of returning to my Skins/Hawks list.  But feel free to go back if you want to.  I've got nothing to hide.  For the second time in 24 hours, I've got to take my medicine like a man.  Anyway...

The Confession

Hasselbeck has matured far beyond the point I thought he had.  Looking back, I suppose his "we want the ball and we're going to win" comment can be seen in a similar light as Kobe's horrible misses at the end of some playoffs games when he first faced a pressure situation:  He might not have succeeded the first time, but he definitely had an undeniable confidence and a willingness to put the team on his shoulder's.  Obviously, Hass played inspired ball and was not going to be denied today.  I almost wonder if it would have been better for the Skins if Alexander didn't get hurt.  It allowed Hasselbeck to take center stage and Morris was a very capable backup in terms of keeping the Skins honest.  And yes, I do realize that insinuating the league MVP getting hurt somehow benefited his team is an absurd statement to make.  If you'd like to give a one-star vote before getting to the end of this, I understand.

The Hawks are not this year's Colts.  They ARE a different team and did an amazing job of responding to adversity.  When the Skins recovered that fumble after they pulled within 7, I thought we were going to see the collapse I had expected.  On the contrary, the defense stepped up and the offense mounted a very impressive drive after Hall's miss.  There was no way the team was going to be denied.

As for momentum, I'm not sure who made the point on my last blog but whoever said the Skins were going to be out of gas because of all the must-win games they played over the past six weeks seemed to have hit the nail on the head.  While Brunell and company gave a noble effort and never gave up, it looked like they just didn't have anything left in the tank.

The better team won today's game.  Period.

The Apologist's Take

I'll keep this short because there's nothing more annoying than a fan who goes on and on after his pick loses and says it would have been a whole different game if the ref hadn't missed that holding call in the first quarter.

All I will say is that besides number 4, 6, and 7, I will still stand behind everything I said in that list and I think a lot of it even came true.  After the Skins failed on fourth down and Brown hit the field goal to put Seattle up by 14, it should have been lights out.  The fact that the Hawks let them come down the field after that was very unimpressive and in my opinion, and reflective of the fact that they still don't have what it takes to be a championship team.  Good teams overcome situations like that to win.  Great teams put the game away and don't put themselves in the situation to begin with.  Also, I'm not sure how a veteran kicker can miss a 36 yard field goal in that situation.  Simply no excuse for that.  If Seattle plays the Bears next week, I think they squeak one out and get stomped in the Super Bowl. If they play the Panthers, I think they lose.  I thought Seattle proved that they are not the team they have been in the past.  But I still don't think that means they have any chance of winning the Super Bowl.

A Somewhat Unrelated Note

Today, the Skins officially completed the NFL dagger-in-the-heart  tri-fecta for me.  The Eagles didn't make the playoffs.  Then I moved to DC and watched the Skins advance through the first round.  Finally, when I figured out a way to place a small wager on the Skins, they lost the game.  It's a good thing I didn't bet my crutches because I'm trying to see if I can return them back to my health insurace company for some kind of compensation.  I'm also in negotiations with one of my larger friends.  He has an old wheel-barrow that he said he'd be willing to push me around in--at least on the weekend.