Hustle_Wilson
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As a buddy and I had joked about in the past, for those familiar with wrestling, the Hawks took their "heel turn" on the Monday nighter against the Packers. Defeating one of America's darling teams on national TV in a controversial fashion was their "push." They were no longer that team from the PNW who were jobbed in XL and often irrelevant to the rest of the country. The team we have watched for the past few years had truly arrived on the national stage and their rise had begun.
The dynamic personalities - namely Sherm, Marshawn, Bennett, Baldwin and Earl displayed the charisma of some of the most famous WWF (err WWE) stars. Sherm's NFCC postgame interview was something right out of golden age WWF!
The Hawks had earned an impressive 25-8 record since that game, including a dismantling of the league's golden boy QB Peyton "Chicken Parm You Taste So Good" Manning and arguably the best offense of all-time on the league's biggest stage in the first SB played in the world's most well-known city (technically Metro Area) for the world to see.
They subsequently defied all odds in the 2014 season, overcoming tremendous adversity:
*The "blueprint" to beating the defense that was effectively created in the Qualcomm Oven Week 2
*Rough start to the season that led to a media whirlwind of concocted stories and the "SB Hangover" narrative getting trotted out incessantly
*Infighting
*Early bye week
*Renewed focus on illegal contact, defensive holding and pass interference by DB's due to the domination of the Hawks secondary
*Injuries to significant players that seemingly snowballed each week as the season ended
*Tharold Simon in Week 16 (was never the same player for his playoff action)
*Jordan Hill in Week 17 (2nd DT to go down for the year, devastating the DL depth right as he caught fire)
*P Rich in NFC Div (Had started to come into his own and provide Russ with a sorely needed other option at WR)
*Sherm and Earl in the NFCC (Major injuries that likely would have ruled them out if not for the stakes involved)
*Kam torn MCL in the Friday before the SB (toughed it out like a warrior as well with his LOB brothers)
*Horrendous 3+ quarters at home in the NFCC game that led to one of the most improbable and spectacular comebacks ever witnessed. This coming one year after one of the most dramatic and epic games ever played between two titans that proved to be the undoing of one and the continued ascent of the other. Yet, the Hawks had defied these odds and ascended back to the top of the mountain for battle against the NFL's most hated team.
For some balance, they had also run into some breaks along the way in the form of facing backup QB's and Kaep in the lame-duck unraveling of SF during the 6 game win streak to end the season. However, they took care of business and as we can see from this year in particular, beating teams that trot out backup QB's is no easy feat. The Hawks D as we knew them in 2013, had cemented their place as one of the most dominant in recent memory.
On the other end, the Pats had been caught and punished (lightly) for Spygate, calling the legitimacy of their 3 titles into question. The narrative of "cheaters never win" had fit given that they had lost their two subsequent SB appearances. Ironically, they had made it back to the SB in the same building that they had lost their first SB in the Brady era while facing further cheating allegations.
This set the stage for storylines that even the WWE couldn't make up. The first team to make it back to the SB since...the very team they would face!
XLIX played out for 59:30 as (arguably) the greatest game to ever be played - shocking twists and turns, dramatic plays, comebacks by both sides and devastating injuries for the Hawks. Immortality was 30 seconds and one yard away for these Hawks, primed to become the next NFL dynasty and defeating the evil empire for their 3rd straight SB loss since Spygate. Brady was slated to be the goat of the game with 2 INT's, including the back breaker in the red zone to Lane, despite his impressive comeback against a decimated defense.
But, it was all for not as the Hawks threw the game and immortality away in the most improbable of fashions. The NFL cringed as it had to hand the Lombardi to the Pats. The "cheaters never win" adage was flushed down the toilet and the Hawks had to pay. To relate back to the wrestling lingo, the Hawks needed to become the "jobber."
As homerish as it sounds, the Hawks would have been the perfect team to be the NFL's next dynasty. The Hawks at this point were an impressive 10-0 vs SB winning QB's, no easy feat in this era of high octane passing offenses and flag happy refs. The team was built impressively from an NFL moneyball approach with players picked up/traded for as distressed assets, gems unearthed in the later rounds of the draft, position changes and so forth. The team had become a model franchise with no real controversy aside from a few substance abuse suspensions (only Irvin remained from these players). The guys on the roster (especially this one) had chips on their shoulders and were shining examples of how hard work and grind could pay off. RW would have become the youngest QB ever to win 2 SB's and the accolades go on. Arguably most importantly out of this, a great story that the league desperately needed in the era of CTE, domestic violence and other horrible PR for the NFL.
