Seahawk Sailor
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- Mar 3, 2007
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It's easy to shoot from the hip and say how terrible a game this was, how we 'deserved' to lose this one, how we're gonna get shellacked by any 'good' teams from here on out. But the simple fact of it is there are a lot of positives to take from the game, and far more positives than '7-1'.
Division momentum
As the final seconds ticked down and we watched, fists clenched or fingers crossed, hoping against hope our defense would be able to come up with one last stop and prevent the Rams from running the ball two more yards when they'd run roughshod on us all day, our NFC West opponents were watching, fists clenched or fingers crossed, hoping against hope the inept Rams would be able to score on a single play against one of the toughest defenses in the league to prevent us from staying near-perfect on the season, and perfect in the division. When we sank to our knees in relief, they sank to their knees in anguish, knowing the Rams had let one slip through their fingers that affected the entire division, not just the Seahawks. The Rams were so close to going to .500 and staying in the hunt. The Cards were so close to staying a game closer to the hunt. The 49ers watched in horror as the Seahawks stayed a crucial game up on them in the west instead of seeing them tied for first place in both record and division record. This was a big one, and it sucker-punched our divisional foes in the gut.
Ugly learning experience
This win did not feel like a win, neither to the fans nor to the Seahawks players. It was ugly. There were a lot of flaws exposed and bad play exhibited and things that need to be addressed and fixed. They're going home feeling like they lost, but bolstered by the fact they gutted out a win when they should have lost. They get the good points of a loss, but coupled with the attitude that comes with consistent winning and knowing they're getting the job done on the scoreboard. A lot of things to learn. A lot of things to fix. And just as everyone may point to this win as a game that exposed a plan on 'how to win against the Seahawks', well, if that's 'how to win against the Seahawks', it was still a plan that came up five points short. And, of course, it doesn't take into consideration any adjustments the Seahawks might make to counter that plan.
Back out of the spotlight
The Seahawks have played this entire year so far in the spotlight. They've been the hot team, the team other teams were gunning for, because they were among the very best. This game, while changing in favor of the Seahawks in the standings column, did little to keep a target on their backs. Sure, the defense was stellar; two turnovers, three sacks, and nine points allowed. But 'lucky' takes the spotlight off them. 'Lucky' keeps their standings where they need to be, but takes the focus off them. Sure, they're still going to be called one of the best teams in the league. A 7-1 record will do that for any team. But it'll take some of the heat off, and that's nice, especially heading into a home game against a weaker opponent.
Road record triumphs
Say what you will, but at the end of the game, the Seahawks had the better score, and came away from St. Louis with a 4-1 road record through five games. The worst they can do this year on the road is .500, something most teams would love to accomplish. They're also 3-0 in divisional play, and 2-0 on the road in the division, meaning the worst they can do in the division is .500, with only one divisional game left on the road. To be in this position at this point in the season is something none of us would have called, and all of us would have loved to see at the halfway point in the season.
First half vs. second half of the season
7-1. This means we'd have to go 1-7 the second half of the season not to have a winning record this year. Our chances at making the playoffs have got to be pretty damned high right now. Our chances to win the division have also got to be fairly high. And our chances at home field throughout the playoffs are better than most. Our season was heavily tilted toward road games the first half of the season, and heavily tilted toward home games the second half. Most everyone agreed that if we could weather the storm early and escape with a decent enough record early, we'd rebound in the second half. Well, we weathered that storm with a single loss. On the road. Against an AFC division leader. At 10:00 AM. And we still almost won that one. But for a couple of plays, we're still perfect on the season, something no one called.
Let down/trap game
Yep. Classic signs; classic symptoms. And we still won. There were a lot of overconfident folks before this one, and that included Seahawks players. St. Louis was more concerned about baseball, nobody was gonna show, the Rams suck, etc., etc., etc. Well, St. Louis was fired up about baseball, and that carried over to the football stadium as well. Most of the crowd was wearing red baseball gear. The Rams did suck, but they switched up what they had been doing to attack our strengths and exploit our weaknesses. They caught us off guard and played the better game. And they still lost! We still won! It was a classic trap game and we still came out on top. Good teams do that: weather the adversity, and win the games that matter.
