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TagsThe trials of life are supposed to lead us to greater heights. I like how Scottish crank Thomas Carlyle put it: "Adversity is the diamond dust Heaven polishes its jewels with."
When adversity comes to Seahawks head coach Jim Mora, he reacts by uttering nonsense, blaming others, and, lately, trying to rewrite history. He's no jewel. Unless you're talking about nose gold.
Mora, with his hat pulled low after Sunday's loss. If I were him, I'd try to hide too
After an ugly loss to one-win Tampa Bay on Sunday, in a game even the Bucs coach didn't think his team could win, Mora was in full backtrack mode.
"We were a four-win team last year," Mora said in his post-game media remarks, adding in some finger thrusts for effect. "Let's not lose track of that folks. We were a Four. Win. Team." (Actually he said "four team win," but we know what he meant.)
Funny, I seem to remember thinking that Mora was never going use 2008 as an excuse. I wonder why I would've thought that?
"I'm ready to officially shut the door on 2008 and never talk about it again."--Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke, January 2009.
Oh right, that's why. Mora's first press conference as Seahawks coach, when he, GM Tim Ruskell, and Leiweke told fans to forget about the '08 debacle and gird up for a run at the playoffs. Said Leiweke: "We believe we're gonna regain our winning ways, the excitement in this building is real, and you're gonna feel it every game next year."
Said Mora in that January press conference: "Every single year is about winning the world championship."
Said Mora after Sunday's game: "We had a chance to double our win total."
Huh?
Mora then: "We're not going to rebuild."
Mora now: "We're in the stages of trying to build something that was broken."
Wha?
Mora then: "We're going to develop a scheme that fits our players."
Mora yesterday: "It takes time to come up with schemes that work for your players."
Zuu?
Hasselbeck: No hat, no blame game
Perhaps Mora was shielding us from the truth (aka, lying) in January. Maybe he knew that the Seahawks didn't have the talent, and that his schemes wouldn't work right away. In that case, why is he blaming his players?
Alternately, maybe Mora really did think that the Seahawks had the talent to win, and that his schemes would work. In fact, the players suck, and the schemes suck. So why hasn't Mora taken responsibility?
To see how a real leader handles adversity, you just had to wait at the presser until Matt Hasselbeck took the podium. Hasselbeck made his share of mistakes in the game: a foolish lateral attempt recovered by the Bucs and four interceptions. But three of those interceptions were on passes to Deion Branch. Branch fell down on the first, leaving the ball for a Bucs defender. Did Hass try to shift blame to the hopelessly inept Branch? Not a chance.
"I just feel like I let a lot of people down today," he said. "It's my fault. It's on me and I'll improve." Now there's a jewel.
I'll leave it to the Bible to sum Mora up: "If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small."
During the waning moments of the Seahawks' atrocious loss Sunday to one-win Tampa Bay--perhaps the worst home defeat in team history--my friends and I proposed possible post-game press conference questions for Jim Mora.
We all hoped someone might ask about the playoffs, in hopes of inspiring a repeat of Jim Mora Sr.'s famed rant. David had a suggestion: "This isn't really a question, but...I hate you? You ruined my fall?"
But for me, this is the one question I really would love to see Mora answer. Verbatim from Office Space:
Mora's post-game comments made no sense
Seahawks head coach Jim Mora after yesterday's 34-7 loss to Houston: “We're going to take a microscope and look at everything.”
Huh?
Let's leave aside the fact that looking "at everything" is an utterly insane way to manage an organization. Say you really were going to try it. Is a microscope really the best tool?
Mora's Seahawks are a disaster, and he seems to have no idea why. "We practiced well, we were ready to go, we came out and we got off to a horrible start," he told reporters after the game.
Actually, Mora did single out one possible scapegoat, center Chris Spencer, who is playing with a cast on his right hand, forcing him to snap with his non-dominant left. Spencer caused three muffed exchanges in the game.
"I’m not quite sure why he still has a cast on his hand--but he does," said Mora (video).
You don't know why your starting center has a cast on his hand? Doesn't that seem like important information?
"We're going to find out who deserves to be part of the process going forward," Mora said.
Mora himself is probably not among that group.
"I can't see Jim Mora escaping such an embarrassing loss," writes John Morgan of Field Gulls. "It was always unlikely Mora would stay.... [Mora] has not earned much respect in his short time here. Fiery is fine. I see desperation. The look of a man that thinks he can yell his way out of failure."
