Sunday, January 02, 2005
FALCONS/SEAHAWKS
[final content posted ~4:56p]
Here's what I have for today's game post.
KOREN ROBINSON IS INACTIVE FOR BREAKING TEAM RULES. Absolutely freakin' unacceptable. Is there any way they can void his contract? I'm tired of this crap. Go violate the substance abuse policy and team rules somewhere else.
Dammit, the Rams just took a lead on a wide open Torry Holt with five minutes left. Dammit, Jets.
1ST QUARTER
>> 1st Seattle possession (SEA 27)
14:49 Hasselbeck to Mili right side for 16 and a first down
14:18 Hasselbeck to Rice left side FUMBLES...ruled incomplete as he moves side to side, moves to the inside before making sure he has the ball
14:12 Alexander up the middle for 4 (3rd/6)
13:33 Hasselbeck dumpoff right side to Strong for 5
12:46 PUNT BLOCKED, Atlanta recovers, fumbles, then recovers again
Nice. Great freakin' start. I'm blaming this on Koren. It's hard to keep from typing a steady stream of curse words right now.
>> 1st Atlanta possession (SEA 48)
12:41 Dunn left side for 1
12:05 Vick right side quick pass to Price, stiff-arms, goes for 7 (3rd/2)
11:38 in a move surprising absolutely no one, Vick stays back and has a huge hole on the right side...he got 12 on the play and a first down
10:59 Vick stays back, avoids blitz, throws away left side
10:53 Dunn right side for 8
10:11 Vick rolls left, throws to White on the left side for 9 and a first down (SEA 12)
9:35 Dunn right side for 3
8:57 play action jukes the camera, Vick rolls left and gets Price for 5 yards (3rd/2)
8:32 Duckett stuffed up the middle at the line for 1 (4th/1)...they're half a yard short
7:55 Vick sneaks for a first down (1 yard)...they're now 9-for-17 on 4th down this year
7:00 Duckett right side for nothing
***6:21 Vick to Price left side TOUCHDOWN...I thought Vick clearly false-started on the play (ATL 7-0)
I blame Koren. The defense almost had the Falcons, but they had a short field to work with too. The Seahawks at least know how to stuff TJ Duckett so far. I also have no idea why Duckett is playing.
The Jets and Rams are now in overtime, though the Jets are now in the playoffs.
>> 2nd Seattle possession (SEA 48...Atlanta on-sided and never came up with possession or something like that)
6:11 Hasselbeck to Engram right side for 8
5:40 Alexander right side for 3 and a first down
5:10 Alexander left side for 10 and a first down (ATL 27)
4:32 flags on a free play which would have been an incomplete pass to Engram right side...OFFSIDE Atlanta (ATL 22)
4:26 Alexander makes some moves on the right side and gets 8 and a first down
3:47 Hasselbeck throws RIGHT TO Atlanta's Brian Scott in the end zone, who drops it...FLAGS for PASS INTERFERENCE ON ATLANTA...ball placed on the ATL 1, first down
3:43 Alexander to the middle stopped short of goal line
***3:06 Alexander left side untouched....TOUCHDOWN (7-7)
Well, the Seahawks took advantage of the maligned on-side kick which gave them a short field. The offense looked good on that drive. I like.
I just saw Chad Pennington scramble for another Jet first down...
>> 2nd Atlanta possession (ATL 31, Brown kicked to the 20)
2:55 Dunn right side for 4
2:18 Vick fumbled as he throws, he fumbles backward and the Falcons recover...and Vick is wincing after the play...Chad Brown hit Vick hard as he raised his arm to throw (ATL 21, 3rd/20)
1:30 Dunn left side for 10
Great play by Chad Brown. Absolutely great. It's a three-and-out for the Seattle defense. Imagine that.
>> 3rd Seattle possession (SEA 31, Engram fair catch)
0:39 Hasselbeck stays back, protection wears down, he rolls right and loses 3
0:21 Alexander goes right side, dances around, and loses 2 (3rd/15)
Well, they're tied after one quarter. They haven't done too badly on offense, and the Falcons have taken what Seattle has given them on defense. Really, the Seahawks aren't looking all that bad after one quarter, I'd have to say.
Meanwhile, the Jets just got the punt and start a drive from their own 29 in overtime...
2ND QUARTER
14:53 Hasselbeck SACKED for a loss of 5...not clutch there by the line
Well, the Seahawks were pretty much screwed after the first two plays on that possession. Three backward plays and then a punt. Yuck. For some strange reason, I'm not that ticked off about this.
Here comes Doug Brien from 53 in the Jets/Rams game...no good. DAMMIT.
>> 3rd Atlanta possession (ATL 30, nice huge Seahawk bounce on the downed punt)
14:05 Vick still in, he's pressured, runs for a long time in the backfield and manages to gain one
13:30 Dunn right side for 4
12:46 Dunn for 14 left side and cut toward middle, Seahawks miss a ton of tackles
12:02 Dunn right side goes for 26 FREAKIN' YARDS and Michael Boulware saves a touchdown (SEA 24)
11:21 Dunn right side for 2
10:38 Vick back there forever, dumps off to TJ Duckett for 11 yards left side and a first down
10:13 Vick short pass left to Price for 1
9:46 Dunn left side wrapped up in the backfield by Solomon Bates for a loss of one (3rd/10)
8:56 Vick scrambles, runs forward and sort of gets tackled by his own man, loss of 4
***8:32 Feely from 33 (ATL 10-7)
Well, they held them to a field goal on that drive even after Dunn went nuts on two straight plays.
In other news, I suddenly really hate the Jets.
