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‘This is a championship organization’

February 6, 2015 cc Leave a comment

After three straight seasons of double-digit wins, with one Super Bowl trophy already on the mantle, Pete Carroll had us believing. He had us talking destiny and dynasty.

And then one ill-fated play call put an end to it all — for a moment.

But, as Carroll tweeted Thursday, “One moment does not define you; the journey does. We will outlast this.”

He’s right, of course. The Seahawks are built to last. They have more Super Bowls in them.

“This is a championship organization,” Carroll told Matt Lauer of “Today.” “It’s an extraordinary time for us. We’re right in the middle of all the good, positive things that we can do. So this is what we have to deal with, and of course it’s going to make us stronger.

“Think how strong we’ll be coming out of this. Think how powerful our togetherness will be, our mindset will be as we know that we’ve shouldered this and we move forward and get back to what we want to do. … It’s a great challenge, but nothing could make us stronger.”

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Contracts, Injury report, Super Bowl XLIX

More on injuries, coaches and contracts

February 5, 2015 cc Leave a comment

You have to wonder how the Super Bowl might have turned out if the Legion of Boom had been healthy.

The news that Kam Chancellor played with a torn MCL is stunning — and just another nod to the toughness and dedication of the Pro Bowl strong safety.

And don’t forget: All-Pros Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman came into the game with injuries, too — Thomas with a shoulder issue and Sherman with a bad elbow. On top of that, Jeremy Lane suffered a badly broken wrist on his interception in the first quarter.

It is safe to say those injuries played a huge role in the outcome — particularly with Tharold Simon giving up two touchdown passes, including the go-ahead score late in the game.

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State of the team, Super Bowl XLIX

Baldwin, other immature Hawks need to grow up

February 5, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Doug Baldwin turddown — Doug “Dookie” Baldwin pretends to poop out a football after scoring.

If the Seahawks have any hope of rebounding from that devastating Super Bowl loss, Pete Carroll is going to have to adjust the attitudes of some of his immature players.

He should start with Dookie Baldwin. Is anyone else fed up with his act yet? First he lashed out in Richard Sherman fashion after the NFC title game, and then he performed a classless “turddown” celebration after scoring in the Super Bowl.

He was fined $11,025 for the latter move — pretending to poop out the football in the end zone after his 3-yard touchdown gave Seattle a 24-14 lead in the third quarter. It was his only catch of the game as he found himself stranded on Revis Island, and yet he still felt like it was worth giving the Patriots a free 15 yards to start their next drive.

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Super Bowl XLIX, X's & O's

Last look at the final play & the reactions to it

February 4, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Super Bowl Carroll dumbfounded as Lynch walks past — Pete Carroll stands dumbfounded as Marshawn Lynch walks by after the interception.

Lynch with the wry smile — What was Lynch thinking as he walked to the sideline? Perhaps: “My price to stay just went up, boss.”

It has been three days, and the
Seahawks’ final
offensive play of the Super Bowl continues to reverberate throughout the football world —
certainly nowhere more than in
Seattle.

In that time, Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson have defended the play and the man who called it, Darrell Bevell. Patriots coach Bill Belichick has spoken out against the critics, lavishing praise on Carroll and his Seahawks.

EA Sports even created an alternate ending in which the Seahawks run the play nearly all of us think they should have run — with Marshawn Lynch scoring the winning touchdown.

And “NFL Insiders” showed the last play from the sidelines, listening in on the coaches and players and catching a shot of Lynch walking off the field after the interception with a wry smile on his face.

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History, Super Bowl XL, Super Bowl XLIX

XL and XLIX losses share much in common

February 3, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Lockette tripped — The non-call on Malcolm Butler’s trip of Ricardo Lockette in the fourth quarter cost the Seahawks at least 20 yards. (Click to enlarge)

The Seahawks are 1-2 in Super Bowls now, and both losses were steeped in controversy afterward — XL because of a handful of questionable officials’ calls, XLIX because of one questionable coaches’ call.

