Raiders 33, Seahawks 3

Well, my optimism has, at least momentarily, been proven to be ill-founded. Obviously, we don't look like a Super Bowl contender right now, but we're still in first place and I still believe we'll finish with a winning record and as champions of the NFC West.

That was one of the most painful losses we've absorbed in a while, wasn't it? The stunning spate of injuries was a testament to how thoroughly Oakland dominated us physically (we are still waiting for word on how severe they all are).

The detestable Raiders outplayed us, bringing greater intensity and better coaching (yipes!), but that was compounded by Seattle mental lapses and just awful fucking luck. The bright spot was the special teams, who gave the offense and defense chances to make plays all day- Those units simply could not capitalize on the opportunities.

It's going to be a LONG week heading up to the Giants game. You are going to hear nothing but pronouncements of absolute, utter doom for the Seahawks.. A lot of this will even come from Seahawks fans. It's going to be unpleasant, to say the least.

But you.. You've been through worse. You're a Twelve, god damn it! You lived through FAR worse than this.... and I'm telling you, if you stay strong, and you keep the faith, you WILL be rewarded. Nine games left. Win five, and you win the division. One of those will get knocked out next week.

Yes, the Giants are a strong team... But the Seahawks will play far better, hopefully have Okung and Bane back on the field, and be backed by a bugfuck-crazy horde of 67,000 Twelves... Remember: If you have a ticket to the game, you can help the Seahawks win. Eli Manning doesn't exactly bring his A-game to Qwest- Let's make sure he doesn't on Sunday.

On twitter, I criticized what I see as the negativity that grips many Seahawks fans. I stand by that, but I can also give these encouraging words: If you go to Qwest, and you yell yourself hoarse for 3 hours next Sunday, YOU help the team win. YOU are important.. More important than what any reporter or blogger writes about the Seahawks; More important than all the haters and naysayers combined. YOU can make a win next week happen. Remember, this is for you:

Don't let the bastards drag you down! Wear your Seahawks gear this week. Remind everyone the Hawks are still all alone in first place. Go out on the limb and tell the unbelievers that Seattle will win on Sunday... That's what I'm fixin' to do.

You are the hearty and the hale, my readers. You knew nothing would come easily this season. You knew we'd have to weather storms as much as we'd bask in post-victory glory. We will fight, we will endure, and when we leave the field victorious after beating the Rams in the regular season finale, we will be back in our rightful perch: NFC West Champions.

Your faith will be vindicated.

The Importance of Starting 5-2

Wanna know how important Sunday's game is? Well, do you know what the Seahawks 1984, 1986, 1987, 1999, 2003 and 2005 seasons all have in common?

In all those seasons the Seahawks got off to a 5-2 start, and in every one of those campaigns but 1986, Seattle made the playoffs (although the '86ers won 10 games and surely won Super Bowl XXI in a tangent universe).

Yes, Sunday is just a single, non-conference game, and a loss wouldn't be a season-killer... but it's hard to overstate how much a win in Oakland would boost Seattle's post-season hopes.

In other news- Anyone hitting Halloween parties with Seahawks-related costumes? Or have any ideas for something like that? Spill it in the comments, yo.

A Tribute to a Work in Progress

Even John Morgan over on Field Gulls has now admitted the possibility of something more than a 9-7, wild-card-round sort of season for our Seattle Seahawks. Given that Morgan isn't exactly a geyser of Seahawks optimism, you know something unusual is afoot. Hell, Tony Dungy just called us the best team in the NFC the other night (a statement met with open derision by Dan Patrick and Rodney Harrison... That fuck Harrison? He'll be dealt with later on).

I'm not ready to anoint Seattle as Super Bowl favorites- I've seen too many promising Seahawks starts dissolve, like a Newcomer in salt water, into non-playoff seasons to book my February flight to Dallas just yet... However, I'm at a point where I'd be shocked by anything less than an NFC West title this season. Let's break down the remaining schedule, shall we?

