OK ... we're trying something new this week! Yours truly just got a new laptop computer for an early Christmas present. (Thank you Dell, for your $310-off coupon!)
I had the computer on my lap throughout the game. Was that ever fun and useful and geeky and, oh dear, WHAT have I turned into?! Well, here it is.
Oh yeah, one more thing. This is my first attempt at a play-by-play so you might want to cut me some slack on the descriptions and commentary, and the handful of missing plays!
1st and 10 – Hass has nowhere to go; scrambles; holding penalty. Things fell apart rapidly on that one.
1st and 20 - D-Jax caught a pass for about 9 yards.
2nd and 11 – Shaun to run, and Hass is already holding his hand as if it hurts.
3rd and 9 – Hass has pressure and tosses the ball forward – that was kind of scary! That was a really stinky possession!
Punt – NICE PUNT! Good grief, lousy coverage. It was a 36 yard punt return. Bleah.
1st and 10 – Long pass, complete, touchdown to Brian Johnson. GOOD GRIEF!!! They made THAT look easy! Trufant fell down on coverage. Boo. Hiss. Trufant was simply beat in coverage on that one.
Seahawks 0
Cardinals 7
Hey, that was a nice kickoff return by Burleson. We’re starting at mid-field.
1st and 10 - From the 47, Shaun runs for 7 or so.
2nd and 3 – Hass to Branch and it hits the ground before it gets there.
3rd and 3 – Hass to throw. Trouble, flags, sacked, ball is loose. Holding Seahawks. Arizona recovers the fumble. Oh, this is sad.
Bud Light commercial.
Lexus commercial.
Mac vs PC commercial.
1st and 10 – False start
1st and 15 – Run for a short gain.
2nd and 15 – Shotgun formation. Complete pass to Fitzgerald who easily gets a first down. Oh, this is bad!
1st and 10 – Run, good tackling.
2nd and 6 – Draw play, average tackling.
3rd and 1 – Another run, I think they got it, depending on the spot. First down.
1st and 10 – INTERCEPTION! I thought it was a beautiful pass in heavy traffic but … ut-oh. I’d throw a challenge flag on that one. When two receivers simultaneously catch the ball, the ball goes to the receiver. Somehow Peterson ended up with the ball but … if I were Arizona, I’d challenge that one. The call on the field was in our favor so that’s obviously a plus.
And yet another car commercial. Do people really buy cars for Christmas gifts?
Verizon commercial
Yep, Green threw the challenge flag during the commercial break. WOW! The ruling on the field stands! I can’t believe that! I think we got by with a bad call!
1st and 10 – From the 6 yard line, Shaun runs it forward.
2nd and 6 – Mo to run for a first down! Our first of the game, I think!
1st and 10 – Mo to run again. Short gain.
2nd and 7 – Alexander to run. Depending on where they mark it, we’ll have a first down or will be close. They’re measuring. We got it by an inch.
1st and 10 – Pass to Mack Strong because no one else was open.
2nd and 8 – Shaun to run. Nice run. Looked like he could be tackled right away but he broke through one tackle. Branch is SO tiny! They show him next to other players and he looks like a munchkin!
3rd and 2 – Shaun to run and he’s in trouble. Ball pops loose. Cardinals have the ball between the 20-25 yard line. YIKES!
1st and 10 – Run for a short gain.
2nd and 7 – Pass for a short gain.
3rd and 2 – Pass, first down, took some tough tackling to get to them.
1st and goal – Run, touchdown Edgerrin James. They pan to Shaun on the sidelines looking forlorn!
Seahawks 0
Cardinals 14
Are we always going to start slow like this?! We’ve gotta do something QUICK! This is Arizona, for crying out loud!
Burleson to return the kickoff. Gets to the 30. Not bad!
1st and 10 – Hass to throw, goes long, completes to DJ Hackett in heavy traffic! He was double-covered! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe that! That was a PERFECT pass and a terrific catch! 47 yard gain!
1st and 10 – Hass to throw again to DJ Hackett! TOUCHDOWN SEAHAWKS!!!!
70 yards in 2 plays, 50-some seconds.
Seahawks 7
Cardinals 14
Now THAT is more like it!
Kickoff to Cardinals. Good coverage.
1st and 10 – Wobbly pass to their tight end. Incomplete.
2nd and 10 – Pressure on Leinart, Peterson on a GREAT tackle after a reception.
3rd and 7 – Easy first down pass. I don’t understand how we let those big third down plays work for our opponent. Grrrr!
