Hawk - Ptooie? NO! Hawk Persistence! No Wait! :-(
Published Sun, Dec 24 2006 4:42 PM
Technorati Tags: Football
The Seahawks didn't start out very well in the second half. San Diego managed to march down-field and get a field goal almost right away. 10-0 San Diego.
On the kickoff return Nate Burleson ran the ball back over 90 yards for what would have been a touchdown if it weren't for a rather weak holding call that brought the ball back. Then things went from bad to bad. Hasselbeck was sacked, and Deion Branch dropped his third pass of the day.
These are the same Seahawks that have been playing this way all year. Dropped passes, missed tackles and bone-headed penalties. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
Things weren't that bad though. On the next exchange, Lofa Tatupu finally managed to sack Rivers. A three and out for San Diego.
Shaun Alexander managed to remind me why we love having him though with a twenty-plus yard run for touchdown to bring the Seahawks within three. It was a thing of beauty! 10-7 San Diego.
A decent special teams play on the kickoff return left the Chargers shy of the twenty. The crowd started to get into the game too. Maybe things aren't going to be that bad.
Of course the Seahawks shoot themselves in the foot too many times. On first down, a penalty for being offside's made it first and five. Thank God for the crowd though, on the next play the Chargers false start brought the ball back so it was first and ten again.
It's good when the Seahawks get fired up. On the next two play Rivers threw a bad pass under pressure, and it went nowhere. Of course Rivers had a horrible first half except for one pass.
Sadly, he managed to get it together on third and ten and threw a good one past mid-field and into Seahawks territory. A few more passes, about half of them incomplete, and the Chargers were close enough for another field goal. 13 - 7 San Diego.
After a three-and-out, the Chargers also had problems. The punt was horrible and the Seahawks took over on the Chargers 45. On third and ten, a pass interference call gave the Seahawks the ball on the nine yard line and Shaun Alexander ran in for a touchdown!!! 12-14 Seattle! The Seahawks finally took the lead early in the fourth quarter! There was a personal foul against the Chargers on the play, leaving a 15 yard penalty on the kick.
The Chargers ended up punting, but on the punt it looked like the Seahawks touched the ball and then the Chargers recovered. That was the ruling on the field. Holmgren threw the red flag, and the call was overturned. The ball touched #33 on the kicking team, so the Seahawks got the ball at about the 36 yard line.
Right at about that time, Arizona polished off the 49ers, so Seattle managed to clench the NFC West and will be going to the playoffs.
Right after that Matt Hasselbeck ran for a first down inside San Diego territory. One thing the Hawks have going for them is persistence. That was certainly the story of the season for the Seahawks, as well as the story of this game. Their persistence has made the second half of this game worth watching. Hopefully they can carry it into the playoffs and go back to the Super Bowl. They're going to really need it.
After four dropped passes, Deion Branch managed to finally catch one for another first down. The Seahawks managed to move the ball down the field and Shaun Alexander had another huge run, bringing the ball to the 19. The drive seemed to stall, but Josh Brown made it 17-13 Seahawks with 5:07 left to play.
The Chargers had to punt on fourth and twenty, but the Seahawks went three and out. With two minutes left to play the score was still 17-13 and the Chargers had used up their timeouts. On the first play from scrimmage they took the ball to the 50. The next play was a false start and stopped the clock.
After a few wasted opportunities the clock was down to 36 seconds and on second and ten they went deep. Jackson caught the ball in the end zone, leaving the score at 17-19. Bad clock management or not, the Seahawks would get the ball back with less than a half a minute to make up the deficit. 20-17 San Diego.
On the exchange, there were 23 seconds left. Incomplete pass to Mack Strong, 18 seconds left, second and ten. After a false start, it was second and 15. After some ugliness, a first down with about 4 seconds left, and the game looked over. A long pass, and the Chargers won with that last minute touchdown.
San Diego will have home-field advantage in the playoffs.
Seattle Loses yet again.
But at least this time, it wasn't a big disappointment. They played well against one of the best teams in the league, and it was a close game, when I was expecting a blowout.
Cross Posted at NWBloggers.com
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