It's Gotta Be the Shoes

It feels good, doesn't it? After three somewhat embarrassing losses, the Seahawks finally turned it around against the 49ers, right? Well, not really.

But I don't want to be Debbie Downer. The Seahawks played solid football Sunday, and they've done something they haven't done in quite a while; each time the 49ers seemed close to getting back in the game, the Seahawks slammed them down. It was a day of quick strikes, and it brought me tremendous joy. I can't recall the last time we were the ones putting up big plays for TDs, as opposed to watching other teams do that to us. It felt good.

Still, I'm nervous. We were playing a pretty bad team on their new head coach's first game. We beat them soundly, which would give me hope had we not also beat the Rams soundly and proceeded to lost the next three games. Our defense played well, and our special teams have shown significant improvement. Mare's been the man for us on both kick-offs and field goals. But, why did we win this game? Big plays.



Josh Wilson's pick and TD was sweet, and I sure we could've done something like that at Qwest. The faithful fans there needed to see something like that, and Josh deserved some love for it (by his account, that's his first TD since pee wee football). But, it wasn't enough to put the 49ers away, and they marched slowly down the field in the second half to score a TD. I emphasize "slowly" because, although our defense wasn't able to get off the field, they didn't give up anything big to the 49ers on that drive, and it took over half a quarter to get their points. When you're nursing a lead, sometimes that's good enough for the defense to do.

On the other side of the ball, the Seahawks weren't able to sustain drives of their own, so Leonard Weaver just decided he'd take matters into his own shiny green shoes. He took two short passes for TDs of 43 and 62 yards, which is unheard of not only for Weaver, but for the Seahawks in general. Congratulations not only to Weaver on his career game, but to all of those gutsy enough to start Weaver on their fantasy teams.

Next week, though, we've got the Eagles. Call it a hunch, but I don't believe the Eagles are going to allow our fullback to get over 100 yards receiving and two TDs. But, Weaver has shown us the way. Assuming our offense still won't be able to get anything going, we'll need three things to happen in order to knock off the Eagles at home:

1. The defense can't allow us to get in a hole. Our offense doesn't have the ability to come from behind, so we have to be in the game at all times.
2. Our special teams just need to repeat what they did today. Make the Eagles earn their points, and give our offense a head start.
3. We need big plays. If you can't put together long 70-yard drives, put together short 70-yard drives. Yes, it would be nice to give our defense a rest, but if they have to be on the field for 35+ plus minutes a game, at least put them out there with the knowledge that they're not doing all the work.

The Eagles are tough, but they're not unbeatable. I don't expect a win on Sunday, but I finally see that the Seahawks can find ways to win games, and that's enough to give me some optimism. At this point in the season, that's about all I can ask for.

Go Seahawks!

Would a Seahawks win Sunday provide hope for the season?

No.

Although a road win would be nice, this would still just be west coast. By and large our road problem are more of an east coast issue than anything else.

Plus, we're playing the 49ers, who are currently only slightly less awful than the Rams were when we played them earlier this year. They've got a new coach, too, which makes this a transition game. I'm sure many players are thrilled to be free of Nolan, but being thrilled doesn't lead to victories.

The Seahawks are also a team in transition, and have been since training camp. Branch will still be out, Hass is still out, and our offense still shows little hope of gaining more than three or four first downs a half. But we can win. Of course we can win. I won't be surprised if we do, I won't be surprised if we don't. But, regardless of the outcome, I still won't have much faith that we've turned anything around. A win will only put us at 2-5, at least two games behind the Cardinals who seem pretty comfortable in their new role at the top of the division.

But, what a win will do on Sunday is give me hope for the next against the Eagles. Maybe Hass will be back by then. Maybe Tatupu will have another Eagles-type game against the Eagles. And if we somehow beat the Eagles?

Well, then I'll have hope for the season.

The Myth of Heart and Soul

In my ongoing quest for answers as to why the Seahawks are playing so poorly, I keep coming across the notion that the team "lacks heart." This amuses me; the idea that teams win games because they "want it more." This works pretty well in "Rocky" and Disney movies were the audience needs to have hope that the underdog can pull it off in the end, but it doesn't apply in real life.

The notion that these grown men go out in front of hundreds of thousands of people every Sunday and don't play to win is an insult to them. They're playing not only for the win, but for their jobs. If they're taking plays off and it's obvious to us, don't you think it'd be obvious to the coaches, too? To the G.M.? In a year when one coach is on his way out and another is coming in, bringing the inevitable changes, does it make sense that anyone out there would be slacking?

I believe people reach this "lacks heart" conclusion because, in their mind, it's easier to fix. If all Seattle needs to do to win is want to win, then okay! Go want it, guys! 10-0 in the last ten games of the season! Playoffs! Yea!

It's absurd. The harsh reality is that the Seahawks are losing because they're playing teams that are better than us. It's that simple. Aside from perhaps San Francisco, there's not a single game we should have won. Did Tampa Bay have more heart than the Seahawks? Did the Bills? The Giants? No. They had more talent! They had a better game plan. They had better execution. These are the things that factor into wins, along with a good deal of luck. Not heart. If the Seahawks want to win again, they need to do more than wait for the Wizard of Oz to grant them courage or for Tinker Bell to help them believe in themselves again. They need to field talented players (and yes, Ruskell, sometimes talented players don't behave well off-field; it's okay, because your job is to bring wins to Seattle, not Boy Scout Jamborees) and they need to find ways to exploit that talent. This means altering the gameplan for the players you have, not the players you wish you had.

Holmgren, bless his heart, is a great coach when he's got the right players in his system. We don't have that. We won't for the rest of the year. And sadly, Holmgren either won't acknowledge that fact or can't acknowledge it. Because of that, I didn't see this ship righting itself anytime soon. Rather, I hold out hope that Mora has a better understanding of what Ruskell is doing, and will actually coach his players to the system that Ruskell envisions. Considering the performance of our secondary this year, I have my reservations, but I have to find hope where I can.

Have you given up?

It's not over kids.. but in my heart i know the truth.

Welcome to the Midwest Seahawkers blog

Hello, all. We've finally decided to launch a Midwest Seahawkers blog, having delayed it for about two years now. Apparently, we've all been too happy with the Seahawks to have much to say about them.

That's changed.

So, although we'll certainly be using this space to update you all on chapter events and such, we'll also be here ranting and celebrating, praising and condemning, laughing and crying (the latter of which will be the result of kicking the sofa after our defense gives up yet another 3rd and 18 first down.

So, visit us often, and know that we're here to share your joy and pain.