"Mora won't fool me anymore," writes the Seattlepi.com's Jim Moore. "I can already hear him after the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay next Sunday. He'll be talking about positive steps that were taken against the Buccaneers--never mind that Tampa Bay is 1-12."
"Even if the Seahawks are playing hard, they're not competing with purpose." writes the Times' Jerry Brewer. "They have neither grasped nor fully embraced the new offensive and defensive schemes. The coach and his staff must accept some blame for that."...
Much in the way that Christians gather at church on Sunday morning to refresh their connection with God, our city's expatriates gather on Sunday mornings at bars to refresh their connection with their place of origin. The vehicle: Rooting on their hometown NFL team.
I arrived at Bill's Off Broadway around 10 a.m. to find a table of four Indianapolis Colts fans, two tables of Green Bay Packers fans, a Broncos fan, and a Bears fan. All were easily identifiable by their team-specific clothing.
There was also a guy watching the Baltimore/Detroit game. Didn't see what he was wearing, but as I didn't hear much cheering from him, and Baltimore won 48-3, I assume he's a Lions fan. (Poor Lions fans may actually have forgotten how to cheer at this point. When the team gets good again they'll probably shred their atrophied vocal cords attempting to elate.)
I was there to watch my Seahawks, and it soon became clear that these Seahawks are so irredeemably horrible that they can't even compete with the Houston Texans. A...
Someday, you will do it. You won't have a co-worker's birthday party, a seasonal gutter cleaning, or brunch with an ex. Someday, you will watch sports all weekend. If, perchance, this is the weekend, here's how it should go:
FRIDAY
5 p.m.: Find a nearby bar with a good happy hour and some decent TVs to watch the Trail Blazers visit Cleveland on ESPN. Can Roy outshine Lebron?
7 p.m.: Start drinking water, you've got to get in your car soon.
7:45 p.m.: The Blazers game ends just in time for you to make your way to a local high school hoops game. Maybe you go see your alma mater, maybe you just go somewhere nearby. Most games start at 8 p.m. on Friday, here's the full schedule of games.
SATURDAY
9 a.m.: Oh boy is this an exciting day of college hoops. Chomp some cereal while watching Kentucky point guard John Wall, sure to be the first-overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft. Haven't seen Wall yet? Here's a taste. The Wildcats play Indiana, the game's on CBS.
11 a.m.: Your Washington Huskies face their toughest test of the year, facing undefeated Georgetown in the John Wooden Classic in Anaheim. Georgetown big men Greg Monroe (6'11") and Julian Vaughn (6'9") comprise the best front line the Huskies have seen this year. On the other hand, Isaiah Thomas and Quincy Pondexter are the most talented scorers Georgetown have yet seen. Game's on FSN.
1 p.m.: Roll down towards KeyArena, where Gonzaga will play Davidson at 4. (Buy tickets here.) While you drive, flip on ESPN 710 to hear Dave Grosby's call of the Seattle U/Eastern Washington game, live from Cheney. Can Seattle U's Charles Garcia take over the national scoring lead? He's second at 26 ppg right now, one point first-place Aubrey Coleman of Houston.
1:30 p.m.: You've got a few hours before the Gonzaga game, so head over to Winterfest at Seattle Center to see an exhibition by the Hot Dog USA Jump Rope Team. Afterwards you can take a spin on the ice rink for just $5 (plus a $2 skate rental).
4 p.m.: Two seasons ago, Davidson bounced Gonzaga out of the NCAA Tournament behind 40 points from Stephen Curry. Curry's in the NBA now, so the Zags have a good chance of exacting revenge against 2-6 Davidson (one of their wins came against "Fredonia State," which I think is from a Marx Brothers film).
5:30 p.m.: Check your web-enabled phone to see who won the Heisman.
6:30 p.m.: The Zags game is over. I give you two choices:
a) Drive down to Kentridge High to see one of the best high school hoops games of the year. Kentridge and guard Gary Bell, Jr., host defending state champs Federal Way at 7:30 p.m., or,
b) Back to WinterFest to check out the trains and get some dinner. (And maybe an Orange Julius). Kill time until the 9:30 p.m. showing of SonicsGate, the documentary about the Sonics' departure from Seattle. Everyone who comes to the one-week run of the show will get a free DVD of the movie. You want to get there early because Sonics legend Slick Watts will be at tonight's showing.
10:30 p.m.: That was a nice day. Drive home and rest for FOOTBALL SUNDAY....
Butler did what Branch couldn't
Three Seahawks De(i)ons had chances at game-changing plays in the final 63 seconds of the Hawks' last-second win over San Francisco at Qwest Field yesterday (video highlights with local radio calls!). Only rookie Deon Butler was up to the task.
