Feb 3, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl proving yet again that regular season records mean little in predicting the playoffs. By translating a 10-6 record in to a 4-0 playoff run, the Ravens have made history by becoming the first team in history to win a Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers.

When NFC West football coaches, players, and fans look back on this season, the biggest lesson might be, “Make sure to show up to play in the first half of playoff games.” While both the Seahawks and 49ers looked as talented as any team in football this year, their habit of digging themselves in to a hole and relying on perfect execution late in games backfired. Instead of the NFC West holding a Lombardi Trophy, the 49ers finish the season more closely resembling the team that couldn’t beat the Rams than the team that was predicted by many to win it all.

In my last article I predicted that the Ravens would pass to set up the run. As it would turn out, the Ravens rushing attack was never a factor at all. Luckily for them, they scored their three offensive touchdowns on pass plays. They ended the game with only 93 rushing yards, and averaged a measly 2.7 yards per carry. On a normal day, that would not be enough to move the chains.

However, especially for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco, this was not a normal day. His three first half touchdowns were enough to bury the 49ers in a deep hole. They were also enough to set a new NFL record with 11 touchdown passes in a single post season without an interception.

Flacco’s first pass was thrown to the middle of the end zone to Anquan Boldin who found a pocket between two defenders. The next touchdown was a 1-yard pass to Dennis Pitta who calmly spiked the ball. The body language of the Ravens squad exuded confidence. The third touchdown made people stop and look. It was a 56-yard completion to Jacoby Jones, who caught the ball in the air, fell down, and got up in time to elude San Francisco defenders on his way to the end zone.

With the possession of the ball to start the second half, the Ravens were in good position with a 21-6 lead at halftime. By the time Jacoby Jones returned the opening kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown, things were looking great.

Feb 3, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Power out in half of the dome in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports

It looked like a good old fashioned Super Bowl blowout, until, of all things, the power went out in the Super Dome. While the power outage delayed the game for 34 minutes, it is impossible to judge what effect it had on the two teams. Some say that the 49ers benefited by being allowed to regroup and kill Baltimore’s momentum.

It could be just as easily presumed that Baltimore benefited from the blackout, by being allowed to regain some energy that allowed them to withstand the onslaught that was soon to come. In the end, the real beneficiary of the power out was probably the bar owners across the world who kept their patrons drinking for an extra half hour. At the end of the unexpected intermission, the game really started to get competitive, and turned in to what many called an instant classic.

Colin Kaepernick, who was flustered and ineffective early, suddenly was able to connect with Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis. Both receivers topped one hundred yards, and Crabtree hauled in a touchdown. The other two 49er touchdowns were run in by Frank Gore who ran for a game best 110 yards, and Kaepernick who celebrated his touchdown run with a highly predictable kiss of his tattoo.

While the touchdown brought the 49ers to within a field goal of the Ravens, perhaps Kaepernick’s celebration was a bit premature if not entirely unnecessary. The Ravens would go on to build their lead to 5 on a Justin Tucker field goal giving the 49ers time to take the lead.

Feb 3, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree (15) reaches for the ball on fourth down in the fourth quarter against Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed (20) in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

However, Baltimore’s defense held tight on a four-down goal line stand that included one controversial non-call in the end zone on a ball thrown to Michael Crabtree. While Jimmy Smith clearly had a handful of jersey, Crabtree was also engaged in contact. Being that it’s a Super Bowl, I’m a big believer in letting the players play, and saving the flags for obvious penalties, like the illegal formation that stalled a promising opening drive by San Francisco.

After turning the ball over on downs, San Francisco’s defense was able to hold the Ravens to a three and out. The Ravens, who had faked a field goal earlier in the game, pulled another unorthodox special teams move. With twelve seconds left, the punter, Sam Koch, scrambled around in the end zone for eight seconds before running out of bounds giving the 49ers a safety and two points.

The score tightened to 3 points, but with four seconds left on the clock, a field goal was not a possibility. Instead of punting from the end zone with 12 seconds left, the Ravens were able to kick off with four seconds left. There were no repeats of the music city miracle as Baltimore’s kickoff team found the ball quickly, and made the winning tackle as time expired.

