Top 5 (OK, the only 5): Seahawks Beat Eagles!

The Seahawks must beat Philadelphia Thursday night to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, so I thought this would be a good time to look back at Seattle's previous five victories over the Eagles. Thankfully, all five were pretty awesome/memorable... Enjoy!

5. Seahawks 26, Eagles 14 (12/3/95)
The Hawks brought down the playoff-bound Eagles behind four Todd Peterson field goals and 93 yards on the ground from Chris Warren. Rick Mirer absorbed five sacks, but for once avoided turnovers and scampered for a rushing TD. Wow. Remember when we still had faint hopes of Mirer growing into a franchise QB? Historical sidenote? This one was a week before that EPIC comeback win at Mile High Stadium. Personal sidenote? I was having a little too much fun in the Fairhaven dorms at Western back then, so a lot of these mid-90s Seahawks games are kind of a big blue-and-green blur to me now...

4. Seahawks 24, Eagles 20 (11/23/86)
The Seahawks were 5-6 and losers of 5 of 6 (and 4 in a row) coming into this one against the 3-8 Eagles, who were led by rookie QB Randall Cunningham. The Hawks stole a win on the strength of three big plays: a 72-yard bomb from Dave Krieg to Daryl Turner, a blocked punt return for an Eric Lane TD, and a 75-yard punt return touchdown by Bobby Joe Edmonds. Seattle led 21-6 at the half and barely held onto to win... The most remarkable thing about this win? It was the start of the legendary stretch run of 1986. Hmm. Guess who is coming to town on Thursday as the Seahawks try to start another improbable late playoff push...

3. Seahawks 38 @ Eagles 0 (9/6/98)
If you didn't see this game, it's really difficult to understand the reaction of Seahawks fans at the time. The Hawks went cross country into that outhouse of a stadium called The Vet and DOMINATED the Eagles. In every phase of the game, the Seahawks looked Super Bowl Bound. Warren Moon tossed three TDs, Joey Galloway had 6 catches for 142 yards and 2 TDs, and we had a running back tandem of Ahman Green and Ricky Watters that looked unstoppable. The defense? They just posted three takeaways, nine sacks and a pick-six TD.

For one day, anything looked possible.

2. Seahawks 28 @ Eagles 24 (12/2/07)
In a game the Eagles had to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Seahawks went cross-country and snuffed Philly's season on a chilly Pennsylvania afternoon. Maurice Morris put the Seahawks up for good with a 45-yard touchdown dash in the 4th, but it took Lofa Tatupu's 3rd interception (just yards from Seattle's goal line) to finally seal an epic win in the final minute of play.

1. Seahawks 42 @ Eagles 0 (12/5/05)
The Seahawks were supposed to be exposed as West-Coast wusses on this Monday Night back in 2005... Noted caveman dipshit Mike Ditka picked Philly to win this one. Why? Because he didn't think a "dome team" could come out in the elements and win. Did it matter to Ditka that we hadn't played our home games in a dome for 6 years? Did he even KNOW? Of course not- Why bother to do your research on that weird bird team from South Alaska, right? Nobody gives a fuck about THEM.

The Hawks gave the whole NFL nation a forearm shiver right in the fuckin' chops that night- NFL MVP Shaun Alexander scored twice, but the big stories were Lofa Tatupu's trio of interceptions, and Seattle's triad of defensive TDs (2 by Lofa, and one by Andre Dyson). The Seahawks scored on their opening posession and never let Philly catch their breath in a smothering, dominating win.

We could use something like that Thursday night, boys. What do you think, sirs?

Redskins 23, Seahawks 17

The formula was working. Things were going according to plan.

The Seahawks took a 17-7 lead early in the 4th quarter over an inferior foe, after spotting them a 7-0 lead... Just like the week before in St. Louis. The D was making stops, and Marshawn Lynch was violently assaulting the enemy defense. All the Seahawks needed to do in order to notch a 3rd straight win was hold off the feeble Redskins.

Unfortunately, the Redskins are not the Rams, and the Seahawks are not yet who I hope they can be. Seattle's defense uncharacteristically allowed two long DC TDs in the 4th- and suddenly trailing, our best offensive weapon (Marshawn Lynch) was rendered irrelevant. T-Jack couldn't lead a winning drive, and all realistic hope for the playoffs died on the Seahawks Stadium Field Turf.