Up first, Deion Branch. With the Seahawks facing third down, only a few yards shy of field goal range, Branch had broken free from his man down the middle of the field. Matt Hasselbeck lofted a perfect pass.
Yet Branch botched the play. He jumped for the ball for no reason and mistimed it. The ball still reached his hands, but bounced off them for an incompletion. Instead of being in position for a game-winning field goal, the Seahawks had to punt.
"I just dropped the ball--I don't have an excuse," Branch told Seattlepi.com's Art Thiel. "I should have made the play, and I didn't make it."
Then it was safety Deon Grant's turn. With the 49ers inexplicably trying to win the game in regulation, Alex Smith threw into double coverage and put the ball right in Grant's hands. Grant dropped a sure interception.
It seemed clear now that the game would go into overtime. But a stellar punt return by Nate Burleson got the Seahawks to midfield. And a third Deon gave the Hawks the play they needed. Matched one-on-one on the sideline against 49er DB Kevin Smith, and with no Niner safety in the area, Butler liked his chances.
I was really hoping Matt came to me,” Butler told TNT's Ryan Divish after the game. “I really didn’t think about the timing of the game or anything, I just knew it was a great matchup.”
Butler shook Smith and got open. Hasselbeck put a perfect spiral towards Butler. The rookie faced a brief moment of panic. "It kind of looked lost for a second because I lost it in the lights, but it came back to me," Butler told the Times' Jerry Brewer. "I found it as soon as it came off the lights." The ball fell right into Butler's hands, and he kept both feet in bounds before stepping out at the San Francisco 15, stopping the clock and getting Olindo Mare close enough for a game-winning 30-yard field goal.
So it all worked out in the end, with the added benefit of showing just how useless Deion Branch is. Branch's putrid production since being acquired with a first round pick is part of the reason Tim Ruskell lost his job this week. He needs to go away (and take his ugly green gloves with him). Hopefully the last 63 seconds of Sunday's game will hasten that result.
Then we can happily chant: The Deion is Dead! Long Live the Deon!
The Hawks, now 5-7, play next Sunday at Houston.
Ruskell: GM for the Seahawks' only Super Bowl season
Seahawks president Tod Leiweke: "Quite simply, we didn't win enough games."
Dave Boling, Tacoma News-Tribune: "The scouting report on Ruskell is that he had some big hits on some draft guys, especially Lofa Tatupu, Leroy Hill, Brandon Mebane, Josh Wilson and others. But his first-round picks have been mostly disappointments, as have some of the aging free agents or trades brought on board in the past few seasons. Yes, injuries have been a factor in the recent decline. But it's fairly clear the Seahawks don't have enough talent on the roster to be competitive. That’s on Ruskell."
Jim Mora: "My heart goes out to Tim and his family. Tim's a good man, and a good football man. And I'm disappointed that we couldn't perform better and give him the help that he needed."
Chris Sullivan, Seahawks Addicts: "[Ruskell] had been so hellbent on 'cleaning out the locker room' and filling it with 'leaders' and "character guys' that we now have a charity softball team playing in the NFL."
Tim Ruskell: "We did turn this culture around, and we got people to believe in themselves. We realized the value of everybody. So that was a great thing. I think that had a profound effect on how the team performed, because of the atmosphere."
Nate Burleson: "We're all family. So when you have a family member leaving it's tough to deal with."
John Morgan, Field Gulls: "Losing Ruskell does not bother me much. If it was my decision to make, I would consider doing the same thing....In business, one must be ruthless. Whether Ruskell could build an offense or not, it was never known to be his strength. Hiring an offensive specialist, just as Ruskell was hired as a defensive specialist, is a practical, considered maneuver."
Steve Kelley, Seattle Times: "We can list all of Ruskell's draft mistakes and free-agent blunders, but the philosophy that mattered most, the belief that sealed his no-deal, was his idea that announcing Holmgren's heir apparent, the season before Holmgren was gone, would lead to a seamless transition....[The Seahawks] changed the offensive and defensive schemes. They changed their approaches to practice. They changed the culture of the team. And it didn't work."
Deion Branch: "I think all this stuff falls back on the players. He's done everything he possibly can to put this team together and to line things up the right way as far as people put all the blame on him, I think that's wrong." (Catches one yard pass, falls out of bounds, jumps up and shouts into camera.)...
News came last night that Tim Ruskell will resign as general manager of the Seattle Seahawks at 10 a.m. news conference.