It was a fitting end to an exciting season of NFL football. The Ravens have some questions surrounding an aging defense, and a free agent quarterback, but have been consistently competitive over the years. The 49ers also look like they’re built to compete for years to come.

Feb 3, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith (82) celebrates with the cheerleaders after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, and Denver Broncos all exited the playoffs with unfulfilled expectations. Expect them to be in the thick of the hunt next season. But, until then, The Baltimore Ravens deserve to hold their well-earned title of NFL Champions.

Jan 13, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) warms up before the NFC divisional playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

Please Welcome David, the Newest voice here at 12th Man Rising. We are very glad to have with join our staff. Now on to his first article:

Watching the Divisional game vs. Atlanta from home, I tuned in early to watch the end of warm-ups and catch the result of the coin toss.  For me, the football game always starts with the coin toss, and I usually consider it a success if the Seahawks start the game kicking off.  That gives them a chance to make up a deficit by potentially scoring first in the second half.

The downside of this result is that they risk giving the other team momentum if the defense allows a score.  In the case of Sunday’s Divisional loss to Atlanta, the Seahawks began the game kicking off to the Falcons, who marched down the field and settled for a field goal.  While that was not a totally bad result, the rest of the first half was full of other, worse results.

It got so bad in fact, that in the first half, the Seahawks put up zero points on two red zone drives, and fumbled away another promising drive.  At halftime, the Seahawks trailed 20-0.

At this time, knowing that they would get the ball back and the first chance to score, I said to my wife, “The Seahawks have a good defense, so there’s a chance.  “If we outscore the Falcons 28-7 in the second half, we win by one point: 28-27.”  She laughed at the time.  I’ll admit, my doubt was pretty high, too.

At about the 11-minute mark, with the Seahawks down by two scores, the laughs had faded.  Seattle fans were on social media, slowly showing signs of belief.  Friends and family members were calling.  Even my brother who used to not watch football called me and said that he was watching.  With ever brightening texts, tweets, phone calls, and facebook posts, Seattleites were checking-in with each other, focused on an the amazing game.  The Seattle Times reported that, by the last drive, 87% of active TV sets in the Seattle area were watching the game.  The Seahawks had overcome their mistakes and judgment lapses, and had fought for the lead with 31 seconds left.  My father actually called me to celebrate the win.  He wasn’t alone.  Seattle erupted in celebration…but just a tad too soon.

In an instant it was over.

After the kickoff, the Falcons used the final 25 seconds to complete two passes and kick a game winning 49 yard field goal.  Though the Seahawks got the ball back with six seconds left, they failed to advance within field goal range on their first possession.  As a result, they ended the season with an interception on a desperation pass that made it to the end zone.  The year of “almost good-enough” ended accordingly, and it hurt.

The loss hurt in ways both new and familiar.  On one hand, it hurt that we came so close, and didn’t win the championship, something that I have never witnessed a Seattle team accomplish.  On the other hand, the fact that the Seahawks had come back from such long odds validated them.  They are a good football team in position to make another run at the title next year.  Most of all, it just hurt that the season was over.

This was one football season, and one football game, that I really did not want to see end in defeat.   All year, the team delivered and competed in every game down to the last pass of the season.  They never lost anything but a close game.  Above all else, it was an honest privilege to watch the rapid blossoming of Russell Wilson’s play.  He proved this year that he is good enough to lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win.  He just hasn’t yet.

Jan 6, 2013; Landover, MD, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) throws the ball as Washington Redskins defensive tackle Doug Worthington (90) defends in the third quarter of the NFC Wild Card playoff game at FedEx Field. The Seahawks win 24-14. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Zach Miller had what was probably his most important game as a Seahawk Sunday.  After a withering offensive display by RGIII and his offense resulted in two touchdown drives, Seattle’s defense looked like it was running at half-speed and the offense looked like  they had left their Mojo of the last five games on the tarmac in Seattle.  There was absolutely no sign of the high octane offense we had seen in recent weeks, and the vaunted Seattle defense was putting up little resistance to the Washington running attack.