>> 4th Seattle possession (SEA 29)
8:23 Hasselbeck to Mili right side for 17 and a first down
7:50 Alexander right side for a loss of 3
7:07 Hasselbeck to Rice drops it...he's a Hall-of-Famer, but he's doing a great impersonation of Koren today. Two drops (3rd/13)
***###6:57 Rice slips on the right side, Hasselbeck throws right to DeAngelo Hall, who was gone (ATL 17-7)
THE SEAHAWKS MUST WIN THIS GAME. They CANNOT face the Rams in Saint Louis. Well, technically they can, but if they have any jump in themselves at all, they have got to pull this game out. I like Jerry Rice and all, but it looks like Koren has been on the field for three plays that have gone to Rice today.
>> 5th Seattle possession (SEA 34)
6:46 Hasselbeck to Engram right side downfield for 16 and a first down (50)
6:12 Alexander left side BREAKS ONE OFF for 29 yards and a first down
5:47 Hasselbeck avoids the sack, hits Alexander running away on the right side on a dumpoff for 9
5:14 Strong up the middle for 2 and a first down
4:39 Hasselbeck to Strong right side for 3
4:02 Alexander right side to the ATL 3 (3rd/G)
***3:25 Hasselbeck bullet to Darrell Jackson through the middle TOUCHDOWN (ATL 17-14)
THAT's the quick response we like to see out of this Seattle offense. Great stuff. A 66-yard drive in seven plays. BRILLIANT!!
>> 4th Atlanta possession (ATL 20...a touchback?!?! What's gotten into Josh Brown?!)
3:21 SCHAUB IN, Duckett through the left side for 5
2:47 Duckett through the right side, Kacyvenski with an authoritative tackle (3rd/2)
2:04 Schaub to Finneran left side jump ball (surprise) good for 26 yards and a first down...quite an opportune play on 3rd-and-2
1:54 Duckett right side driven back after a gain of 1
1:16 INCOMPLETE PASS headed to the booth for a review, though Ken Lucas may have just intercepted the ball...this won't be an easy call. What sucks is that Ken Lucas might have run to the end zone if the play was allowed to go on. RULING STANDS. Absolute bull%*#$. (3rd/9)
1:13 play whistled dead, though time ran off the clock, flags for FALSE START, time put back on the clock (3rd/14)
1:12 Schaub right side downfield for Price overthrown
Okay, the bullcrap replay call just cost the Seahawks maybe one play on their next drive before halftime, but they've got all their three timeouts.
>> 6th Seattle possession (SEA 25, nice Seahawk bounce on the punt)
0:59 Hasselbeck to Mili right side for 5, he runs out of bounds
0:52 Hasselbeck to Engram over the middle for 13 and a first down (SEA 43)
0:51 Seattle timeout (1st)
0:48 Hasselbeck to Stevens over the middle incomplete...Stevens didn't turn around quickly enough
0:45 Hasselbeck SACKED from the blind side, a loss of 6
0:20 Hasselbeck to Morris for 6, well short of the chains
Well, it went nicely until the sack. Mack Strong picked up the blitz on the right side, but nobody picked it up on the left side.
>> 5th Atlanta possession (ATL 11)
0:10 knee
Not surprisingly, the fans booed after they failed miserably to get into field goal range. It would have been great to go into halftime with a tie game.
Here's some halftime stats...
Atlanta
Michael Vick was 6-for-7 for 35 yards and a touchdown, he also ran 3 times for 13 yards. Warrick Dunn was 10 carries for 71 yards. Brad Finneran's jump ball catch for 26 yards gives him the most yards so far for a Falcon receiver in the game. Peerless Price has four catches for 15 yards and a touchdown.
Seattle
Matt Hasselbeck was 11-for-15 for 100 yards along with a touchdown and a pick. Shaun Alexander had 10 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown. Bobby Engram and Itula Mili each have three catches for 37 yards. Darrell Jackson's only catch was a three-yard touchdown catch.
So the Seahawks are within three at the half. Now they just have to stop all the weapons of the Atlanta offense polited by Matt Schaub. Don't screw this up, Seattle.
It amazes me how much I don't care for Daryl Johnston's All-Lunch Pail crew. Not the players, I won't argue with their placement on the team, but just the unjustified hype they've been giving to it all game.
3RD QUARTER
>> 6th Atlanta possession (ATL 38...Brown kicks to the 21)
14:50 Dunn through the left side for 13 and a first down after the Seahawks bring seven up to the line
14:22 play whistled dead, flags for FALSE START ATLANTA
13:54 Schaub right side to McCrary for 14 (SEA 41)
13:32 Dunn right side for 2 and a first down
12:48 Dunn fights through an unmovable pile and gets 4 yards through the middle (SEA 35)
12:09 Schaub short pass left side through the hands of Jacobs (3rd/6)
12:09 flags whistle the play dead...FALSE START ATLANTA (3rd/11)
###12:01 Schaub pass to Price on the right side INTERCEPTED by Marcus Trufant, who jumped the pass lane and ran back 31 yards
Right now I am experiencing something I am choosing to call "tempered jubilation." At first, I wanted the Seahawks to just hold the Falcons out of field goal range. Then the Falcons were hit with the penalty. Then I wanted the Seahawks to make a stop on a 3rd-and-11. Then they got a pick. Happiness ensued. They now have a short field to work with. That Trufant's 5th pick of the year.
