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The Beginning: "I think when I was 5 years old, I got my first Bart Starr uniform," Krieg said. Continue reading
The Seahawk Years: Dave Krieg trotted from the bench, threw touchdown passes to Steve Largent and Paul Johns and engineered a third.
Retirement: Fitting that after so many years, Dave Krieg chose to return to the place where he began his NFL career to announce his retirement.
What Others Say About Dave: Jerry Wunsch -- "When I was growing up, Seattle was my favorite team because of a guy name Dave Krieg. ...
Dave on Dave: "Sometimes you just wonder how I've been able to last 17 years coming from Milton College," Krieg said.
What You Say about Dave: Dave is my favorite football player of all time for one reason. He played at the highest possible level that his talent would allow and then he squeezed out even more by working hard.
Dave Krieg for Ring of Honor! He's made it! Thanks to all of you who sent letters to petition the Seahawks for Dave's rightful place in the Ring of Honor!
Dave's World Tour: Dave's been ... uh ... he's been ... well ... I'm not sure where all he's been but some of our super secret Seahawks fans have spotted him in some interesting places and we've got the film to prove it!!
Dave's Stats: He ranks seventh in the NFL all-time in attempts (5,309), completions (3,105) and passing touchdowns (261). His 38,147 passing yards rank eighth.
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The Seahawk Years (and more!)
October 23, 1983 Seahawk historians will affix an asterisk to the date October 23, 1983. That day, in the Kingdome, the Pittsburgh Steelers led the Seahawks 24-0 at halftime. Before a surly throng of 61,615, Jim Zorn had thrown eight passes and completed one, for two yards, and had two interceptions. Dave Krieg trotted from the bench, threw touchdown passes to Steve Largent and Paul Johns and engineered a third. Time ran out on a 27-21 defeat. That was the last starting assignment for Zorn, and the first of 29 straight for Krieg, including 20 victories through 1984.
The Seahawks came right back as an 87-yard march was climaxed by a three-yard rollout run by multi-talented Seattle quarterback Jim Zorn, and at halftime Seattle led 10-3. The Hawks stretched their lead to 14 points, 17-3, on the opening second half possession, going 80 yards on just six plays, with the big gainer coming on a 51-yard screen pass from Zorn to running back Theotis Brown...on a series of plays, the Raiders took the lead...Jim Zorn brought the Seahawks back immediately but went out with an ankle injury midway in the series, to be replaced by Dave Krieg.
But weather wasn’t the only obvious contrast in last Saturday’s 23-13 loss to the Rams. The Seahawks looked like they were before-and-after subjects to a Jekyll and Hyde treatment. Indeed, Jim Zorn and the Hawks managed just 45 net yards and was five for nine passing for a mere 34 yards. His counterpart, and looking more and more like a replacement, Dave Krieg, led the Hawks to 215 yards total offense in the second half, most of that (182 yards) via 10 for 19 passing.
Source: Inside the Seahawks, Volume 1, Number 15, November 14, 1986-November 20, 1986
Seahawk History By Bob Pruitt The Seahawks were virtually non-existent in the first half. QB Jim Zorn was on the run and was sacked 3 times. The pressure held him to only one completion in 8 attempts for 2 yards with one interception. Then came half-time. The Seahawks were down 24-zip. Coach Chuck Knox decided to make a change at quarterback for the second half, hoping to "get something going". Enter free-agent reserve quarterback Dave Krieg. Krieg blistered the Pittsburgh secondary for 214 yards on 13 for 20 passing. He threw for 2 touchdowns. The Seahawk defense held Pittsburgh to 53 yards and a field goal after Krieg came on. On Krieg’s third series in the game, he engineered a 62 yard drive that ended up with Curt Warner diving over the pile at the one. Only moments later, Manu Tuiasosopo leveled Franco Harris and forced a fumble that was quickly grabbed by Kenny Easley at the Steeler 11. On the next play, Krieg was forced out of the pocket and he scrambled for the 11 yards and an apparent touchdown. A holding penalty took the score away and gave Seattle a first and 20 from the 21. Seattle scored again on the next play -- a TD strike from Krieg to Steve Largent. Suddenly it was 24-14 early in the 4th quarter. When the Steelers got the ball back, they drove and scored their only points of the second half, another Anderson field goal from 32 yards. On the next series, Krieg was nearly perfect on an 82 yard drive with 6 of 7 passing. It was 27-21.
