By Joe Okabe

Listen. You can hear it already. The murmurs, the whispers that will soon turn into a crescendo on Monday morning. The cacophony of complaints that neither the Rams nor the Seahawks are deserving of a playoff berth.

It’s possible that two 10-win teams might be shut out of the playoffs while the 8-8 Rams or the 7-9 Seahawks not only make the postseason, they get to host a first-round game! Under normal circumstances, I’d agree with them. However, as Seahawks fans are well aware, these are not normal circumstances.

The winner of Sunday night’s Rams/Seahawks game will win the NFC West, while the loser’s season will be over. Both teams are in a must-win situation. The stakes could not be higher. The winner deserves to move on. … [visit site to read more]

One beacon of light in a storm of inconsistency and unfulfilled expectations has been linebacker,David “The Heater” Hawthorne. He has been twice the Linebacker Curry has and doesn’t celebrate after every single play. (Seriously Curry?!) He has led his team in tackles the last two seasons in a row, and is the true leader of this defense whether the fans recognize it or not.

Hawthorne played for TCU and nearly doubled his numbers between his junior and senior year yet remained undrafted. As much as I hate to admit it, this is probably a Ruskell pick: great kid with a great work ethic that is on the verge of something bigger. Once L Hill went down to an early injury in 2009, Hawthorne stepped up, took over, and never looked back.

His tenacity is what defines him as a player. He’s everywhere all the time. Game in and game out. The Heater is always running hot. Hawthorne is a steady force in an otherwise floundering defense. … [visit site to read more]

I was in the stadium that day, however, I was not one of the chanting tens of thousands. In fact I was shocked to see it happening.

But after the game, walking back to the hotel amidst all the other blue and white jerseys, I found myself falling victim to it: The curse of the backup quarterback.

Every city has one, and every team without a winning record thinks he’s the man.

I am embarrassed to say it. But I fell victim to it today.

Sorry Matt. … [visit site to read more]

I understand the reasoning behind the decision to keep Matt Hasselbeck as starting quarterback over Charlie Whitehurst. I just don’t agree with it.

The offensive line had trouble with Whitehurst’s signal calling, especially rookie left tackle Russell Okung. Okung committed a false start penalty on one play and was blown up by Atlanta defensive end John Abraham on another. It seemed as if Okung didn’t react to the snap count, then was overwhelmed by Abraham, leading to a sack. I believe the coaching staff feels this is a problem not easily fixed.

The argument can be made that since making the playoffs is a possibility, a change shouldn’t be made. Under normal circumstances, I would agree with that sentiment. However, these are anything but normal circumstances.

Hasselbeck’s abysmal play is the main reason I want to see him replaced. He is well aware that the Seahawks have little margin for error, yet he continues to force throws into coverage regardless of down, distance or field position. Hasselbeck is clearly uncomfortable, which is the last thing he should be during Week 16. … [visit site to read more]

Eventually Matt would get his starting job back, however, 2 things needed to happen first:

1. Difer had to give Matt the discipline he lacked as an NFL quarterback. I can’t help but think of a selfish Jeff Garcia going to the Raiders and refusing to help their younger quarterbacks in fear of losing his own starting job. I hate selfish guys who put their own needs in front of the team, and that is exactly what Garcia did. Dilfer on the other hand, the consummate professional and friend, did the exact opposite. In fact, I would go as far as to say that a big part of the Hawks success was due to Dilfer’s ability to put his team before himself. He was a good quarterback and a great guy. Why he is on NFL Live and not a quarterback’s coach somewhere is mighty surprising to me.

  … [visit site to read more]

First Rd Picks Earl Thomas & Russell Okung

With two weeks left in the season for the 6-8 Seahawks, Seattle sits tied for 18th overall in the NFL standings with our St. Louis nemesis. This would put the Seahawks at either the 14th or 15th slot in the upcoming NFL draft. Teams sitting at 6-8 in most divisions would have their fans crying for them to lose out to gain a higher draft pick, however in the Wild Wild Weak NFC West division, 6-8 is tied for the division lead, so at this point we can’t exactly cheer to lose at this time. So for now, sitting around the middle of the draft we have to be realistic of what is even possible for the Seahawks. With still so many needs from; O-Line, CB, D-Line, QB (unless your satisfied with Jesus Whitehurst), and maybe even a LB or WR. Granted we have some young talent at the WR position with the emergence of Mike Williams, the 2nd round draft pick of Golden Tate, and the slow development of Deion Butler and Ben Obomanu, but it would never hurt to take a proven playmaker if the situation arose. WR however is probably lower on the totem pole as far as need for the Seahawks. Linebackers are also something Seattle should consider, yes two drafts ago we took Aaron Curry who has shown flashes of greatness at times while making 3rd string mistakes others, yes David Hawthorne has turned out to be a pretty solid LB once he was given the chance when Leroy Hill went out, and yes Lofa Tatupu is our play caller on defense regardless of his undersized frame that has extreme difficulty shedding blocks to stuff the run, needless to say were solid but I don’t know if I would go as far as saying completely satisfied and once again probably still lower on the totem pole. … [visit site to read more]

During the player introductions there were the faintest of boos. You had to listen to hear them, but they were there. It seemed as though the crowd was waiting to turn on Hasselbeck, and unfortunately for the Seahawks, Matt did not disapoint them.

