Monday, October 13, 2003
WAY BEHIND, I KNOW...
[post edited...THIRD downs instead of first downs toward the end]
I'll try to knock down the Seahawks in this here post...which still doesn't make up for my lack of baseball and late-ass/half-ass high school football input. Sorry to the anticipatory readers out there (however so many there may be), I'll get to it.
The Hawks are friggin' 4-1. They simply manhandled the 49ers in just about every way in the first half. They led 17-3 at half, and had led 17-0 until Owen Pochman (Pooch-man) hit the field goal at the end of the half after hooking one wide right earlier in the half. SF fans were left in longing for their beloved Mike Cofer from the glory years to come in and split the uprights.
What kept the 49ers in this game? Well, at times their defense wasn't too bad. At times, the Hawks offense wasn't coming through. Most notably, the Seahawks had some untimely and stupid penalties. It almost seemed like the penalty-happy Raiders teams of past had slapped on Seahawk blue for the day (okay, not quite as ferocious and ghetto, but bear with me).
Untimely penalties, straight from the play-by-play...
- A Garcia-to-Streets 29-yard pass in the beginning of the first quarter put the 49ers on the Seattle 38. Ken Hamlin probably shouldn't be going full bore into the receiver if the receiver's that close to being out of bounds and definitely if he isn't already. So, a 29-yd pass turns into a 44-yd pass on the late hit. The Niners took the ball from the Seattle 23 and Pooch-man missed the field goal attempt.
- Beginning of the 3rd quarter. SF has great field position after a crappy Tom Rouen punt. They have a fresh set of downs at the Seattle 34. Garcia throws incomplete to TO. Garrison Hearst gets stuffed for no gain. This brings up a 3rd-and-10. Or at least it would have if Antonio Cochran didn't get nailed for taunting. Third-and-10 from the Seattle 34 turns into a new set of downs at the Seattle 19. Yuck. SF scored a touchdown three plays later.
- The drive was already crappy. The Hawks had the ball around the 4-minute mark of the 3rd qtr at their own 26 after the punt. Hass got sacked. From the 22, Alexander got the four yards back that were lost on the sack. Third-and-10 from the 26, right? Chris Terry gets called for holding. Second-and-24 from the Seattle 12. It's somewhat moot because Hass got picked on the next play.
- SF got the ball right after that the Hasselbeck pick around the 3-minute mark of the 3rd qtr from the Seattle 34. Garcia threw incomplete to Weaver. The situation is dire already, this would have left a 2nd-and-10, but still deep in Hawk territory. This is where Hamlin gets flagged for roughing the passer, which was debatable on replay, if I remember right. Anyway, this turns into a new set of downs from the Seattle 19 -- in the red zone. Garcia took a keeper for a touchdown four plays later to bring the Niners within one point.
- To end the third quarter, the Hawks got the ball after the Niners scored a touchdown to get to a Seattle 17-16 score. The Hawks took over from their own 34. Alexander ran for 2 yards. Darrell Jackson caught the ball on a great pass play and went for 11 yards and a first down. Hasselbeck hit Jackson again for a 6-yd strike for the first play of the 4th qtr. So, 2nd-and-4 from the SF 47. Backup fullback Heath Evans is nailed for unnecessary roughness. Now it's 2nd-and-19 from the Seattle 38. Hass threw incomplete to Jackson. On a 3rd-and-19, Hass took a keeper for one measly yard. So it's 4th-and-19 from the 38, right? Rouen can at least keep the Niners to suitable field position, even though he's crap, right? Not when the ref sees Hass spike the ball in frustration and assume he spiked it at one of the defenders. Back that punt up back to the 24. SF gets the ball at their own 40. Great field position, and they'd use it to get the go-ahead field goal. SF 19-17.
Luckily, the Seahawks managed to go the final 14:04 without getting penalized, but not before they accumulated eight penalties for a mammoth 105 yards.
In the big clutch moment, after the Hawks got their own go-ahead field goal to put them up 20-19, SF had the ball from their own 29. They got nailed for a false start. From their own 24, Hearst ran for three yards. Garcia went incomplete to Wilson. Garcia hit Wilson for a key third-down strike and a first down to put them at their own 43. In the first play after the 2-minute warning, Hearst ran up the gut and was stripped by a passing Chad Brown. Hamlin fell on the ball and that was basically the game. The Hawks wore down the last 1:55 to put them at 4-1 heading into what should be two "gimme" games.
And thankfully, the Seahawks played such an awesome first half that it made up for all the crappy play and pure frustration of the second half. Until that last fumble. That was incredibly clutch.
And these last two stats I jacked from Dan Patrick just now. The Hawks convert 46% of THIRD downs (nuts!!) and are plus-10 in giveaway/takeaway difference.