Now that we know what the following months had in store for this team, the idea that the Hawks are being punished for how XLIX ended has floated around in my mind for some time. Clearly, the devastating outcome itself is punishment enough, but the contract bickering, Kam's holdout, etc. all reared their ugly head. You have to wonder whether all of this would have happened had the outcome not played out the way it did, even if the result was a loss coming from Marshawn getting stuffed a couple of times or a combo of that + an incomplete pass or 2 - basically anything but the braindead actual call. The psychological effects can't be overlooked.
The NFL, of course primarily looking for increased parity and a more dramatic product to keep the fans entertained and shelling out $$ has their subtle ways of doing so. These can be part of "death by a thousand papercuts" so to speak, but we have witnessed the following:
*Opposing teams have been called for the fewest # of penalties and lowest amount of penalty yards for the second straight season. This comes despite fairly widespread coverage and analysis on this disparity last season. (For balance, Atlanta has also suffered a similar phenomenon, albeit just behind the Hawks in both years)
*Seahawks starting off with 2 road games in places where they had struggled historically. (For balance - DET, BAL, MIA and TEN also started off the year with 2 road games)
*In 5 out of 6 games facing teams coming off of their bye to face the Hawks (arguable effects, but interesting scheduling to say the least)
*Al Michaels' admission that primetime games at the Clink are limited due to frequent blowouts (this past game being an exception, but as we know, it was a bizarrely officiated one on both sides)
*Facing a Cincinnati team that has historically been very good at home on a 10AM start time on a short week following a Monday night game in the Clink (Yes, these things happen, but did it have to be a 1PM ET start? Larger issue, but another piece of interesting scheduling)
*Thursday night game on the road yet again (only Thursday nighter at home in the past few years coming in the mandated SB champ home opener)
Clearly these observations aren't the cause of poor OL play and the many other issues that have reared their ugly heads this season, but you have to wonder if the league wanted to punish the Hawks a bit for giving the SB away in that fashion to the team that they didn't want to see win it all. Looking back, those effects are compounded given the judge's ruling and subsequent embarrassment for the Ginger Hammer and the NFL yet again.
The NFL punishing the Hawks isn't the prime angle of these ramblings, but also wanted this to serve as a big picture perspective on where the team is right now and draw some interesting parallels and storylines. Also, wanted to get these thoughts on paper from a racing mind.
What will transpire in the coming weeks and months will be fascinating, as we are at a potential precipice of this team as we know it.
The dynamic personalities - namely Sherm, Marshawn, Bennett, Baldwin and Earl displayed the charisma of some of the most famous WWF (err WWE) stars. Sherm's NFCC postgame interview was something right out of golden age WWF!
The Hawks had earned an impressive 25-8 record since that game, including a dismantling of the league's golden boy QB Peyton "Chicken Parm You Taste So Good" Manning and arguably the best offense of all-time on the league's biggest stage in the first SB played in the world's most well-known city (technically Metro Area) for the world to see.
They subsequently defied all odds in the 2014 season, overcoming tremendous adversity:
*The "blueprint" to beating the defense that was effectively created in the Qualcomm Oven Week 2
*Rough start to the season that led to a media whirlwind of concocted stories and the "SB Hangover" narrative getting trotted out incessantly
*Infighting
*Early bye week
*Renewed focus on illegal contact, defensive holding and pass interference by DB's due to the domination of the Hawks secondary
*Injuries to significant players that seemingly snowballed each week as the season ended
*Tharold Simon in Week 16 (was never the same player for his playoff action)
*Jordan Hill in Week 17 (2nd DT to go down for the year, devastating the DL depth right as he caught fire)
*P Rich in NFC Div (Had started to come into his own and provide Russ with a sorely needed other option at WR)
*Sherm and Earl in the NFCC (Major injuries that likely would have ruled them out if not for the stakes involved)
*Kam torn MCL in the Friday before the SB (toughed it out like a warrior as well with his LOB brothers)
*Horrendous 3+ quarters at home in the NFCC game that led to one of the most improbable and spectacular comebacks ever witnessed. This coming one year after one of the most dramatic and epic games ever played between two titans that proved to be the undoing of one and the continued ascent of the other. Yet, the Hawks had defied these odds and ascended back to the top of the mountain for battle against the NFL's most hated team.
For some balance, they had also run into some breaks along the way in the form of facing backup QB's and Kaep in the lame-duck unraveling of SF during the 6 game win streak to end the season. However, they took care of business and as we can see from this year in particular, beating teams that trot out backup QB's is no easy feat. The Hawks D as we knew them in 2013, had cemented their place as one of the most dominant in recent memory.
