Have you ever seen someting so amazing that it took you several days to collect your thoughts on the matter? Well, I have. And it came at an unexpected place; from a watching a NFL football game, an NFC championship game. Now MOST of that game I'd watched is far from being a classic. But one play in the 3rd quarter and pretty much the whole game after the 5 minute remaining mark in the 4th quarter is very memorable, especially if you're a Seahawk fan, definately not so if you're a Green Bay Packer fan.
2015 NFC Championship game; Seattle Seahawks: 28, Green Bay Packers 22, F/OT.
I have watched a lot of football games in my life, but this one may be the most memorible of them all for a lot of different reasons.
First and foremost: the Seahawks had no business winning this game. Honestly, their starting quarterback threw 4 interceptions. At half-time Russell Wilson only had 1 completed pass--and that was to a reserve wide reciever named Riccardo Lockette. At halfime Russell Wilson had a quarterback rating of "0"! And yet by the end of the game, by some miracle, the Seahawks overcame a historically bad game by Russell Wilson and beat one of the best teams in football.
I love the Green Bay Packers. After the Seahawks they are my 2nd favorite team to root for. Early in this game it looked like the Packers were going to ROLL my Seattle Seahawks. They seamed to be knocking on the door, and were at or near the Seattle goal-line for what felt like most of the 1st half. Yet the great Seattle deffence played their hearts out and held the score relatively down to a modest 16-0 Packer advantage at halftime.
Not enough can be said for how hard my guys battled that day. On a day when Russell Wilson was throwing intereceptions right and left, and the offence getting it handed to them by the Packer deffence, the Seattle Seahawk deffense showed some real grit in fighting even when it appeared it would be for naught. It is very easy to be all sunshine and jumpy when things are going your way on the scoreboard. Not so easy when everything on the other side of the ball is tough sledding.
How tough was the sledding? So tough that Pete Carroll opted for a fake field goal with about 4 1/2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Did it work? Ryan to Gary Gilliam--works every time (he-he-he-he). The punter lobbed a shot-put pass to a back-up offensive lineman who had decalred as an eligible recievers on the field goal attempt. Totally trickery. But Jon Ryan and Garry Gilliam made it work. One of the ugliest passes you'll ever see, but it got us on the board. No, that wasn't the big momentum changer. I think the Packers did a nice job of re-taking the momentum kick another field goal, and not starting to fall apart untill the TD drive the Wilson orchastrated just before the 2 minute warning.
Was Mike McCarthy too conservative? Not in my opinion. I thought he had a good game-plan, and his players executed it real well. NOTHING the Seahawk offence did early on suprised the Packer deffence. And given Aarron Rodger's sore leg, I thought the Packer offence was doing pretty good. There were no outright blubs on Mike McCarthy's part which contriubted to their eventual loss. Yes, with 5 minutes remaining in the game, after Russell Wilson had just thrown his 4th interceptoin of the game, and with his team leading 19-7, the Packers were in prime place to pull of the upset. But then came the Seahawk avallanche, and it wasn't Mike McCarthy's fault, he just didn't have the magic in him to reverse the tide.
If you're looking for a goat, someone to blame, look no further than # 86 for the Green Bay Packers: Brandon Bostick. After Russell Wilson had run one in for the touchdown just before the 2 minute warning, with only 1 time-out remaining, Pete Carroll ellected to try an on-side kick. These things almoast NEVER work. If I rember right from a 710 ESPN post, they're successfull like 14% of the time. YET, Steven Hauska's on-side kick worked. It worked because a back-up tight-end for Green Bay Packers decided to try to field the ball instead of block the nearest on-rushing Seahawk. # 86, Brian Bostick had the ball bounce off his hands, where it was then swiped out of the air by a back-up wide reciever for the Seahawks, Chris Matthews. Before this game I didn't even know Chis Matthews was on the Seahawks' roster. He was a guy they talked about before the season, but then once things got going he was nowhere to be found--untill the NFC Champtionship game as Jordy Nelson would lament in seeing.
The great Brian Billick had the best line of commentary concerning the Bostick debacle. "For some reason Bostick deciced to leave the reservation." That was Billick's line in snide commentary to Brandon Bostick's descion to try to field the onside kick instead of blocking the nearest on-rushing Seahawk so that Jordy Nelson could field the kick and escentially end the game. Anywho, I'm sooo glad Brandon Bostick decided to "leave the reservation" and think he was better suited than Jordy Nelson to field the kick. Watch the play for yourself, Right behind Chris Matthews is Jordy Nelson, if Brandon Bostick plays good, clean assignment football, the Packer with the best hands on the team get a chance to make the recovery. If I was the Green Bay brass I would so cut Brandon Bostick; he cost the Green Bay Packers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Total goat. Why is he still on the team?
My love and admiration for Russell Wilson grew leaps and bounds as result of his resiliant performance at the 2015 NFC Championship game. I love how he can have the worst game of his professional life, YET STILL have the stones to come out throwing at the end of the game. Not be afraid and just start dropping one beautiful throw after another, and another, and another. Russell's four interceptions all came at completion attempt at balls thrown Jermaine Kearse's way. Jermaine had a day to forget. But at the end of the day, Russell never lost faith in Jermaine. The 35 yard touchdown bomb that ended the game on the first possession in overtime was from Russell Wilson to Jermaine Kearse. It was the only catch Jermaine had all day, and was a catch that I'm sure neither he nor Russell will ever forget.