>> 7th Seattle possession (ATL 41)
11:55 Hasselbeck right side to Jackson for 7
11:23 Hasselbeck right side for Mili through the hands...looked like he might have been double-teamed (3rd/3)
11:16 Hasselbeck avoids the sack, gets Jackson on the right side for 8 yards and a first down (ATL 26)
10:42 Alexander right side for 1
10:03 Hasselbeck pressured, screen pass left to Alexander for 6
9:25 Hasselbeck over the middle to Engram for 5 and a first down (ATL 14)
8:48 Alexander through the right side for 5 (ATL 9)
8:13 Hasselbeck right side to Jackson, who falls...it's ruled an uncatchable ball (3rd/5)
8:08 Hasselbeck right side to Hannam for 6 yards and a first down (ATL 3)
***7:35 Hasselbeck fakes a handoff to Alexander, and guns to Stevens in the end zone TOUCHDOWN. Give the guy some confidence, what the hell (SEA 21-17)
The Seahawks did exactly what they should have done, and they took advantage of the short field. For once, the Seattle offense picked up for their own defense. Trufant picks, and the offense gets to the house. Beautiful.
Referee Mike Carey just got off of the toilet, as the Fox broadcast told us all.
>> 7th Atlanta possession (ATL 35...24-yard return allowed by the kickoff team)
7:20 Duckett goes right side, bounces off some Seahawks and goes for 35 FREAKIN' YARDS and his longest run of the year
6:54 Dunn right side for 1
6:15 Schaub right side to Jenkins for 7 (3rd/2)
5:38 Duckett up the middle stuffed short of the chains by Orlando Huff
###4:59 Feely NO GOOD from 39
Well, I was just glad the Seahawks made a defensive stop after TJ Duckett ran a few miles, but to come out of that having given up no points is just smashing. SMASHING, I tell ya. Extra bonus if the Seahawks get points out of this. At least three. That'd be nice.
>> 8th Seattle possession (SEA 29)
4:53 Alexander right side for 1
4:14 Hasselbeck SACKED on the blind side, Hasselbeck fumbles and Floyd Womack falls on it, loss of 7 (3rd/16)
3:53 DELAY OF GAME flags pulled back due to "analysis by the referee"...Mike Carey rules
3:42 Hasselbeck to Engram for 14 on the right side, short of the chains
Well, a three-and-out is bad. The only thing worse would have been in interception ran back for a touchdown.
"We've also got unoriginal tattoo on Timmy. Tribal arm band design. Attempting to fit in. PLAY BEER!" Love that commercial.
>> 8th Atlanta possession (flags on return for an illegal block on Atlanta...ATL 12)
2:58 Duckett through right side for 5
2:17 Schaub to Price right side incomplete, Trufant nearly jumps the route (3rd/5)
2:12 Schaub to Price over the middle for 6 and a first down...dammit
1:33 Schaub fake handoff, pass to Price left side for 8
1:10 Dunn up the middle for 3 and a first down
0:31 Schaub to Layne right side for 6
The Seahawks need a stop on this possession, or they at least need to hold them to a field goal. Either way, the Seahawks need to score the next time they get the ball. We're coming up on the fourth quarter, and the Seahawks just need to put a few points on the board, and they need to keep from getting beat by the home-run ball on 3rd-and-long. If they can do this, they'll win. Of course, it'd help if they stopped giving up these nutty long run plays too.
4TH QUARTER
14:55 Dunn outside to the right for 8 (ATL 47)
14:14 Schaub rolls left to avoid the sack, gets Price over the middle for 17 yards and a first down (SEA 35)
13:38 Dunn right side tripped up, gains 2
13:05 Dunn left side for 7 (3rd/1)
12:24 Dunn through the right side for short yardage and a first down...it gets a measurement anyway, and it's good by a couple of inches
11:49 Schaub loft pass right side to Finneran BROKEN UP by Trufant, who gets his right hand on the ball...great play
11:44 Dunn tries to go outside to the right, and goes nowhere...he got 2 yards (3rd/8)
10:50 Schaub underneath left to Jenkins for 1
***Feely from 40 (SEA 21-20)
Well, the Seahawks held them to a field goal. At least it wasn't a touchdown. Now they just need a touchdown on the next possession. At the very least, they need points. But for goodness' sake, they can't let a team led by Matt Schaub beat them. That would be inexcusable. Not that we haven't seen inexcusable things from the Seahawks this year, because we've seen all too many.
Why are they showing the good singers on the American Idol promos today? I need my fix of the "All By Myself" guy!!
>> 9th Seattle possession (SEA 40, short kick and nice return by Heath Evans)
10:01 Hasselbeck fake handoff, pass to Hannam right side for 8
9:33 Alexander right side pushes the pile and gets 3 and a first down
8:58 Alexander sees nothing on the left side, dances around a bit, nearly avoids the last tackler, but loses 1
8:12 Hasselbeck to Engram over the middle, he puts a crazy stiff-arm on Brian Scott and goes for 23 yards and a first down (ATL 27)
7:30 Alexander left side can't quite get out of Scott's ankle tackle
6:50 Hasselbeck blitzed, gets it to Stevens on the left side, who rumbles for 11 and a first down...Brady Smith of Atlanta down on the play, clock stops
6:26 Hasselbeck pitch back to Alexander, up the middle for 2
5:48 Alexander right side, breaks out of some tackles and drags some bodies with him, 11 yards and a first down (ATL 3)
5:09 Alexander up the middle just short of the goal line
***4:28 Hasselbeck sneak to the pile, he reaches over the goal line TOUCHDOWN (SEA 28-20)
Shaun Alexander was one yard short (1696) of Curtis Martin for the rushing title and they had two more downs to go, and they call Matt's number. That's kind of jacked, but I'll take the touchdown. The win is the main objective here. Either way, the Falcons will need two scores to win this game. Let's hope the defense holds it and gets the ball back. Also, let's hope Shaun Alexander gets one more carry for a gain.