One reporter has already spoken to Ruskell, ESPN's Mike Sando. Sando reports that Ruskell left because he hadn't had his contract renewed yet, and felt that was affecting his ability to do his job.
"We were getting ready to go into those meetings about free agency and the offseason. If I am not going to spearhead those meetings and it wasn't going to happen no matter what our record was, you become a lame duck. And I did not want that."
Sando says he thinks the Seahawks will promote someone on an interim basis for the rest of the season (as the Mariners did after Bill Bavasi's firing in '08) and commence a wider search in the off-season.
I'll have more tomorrow, once the sports literati weighs in, but a few thoughts:
1) This is bad news for Jim Mora. A new GM will arrive with his own ideas on how to run a team, which may not mesh with Mora's defense-and-running-game philosophy. Mora has three years after this one left on his contract, but another losing season and he'll be gone. Under Ruskell he would've had a longer leash.
2) It's bad news for some Seahawks players, especially small fast ones. Ruskell's defensive philosophy is based on speed; guys like Kelly Jennings and Josh Wilson may not fit in a new GM's scheme.
3) Will the Hawks go for an offensive mind now? It was clear that Ruskell's hiring was an attempt to get a defense-building expert in the fold after so many years of Holmgren's offensive needs dominating the organizational mindset. Now with the defensive-minded Mora as head coach, will the Hawks look for an offense guy? (The most obvious name that comes to mind, of course, is one Mike Holmgren.)
Oh, the statistics are ugly.
--The Seahawks are 7-19 over the past two seasons.
--Their defense, supposedly the cornerstone of GM Tim Ruskell's winning formula, allowed Brett Favre to complete a career-best 88 percent of his passes Sunday. It even allowed a TD pass from Tarvaris Jackson.
--The Seahawks rushing attack, supposedly bound for improvement under new offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, is the worst in the NFL.
Get out your pointing fingers! It's time to play the blame game!
The Times' Steve Kelley fixes on GM Tim Ruskell: "The Seahawks are in a death spiral and the defense that Ruskell has put together has allowed 56 points and 746 total yards in the past six quarters. ... They need a shake-up at the top."
Kelley's already touting a candidate for Ruskell's job: Former coach and GM Mike Holmgren, who left the team after last season.
Yeah, things are getting a little silly.
If you must place blame for this season, point the finger at Lady Luck, who has struck the Seahawks where they are most vulnerable.
The Seahawks have five Pro Bowlers on their roster: Walter Jones, Matt Hasselbeck, Lofa Tatupu, Patrick Kerney, and Marcus Trufant. Through eleven games, these players could have played a total of 55 combined games.
They've played in just 26. Jones, the best player in franchise history, hasn't played at all. Tatupu is also out for the season.
Even those who are playing aren't doing so at full strength--Hasselbeck is playing with a broken rib, and Kerney has a variety of injuries. Trufant missed the first two months of the season and has looked rusty on his return.
Jones' absence, already a huge blow for the team, was exacerbated when his backup went down. And then that backup went down. Another former Pro Bowler, Mike Wahle, was supposed to line up beside Jones, but Wahle was released before training camp after failing his physical. Instead of having a left side of their line with two Pro Bowlers, the Seahawks have rookies and backups....
Five committed Seahawks rooters gathered in a friend's new "man cave" and watched the last, gasping breaths of the 2009 'Hawks.
We saw a familiar sight--the undersized Seahawks' utter inability to stop Arizona's big, talented receivers. Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston combined for 19 catches, 257 yards, and two touchdowns. The Cardinals scored 31 points in the last 36 minutes of the game after the Seahawks had jumped to a 14-point lead.
The Seahawks have now lost four consecutive times to Arizona, by a combined 118-64 score. We knew in the offseason that the 'Hawks secondary couldn't cover the Cards receivers, and yet the front office's only move was to bring in free agent Ken Lucas. Fitzgerald beat Lucas badly on the Cardinals' final touchdown.
The 2009-10 offseason, which, with the Hawks at 3-6, essentially begins today, must focus on answering a single question: HOW DO WE BEAT ARIZONA?
Until the Seahawks figure out a solution, they're likely doomed to also-ran status in the NFC West.
One...
Someday, you will do it. You won't have a co-worker's birthday party, a seasonal gutter cleaning, or brunch with an ex. Someday, you will watch sports all weekend. If, perchance, this is the weekend, here's how it should go:
FRIDAY
5 p.m.: Leave work, drive towards Hec Ed for the Athletes in Action Classic. Stop at Bartells and buy some socks on the way.