This was a good game. Arguably it was exactly the game we needed this week.
Division momentum
As the final seconds ticked down and we watched, fists clenched or fingers crossed, hoping against hope our defense would be able to come up with one last stop and prevent the Rams from running the ball two more yards when they'd run roughshod on us all day, our NFC West opponents were watching, fists clenched or fingers crossed, hoping against hope the inept Rams would be able to score on a single play against one of the toughest defenses in the league to prevent us from staying near-perfect on the season, and perfect in the division. When we sank to our knees in relief, they sank to their knees in anguish, knowing the Rams had let one slip through their fingers that affected the entire division, not just the Seahawks. The Rams were so close to going to .500 and staying in the hunt. The Cards were so close to staying a game closer to the hunt. The 49ers watched in horror as the Seahawks stayed a crucial game up on them in the west instead of seeing them tied for first place in both record and division record. This was a big one, and it sucker-punched our divisional foes in the gut.
Ugly learning experience
This win did not feel like a win, neither to the fans nor to the Seahawks players. It was ugly. There were a lot of flaws exposed and bad play exhibited and things that need to be addressed and fixed. They're going home feeling like they lost, but bolstered by the fact they gutted out a win when they should have lost. They get the good points of a loss, but coupled with the attitude that comes with consistent winning and knowing they're getting the job done on the scoreboard. A lot of things to learn. A lot of things to fix. And just as everyone may point to this win as a game that exposed a plan on 'how to win against the Seahawks', well, if that's 'how to win against the Seahawks', it was still a plan that came up five points short. And, of course, it doesn't take into consideration any adjustments the Seahawks might make to counter that plan.
Back out of the spotlight
The Seahawks have played this entire year so far in the spotlight. They've been the hot team, the team other teams were gunning for, because they were among the very best. This game, while changing in favor of the Seahawks in the standings column, did little to keep a target on their backs. Sure, the defense was stellar; two turnovers, three sacks, and nine points allowed. But 'lucky' takes the spotlight off them. 'Lucky' keeps their standings where they need to be, but takes the focus off them. Sure, they're still going to be called one of the best teams in the league. A 7-1 record will do that for any team. But it'll take some of the heat off, and that's nice, especially heading into a home game against a weaker opponent.
Road record triumphs
Say what you will, but at the end of the game, the Seahawks had the better score, and came away from St. Louis with a 4-1 road record through five games. The worst they can do this year on the road is .500, something most teams would love to accomplish. They're also 3-0 in divisional play, and 2-0 on the road in the division, meaning the worst they can do in the division is .500, with only one divisional game left on the road. To be in this position at this point in the season is something none of us would have called, and all of us would have loved to see at the halfway point in the season.
First half vs. second half of the season
7-1. This means we'd have to go 1-7 the second half of the season not to have a winning record this year. Our chances at making the playoffs have got to be pretty damned high right now. Our chances to win the division have also got to be fairly high. And our chances at home field throughout the playoffs are better than most. Our season was heavily tilted toward road games the first half of the season, and heavily tilted toward home games the second half. Most everyone agreed that if we could weather the storm early and escape with a decent enough record early, we'd rebound in the second half. Well, we weathered that storm with a single loss. On the road. Against an AFC division leader. At 10:00 AM. And we still almost won that one. But for a couple of plays, we're still perfect on the season, something no one called.
Let down/trap game
Yep. Classic signs; classic symptoms. And we still won. There were a lot of overconfident folks before this one, and that included Seahawks players. St. Louis was more concerned about baseball, nobody was gonna show, the Rams suck, etc., etc., etc. Well, St. Louis was fired up about baseball, and that carried over to the football stadium as well. Most of the crowd was wearing red baseball gear. The Rams did suck, but they switched up what they had been doing to attack our strengths and exploit our weaknesses. They caught us off guard and played the better game. And they still lost! We still won! It was a classic trap game and we still came out on top. Good teams do that: weather the adversity, and win the games that matter.
This was a good game. Arguably it was exactly the game we needed this week.
