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October 31, 2006
Washington Huskies football
Washington Huskies football blog
We haven't had much to say about the Dawgs this year and we think of a lot of it has to do with how mediocre this team is. Tough losses to both Cal and USC both could have put this team over the "hump" that they need to hurdle to put this program back on track. Losses to Oregon State and ASU are horrible, bottom line and are let-down games from the Cal and USC games. The team has improved year over year and hopefully they can finish .500 this year.
Look out for Dawgs in 2007 with some top talent coming in. This year should be considered a "transition" year unfortunately.
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 10:48 AM | Comments (4)
October 30, 2006
Seahawks are in trouble
Seattle Seahawks Blog
Boy, how things change so quickly the NFL. One minute your 4-1 after beating your divisional rival heading into what was considered a pushover in Minnesota. Next thing you know, you're 4-3 after losing to a crappy team, Kansas City.
Part of it has to do with half the team being on the IR, especially key personel. Your QB and RB are critical components to the success of a good football team, and we're missing both. Seneca looked good at times, but also throw 2 INT's and made a bone head throw on the last play of the game.....an out to Mack Strong? Be SMART Seneca, you're no longer playing for Iowa State my friend.
The D? Is John Marshall the answer? We think not. That team has too much damn talent to get crushed on defense. We think a great deal of our defensive issues are stemming from the top. He doesn't know how to call effective blitzes and even Fisher said something about this today in the Seattle Times: ""The thing is, our front four, we like to believe we're good enough to get to the quarterback on our own, without blitzes," Fisher said. "But hell, our best rusher is a linebacker [Peterson] and, as good as he is, that should be embarrassing to the rest of us."
Can Seattle pick up a defensive coordinator mid season? We know it sounds crazy, but they have got to do something. Hamlin, Boulware, our moms, it doesn't matter who you stick back there if you're not getting pressure on the QB and calling effective blitzes.
Sounds like Shaun Alexander is out another week....frickin' great!
Well, the good news is that Seattle Sports Blog still was above .500 on our weekly picks going 7-6. Overall record for the year still strong at 71-37.
Let's hope Seattle can put together a W for next week at home...we need it.
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 4:40 PM | Comments (0)
October 27, 2006
NFL Week #8 Predictions
Seattle Seahawks Blog
Here are Seattle Sports Blog picks for week #8 in the NFL
Arizona at Green Bay
Leinhart will be a good QB in this league very soon. Green Bay is playing well of late and we see that trend continuing. It's not quite Rodgers time as Farve still has some gas left in the tank. GB here, 20-13
Atlanta at Cincinnati
This could be another shoot-out for Atlanta, who was involved in one of the craziest games last week with Pittsburgh. Cincy has a good deal of fire power on offense and their D is just good enough to contain Vick....Cincy here, 28-24
Baltimore at New Orleans
What happened to Baltimore? They started off hot, then have cooled recently. "Nawleen's" come back team of the year? So far, so good. NO here 23-14
Houston at Tennessee
Ah, the Bud Adams Bowl game......Houston has been playing extremely well of late and we see them continuing to roll. Houston 23-7
Jacksonville at Philadelphia
Like Baltimore, what happened to Jax? They beat Pittsburgh on Monday night and seemed headed in the right direction. The NFL is all about momentum and they have none of it right now. Neither does Philly, so this is going to be an interesting game to watch. Philly here in a squeaker, 21-17
Seattle at Kansas City
First Shaun, then Bobby, then Matt, now Locklear? Seattle has little chance to win this game, unfortunately. KC here, 14-10
San Francisco at Chicago
Chicago has one of the easiest schedules in the league and this is even more proof of that....Chicago, easy, 35-7
Tampa Bay at N.Y. Giants"Battle of the Barbers" 2 teams in different directions, NYG here easy 42-14
St. Louis at San Diego
Is St. Louis for real? Guess we'll find out against a tough SD team. We like SD, 34-30 in a barn burner
Indianapolis at DenverGame of the week, no doubt about it. Denver is tough at home, but Peyton and crew have proven they can win on the road in tough games. Indy here in a slugfest, 21-20
N.Y. Jets at ClevelandNYJ have been playing better of late and Cleveland, well, they are just Cleveland. NYJ here, 10-7
Pittsburgh at Oakland
Almost a "toilet bowl" game, but Pittsburgh is barely above that status for now. 2 great teams of the 70's that had many a great battle...this one in the 2000's isn't going to be one of them. Pitt here, 24-17
Dallas at Carolina
We like Romo to T.O., but Carolina's defense is too good. If they can just figure out how to protect Jake D, Carolina would win more games. We like Carolina here, 24-21
MONDAY
New England at Minnesota
Is Minnesota for real? We know NE is and we think they are out to prove something in this game. Belichick is a genious, no doubt about it. NE here, bigger than most people expect, 28-13
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 2:34 PM | Comments (0)
October 26, 2006
C-ya later, Wally
Seattle Sonics Blog
Good ridance to a major headache in Sonics history, Wally Walker.