Games Seattle SHOULD win: @OAK, @AZ, CAR, @SF, STL
Games Seattle LIKELY WON'T BE FAVORED to win: NYG, @NO, KC, ATL, @TB

If you really think that we shouldn't be able to beat the Raiders, Cardinals or Niners regardless of venue, you really need an immediate infusion of Twelve confidence. These are mediocre-to-bad teams that Seattle SHOULD beat. So that part is simple: win the games we should win, and you get to 9-7. That week 17 win over STL should settle the west, even if the Rams come into that one 8-7 (remember, they already have four losses and have not won away from home yet).

If the Seahawks win ANY of the games from that other menu? We're talking 10 or more wins, and a real chance at a playoff bye or even the #1 seed. To me, the probable range of our final record is between 9-7 and 11-5. It's exciting, isn't it?

We've just been through two craptacular seasons, but thank God we have ownership that didn't passively give Mora "another chance." Nope. Mr. Allen recognized that was a terrible, losing notion and brought in a hungry, talented HC and a young, bright GM. This season could crumble down the stretch like 1994 or 1998, but I doubt it... Carroll and Schneider have turned the Seahawks Steamer away from the pointy rocks and toward a smooth(ish) journey to Championship contention.

Yes, we don't yet have a Lombardi Trophy, but we are a LUCKY fan base: A billionaire owner who invests in the team but doesn't meddle in football decisions, the best facilities in the NFL, a front office that creates an amazing fan experience on gamedays at Qwest Field, and a team clearly back on the upswing. Enjoy this, Twelves. Our time in the Hell of losing, mediocre football looks like it was blessedly brief.

Next up? Oakland. I guess I'm supposed to be all scared of going into the Black Hole on Halloween? Meh. The Raiders beat up on Denver the other day. Good for them... But I'll believe they can play well for two consecutive games when it actually fucking happens... They're a brood of Silver-and-Black flakes down there, and our Hawks are going to remind them of their proper place in the NFL pecking order on Sunday.

Seahawks 22, Cardinals 10

That wasn't the cathartic, emphatic beating we all hoped for, but not only was it an important divisional win, it was more evidence that these Seahawks can take a punch without crumpling into a weeping ball in a dark corner of the room... When it looked like the Cardinals had turned the momentum after yanking Max "funtime" Hall, the Hawks responded with a LONG drive that resulted in a field goal.

Others will probably pick at all the ways the Seahawks fucked up today, or insist that we won because the Cardinals trotted out two of the worst quarterbacks who have ever stepped on an NFL field... Fine, whatever. From my seat, I see a developing team that will get pretty fucking dangerous once Brandon Mebane and Russell Okung are 100%.

The revelation today was Big Mike Williams. BMW didn't just have a great game (11 often acrobatic catches for 87 yards and a TD); He truly looked like the best WR the Twelve Army has seen in Seahawks blue since Steve Largent terrorized defenses from '76 to '89. How amazing is this story? BMW isn't just a functional, competent receiver- He actually might end up fulfilling the potential he flashed so many years ago at USC and become a legit all-pro NFL WR.

Justifiably, there was a lot of concern about how the offense looked from the mid-1st to mid-3rd quarter... Hasselbeck seemed to have hit snooze on the alarm clock telling him when to get rid of the fucking ball, but he recovered to have a decent but unspectacular day. He did cough up a turnover via a fumble, but for the second week in a row he threw ZERO interceptions. Let's hope that streak keeps going for a spell.

Marshawn Lynch once again got the tough yards and showed grinding, aggressive effort that we haven't seen from a Seahawks RB since Ricky Watters (I'm not saying that to hate on SA, but that just wasn't his style). Beast Mode and Young Nastyman are going to be an extremely potent combo, particularly once the offensive line is settled and healthy.

The defense is getting graded on a curve (the bad way) because they were at home, and faced a dipshit fuckwad rookie QB. They still forced three turnovers (the special teams snagged two more), and knocked that snot-nosed shitbag Max Hall out of the game. What a disaster that kid was! Wisenhunt insists he'll still be the starter for them, which will just ensure us another win when we go down to Glendale in a few weeks. Kid'll be slinging it up in Saskatchewan a year from now... you can bank on that.