The big story really isn't that blown 4th-quarter lead, though- Today the Seahawks were bedeviled by the same deficiencies we've seen all season:

-TOO. MANY. PENALTIES.
-Not enough pressure from our front four on the opposing QB
-Dropped passes
-A QB who can be admired for his toughness, but also has very clear limitations
-Did I mention the penalties?

I'm taking this one hard- I'm sure part of the reason is that I was at the game today, but this truly was a game we had in hand, and it was a victory that would have kept our foward momentum rolling and our playoff hopes alive. I could have handled our playoff hopes dying at the hands of the 49ers or the Bears- But the fucking Redskins? That's a self-inflicted wound, and it'll sting for a while... I mean, how am I supposed to accept fucking REX GROSSMAN coming into our house and beating us?

There's plenty of blame to spread around today- This truly was a loss by the entire Seahawks organization. I'm not here to spread a message of despair and doom, though. I still think our arrow is pointing up; This is a young team with a good amount of talent that needs to learn to be more consistent and more disciplined IMMEDIATELY.

It would be crazy to react to today's loss by declaring Thursday's dust-up with Philly a hopeless endeavor. The Eagles must come 3000 miles west on a short week, and they've shown absolutely ZERO mental toughness this season. A Seahawks team that has slayed the Giants and Ravens can surely best the Eagles. That's the big question, isn't it? Which version of the 2011 Seahawks will take the field Thursday evening?

The loss aside, it was great to be at Seahawks Stadium again with my brother James- I also got to meet fellow Twelve Mark Dickenson (@Seahawkeye on twitter), who came all the way from Melbourne, Australia to catch the Redskins and Eagles games.

C'mon, Seahawks- Send the dude home with a win. It's the least you can do.

What do you think, sirs?

"If You Think This is Over, Then You're Wrong"

Later today I will get on a plane and fly west to see my family in the Tri-Cities and hopefully see my brother James and the Kamiakin Braves upset Bellevue in the Washington 3A State Semi-Finals Saturday... but I'm also going to the Seahawks game Sunday, which is suddenly way more than a battle between two losing teams going nowhere (at least to me).

I spent a lot of time growing up trying to figure out how middling Seahawks teams might be able to make the playoffs. What are the relevant tie-breakers? Who should we be rooting for? Rooting against? I remember doing a lot of that crap with pen and paper back in the dark ages of the 80s and 90s- Thankfully now we have the ESPN NFL Playoff Machine to fuel the insanity of pasty dorks like myself.

Long story short? The Seahawks have a very solid shot at the postseason IF they win the rest of their games and finish 10-6. Seattle CAN get in at 9-7, but would then need a lot more outside help- You should root for Dallas to win the NFC East because we lose the head-to-head tiebreaker with them but win that same tiebreaker with the New York Giants. You should also root for losses by Atlanta, Chicago, and Detroit. Because three of Seattle's losses were to AFC teams, the Seahawks would win most multiple-team tiebreakers based on conference record.

Even shorter version: If the Seahawks keep winning, their chance of making the playoffs will keep climbing up, up, up.

If you go to Cool Standings right now, it will tell you that the Seahawks have a 1.2% chance of making the playoffs. This is where most folks would insert their Dumb and Dumber "So you're saying there's a chance" jokes- Not me. I hate bringing this up as a Red Sox fan, but it's worth pointing out that the Tampa Bay Rays had a 1.3% chance of making the playoffs on September 7, 2011.

It's NOT hopeless- We still have a chance at this, particularly with our relatively soft upcoming schedule. The Seahawks have a meaningful game to play on Sunday, and I intend to scream myself voiceless trying to will us to victory over DC... For now, that's good enough for me.

What do you think, sirs?

Double Flashback: Two Seahawks Playoff Wins Over the Redskins

Every once in a while, I'll reach back into the archives of my personal blog (which existed from 2002-2009 and more or less got killed by facebook, twitter and this blog) for classic posts about our Seahawks. This week is a great time to look back at the two victories among the top 10 in franchise history that came at the expense of the Washington Redskins: Our 20-10 2005 Divisional Playoff win and our 35-14 2007 Wild Card triumph... Enjoy!