1st and 10 – James to run for a short gain.
2nd and 8 – Incomplete pass in heavy traffic. Go Hawks! That was great coverage.
3rd and 8 – Pass, complete, easy reception. We had sloppy, lax coverage. Bleah. Fitzgerald is really good.
That’s the end of the first quarter.
Wow, that was one stupid Verizon phone commercial.
1st and 10 - James to run, short gain.
2nd and 9 – Pressure, Leinart threw it away.
3rd and 9 – AZ are 4 of 4 on 3rd down conversions. Not this time! Herndon put some pressure on him and he threw it incomplete. Yea! FINALLY!
4th and 9 – AZ to punt. Burleson is back to field the punt. He was nailed the moment he caught the ball. OUCH!
Now there’s the controversial “this is our country” Chevy commercial.
1st and 10 – Shaun to run.
2nd and 11 – Hass to throw. Goes long, falls incomplete to Jackson. D-Jax should have caught that one. It hit him in the hands.
3rd and 11 – Hass to throw. Pressure. Hass takes off running. FIRST DOWN! Hass scrambles, gets the first down, slides feet first to avoid a tackle! WOOOOO! GOOD PLAY HASSELBECK!!!
1st and 10 – Shaun to run for a nice gain! Nearly a first down. They call it a “ghost action”. Hmmmm.
2nd and 1 – Mo to run for a first down. When did Mo become the guy to get the short yardage?
1st and 10 – Hass to pass. Weird play. Hass threw to Mo for a loss of 5. I’m not sure what was supposed to happen on that play but whatever it was, it didn’t work!
2nd and 15 – Hass to throw. Throws to Mack Strong.
3rd and 8 – Pass to Mo, who drops the ball. They’re really pressuring Hasselbeck.
4th and 8 – We’re punting. Nice kick. Good block by AZ to prevent us from tackling the punt returner. Not sure why that’s not a block in the back but oh well.
Chevy commercial.
Lowe’s hardware store commercial. OK, that’s kinda funny. The buyer asks the clerk to pretend to be his wife. He then picks out gifts to see her reaction. The tools aren’t a hit, but when he gets to the jet tub, BIG hit! You had to be there but it was funny.
Taco Bell commercial.
Ad for American Idol! No further comment.
1st and 10 for AZ – Run for James.
2nd and 8 – Leinart to throw. Pressure. He gets it off to James but it’s a botched play.
They’re calling Peterson a “hybrid” because he’s all over the field.
3rd and 7 – Pass. Oh, good grief. We let them have it. WHY, oh why?!?!?
1st and 10 – Running play to James. Great tackle by Trufant. Leinart tripped after the handoff.
2nd and 9 – Leinart to pass. Beautiful. Complete to Boldin in double-coverage. Hmpf.
1st and 10 – Pass to Fitzgerald – one of those passes that is thrown horizontal rather than vertical. A pass “into the flat”? Whatever it was, it got 5 easy yards.
2nd and 5 – James to run for 11 yards due to our sloppy tackling.
1st and 10 – James to run for a slight gain.
2nd and 9 – Shotgun, Leinart to throw to Boldin and it takes 3 Seahawks to tackle him. That was scary. I thought he was going to break loose.
3rd and 1 – We held ‘em! WOOOO HOOOO!
4th and 1 – The announcers want them to go for it. Rackers is on the field to kick. 32 yard attempt. It’s good.
Seahawks 7
Arizona 17
Kick-off to the Seahawks.
1st and 10 – (Missed the play – oops!)
2nd and ? – Stevens gets his first catch.
3rd and 1 – Alexander for first down – Illegal motion on Shaun
Now we’re at the 2 minute warning.
3rd and 6 – Pass to DJ Hackett. Long pass. Gain of 27 yards. Flag. Personal foul – face mask. It’s a 15 yarder! COOL! (Are you supposed to say that on a personal foul?)
1st and 10 – Mo to run. Short gain.
2nd and 10 – Loss on the play.
3rd and 12 – Hass to pass. First down. Runs to the 30 yard line. :47 left in the half.Announcers call him a warrior!
1st and 10 – Pass, tipped ball, flag is down in the secondary. Wow, my heart went into my throat on that one! Illegal contact on Wilson. 5 yard penalty and auto first down.
1st and 10 – Branch gets his first reception of the game. We’re close to the goal line.
