Monday, November 29, 2004
TAKE 'EM TO COURT
For the local spin on yesterday's 38-9 debacle at "Lousy Phone Company Field", check out David's post below.
But if you want a national media spin, check out John Clayton's piece at ESPN.com and Clark Judge's Sportsline piece.
First, Clayton.
First of all, there is no truth to the rumor that commissioner Paul Tagliabue will request a team from the Mid-American Conference to represent the NFC West in the playoff.
Hey, Northern Illinois is 8-3. At this point, the NFC West reminds me of last year's Atlantic Division in the NBA's Eastern Conference. Does anybody want to win this division? And no, I would not be satisfied with the Seahawks "backing in".
"That was embarrassing because we are a lot better than this," tight end Itula Mili said. "That's not even us out there on the field. This week we really have to get this fixed. We don't ever want to have a feeling like this again."
Earth to Mili: We've had this feeling before.
See St. Louis. See Arizona. Granted, the Seahawks weren't blown out in those games. But those were games that the Seahawks should have won. Hell, even though Buffalo is a talented ballclub, the Seahawks should have taken care of business. But I'm not in the "shoulda, coulda, woulda" line. It's all about wins and losses. Right now, the Seahawks are a disappointing 6-5. They should be glad they aren't in the AFC West anymore.
Yet, at 6-5, the Seahawks still have a great chance of making the playoffs and possibly winning the NFC West. They have three games at home -- against the Cowboys, Cardinals and Falcons (who probably won't play anyone in the season-finale in Seattle with the NFC South title all but wrapped up). The Rams are 5-5, facing a tough, cold game in Green Bay Monday night, and having to finish out the season with games against Philadelphia and the New York Jets.
"No matter what happens Monday, we'll still be at the worst tied for first place," Seahawks halfback Shaun Alexander said. "Sure, we have things to fix. But when you are in first place, it's hard to make it horrible. We could be in far worse shape."
That's great. As I said earlier, I don't want to see the Seahawks back themselves into the playoffs.
"You just have to laugh at how we played to keep from crying," Alexander said. "This is the worst thing we've done since my rookie year when we were 6-10. This team is way better than this. We've got to go back to the basics of football. You run the ball. You stop the run. You throw the ball. You catch the ball. I know today, offensively, we didn't help our team."
Sounds about right, although the "this team is way better than this" argument doesn't hold much water at this point. Ironically, the man that will lead the Dallas Cowboys into Seattle next Monday night once said that a football team "is what it is" (paraphrasing). The 6-5 Seattle Seahawks are what they are, a 6-5 football team, so to speak.
So what does CBS Sportsline's Clark Judge have to say about this mess?
I'm sorry, but I don't care if Seattle wins the NFC West. The Seahawks are going nowhere, and when they wonder where it all went wrong I have a suggestion: Blame it on St. Louis.
The proof is there every time the Seahawks suit up, which they shouldn't have Sunday when Buffalo drilled them 38-9 in the worst loss in coach Mike Holmgren's six years there. The Seahawks simply haven't been the same since blowing a 27-10 lead to St. Louis in the last 5½ minutes of their Oct. 10 meeting.
Mike Martz owns Mike Holmgren. Next?
But we're getting off the subject here. Once, Seattle was a trendy pick for the Super Bowl, and, yes, I was one of the first on the bandwagon. But now the Seahawks are in disarray, and the defense that was their ally in the first three games has suddenly and inexplicably gone south.
Blame it on the Rams.
Could it be that the media and some fans (David and myself included) overrated this team? We'll see after the season. But I really don't have a good feeling about this team right now. I want to, but then I'd be lying.
Seattle is 3-5 since, beating Carolina, San Francisco and Miami -- opponents who lost three times as many as they won. That's not how you get to the playoffs, but even if the Seahawks do -- and it's possible, considering the mess that's the NFC West -- it doesn't matter.
St. Louis ruined their season.
Now how can I argue with that? I can't, because in the process, I'd look as stupid as the Seahawks when Willis McGahee scored a 30 yard touchdown on 4th-and-1.
Have a good week, everyone. And remember, the Seattle Seahawks are just a diversion in life. After all, they're treating this season as a diversion themselves. Hell, Koren Robinson treated football as a diversion when he hit the bong.