With less than 3 minutes to go, a tough defense ordered to dig in again. It was second and 8 for Pittsburgh, the ball on their own 35. QB Stoudt rolled to the left, and was preparing to throw when a blitzing Greg Gaines blind-sided him and knocked the ball towards the Seahawk goal. It kept rolling, inside the 20, where Jacob Green, Jeff Bryant and Joe Nash were about to run it down. But it was as if the "pig skin" was just "pig", and a greased one at that. It eluded all three of the pursuing Seahawks to wait for Pittsburg’s Ted Peterson, who finally fell on it. But the Steelers still had to punt and the Seahawks got one more try. With 1:49 left to play, the Seahawks had the ball on their own 30. The march began, and Krieg and company took the ball 28 yards downfield, but the drive stalled at the Pittsburgh 42. A fourth down pass attempt to Byron Walker was knocked away by Dwayne Woodruff, the same defender who had been burned twice on TD strikes to Largent and Johns. Beating a man for touchdowns 2 out of 3 times might normally be enough. But this time, it was one short.
Dave Krieg: Custom Quarterback Bass fishing with teammate Bryan Millard listening to a Hank Williams, Jr. tape, basking in the Seattle springtime sun. That’s quarterback Dave Krieg’s idea of relaxing between football seasons. The 28-year-old Wisconsin native is at home with a fishing pole, either on the waves of Western Washington lakes or the frozen surface of a hometown pond. He’s a golfer and basketball player. He lifts weights during the off-season with the Seahawk linemen. Dave is also devoted to the community, giving time to Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs, the March of Dimes, United Way, Muscular Dystrophy, United Cerebral Palsy and Blow the Whistle on Drugs. He and his wife Sue live in Kirkland. Above: On board a 45-foot Bayline Motor Yacht, flagship of the Bayliner fleet, Dave (above) models a Louis Alvear distressed Spanish lambskin jacket for $245, a Ralph Lauren cotton boat neck sweater ($97.50), cotton crested twill shirt by Ralph Lauren for $65, Ralph Lauren black dungarees for $40, Polo sunglasses ($65) and black loafers by Colehan ($90). All available in the Men’s Polo Shop.
October 30, 1984 SAN DIEGO, Oct. 29, 1984 -- Dave Krieg passed for 282 yards, Steve Largent caught three touchdown passes, Kenny Easley had three interceptions and the Seattle Seahawks easily beat the San Diego Chargers, 24-0, tonight. The Seahawks sacked Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts six times and forced three turnovers as San Diego suffered its first shutout since a 7-0 loss to Denver in 1979. Seattle improved to 7-2, good for a second-place tie with the Los Angeles Raiders, one game behind the Broncos in the AFC West. The Chargers played without injured receivers Kellen Winslow and Wes Chandler and used No. 2 tight end Pete Holohan sparingly. San Diego fell to 4-5, all the losses against AFC West opponents, and severely hurt its playoff hopes. Krieg, who entered the game with a 53 percent pass completion rate, completed 23 of 29 passes against San Diego's inexperienced secondary. He directed touchdown drives of 96, 81 and 63 yards. Largent, who has caught passes in 100 straight games, caught scoring passes of 11, 13 and 16 yards. His first touchdown catch was his first reception of the night, the fifth straight game he has done that. Easley, a fourth-year pro from UCLA, squelched three drives. He intercepted passes at the Seahawks' four-yard line in the first quarter, the six in the third and the eight in the final period. Twice Krieg passed to Largent for touchdowns in the first half, and Norm Johnson kicked a 42-yard field goal for a 17-0 lead at intermission. Largent's third touchdown pass came on the team's second possession of the third quarter, after Easley had intercepted Fouts at the Chargers six and returned it 32 yards. San Diego's offensive line collapsed around Fouts. The Seahawks got 47 yards in sack losses against Fouts, who managed to complete 24 of 39 passes for 200 yards. Krieg directed two long touchdown drives in the first half and the Seahawks turned two San Diego turnovers into 10 points. Fouts took the Chargers to Seattle's 39-yard line on the team's second series, but a flea-flicker from Lionel James to Bobby Duckworth was stolen by Easley at the four. Krieg got the team to the 27 with a 13-yard completion to Byron Walker, then threw a perfectly placed 60-yard pass to Darryl Turner, who beat defenders Gill Byrd and John Turner and came down on the San Diego 13. Two plays later, Largent beat Byrd for an 11-yard touchdown. Seattle and San Diego both were limping. The Seahawks, who lost running back Curt Warner in the season opener, have seen wide receiver Paul Johns, defensive back Don Dufek, tight end Pete Metzelaars and linebacker Michael Jackson go down with injuries.