That dirty fuck Darnell Dockett was up to his old tricks again, but right now he's on the loser flight back to the desert with the rest of his flunkies. Fuck 'em. They'll be lucky to finish 6-10.

So, next week is Oakland, our ancient hated rivals. That rivalry has faded over the past decade, but I still want us to go all Jigsaw Killer on those jag-offs Halloween day... and we will. We've climbed back up into first place, and we're not going to give it up this season... certainly we're not going to let the Raiders knock us off the track.

What do you think, sirs?

Max Hall Has Gone Full Retard

We've seen this pattern before: Player or coach that has never been to Qwest Field downplays the impact the Twelve Army has on Seahawks home games. After they leave the field defeated and deafened, they invariably say things along the lines of "I've never played in a louder stadium than that." Here's just one example.. Remember Panthers OC Dan Henning saying this before the 2005 NFC Championship Game?

“We went into places like New Orleans and Indianapolis and St. Louis and won,” said Henning. “So we’ve done fairly well with it. Plus, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anything louder than the Kingdome.”

We all know how that turned out, don't we?

Now, Cardinals QB Max Hall, who has accomplished absolutely zilch in the NFL, has decided to give the Seahawks defense and an army of 67,000 fucking maniacs extra motivation:

"I played in some loud places," he said. "I've worked with the silent count before, so it's nothing new. It's something I feel fairly comfortable with."

Um, wow. I can't shake the feeling that A) This will be Hall's ONLY career start at Qwest Field and B) He isn't even going to finish THIS game, due to injury or being yanked for ineffectiveness.

I was doing some research on this cat, and I dug up this gem from his college days:



Full story here... Man, if he couldn't take some abuse for UTAH UTES fans, how is he going to react to the wave of fury and rage that is going to be aimed DIRECTLY AT HIM for three hours on Sunday?

I can't be at the game this Sunday, but I trust that all of you lucky enough to be in attendance are going to give him a proper welcome to the loudest stadium in the NFL...

Here comes a feeling you thought you'd forgotten...

As Eames once said to Arthur, you mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darlings...

You should all probably put a huge discount on what I'm about to say here. Remember: I was telling you that we still had a shot at the playoffs when we were 5-7 last year (then Mora led us to possibly the worst month of football in franchise history)... Here I go anyway:

The Seattle Seahawks have a legitimate shot at going to the Super Bowl. This season.

Of course, if the Hawks somehow crap away this Sunday's game against the inexplicably 3-2 Cardinals, I'll go back into the shadows, hoping we still scratch out 9 wins to take the division. Seems bloody unlikely though, doesn't it? After that is Oakland, which even being a road game is one that the "born again hard" Seahawks should win.

Then NYG. At Qwest. As it should be. Back in 2005, it was a win over the Giants that made a lot of Soldiers of Twelve start believing that something bigger than sneaking into the Wild Card game was possible. This year, the NYG game will probably pit two 5-2 teams, atop the NFC standings, against each other. If Seattle wins? Well, it's obvious where I'm going with this....

A HUGE part of this equation is the overall weakness of the NFC this season. Look around.. Is there ANY NFC team that Seattle shouldn't be able to beat at Qwest? I'd say no. Is ANY NFC team a good bet to finish above 11-5? Again, I'd say no (as would Football Outsiders' current playoff projections). It is likely that 2 or 3 teams will finish 11-5 (and no higher), and then tiebreakers will determine playoff seeding.

The Seahawks have a plausible path to 11-5 that includes key tiebreaking wins over the Giants and Falcons. Here's the eight wins that could get us the #1 seed in the NFC: AZ, @OAK, NYG, @AZ, CAR, @SF, ATL, STL. If we can win at Soldier Field, why can't we complete season sweeps of the Cards and Niners? In an effort to show I haven't got absolutely off my nut, I've conceded a home game (to KC) and road games at Tampa and New Orleans. However, 10-6 feels about right for the Saints, and while TB's off to a nice start, I can't see them cobbling together more than 8 wins.

