Seattle Seahawks show gritty heart in ugly win
Sep 29, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman (25) celebrates his interception with tight end Zach Miller (86) and return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium. The Seattle Seahawks beat the Houston Texans 23-20. in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
This week in Hawk Tawk, I am going to try not to focus on the negative. I am going to concentrate on Tawking about all of the good things that came out of that epic win over the Texans. If you have read Hawk before, you know how I feel about saying it like it is, and calling out poor play. This week I want to call out the good things. Let’s Tawk Hawk.
Last week’s game against Houston is why I do not focus on statistics. Statistics show that Seattle played poorly. Stats show that Houston is a very good football team. Stats do not show how inspired the defense played in the second half, or how hard the team fought when it mattered. Statistics do not show what won that game for Seattle, because there is no statistic for heart.
Last Sunday, we all witnessed what may be the most important victory of the season for the Seahawks. That was an ugly, ugly, ugly win. The Seahawks looked like a tricycle racing a corvette for most of the game. I am not sure why they looked so bad, but the fact is that they did. When you get pushed around, punched in the mouth, and have your lunch money stolen, you are supposed to curl up in a ball and try to survive. You are supposed to just accept the fact that you lost and try to save some face. Not the Seahawks, nope they are going to fight back, no matter how big you are. They are going to keep swinging until they find a way to kick you in the nuggets, then take their money back while you lay there crying.
The game started well enough. The defense had a great take away on a text-book tip drill and everything looked like it was supposed to. After the initial drive yielded a field goal I thought to myself, “Okay,that was a good drive, just stalled a little by an aggressive defense.” Then, I just paced back and forth cussing for the remainder of the first half. Everything was going wrong. The patchwork offensive line was terrible, as we knew they would be. The running game looked like it might get going until, well, until it didn’t. Russell Wilson was being chased relentlessly by the Texan pass rush. The defense got torn apart by the Texans running game and their passing game. Halftime couldn’t come soon enough. But it did.
In the second half, the defense tightened up. The Seahawks bent, but did not break. They kept Houston off of the scoreboard which in turn gave the offense time to try to figure out how to move the ball. The passing game just did not come around and seemed like it was in slow motion. Yet, it was the passing game (in a way) that moved the ball down the field on that huge touchdown drive. Russell would drop back to pass, feel the pressure and then somehow escape yet another sack and run for a first down. Russell threw the team on his shoulders and managed to move the ball down the field. The Texans certainly helped the Seahawks out with a few ill-timed penalties, but it was up to Seattle to capitalize on those situations, and they did.
Seattle’s defense seemed to remember the benefits of putting pressure on Schaub in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks finally turned it up a notch. It was a critical second down stop, and a well-timed third down pressure that created the game tying interception by Sherman. I don’t remember ever seeing a more glorious Seahawk moment than that pick six, it was simply magical. When he crossed the goal line, I knew Seattle had taken the Texans last breathe. I knew they were going to win that game. As I danced around screaming and yelling, I realized I had just witnessed the play that would allow Seattle the chance to go 4-0 for the first time in franchise history. Can you imagine how loud it would have been if that play happened in the Clink?
Championship teams win those kind of games. When a high-caliber team sputters on offense and defense, but can find ways to win games like these, it means so much more than a win in the win column. Seattle showed that this team has the heart and soul of a fighter. There was no option other than victory, and they found a way to make it happen.
One could say that the Texans lost the game instead of Seattle won the game. I disagree, Seattle most certainly won the game. The Seahawks appeared to be beaten for over 90 percent of the game, on the road and against a very very good Texans team. What Seattle did was to never give up. A lot of teams say they never give up, but that is just ear wash, saying what they want others to believe. Seattle showed everyone who watched the game that they truly never give up, they showed it, they didn’t just talk about it.
It was an amazing finish to a huge victory for the Seahawks, emotionally if nothing else. Now it is time to get ready for next week. The Seahawks travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts and Andrew Luck. This week has all of the makings of another tough game for Seattle. If they can find a way to win, they will be 5-0. The offense will certainly need to find a way to work around the current offense line trouble. The defense will need to get themselves right again. Andrew Luck and his Colts are no pushovers which makes this road game just as dangerous as the last. Hopefully, Seattle has regrouped, taken a deep breath and is ready, because another performance like last week’s may not be enough for a win this time.
Seattle stumbled last week and came away with the win which is encouraging. I really am excited to see what happens when this team is firing on all cylinders. Bruce Irvin is back this week, Bennett somehow might play and when you add Clemons and Avril to that mix, they should be putting more pressure on opposing quarterbacks. So the Hawks have their defense in tact to keep Seattle rolling until the offense finds their groove. When they get the offense rolling, they are going to be very, very scary.
Did you know that there is a large group of Seahawk fans right down the road from me in Austin, Texas? I didn’t until a week or so ago. They are almost 100 strong and get together every week to take over a local pub and cheer on their Hawks! I haven’t had the opportunity to meet them in person yet, but am looking forward to in the very near future. I wanted to use this opportunity to make sure that 12ers know that they exist. By the way, Ted is on vacation this week, so I will have to check back with him next week. Until then, 12thman now, 12thman forever! Go Hawks!!