>> 9th Atlanta possession (ATL 31, a 23-yard return)
4:17 Schaub left side to Dunn for 4
4:12 Dunn right side for 9 (3rd/1)
3:31 Schaub on a bootleg, looked like a play run for Vick...he was untouched on the left side and ran out of bounds for 8 (ATL 48)
3:26 Schaub pressured in the backfield, throws the ball away
3:21 Dunn up the middle for 9 (3rd/1)
2:41 Dunn right side for 3 and a first down (SEA 40)
2:08 Hamlin pressures Schaub, Schaub throws incomplete right side to Price, flags for ILLEGAL CONTACT (SEA 35), first down
2:03 Dunn right side for 2
1:52 Schaub underneath left to Dunn for 10 and a first down
1:23 Dunn tackled in the backfield by Boulware for no gain
1:18 Atlanta timeout (1st)
1:18 FALSE START ATLANTA
1:12 Schaub underneath to Dunn for 3 (3rd/12)
0:42 flags whistle the play dead...FALSE START ATLANTA, please put more time on the clock (3rd/17)...they didn't
0:18 Schaub to Finneran a yard short of the chains (4th/1)
0:14 Schaub right side to McCrary for 9 and a first down (1st/G)
0:07 Schaub runs right side, stopped at the 3, no gain
0:03 Schaub loft pass to Finneran in end zone ALMOST PICKED by Ken Lucas...Alexander is officially screwed
***0:00 Schaub to Finneran over the middle in the end zone TOUCHDOWN (SEA 28-26...2-point conversion handoff Dunn up middle stopped by Chad Brown NO GOOD, but it goes under review...IT'S NO GOOD)
THE SEAHAWKS ARE YOUR 2004 NFC WEST CHAMPIONS
SEAHAWKS 28, FALCONS 26
SHAUN ALEXANDER GOT ABSOLUTELY SCREWED.
Happy stats for the Seahawks...
Matt Hasselbeck went 21-for-27 and 191 yards, along with 2 touchdowns and a pick.
Shaun Alexander (he got screwed) rushed 19 times for 80 yards and a touchdown
Bobby Engram had 6 catches for 79 yards. He rules.
Seahawk tight ends Itula Mili, Jerramy Stevens, and Ryan Hannam combined for 7 catches, 65 yards, and a touchdown.
---
You know, this was a very big win, I'm not going to argue with it. Very big win. The defense once again bended but didn't break in the fourth quarter. Last spring, when the Mariners started going in the tank, we bandied out a mantra that we ended up using very frequently -- even when you win, you lose. I'm not saying this isn't a huge win, because it is. But to call Hasselbeck's number from the 1-yard line on 2nd down with Shaun Alexander one yard short of a share for the NFL's rushing lead is just so incredibly messed up that I'm almost beside myself. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I wanted the game to go to overtime just so Shaun could get the rushing title, but good gracious, he only got 19 carries today! Also of note in Shaun's plight was the sequence of plays on the final Atlanta drive, on the 3rd-and-12 where Todd Weiner of Atlanta got called for a false start after the ball was snapped. To me, this is a dead play and the clock should start over again from 0:43. But as noted in the play-by-play, there was a "10 second runoff of clock." I wish I knew why this was. If the Falcons score one play earlier and the Seahawks get the ball back, maybe Shaun does get that one more carry, who knows? It's not like he'd be accused of running up the score; this wasn't a similar situation that Peyton Manning had in the Sunday night game against Baltimore. Alexander only had to gain one yard -- he didn't have to score points.
On the offensive side, the Seahawks in the linescore were abnormally consistent -- one touchdown per quarter. The Seahawks used their tight ends a lot more effectively, which I thought was a bit of a new wrinkle thrown into the offense. Matt Hasselbeck was sacked four times, which was quite unnerving.
On the defensive side, I wish this defense would play 60 minutes for once. They nearly blew another 4th-quarter lead AGAINST MATT FREAKIN' SCHAUB. They allowed three conversions on 3rd down in that final drive, along with the one on 4th down. They actually looked fairly good until the final drive. There were a couple drives where they let either TJ Duckett or Warrick Dunn break one off, but then they held the Falcons to field goals (or missed field goals, in one case). I think I overheard that the defense wasn't penalized once in the game until the final drive, which was illegal contact on Marcus Trufant (ill-timed, of course).
All in all, the Seahawks didn't let the game get out of reach, though I was on edge when the Falcons were up by 10 in the second quarter. But the Seahawks answered right back with a touchdown on the next possession, and I felt a lot better about their chances at that point in the game. Then Ken Lucas' interception was ruled an incomplete pass, which was crap because it didn't look like the ball moved as he hit the ground (Daryl Johnston: "look at the laces"). In a weird note, there were only three possessions combined by both teams in the fourth quarter.
The bottom line? It's a win. The Seahawks are division champions. The Seahawks are hosting a home playoff game on Saturday. The Seahawks have another chance to win their first playoff game in a very long time.
The Seahawks have one final chance this year to exorcise all the demons that came alive in Week freakin' 5. If they did, it would just be sweet justice. If they got Green Bay later in the playoffs...I just got way ahead of myself.
A winning record. Their first division title since moving to the NFC. A home playoff game. A chance to atone for the abhorrence of the first game against the Rams on their own turf.
It's good.
One last thing. Tip a glass of your favorite beverage for Shaun Alexander. It wasn't just Shaun that got screwed here. The entire offensive line, Mack Strong, and anyone else that blocked for him this year got screwed also.
No diddly-poo, and they get the division title against the spawn of Mr. Diddly-Poo. A happy Sunday indeed.
Rams. Seahawks. Saturday.
[Edit Mon ~8:57a -- offensive and defensive "front" were replaced by "side," because that's what I meant and I could see how it could be construed as just meaning the front lines, whereas I meant "entire side of football."]
