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Week 17 - Sunday December 31st 2006 |
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The good news was the performance of Matt Hasselbeck who was more on the mark than in recent weeks with no interceptions and a 93.5 passer rating. The fact that he is now playing without his knee brace and his broken finger healing is a cause for minor celebration.
The bad news was the injuries to CB's Kelly Herndon and Jimmy Williams saw them both put on IR. For a team that has struggled in pass coverage already to lose your starter and back up in the same game does not bode well but if the Patriots can do it with Troy Brown...
If there was a problem with the Seahawks it was that of failing to convert enough red zone possessions into touchdowns and it was evident on the first drive as a trip to the Tampa 11 only went backwards and a Josh Brown field goal.
DJ Hackett had another great game and on the Seahawks next drive he pulled in a 26 yard catch despite having an illegal contact penalty called on him. Stevens caught a pass at the one and Alexander took 3 attempts to get it in he did in a run to the wide left for 10-0 Hawks.
It's been a while since we established an early lead and the Seahawks gave up the advantage fairly quickly. Allowing a run of 15 yards by Pittman and then a 44 yard pass to Joey Galloway (the play on which Herndon broke his ankle) set up Galloway to score on a 3rd and 4 from the 4.
Alexander than fumbled on the Seahawks next possession but it was a pity that Steve Raible wasn't in the replay booth as he was insisting he was down before the ball came loose.
It was all looking very worrying as the Bucs advanced to the Seattle 5 but they then returned the favour which allowed Boulware to pick it up and dance to the Seahawks 37. The way he went it's a wonder he doesn't play RB as he evaded tackle after tackle.
Just before the half, Matt took us on another drive that saw him throw 2 TD passes. First DJ Hackett in tight coverage and fighting for the ball came up with a great catch and dived forwards for a TD only to have it reversed as an incomplete pass on a review. The official blew the call big style which seemed to come from a lack of knowledge of the rules.
Matt then went back to DJ for a 21 yard pass on 3rd down which he finished off with a 5 yard pass to DJ who wasn't the intended receiver but he got open and got the ball (pictured above).
17-7 at the half and the Seahawks just controlled the ball in a ruthlessly efficient style in the second half limiting the Bucs to only 3 drives, one of which was over on the first play with an Alstott fumble.
That gave the Hawks the ball on the Tampa 11 but it had to be left to Josh Brown to knock over 3 points. He would do the same in the 4th quarter when Matt got us inside the 10 again for a final score of 23-7.
This Seahawks win and an embarrassing Dallas defeat at home to Detroit offers no guarantees of a victory in the play offs but at the very least it provides some momentum to cling to as we enter the next phase of the season.
HawksHead 2/1/07
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The
Seahawks rounded off the regular season on New Years Eve in the warmest
playing conditions experienced all season and gave just half of an
intriguing glimpse that they might be warming up for the post season.