January 14, 2006: Seahawks 20, Redskins 10

21 years of frustration… Gone.

I’m as giddy right now as Shaun was after Matt’s TD scamper in the 3rd quarter. What an amazing show of heart by the entire Seattle roster, overcoming the injury to Shaun Alexander and three giveaways to notch the win that sends us into the NFC title game (and sends me out west to scream my guts out at the biggest event in the history of Seattle sporting life)…

For me this was three hours on the verge of barfing all over my living room, but this team that I fell madly, rapturously in love with didn’t let me down. Matt threw no game-losing int, Bobby didn’t drop the game winning pass, Largent didn’t muff the hold on a key PAT, and Fredd Young didn’t have an interception waved off in OT… Instead, Matt made all the throws, Darrell Jackson had the game of his life (my god, D-Jack.. You are a fucking warrior. If I had a uterus I’d carry your baby a full nine…), and our O-line did just enough to let MoMo and Mack scratch out key yards. Above all, our underrated defense smothered the Skins like Nicholson in Cuckoo’s Nest. Special dap goes to the 67k who took the rain and made life even more miserable for DC’s offense…

Revel in this moment, everyone. Embrace this team and clutch them close to your heart, because we might not see another like them again. If you haven’t been a life-long fan, I offer amnesty from my taunts of bandwagonism at this point. Hop on for the ride, because we’re going all the way to Detroit!

Talk some shit to a Redskins fan (what will Mr. Tony DC dicklicker Kornheiser have to say on PTI Monday?)… Don’t concern yourself with the negatives right now. SA will be fine next week, and we’ll beat which ever team limps away from that Bears/Panthers bloodpisser tomorrow.

I have more celebrating to do, and I’ll be on a plane to Seattle Thursday morning!

Woo-Hooo!!!!

January 5, 2008: Seahawks 35, Redskins 14

If the Seahawks go on to XLII, we might look back and consider one of the MANY defensive stands Seattle made to be particularly important. After the brain-scrambling fuckup on DC’s kickoff immediately after the bad guys took an 14-13 lead, the whole squad seemed to be imploding… falling behind 21-13 midway through the 4th may have been the deathblow, but the defense clamped down and DC’s kicker shat away a 30 yarder. We all know what went down after that.

It’s getting to be an cliche, isn’t it? Seahawks get overlooked, disrespected, and dismissed. Seahawks host playoff game; opponents dismiss the impact of the 12th Man. The Qwest Field crowd is louder than a Boeing Dreamliner, a bunch of crazy shit happens, and in dramatic fashion the Seahawks emerge victorious (and the losers admit the crowd noise was a factor).

Goddamn that was fun! I have no voice left, and I still have a headache, but it was totally worth it. The crowd NEVER let up all day. It was an experience I’ve never had at a sporting event outside of Qwest Field (or maybe Sox/Yankees at Fenway).

Some highlights of the day at the game:

-So I buy a poncho and a stocking cap at the Pro Shop, then it barely rains and they HAND OUT bright green stocking caps as we enter the stadium. Fuck.

-No Redskins fans befouled our immediate seating area, but in a moment of human empathy I came to the defense of a DC fan out in the Hot Dog line at half-time by recounting MY experience as a visiting fan in Cleveland. That seemed to defuse the situation.

-Um, what is up with like three guys at once going into the family restrooms? It’s not like the lines don’t move quickly, you dumb drunk fucks. I don’t plan to bring Jack to a game at Qwest for a while, but if I had a little kid at the game and saw that nasty shit I’d be pissed.

-I think the only times that I’ve heard Qwest louder than during/after Tru’s pick 6 were A) The entire NFC Championship game in ‘05 and B) Romo dropping the ball last year. The stadium seemed alive at that moment… It was amazing to experience.

The airing of grievances:

Where are you guys all at? All of you who were sure that Sean Taylor’s ghost would smother the Seahawks with burgundy ectoplasm? All of you who put sooooooo much emphasis on the Seattle defense allowing 44 points in a meaningless game? All of you who thought “momentum” was so important? All of you who thought DC would have an emotional edge, as if Seattle had nothing to play for (hmmm.. maybe for themselves, for the fans, etc)?