Here's what I have for today's game post.
KOREN ROBINSON IS INACTIVE FOR BREAKING TEAM RULES. Absolutely freakin' unacceptable. Is there any way they can void his contract? I'm tired of this crap. Go violate the substance abuse policy and team rules somewhere else.
Dammit, the Rams just took a lead on a wide open Torry Holt with five minutes left. Dammit, Jets.
1ST QUARTER
>> 1st Seattle possession (SEA 27)
14:49 Hasselbeck to Mili right side for 16 and a first down
14:18 Hasselbeck to Rice left side FUMBLES...ruled incomplete as he moves side to side, moves to the inside before making sure he has the ball
14:12 Alexander up the middle for 4 (3rd/6)
13:33 Hasselbeck dumpoff right side to Strong for 5
12:46 PUNT BLOCKED, Atlanta recovers, fumbles, then recovers again
Nice. Great freakin' start. I'm blaming this on Koren. It's hard to keep from typing a steady stream of curse words right now.
>> 1st Atlanta possession (SEA 48)
12:41 Dunn left side for 1
12:05 Vick right side quick pass to Price, stiff-arms, goes for 7 (3rd/2)
11:38 in a move surprising absolutely no one, Vick stays back and has a huge hole on the right side...he got 12 on the play and a first down
10:59 Vick stays back, avoids blitz, throws away left side
10:53 Dunn right side for 8
10:11 Vick rolls left, throws to White on the left side for 9 and a first down (SEA 12)
9:35 Dunn right side for 3
8:57 play action jukes the camera, Vick rolls left and gets Price for 5 yards (3rd/2)
8:32 Duckett stuffed up the middle at the line for 1 (4th/1)...they're half a yard short
7:55 Vick sneaks for a first down (1 yard)...they're now 9-for-17 on 4th down this year
7:00 Duckett right side for nothing
***6:21 Vick to Price left side TOUCHDOWN...I thought Vick clearly false-started on the play (ATL 7-0)
I blame Koren. The defense almost had the Falcons, but they had a short field to work with too. The Seahawks at least know how to stuff TJ Duckett so far. I also have no idea why Duckett is playing.
The Jets and Rams are now in overtime, though the Jets are now in the playoffs.
>> 2nd Seattle possession (SEA 48...Atlanta on-sided and never came up with possession or something like that)
6:11 Hasselbeck to Engram right side for 8
5:40 Alexander right side for 3 and a first down
5:10 Alexander left side for 10 and a first down (ATL 27)
4:32 flags on a free play which would have been an incomplete pass to Engram right side...OFFSIDE Atlanta (ATL 22)
4:26 Alexander makes some moves on the right side and gets 8 and a first down
3:47 Hasselbeck throws RIGHT TO Atlanta's Brian Scott in the end zone, who drops it...FLAGS for PASS INTERFERENCE ON ATLANTA...ball placed on the ATL 1, first down
3:43 Alexander to the middle stopped short of goal line
***3:06 Alexander left side untouched....TOUCHDOWN (7-7)
Well, the Seahawks took advantage of the maligned on-side kick which gave them a short field. The offense looked good on that drive. I like.
I just saw Chad Pennington scramble for another Jet first down...
>> 2nd Atlanta possession (ATL 31, Brown kicked to the 20)
2:55 Dunn right side for 4
2:18 Vick fumbled as he throws, he fumbles backward and the Falcons recover...and Vick is wincing after the play...Chad Brown hit Vick hard as he raised his arm to throw (ATL 21, 3rd/20)
1:30 Dunn left side for 10
Great play by Chad Brown. Absolutely great. It's a three-and-out for the Seattle defense. Imagine that.
>> 3rd Seattle possession (SEA 31, Engram fair catch)
0:39 Hasselbeck stays back, protection wears down, he rolls right and loses 3
0:21 Alexander goes right side, dances around, and loses 2 (3rd/15)
Well, they're tied after one quarter. They haven't done too badly on offense, and the Falcons have taken what Seattle has given them on defense. Really, the Seahawks aren't looking all that bad after one quarter, I'd have to say.
Meanwhile, the Jets just got the punt and start a drive from their own 29 in overtime...
2ND QUARTER
14:53 Hasselbeck SACKED for a loss of 5...not clutch there by the line
Well, the Seahawks were pretty much screwed after the first two plays on that possession. Three backward plays and then a punt. Yuck. For some strange reason, I'm not that ticked off about this.
Here comes Doug Brien from 53 in the Jets/Rams game...no good. DAMMIT.
>> 3rd Atlanta possession (ATL 30, nice huge Seahawk bounce on the downed punt)
14:05 Vick still in, he's pressured, runs for a long time in the backfield and manages to gain one
13:30 Dunn right side for 4
12:46 Dunn for 14 left side and cut toward middle, Seahawks miss a ton of tackles
12:02 Dunn right side goes for 26 FREAKIN' YARDS and Michael Boulware saves a touchdown (SEA 24)
11:21 Dunn right side for 2
10:38 Vick back there forever, dumps off to TJ Duckett for 11 yards left side and a first down
10:13 Vick short pass left to Price for 1
9:46 Dunn left side wrapped up in the backfield by Solomon Bates for a loss of one (3rd/10)
8:56 Vick scrambles, runs forward and sort of gets tackled by his own man, loss of 4
***8:32 Feely from 33 (ATL 10-7)
Well, they held them to a field goal on that drive even after Dunn went nuts on two straight plays.
In other news, I suddenly really hate the Jets.
