« November 2007 | Main | January 2008 »
December 21, 2007
Happy Holidays from Seattle Sports Blog
From all of us at Seattle Sports Blog, we wish you a happy holiday and new years!
 |
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 2:37 PM | Comments (0)
December 17, 2007
Hawks lay an egg
Seattle Seahawks Blog:
Well, I guess the ride needed to end at some point with our win streak. However, to lose to a 5-8 Carolina team that is starting a 4th string QB is deplorable. We should have been blitzing this guy EVERY down!!!!! This goes to show once again that John Marshall cannot disguise blitzes and does not know how to sheme a coverage to stop the short passes. 0 szcks against a fourth string QB is about as bad as it gets.
Our running game? A JOKE. Seattle not only needs a new RB, we need a whole new offensive line. We need some size. Jones is getting old and it showed this weekend. Does anything think in a snowy Green Bay that we will have the slightest chance of winning? Holmgren or our offensive line coach better light a fire under the OL to get their acts together or they stand to lose their jobs next year.
Well, let's hope we can at least win out, finish 11-5 with some momentum heading into the playoffs. This game, however, was a big, big letdown.
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 2:59 PM | Comments (1)
December 14, 2007
Keys to the game vs. Carolina
Let's just hope this isn't a let down game this week.
Keys to the game:
1. Come out strong: Seattle needs to stay hungry and realize there is still a lot at stake in the NFC. Green Bay loses a few games, we're right back in the hunt for that 1st round bye.
2. Keep Blitzing: Let's not get complacent and let Kearney try and do all the work. The double teams are coming against him, so keep Grant, Peterson, Lofa, whoever coming...keep them off guard.
3. Mo/Shaun/Weaver: Please continue to allow these 3 guys to share touches. It keeps the Panthers from knowing who's doing what (Weaver on screens or draw plays? Mo on pitches or dives? etc)
4. Hasselbeck stay consistent: He can get a little shaky on the road sometimes. Come out early, toss a few TD's, and get us the lead.
5. Special Teams: As it did in the New Orleans game earlier this year, ST can get us in a hole quickly. Let's hope the new guy has good consistent snaps this week so that we don't even have to notice the ST's.....the best ST's in the league are those you never hear from.
Seattle Sports Blog Guy
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 2:49 PM | Comments (0)
December 12, 2007
Rose Garden should stay Rose Garden
Why, oh why, does billionare Paul Allen need to see the rights to the name of the Rose Garden? Corporate sponsorship in sports is OUT OF HAND.....I HATE IT!!!! These are publically funded venues for Pete's sake, why do they need to be named after coorporations? Should we rename things such as "Sprint Golden Gate Bridge" or how about the "McDonald's Space Needle." Quit allowing sports venues to be named after coorporations...it should NOT BE ALLOWED. The franchises already make enough money and everything at games is overly hyped: "That basket brought to you by FedEx", your cupholder says "Bank of America" so on, and so forth.
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 4:38 PM | Comments (1)
Hawks Widget and ESPN article
Seattle Seahawks Blog:
Thought all of you would enjoy these:
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 4:04 PM | Comments (0)
December 10, 2007
Hawks roll to division championship
Seattle Seahawks Blog:
Boy, what a difference 5 weeks makes in the NFL. Coming off the Pittsburgh loss and Cleveland meltdown, the Hawks have turned things around significantly these last 5 weeks. They absolutely crushed Arizona yesterday and rolled to their fourth straight division championship. There are a number of scenario's that can play out the remainder of the year, and let's hope some bad things happen in Green Bay that allow us to get that first round bye.
Hasselbeck is above and beyond the MVP of this team. His TD to INT ratio this year is one of his best and he's spreading the ball around well to all WR's.
A few other game balls yesterday:
Len Weaver is making us forgot about Mack Strong rather quickly. Know what's funny? Holmgren has finally brought back the screen pass that he used to LOVE to run with Green Bay and in his early days with Seattle. Weaver can catch and BLOCK, which is something this team has needed for picking up blitzes
Marcus Trufant: The MVP on defense for this team. It took him a few years to come out of his shell and as he indicated yesterday, "The pressure up front makes QB's make bad throws" That couldn't be more true with TRU.........Lofa may be the leader, but Trufant is the MVP right now and deserves a shot to the pro bowl. Kearney also has been unbelievable these last several weeks and has proven he's worth the money.