But if you want a national media spin, check out John Clayton's piece at ESPN.com and Clark Judge's Sportsline piece.
First, Clayton.
First of all, there is no truth to the rumor that commissioner Paul Tagliabue will request a team from the Mid-American Conference to represent the NFC West in the playoff.
Hey, Northern Illinois is 8-3. At this point, the NFC West reminds me of last year's Atlantic Division in the NBA's Eastern Conference. Does anybody want to win this division? And no, I would not be satisfied with the Seahawks "backing in".
"That was embarrassing because we are a lot better than this," tight end Itula Mili said. "That's not even us out there on the field. This week we really have to get this fixed. We don't ever want to have a feeling like this again."
Earth to Mili: We've had this feeling before.
See St. Louis. See Arizona. Granted, the Seahawks weren't blown out in those games. But those were games that the Seahawks should have won. Hell, even though Buffalo is a talented ballclub, the Seahawks should have taken care of business. But I'm not in the "shoulda, coulda, woulda" line. It's all about wins and losses. Right now, the Seahawks are a disappointing 6-5. They should be glad they aren't in the AFC West anymore.
Yet, at 6-5, the Seahawks still have a great chance of making the playoffs and possibly winning the NFC West. They have three games at home -- against the Cowboys, Cardinals and Falcons (who probably won't play anyone in the season-finale in Seattle with the NFC South title all but wrapped up). The Rams are 5-5, facing a tough, cold game in Green Bay Monday night, and having to finish out the season with games against Philadelphia and the New York Jets.
"No matter what happens Monday, we'll still be at the worst tied for first place," Seahawks halfback Shaun Alexander said. "Sure, we have things to fix. But when you are in first place, it's hard to make it horrible. We could be in far worse shape."
That's great. As I said earlier, I don't want to see the Seahawks back themselves into the playoffs.
"You just have to laugh at how we played to keep from crying," Alexander said. "This is the worst thing we've done since my rookie year when we were 6-10. This team is way better than this. We've got to go back to the basics of football. You run the ball. You stop the run. You throw the ball. You catch the ball. I know today, offensively, we didn't help our team."
Sounds about right, although the "this team is way better than this" argument doesn't hold much water at this point. Ironically, the man that will lead the Dallas Cowboys into Seattle next Monday night once said that a football team "is what it is" (paraphrasing). The 6-5 Seattle Seahawks are what they are, a 6-5 football team, so to speak.
So what does CBS Sportsline's Clark Judge have to say about this mess?
I'm sorry, but I don't care if Seattle wins the NFC West. The Seahawks are going nowhere, and when they wonder where it all went wrong I have a suggestion: Blame it on St. Louis.
The proof is there every time the Seahawks suit up, which they shouldn't have Sunday when Buffalo drilled them 38-9 in the worst loss in coach Mike Holmgren's six years there. The Seahawks simply haven't been the same since blowing a 27-10 lead to St. Louis in the last 5½ minutes of their Oct. 10 meeting.
Mike Martz owns Mike Holmgren. Next?
But we're getting off the subject here. Once, Seattle was a trendy pick for the Super Bowl, and, yes, I was one of the first on the bandwagon. But now the Seahawks are in disarray, and the defense that was their ally in the first three games has suddenly and inexplicably gone south.
Blame it on the Rams.
Could it be that the media and some fans (David and myself included) overrated this team? We'll see after the season. But I really don't have a good feeling about this team right now. I want to, but then I'd be lying.
Seattle is 3-5 since, beating Carolina, San Francisco and Miami -- opponents who lost three times as many as they won. That's not how you get to the playoffs, but even if the Seahawks do -- and it's possible, considering the mess that's the NFC West -- it doesn't matter.
St. Louis ruined their season.
Now how can I argue with that? I can't, because in the process, I'd look as stupid as the Seahawks when Willis McGahee scored a 30 yard touchdown on 4th-and-1.
Have a good week, everyone. And remember, the Seattle Seahawks are just a diversion in life. After all, they're treating this season as a diversion themselves. Hell, Koren Robinson treated football as a diversion when he hit the bong.
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