I’m not hearing a peep from any of you.. I wonder why. If we lived in a just world, so-called “experts” who spout lazy psuedo-analysis like I heard all week would be banished from the journalistic profession. However, they still have jobs and are getting ready to completely dismiss the Seattle Seahawks yet again. Fucking Come-swabs. Jesus.

(By the way, I love our chances in Green Bay, but I’ll be talking more about that later in the week)

Finally, I ask Unsilent Majority of KSK fame: If the Seahawks are “ass-spelunkers,” what does that make the Redskins? Oh, that’s right: Sitting at home for the rest of the playoffs watching the Hawks.

What do you think, sirs?

Bonus stuff- pictures from my day at the 2007 Wild Card game

and, of course... This:

Seahawks 24, Rams 7

"The NFL need to start fining QB's that throw the ball across my middle..." - Kam Chancellor on Twitter after today's game

It's easy to discount Seattle's 24-7 win at St. Louis today- I don't deny that the Rams are a franchise in free-fall right now, and Sam Bradford is regressing at such a rapid rate that comparisons to Rick Mirer become more apt with every passing week. You could also point out that bad, even GOD-AWFUL Seahawks teams (*cough" 2009 *cough*) in recent history have gone into that Dome and won games.

But they didn't win the WAY Seattle won today- and THAT'S why this win is significant and encouraging in addition to being absolutely essential. How many recent Seahawks teams would have imploded after T-Jack's two early (and ugly) interceptions? Would they have not only come back to win, but choked the opposition into complete submission? That's what your Seahawks did today, Twelves. Yes, there were still too many penalties... and yes, Tarvaris Jackson held the ball too long and took too many hits.

After giving up an early TD following a T-Jack pick which set STL up deep in Seattle territory, the Seahawks SNUFFED the Rams' offense. Chris Clemons, Red Bryant, Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman were the most obvious stand-outs, but the entire defensive unit smothered any signs of life out of St. Louis' attack. It was an absolute joy to watch them work today.

For the 3rd week in a row, the Seahawks' offense maintained their commitment to the ground game- and it paid off more and more as the game progressed. I LOVED watching the Holmgren Hawks win with precision, and succeed by outsmarting and outscheming the enemy- but if the Seahawks are creating an identity as a mentally tough team that can overcome mistakes/adversity and physically abuse/dominate their opponents? That'd be pretty fucking sweet.

Tarvaris Jackson didn't have a great game, but he threw a Real-Genius-worthy frozen lazer to Sidney Rice for our first touchdown. He also deserves praise for settling down after those awful early picks and playing competently (again) with what is surely a painful injury. Jackson's toughness/leadership isn't enough by itself to stave off the drafting of our QB of the future next spring, but it's good enough for now. Leon Washington also had a standout performance, nearly breaking a couple of punt returns for TDs and setting the Seahawks up with good field position repeatedly.

It was satisfying beyond belief to hear "Sea-HAWKS" chants echoing through the Costco Warehouse the Rams call home late in the 4th quarter- It's even MORE satisfying to reflect on the sorry state of our divisional rivals, to whom many prematurely handed the NFC West title before the 2011 season began. How many thought that last year's week 17 loss at Seahawks Stadium was just a speed bump on STL's journey towards divisional dominance? What if that 7-9 mark was THEIR peak? It's a LONG road to the top for the Rams- a far longer and tougher journey than the one facing our young, hungry, vicious Seahawks.

Even against fairly pathetic opposition, beating a divisional rival in their building by 3 scores is a great step forward for a very young Seahawks team. Now we come home for three games against teams with losing records (including an MNF rematch with the forlorn Rams in three weeks), and 7-6 feels very plausible- Realistically, the Seahawks probably need to win out to steal an NFC Wild Card spot. I'll grant that it's probably too early to seriously think about that- But if we can beat these three fairly bad teams at home, THEN it will be somewhat less than bugfuck insane to legitimately think we have a shot at the post-season.

I'll be up in section 325 next Sunday, watching and wailing as we wallop DC. Sexy Rexy and his minions have NO chance. How awesome is it to feel hope, Twelves? Not just for the future, but hope (however faint) for THIS season?

I'm going to enjoy this ride until it ends, and I feel bad for those too wrapped up in next year's draft position to do likewise.

What do you think, sirs?