Down 14 – 0 midway through the first quarter Seattle needed to get something going ASAP or risk having the game get out of control by the end of the first quarter.  Enter Tight End Zach Miller who gave the Seahawks just what the doctor ordered to get them out of their funk late in the first quarter.  On a third and long from his own 18 Russell Wilson hit Miller short of the marker, but Miller twisted and fought his way to a critical first down, Seattle’s first of the game.  That was the first sign of life from the Seahawks offense.  That drive ended in a field goal but put Seattle on the scoreboard and broke the Redskins momentum.

The next drive had some excitement from a Wilson to Lynch fumbled handoff which Lynch miraculously scooped up and carried to another key first down.  That drive resulted in a Michael Robinson TD reception, and the Hawks had 10 on the board.  After an Earl Thomas interception of a floated RG III pass the Seahawks added 3 more before the half.  Hawks fans breathed a sigh of relief with the team being just one point down at the half.

The second half started with a lot of Beast mode and Wilson runs — getting the team down to the one yard line before Lynch fumbled the ball away.  The Hawks held the Skins to a 3 and out and got the ball back with good field position, but had to punt the ball away after a near miss to Baldwin in the end zone.  Even though the Hawks were moving the ball they were not able to add any points in the third quarter, reminiscent of some of the Hawks early season games.  Still it didn’t seem like the Seahawks were in too much trouble, but they needed a play to break the near deadlock.  Now in the 4th quarter the Hawks were on their own 46 at 3rd and long when Wilson again hit Zach Miller sneaking out of protection for a huge gain down to the Skins 32.  Three plays later Lynch took the ball into the end zone from the 27 yard line with an assist block from Wilson at the goal line.  And on the 2 point conversion Wilson again hit Zach Miller as he crossed the goal line on a quick slant.  Miller would lead all receivers with 4 catches for the game.

With a touchdown lead the Hawks were ahead but not out of the woods yet.  They needed a game sealing score with time running down.  When the Redskins and RG III got the ball back Bruce Irvin nailed RG III for a sack.  On the next play the right knee of RG III grotesquely gave way as he chased a bad snap and the Hawks recovered on the 5 yard line.  After three unsuccessful shots to the end zone, a Hauschka field goal made it a 2 score game and pretty much put the game out of reach for the Redskins.

There were a lot of great plays made by a lot of Seahawks in this game.  Rice and Tate made some incredible sideline hugging receptions of pinpoint Russell Wilson throws.  Marshawn Lynch made some huge runs and had that crazy scoop of the fumbled hand off.  But the key plays that got the Seahawks out of the doldrums and on their way to this win came from Mr. Zach Miller.  So here’s a big “Well Done!” for Zach Miller, Seattle’s unsung hero and the spark that got the Seahawk machine going.  Go Hawks!

Teams are listed in order of probability for getting the playoff position.

1 Seed: Atlanta Falcons

2 Seed: Green Bay, San Francisco, Seattle

If Green Bay wins, they get the 2 seed the first round bye. If they lose, the 49ers are next in line, and get the 2 seed as long as they beat Arizona. Seattle can still take the #2 seed, but that only happens if the Seahawks top the Rams, and both the 49ers and Green Bay lose.

3 Seed: San Francisco, Green Bay, Seattle

The 3 seed belongs to the 49ers right now. A Packer loss combined with a 49er win would drop the Packer down into this spot. If the Packers win to take the 2 seed, but the 49ers lose, the Seahawks will take the #3 seed if they top the Rams.

4 Seed: Washington, Dallas

Teams could be listed in any order. They play week 17. Winner gets this spot, pretty simple.

5 Seed: Seattle, San Francisco

This spot is currently Seattle’s. Even if the Seahawks lose they’ll wont drop. If the Seahawks win, and the 49ers lose, those 2 teams will swap positions and the 49ers would end up here.