Imagine how insanely rocking Qwest Field could be against the Rams on January 2nd if we're not playing for an NFC West title, but for a bye and TWO home playoff games at Qwest?

Imagine how tough it would be to come into Seattle and win a playoff game against a young, hungry Seahawks team hitting its stride, backed by the fury of the Twelve Army... Sure, all of this might seem implausible to many of you.. but not as implausible as it might have been a week ago, right?

My god... What if we actually played Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl? Could ANYTHING be more cathartic than beating those Yinzer crapsacks to win our first World Championship? Some of you probably just winced, thinking about what the mighty Steelers could do to our developing, rebuilding, fragile Seahawks...

Fuck that. This team will get better and better as the season goes on, and I will fear NO foe if we actually make it into the postseason.

Yeah, none of this is LIKELY to happen... but with each win, the impossible becomes improbable, then plausible, then WITHIN OUR FUCKING GRASP.

I believe.

"Says who?"

It started innocently enough. Pete Carroll posted a picture of himself with former President Clinton (BTW, isn't it kinda neat that we have a Coach that can make THAT meeting happen?), with this caption: "Great visiting w/ Pres. Clinton this AM... he's competing hard for these midterm elections & has an awesome message."

One thing I'm actually proud of about this blog is that I don't do the usual frightened avoidance of politics... I'm a liberal, a Democrat, a progressive. I don't feel like I should hide that. In fact, I sort of feel a duty not to cede the arena to conservative sports fans... I HATE the assumption that NFL fans are all reactionary Republicans (I get this from some of my most hard-core liberal friends), so I feel somewhat obligated to present myself as a counterexample. Yes, liberals can be NFL fans. In fact, quite a few liberals are Seahawks fans (no surprise, given the political culture of the Pacific Northwest).

I already knew that Coach Carroll had campaigned for Obama back in 2008, but it was exciting to see that he's still politically active, and for the party I support. Innocuously enough, I tweeted that it was great to see Carroll politically engaged, just like Matt Hasselbeck has been for the GOP. It wasn't an indictment of Hasselbeck; I knew he signed an open letter supporting Bush's re-election in 2004, and we all remember him attending a GOP fundraiser with Bush in the Seattle area in 2007... The fact that Beck was a Republican in no way affected my adoration for him as the Seahawks' QB, leader, and my favorite player. You mean a millionaire is a Republican? Huge shock! I was just happy that he wasn't an overt, vocal homophobe, sexist or racist.

The evidence seemed pretty clear that Matthew Hasselbeck was a Republican. Then our quarterback tweeted this, directly at me:

@DKSB17 Says who?

Ouch. I have longed for the day Matt Hasselbeck would notice my support or my other pro-Seahawks efforts on Twitter, and THIS is what he responds to? I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. I was mortified. I tried to make it clear that my tweets were not intended as an attack; My assumption that he was a Republican was simply based upon available public evidence. Further, I have NO problem with him being a conservative. I'd PREFER that all the Seahawks players and coaches shared my political views, but I know that's impossible (and would be sorta creepy)... So I just deal, you know?

So, I want to publicly state that if Matt Hasselbeck no longer considers himself a Republican, or if he never did (despite his GOP-supporting actions), I apologize for reaching that conclusion. I know a LOT of people hate having a partisan labels slapped upon them, even if they vote for the same party EVERY TIME... My mom is like that; Has NEVER voted for anyone but Republican candidates, but swears she "votes for the person, not the party."

Well, I vote for the party almost every time, because it makes a BIG difference which party controls the levers of power in the United States. I prefer the policies of the Democrats, so I vote for them. In any case, while I'm not going to suddenly get apolitical here or on twitter, I'm still sort of nauseous over the notion that THIS is how I ended up interacting with my favorite Seahawk.

