For Seattle sports fans the NFL season came to a painfully abrupt end Saturday afternoon with about 10 minutes to go in the first quarter.  Ryan Grant took a handoff, went up the middle for good yardage and maintained possession of the football until the whistle.  After fumbling his first two touches, holding onto the ball marked the beginning of the end for the Seahawks.

As I wrote last week following the Washington game, the defense was going to need another strong performance against the run, while the offense needed to find themselves and establish a running game of their own.  Playing in Green Bay's version of the Penn State "White-out"  game, the Hawks failed miserably on both accounts.  Grant ran for a Packers playoff record 201 yards, while behind a line that looked more like a seive than a wall the backfield for Seattle totalled fewer than 30 net yards.

Previously I have stated that Mike Holmgren needed to trust Morris and Weaver to shoulder the load to establish a rushing game, but after this debacle it was apparent that no one was going to go anywhere behind a line that let Green Bay through like the turnstiles at Grand Central Terminal in NYC.  Right guard Chris Gray looked like an old man playing against kids ( Green Bay's OLDEST defensive lineman is 7 years Gray's junior, some as many as 13 years).  The Hawks might have been served as well if they had simply put a signpost in at right guard with a vane pointing in the direction of the runningback.  Certainly would have been cheaper, not many $800k street signs around that I'm aware of.

The big surprise for many 12th men was the inability to stop Grant and the running game.  After holding Clinton Portis to 52 yards on 20 carries with no touchdowns the previous week, things were looking good.  No runner had gained more than 100 yards since Willie Parker gained 102 in week 5.  Unfortunately for Seattle's hopes, the running style of Green Bay and the weather conditions combined to hit the defense just where it hurt the most, its speed at linebacker.  Time and time again, Seattle's trio of Hill, Peterson and Tatupu flew to the play in preparation to make the big hit, but Grant was nowhere to be found.  The zone read scheme employed by the Packers resulted in Grant cutting back behind the over-pursuing defense time and again for hug chunks of ground.  Once the play was over-run, the snowy field slowed the linebackers recovery time enough to allow Grant to reach the second and third level.

So where do the Seahawks go from here?  Despite playing to the second round of the playoffs, the result has to be a disappointment given the performance of the defense in the wild-card round.  What do Seattle fans have to look to in the coming year?

Beyond the looming question of whether Mike Holmgren will return for the final year of his current contract, serious concerns about the inability to run the ball seem to be a mandatory topic of off-season focus.  Shoring up the right side of the offensive line may be sufficient, though perennial pro-bowler Walter Jones is no spring chicken at left tackle himself.  Some interest has been expressed in obtaining a running back to replace Alexander, but for myself I still have faith in the speed of Morris and the strength of Weaver.  Both are more than capable pass blockers and receivers who should fit well into whatever offensive scheme Seattle may run if Holmgren decides to retire.

As for the defense, the play of Kelly Jennings and Marcus Trufant showed significant improvement this year in a secondary which continues to give up too many yards in a cover 2 zone scheme.  Even with the best 3-man linebacking trio in the league, teams with a competent passing game continue to find the holes too easily (see below for my opinion of the cover 2 package).

The pass rush made the difference in most games (48 sacks in the 11 wins, 6 sacks in the 7 losses), with the majority of the pressure coming from Kearney and Tapp on the ends.  The lack of pressure up the middle (7.5 sacks between the 3 primary DTs) allowed savvier quarterbacks to step up into the pocket when Kearney was double and triple teamed and stay alive long enough to find the holes in the pass coverage.  A better inside presence would make teams more wary of focusing so intently on Kearney.

Overall, the picture still looks bright in Seattle.  Matt Hasselbeck, while panicy at times, had a career season.  The receiving core will be lights out if they can all get healthy.  The line, while weak, has a young group with the exception of Gray and should improve next year.  Streaky performance at the tight end position continues to be a problem, but will not make or break the season.  Primary focus for the off season as I see it is to re-establish the ability to run the ball to both sides of center and to keep from losing big names like Locklear or Trufant to free agency.  Keep the faith 12th man, everybody's 0-0 come September.

Initial thoughts... Glenn Dorsey is strangely convincing as a mentally challenged dimwit, but please please PLEASE tell me Fox organized that farce of a pregame and no school funds were spent on it. Updates to come as the game progresses.

8:21 Only 20 minutes after the game was scheduled to start and we're almost to the kickoff, as soon as we get through this TV time out. Glad to see the game's about the players and not the sponsors.  OSU would probably have preferred not to put the LSU defense on the field to start the game.

8:24 OSU 7, LSU 0.  There was NO ONE on the field gaining on Wells.

8:34  First time I've ever heard an announcer say that being the home team might be a DISadvantage.  LSU looks jittery.

8:54  Boeckmann might have cost the team 4 pts being a step late on that QB draw.  LSU looks to be settling down on offense.  Hester is the best white running back I've seen in a long time.

9:11  You're never going to win the defensive battles with 27 yards of penalties in one series.  Score's 10-all.  Excellent formation on that TD pass.  FOX coverage S_U_C_K_S, no replays on anything.  I need to get DVR to blog sports effectively.