6 Seed: Minnesota, Chicago, Washington, Giants

The Vikings are in the drivers seat here. Win and they they’re in. If they lose to the Packers, the Bears are next in line. If both teams lose, Washington would take the spot if they lose to Dallas. The only way the Giants get in is if the wins and Dallas, Minnesota and Chicago all lose. If everyone loses, Minnesota gets in here.

So it looks most likely that the Seahawks will start the playoffs on the road against the NFC East winner.

If the Seahawks somehow steal the division away fromt he 49ers, then they’ll get a home playoff game. The most likely scenario is there would be a re-match with the Bears at the CLink.

Here is my best shot at determining those 4 plays that, had they gone the other way, would have changed the Seahawks season.

1. Week 1 vs the Cardinals – Most people would pick one of the 2 missed passes at the end of this game that could have given the Seahawks a touchdown and the win.  But I’m going to pick a another play earlier in the game.  Seattle had just scored 13 consecutive points and led Arizona 16-13 . Arizona’s offense under QB John Skelton was having an awful second half and the Seahawks were in complete control and had all the momentum.  Then Skelton was hit during an attempted pass  and left the game with an injured right ankle.  Kevin Kolb, who had lost the starting job to Skelton in the preseason, came in and drove the Cardinals on a scoring, and game winning drive.  The Hawks later fell short on several pass attempts in the red zone after a long drive.  Had Skelton not been hurt, the Seahawks would likely have continued to stifle him and would have been able to play ball control the rest of the game and gotten the win.
2. Week 4 vs the Rams – An uninspired effort by the offense left the Seahawks defense with the majority of the load in this game.  The Rams Danny Amendola was able to get open for key completions all game long.  Even so the Seahawks were only down by 6 and driving with 2 minutes left.  The game was lost on a throw when Wilson’s intended receiver Anthony McCoy tripped on his route and Rams cornerback Bradley Fletcher grabbed an easy interception, and that handed the win to St. Louis.
3. Week 8 vs the Lions – This is another one that, despite a late 4th quarter winning drive by the Lions,  was actually lost not on the last drive of the game, but late in the second quarter.  It was on a Lions drive that was stalled at third-and-11 just past midfield.  Stafford made probably his best throw of the year to Titus Young who streaked for a 46-yard touchdown.  Had the Seahawks held on that 3rd and 11, they likely could have held the Lions out of the end zone until half time and that  4th quarter drive by the Lions would have been irrelevant.
4. Week 12 vs the Dolphins – The Seahawks had the lead and the Dolphins were driving with 8 minutes remaining in the game.  On first and goal from Seattle’s 7-yard line QB Ryan Tannehill was flushed out of the pocket to his right and forced a throw to Anthony Fasano in tight coverage.  Hawks LB Bobby Wagner intercepted the ball in the end zone for what would have been a touchback and Hawks ball at the 20.  Unfortunately, during the throw, Seahawks Safety Earl Thomas had launched himself airborne in an attempt to knock down the pass.  His forward momentum carried him into Tannehills path and Thomas’ arm inadvertently brushed the quarterback’s helmet, drawing a personal foul.  Interception negated.  Dolphins get the easy score and win 21-24.

So there you have it…Coulda-Shoulda-Woulda.  4 Plays that would have made the Seahawks the No.1 seed in the playoffs had they not happened, giving them home field advantage and a bye in the first week…just like their Super Bowl year.  Even winning just one of these games would have made this weeks game vs the 49ers a battle for the NFC West lead.  I’m sure every Seahawks player knows this and will remember it next season, which should be one to remember.  But with a little luck, a top 3 defense, and the newly found offensive power of the last 3 games, hopefully fans won’t have to wait until next season for a look at another Seahawks Super Bowl.  But how much easier it could have been.

The Sehaawks need Marshawn Lynch to help sustain longer drives as they make a run at the playoffs

I deemed a question appropriate for this headline, as that’s what we are left with, questions. Can the Hawks win out? Will the right teams lose? What about the O-line injuries? Which NFC teams will we beat in a tiebreaker? These are all relative questions pertaining to the Hawks playoff chances. According to @seahawk_talk on twitter, the Hawks have a 6.5% chance to play in the postseason. Any 12th man will take that and run with it as we seem to be eternal optimists, torturing ourselves with every possible scenario for the Hawks to make it. This optimism is likely rooted from the utter and total lack of respect this team gets from a national standpoint. There’s nothing the 12th man wants worse than to tell the national media to suck it, and have the Hawks back it up on the field by defying these long odds.