1st and goal - :35 left in the half. Hass to pass. TOUCHDOWN Burleson! I love his touchdown celebration! He brushes himself off – gets any dust off his uniform! VERY FUNNY! Ut-oh. Flag. Personal Foul on the defense, Adrian Wilson. 15 yard penalty assessed on kick-off. Not sure what happened; I didn’t see it. They say he has an explosive personality. Kick is good. Flag again. Off-sides defense. Declined. 5 yard penalty assessed on kick. I didn’t know they could stack up those penalties. They’ll have the 20 yards assessed on the kick. Too weird.
Seahawks 14
Arizona 17
Chile’s commercial. Wow, that was it. They came straight back to the game quickly.
:30 left in the half.
We kick-off, it goes through the uprights. The announcers say it ends up in Tucson! ?
1st and 10 – From the 20, an incomplete pass.
2nd and 10 - :24 left in the half - Leinart throws it to the sidelines, out of bounds.
3rd and 10 - :19 left in the half – Run, hit by Darby instantly. Arizona will have to punt.
4th and 10 – Short punt. Burleson caught it out of bounds.
1st and 10 Seahawks - :08 left in the half. We have 2 timeouts left. Is there enough time to do something? Let’s see. Holmy has his headset off. We just sat on the ball. I’m not a fan of that but I think it was the right idea this time.
It’s half-time.
In the first series after the half, the Cards smacked Tatupu with a shot to the head. Ouch!
2nd and 18 – Short pass to James.
3rd and 13 – Nice pass attempt in traffic, thrown to the sidelines where no one could get it.
4th and 13 – 53 yard field goal try – NO GOOD! Wide left! We should have good field position.
Well, now we know that a laptop battery can’t last the length of a game.
1st and 10 – Alexander to run.
2nd and 5 – Shaun to run. First down. Nice run.
1st and 10 – Shaun to run again.
2nd and 6 – Shaun to run. Close to a first down. Looks like they’re going to measure.
1st and 10 – Shaun to run. Another decent run.
2nd and 6 – Hass to throw. Incomplete. Flag. Pass interference. COOL!
1st and 10 – Pass to Shaun after no one else was open.
2nd and 9 – Shaun to run on a delay.
3rd and 5 – Hass to pass to D-Jax! He’s inside the 5 yard line. Nice run after the gain.
1st and goal – Shaun to run wide.
2nd and goal – Hass to pass to Mack Strong. Incomplete but the defender was on his back.
3rd and goal – Hass to throw, TOUCHDOWN D-JAX!!!!!!!!
Whew! I was nervous about that! Hass is laughing!
Seattle 21
Arizona 17
We’re ahead for the first time today!
Ut-oh. San Francisco is coming back in the Green Bay game. We need SF to lose!
1st and 10 for the Cardinals – Pass, complete. 7 yard gain.
2nd and 7 – Run by James. Didn’t get much.
3rd and 3 – Pass, short of the first down. Never mind. Incomplete. It hit the ground.
4th and 3 – Punt. Burleson started running backwards on the return, then turned it up.
Thought he was down but actually he was on a pile of bodies, so he popped up and kept going! He is a GREAT punt return man. I think he’s found his calling.
1st and 10 for the Seahawks – Pass to Mack Strong. FUMBLE! OH NO!!! OH NO I thought Mack was down but maybe not. Nope, not even close to being down. Oh, disastrous.
1st and 10 – Edgerrin James to run to the 27 yard line.
2nd and 1 – Leinart under pressure, throws it away after a scramble.
3rd and 1 – I don’t think we’ve had a sack yet. We need a sack! First down on a running play.
1st and 10 – Incomplete pass to Fitzgerald. Bad pass.
2nd and 10 - Edgerrin James found a big hole and ran to the 7. That was a 17 yard gain. Good blocks by the Cardinals.
1st and goal – Run by James.
That’s the end of the 3rd quarter. Boy, that was a fast one.
Ut-oh.
2nd and goal – Touchdown Cardinals. They’re back on top.
Seahawks 21
Arizona 24
Looks to be another come-from-behind 4th quarter. Hope we have it in us to pull this one off. A loss to Arizona would be humiliating.
Haven’t had an update on the SF/GB game for a while.
1st and 10 – Shaun to run. Penalty flag downfield. Illegal block in the back on Branch. Wah.
1st and 17 – Hass to throw. Had all day. Beautiful pass to Jackson. Comes out, fumbled, squirts 15 yards back. The ball was stripped, we recover. Yikes.