5:30-6:30 p.m.: Watch the second half of Belmont/Portland St. Cheer on PSU's Melvin Jones, a Chief Sealth grad who got his life on track after a rough start to high school.
6:30 p.m.: Dinner at Hec Ed. Recommended--Porters Place BBQ. Not recommended--Everything else.
7-9 p.m.: Watch the Huskies avoid a letdown like in last year's opening-game loss to Portland, and lay an ass-whooping on outmanned Wright St. The Raiders may stay in this game early if their shooters are hot, but UW's depth will mean WSU will be run ragged by the second half.
9-10 p.m.: Sit in the traffic lineup to get out of the Hec Ed parking lot. While you're at it, check ESPN 710 to see how Seattle U did in their opening game, at Oklahoma State.
10 p.m.: Drive home--you've got a big day tomorrow!
SATURDAY
7:30 a.m.: Drag yourself out of bed and drive to the George and Dragon for World Cup Qualifying soccer.
8 a.m.: Russia v. Slovenia begins. Here's the deal--eight European countries are getting their last shot at qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. They are paired into four groups of two, each pair plays a home-and-home with the winner going through to the Cup.
9 a.m.: England v. Brazil begins. This is just a friendly, with no World Cup qualifying implications, but c'mon. It's England/Brazil!
10 a.m.: Greece v. Ukraine! Ouzo v. Vodka! Who wins? Everyone!
Noon: Ireland v. France. Even more testy after an Irish diplomat gravely insulted French PM Sarkosky this week.
2 p.m.: Drive to The Dutchess and catch the second half of the Washington/Oregon St. football game. Will the Beavers knock Jake Locker senseless again?
2:30-3:30 p.m.: Probably some sort of silly play by the Husky special teams that costs us the game late, ending slight hopes of a Husky bowl appearance.
3:30-4:00 p.m.: Enjoy a chicken sandwich so you don't have to consume any Hec Ed food.
4 p.m.: Walk down to Hec Ed. Yeah, it's a trek, but do you really want to sit in that post-game parking lot traffic again? Not worth it. Plus, those fries you just ate have a ton of calories.
4:30-6:30 p.m.: Wright St. vs. Portland St. This will probably be the most competitive of the six games to be played this weekend.
6:30-7 p.m.: Check Facebook on your phone. Note how many "status updates" are actually just people whining about pointless shit.
7-9 p.m.: UW vs. Belmont, which I'm hoping will be very entertaining. Both the Huskies and Belmont were among the 50 fastest-tempo teams in the NCAA last year. If Belmont plays their style instead of trying to slow the game down, the Dawgs could hit 100.
9-9:30 p.m.: Healthful walk back up to The Dutchess.
9:30-Midnight: Buy repeated rounds for everyone at the bar (or just me)....
Didn't start out so well--the Seahawks began yesterday's game down 17 points after a fumble, interception, and failed fourth down conversion gave the Lions' three chances in Seahawks' territory.
Then Matt Hasselbeck brought the Hawks back, delivering one of the finest performances ever by a Seahawks quarterback.
Hasselbeck completed 39 passes, breaking his own franchise record. He had a string of 15 completions in a row. He threw balls that led receivers into space. He dumped balls at their feet when they weren't open. It was a masterful, intelligent Sunday of work, made all the more impressive because Hasselbeck is playing with a broken rib.
Said coach Jim Mora of Hasselbeck: "He showed his true leadership to me. He showed everything that he is. I don't know if I have any more respect for any player that I've ever coached than I have for Matt Hasselbeck."
Video!
After Detroit got their 17-0 lead, Hasselbeck lead the Hawks to scores on six of their next seven drives. The defense...
Seahawks head coach Jim Mora threatened his players' jobs after Sunday's loss to Dallas. Hoo boy, accountability was going to be a bitch for many underperforming Seahawks.
I wondered which players GM Tim Ruskell would deem responsible for this season's 2-5 start: Deion Branch, the multimillion-dollar receiver with just fifteen catches? Darryl Tapp, the pass-rush specialist who's recorded just one sack? Lofa Tatupu, the supposed team leader whose been outshone by his backup?
Yesterday the axe fell, and the following heads were pulled out of baskets: Two backups and a special teamer.
Um. I feel a rant coming on...
Here's the thing -- if you preach accountability, you need to hold the correct people accountable. Not just a random selection of guys who barely play. On a list of people responsible for the Seahawks' dismal start, the three guys they cut today would be somewhere beneath Ken Behring and Sea Gal Lindsay.
If team management doesn't want to hold anyone accountable for the team's performance, they themselves...