9:16  That's MR. Wells to you, Chevis Jackson.

9:22 Steltz is hurt, that could be trouble.  Big FG block to keep the game 10-all.

9:27  How many tackles can Holliday slip in one run?

9:43  24-10, things are not looking good for OSU.  They're going away from the power running game almost completely and LSU is just frothing at the mouth.  OC for LSU is calling a brilliant game, same can't be said for Tressel yet.

9:55  Halftime, and Tressel continues to abandon the run.  Have to wait to see what adjustments his crew can come up with the in the locker room.

 10:30  OSU needs a stop here, 3rd and 23.  First penalty on the most penalized team in the SEC comes at 1:23 of the 3rd quarter.  They're showing great discipline I guess.

10:40  31-10 and the OSU defense is trying out for "Dancing with the Stars".

11:30  Tressel's play calling is too painful, congratulations to the LSU Tigers, the best 2-loss BCS champion ever.

True to the theme of the season for the Seahawks, the defense came up big when it had to Saturday to secure a berth in the second round and a chance for redemption against the Packers next week at Lambeau.  With the game in danger of slipping away in the 4th quarter, they produced one much-needed stop resulting in a missed field goal and two huge interceptions.  They simply refused to go softly into the good night of the off-season.

Unfortunately, while the defense was soaring, the offense looked less like a bird of prey and

more like a flightless evolutionary throwback practically lost on land.

Which brings me to my real point, how far can the Seahawks go this year?  I'm a firm believer in the "any given Sunday" principle, but I also like to be objective.  As I see it, Seattle proved Saturday that they can stop a good if not great running game and put good pressure on the quarterback.  They continued to demonstrate a weakness across the deep middle against the pass, even while getting good pressure on the quarterback.  The one on one coverage by the corners has shown marked improvement this year but the cover 2 zone is as porous as ever.  Next week they face the NFL's all time leading passer in yardage and touchdowns, but thankfully also in interceptions and in the top 5 in times sacked.

If Hasselbeck takes a good hit of Xanax before the game to calm him down in the pocket and Alexander gets hurt this week in practice so that Morris and Weaver actually get touches, I feel the Hawks have a good shot to move on.  Hasselbeck is a good quarterback more than he isn't, and Morris and Weaver are not afraid to run hard and take a hit.  The receiving core is all healthy for the first time in a couple years, and are providing Matt with good targets.  If Holmgren can step away from pampering Alexander and show some confidence in the other two the offense should be able to establish more sustained drives and keep Favre off the field.  He won't want to be out there anyway after Peterson and Kearney get ahold of him a few times.  Brett's gonna wish he was still addicted to those painkillers.

All told, I expect it to be a good game.  I think the D-line will slow Grant and force Favre to carry the load.  Three touchdowns and three interceptions later, the Packers will be relying on their defense to stop the Hawks late.  Knowing they have nowhere to go but home, Hasselbeck throws 2 tds and 2 picks of his own, Brown kicks 3 field goals and the Hawks win 23-21 in a nail-biter.  Let's hear what the cheese-heads have to say.

Today I read a very well thought out argument as to why going to a DIV-1 football playoff system, while feasible, would not solve any problems.  I agreed with every point that IB_Ice_dogs made, save one.  A playoff IS the answer, and here is why.

There was a time when I thought the system was fine the way it was, back when it was all based on polls.  That was primarily because the pageantry of the major bowls was fun to watch, tradition meant something and there were only a select few teams each year that really merited being in the discussion of #1.  But as they say, that was then, this is now.  In any given season there are a handful of teams who are likely good enough to win it all, if the ball bounces the right way or the wind blows in instead of out.  The young men laying their bodies on the line each week deserve the chance to prove themselves on the field rather than waiting to win a subjective voting contest.  We're not crowning Miss NCAA here, after all.

And the bowls?  Please, bowls have proliferated so much they've made themselves obsolete.  Seriously, who could give a rat's #### who wins the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl?  Pitting the Mountain West Conference at large against Navy, how many fans are really going to make a trip to see that anyway?  How about the Sun Belt #1 vs. C-USA at large in the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl?  Are the people attending that bowl going because they want to see the teams, or because they want an excuse to go experience the Big Easy?  There was a time when bowls meant something, when the Rose Bowl was the "Grand-daddy of them all", but even it has been usurped by Citigroup now (although I hear they may have to sign it over to Fannie Mae if a few more mortgages go bad before January).

So here are my reasons, in no particular order, for thinking that a 12 team conference champion playoff over four weeks is what we need (seeded like March Madness, with 4 first round byes.)

1.  It's answered on the field.  So Florida went 11-1 and only lost 1 game,  big deal.  They lose to Auburn in the SEC chamionship game, they're out.  They proved on the field already that they weren't the best the SEC had to offer.  Hawaii went undefeated in the WAC and wants into the NC?  Fine, prove that you can beat the Big East champ.

2. The seeding itself becomes an event.  Now instead of arguing over who's number 1, you can argue over who should have been seeded #4 instead of #5.  This is for those people who are never satisfied no matter what they have.