I'll try to knock down the Seahawks in this here post...which still doesn't make up for my lack of baseball and late-ass/half-ass high school football input. Sorry to the anticipatory readers out there (however so many there may be), I'll get to it.
The Hawks are friggin' 4-1. They simply manhandled the 49ers in just about every way in the first half. They led 17-3 at half, and had led 17-0 until Owen Pochman (Pooch-man) hit the field goal at the end of the half after hooking one wide right earlier in the half. SF fans were left in longing for their beloved Mike Cofer from the glory years to come in and split the uprights.
What kept the 49ers in this game? Well, at times their defense wasn't too bad. At times, the Hawks offense wasn't coming through. Most notably, the Seahawks had some untimely and stupid penalties. It almost seemed like the penalty-happy Raiders teams of past had slapped on Seahawk blue for the day (okay, not quite as ferocious and ghetto, but bear with me).
Untimely penalties, straight from the play-by-play...
- A Garcia-to-Streets 29-yard pass in the beginning of the first quarter put the 49ers on the Seattle 38. Ken Hamlin probably shouldn't be going full bore into the receiver if the receiver's that close to being out of bounds and definitely if he isn't already. So, a 29-yd pass turns into a 44-yd pass on the late hit. The Niners took the ball from the Seattle 23 and Pooch-man missed the field goal attempt.
- Beginning of the 3rd quarter. SF has great field position after a crappy Tom Rouen punt. They have a fresh set of downs at the Seattle 34. Garcia throws incomplete to TO. Garrison Hearst gets stuffed for no gain. This brings up a 3rd-and-10. Or at least it would have if Antonio Cochran didn't get nailed for taunting. Third-and-10 from the Seattle 34 turns into a new set of downs at the Seattle 19. Yuck. SF scored a touchdown three plays later.
- The drive was already crappy. The Hawks had the ball around the 4-minute mark of the 3rd qtr at their own 26 after the punt. Hass got sacked. From the 22, Alexander got the four yards back that were lost on the sack. Third-and-10 from the 26, right? Chris Terry gets called for holding. Second-and-24 from the Seattle 12. It's somewhat moot because Hass got picked on the next play.
- SF got the ball right after that the Hasselbeck pick around the 3-minute mark of the 3rd qtr from the Seattle 34. Garcia threw incomplete to Weaver. The situation is dire already, this would have left a 2nd-and-10, but still deep in Hawk territory. This is where Hamlin gets flagged for roughing the passer, which was debatable on replay, if I remember right. Anyway, this turns into a new set of downs from the Seattle 19 -- in the red zone. Garcia took a keeper for a touchdown four plays later to bring the Niners within one point.
- To end the third quarter, the Hawks got the ball after the Niners scored a touchdown to get to a Seattle 17-16 score. The Hawks took over from their own 34. Alexander ran for 2 yards. Darrell Jackson caught the ball on a great pass play and went for 11 yards and a first down. Hasselbeck hit Jackson again for a 6-yd strike for the first play of the 4th qtr. So, 2nd-and-4 from the SF 47. Backup fullback Heath Evans is nailed for unnecessary roughness. Now it's 2nd-and-19 from the Seattle 38. Hass threw incomplete to Jackson. On a 3rd-and-19, Hass took a keeper for one measly yard. So it's 4th-and-19 from the 38, right? Rouen can at least keep the Niners to suitable field position, even though he's crap, right? Not when the ref sees Hass spike the ball in frustration and assume he spiked it at one of the defenders. Back that punt up back to the 24. SF gets the ball at their own 40. Great field position, and they'd use it to get the go-ahead field goal. SF 19-17.
Luckily, the Seahawks managed to go the final 14:04 without getting penalized, but not before they accumulated eight penalties for a mammoth 105 yards.
In the big clutch moment, after the Hawks got their own go-ahead field goal to put them up 20-19, SF had the ball from their own 29. They got nailed for a false start. From their own 24, Hearst ran for three yards. Garcia went incomplete to Wilson. Garcia hit Wilson for a key third-down strike and a first down to put them at their own 43. In the first play after the 2-minute warning, Hearst ran up the gut and was stripped by a passing Chad Brown. Hamlin fell on the ball and that was basically the game. The Hawks wore down the last 1:55 to put them at 4-1 heading into what should be two "gimme" games.
And thankfully, the Seahawks played such an awesome first half that it made up for all the crappy play and pure frustration of the second half. Until that last fumble. That was incredibly clutch.
And these last two stats I jacked from Dan Patrick just now. The Hawks convert 46% of THIRD downs (nuts!!) and are plus-10 in giveaway/takeaway difference.
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