There seemed some reason for optimism yesterday as the Seahawks got one of their top players back from injury. Cornerback Marcus Trufant's back was healed enough for him to play against Dallas. He probably wishes he'd taken another week. Trufant picked up three pass interference penalties trying to defend Dallas' receiver Miles "Always Smilin'" Austin, who still ended up with a touchdown catch. The Seahawks lost 38-17.
The only trouble Austin encountered all day was on his attempted "dunk" attempt of the football over the ten-foot-high crossbar after his touchdown catch--Austin didn't quite have the ups to make it and flipped the ball over the bar at the last second.
By the end of the game, Trufant was getting inside help on Austin, which is not the scenario you envision for a guy with a six-year, $50 million contract.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks offense was fighting itself. T.J. Houshmandzadeh's frustrations at not being more of a focal point in the offense have reached the "openly-second-guessing-his-quarterback" point. At this point, Hasselbeck apparently has to explain after every play why he didn't throw to Housh.
"He needs to get in line," Jim Mora said of Houshmandzadeh.
The bright spot for the Seahawks was the play of middle linebacker David "The Heater" Hawthorne. Taking over for the injured Lofa Tatupu, Hawthorne played like the Tatupu of old, recording five tackles, two sacks, and forcing a fumble. At this rate Tatupu may end up getting Wally Pipped....
Tonight the Houston Dynamo travel to Seattle as the Sounders' first-ever MLS playoff opponent. This battle will stretch out over the next two weeks, for the MLS quarterfinals are a home-and-home affair. The Sounders face Houston again one week from Sunday. Will this battle be as epic as the three Houston/Seattle postseason matchups that have preceded it?
To wit:
--The 1988 Wild Card Playoff, a.k.a. the Fredd Young phantom interception game.
--The 1993 NBA Western Conference semifinals, which stretched to seven games.
--The 1996 "Houston You Have a Problem" Western Conference semifinals sweep.
Let's take each in turn, shall we? Today's edition...
Houston 23, Seattle 20 (OT), January 3, 1988. [box]
The 9-7 Seahawks finished 2nd in the AFC West, and had to travel to Houston's Astrodome for this Wild Card game. Husky legend Warren Moon led the Oilers' run-and-shoot attack, predicated on short passing. But he heaved a deep one early that the Seahawks' Melvin Jenkins intercepted. Dave Krieg hit Steve Largent...
Hasselbeck's already worn the Redskins' colors
The NFL trading deadline is today, and with even Seahawks' coach Jim Mora admitting the playoffs are out of reach, it's time to build for the future.
That future probably won't include aging QB Matt Hasselbeck: Maybe the Hawks should unload him? That's what childhood friend Jason suggested yesterday, sparking off a spirited Seahawks roundtable.
Jason: Would it be crazy to try to trade Hasselbeck to the Redskins for a couple of picks right now? They need a QB and we're not going to be good until his back is done.
Me: I like it! Except they have the same problem we do--no offensive line.
David: This would be insane for Washington to do. They are going to have high draft picks, why would they trade those for an old quarterback who they can't protect? Bad teams should not try and get older, see the mid 2000s Mariners. So Matthew and Zorn can be reunited for ten weeks?
Jason: Remember that they are owned by Dan Snyder. He's Al Davis for our generation.
David: The phrase "owned by Dan Snyder" trumps any rational argument.
Seth: What would you take for Hasselbeck? I'd take a first round and a three.
Jason: A first plus any other round.
David: I agree with Jason, a first and anything. We have two first rounders (f*** you Denver), another second rounder would give us a nice draft.
Jason: I'm fine with that. Dan Snyder makes 2-3 horrible moves every offseason, why can't he make one more during the season--we can use the "Bringing Zorn and Hasselbeck together again will be magical" sales job.
So, there you have it--Hasselbeck to the 'Skins for a first-rounder and anything else is approved by the roundtable. Your move, Tim Ruskell.
Owen Schmitt, the 24-year-old starting fullback for the Seattle Seahawks, opened a gushing wound on his forehead during Sunday's pre-game introductions when he decided to repeatedly whack himself with his helmet as he ran onto the field. Video!
This is pretty awesome in a tribal way, and apparently psyched up Schmitt's teammates. "That got us going," linebacker Lofa Tatupu told the P-I's Greg Johns. "A man willing to bloody his own face, you know how much he's willing to put on the line."
Then again, as childhood friend David pointed out later that night, it also shows why football players struggle to adjust to the working world once their playing careers are over. A pre-event self-bloodying may inspire football teammates, but see how well it works before your next company-wide health coverage informational.