Things to work on:
Still need to get more of a running game going in these games when we're up, but if you don't need it, don't bother with it. I'd rather win these games scoring 42 points vs. squeakers by 3 and Shaun/Mo/Weaver have 150 yards+ on the ground.
Special Teams: Why is it that we are so vunerable to the onside kick at halftime? Can someone please notify the front 5 on KO return to NOT leave until the ball is in the air?????
With how bad the Sonics are right now, with the Mariners unwilling to pay big $$$ for a key starter and with UW hoops losing as they did on Saturday, the Hawks are the only thing to look forward to in Seattle Sports right now.
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)
December 6, 2007
Fact about Ken Baer
A critical, fact-based examination of the man in charge of coordinating UW's alleged defense:
Washington defensive coordinator Kent Baer traces his collegiate coaching roots to the early staffs of Bruce Snyder. For those of you who might not know, Snyder is widely regarded as one of the biggest A-holes to ever walk a Pac-10 sideline (I say this because I was living in Tucson when Snyder coached his final game there against UA, then promptly snuck out the back of the locker room to a waiting limousine without talking to the media or his players. This behavior did not go un-noticed by the local Tucson media, which took him to task in the morning papers).
Snyder hired young Baer in 1977 as a fresh-faced defensive assistant at his alma mater, Utah St . Remarkably, following the 1982 season, Snyder parlayed a 5-6 Utah St. campaign into a gig with the LA Rams. Baer stayed behind at USU and was promoted to defensive coordinator under new coach Chris Pella. The Aggies went 5-6 in that magical 1983 season. In 1984, after having the opportunity to fully implement Baer's defensive "system" the Aggies posted a not-so-impressive 1-10 mark. USU followed that up by going 3-8 in 1985. The writing was on the wall. Pella was out, and Baer needed a job.
After landing at Idaho for the 1986 season, Baer caught a break when Snyder was hired at Cal before the 1987 season. Having been out of the college game for a number of years and apparently not knowing whom else to call, Snyder tapped Baer to lead the Golden Bear defense. The Snyder/Baer led Golden Bears struggled early and often, posting a combined 19-22-4 record in the first four years. In 1991, it somehow all came together during a 10-2 season that ended with a Citrus Bowl championship. Snyder quickly cashed in his chips and headed for Arizona St. , taking his defensive coordinator with him.
While the Larry Marmie years at ASU (1988-1991) defined mediocrity (22 wins, 21 losses) the squads apparently had some athletes. In Baer's first season as ASU's defensive coordinator, the Sun Devil defense yielded a mere 17 points per contest--an impressive number to be sure. Unfortunately, the decline that followed was swift, rapid and very Baer-esque. The next year, the defense allowed 23 points per game. The following year: 32. Snyder had seen enough, and he sent Baer packing. Two years later, ASU was 11-0 and in the Rose Bowl.
Baer landed at Stanford as the linbackers coach on the staff of Lionel Tyrone Willingham. In 1999, Baer was promoted to defensive coordinator as the Cardinal won the conference and played in the Rose Bowl. Amazingly, it did so with the nation's 110th ranked defense, allowing 453 yards per game (which is actually worse than this year's UW team allowing 439 per game). In 2000, the Cardinal ranked in the lower half of the country in every major defensive statistical category, with the exception of rushing defense (#55). In 2001, they were the nation's 105th ranked defense against the pass. On to Notre Dame!
At Notre Dame, Baer inherited a defense that finished the previous season ranked #10 in the nation against the pass and #22 in total defense. Although outgoing coach Bob Davie had largely ignored his offense (ND averaged 19 points per game and had the nation's second-worst passing offense in 2001), he had stocked the roster with several future NFL defensive backs (ND had 4 DBs drafted in 2002-2003). Talent notwithstanding, Baer quickly got to work putting his all-too-familiar stamp on the program. The national pass defense ranking slid to 46th in 2002, 48th in 2003, and (after losing those 4 DBs) a second-to-last 116th in 2004. Interestingly, Baer's worst defense against the pass was the 5-7 team that got Willingham fired--not a team that was leading so many games that opponents had to pass. This brings us to Washington .