>> 4th Seattle possession (SEA 29)
8:23 Hasselbeck to Mili right side for 17 and a first down
7:50 Alexander right side for a loss of 3
7:07 Hasselbeck to Rice drops it...he's a Hall-of-Famer, but he's doing a great impersonation of Koren today. Two drops (3rd/13)
***###6:57 Rice slips on the right side, Hasselbeck throws right to DeAngelo Hall, who was gone (ATL 17-7)
THE SEAHAWKS MUST WIN THIS GAME. They CANNOT face the Rams in Saint Louis. Well, technically they can, but if they have any jump in themselves at all, they have got to pull this game out. I like Jerry Rice and all, but it looks like Koren has been on the field for three plays that have gone to Rice today.
>> 5th Seattle possession (SEA 34)
6:46 Hasselbeck to Engram right side downfield for 16 and a first down (50)
6:12 Alexander left side BREAKS ONE OFF for 29 yards and a first down
5:47 Hasselbeck avoids the sack, hits Alexander running away on the right side on a dumpoff for 9
5:14 Strong up the middle for 2 and a first down
4:39 Hasselbeck to Strong right side for 3
4:02 Alexander right side to the ATL 3 (3rd/G)
***3:25 Hasselbeck bullet to Darrell Jackson through the middle TOUCHDOWN (ATL 17-14)
THAT's the quick response we like to see out of this Seattle offense. Great stuff. A 66-yard drive in seven plays. BRILLIANT!!
>> 4th Atlanta possession (ATL 20...a touchback?!?! What's gotten into Josh Brown?!)
3:21 SCHAUB IN, Duckett through the left side for 5
2:47 Duckett through the right side, Kacyvenski with an authoritative tackle (3rd/2)
2:04 Schaub to Finneran left side jump ball (surprise) good for 26 yards and a first down...quite an opportune play on 3rd-and-2
1:54 Duckett right side driven back after a gain of 1
1:16 INCOMPLETE PASS headed to the booth for a review, though Ken Lucas may have just intercepted the ball...this won't be an easy call. What sucks is that Ken Lucas might have run to the end zone if the play was allowed to go on. RULING STANDS. Absolute bull%*#$. (3rd/9)
1:13 play whistled dead, though time ran off the clock, flags for FALSE START, time put back on the clock (3rd/14)
1:12 Schaub right side downfield for Price overthrown
Okay, the bullcrap replay call just cost the Seahawks maybe one play on their next drive before halftime, but they've got all their three timeouts.
>> 6th Seattle possession (SEA 25, nice Seahawk bounce on the punt)
0:59 Hasselbeck to Mili right side for 5, he runs out of bounds
0:52 Hasselbeck to Engram over the middle for 13 and a first down (SEA 43)
0:51 Seattle timeout (1st)
0:48 Hasselbeck to Stevens over the middle incomplete...Stevens didn't turn around quickly enough
0:45 Hasselbeck SACKED from the blind side, a loss of 6
0:20 Hasselbeck to Morris for 6, well short of the chains
Well, it went nicely until the sack. Mack Strong picked up the blitz on the right side, but nobody picked it up on the left side.
>> 5th Atlanta possession (ATL 11)
0:10 knee
Not surprisingly, the fans booed after they failed miserably to get into field goal range. It would have been great to go into halftime with a tie game.
Here's some halftime stats...
Atlanta
Michael Vick was 6-for-7 for 35 yards and a touchdown, he also ran 3 times for 13 yards. Warrick Dunn was 10 carries for 71 yards. Brad Finneran's jump ball catch for 26 yards gives him the most yards so far for a Falcon receiver in the game. Peerless Price has four catches for 15 yards and a touchdown.
Seattle
Matt Hasselbeck was 11-for-15 for 100 yards along with a touchdown and a pick. Shaun Alexander had 10 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown. Bobby Engram and Itula Mili each have three catches for 37 yards. Darrell Jackson's only catch was a three-yard touchdown catch.
So the Seahawks are within three at the half. Now they just have to stop all the weapons of the Atlanta offense polited by Matt Schaub. Don't screw this up, Seattle.
It amazes me how much I don't care for Daryl Johnston's All-Lunch Pail crew. Not the players, I won't argue with their placement on the team, but just the unjustified hype they've been giving to it all game.
3RD QUARTER
>> 6th Atlanta possession (ATL 38...Brown kicks to the 21)
14:50 Dunn through the left side for 13 and a first down after the Seahawks bring seven up to the line
14:22 play whistled dead, flags for FALSE START ATLANTA
13:54 Schaub right side to McCrary for 14 (SEA 41)
13:32 Dunn right side for 2 and a first down
12:48 Dunn fights through an unmovable pile and gets 4 yards through the middle (SEA 35)
12:09 Schaub short pass left side through the hands of Jacobs (3rd/6)
12:09 flags whistle the play dead...FALSE START ATLANTA (3rd/11)
###12:01 Schaub pass to Price on the right side INTERCEPTED by Marcus Trufant, who jumped the pass lane and ran back 31 yards
Right now I am experiencing something I am choosing to call "tempered jubilation." At first, I wanted the Seahawks to just hold the Falcons out of field goal range. Then the Falcons were hit with the penalty. Then I wanted the Seahawks to make a stop on a 3rd-and-11. Then they got a pick. Happiness ensued. They now have a short field to work with. That Trufant's 5th pick of the year.