Ex-Husky Bobby Jones: NCAA hoops "like slavery"
Halfway around the world, a 25-year-old former Husky is giving serious thought to how athletes fit into society. Bobby Jones, a defensive whiz for the...
Along with the ever-exciting baseball playoffs and must-win games for our top two local football teams, sports fans can enjoy a couple of non-sports events this weekend.
Sonics Movie
Well "enjoy" may be the wrong word for the emotions you'll feel at the premiere of Sonicsgate. The film about the Sonics' departure from Seattle, featuring interviews with major players like Slade Gorton, Kevin Calabro and Sleepy Sam Perkins, debuts tonight at SIFF, with an encore presentation Saturday at Pacific Place. Friday's screening is sold out, but you can get tickets for Saturday's here.
Tonight the film's producers are hosting an after-party at Spitfire, here are the details on that.
Seahawks Book
Mark Tye Turner, author of the Seahawks "fan-oir" Notes from a Twelfth Man, will be reading from and hosting a trivia contest surrounding his book tonight at F.X. McRory's. The trivia is free; first prize is a round of drinks and a $25 F.X. McRory's gift certificate. Should be a fun time and a moment to send happy thoughts to Matt Hasselbeck's ribs.
Sonicsgate Trailer from sonicsgate on Vimeo.
When I tell you that the highlight of the Seattle sports weekend was giving a standing ovation to a third-place team, you may think it wasn't much of a weekend. But it was epic, notably for our sports teams getting the worst Indiana lambasting since the Kerry campaign.
Notre Dame 37, Washington 30 (OT)
As I headed to Teddy's to watch Washington vs. Notre Dame (live from South Bend, Indiana), I wondered exactly how empty the bandwagon would be. Coming off the USC win, the bar was packed for Stanford. But after losing that game, how would it look? Let's let pictures tell the story:
Crowd at Teddy's for UW/Stanford
Crowd at Teddy's for UW/Notre Dame
So--yeah, Seattle sports fans, you are some fairweather sons of bitches. And you missed an amazing game, one that will always be remembered for the stunning inability of the Huskies to score one touchdown from twelve tries inside the one-yard-line. If you have a Husky fan at your office, I recommend putting his morning coffee three feet behind a white line and see...
I need Bo Eason to tell me it's okay to watch football.
After seeing Eason's engrossing one-man show at ACT on Thursday, I don't know if I can do so guilt-free again. Watching the former NFL player act out the injury that helped end his career actually made me physically ill. No joke: Sweat pouring out of me, I excused myself down my row, and hustled to the bathroom to splash water on my face. I thought about the real scars on Eason's actor knees, about seeing him inject himself there on stage, as he did before games during his playing days.
And I thought about Curtis Williams, who in 2000 absorbed a fatal hit playing in a football game for the University of Washington. "He fell to his back and went into convulsions," teammate Anthony Kelley relates in Derek Johnson's The Dawgs of War , which I'd read earlier that week . "He was mouthing the words 'I can't breathe .' ... Then Curtis began spitting up and shaking, and his eyes rolled up in the back of his head." Williams died of his injuries 18 months...
Matt Hasselbeck dove toward the end zone during Sunday's game at San Francisco. As he did, 6-1, 240 lb., 24-year-old San Francisco linebacker Patrick Willis charged into his back.
Like Matt Hasselbeck, I am in my early 30s, and I will tell you what would happen if a 6-1, 240 lb. 24-year-old charged into me. I would start to be a little more discerning in my dating choices. Ha! No, seriously, I would lie on the ground until the sun absorbed the earth.
Hasselbeck sent this photo via Twitter
Hasselbeck, who is a football player and a Republican, not a writer and Obama supporter like me, actually stood up. He put his hands to his head, signaling that he was coming out of the game. Then he motioned more frantically with his hands that his replacement should arrive. Then, he collapsed into the arms of Seahawks trainers. It was terrifying.
The Hawks' QB didn't play the rest of the game, but afterwards sent a halfway reassuring Tweet to fans. "Going to be alright," it read, and was accompanied by the photo at right....
I've read a small forest's worth of sports autobiographies, and the list of books that truly reveal the emotional life of an athlete is one title long: A False Spring, by Pat Jordan.
I'm hoping to add another to my list--this a one-man show, not a book--when I see ex-NFLer Bo Eason's Runt of the Litter this month at ACT Theater.
