Die like an Eagle

Thursday's thrashing of the Eagles represented progress on many fronts.
The Seahawks sank to their nadir and soared to their zenith within a span of just 5 days. After laying an egg against Washington last Sunday, few expected Seattle to compete credibly in this prime time showdown between wounded birds of prey. National coverage focused almost exclusively on our opponents, but the Seahawks flew out of the tunnel to impose a convincing dominance display at their expense.

We won a game on a night when a few of our most consistent performers were not at their best. The incomparable Red Bryant looked exhausted and ordinary. Jon Ryan had an off night punting (at least by his usual lofty standards; he still pinned two punts out of four inside the 20-yard line). Philadelphia basically shut down Leon Washington with touchbacks on kickoffs and forced fair catches on punts, prompted by good hang time and smothering coverage.

Normally, we lose games despite the heroic contributions of Bryant, Ryan and Washington, because their teammates fail to match their level of effort and execution.

But this time, their teammates rose to the occasion, more than compensating for the uncharacteristic underperformance of that habitually clutch trio.

Generally, our defensive line dominates, stuffing the run and pressuring opposing passers. This time, the Eagles found ample running room, racking up 132 yards on the ground. Philadephia would have gained more, but falling far behind forced them to abandon the ground game and place their fate in the hands of quarterback Vince Young..

Seattle's linebackers and cornerbacks stepped up and shut down VY, sacking him twice and intercepting him four times. Richard Sherman picked off the quarterback's first throw, while David Hawthorne ran his last pass 73 yards to the house. Brandon Browner stole two others in between.

Young threw for 208 yards and a touchdown, but Seattle defenders returned interceptions for 156 yards and a touchdown and took away 10 more yards on sacks, so by game's end, the Eagles quarterback netted 42 yards passing and zero points.
Our offense finally fired on all cylinders, keeping penalties to a minimum.

When we had the ball, Marshawn Lynch and his blockers took over the game. This is Tom Cable's offense. By lining up in two tight end sets for most of the game, we bluntly informed our opponents that we intended to run, and dared them to stop us. For most of the game, our O-Line ably manhandled Philadephia's defensive front, with help from fullback Michael Robinson, from the tight ends, and from Lynch's determined refusal to be tackled.

The Skittles-fueled running back's first touchdown run showed what Beast Mode looks like when you turn it up to eleven, and when his blockers match Lynch's level of tenacity and persistence.

Tarvaris Jackson played a nearly perfect game, making clutch throws to keep the defense honest and prevent the Eagles from keying exclusively on the run. T-Jack took a couple of unnecessary sacks, but he and his receivers generally made good blitz reads and punished Philly's overeager pass rush with completions and positive yards. Pro Bowl alumnus Zach Miller and fullback Michael Robinson finally figured in our passing plans. Golden Tate showed that he is capable of functioning like a starting wide receiver in the NFL.

If Seattle can continue in this vein, our upcoming opponents are in trouble.