January 3, 2011

Seahawks 16, Rams 6

Think back to September- This is what you wanted. You wanted the Seahawks to beat our detestable divisional foes (we beat all three and went 4-2 in the division), and you wanted them to win the NFC West and make the playoffs.

Think back to September- This is what you wanted. You wanted Charlie Whitehurst to show us he could be a competent NFL quarterback. You wanted rookies Russell Okung and Earl Thomas to justify their 1st-round selections. You wanted street guys like Mike Williams and Raheem Brock to show their old teams it was stupid to cut them loose.

Think back to September- This is what you wanted. You wanted the Seahawks to have a huge game in the national spotlight, so they could show their quality. You wanted Pete Carroll to outcoach his opponent in a must-win game. You wanted your team to show the guts and guile that disappeared in December of 2009 under Jim Mora.

They've delivered. Yes, that 7-9 record is ugly, and we had to endure more than a whole calendar day (what, 27-30 hours of real time?) watching the team absorb blowout losses... but we've seen real progress and development in this 2010 season. Seahawks fans should offer no apologies, and can go ahead and invite the entire NFL nation outside of South Alaska to suck it... To suck it long, hard and dry.

I'm still sort of delirious with joy. I was shocked that Whitehurst got the starting nod from Coach Carroll.. When he announced that news to Andrea Kremer right before kickoff, my heart sank and my confidence dissolved. Softly, because my kids were in earshot, I muttered "fuck." I've never been more happy to be proven wrong! While I still think Hasselbeck should start against the Saints, and that CW is NOT the long-term answer at quarterback, Charlie deserves all the huzzahs the Twelve Army can utter. After an absolute fucking disaster of a performance in relief at Tampa, Whitehurst avoided turnovers, and made enough plays with his arm and his legs to put us in a position to win.

CW got a huge assist from Seattle's maligned offensive line and defense- The O-line largely kept Whitehurst clean, and FINALLY generated some push for Lynch, Forsett, and Washington. Defensively, the Hawks crashed The Sam Bradford Coronation Party, spiked the punch, smashed the ice sculptures, and ate all the bacon-wrapped shrimp. Steven Jackson was held to 45 yards rushing, and the only points STL could muster were two field goals by The Traitor Josh Brown.

Now we turn towards the playoffs- Beating the World Champion Saints is a very difficult task, but not an impossible one. New Orleans must come back out to the Pacific Time Zone, where they've lost at Glendale and needed OT to win at Candlestick this season. NOLA will have to prep for two quarterbacks, and overcome some injuries of their own to win their first road playoff game in franchise history (ok, not counting XLIV.. ha ha).

It's been a frustrating journey, but we've arrived where we wanted to go when we departed four months ago- Isn't that what's important?

GO SEAHAWKS!

2 comments:

Geoff said...

Great article but there's no way Matt should start over CW after that STL game. I love Matt but I can't deal with his bone-headed mistakes anymore. Plus, CW showed up in a big way and deserves to keep his (somewhat) hot hand going.

neurocell said...

7-9. It's ugly, but the Hawks played by the NFL's rules. How many times have they been boned with a winning record? Six. With 10 wins? Once. With the same record as another team that made the playoffs? Seven.

"With the same record as another team that made the playoffs?" This includes 1982 where Detroit and Cleveland made the playoffs with a losing record (4-5).

I've wanted the playoff system fixed for a while, but it won't happen. Why? Because of the divisions. If each team were to play every other team in the conference, then we would be able to seed the teams like the NFL did prior to the AFL merger. Until that time, the current system only needs minor tweaking, ie: The team with the better record hosting the games after the opening weekend. But until these changes take place, all the naysayers can suck it. I had to put up with this bullshit, so now they can. Here's what I feel about their complaints:

http://verydemotivational.memebase.com/2010/12/30/demotivational-posters-ever-feel-like/

PS: I tried to google the picture without words, so that I could show you what I thought about their complaints, but when cow peeing clip art came up, I stopped.