The least respected playoff team in NFL history just eliminated the defending Super Bowl champions.
It was an epic struggle, and for the Seahawks, it did not start well. Olindo Mare's opening kickoff bizarrely sailed out of bounds, granting the Saints excellent field position, enabling them to score on their first drive. On our first possession, one of our receivers bobbled an on-target throw into the hands of a New Orleans defender. The Saints scored again, taking a 10-0 lead.
It looked like we were going to get blown out at home again for the fourth time this season.
Instead, Seattle rallied. Twice in the first half, we recovered from 10-point deficits.
Matt Hasselbeck returned to Pro Bowl form, executing a dynamic game plan featuring formations and plays we've never seen before. Hasselbeck threw for four touchdowns against a Saints defense that surrendered, on average, less than one passing touchdown per game during the regular season.
For the first three quarters, offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates was in the zone, calling a creative mix of plays that kept New Orleans off balance and kept our offense moving down the field.
It appears that offensive line combination #10 is a keeper. That's left tackle Russell Okung, the brilliant rookie; left guard Tyler Polumbus, a converted tackle; center Chris Spencer, the unit's veteran leader; right guard Ben Hamilton, whose play continues to improve; and right tackle Sean Locklear, who played well despite missing most of the week's practices while dealing with the deaths of a relative and a close friend.
The group debuted last week against St. Louis, and they looked even better against New Orleans. They created some running room for Marshawn Lynch, and, with help from the tight ends and Justin Forsett, they provided excellent pass protection for our quarterback, allowing only one sack.
Late in the game, our offense began to bog down, due to conservative playcalling by Bates and cautious decisions by Hasselbeck, who protected our lead by refusing to force passes into good coverage. We kept having to punt.
It looked like the game might slip away at that point. With Drew Brees at the helm, the potent New Orleans air attack continued to execute efficient drives and keep the score close.
Leading by five points with less than five minutes remaining, Seattle tried to drain the clock by running the ball. Accordingly, the Saints defense stacked the box. They had stuffed Lynch for no gain on first down on the Seahawks 31-yard line.
We gave it to him again on 2nd and 10. Our O-Line got a good initial push on the left side. Fullback Michael Robinson stuck his block, driving his man outside. Covering the ball with both hands, Lynch charged toward the hole, but Saints linebackers quickly shot the gaps. One of them slammed into the running back and wrapped up. It looked like we would be held to a short gain, setting up third and long.
At this critical juncture, Lynch showed us what he means by going into Beast Mode as a runner.
Powerful legs churning, he fought off the linebacker and veered inside.
Toppled by our linemen, two Saints defenders lunged at Lynch's feet, but the Beast broke through their attempted ankle tackles.
Two more defenders converged upon the runner: a hulking defensive tackle and All-Pro safety Darren Sharper. The Beast busted through their diving arm tackles.
A fleet cornerback caught him from behind, latched on to Lynch's left thigh, slipped down his right leg, and got left behind, having failed even to slow the Beast.
Crossing midfield, Lynch saw another cornerback closing in from the left. Accordingly, the runner angled right, shifted the ball into his right hand, and shot out his left paw. Instead of simply stiffarming the defender, the Beast flung him savagely to the ground.
Disposing of that cornerback had slowed Lynch, giving some Saints a chance to catch him from behind.
However, by this time, several Seahawks had hustled downfield to help block. This convoy included Hasselbeck. Quarterbacks--especially fragile, aged, injured ones--rarely risk trying to block, and rarely do so effectively. But Matt is a consummate competitor, so he was in the mix.
Defensive end Alex Brown was gaining fast on Lynch. He had a good angle.
Sean Locklear tried to intervene, but Brown simply outran him.
Only Hasselbeck had a chance to stop the fleet 260-pound lineman. Running alongside the defender, the quarterback reached out with his fractured left wrist and shoved Brown's shoulder. Losing his balance, the defender desperately lunged at Lynch's feet, to no effect.
As the Beast entered the red zone, Mike Williams peeled back and blocked a defensive back who had been gaining on our runner.
When Lynch crossed the 10-yard line, Pro Bowl safety Roman Harper was the last Saint between him and the end zone.
Fortunately, Tyler Polumbus, a 310-pound guard, had hustled more than 60 yards downfield. For the last 25 yards, he had been stalking Harper. At the 5-yard line, the guard shoved the defensive back outside.
Lynch read the block, cutting inside, behind Polumbus. Harper recovered his balance and dove for the Beast's feet at the 2-yard line.
The running back skipped aside and crossed the goal line. Somehow, after running 67 yards and breaking, thwarting, or eluding nine tackles, Lynch retained enough energy to brandish the ball and execute a backwards somersault before his teammates mobbed him.
That play encapsulates the promise of this team.
Our defense did enough to win. We couldn't stop the Saints, but we slowed them. We forced New Orleans to mount methodical drives. We allowed few big plays. Our defenders surrendered several touchdowns, but they forced the Saints to punt and settle for field goals often enough to secure a victory.
For the second consecutive week, we stunned a national television audience by rising to the challenge of a must-win game that no one thought we could win.
We have begun to restore the reputation of Seahawks Stadium and the 12th Man.
We are showing that we are a better team than our record indicates.
We have now officially exceeded expectations. Coach Carroll's goal for the year was to win the division. We achieved that last week.
No one expected us to win a playoff game.
No one imagined that we could stick a fortyburger on the defending Super Bowl champions.
But we just did.
I hope you were able to watch the game without knowing the outcome beforehand...it was a helluva' game to watch, from beginning to end.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I'd blame the "bogging down" on conservative play-calling. There were at least two, possibly three sure first-down completions that were dropped showing a lack of focus, concentration on the part of our receiving corps. Fortunately, it wasn't enough to cost us the game.
The defense played their asses off. That's a damn fact.
Listening to the post-game show I found myself actually starting to believe Carroll may be some kind of New Agey football genius. We'll see if he can take this show on the road.
: )
I didn't know the outcome before I started watching. It isn't hard to remain oblivious when you live on an Apache reservation, walk to work, and spend the day training with kindergarten and first grade teachers.
ReplyDeleteBecause I live in Arizona, the TV station cut away from the game entirely for a while to cover the shooting in Tucson attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), so I missed some of the first half entirely. When the station cut back to the game, they did so on a split screen, with the audio from the news desk, not the football game. By the second half, I had full-screen video and audio, and only a scroll at the bottom of the screen to remind me of the day's depressing events. (For these reasons, I erased my recording of the game. I'll record the NFL Replay showing for posterity.)
You were right to point out the dropped balls by Obomanu and Williams; those did contribute to the bogging down. (On a related note, I don't remember Hasselbeck throwing a bad ball all day; it was downright spooky how good he looked.)
I blame the playcalling, too, though. It's bad enough when I know that Bates is going to call a run, but when I know which running play he's going to call, I worry, because I suspect the defensive coordinator and the middle linebacker also know, because they watch a lot more game film than I do, and their football IQ is much higher. My suspicions are generally confirmed when the opposing defense lines up (or shifts into) an alignment designed to stop that particular play. And when they do in fact stop the play.
But we're arguing about a few play calls in what was an otherwise brilliant performance by Bates. Until the last two games, I would have advocated firing him. Now, I want to keep him around.
The defense did fight hard. I didn't have time to write enough about that this morning. (There was another training at work, this one for teachers in grades 2-6. And me. That's right. On a Sunday. Not my idea.)
I'm beginning to believe in Carroll, too.
"Instead of simply stiffarming the defender, the Beast flung him savagely to the ground." Awesome.
ReplyDelete