>> 7th Seattle possession (ATL 41)
11:55 Hasselbeck right side to Jackson for 7
11:23 Hasselbeck right side for Mili through the hands...looked like he might have been double-teamed (3rd/3)
11:16 Hasselbeck avoids the sack, gets Jackson on the right side for 8 yards and a first down (ATL 26)
10:42 Alexander right side for 1
10:03 Hasselbeck pressured, screen pass left to Alexander for 6
9:25 Hasselbeck over the middle to Engram for 5 and a first down (ATL 14)
8:48 Alexander through the right side for 5 (ATL 9)
8:13 Hasselbeck right side to Jackson, who falls...it's ruled an uncatchable ball (3rd/5)
8:08 Hasselbeck right side to Hannam for 6 yards and a first down (ATL 3)
***7:35 Hasselbeck fakes a handoff to Alexander, and guns to Stevens in the end zone TOUCHDOWN. Give the guy some confidence, what the hell (SEA 21-17)
The Seahawks did exactly what they should have done, and they took advantage of the short field. For once, the Seattle offense picked up for their own defense. Trufant picks, and the offense gets to the house. Beautiful.
Referee Mike Carey just got off of the toilet, as the Fox broadcast told us all.
>> 7th Atlanta possession (ATL 35...24-yard return allowed by the kickoff team)
7:20 Duckett goes right side, bounces off some Seahawks and goes for 35 FREAKIN' YARDS and his longest run of the year
6:54 Dunn right side for 1
6:15 Schaub right side to Jenkins for 7 (3rd/2)
5:38 Duckett up the middle stuffed short of the chains by Orlando Huff
###4:59 Feely NO GOOD from 39
Well, I was just glad the Seahawks made a defensive stop after TJ Duckett ran a few miles, but to come out of that having given up no points is just smashing. SMASHING, I tell ya. Extra bonus if the Seahawks get points out of this. At least three. That'd be nice.
>> 8th Seattle possession (SEA 29)
4:53 Alexander right side for 1
4:14 Hasselbeck SACKED on the blind side, Hasselbeck fumbles and Floyd Womack falls on it, loss of 7 (3rd/16)
3:53 DELAY OF GAME flags pulled back due to "analysis by the referee"...Mike Carey rules
3:42 Hasselbeck to Engram for 14 on the right side, short of the chains
Well, a three-and-out is bad. The only thing worse would have been in interception ran back for a touchdown.
"We've also got unoriginal tattoo on Timmy. Tribal arm band design. Attempting to fit in. PLAY BEER!" Love that commercial.
>> 8th Atlanta possession (flags on return for an illegal block on Atlanta...ATL 12)
2:58 Duckett through right side for 5
2:17 Schaub to Price right side incomplete, Trufant nearly jumps the route (3rd/5)
2:12 Schaub to Price over the middle for 6 and a first down...dammit
1:33 Schaub fake handoff, pass to Price left side for 8
1:10 Dunn up the middle for 3 and a first down
0:31 Schaub to Layne right side for 6
The Seahawks need a stop on this possession, or they at least need to hold them to a field goal. Either way, the Seahawks need to score the next time they get the ball. We're coming up on the fourth quarter, and the Seahawks just need to put a few points on the board, and they need to keep from getting beat by the home-run ball on 3rd-and-long. If they can do this, they'll win. Of course, it'd help if they stopped giving up these nutty long run plays too.
4TH QUARTER
14:55 Dunn outside to the right for 8 (ATL 47)
14:14 Schaub rolls left to avoid the sack, gets Price over the middle for 17 yards and a first down (SEA 35)
13:38 Dunn right side tripped up, gains 2
13:05 Dunn left side for 7 (3rd/1)
12:24 Dunn through the right side for short yardage and a first down...it gets a measurement anyway, and it's good by a couple of inches
11:49 Schaub loft pass right side to Finneran BROKEN UP by Trufant, who gets his right hand on the ball...great play
11:44 Dunn tries to go outside to the right, and goes nowhere...he got 2 yards (3rd/8)
10:50 Schaub underneath left to Jenkins for 1
***Feely from 40 (SEA 21-20)
Well, the Seahawks held them to a field goal. At least it wasn't a touchdown. Now they just need a touchdown on the next possession. At the very least, they need points. But for goodness' sake, they can't let a team led by Matt Schaub beat them. That would be inexcusable. Not that we haven't seen inexcusable things from the Seahawks this year, because we've seen all too many.
Why are they showing the good singers on the American Idol promos today? I need my fix of the "All By Myself" guy!!
>> 9th Seattle possession (SEA 40, short kick and nice return by Heath Evans)
10:01 Hasselbeck fake handoff, pass to Hannam right side for 8
9:33 Alexander right side pushes the pile and gets 3 and a first down
8:58 Alexander sees nothing on the left side, dances around a bit, nearly avoids the last tackler, but loses 1
8:12 Hasselbeck to Engram over the middle, he puts a crazy stiff-arm on Brian Scott and goes for 23 yards and a first down (ATL 27)
7:30 Alexander left side can't quite get out of Scott's ankle tackle
6:50 Hasselbeck blitzed, gets it to Stevens on the left side, who rumbles for 11 and a first down...Brady Smith of Atlanta down on the play, clock stops
6:26 Hasselbeck pitch back to Alexander, up the middle for 2
5:48 Alexander right side, breaks out of some tackles and drags some bodies with him, 11 yards and a first down (ATL 3)
5:09 Alexander up the middle just short of the goal line
***4:28 Hasselbeck sneak to the pile, he reaches over the goal line TOUCHDOWN (SEA 28-20)
Shaun Alexander was one yard short (1696) of Curtis Martin for the rushing title and they had two more downs to go, and they call Matt's number. That's kind of jacked, but I'll take the touchdown. The win is the main objective here. Either way, the Falcons will need two scores to win this game. Let's hope the defense holds it and gets the ball back. Also, let's hope Shaun Alexander gets one more carry for a gain.
