We were either outcoached or outplayed….

The game in Candlestick is over and we are no longer in a tie for first place.  We scored first with a field goal.  Then they got one and we got another so that half time found us ahead by a meager 3 points.  But they did some adjusting at half time that we didn’t do.  As a result, they scored a touchdown in the 2nd half and another field goal--so they ended up beating us 13-6.

It was interesting that we got the ball with the same amount of time remaining as there was against the Patriots.  But this game wasn’t going to go our way.  We couldn’t get that first down and had to punt.  They managed to hang onto the ball till time ran out. Sad and frustrating.

I had to return my Obama video before 9 p.m. so I plopped Poco into the car and we took off through the rain as I listened to the press interviews on ESPN radio.

Both Pete and Big Red Bryant used the term “they used the Trap very successfully.”  Since I had no blinking idea what a Trap Play was, I did an instant Google and read the definition, which I could barely figure out.  So I tried to watch a 5 minute video on the play to see if it would be any clearer, but I was lost immediately. 

I discovered that I am too dumb to play football.  Not only do you have to know what to do on these calls, but you have to REMEMBER the actions in relationship to a stupid code of numbers and names that are totally unrelated!  It’s just as well.  I am eons too old, I’m the wrong sex, I am not a high risk taker (which these idiots have to be.)  Your life can be completely over in a split second if you come down wrong on your neck.  Well, you may still be breathing, but you can’t move a muscle.  Sometimes it’s even worse than that.  You need a machine to help you breathe.  If I ever get to that place, I want the machine unplugged!!!  Immediately.  When you can’t care for yourself, you are a burden on someone.  How did I ever get onto such a grim topic.  I am off of it now.

I have no idea why my margin has changed, and I don’t know how to use Live Writer well enough to reset anything.

I managed to create a new album on FB and got 5 pictures of Russell in it.  He is my Favorite Quarterback.  I finally found out how to Title an album.  Stumbled upon it in my desperate clicking around.

This is my favorite photo of him and Pete. It is not from tonight’s game.  It was from one where we won.

Pete has been a huge fan of Russell’s from the very beginning.  For the first time tonight, we had nice things being said about us by the NFL crew.  All but that idiot Rich Eisen.  He had to make a crack about an asterisk next to our win over Green Bay.

This was a shot of him warming up at Candlestick Park tonight before the fans had arrived.

I liked this one of him scrambling out of a collapsing pocket.  Look at the angle he has his body at.

This is at the press interview after the game.  He looks shorter there, for some reason.

It is almost 4:30 and I need to get to sleep.  Tomorrow is Friday and I need to do a lot of housework while it is raining.

I am glad this game is behind us. I feel so sorry for all of the guys.  This was a rugged game with a lot of hard hitting.  Not many penalties and no stupid plays, but 4 different receivers dropped balls!  Crapola!

Seahawks vs 49ers in San Francisco, Thursday Night Football!

I am so glad that this cold is getting better.  I am going to be able to enjoy this game without fits of coughing!

The game is on the NFL network.  It started at 5 p.m., but I’ve been watching their pre-game show.  The main team are primarily for the 49ers because they all have a history with that franchise, but the men at the station have been more fair than any network has ever been with our team.  We appear to be making headway with some of the talking heads!  One man even said that if Russell continued to grow as he has so far, he could be the Rookie of the Year.  THAT is a BIG statement.  Now I have to try to spot who it was that said it.  I am thinking it was Coach Mariucci.

Hooray.  Houschka made a Field Goal!  3-0.  Better than they were able to do on their first drive.  Please let it continue!

I really like our Road uniforms better than our Home ones.  The away team wears grey pants, white shirts with blue numbers and blue socks, and the helmet is blue.  I paid special attention because of how Steve Raible spoke of them—he really likes them, too.

INJURY ANNOUNCEMENT:  The kid from Special Teams who was injured in the first tackle has been taken off the field.  I think his name is McDonald.  He is being evaluated further and will not return to the game.  Radio team thinks it may be a head injury and they are ultra worried about concussions now.