Source: Inside the Seahawks, Vol 1, No 24, By Bill Ferren All right, so maybe the Seahawks aren't so hot on the idea of trading for a quarterback after all. Still, it wasn't too long ago that everyone from the Seattle Times to the Ballard Tool Journal, was offering their two cents about the future of Dave Krieg. "He's a bum, and he's got to go," was one of the milder phrases directed at Inside the Seahawks' 1986 MVP from some discouraged fans during the Hawks' four-game breakdown last season. To say that Krieg had fallen from favor among fans during that losing streak is like saying it rained a little bit in Seattle during early March. But how time and a five-game winning streak can help change people's minds. As a colleague pointed out to me in the third-quarter of the Seahawks December romping of the Raiders, "try and find the fans that booed Krieg now." Sure enough, the place was packed to its gray ceiling with devout fans. Nope, nothing that looked fickle here. So if Dave Krieg is back in favor, and if the signals trickling down from Seahawks' management tend to ridicule a massive trade package to acquire the services of, say, a Vinny Testaverde or a Cornelius Bennett, then what are the Seahawks going to do in the 1987 draft. Picking 18th in the first round the Hawks will still have the opportunity to pick a good, if not readily familiar player. What kind of players do they need? Injury plagues last season, key players are recovering on schedule. Blair Bush, Seahawks center who was sorely missed after a knee injury sidelined him, is on schedule in his recovery and workout program. Kenny Easley, Seahawks safety, is also on schedule following surgery to remover bone spurs in his right ankle. Jeff Bryant, Seahawks defensive end, who returned to play in the last few Seahawks games, is working out regularly and is expected to be in top form in 1987. With injury recovery proceeding on schedule combined with the fact that Dave Krieg was playing outstanding football at the end of 1986 and knowing that most of the team's veterans will be back - including Steve Largent, who will be entering his twelfth training camp this year - the Hawks don't have any glaring holes to be filled.
Seahawks Bombed by Soaring Jets Nothing else had been working for the Seattle Seahawks in recent weeks so Coach Chuck Knox tried an ancient remedy: Change quarterbacks. Although Gale Gilbert, young and inexperienced, gave a good account of himself, that move didn't work either, as the "new look" Seahawks were bombed, 38-7, by the high-flying New York Jets in the Kingdome last Sunday afternoon. Gilbert, a little-used second-year free agent, replaced an inconsistent - and, at times, ineffective - Dave Krieg as the Seahawks' starting signal-caller, but Seattle's offense continued to stutter and trip and its pass defense collapsed into the ground as the Jets, off to their best start ever, took to the air to record their seventh straight victory, a club record, this season, following a 20-6 loss to New England in Week No. 2. Largent stretched his NFL record by catching a pass in his 132nd consecutive game, but teammate Curt Warner failed to break Sherman Smith's club-record career yardage record. He needed 63 yards going into today's game to erase Smith's standard, but wound up with only 31 in nine carries.