That being said, lets take a look at priority number 1, winning out. I believe this defense is already playing good enough to compete in the playoffs, so I will focus on offense.

We all know scoring more points than the opponent is the object of every game. With the running game steadily gaining ground, and the offense becoming increasingly efficient, how has this affected actual points scored per drive?

According to football outsiders, the Hawks currently stand 28th in the league averaging 1.31 pts/drive. However, over the last 4 games the hawks have had 51 offensive drives resulting in 94 points, averaging 1.84 pts/drive. While that doesn’t seem like a huge difference, if sustained through the season it would be good for 17th, an 11 spot jump in the league rankings, averaging 23.5 pts/game, which would be good for 12th. Compare that to the 15.25 pts/game, ranking 28th, the first 8 games, and it’s a solid improvement. (more…)

• “Jim Zorn was the NFL Offensive Rookie Of The Year for the 1976 season, the Seahawks’ first.
• In 2004, Jim Zorn’s daughter and Steve Largent’s son were both members of the Seattle Pacific University crew teams.
• The first jersey number retired by the Seahawks was the number 12 which was retired to honor the Seahawks consistently loud fans that are often referred to as the 12^th man.
• There was an earlier use of the mascot Seahawks in professional football, in 1946 the Miami Seahawks played in the All-American Football Conference.
• The team has used the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium as home field during three different seasons; 2000 & 2001 while awaiting their new stadium to be
  ]]> http://12thmanrising.com/2011/06/01/seattle-seahawks-facts-did-you-know-3/feed/ 0 http://12thmanrising.com/2011/02/14/offensive-mvp-goes-to/ http://12thmanrising.com/2011/02/14/offensive-mvp-goes-to/#comments Mon, 14 Feb 2011 05:18:53 +0000 http://12thmanrising.com/?p=4365 Although the Seahawks exceeded expectations by making the playoffs and pulling off one of the greatest upsets in playoff history, it’s hard to find and MVP candidate. This biggest problem is that nobody really stands out. Sure, a few guys had a big game or two this season, but consistency was one thing the Hawks never really had. I got it narrowed down to 3 players on offense: Mike Williams, Marshawn Lynch, and Matt Hasselbeck.

  Unfortunately for Mike Williams, Michael Vick decided to have the best year of his career despite having the worst 3 years of his life just prior. On one hand, good for Vick. He’s probably traveled farther between failure and success than any athlete in recent history. On the other hand, so has Mike Williams. Williams did the unheard of by shaking off his “Bust” status this season. Although Williams only had 751 yards and 2 td, he seemed to gain momentum as the season endured. Williams played through injury and said all the right things. He has earned the status as a legitimate wide receiver in the NFL, and has left fans with high expectations believing that last season was just the beginning. This award could very well be Williams’ next season and many more to come, but this season is just way too early. (more…)

  ]]> http://12thmanrising.com/2011/02/14/offensive-mvp-goes-to/feed/ 4 http://12thmanrising.com/2011/01/15/tj-is-baltimores-problem-now/ http://12thmanrising.com/2011/01/15/tj-is-baltimores-problem-now/#comments Sun, 16 Jan 2011 01:53:48 +0000 http://12thmanrising.com/?p=4324 It’s not often that I really loathe a player.   Usually I am ok with someone leaving, or I couldn’t care less.  I remember wishing Dilfer well when he left.  He seemed to leave with a tip of the hat and a hearty handshake.  TJ Houshmandzadeh, on the other hand, was a tool, and I could not of been happier to see him released.  He was all talk all the time.  He blamed everyone but himself for the Seahawks shortcomings.  Just an all around jerk.  I stated some time ago that if you have that personality on a winning team, you are considered cocky, and fans love it, however, if you harbor the same attitude on a losing team, fans usually hate it, and it makes you look selfish, petty, and spoiled.  This is the best way I can describe Houshmandzadeh.