I have the game taping in the kitchen because the little old (and I DO mean *old*) combo VCR in the master bedroom will no longer record or play back correctly.  I brought down a new VCR but I haven’t been able to get things to work correctly, so I record down in the kitchen and replay it here.

Oh, crap!  Twelve and eighteen yard plays back to back.  Passes.  Then several passes didn’t work.  Harbaugh has taken the ball out of Smith’s hands.  His QB isn’t too hot right now. Running game is doing fine.  They are down to our 20 already.  Dang.  Well, our  D stopped them.  Their kicker is on for a Field Goal.  We are tied 3-3 with 26 seconds to go in the first quarter.

NFL announcers saying (during the break) that the biggest play in the first quarter was one that wasn’t made.  Russ made a great pass to Turbin on the right hand side of the field, put it right on his hands, but Turbin dropped it. 

Last play of the quarter was Marshawn running on Breno’s side of the line.  Steve mentioned we had been going over his side a lot tonight.  That mean’s he is blocking very well.  Good thing.  He got his butt in trouble the past 2 games for stupid off-side or holding penalties.  Carroll benched him in the first part of the last game.  It may have worked.  He is a big guy and I like him, but he seems to have a temper.

Dang.  Moore (82) just dropped a pass put right on his chest.  Next play good--Obamanu made a good catch, but stumbled and fell—still made the first down.  Then Marshawn ran fifteen yards.  Good short pass to Baldwin. Then the 49ers took their 3rd time out.  In the Red Zone—17 yd. line—3rd and ?  Braylon Edwards between 2 men could not catch the pass.  Houschka came on—now 6-3 Hawks.

2nd Quarter  San Fran has the ball.  I love the camera work for NFL.  Very good close-up shots of the QBs and players on the field, but some interesting shots of the guys on the sidelines with their helmets off when they are waiting to go on, or have just come off the field.

3 penalties so far on the 49ers,

Earl Thomas got a great tackle of their running back.

Leon Washington took the punt, dropped it and fell on it.  (Not what HE had hoped, I’m sure.)  The ball had taken a crazy bounce so was probably not where he expected it to be.

3rd and 5—here comes 3 receivers in.  Rice picks up 37 yds. and a first down.  Crap.  Third and 10—Washington tried to carry but only got 2 yards.  Houschka trying for 51 yard field goal.  Wide left.  Dang.

INJURY REPORT:  Brandon Browner taken off the field on a cart.  Not good.  Left ankle injury.  Return is questionable.  Dang, dang, dang.

Three and out for the 49ers.  Started on their own 41, but could not move the ball.  Trufant made the last tackle.  Yay Tru!!

OH, no! Michael Robinson is down.  I haven’t seen  him get up, but they don’t appear to have stopped the game.  He must be okay.  The 49ers have the ball after a huge return right to the middle of the field.  2nd and 10.  Two failed passes.  Clemmons got away with a facemask.  Time ran out.  Halftime score 6-3 Seahawks!  Yayyyyy!

Listening to our broadcast team—they are saying that Alex Smith (49er QB) is looking “lost.”  This is how he was seen in the past—before his good year last year and good start to this year.  I hope they won’t find a way to wake him up over the half time break.  I took the TV off of mute to listen to the Big Shots talk, but they are talking about the injury to Ray Lewis, a really great player for the Ravens.

Frank Gore has only 39 yards and Marshawn has 20 yards more.  Our guys seem to think that our O line and Marshawn are outplaying the 49ers.  With only a 3 point lead, I do not feel at all secure.

Russell made 6 of 13 passes for 103 yards.  I haven’t seen what Smith has done.  I will come back and post it here as soon as I see it.  Everyone is mentioning that the biggest 2 plays of the first half were the 2 dropped passes.

Here is POCO.  I will post this and play with my boy.  He decided to come down with me!

 

 

Donovan McNabb USED TO BE a Quarterback I admired!