So, if you happen to read this, Matthew, I hope we're cool. :)

What do you think, sirs?

MAJOR UPDATE: Hasselbeck @DKSB17 We're cool dude. Maybe I am a little like your mom. Great story about the Mack Strong photo with #43. It'll be in my book someday.

How cool is that? HE READ THIS BLOG!

Seahawks 23, Bears 20

For the 3rd time in 6 weeks, Pete Carroll's Seahawks have delivered the "best Seattle win in recent memory." The great thing? They keep topping themselves, surprising the Twelve Army and leaving the nattering nabobs of negativity flummoxed.

They were supposed to lose to the Niners. Wrong.

They were supposed to get rolled by the Chargers. Wrong.

They had no chance going on the road against the mighty Bears. WRONG.

Any sort of win today would have been extremely satisfying, but they way Seattle physically dominated the Bears, coupled with the contributions of so many youngsters key to the future of the franchise, made this the biggest Seahawks victory since the 2007 Wild Card win over DC.

Usually it's Seattle's QB who takes a 3-hour beating when the Hawks hit the road. Not today... It was amazing to watch the Seahawks defense beat Jay Cutler to a dazed, fuzzy pulp with six sacks, a safety, and a fuck-load of hits/hurries.

Usually it's an opposing WR that runs wild all over Seattle for 10 catches and 135 yards. Not today... Mike Williams fucking TOOK the #1 WR job today with a "comeback player of the year" sort of performance.

It went on and on... Russell Okung took a big step towards me buying his jersey with a complete ERASURE of Julius Peppers. The young guys in our secondary got beat a handful of times, but overall they played great, buttressed by the veteran leadership of future-HOFer Lawyer Milloy and future Ring-of-Honoree Marcus Trufant. Jon Ryan pinned the Bears inside the 20 what, like 17 times? It sure felt that way.

Beast Mode/Young Nastman are going to spearhead a great ground attack, hopefully well into the middle of the decade. It was heartening to see Lynch turn negative plays into something positive, if not at least neutral, more than once.

Then there's Beck. Yeah, he's a ghost after this season.. But today made me think that he might at least get a happy ending to the Seattle chapters of his NFL career. He avoided the big fuck-up, and made a couple of nice throws. It sounds like I'm damning him with faint praise, but if he can keep this up, he'll keep Whitehurst on the bench until 2011 Training Camp.

It's a beautiful moment, isn't it? It feels like we are witnessing something special, doesn't it? If we can win in Chicago, why not Oakland? Glendale? The Superdome? Candlestick? Tampa? The future is WIDE OPEN, and it's OURS.

Plus, it's always a fucking joy to beat that goddamn smirking fuckstick Mike Martz. Fuck you. I still bear the scars of 2004, asshole.

What do you think, sirs?

"I say we blow the fuckers up."

I'm sure you've heard that according to Harris Polling, the Seahawks are the 2nd-least popular NFL franchise in the United States. I'd be lying if I said this didn't bother me. It's just another one of the seemingly constant stream of indignities the Twelve Army has to endure, part of a tapestry that goes back to '76 and includes Super Bowl XL, The Phantom Touchdown, and a million other petty and felonious transgressions. Hell, the players notice this crap too. Key quote from our Quarterback:

“Oh, it s cool, but when there are national stories about our team, they are rarely very accurate or rarely do they tell the full story of what’s going on,” the former Boston College star said, laughing, too. “If we start winning games again, maybe we’ll get on TV again, maybe we’ll get a Sunday night game one of these days, it’s been a long time. I’m not even going to ask for a Monday Night game… But it’s like being in the Witness Protection Program.”

I could sit here and question the poll's methodology (why not factor in attendance, merchandise sales, TV ratings, internet traffic, etc), or I could point out that a playoff run would send Seattle shooting back up these rankings next year. Instead, I'll admit that shit like this fuels me.