  Well today everything came around full circle.  TJ dropped the most catchable ball in the universe.  This could have been a clutch catch in the waining minutes of the biggest game of his life.  This could have proven to the entire country that TJ is who he says he is. 

  I shouldn’t gloat at another’s failure, but it’s him, and his mouth is nearly as big as his ego.  I cannot think of another Hawk that I truly despised as much as him.  Hutchinson is up there, but I think, for me, TJ takes the cake.  So here’s to your career TJ.  It looks to be as washed up as a kid’s car on prom night.  That wasn’t even a hard catch, and you dropped it.  Maybe you should try making plays before you run your mouth so much.  Another option would be retirement.

  ]]> http://12thmanrising.com/2011/01/15/tj-is-baltimores-problem-now/feed/ 0 http://12thmanrising.com/2011/01/15/a-conversation-with-cicago-beat-writer-and-radio-personality-jeff-dickerson/ http://12thmanrising.com/2011/01/15/a-conversation-with-cicago-beat-writer-and-radio-personality-jeff-dickerson/#comments Sat, 15 Jan 2011 18:11:28 +0000 http://12thmanrising.com/?p=4319  I recently had the chance to talk on the phone with Jeff Dickerson.  Jeff has been traveling with the Bears and covering them  for ABC-7.  Jeff also appears on Chicago’s Game Day Live and hosts a nightly show on ESPN 1000   from 7:30pm to 11:00pm.  To see more about Jeff and his work, check out espnchicago.com  And a quick thanks to Don Povia for setting me up with Jeff. 
  Due to a last minute technical difficulty, I was not able to get a recording of this interview, but I was able to take notes.  Unfortunately my typing is not as fast as I thought it was, so I had to paraphrase the answers a little bit.   
   Do the Hawks deserve to be here?
  I got the feeling that Jeff absolutely thought that the Hawks deserved to be in the playoffs.  “If you win your division that’s how it goes.”  He understood why some fans might be “upset”, and went on to suggest that maybe reseeding teams might be one solution.  One thing Jeff was absolutely clear about was that the Bears players were not overlooking the Seahawks. (more…)
  ]]> http://12thmanrising.com/2011/01/15/a-conversation-with-cicago-beat-writer-and-radio-personality-jeff-dickerson/feed/ 1 http://12thmanrising.com/2011/01/14/5-questions-for-the-bears-blogger/ http://12thmanrising.com/2011/01/14/5-questions-for-the-bears-blogger/#comments Sat, 15 Jan 2011 04:57:18 +0000 http://12thmanrising.com/?p=4308 These were my questions for Jonathan.

  1. How much does it really matter that the Seahawks beat Chicago? Does it have any impact or influence on the upcoming matchup?

  Chicago HQ:  Hell yes. The game against the Seahawks was the beginning of Mike Martz changing. He kept wanting this team to be “The Greatest Show on Turf” but instead the only thing on turf was Jay Cutler. The line was playing for crap and the Chicago Bears stopped running the damn ball. Now, the Chicago Bears are a running team that sprinkles in passes when the situation calls for it. The offensive line is playing better. Plus, the defense is going to better than what you saw. Lance Briggs is healthy and the defensive line has gone through some personnel changes. Trust me, the Chicago Bears considered the Seattle loss as unforgivable. The opportunity to feel better about it comes possibly comes Sunday.

  2. Being a 12th Man, I have to ask: How much of an impact does the crowd at Soldier Field have on the outcome of the game?