He is no longer on my Happy List!  HE is the jerk who predicted that we are gong to be so decimated by the Cowboys that Russell Wilson will have a QB rating in the SINGLE DIGITS!  Curses on his house!  Curses on his station!  Curses on their broadcast satellites!  The game starts at 1:35 this afternoon, and I am counting the minutes!  I just want the guys NOT to get hurt, but I also don’t want them to be ridiculed by the idiots on TV.

All 3 of the show hosts are ex-players—stars, when they were playing—and they ALL predicted the Cowboys would win, based on the fact that they have so many “TOOLS,’ not to mention the fact that they beat the NY Giants last weekend.  Since the Giants are the current World Champions--based on last January’s Super Bowl--that would seem highly likely.  However!  To say that darling little Russell would do so poorly is just plain nasty!  I think they resent the fact that he wasn’t one of their top prospects and he had one of the best rookie QB records for the pre-season.  Whatever the reason, the fact that they SAID IT makes me furious. You can predict one team or the other to win or lose and you can make reference to players whom you think will perform well or may be less effective, but to make such a nasty dig at a player is uncalled for.  Particularly when they are talking about MY favorite players.

Here is the INJURY REPORT for this game…………………………………….

INJURY REPORT  (The weekly Friday status report, as issued by the team)

OUT DUE TO INJURY:

WR Charly Martin (chest)

QUESTIONABLE:

OT Russell Okung (knee)

TE Zach Miller (foot)

PROBABLY PLAY:

RB Marshawn Lynch (back)

OG John Moffitt (shoulder)

WR Sidney Rice (knee)

WR Golden Tate (knee)

CB Byron Maxwell (shoulder)

DL Greg Scruggs (hamstring)

DL Jason Jones (not injury related)

Moffitt did not practice Friday to rest a sore shoulder, but Carroll said he will start against the Cowboys. Moffitt was inactive last week because of the surgical procedure he had on his left elbow last month, which caused him to miss the entire preseason.

“He’ll be fine for the game,” Carroll said.

Miller also sat out Friday. “He practiced (Wednesday) and got some stuff done yesterday,” Carroll said of Miller, who injured a foot in the opener. “We just want to make sure he’s going to be right.”

Jones did not practice Friday, but it was to rest him, and Carroll said he will play Sunday.

…………………………………………………………………………….

I have watched all of the videos on the Seahawks home page, and I’ll try to be awake early tomorrow so that I can be out of the shower in time to listen to all of the local sports guys and their interviews with players and coaches in the Pregame Radio show.  I have discovered that doing this will make the game more interesting because I will know what has been happening to the different players during the week.  I will have some idea of what the coach/es are expecting of them and will know what to worry about and what to ignore.  (Jim is rolling over in his grave.  He always told me to only worry about things that I could control.  Of course, since he didn’t follow his own advice, it was easy to ignore it myself.)  So I worry about everything.

There is an earlier game on FOX, so they pushed our game back from a 1:00 p.m. start till 1:35 in order not to have to cut away from that game in order to get the kick-off of our game.  Nobody but Seattle cares about *us,* but we are playing the Holy than Holier Dallas Cowboys—America’s Team, if you will.  I will be feeling guilty because I know my young Mariners are playing in Texas and I would ordinarily be listening to them. 

I hate to admit it, but when the seasons overlap, I find my loyalty to Baseball is shaky.  I love football, even though it is basically too violent for me.  I love watching the things that those athletes can DO.  I break bones when I just FALL down.  They don’t only fall, but they are KNOCKED down and then some big, brawny brutes fall on TOP of them without regard to the position their extremities may have ended up in.  (Geez, I’m glad my high school English teacher, Barbara Wolfe, can’t see that.  Not only a dangling prepositions, but TWO of them!)

I hope I can sleep well tonight.  I have earned it.  I am completely out of 5 small storage units that contained all sorts of household goods, but the one I cleared out today was a five by ten unit that was packed with Christmas decorations.  I found some beautiful things I actually forgot I had and then many boxes of pretty things that I have not seen in years.  Best of all, in the Christmas unit, I found a box that was not labeled. When I checked it out, it contained my collection of Oregon Myrtlewood.  It is a beautifully grained hardwood and I have a complete salad set plus salt and peppers and a pepper mill.