On the other end, the Pats had been caught and punished (lightly) for Spygate, calling the legitimacy of their 3 titles into question. The narrative of "cheaters never win" had fit given that they had lost their two subsequent SB appearances. Ironically, they had made it back to the SB in the same building that they had lost their first SB in the Brady era while facing further cheating allegations.
This set the stage for storylines that even the WWE couldn't make up. The first team to make it back to the SB since...the very team they would face!
XLIX played out for 59:30 as (arguably) the greatest game to ever be played - shocking twists and turns, dramatic plays, comebacks by both sides and devastating injuries for the Hawks. Immortality was 30 seconds and one yard away for these Hawks, primed to become the next NFL dynasty and defeating the evil empire for their 3rd straight SB loss since Spygate. Brady was slated to be the goat of the game with 2 INT's, including the back breaker in the red zone to Lane, despite his impressive comeback against a decimated defense.
But, it was all for not as the Hawks threw the game and immortality away in the most improbable of fashions. The NFL cringed as it had to hand the Lombardi to the Pats. The "cheaters never win" adage was flushed down the toilet and the Hawks had to pay. To relate back to the wrestling lingo, the Hawks needed to become the "jobber."
As homerish as it sounds, the Hawks would have been the perfect team to be the NFL's next dynasty. The Hawks at this point were an impressive 10-0 vs SB winning QB's, no easy feat in this era of high octane passing offenses and flag happy refs. The team was built impressively from an NFL moneyball approach with players picked up/traded for as distressed assets, gems unearthed in the later rounds of the draft, position changes and so forth. The team had become a model franchise with no real controversy aside from a few substance abuse suspensions (only Irvin remained from these players). The guys on the roster (especially this one) had chips on their shoulders and were shining examples of how hard work and grind could pay off. RW would have become the youngest QB ever to win 2 SB's and the accolades go on. Arguably most importantly out of this, a great story that the league desperately needed in the era of CTE, domestic violence and other horrible PR for the NFL.
Now that we know what the following months had in store for this team, the idea that the Hawks are being punished for how XLIX ended has floated around in my mind for some time. Clearly, the devastating outcome itself is punishment enough, but the contract bickering, Kam's holdout, etc. all reared their ugly head. You have to wonder whether all of this would have happened had the outcome not played out the way it did, even if the result was a loss coming from Marshawn getting stuffed a couple of times or a combo of that + an incomplete pass or 2 - basically anything but the braindead actual call. The psychological effects can't be overlooked.
The NFL, of course primarily looking for increased parity and a more dramatic product to keep the fans entertained and shelling out $$ has their subtle ways of doing so. These can be part of "death by a thousand papercuts" so to speak, but we have witnessed the following:
*Opposing teams have been called for the fewest # of penalties and lowest amount of penalty yards for the second straight season. This comes despite fairly widespread coverage and analysis on this disparity last season. (For balance, Atlanta has also suffered a similar phenomenon, albeit just behind the Hawks in both years)
*Seahawks starting off with 2 road games in places where they had struggled historically. (For balance - DET, BAL, MIA and TEN also started off the year with 2 road games)
*In 5 out of 6 games facing teams coming off of their bye to face the Hawks (arguable effects, but interesting scheduling to say the least)
*Al Michaels' admission that primetime games at the Clink are limited due to frequent blowouts (this past game being an exception, but as we know, it was a bizarrely officiated one on both sides)
*Facing a Cincinnati team that has historically been very good at home on a 10AM start time on a short week following a Monday night game in the Clink (Yes, these things happen, but did it have to be a 1PM ET start? Larger issue, but another piece of interesting scheduling)
*Thursday night game on the road yet again (only Thursday nighter at home in the past few years coming in the mandated SB champ home opener)
Clearly these observations aren't the cause of poor OL play and the many other issues that have reared their ugly heads this season, but you have to wonder if the league wanted to punish the Hawks a bit for giving the SB away in that fashion to the team that they didn't want to see win it all. Looking back, those effects are compounded given the judge's ruling and subsequent embarrassment for the Ginger Hammer and the NFL yet again.
The NFL punishing the Hawks isn't the prime angle of these ramblings, but also wanted this to serve as a big picture perspective on where the team is right now and draw some interesting parallels and storylines. Also, wanted to get these thoughts on paper from a racing mind.
What will transpire in the coming weeks and months will be fascinating, as we are at a potential precipice of this team as we know it.