Unknown Is a Big Plus In Seahawks' Equation December 23, 1983 SEATTLE, Dec. 22, 1983 -- Meet the least-publicized, lowest-paid starting quarterback in the National Football League. His name is Dave Krieg, and he is a former free agent who is overshadowed even on his own team by a running back and a square-jawed, steely-eyed coach. Krieg is so little known outside Seattle that the Seahawks' publicity people routinely have to help out on the pronounciation of his last name (Craig). He replaced a minilegend (Jim Zorn), which didn't make him the most popular figure in town. His alma mater, Milton College in Wisconsin, went out of business in 1981. And even while he was leading the Seahawks this season to their first playoff appearance (they play host to the Denver Broncos in an AFC wild-card game Saturday at 4 p.m.), he continued to read how the team was courting a replacement for 1984, Canadian Football League star Warren Moon. "I'm also negotiating a new contract with the team," Krieg said. "Other than that, there haven't been any distractions. "I think I'm on the threshold of proving myself in this league," he went on. "The playoffs represent another step. Maybe if I do well enough, they'll decide they don't need anyone else next year." Krieg finished the regular season as the AFC's second-rated passer, behind Miami's Dan Marino. He'd love to be close to Marino in salary, too. Krieg is making $85,000 this season, although the Seahawks reportedly have offered him $350,000 as an initial salary if he signs a new contract. That raise would at least reflect his value to his team. Running back Curt Warner (1,449 yards) is the key to Seattle's ball-control offense designed by Coach Chuck Knox. But Krieg is the glue. On his good days, the Seahawks are competitive with almost anyone in the league (they've beaten the Raiders twice). His bad days are another story. "The worst day I've had was against Denver earlier this season," he said today. "Steve DeBerg was hurt and John Elway calls in sick and they have to start Gary Kubiak, who had never played. They win the toss and they kick off, so Kubiak won't make any early mistakes. Instead, he plays great and I throw four interceptions and lose three fumbles and we lose (38-27)." Krieg tied the Seahawks' records for yards (418) and completions (31) in that game while throwing for three touchdowns. But the fact is Seattle wins when he passes less. Krieg's totals for the season (147 passes completed of 243 attempts, for 2,139 yards, 18 touchdowns and 11 interceptions) are more normally seen in a player with far greater experience. He's only had 10 NFL starts, eight this year. Krieg wound up in Seattle in 1980 because his college coach knew the Seahawks' personnel director. Krieg had been a highly rated NAIA passer at a school with a good football tradition. If nothing else, his confidence impressed the Seahawks that rookie year. Last season, he became entangled in controversy. Coach Jack Patera decided to start the season with Krieg, not Zorn. It was a shocking choice, and lasted only until the players' strike. Krieg hurt his thumb before the walkout, then Patera was fired and new Coach Mike McCormack (now the general manager) went back to Zorn. "When we came into camp last summer, I already had read that Chuck Knox was going to go with Zorn," Krieg said. "I knew I had to deliver a knockout blow to dislodge the champ and I didn't." Zorn eventually knocked himself out with two dreadful efforts midway through the season. Knox, like Patera, turned to Krieg, who led Seattle to a 5-3 record the last half of the season. It would have been a wonderful starting matchup Saturday: the little-known Krieg against Golden Boy John Elway. But Denver Coach Dan Reeves will start DeBerg, his sore shoulder having healed enough for his reactivation from the injured-reserve list. "I've thought about what it must be like for Elway," Krieg said. "Whatever he does will never be enough. That's a tough burden. But whatever I do will be more than anyone ever expected."
Associated Press Dave Krieg, rebounding from a four-for-13 first-half passing performance, threw for two touchdowns in the third quarter to lift the revenge-minded Seattle Seahawks to a 21-14 season-opening victory today over the Denver Broncos. The Seahawks, atoning for a 40-17 loss in last year's opener here, kept Denver's defense off-balance with a mixture of run and pass and frustrated Broncos quarterback John Elway.