Numerous questions lingered throughout the years on trades, draft picks, and overall organizational moves. Anyone remember when we traded Vin Baker for Shawn Kemp? Walker was quoted as saying "We got the guy we wanted, Kevin Garnett"--what an absolute idiot.
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 4:25 PM | Comments (0)
October 25, 2006
Seattle Seahawks Blog
Seattle Seahawks Blog
Hawks got beat, bottom line
Hasselbeck's injury was the turning point of the game, but there are some glaring issues on both sides of the ball.......as well as the coaching staff.
The 95 yard run was also a major play in the game which should not have happened. Contrary to what the press is saying, Hutch did little on that play. What killed Seattle on that play was the loosy-goosy style of play our FS and SS are playing. Hamlin and Boulware seem very undisciplined back there and BOTH of them over-ran that play. As the SS and FS, you are the last line of defense. No RB or WR by you, bottom line.
We don't know if Marshall is the best defensive coordinator out there either. Our blitz schemes fool NOBODY and are not well disguised. Good blitzing teams will show an 8 man front, then either bring the house or drop back. You can tell when Seattle blitzes well before the ball is even snapped. When we bring the safeties, they come on a delayed blitz......you have got to mix things up or teams will continue to exploit your weak defensive play calling.
Offensively, we need Alexander back. Our line can only do so much to protect whatever QB we have in there. Jackson had a great game, but also dropped a ball at the 1 yard line at a critical point in the game.......ball on the one, we punch it in for a TD, different game. His fall down on that 3rd and long was also one of the dumbest moves of the day. All he had to do was lunge forward for the 1st down.
Finally, Holmgren's play calling has got to be mixed up. We continue to get burnt on these type of trick plays (HB pass) and NEVER run one. Our offense is entirely too predictable......a reverse, a statue of liberty, a fake FG, a fake punt. Defenses have nothing to worry about with our offensive play calling......and it's killing us.
Regardless of how long Matt is out, there needs to be some changes made NOW if we are going to save this season.
Finally, on week #7 picks, Seattle Sports Blog went 6-7 (OUCH!), but maintain a strong overall record of 64-31.
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 2:22 PM | Comments (0)
Washington Race Track Listing
Bonanza Raceway [+]
Bremerton Raceway [+]
Castle Rock Race Park [+]
Deming Speedway [+]
Eagle Track Raceway [+]
Ephrata Raceway Park [+]
Evergreen Speedway [+]
Grays Harbor Raceway Park [+]
Hannegan Speedway [+]
Jackson Prairie Speedway [+]
Norman Welch Mem. Speedway
Northport Int. Raceway [+]
Pacific Raceways [+] Port Angeles Speedway
Renegade Raceway [+]
Skagit Speedway [+]
South Sound Speedway [+]
Spokane Raceway Park [+]
State Fair Raceway [+]
Stateline Speedway and Stadium [+]
Tri-City Raceway [+]
Wenatchee Valley Super Oval [+]
Yakima Speedway [+]
Posted by SSBG at 2:09 PM | Comments (0)
October 20, 2006
NFL Week #7 predictions
Seattle Seahawks Blog
Week #7 is here and the Hawks have a big game vs. Minnesota. We're confident they'll take this game, but are in need of boosting their poor rushing game.
Here are our picks for week #7....our overall record is 58-24 to this point, which we think is pretty sweet.
Carolina at Cincinnati
This is going to be a good game, mark our words. We like Cincy, however, Carolina has proven they can win on the road in hostile environments (Baltimore last week). Carolina here in a squeeker, 23-17
Detroit at N.Y. Jets
Toilet bowl game here (sorry Jonny Kitna, but you need a better line). J-E-T-S here 30-10
Green Bay at Miami
Two storied franchises going no where this year. Time for Rodgers in Green Bay? Time to bring back Marino in Miami? We see Miami here, 10-7
Jacksonville at Houston
Jacksonville is coming off a bye and is hungry for a win. Houston sucks, bottom line. Jax here, 24-13
New England at Buffalo
Once a great, great rivalry how turned one-sided. NE is playing extremely well of late. NE 34-14
Philadelphia at Tampa Bay
What the hell is going on with Philly? Can't seem to win the big game of late (NYG, NO). Tampa is playing better, but we think McNabb can pull this one off. Philly here, 17-14
Pittsburgh at Atlanta
This should also be a good game. We hate Pittsburgh, bottom line, and don't see them being able to pull this one off. Atlanta here, 20-17
San Diego at Kansas City
KC is always tough at home as Seattle will realize in a week. However, San Diego has too much fire power for KC to handle. SD here 28-10
Denver at Cleveland
This game will be a low scoring slug fest with Denver pulling away. 13-10. Ah, brings back memories of the ole' dog pound days in the playoffs with "the drive", eh?