In Baer's first year on the job at Washington , his defense set out to re-write the Husky record books--and not in a good way. In 2005, statistically speaking, UW fielded its worst defense in school history, finishing the year ranked #106 against the pass and #94 in total defense. It is worth mentioning that this team finished 2-9 and rarely led. Teams did not need to pass against the 2005 UW defense, but hey, when it's that easy....why not?
Just when fans thought things couldn't get any worse, they did. In 2006, UW's Baer-led defense finished #102 against the pass (marking Baer's third consective year of finishing in the +100 club against the pass, and the 4th time in 6 years) and #95 in total defense. The 2007 Huskies are currently ranked #98 in total defense and #85 against the pass. With only Hawaii remaining on the schedule, another visit to the +100 club is certainly within reach.
The 2007 UW defense will finish worse statistically than the 2005 edition, setting yet another school record for defensive ineptitude. UW set a school record for rushing yards allowed in a single game versus Oregon, then came out the very next week against Arizona and set a school record for passing yards allowed. Though I cannot confirm it, I am farily certain that is the first and only time that has happened in the history of college football. Both games were played at Husky Stadium.
In the three years since Baer's arrival, UW has ranked 94, 95 and 98 in total defense, 89, 85 and 94 in scoring defense, and 106, 102 and 85 in passing defense. After next Saturday, that "85" will be a three-digit number.
It is time for a change.
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)
December 5, 2007
Huskies lose Oliver
Washington Huskies Mens Basketball Blog:
Sad to see Oliver leave, I really thought he had good game. Where's he going? USC? UCLA? Time will tell how much this one hurts.
What's the scoop with Romar? Can't keep these high profile recruits he's bringing in? Can't develop top talents like Pondexter? Something needs to change around there, we have too much talent to be a 4-3 team. His defense and inbound plays are lacking smart coaching.
I'm hoping this free's up some time for Joel Smith to play more. The guy is hitting the lights out at three point range, is a better ball handler and decision maker than Dentmon, and has incredible hops.
GET HIM IN THE GAME!!
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 10:16 AM | Comments (0)
December 3, 2007
Hawks pull out another win on the road
On what was shaping up to be another let down weekend for Seattle Sports (Huskies in particular getting their asses handed to them in basketball and the football team's embarrassment vs. Hawaii), the Hawks found another way to pull out a win. The Seahawks are the only good thing going good for Seattle sports right now with the Huskies, Sonics, and Mariners all looking like sub par teams.
Here are our positives and negatives from yesterday's game against Philly:
#1: Running back by committee: is working well for this team right now. No need to fix it. I'd almost prefer to get Morris more carries than the 5 he got yesterday. Shaun looked like a new man yesterday. I'll still give $200 to the first person who believes Alexander will EVER be able to break a 25+ yard run again.
#2: Hasselbeck: He still seems to be able to fumble the ball at least once per game and throw one INT, but overall, when we needed him, he came through. Branch, Burleson, and Engram all did well yesterday for him, however, where is our tight end? Can Heller get more involved?
#3: Lofa: I've been giving this guy a bad time for at times getting run over and at times being in the wrong spot on mis-direction runs, but he was the MVP yesterday. 3 Int's, 11 tackles...nuff said.
Negatives:
#1: Can Marshall please get more aggressive on his play calling on the road for blitzes? We had ONE sack yesterday...ONE! Please, John Marshall, send Peterson, send Lofa, send Hill...get the LB's and DB's more involved in getting pressure. Our defense is TOO PREDICTABLE!!
#2: Poor tackling angles: The Philly RB's had too many cut backs yesterday and I saw Russell and Grant out of position and taking bad angles to the ball. Stay in your lanes people!!
#3: Special Teams: Thank God for Bently.....why can't Holmgren think about who's back there? Westbrook is a stud...kick the fricking ball out of bounds!!!
Overall, we looked solid again on the road and pulled out another big win. Up next a pesky Arizona team who is going to come for blood. Can you say revenge for week #2? Hawks fans, get ready to be as LOUD AS YOU CAN BE....
www.seattlesportsblog.com
Posted by Seattle Sports Blog Guy at 11:01 AM | Comments (0)