December 15, 1987 DEC. 14 -- It's fitting that the National Football League's most unpredictable team, the Seattle Seahawks, came into their Kingdome on Sunday on the heels of two consecutive defeats and on the brink of being knocked out of the AFC playoff race -- and proceeded to beat Denver and climb within a half-game of the division lead The Seahawks team that showed up Sunday was the one many people picked to represent the conference in the Super Bowl. The Dave Krieg who showed up Sunday was the one ranked statistically among the top five passers of all time. The Seattle offense that showed up was one that played with imagination and spark. And the defense that showed up was one that contained Denver's John Elway as few defenses have. That's not to say Seattle (8-5) will have such good fortune again this season. But against Denver (8-4-1), it all added up to a 28-21 victory over the team with the best record in the AFC, looking to wrap up a playoff spot. The Seahawks, even with the triumph, don't really know what to expect in the final two weeks of the regular season, in games at Chicago and Kansas City. Tight end Mike Tice, a seventh-year Seahawk out of the University of Maryland, said, "Every time we win, we get -- I don't know what we get." Linebacker Bruce Scholtz felt much the same way. "Ever since I've been here," he said, "we say we'll learn from our losses, but we never seem to. We got one {a win -- Sunday night}, but we were also capable of beating the last two teams {Raiders and Steelers} and we didn't." Seattle took a 7-0 lead with six minutes left in the first half on a three-yard run by Curt Warner, then 14-0 with 22 seconds left in the half as Krieg (22 of 33, 238 yards, three touchdowns) passed three yards to Ray Butler. The Seahawks figured that as hot as Elway has been in recent weeks, Denver would come back, and they were right. Sammy Winder's 11-yard run made it 14-7 and less than two minutes later Elway hit Rick Massie for 39 yards and a tie at 14. But Krieg responded with touchdown passes of 40 yards to Butler and seven yards to fullback John L. Williams to go ahead, 28-14. A one-yard run by Winder cut the margin to seven points in the closing seconds. The Seattle fans were so thrilled with the Seahawks' wide-open play calling -- Coach Chuck Knox is known for his conservative "Ground Chuck" offensive approach -- that they even cheered wildly when wide receiver Steve Largent threw a terrible and incomplete pass to quarterback Krieg in the second half. It was just one of those days when the Seahawks looked better than any rival in the AFC and as good as San Francisco or Chicago in the NFC. But Knox, after the game, was not about to predict similar results in the remaining two weeks. "I've been coaching for 34 years and I've never been able to tell when a team is ready," he said. Knox probably gets fewer signals from this team than his others. His defensive linemen hadn't had a sack in 14 quarters, but each -- Jeff Bryant, Jacob Green and Tony Woods -- had credit for a sack against Elway. Going into the game, Knox had fretted over the pass rush, reasoning that if the Bears -- with all their team speed -- couldn't catch up to Elway then the Seahawks would have massive problems. But defensive coordinator Tom Catlin came up with several wrinkles, including a modified pass rush that was designed to prevent Elway from rolling out. The result was that Elway completed only 21 of 42 passes, and was sacked four times. Meanwhile, the Broncos continue to have injury problems. Denver was already playing without five injured offensive regulars, including leading receiver Vance Johnson. Massie was just beginning to emerge as an additional deep threat, but fractured a bone in his leg during the game and is out of action indefinitely. "This is the most injuries I've ever seen," said Elway, who becomes even more of a one-man band with every injury. "I don't mean the most injuries in one year, but in my entire career.
Dave Krieg threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Brian Blades with 40 seconds left today, giving the Seattle Seahawks a 10-7 victory over the San Diego Chargers.
Publication date: 09-07-98
Short-handed Oilers too tough McNair's replacement was 39-year-old Dave Krieg, and for the second straight game a quarterback closer to Social Security than his prime tore them apart. (In the preseason finale vs. the Atlanta Falcons, 44-year-old Steve DeBerg was 10-of-14 for 129 yards and a touchdown). Instead, Krieg took the Oilers on a 10-play, 81-yard scoring drive that ended in a 3-yard scoring run by George for a 17-7 lead. Krieg was 3-of-4 for 51 yards, and the Oilers never had to convert a third down on their 5:32 excursion down the field. "That's why Dave Krieg is here," Oilers coach Jeff Fisher said. "He understands what we're doing."
Source: Norm Evans' Seahawk Report, Vol. 4, No. 13, Sept.27 – October 3, 1982
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