  Chicago HQ:  They do this BS in Chicago called “The 4th Phase”. We’re supposed to be wild and crazy. Honestly, and I know you’re not going to like what I’m going to say, I don’t buy into this crowd business. Look, great teams win because their great. The Seahawks beat the Saints because the Saints became one dimensional and forgot how to tackle (I picked you guys by the way…I thought the Saints were way to caught up in how bad Seattle was, and they weren’t prepared for that game at all). The way you get the crowd out of any game is running the damn football. I’m expecting the Seahawks to do that Sunday. (more…)

  ]]> http://12thmanrising.com/2011/01/14/5-questions-for-the-bears-blogger/feed/ 0 http://12thmanrising.com/2011/01/14/5-questions-from-a-bears-blogger/ http://12thmanrising.com/2011/01/14/5-questions-from-a-bears-blogger/#comments Sat, 15 Jan 2011 02:40:59 +0000 http://12thmanrising.com/?p=4300 This has been a busy week for the 12th Man Rising.  I recently got an email from a fellow blogger, Jonathan D. Carroll, who runs a blog called Bears Head Quarters.  The website is www.bearsheadquarters.com  He suggested that we each ask each other 5 questions about the upcoming game.  Thought it might be fun, so I gave it a whirl.  These are the questions that he asked me.  I will post my questions for John shortly.
  1. The Seattle Seahawks came to Solider Field in early October and defeated the Chicago Bears. Is this the same team that beat the Bears at Solider Field or can we as Bears fans expect something else?
   
  12th Man:  It depends on which Seahawks team shows up.  If it’s the one that got crushed 41-7 by the Giants, then they’re worse.  If it’s the team that just beat the New Orleans Saints, then they’re better.  I guess my answer would have to be, YES, and I hope it’s the team that played last week. 
   
  2. Sometimes the luck of the draw has a team making the playoffs and a team with a better record staying home. Does it get old to hear teams like the Giants and Buccaneers complain about the Seahawksmaking it to the playoffs with a sub-500 record? Did the win over the Saints help establish the Seahawks belong or did the Saints look past this game (for the record, I picked you guys to win)?
   
  12th Man:  It does get old.  And it’s not just the teams complaining, it’s everyone.  Especially in the National Media.  I understand that it is frustrating for teams with a better record, but what I don’t get is why they take it out on the Seahawks.  They didn’t make the rules.  It’s not their fault those other teams didn’t get in.  If fans want to be frustrated, I understand.  Just take it out on the people who made the rules not the team that is following them. 
    (more…)
  ]]> http://12thmanrising.com/2011/01/14/5-questions-from-a-bears-blogger/feed/ 0 http://12thmanrising.com/2011/01/10/was-that-pass-interference-on-ben-obomanu/ http://12thmanrising.com/2011/01/10/was-that-pass-interference-on-ben-obomanu/#comments Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:06:41 +0000 http://12thmanrising.com/?p=4261 It was hard telling through binnoculars, but on the replay it looked bad.  I would be the first to admit that objectiveity sometimes becomes irrelevant during the heat of the moment, and this game was a super nova.  Just wondering what everybody else thought about that play. 

  And just for the record, I have heard many fans complain about his key drop in the 4th qrt.  This was a clutch catch that could have costed the Hawks the game.  I would like to point out the fact that Obomanu seperated his shoulder, had it put back in place, and finished the game. 

  It was a big drop.  I will grant you that, however, you can’t fault the moxxy of the guy.  In the end, and after the win, I say we give him that one.  He has outperformed expectations all season long and I highly doubt that it will ever happen again in such a crucial moment. 

  Obo-Wan-Kenobi remains a jedi in my book.

  ]]> http://12thmanrising.com/2011/01/10/was-that-pass-interference-on-ben-obomanu/feed/ 4 http://12thmanrising.com/2011/01/10/lynch-finds-a-new-home-with-fans-in-seattle/ http://12thmanrising.com/2011/01/10/lynch-finds-a-new-home-with-fans-in-seattle/#comments Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:04:12 +0000 http://12thmanrising.com/?p=4262 People are still talking about it. 

   ”The run.” 

  It has been called by many fans and media sources alike,  “The greatest run I have ever seen.” 

  It was bound to happen at some point for Marshwn Lynch.  All year long he has been running like a Beast, however, has had little to show for it but pride.  You see him fight harder than any other runningback in Seahawks history for every yard.   He plays with no fear of injury, and you never get the feeling that he is just padding the stats.  He gives 100% on every play in every game.

  As great as Shaun Alexander was for the Seahawks, he never ran like that.  Ever. (more…)

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