Tawk About Birds of Prey…Hawks Hunting Prey, Falcons are Praying

Happy Blue Friday to all the 12ers worldwide!

Welcome to Hawk Tawk.  This week I am just full of questions.  I hope you are full of answers.  Have you ever seen the worst and best of a team all in the same game?  Yes, you have, probably twice now.  Last week the Hawks decided to spot the Bucs 21 points before they even showed up at the stadium.  At first I couldn’t figure out why I felt so familiar with such a stomach wrenching sickness.  Deja Vu’?  It hit me at half time.  The last game of the 2012 season.  The “almost” greatest win in Seahawk history.  That day.  Yep, it was all coming back to me, the irritability, the anger, the sinking heart, the colorful vocabulary, all of it.  Then, my younger brother Brent made a call.  He said, “all we need is a score before halftime, a big stop to start the second half, another score, and we are back in this.”  Well, what do you know?  Calling your shot is becoming common play in this familia.

I have never been so pissed off at the Seahawks.  What in the heck was Darrell Bevell thinking, pass play from inside the five yard line, when Skittles was on fire?  That was as stupid as it gets.  What was Dan Quinn thinking with the soft zone coverage against a “can’t run the football” team?  Here is my take. Against the Bucs Seattle should have stacked pressure, every single down.  They should have forced Schiano to beat them with the pass.  Massive pressure, blitz, stunt, blitz, stunt, the entire first half.  I promise, the Legion of Boom backfield can suck up some man coverage for a while.  Seattle’s zone coverage sucks, basically because it allows sorry !@# football teams to march down the field when they have no right to be doing so.  I do not, I repeat, I do not understand or agree with the schemes called on either side of the ball for 90% of last Sunday.  The two coordinators better pull their heads out of their proverbial fourth points of contact and get right, quickly.

"“Here is to the 12thman.  12thman now, 12thman forever, Go Hawks!”"

The Hawks should have blown Tampa bay out of the water.  I understand the whole, “Any given Sunday” routine.  But that doesn’t mean I give it any credence.  Good football teams should beat bad football teams, and Tampa Bay is the epitome of a bad football team right now.

Having vented, Seattle played well in the second half.  The defense held Tampa to a field goal, yet still managed to hand out rushing yards like Halloween candy for the second week in a row.  The difference was that somebody remembered that Marshawn Lynch actually played for Seattle.  He should have had over 200 yards on the ground last Sunday, and for that I am forever confused.  However, they came marching back and won the game.  It was an extremely hard game to watch, and exciting all at the same time.  At least we can all say that we saw history in the making, right?  Unfortunately the only history I am interested in is the Seattle Seahawks winning a Superbowl.  My heart simply cannot take it.  I expect a National News Flash tawking about a shortage of baby aspirin to break soon.

Okay, now that I have gotten myself all fired up over Seattle having an 8-1 record, let’s Tawk about something that makes me happy for a few eh?  Here is a little test for you, just to see where you are in your Twelvedom:

1) What stadium did the first sellout in Pro bowl history occur at?

2) Seattle once traded a first round draft pick to the Dallas Cow

girls

err I mean boys, for a lower 1st round pick and three 2nd round picks.  What Hall-of-Fame player ended up being drafted by the Cowboys with the draft pick Seattle traded away?

3) What team holds the record for most interceptions returned for touchdowns in a single game with four?

4) What team had the Coach of the year and rookie of the year in 1983?  Hint, the coach won coach of the year in ’84 too.

5)) Who was the only team to beat both Dan Marino and John Elway in their rookie season?

What about my prediction that Revis Island would be renamed Sherman’s Peak, you ask?  Yep…..Revis Island sank in the Puget Sound.  Then there was a mighty earthquake, out of which rose a towering, smoldering mountain of molten verbiage. Richard Sherman’s Peak was born.

Rise Sherman’s Peak, Rise!!!

Whew, I feel better.  Now on to week 10.  This week the Seahawks face off with the Falcons.  This a Birds of Prey match -up.  The Seahawks are going in after their prey, and the Falcons are praying they can find their way.   My concern is that Seattle once again takes a team with a losing record way too lightly.  The Falcons are not nearly as potent as they could be as the injury bug has hit them hard as well.  Doesn’t it just seem like Seattle should beat the feathers off the Falcons?  Why do I have a sneaky suspicion that this is going to be another nail biter?  Why do I have no fingernails left to bite?  Can I bite my toe nails?  Nope, that is just gross.  Never mind, pretend I never asked.  If you just thought about, or even tried to get your toe into your teeth, you are awesome, and kinda gross.

This past weekend, my wifey and I spent some time in Austin, Texas.  We had made a last minute decision to go with our friends Thomas and Marissa bouncing from gourmet food truck to gourmet food truck during TXTW, which for the uninitiated is Truck By Truck West.  Austin has some of the best Food trucks ever.  They gave away free beer at almost every truck we visited.  I know, right?  I was rocking the 12 jersey, and the wifey was amazed at how many fellow 12ers stopped us and gave a Go Hawks, along the way.  Austin is full of displaced Seattleites and fellow 12ers, and that makes Austin just weird enough for me.

One day, Bevell will remember that Seattle has a pair of awesome running backs and use them accordingly.  One day Quinn will remember that he has the Legion of Boom, and turn them loose.  One day, Pete Carroll will remember that he is the head coach, and that he has veto authority on crappy game plans by the offensive and defensive coordinators.  One day Seattle will actually front a healthy offensive line.  One day.

Here is to hoping that Marshawn finds solid footing and extra green skittles.  Here is to Russell Wilson finding Tater, Dougie Fresh, and JK wide open in the end zone, all day.  Here is to the Legion of Boom breaking a long standing Seahawks record of pick sixes in a game.  Here is to Mad Max, Big Red, and Boo Boo all getting healthy  soon.  Here is to the Rest of the Seahawks staying healthy.  Here is to the 12thman.  12thman now, 12thman forever, Go Hawks!