I wear Seahawks gear almost every single day, and a big reason is my pathological need to constantly "represent." It's as if my mission out here in the Wilderness of the Midwest is to say to anyone I encounter: "See! Seahawks fans DO EXIST! Like DryLand, we are not mythical!" And if anyone ever comments on my Hawks gear, they almost always give me some variation of "why do you like the Seahawks???" (With a look on their faces like I just blasted them with eggfarts) I would imagine running into a Seahawks fan out here is like briefly getting a glimpse of a Chupacabra, Sasquatch, or the Mothman to your typical Ohioan.

So being the Martha Dumptruck or Carrie White of NFL High School is painful, but productive; it will make our eventual glorious triumph that much more delicious. It's this constant drumbeat of dismissal and disrespect that elevates almost every game to the level of a twisted morality play for me. Put as simply as possible: Being a picked-on, unpopular kid growing up makes rooting for the Seahawks a VERY natural move for me.

So this Sunday, for me at least, it's not just Seattle v Chicago: It's Lambda Lambda Lambda v. those Alpha Beta mother fuckers.

What one team can do, another can do.

It's pretty common for human beings to put too much weight upon the most recent events. We tend to think that what we JUST SAW is indicative of larger trends, and has enormous predictive power. The most recent event in the world of Seahawks football was an embarrassing, demoralizing defeat in St. Louis, and based in large part upon that performance, you'd probably be hard pressed to fill Qwest with Seahawks fans who HONESTLY believe Seattle will win this Sunday at Chicago.

Concurrently, we've all seen the entire NFC West get off to a brutal start. No NFCW team has a road win against a non-divisional foe so far this season, so the chorus has already started signing: "Oh, this shall be the year a team with a losing record wins the divisoooooonnnnnnn!" (Cue the bitching about how a 6-10 division winner might make the playoffs instead of a deserving NFC East runner-up... Horror!)

I'm here to tell you that conventional wisdom is fucking dead-ass wrong on two counts:

1. The Seahawks will win at Soldier Field this Sunday.
2. As usual, the NFC West Champion will finish the season with nine or more wins.

These notions are intertwined, obviously. In the entire history of the NFL, only two division winners finished with non-winning records: The 1985 Browns and the 2008 Chargers. Both teams finished 8-8 (Cleveland dropped a heartbreaker at Miami, and the Chargers BEAT the mighty Colts in the Wild Card game), and here's the crazy part: NEITHER TEAM WAS IN THE NFC WEST.

Yup. Go look up the entire history of the division, going back to its creation in 1970. Somehow, someway, at least one team has managed to win more than half its games for 40 seasons in a row. 2010 won't be any different; Some team, at some point, will figure it out. The cosmic tumblers, as the man once said, will click into place. Some team will win a couple games on the road, maybe even against a team or two they aren't supposed to beat.

It could be ANY of the four teams in our division (just kidding about the Niners: They are FUCKED)... Why not the Seahawks?

Why can't they rise up this week and smite an overhyped team with an overbearing fan base stuck in a glorious but long-gone past? The Seahawks can stuff the Chicago running game. They can harass whichever QB the Bears roll out there into mistakes and turnovers. They can feed the ball to Beast Mode and physically punish that Chicago defense. Softened up, that Bears defense can be carved to pieces by a well-protected Matt Hasselbeck. Golden Tate could make a big play, as could Leon Washington, John Carlson, Mike Williams or Deon Butler. Pete Carroll, Gus Bradley and Jeremy Bates can outsmart the Chicago coaches.

WE CAN WIN. WE WILL WIN.

We can be the team that breaks out of the NFC West scrum of suck, and it starts Sunday, Twelves.

Most Underrated Seahawk Ever?