3. You get to fill out brackets just like for March Madness, because there's never too many good reasons for an office gambling pool (can you BELIEVE Johnson has Rutgers going all the way?!)

4.  Use some early bowl games for the match-ups if you want.  At least then the PapaJohn's.com bowl means SOMETHING (seriously, who the hell comes up with these names?  Would YOU want to play to be the champion of a fast-food pizza website?).

5.  No more excuses about "too long a lay-off" or being "unable to get up for the game after getting #### with a mediocre opponent".  And yes, that means you OSU and OU, you lost now get over it.

6.  If you really want to you can have consolation games on New Year's Day with ALL the big bowls, and settle spots 1-10.

Ok I guess there is some order to them after all, here's #7, the touchdown explanation for why polls and the BCS are just plain wrong.

7.  I know, this is college and not the NFL.  But if the shoe was on the other foot, would you rather watch the AFC/NFC championship games, or let Tony Kornheiser and Sean Salisbury vote on whether the Colts, Patriots or Steelers are the right team to kick the #### out of the NFC in Superbowl XLII?

Go WSU!  Nobody eats Beaver like a Cougar!

Ok folks,

looking ahead to the WSU/Oregon State game coming up reminded me of the funniest rivalry t-shirt I have ever seen.  Let's hear from all the bloggers out there, what's your favorite rivalry game slogan?

I'll start the process by nominating a WSU homecoming game T-shirt I saw in the late 80's with the caption "Nobody eats Beaver like a Cougar." accompanying an appropriately lewd cartoon.

LSU has a very good football team this year.  Watching Jacob Hester leave it all on the field and then walk off without any showboating or smack-talking is inspiring in this day and age.  Early Doucet turning a desperation fourth down into late-game heroics shows what they have been missing with him on the sidelines (I still blame the defender on that one, if he goes for the tackle instead of the pick he takes Doucet down at the 25.)  I find myself hard pressed however to annoint them the number one team in the country based on the fact, to quote CFN, "LSU has the best résumé of the bunch".  Why don't I buy this argument?  Read on sports fan.

LSU has been credited with having played "more ranked teams than anyone else" this year.  They have played ranked Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina and Virginia Tech to date.  Oregon meanwhile, the number 2 ranked team in the BCS, has played only 3 teams while they were ranked; Arizona State, California and USC.  Note the distinction.

Teams LSU have played are now ranked 10th, 12th, and 23rd;  the 23rd ranked team beat LSU so they've only beaten two teams still in the BCS top 25.  The other 3 teams, Alabama, Auburn and South Carolina, have fallen out.  Even CFN, immediately after crowning LSU based on their SEC schedule, admits "Maybe the SEC isn't really that great, and the wins over Auburn and Alabama don't look nearly as strong now."  As for their non-conference schedule, they've beaten three teams in the lower half of the Sun Belt, Conference USA and Western Athletic Conferences.

Oregon meanwhile has beaten the currently 8th, 11th, and 21st ranked BCS teams.  Their non-conference games have included the second place WAC team, the 2nd place CUSA team and the 21st ranked potential Big-10 champion Wolverines.  Not to say that I agree with the BCS system, but if we use its own rankings as a yardstick, Oregon has beaten more teams still considered amongst the 25 best in the nation.

For all we know, LSU and Oregon could both lose again and we end up with Kansas vs. West Virginia in the championship game (I hope not, although if Kansas wins out they absolutely deserve one of the spots).  But for now, based solely on who they've beaten, the Quack Attack deserve to be above LSU.

Let me say first that I consider myself a purist when it comes to athletics.  I think sports have rules that were written for a reason and that those rules should be enforced.  I think that athletics are meant to test man against man, not man against chemistry (i.e. 2 strikes and you're out for substance abusers).  And to the point of this post, I believe in sportsmanship.

I've noticed several different conferences in NCAA Football this year advertising during games that sportsmanship is important and that fans as well as players should carry themselves with a certain decorum.  Being as the players are on the field or the sidelines when these commercials are broadcast, it's obvious that the target is the fans.  As I read post after post throughout the season with fans from every conference trashing other teams, other conferences, other fans, I can't help but wonder if those ads aren't just a huge waste of time.

Now I'm a Washington State Cougar fan, so I'm used to being disappointed by the end of the year.  After the Cougars, I cheer for anyone from the Pac-10 against anyone else (with the occasional exception of Hawaii, after living there for 5 years).  I happen to believe that Pac-10 football is among the best in the nation.  Not THE best in the country, AMONG the best.  I respect teams from conferences all over the country.  I hope Pac-10 teams will win, I expect Pac-10 teams to win most of the time, but I don't go running my mouth guaranteeing they will win.

Which seems directly contrary to a majority of the posters on Fox.  Practically every other entry seems to be some blowhard sounding off about how their team is THE be-all, end-all of football and no one else will ever compare to them.  Anyone who disagrees with them is advised in no uncertain terms to perform the poster's favorite sexual act upon themselves.  Can we really expect these young men, many of whom are still in their teens, to learn and demonstrate good sportsmanship when the hundreds of thousands of fans cheering them on prove time and again that they cannot do the same?