been a mess all year long. Preseason they were division favorites. Now they and trying to stay above the somehow more pathetic, Arizona Cardinals.

Seattle is hit and miss on the road this year but a quick stop by the Bay doesn't seem as daunting as other road games. The Seahawks are riding a crest of momentum that should carry over this Sunday. It will be a heck of fight between bitter rivals who oddly enough each still have a shot at winning the West.

Seahawks luck out, play worse team in Panthers

This Sunday, the worst team in the football will run out the tunnel at Qwest Field.

No, that pathetic team is not your (5-6) Seattle Seahawks. Actually, contrary to popular belief, the Seahawks are still a "decent" football team. But, it is all relative. With that said, Seattle looks fierce compared to the play of the house cat-esque, Carolina Panthers.

This is the kind of matchup Seattle desperately needs to jump start their still viable playoff berth. Two straight blowout losses have set back the Seahawks enough that the emerging St. Louis Rams took over first place in the NFC West. Both teams technically have the same win/loss record, but the Rams beat the Hawks earlier this season which currently gives them the edge in the division.

Here's a snapshot of Carolina's 1 win, 10 loss season so far: they rank last in the NFL in points scored per game(12.7), most yards allowed p/g(259), and are lowest in passing yards p/g(157).

To add insult to utter injury, they start a rookie at quarterback and play in the toughest division in the league. Surely, the Seahawks would suffer similar results in the win column if they played in the NFC South with New Orleans, Atlanta and Tampa Bay. All of those teams have at least seven wins, compared to the NFC West in which no team has even six wins.

Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck has slung the football like a mad man lately, throwing close to 1000 yards in the last three games. Stud wideout, Mike Williams, is still gimpy with a bad left foot and is a game-time decision Sunday. Fellow reciever, Ben Obomanu, has filled in nicely for Williams. Obomanu had career day last week gaining 159 yards and a touchdown.

Hasselbeck has been forced to put the Hawks on his back and carry them because his running game is terrible. Marshawn Lynch is a bust so far with Seattle and Justin Forsett is average at best a majority of the time. Consistent offensive line play will boost the run game but who knows if consistency is something Seattle can ever expect.

The Seahawks defense is primed to feast on the inept Panther offense. Expect Seattle's ball-hawk secondary to pick Jimmy Clausen and shut down the Carolina offense early and often.

Needless to say, but the Seahawks absolutely must win this game at home. I don't even want to know what the faithful 12th Man would do, should Seattle find a way to blow this gimme of a game.



Sidenote: The Seahawks are retiring the incomparable, left tackle Walter Jones, before halftime of Sunday's game. Jones' career was truly unbelievable. He earned nine straight trips to Honolulu for the Pro Bowl and was named to the All-Pro team four times.

According to team statistics, Jones was called for holding just nine times in 5,703 pass attempts in his career and allowed only 23 sacks.