Eason, a hard-hitting (some say cheap shot artist) safety for the Houston Oilers in the mid-80s, is the younger brother of former Pats QB Tony Eason. His one-man show, which he wrote and performs, is loosely based on their story--Tony was the football prodigy, destined for stardom; Bo the undersized, lightly regarded scrapper.
The play is set in the locker room before a playoff game: "Jack Henry," a scrappy defensive back played by Bo, is about to face brother "Charlie," a legendary quarterback. Within the conceit of this brother vs. brother tale we'll get a glimpse into the emotional strain that human combat like football puts on a person.
Athletes' emotional lives are typically...
Jim Mora attained his first win as Seahawks coach, and even more important than beating a division rival was demonstrating to his players that he and his staff have a winning plan.
"When you ask players to do something new," Mora said after the game, "when you ask them to practice a different way, focus on different things--when you can come away with an impressive performance like our defense did today then guys start to buy in a little bit. And they buy in a little bit more every time that happens. So you gain credibility. And as a coach, credibility with your players is extremely important--very important."
The game didn't start out looking like either team would emerge with credibility. Perhaps Qwest Field suffered from lingering putridity left over from Saturday's awful Wazzu/Hawaii game, which featured 11 turnovers and 19 penalties. Sunday's Seahawks/Rams game started with the Rams fumbling the kickoff, and the Seahawks added a fumble and two interceptions of their own by the end of the first quarter.
I watched the game with a Seahawks-fan-heavy crowd at Teddy's on Roosevelt, and they seemed to be in a wait-and-see approach after last year's debacle. People were waiting for the team to show them something. In the final three quarters, they did.
The Seahawks shut the Rams out despite being without talented linebacker Leroy Hill (groin injury) for almost the entire game, and without Lofa Tatupu (hamstring injury) for most of it. Backups Will Herring and David Hawthorne took over, and the defense didn't suffer at all. Said Mora: "I think one of the indicators is, do you notice a drop off when new guys take the field? Quite frankly, I didn’t notice a drop off in play.”
High praise for Herring and Hawthorne, and perhaps a wake-up call for Tatupu and Hill, both of whom underachieved last year. Neither's injury was considered serious, though we'll know more today.
On offense, the new Seahawks regime showed a commitment to getting the ball to the team's most talented offensive players--something that didn't happen in Mike Holmgren's scheme. Nate Burleson had seven catches, tying his career-high as a Seahawk, and John Carlson savaged the Rams' secondary with 6 catches for 95 yards and 2 TDs. If you have John Carlson on your fantasy team, you are almost assuredly a winner this week (unless you also have Jay Cutler).
Matt Hasselbeck had a very shaky start--four of his first six passes were touched by Rams defenders--but he settled in and finished with 25 completions on 36 passes for 279 yards and 3 TDs.
If there was a dark cloud, it was the Seahawks running game. Yes, Julius Jones had 117 yards, but most of that came on one 62-yard TD carry. Take away that run and Jones had just 55 yards on 18 carries, barely a 3-yard-per-carry average. Edgerrin James was worse, getting just 30 yards on 11 carries. The Seahawks' top backs must be able to run the ball better.
Next week, the Hawks will play at undefeated San Francisco in an early battle for division supremacy. The winner will hold a one-game lead in the NFC West race.
For only the ninth time since 1998, the Seahawks won't have Walter Jones at left tackle in a game. Jones is still recovering from two surgeries on his left knee in the past nine months. Center Chris Spencer will also miss the game. Coach Mora said Jones and Spencer could both play in Week 2 at San Francisco.
Your cobbled-together O-Line for Saturday: LT Sean Locklear, LG Rob Sims, C Steve Vallos, RG Max Unger, RT Ray Willis.
Career NFL Starts: Locklear 53; Sims 20; Vallos 5; Unger 0, Willis 10.
Hrm. Let's hope zone-blocking really works its magic.
In other starting news, Justin Griffith will start at fullback over Owen Schmitt. Griffith's in his seventh NFL season, he played for the Raiders the past two seasons and played for Jim Mora in Atlanta.
The Seattle Times ran their Seahawks preview section today--here's the lead story, about the changes Mora has made to the team. You can get to the rest of the stories from the box on the side. The section seems to be written for a general audience, there'...
LOCAL SPREADS
Huskies favored by 20.5 points over Idaho.
Cougars 2.5 point underdogs to Hawaii.
Seahawks 7.5 point favorites over St. Louis.
LARGEST SPREADS
NFL: New Orleans favored by 14 over Detroit
College: Florida favored by 37 over Troy (Though Boise St. isn't far back, favored by 36 over Miami (Ohio))
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