>> 9th Atlanta possession (ATL 31, a 23-yard return)
4:17 Schaub left side to Dunn for 4
4:12 Dunn right side for 9 (3rd/1)
3:31 Schaub on a bootleg, looked like a play run for Vick...he was untouched on the left side and ran out of bounds for 8 (ATL 48)
3:26 Schaub pressured in the backfield, throws the ball away
3:21 Dunn up the middle for 9 (3rd/1)
2:41 Dunn right side for 3 and a first down (SEA 40)
2:08 Hamlin pressures Schaub, Schaub throws incomplete right side to Price, flags for ILLEGAL CONTACT (SEA 35), first down
2:03 Dunn right side for 2
1:52 Schaub underneath left to Dunn for 10 and a first down
1:23 Dunn tackled in the backfield by Boulware for no gain
1:18 Atlanta timeout (1st)
1:18 FALSE START ATLANTA
1:12 Schaub underneath to Dunn for 3 (3rd/12)
0:42 flags whistle the play dead...FALSE START ATLANTA, please put more time on the clock (3rd/17)...they didn't
0:18 Schaub to Finneran a yard short of the chains (4th/1)
0:14 Schaub right side to McCrary for 9 and a first down (1st/G)
0:07 Schaub runs right side, stopped at the 3, no gain
0:03 Schaub loft pass to Finneran in end zone ALMOST PICKED by Ken Lucas...Alexander is officially screwed
***0:00 Schaub to Finneran over the middle in the end zone TOUCHDOWN (SEA 28-26...2-point conversion handoff Dunn up middle stopped by Chad Brown NO GOOD, but it goes under review...IT'S NO GOOD)
THE SEAHAWKS ARE YOUR 2004 NFC WEST CHAMPIONS
SEAHAWKS 28, FALCONS 26
SHAUN ALEXANDER GOT ABSOLUTELY SCREWED.
Happy stats for the Seahawks...
Matt Hasselbeck went 21-for-27 and 191 yards, along with 2 touchdowns and a pick.
Shaun Alexander (he got screwed) rushed 19 times for 80 yards and a touchdown
Bobby Engram had 6 catches for 79 yards. He rules.
Seahawk tight ends Itula Mili, Jerramy Stevens, and Ryan Hannam combined for 7 catches, 65 yards, and a touchdown.
---
You know, this was a very big win, I'm not going to argue with it. Very big win. The defense once again bended but didn't break in the fourth quarter. Last spring, when the Mariners started going in the tank, we bandied out a mantra that we ended up using very frequently -- even when you win, you lose. I'm not saying this isn't a huge win, because it is. But to call Hasselbeck's number from the 1-yard line on 2nd down with Shaun Alexander one yard short of a share for the NFL's rushing lead is just so incredibly messed up that I'm almost beside myself. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I wanted the game to go to overtime just so Shaun could get the rushing title, but good gracious, he only got 19 carries today! Also of note in Shaun's plight was the sequence of plays on the final Atlanta drive, on the 3rd-and-12 where Todd Weiner of Atlanta got called for a false start after the ball was snapped. To me, this is a dead play and the clock should start over again from 0:43. But as noted in the play-by-play, there was a "10 second runoff of clock." I wish I knew why this was. If the Falcons score one play earlier and the Seahawks get the ball back, maybe Shaun does get that one more carry, who knows? It's not like he'd be accused of running up the score; this wasn't a similar situation that Peyton Manning had in the Sunday night game against Baltimore. Alexander only had to gain one yard -- he didn't have to score points.
On the offensive side, the Seahawks in the linescore were abnormally consistent -- one touchdown per quarter. The Seahawks used their tight ends a lot more effectively, which I thought was a bit of a new wrinkle thrown into the offense. Matt Hasselbeck was sacked four times, which was quite unnerving.
On the defensive side, I wish this defense would play 60 minutes for once. They nearly blew another 4th-quarter lead AGAINST MATT FREAKIN' SCHAUB. They allowed three conversions on 3rd down in that final drive, along with the one on 4th down. They actually looked fairly good until the final drive. There were a couple drives where they let either TJ Duckett or Warrick Dunn break one off, but then they held the Falcons to field goals (or missed field goals, in one case). I think I overheard that the defense wasn't penalized once in the game until the final drive, which was illegal contact on Marcus Trufant (ill-timed, of course).
All in all, the Seahawks didn't let the game get out of reach, though I was on edge when the Falcons were up by 10 in the second quarter. But the Seahawks answered right back with a touchdown on the next possession, and I felt a lot better about their chances at that point in the game. Then Ken Lucas' interception was ruled an incomplete pass, which was crap because it didn't look like the ball moved as he hit the ground (Daryl Johnston: "look at the laces"). In a weird note, there were only three possessions combined by both teams in the fourth quarter.
The bottom line? It's a win. The Seahawks are division champions. The Seahawks are hosting a home playoff game on Saturday. The Seahawks have another chance to win their first playoff game in a very long time.
The Seahawks have one final chance this year to exorcise all the demons that came alive in Week freakin' 5. If they did, it would just be sweet justice. If they got Green Bay later in the playoffs...I just got way ahead of myself.
A winning record. Their first division title since moving to the NFC. A home playoff game. A chance to atone for the abhorrence of the first game against the Rams on their own turf.
It's good.
One last thing. Tip a glass of your favorite beverage for Shaun Alexander. It wasn't just Shaun that got screwed here. The entire offensive line, Mack Strong, and anyone else that blocked for him this year got screwed also.
No diddly-poo, and they get the division title against the spawn of Mr. Diddly-Poo. A happy Sunday indeed.
Rams. Seahawks. Saturday.
[Edit Mon ~8:57a -- offensive and defensive "front" were replaced by "side," because that's what I meant and I could see how it could be construed as just meaning the front lines, whereas I meant "entire side of football."]
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