When I talked about great running backs in Seahawks history a few days back, I left out John L. Williams (and a couple readers took appropriate umbrage at this slight). I didn't do this as an intentional snub or out of forgetfulness; I honestly just have never thought of JLW as a "running back" in the way that label applies to Warner, Warren, Watters, Alexander, etc. He was a punishing runner, a nimble receiver, and an excellent blocker. In short, he was one of the best football players, regardless of position, to ever suit up for Seattle. Look at his resume:

* 2-time Pro Bowler (1990, 1991)
* In 8 years in Seattle, he racked up 8730 yards from scrimmage. That's more than Curt Warner, Chris Warren, or Brian Blades. Only Largent and Shaun Alexander have more YFS in franchise history.
* He has the 3rd most receptions in team history, behind only Largent and Blades.
* He scored two of the most important touchdowns in Seahawks history; both were long catch and runs off the "middle screen." One was at Chicago in 1987, in a crucial win that got Seattle into the playoffs. The other was at L.A. in '88, to put the Seahawks ahead of the Raiders for good and clinch the NFC West crown (both are chronicled in the video above).
* He was also a highly effective blocker, allowing Curt Warner, Derrick Fenner and Chris Warren to all rack up big numbers on the ground from 86-93.

I would argue strongly that among pre-Holmgren-era Seahawks, he is the most deserving of a spot in the Ring of Honor, and I would get his throwback jersey custom-made if I had the means (the necessary means).

What do you think, sirs?

PS: Three years ago, PFR had a great Pro-JLW post of their own.

Ground "BEEF"

It's easy to forget that the Seattle Seahawks actually have a fairly rich history of fielding great running backs and successful ground attacks. Curt Warner tore a hole in the AFC West for most of the 1980s, Chris Warren put up big numbers for some awful teams in the 1990s, and around a decade ago Ricky Watters had some of the best years of his tumultuous but borderline-Hall-of-Fame career in a Seattle uni.

Then there's Shaun Alexander, who must be regarded as one of the greatest Seahawks ever, no matter how many Twelves detested the shortcomings in his demeanor and skill set. SA's gifts deteriorated rapidly in 2006 and 2007, however- So now we're going on FIVE YEARS without a running back/ground attack that can get in the end zone on 3rd and Goal from the 2, or convert on 4th and 1, or eat up long stretches of clock to help us hold onto a 4th quarter lead.

THAT is why Pete Carroll went out and got Marshawn Lynch. Just for fun, I wanted to compare Lynch to some of the great Seahawks running backs I've already mentioned.

Today, Lynch is 24. He has 34 NFL starts, 687 NFL carries, for 2765 yards and 17 TDs.

Curt Warner at 24 (through 1985 season): 33 starts, 636 carries, 2583 yards, 21 TDs.

Chris Warren at 25 (through 1993 season): 31 starts, 513 carries, 2113 yards, 11 TDs.

Ricky Watters at 24 (through 1993 season): 26 starts, 414 carries, 1963 yards, 19 TDs.

Shaun Alexander at 25 (through 2002 season): 29 starts, 668 carries, 2806 yards, 32(!) TDs.

Does this mean that Marshawn Lynch is going to be a multiple Pro-bowler like these other Seahawks greats? Not necessarily. It is clear that Lynch is an instant upgrade at RB, and as the O-Line develops through the season, we should be able to move the ball on the ground and control the tempo in those critical games down the stretch in November/December/January.

Welcome to Seattle, Marshawn. If you produce, the Twelve Army will treat you as a 5th-rate God. Don't go do anything stupid to fuck it up.

Two Weeks to Victory

We can win in Chicago. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I'm so fucking sick and tired of absorbing all the negativity from the naysaying wing of the Twelve Army, and I'm even more nauseated by the tendency for most to present this negativity as unvarnished truth.

We've got Rainn Wilson out there offering to coach the Seahawks. Harf harf derp. We've got SeaChicken Littles running around squaking "same old Seahawks" as if that's a novel fucking sentiment. I'm here to tell you that this team can pull together and cut the shit in two weeks at Soldier Field.

Yeah, the Seahawks looked fucking abysmal against the Rams yesterday, but I'm here to let you in on a little secret: Chicago's 3-1 record is a mirage. They are not as good as St. Louis, and I'm telling all of you they are primed for a hungry, pissed Seattle team to roll into their little crashed spaceship by the lake and KICK THEIR ASSES.