I had hoped our warm weather would continue, because to clear out of the units as quickly as possible, I only sorted for a short while.  Then I decided it was better to clear the old units and get refunds on rent I had paid and then sort more at leisure in the big units.  So I need some warm weather to have those big doors open wide.  I can always pull them down to work, but I fear some egg-head wanting to “play a joke” on me by locking the door so that I can’t raise it from inside.  I also need warm weather to paint my windowsills and do some more transplanting before winter hits.  This, of course, omits the last weeding for the season.  Thanks to nearly 2 months without significant rain, weeds have slowed down.  When the fall rains begin, all the small ones that I leave will be a foot tall in a matter of weeks.

As if this isn’t enough, I FINALLY found someone who wants to go to a baseball game with me.  She even volunteered to split the ferry fare for the car and the parking. She is one of the office gals at Reliable Storage where I have my stuff.  I am not very well off financially for the rest of this month due to paying for help to get moved out of the units.  I will take a close look tomorrow and then see if there are any more afternoon games in September.

It is now almost 2:00 so I need to get to sleep!  I don’t want to fall asleep during the game, as I did during one of the pre-season games!  If you hear sobbing on the wind Sunday afternoon, it will mean that we lost and perhaps someone I admired has been injured or humiliated.  Cross your fingers for us!

PETE CARROLL ANNOUNCED TODAY THAT RUSSELL WILSON WILL GET THE START THIS FRIDAY

Everyone calling in to the sports shows on 710 ESPN have been hoping that Russell Wilson would get the start in the 3rd preseason game.  Traditionally, the 3rd game is started by whomever the coaches have determined will be the starting Quarterback for the team this year—the purpose being to give him practice getting him ready for the opening of the season.

In the beginning, Pete had planned to have Matt start game one and Russell start game 2, but he ended up giving Matt the 2nd start.  Then after seeing how well Wilson did with the 3’s and 4’s, the coaches decided they should really see how Russell does with the 1’s and give Matt a chance with the 3’s and 4’s.  Now all of the talking heads are saying that whomever does the best in this game against St. Louis will probably start game 4 and be the season starter.

This is Russell.  He is a LOT shorter than his O line, and he is shorter than contemporary quarterbacks are.  For that reason, many experts think he can’t possibly succeed.  But they don’t figure in how fast he is on his feet, how smart he is, and how hard he works to be successful.  He reminds me of Drew Brees, but he also reminds me even more of Jon Gruden.  Jon is a Type A overachiever.  He gets by on very little sleep.  I hope Russell will have what it takes to stay in as the starter, but I also love Matt Flynn. 

It will be incredibly sad if Matt has to be backup again.  He was back up for years behind Aaron Rodgers at Green Bay.  He deserves the chance to be the starter.  Russell could learn some more, watch what Matt does and in the meantime, keep studying and learning.  There is always the chance of injury, but I feel so lucky that we have 2 QB’s of this caliber.

THE SEAHAWKS ARE 2-0 AFTER THE FIRST 2 GAMES!

It was great fun watching Sir Peyton of Manning come forth in his mighty castle at Denver only to run smack into the New 2012 Seattle Seahawks.  My Hawks managed a win of 30-10 and they did it with 3 quarterbacks, none of which was Tarvaris Jackson. 

This was sad to me.  He deserved  a chance to get on the field with this team.  He was at the helm last year as they were learning.  He took a lot of very painful hits while they were learning and played almost an entire year with a partially torn pectoral muscle.  During the broadcast season, I heard more than one sportscaster say that they didn’t know how he could play with that much pain.  This is Tarvaris, T-Jack.

I understand that Pete has the Quarterbacks he wants to use from now on, and I know they are planning to trade him or just release him, but it seems only fair for them to show how good he can be.  The sportscasters seem unified in their opinion that they are keeping him off the field to prevent him being accidentally injured which would totally devalue him as a trade.  But I still think it is a cruel way to treat him.  I would make a pitiful manager, I can see.