Arizona at Oakland
Toilet bowl game of the week: Oakland 10-9
Minnesota at Seattle
We love the Hawks here and we think they will crush Minn 34-7
Washington at Indianapolis
This should also be a great, great game. Keep in mind that WA plays well in domes and Indy is feeling like a let down this week. We still see Indy here, however, 35-31
N.Y. Giants at Dallas
This should also be a great game. The Giants have a great offense, but their Defense is suspect (aka see them against Seattle). We like Dallas here simply because they are at home, 35-24
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)
October 19, 2006
Hawks using shotgun
Seattle Seahawks Blog:
Are you kidding us? It's drives us BONKERS that Holgrem is so adverse to running the shotgun. Hasselbeck this year more than ever needs additional time given the shaky line.
We love Holgrem and the Hawks here at Seattle Sports Blog, but get with the times Mike, the Shotgun on 3rd and 17 gives Matt a few more seconds to read and react. We're tired of seeing him audible to Mack Strong draw play over and over again. It should be simple math: 3rd and long=Shotgun. Teams will continue to blitz the hell out of us if we don't use it...which, 99% of the NFL does on 3rd and long's.
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 3:43 PM | Comments (0)
October 16, 2006
Paul Allen Josh Brown conversation
Seattle Sehawks Blog
"OK, so, if you hit the game winner today, I'll give you a bonus of $4M"
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Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 4:13 PM | Comments (0)
Seattle Seahawks blog
Seattle Seahawks Blog
A win is a win in the NFL as they say, but let's be honest Seattle fans, there is no WAY we should have won that game. Our defense looked horrible all game until late in the third quarter. Thanks GOD for Matt Hasselbeck and our GM for picking up Branch...we would not have won that game if it wasn't for those players.
Positives:
Game Ball MVP's are Hasselbeck, Branch, and of course, Brown. Do we have the best clutch kicker in the game? We'd say so at Seattle Sports Blog. There was no doubt about that kick. Matt H. looked great under pressure as well in the 2:00 drill and all game. Kudos to the line for giving him at least a little more time to read and react. Branch? We knew he was good, but DAMN, he is that good. As we've said a thousand times, the Seattle Sehawks have the best front office in football. Finally, it was AWESOME to see Hasselback in the shotgun....we've been wanting to see that for a while and it paid off on a few passes on Sunday
Negatives:
The defense was terrible all game until late in the game. We still do not seem to know when to call blitzes. Not a big fan of the 3 man rush in the 2 minute drill either. What the hell was Boulware trying to do on that last TD? He looked like he was trying to be more of a WR than a SS. He needs to concentrate on knocking that ball down or grabbing the WR's arm vs. trying to go for the pick. Where was Hill all day? The stats show 6 tackles, but let's be honest, NFL defensive tackle stats are always inflated.
Overall, the Hawks still have a tremendous amount of work to do before they can consider themselves an elite NFL team. As we indicated earlier, a win is a win, but Seattle could just as easily be 3-2.
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Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)
October 11, 2006
Who's excited about the Sonics this year? Seattle Sonics blog 2006
Seattle Sonics blog
It's hard to get excited about this team this year, regardless of the fact that they are pretty much Oklahoma bound at this point. They made a huge mistake with the #10 pick in this year's draft. Think of a thicker and shorter Manute Bol and you have the Sonics draft pick.
There are some promising signs with Wilcox and Watson...especially Watson. We believe the Luke Ridnour experiment at starting point guard has ended. His terrible shooting percentage and lack of consistant defense has hurt his chances of starting again. Granted, Ridnour possess great passing abilities, but to the be full package, he needs more. Wilcox finished last season strong and should be the starting power foward with Collison as the backup.
What about Lewis this year? Will he return to his All-Star form? He's STILL soft in our eyes...we'd love to see more aggression from this guy.
Allen, solid as they come, needs to continue to be a leader and help Watson into the starting role. The Bulls proved you can win without a center, and we think the Sonics should follow that plan. Swift, Sene, and Petro can all that "three-headed monster" at center.
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 1:56 PM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2006
UW football, week #5 picks, and more
Boy, did UW get robbed or what this weekend? What a joke of a last series. Given what has happened earlier this year with the Oregon/Oklahoma game, the Pac 10 officiating crew could use some serious training. Moving on....