If Carroll, Bates, Bradley and the rest of the coaching staff are professionals; If they have any idea what they fuck they are doing, the Seahawks will hit the field in Chicago amped up like starving, vicious animals.. ready to murder and devour everything in their path.

Hasselbeck will be the QB. It's not my ideal choice, but we will make it work. The O-line will protect him better, the running game will gash those overrated Chicago defenders, and Beck will avoid the big mistake... and then our defense and special teams will win the god damn game.

Cutler might be back from his concussion, just in time to get a few more brain bruises from our boys. We will feast on the moronic combo of Martz' hare-brained schemes and Cutler's pea-brain... We will force turnovers and turn them into points. We will push them into Lake Michigan!

The special teams WILL make a play or two to win the game. They won't stop Leon and Golden all day. No way.

So I don't want to hear fuckers assuming we're going to be 2-3. Nothing is written in stone, especially against a flaky, vulnerable team like the Bears.

We're going to turn it around on the road, and it starts in two weeks. Who the fuck is with me on this????

Rams 20, Seahawks 3

You're up, kid.

Near the conclusion of today's debacle, I peeled off my Matt Hasselbeck jersey and hung it up in the back of my closet. I can't shake the feeling that I won't be wearing it again until the day Beck takes his place in the Seahawks Ring of Honor.

To be fair, Hasselbeck wasn't the sole reason Seattle took its 2nd 17-point road loss in three weeks today. His performance wasn't nearly as fetid as it was in Denver two weeks ago; Today he was merely average and uninspiring, going 20/36 for 191 yards and two turnovers. The bigger issue is that with Beck at the helm, Seattle's offense seems about as lively and fresh as a hefty bag filled with roadkilled varmints. The offense is loaded with potential at WR, sports a promising RB in Justin Forsett, a near-great TE in John Carlson, and a solid offensive line. If Whitehurst has anything to offer, it's athleticism and a competent deep ball.

I hate joining this chorus, but even I think it's time to give Whitehurst his shot after the bye in Chicago. The big risk is that CW may be even worse than Hasselbeck, and it would be VERY difficult to go back to Beck based simply on Whitehurst being extra-sucky. However, with two weeks to get ready for the Bears, this is the right time to get Buddy Christ ready to face live fire.

Will I gnash my teeth and curse Carroll's name if he doesn't make this move? Hell no. Right now, it's a total crapshoot in terms of which QB gives us a better chance to win games. But if he DOESN'T make this move now, it's a pretty clear vote of No Confidence in Whitehurst's future as Seattle's starting QB.

I have said for a while that I'd support Beck as the starter as long as he gave the team the best chance to win NOW. I no longer think that is clearly the case. If Beck is still under center in two weeks, I'll support him lustily and hope he at least "manages" enough games solidly so the defense and special teams can rack up some wins... But I think it's time to see if Charlie Whitehurst has what it takes to WIN some games for the Seahawks.

If you look at this team and the division we play in, we still have a great shot to steal a division title while in the midst of rebuilding for an even brighter future. We're still tied for the lead in the NFC West, and there's no indication any of the other teams are going to break out of the pack and win 10 or more games. This division will come down to the season's final Sunday, and it's highly likely that whichever team notches its 9th win that day will advance to the playoffs (Rams at Seahawks and Cards at Niners on January 2, y'all).

There's SO much about these Seahawks that should excite the Twelve Army. From Red Bryant to Leon Washington, there's a lot of talent on this roster... there's already a great special teams unit, the ingredients of an elite defense, and even a few gems on offense. Carroll and Bates are making weird decisions too often, but I still think our coaching staff has been massively upgraded. I want Whitehurst to play not just to see if he's the right choice for the unknown future.... I want him to play because I don't want blind loyalty to Matthew to keep us out of the playoffs this year.

I really think the NFC West is going to come down to that final game against the Rams at Qwest in January. If we get Whitehurst's FTL drive up and spinning now, his arm and legs might just carry us into the postseason.

What do you think, sirs?