Russell Willson is not a stats guy, he's a magic guy. This athlete can do amazing things. He can run arround and throw with the best of them. And he has a knack for coming up big when his team needs him the most. Yes, at the end of the game Russell was crying. Why was he crying? Becauae he's a human being who gave all he had to help the Seahawks win this day, and it was rolleroaster ride for him. This dude cares. This dude is relilaint. I could give it shit less how his stats compare to Payton Manning, Tom Brady, or Drew Brees. Stats don't always tell the whole story, because this is a team game, and Russell Wilson is the ultimate team player. In his three at the helm I've watched this guy bring this team back repeatedly. The moment is never to big for him. Like the fail-Mary game two years ago against these same Green Bay Packers. For most of the 2nd half the Packers had the Seahawks number, but at the end, Russell Wilson got them in position for one last throw into the endzone... which turned out to be a replacement refferee ruled touchdown to Golden Tate on a simultation possesion ruling: Golden and a Packer defender both had their hands on the ball at the same time.
I would take Russell Wilson over ANY quarerback in the NFL right now--even Aarron Rodgers, and I LOVE watching him play. Why? Because Russell Wilson is a unique player and he has all the intagibles that you look for in the one leading your offense. He has the accuracy. He can move with his feet and improvise. He can lead a team back from behind. And he instills belief in the others arround him. No, he's not the classic NFL quarerback, but he's our quarterback and Seattle loves him!
This was a game for the ages. Not a perfect game. But a classic ending. The Packers didn't choke this game away, rather the Seahawks stole it from them, with a series of improbable plays. They caught fire, and the Packers just didn't have enough to hold them off. Like I said earlier this was...
The Great Emerald City Cheese Heist!
- Aarron Rodgers is a sore loser and a poor sport. After the game he is quoted as saying, "The best team didn't win." Sounds like some sour grapes to me. Thought this guy was a class act! Guess not. What he should have done is wished the Seahawks well, and said they'd get 'em next time. You know Aarron, we here in Seattle know about playoff heartbreak too. Just two years ago we LOST to the Atlanta Falcons in a divisional round game. They were up by bunch, we came back, then they had a game winning field goal that ended our season. And what my responce was? Good for Atlanta, they deserve to feel good about themselves. Sure I would have like to have won and seen the Seahawks in the NFC championship game, but Atlanta won the game, fair and square. Wish 'em well, and tell 'em you'll get 'em next year. Classy.
- Doug Baldwin puts the chip on his shoulder. I listened to Doug Baldwin's postgame rant, and his taking shots at Dion Sanders and found EVERYTHING he had to say was unfair to those he was taking issue with. I know realized that Doug has to play with a chip on his shoulders to elevate his own play. Doug is a fine, possesion wide reciever, but he is not a #1, or even a good #2. He's a GREAT slot wide reciever who has been pressed to be the #1 on this team, becuase guys like Sydney Rice and Percy Harvin (the brown color is for SHIT that Percy turned out to be) didn't work out. I love Doug's game. I think he gets the most out of his tallent, but he'll never be an elliete tallent like Calvin Johnson, Dez Bryant, Mike Wallace or Antonio Brown. The Seahawks are still searching for their top guys. Thankfully, Doug Baldwin doesn't shy away from the challenge, he just doesn't have the eliete tallent like a few others do.
- This will be the last season Marshawn Lynch plays for the Seattle Seahawks. Yes, he's an eliete tallent, but this guy has some serious baggage with him. Can't imagine how hard it is for Pete Carroll to coach this guy. He fucks arround with the media, and makes the whole Seahawks organization look bad when he grabs his crotch after making a big play. If I were the Seahawk brass I'd cut a trade with the Raiders and let them deal with him and his CONSTANT, pushing-the-envelope antics.
- Richard Sherman is the real deal. This guy's play is off-the-charts good. And he plays hurt. He cares about his teammates and his welfare. This is a guy the more you see and look under the cover, the more you like. There's more to Richard Sherman than the guy who embarassed Erin Andrews at her post-game interview of him after he tipped the ball away from Crabtree and Malcom Smith made the interception that sealed last year's NFC championship.
- Cam Chancellor is the lynch-pin and tone setter for the team. His play may be more important than even Russell Wilson's. As Cam goes, so do the Seahawks. When he brings his "A" game, watch-out, because he's a hard hitter and a bruiser.
- Pete Carroll is a winner. No matter what happens for this day forward, I'll always be a Pete Carroll fan. From my perspective Pete was a tough sell. He came from USC. For YEARS USC dominated the PAC 10 conference where the Univercity of Washigton Huskies play. Thus, in my mind, Pete Carroll was an enemy. It took a long time for me to warm-up to Pete. Now, all his crazy mantras, I can't get enough of. Why? Because I realize their importance. Crazy mantras are what we hold onto when the going gets tough. "You don't win a game in the 1st quarter. You don't win a game in the 2nd quarter. You don't win a game in the 3rd quarter. You win a game in the 4th quarter." And that truth, my friends was just proven in the last game.
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