2nd and 8 – Hackett to catch a pass and run. BAD spot! I’d have given him a first down.
3rd and 1 – Shaun to run. Not much effort there. Will depend on the spot but it doesn’t look good.
4th and 1 – We’ll punt. Nice punt. Missed tackle. They’ll start at the 20.
Oh, they’re showing a very, very, very young Mike Holmgren on TV!
1st and 10 – Arizona to run. They push the pile forward, forward, forward.
2nd and 6 – James to run. First down. Eeks.
1st and 10 – Oops, I missed the play. I was sitting right here, not sure why I missed the play!
2nd and 8 – Flags. Dangerous throw into double coverage. Leinart took a huge hit. Off-sides defense.
2nd and 3 – James to run, pushes piles of blue and white bodies forward.
1st and 10 – Big hole for James. Again.
1st and 10 – Incomplete to Fitzgerald. Whew.
2nd and 10 – Run, loss.
3rd and 11 – Pass, short of a first down.
4th and 7 – Watch for a fake! Be alert, Hawks! Be alert! It would have been a 52 yard attempt had they chosen to go for the field goal. Flags. Delay of game. Hmmm.
4th and 12 – Downed inside the five yard line.
7:52 left in the game.
This would be a good series for the Seahawks to score a touchdown.
Just thought I’d state the obvious!
1st and 10 – Shaun to run. Stuffed.
2nd and 9 – Low pass, dropped by D-Jax.
3rd and 9 from the 5. Bad pass to Branch in double-coverage. Hmmmm.
4th and 9 – The cards take over at mid-field.
This would be a good time for a big defensive move.
1st and 10 – James to run. They are telling us there was a 5 yard penalty on the Seahawks prior to this play.
2nd and 6 – Ah, we finally stuffed the run.
3rd and 6 – Blitz. Incomplete pass. Flags. Ut-oh. It’s on us. Illegal contact on us. 1st down for the Cardinals.
1st and 10 – James to run for next to nothing.
2nd and 9 – Arizona is running down the clock. Pass. Short gain.
3rd and 5 – Shotgun. Pass. Depending on the spot they’ll have the first down. I don’t think they got it. The announcers are saying he did. I don’t think they got it.
Nope, they didn’t get it.
4th and 1 – Field goal attempt. This would be a good time to block it and run it in for a touchdown! ? 40 yard field goal attempt. It’s good.
Seattle 21
Arizona 27
This could be our final possession. 3:24 left in the game.
Burleson took the kick-off. Arizona had good coverage. We’re starting at the 17.
1st and 10 – Hass to throw. Has time but no one to throw to. Tosses it out to Shaun, who is tackled by the face mask.
1st and 10 – I’m nervous! Hass to throw to Jackson in the middle of the field. NICE long pass. 23 yards
1st and 10 – Shaun to run.
2nd and 3 – Hass to throw. Has time. Complete to Branch at the 27 yard line.
We’re at the 2 minute warning
1st and 10 – Shaun to run. 11 yards. Hey! Shaun just set a record. 61 consecutive games with a run of 10+ yards. The previous record was set by Barry Sanders. I guess the stats only count in games when Shaun has actually played. Injuries must not count?
1st and 10 – Shaun – lost 2.
2nd and 12 – Pass to end zone. Oh, so close, but it was a miss.
3rd and 12 – Sack by Chike Okeafor. Imagine that. OUR Chike Okeafor.
Time out Seahawks.
This is the game. My stomach is tied in knots.
4th and 20 – 1:08 left in the game. Hass to pass. Oh, they gave him a good spot I think. Announcers say he’s short. Oh, they’re moving the spot I think. They need to challenge the spot upstairs. Ohhh, we were soooo close. They’re measuring. It is short. Come on, replay booth. Challenge the spot. Challenge the spot. Come on, replay booth. CHALLENGE THE SPOT!
Yep. Booth review.
I don’t think they can overturn it because of the camera angle. I think they’d have to go with the call on the field. I think Arizona just won.
Wow, my hands are shaking. This is nerve racking!
They said we didn’t make it. Rats.
We have :53 seconds to live through. :53 long seconds.
Seahawks 21
Arizona 27
Boo. Hiss. We blew our chance to win the division today. The announcers are blaming Mack Strong. They keep referencing his fumble. Isn’t that ironic? Mack Strong – the guy who has saved us SO many times. The work horse who went largely unnoticed most of his career. That hurts.