On the NFL picks this week, Seattle Sports Blog went 12-2, our BEST week yet!! The 2 games we missed? SF vs. Oakland and the Baltimore game. Hey, no one's perfect, but a 50-19 overall record isn't too shabby.
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 1:21 PM | Comments (0)
October 5, 2006
Week #5 NFL predictions 2006
Here are our picks for week #5......overall record remains strong at 38-17!
Week #5 NFL predictions 2006
Buffalo at Chicago
Chicago is a good, good football team, no doubt about it after destroying Seattle last week. This should be an easy one for them, 31-17
Cleveland at Carolina
Even with Cleveland coming off a win, they are no match for Carolina's defense. Carolina here 20-9
Detroit at Minnesota
Detroit is in the toilet right now...Seattle Sports Blog loves Kitna since he is a Central Washington U grad, but he's no match for Minn. Minn here 20-7
Miami at New England
Miami is also in the toilet....can you say Dante Culpepper biggest bust in 2006 kids? His knee stills needs a year to recover and it's showing. NE here big and easy, 35-12
St. Louis at Green Bay
St.Louis played well last week and we see them continuing to do so. Green Bay is on the fritz and Farve's days are numbered....St. Louis 24-13
Tampa Bay at New Orleans
This will probably be a closer game than most people are expecting. Gruden is a good coach and can rally troops as good as anyone in the NFL. However, we still see NO pulling this one out. Will Bush finally score a TD? We'll see....NO 17-14
Tennessee at Indianapolis
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Tennessee used to be one of the elite teams in the NFL. Think McNair still had some left in the tank? We do. Too bad Tennessee.....Indy here 42-7
Washington at N.Y. Giants
Probably the game of the week. 2 offensive power-houses go head to head. A healthy Portis showed what Brunnell can do with some time. NY needs to run the ball more, bottom line. Barber is one of the top backs in the league, and if they are smart, they'll use him A LOT in this game. NY here 28-24
Kansas City at Arizona
Toiletbowl.org game of the week (not an actual url, but we like it). KC here 13-10
N.Y. Jets at Jacksonville
Another solid match-up of two teams needing to make a statement....we like Jax here in a squeeker, 23-20
Oakland at San Francisco
Another example of two storied franchises falling on troubled times. Thank God for the salary cap or SF might have won 20 Super Bowls by now. Toilet bowl game #2 of the week, SF 6 Raiders 0
Dallas at Philadelphia
All the hype around the T.O. bowl will be thwarted once the ball is finally snapped. What could possibly happen? Do Philly fans rush the field to tackle T.O? We are VERY interested to see what happens if he does score....does he pretend to pee on the Eagle? Dallas here in an upset, 35-31
Pittsburgh at San Diego
So glad that Pittsburg is finally showing their true colors. Now maybe the rest of the NFL fans around the country realize how FIXED the Superbowl was. SD here HUGE, 42-10
Baltimore at Denver
This will also be a great, great game to watch. Denver has that conservative ground attack, but will they be able to move the ball against that vaunted Baltimore D? Denver is currently favored in this game, but we like Baltimore to pull off an upset. 24-14 Balt
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 11:22 AM | Comments (0)
October 2, 2006
Set back in Chicago: Seahawks lose big
This game was erily similar to not only the Jacksonville game last year, but also the Superbowl. Our offense came out looking sharp, energetic, on the move and the Chicago fans were silent. We then stall on first and goal and take a 3-0 lead. Chicago kept giving us chances, stalling themselves and only being able to muster 1 TD and 2 FG's in 3 redzone opportunities. Then, the wheels really starting falling off......
Give Chicago credit, their defense looks very impressive. However, we were (as well as the rest of the nation) expecting a much closer game. Not all the blame falls on Hasselback, but he IS throwing a lot of interceptions and he IS under a lot of pressure. There were numerous times that both Gray and Locklear were flat out beat and out muscled last night.
We were not all that impressed with our defensive scheme last night as well. As much as we love Lofa, he missed on 3-4 tackles and was out of position quite a bit. That adds up over the course of the game. He needs to learn from these types of games. Our pass rush? Non-existant. Grossman had ALL day to pass back there. Please tell us we are not going back to our conservative Ray Rhodes sit back in zone type defense........that killed us in the past!
Finally, our offense is still flat from a play calling perspective. Please, please, please run Hassleback out of the shotgun on third and long vs. having him audible to the Mack Strong up the middle draw. That play is OLD!!
Finally, congrats to the Dawgs for picking up the win vs. AZ...their schedule get really rough from here on out....USC, Oregon, and WSU all on the road. Yikes!
Finally, finally......we finished the week 8-5 in our pro picks and have a 38-17 overall record.
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 9:44 AM | Comments (0)