But they shared a lot more than that in common.

According to ESPN stats, those two teams were the only ones in the 49-year history of the Super Bowl to come out ahead in turnovers and yards and come out behind on the scoreboard — a stunning stat that tells you the Seahawks certainly were not worse than the teams they lost to in those Super Bowls.

Mike Holmgren’s Seahawks outgained Bill Cowher’s Pittsburgh Steelers 396 yards to 339 and won the turnover battle 2-1. Pete Carroll’s Seahawks outgained Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots 396 to 377 and won the turnover battle 2-1.

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State of the team, Super Bowl XLIX

Injuries and penalty trend contribute to Seahawks’ loss

February 2, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks’ Super Bowl loss to the Patriots was — in so many ways — a microcosm of Seattle’s season.

The Hawks once again forgot who they were on offense, injuries again were key factors, and penalties — both called and not called — played a big role in their 28-24 loss to the Patriots.

We went into detail about the Seahawks’ failures on offense in another post, but injuries and the season-long penalty disparity loomed large in the Super Bowl.

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State of the team, Super Bowl XLIX, X's & O's

Seahawks never did find an offensive identity

February 2, 2015 cc 1 Comment

The Seahawks struggled to find an offensive identity all season. Obviously that had not changed by the last play of the Super Bowl.

For a bunch that continually says they are a power running team and Marshawn Lynch is their bell cow, the Hawks have a funny way of showing it sometimes. Sunday was one of those times.

Why in the world would the Seahawks consider giving Lynch a big contract extension if they refuse to use him in the most important moment of the season?

The inexplicable decision to eschew Lynch in favor of a pass from the 1-yard line, trailing 28-24 with 26 seconds left, was the most head-scratching move in a season that already had caused most fans to claw their noggins raw.

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State of the team, Super Bowl XLIX, The roster

Seahawks have to get better at receiver

February 2, 2015 cc 1 Comment

As much as receivers Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse complain about not getting any respect and being labeled “pedestrian,” the last two games of the season showed the criticisms have a lot of merit.

And when the Seahawks went to Ricardo Lockette — really?! — for the winning touchdown in the final seconds of the Super Bowl, it was a clear indicator that the Seahawks have to upgrade the receiver position in the offseason.

After playing horribly in the NFC title game against Green Bay — shut down for most of the game until they both came up big in overtime — Baldwin and Kearse were almost completely clamped by the Patriots’ secondary in the Super Bowl.

Until yet another undrafted player, Chris Matthews, came up big and sparked the Seattle offense, Russell Wilson had nowhere to go in the first half as Baldwin and Kearse were blanketed by Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner.

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Contracts, Super Bowl XLIX

Will Lynch come back for more (money and titles)?

February 1, 2015 cc Leave a comment

It looks like it’s all up to Marshawn Lynch now: He can retire and walk into the sunset after the Super Bowl or come back for more — more money, more titles.

At midseason, there were many rumblings that the Seahawks and Lynch were ready to move on from one another. Coach Pete Carroll admitted Lynch was still upset over his contract and said, “We are working through it.”

Well, if a report by NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport is to be believed, the Hawks have worked through it and are now interested in giving Lynch a contract extension.

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Super Bowl XLIX, X's & O's

Want to know why the Seahawks will win?

February 1, 2015 cc Leave a comment

A year ago, wise football followers knew Seattle was going to beat Denver in the Super Bowl. After all, defense wins championships, and Seattle had the No. 1 defense in the NFL.

Of course, the way it happened was astonishing — with the Seahawks’ defense shutting out the most prolific offense in NFL history for most of the game and Seattle running away with the win, 43-8.

It is hard to imagine the Hawks doing the same thing to the Patriots in this Super Bowl. But, Seattle again has the No. 1 defense in the league and — despite the Legion of Boom being banged up — that unit largely has played even better than the 2013 version.

Wise football followers once again know the Seahawks are going to win. The only question is: How will it happen?

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