Three turnovers later, the crowd was ready to see Matt go, however, I don’t think they really expected to see what happened next.

Whitehurst put together an 88 yard scoring drive capped with a gutsy run up the middle. This is when it started. “Charlie, Charlie, Charlie…” After Whitehurst found Obomanu for another 2 points, the crowd got even louder, “Charlie, Charlie, Charlie…”

It didn’t seem really loud to me, and it certainly didn’t last a long time, however, for a lonely Matt Hasselbeck, it must have seemed like a lifetime. … [visit site to read more]

By Joe Okabe

At the last Seahawks home game at Qwest Field against the Carolina Panthers, the attendance was announced as 66,577. I only have one response to that.

Bull.

For anyone who, like myself, attended the game, it was clear that there were nowhere near that many people in the stadium. I would bet that the actual number of people in the stands was closer to 56 thousand than 66. This begs the question, “Where was everyone?”

I understand that this was a terrible matchup; a struggling Seahawks team against what is probably the worst team in the NFL. However, could no one be found for the scores of empty seats? For anyone who was interested in attending the game, there were several people hawking tickets outside the stadium, as well as hundreds of tickets available online, most of which were available at far less than face value. Is fan interest in the Seahawks that low?!

  … [visit site to read more]

Expect to see a few of these at the Atlanta game

Guest Article by Glenn Duggan

As a Seahawks fan since birth, I’ve been through this season before. You might as well call it an “Erickson,” if you catch my drift.

This last weekend’s no-show against the 49’ers just reinforced (again) my instincts how this season was destined to play out. Whether the Hawks finish at 9-7, 8-8, or 7-9, we all know how this is going to end.
In a season that has given us glimmers of hope (Leonard Washington! Destroying Chicago at Soldier Field!), we all know the inevitable trap-door moment is right around the corner. Whether it be Vinnie Testaverde’s helmet at the one (TOUCHDOWN) or Bobby Engram missing a pass for a touchdown in a playoff game against a heated rival (did you feel that twinge of nostalgic hurt, or was that just me), I’m ready for it to catch me when I’ve got the highest hopes for this season in place.

… [visit site to read more]

I am leaving for Las Vegas Saturday morning and am coming home on Monday night. I have been to Vegas a number of times, however, never for an entire Sunday during football … [visit site to read more]

One of the things he was quick to point out was how early Earl Thomas came out of college, and that he is being asked to do things he was … [visit site to read more]

Spencer has seemed to teeter between being a great center and giving it a try on another team. He’s a first round guy who never turned the corner like you wanted him to. On this play, however, he looks like a legit Center destroying his man and clearing the way for a determined Lynch.

Michael Robinson clears out the right side by getting leveled, however, a block’s a block, and without it, Lynch gets a significant carry but not for a touchdown.

Once Lynch is free of the line of scrimmage, he starts to drift right, shifts left, and then delivers the hard move back to the right scooping up his defender’s pride and continuing on for the touchdown.

This play was very reminiscent of Shaun Alexander except that it was actually outside the 20 yard line and was not a primetime game. (rim shot) … [visit site to read more]

Yardbarker.com

It was looking exrtemely bleak at the 2 minute warning until Walter Jones gave a heartfelt thank you to the 12th Man that reminded everyone why they used to love coming to these games in the first place. Jones fought back the tears as he rubbed his daughter’s head, and his mother stood proudly in the background. The whole thing seemed to lighten the otherwise dreary mood.

After that moment the Seahawks never looked back and didn’t allow Carolina to score again. Tatupu came up with  his first td since 2005 and Marshawn Lynch was finally able to showcase his talents passed the line of scrimmage. Lynch’s 24 yard td run was an amazing demonstration of power, balance, finesse, and the ability to just make a guy miss… completely.

Russell Okung had his best game of the season by providing the anchor for the running game’s debut as well as some pretty viscous hits. In particular a severe hit following a Hasselbeck interception made Okung look like he might be just as comfortable on the other side of the ball. … [visit site to read more]