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--Commentator Steve Tasker
I can't say it any better than Tasker did. We know by now that our week was off to a bad start when Sports Illustrated ran an article about the less-than-charming qualities of Mike Holmgren, which included an inappropriately profane remark directed towards the fans of the Seahawks. Before the article was published Mike Holmgren went on record with a sincere-sounding apology and an attempt to clear any misunderstanding that he doesn't appreciate and/or need the fans. The media follow-up was mixed, ranging from an accusation that he wasn't sorry about what he said, rather that he was sorry to be caught, to the suggestion that what he said as a means to motivate the team is irrelevant. No matter how you interpretted the situation, I think we all have to admit that it was a distraction the Seahawks didn't need. There was a lot of pressure for Mike Holmgren and Matt Hasselbeck coming into this game. In my opinion, neither responded well. The game plan, which I assume was scripted as are all of Holmgren's opening plays, consisted of 8 plays in our first possession. 7 plays were to Ricky Watters, 1 play was to Darrell Jackson. The final play of the series, 4th and 1 in field goal range, was a hand-off to Ricky Watters resulting in a change of possession on downs. Of course fans generally love it when the coach goes for it on 4th and 1, however coaches are hesitant to give up the almost-automatic field goal. I won't fault Holmgren for the call but I wonder what the basis was for his decision. In an unfortunate turn of events, Ricky was injured in the first series with what is described as a shoulder sprain. He did not return for the remainder of the game. At the time of this writing, I haven't heard the extent of his injury but for Ricky to come out of the game, it must be bad. He's a fighter, not a whiner. That left us in a peck of trouble. Hasselbeck went to the passing game, missing receivers right and left. A long pass downfield to Jackson wasn't close; a pass intended for Koren Robinson was almost picked off by a Raider; another pass to Robinson wasn't close. The series was saved by a neutral zone infraction by the Raiders, only to be shut down on the next play when a pass to Engram was uncatchable. And so it went. Our dependable defense let us down too. There were huge holes in defense and a lot of missed tackles. One of my favorite players, Charlie Rogers, fumbled a punt return that resulted in a field goal by the Raiders. I'm not sure how it popped out but the Raiders saw it and recovered it. Likewise with a Shaun Alexander fumble that eventually resulted in a Raider touchdown. In the third quarter, Hasselbeck began limping. Trent Dilfer was sent in as his replacement. His first two plays went to Alexander for one yard on the first play and negative 5 yards on the next. It was 3rd and 14, Dilfer stepped back to pass and felt pressure. He scrambled, scrambled, scrambled and then threw a long pass to Darrell Jackson. It was perfectly thrown and we had a first down on a 54 yard completion! However Dilfer was lying on the turf, belly down, motionless. Alexander of the Raiders had speared his helmet into the chin of Dilfer after the pass. Flags were thrown and Alexander was ejected from the game as he high-fived his team mates on the way to the locker room as Dilfer remained on the turf. What a sad display of sportsmanship, the stuff that gives Raiders their stereotyped image. Dilfer was able to walk off the field with assistance. Hasselbeck came back into the play, only to walk off later with a foot and groin injury. Brock Huard came into the game in the fourth quarter and had success moving us downfield. On fourth down, Huard was sacked. When he got to the sidelines Holmgren was screaming at him. One can hardly blame Huard for the problems of the day. As he was the only QB left standing, I thought it highly inappropriate for Holmgren to vent his frustration at Brock Huard. There's one more thing I'd like to mention about today's game. How many times is Mike Holmgren going to expect miracles from Rian Lindell? I thought it was inexusable to ask him to attempt a 53 yard field goal in the first half. He missed, the Raiders were in great field position and they were able to score a touchdown. As the first half was winding down, Holmgren sent Lindell onto the field again, in the dirt of the baseball diamond, to kick a 55 yard field goal. That's just asking for an injury, let alone a miracle. It brings to mind our first game of the season when Holmgren wanted to send Lindell in for a 54 yard field goal to win the game. His special teams coaches looked at Holmgren in utter amazement, which prompted Holmgren to run one more play. I'm appalled that Holmgren expects so much from our kicker. He's good, but we need to expect our players to put us in better field position than that. If we're relying on 50+ yard field goals to put points on the board, we've got more serious problems than anyone's willing to admit. On a humorous note, Raider Coach Gruden has been chosen by People Magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People. He has reportedly said that he'd be in the Top 10 if he didn't hang around with the rest of the team! :-) I'll close with the words of Seahawk Guru Bill Bessette: "Hang in there, Becky... The rebuilding process is almost finished. Once these guys get a little experience under their belts, we'll be fine."
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