For the 2nd time in a row, Matt Flynn, #15, got to start the game and play the first half.  He made several excellent passes, many of them to T.O., that were either off-target or dropped.  It appeared that TO was not running the routes that Matt expected, and the final one would have been a touchdown.  It appeared to hit TO right in the chest, and it just went right through his hands.  He made another really excellent very       l-o-n-g pass that sailed over the head of one of the tall receivers—in the end zone.  Matt must have felt incredibly frustrated.

When Russell Wilson, #3,  came in, the game seemed to speed up.  While Matt had successfully escaped a sack or two with his legs, he didn’t run as much or as far as Wilson.  I like the way Matt handles his huddles.  He squats or half-way kneels down so the guys can all see him clearly.  He throws a beautiful tight spiral pass, too.  But I have to admit that watching Russell is more fun, in a way.  It just seems like a faster game.

The ironic thing is that most of the guys who made the great runs and caught the best passes tonight are guys who are going to get cut because they are too small or are 3rd or 4th best at the position they play, and Pete is facing a huge cut in numbers of men he can carry on the full time roster.  Warren Moon was one of the broadcasters tonight, and he commented on all of the scouts who were in attendance, checking out the players they want to steal from us after we release them.  I am feeling that same regret.  I don’t want to lose them.

Our first choice guy this year wears #51.  He is a very slender and speedy End who is great at rushing the passer.  I saw one play tonight where the very thing happened that the sportscasters on NFL network said would happen.  The other team knew about his speed, and they had put a very heavy guy opposite him.  The camera was right on them as the big guy was just standing up and stopping Bruce like an annoying child.  But then, in a later play, I saw him come toward the ball from the right and he sped in and hit the ball carrier who was running on the opposite side of the field.  He may be slender, but man, he is FAST.  This is Bruce Irvin, #51.

Number 24 is Marshawn Lynch.  When he runs, he runs as if his life depended on it, and he says he is in “beast” mode.  He was picked up for erratic driving this summer in California, and at present the League has not assessed his penalty, so he was able to play tonight.  He runs a little like a Sherman Tank!  This is Marshawn.

In this year’s draft, we picked another guy who is built like Marshawn and runs like him.  I think they plan to use him if/when Marshawn is hurt and/or to give Marshawn a break.  He went to a small school and was not highly ranked by the experts, so many were surprised that we got Robert Turbin.  His team mates call him The Turbinator.

We also chose another guy from the same school.  He is a defenseman.  In fact he will be playing in Lofa Tatupu’s position and it is his responsibility to see to it that the defensive line players are in the right formation prior to the  start of the play.  That means that when they are at home, he has to communicate over all the noise that the 12th man puts out to create false starts on the Offense.  This is Bobby Wagner,

One new guy I am happy to see come aboard is the son of one of my very favorite players from the seventies when the San Diego Chargers had Dan Fouts (from the U of O) as their QB.  His name was Kellen Winslow, and he was a Wide Receiver.  I rememeber the play-off game in Miami where they beat the Dolphins with Griese as the QB and Larry Czonka (sp?) was one of the main men.  I have forgotten all the rest, but not how good that game was.  It is still the most memorable game in my lifetime!  The kid we got looks a lot like his dad in build and he is coming to us after suffering serious problems with his knee or knees.  He doesn’t take part in the practices in full, but only in the plays he is involved in.  This is Kellen Winslow, Jr.

There are many more players I want to record in this blog, but the one I love most is a little guy, at least on this team.  We have many, many men who are well over six feet, and this little dude is shorter than six feet.  He is very soft-spoken but when he is on the field, he just FLIES around.  Where ever you find the ball, Earl is somewhere near.  This is number 29, Earl Thomas from Texas!  He just intercepted a pass.

Now I am going to see if this will post to my blog spot site.  Wish me luck!  Goooooooooooo SEAHAWKS!!