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Week 12 - Sunday 27th November 2005 |
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With 4 seconds left in regulation Jay Feeley trotted on to the pitch past Hawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu to attempt the game winning 40 yard field goal. In halting English Lofa whispered "Good Luck"."Thanks" Feeley replied before being immediately arrested by a troop of German guards. Well not quite but I do believe there are some quite angry New Yorkers waiting for him though I doubt they'll shoot him in The Meadowlands when his back was turned.
Although I'm billing this as the Great Escape that doesn't mean I thought we were lucky. In another game neither of the Giants touchdowns would have counted and when it came to the lottery of their own fumbles they can count themselves fortunate to have recovered both. What luck we did have we earned ourselves.
Going in the Giants had the 6th best rush defense and the 27th best pass defense and we certainly started off playing to those stats with Holmgren going pass pass pass. The success rate wasn't perfect but we did get the games first score as Hasselbeck lofted up a 35 yarder to Joe Jurevicius who out muscled a Giant at the goal line. 7-0 to the Hawks through the first quarter.
The crowd at Qwest Field was louder than it has ever been and it showed as the Giants went for 5 false start penalties on one possession backing them right up and giving the Seahawks great field position.
Just as the Hawks advanced into Giants territory Bobby Engram fumbled the ball a split second before his knee hit the turf and the Giants recovered. On the next drive Eli Manning dropped the ball and it looked certain to be a Seahawk ball but somehow the Giants recovered again and shortly after kicked a field goal for 7-3 when it could have been so different.
What happened next was also of great significance. Manning hit Shockey in the end zone and shortly thereafter Marquand Manuel separated him from what limited sense he has and also the ball. Now there were question marks over the eyesight of the official who signalled the touchdown and I can only think that he satisfied the NFL by 'seeing' and picking up a pin from the floor 5 paces away.
The same applies to the later Giants TD so I'll say it now. There wasn't enough 'incontrovertible' evidence from the TV pictures to overturn the call but it should never have been called a TD in the first place. Sure the Giants would have challenged but they'd have lost on the TV evidence. As it was the Seahawks trailed 10-7 at the half.
There was then a flashback to week 1 in Jacksonville. On 3rd and long Hasselbeck scrambled and flung a desperate pass on the dive only to hit a Giant right on the numbers. The Seahawks forced a 3 and out but the Giants added another field goal for 13-7.
We weren't playing the Cardinals or the Rams and this was as tough as we could have expected from a team 7-3 going in but the Hawks did what they've done all year and dug in hard. Not literally starting tunnels called Tom, Dick and Harry but by playing solid defense and giving the ball to Alexander.
Sandwiched between an incomplete pass to Engram, Shaun broke runs of 7, 4, 9 and 20 before Matt found Jurevicius again for the touchdown and 14-13. JJ has only been a Seahawk for a few months but he's quickly shooting up my list of favourite all time receivers. His season total stands at 7 and only Steve Smith and Marvin Harrison have more receiving TD's in the NFL.
1 point games make me nervous but I hadn't seen anything yet. As it happened the Seahawks stretched the lead with a by now trademark 80 yard drive. Hasselbeck was perfect for 65 of the yards with Alexander adding the other 15. The fact that the last 4 was on a 4th and 1 when he looked to have been stopped before spinning out and lunging for the line and the touchdown hardly helped my nerves. It was a fantastic play and he became only the 4th player in NFL history to have back to back 20+ rushing TD seasons. 21-13.
Sadly the Giants did not want to play the part of hopeless prison guards who get their comeuppance. Back they came with a drive of their own and Manning found Toomer at the rear of the end zone. Now I'm happy to be corrected on this but I was sure the 2 officials closest to it ruled him out but from somewhere pin man said he was in. It was challenged and I refer you to my previous answer. To make matters worse the Giants completed the 2 point conversion for 21-21.
On the Seahawk possession with less than 2 minutes remaining a 15 yard Alexander run was called back for holding and the 25 yard differential looked to be crucial as the Giants returned the punt to midfield.
I'm quite pleased that I didn't know this stat in advance but prior to this game Giants kicker Jay Feely was perfect on kicks from 40-49 yards. Maybe Jeremy Shockey knew it as he was celebrating to the camera on the sidelines before the kick was even up. The smile was wiped off his face faster than Captain Hilts was returned to the Cooler as the weak kick drifted wide left and overtime it was.
We were in the tunnel with our disguises and our suitcases but damn it we were short of the trees and it would be a long time before we were out of them.
Receiving the ball first the Seahawks couldn't move it and gave it back to the Giants in good position. Then a 23 yard completion to Burress on 3rd and 13 put the ball at the Seahawk 31 and it looked game over again but next it was the 36 yard line as the crowd noise caused another false start penalty.
On the next play Shockey dropped a 10 yard catch but it was ruled a catch on the field. With the instant replay officials snoozing Mike Holmgrem was forced to use a timeout to give them enough time to look at it. No catch was the result and the Seahawks stood firm to force a kick from 54 yards. I never though he'd make this one and it fell about 5 yards short as the Seahawks gave thanks to the crowd who'd backed the drive up by just that amount.
On the Seahawks next drive Mike Holmgren passed on a chance to have Josh Brown kick a 58 yard attempt but the attempt to pin them back failed as the punt just made the end zone.
From the 20 we had the sickening sight of Tiki Barber breaking a 49 yard run right back to the 31 exactly where the Giants had been a few minutes before. Once again the Hawks stood firm and allowed only a further 4 yards to be added and a 45 yard attempt. Well it certainly looked a good kick on my TV but unbelievably it was short. They would have dug a pit for Jay Feely to hide in but what would they have done with the soil?
Like a Steve McQueen motor bike ride for the Swiss border the Seahawks eventually got things moving. Facing 1st and 20 after a penalty, Hass threw a 38 yard pass to DJ Hackett. Alexander than added runs of 8, 13 and 2 to significantly do what the Giants had failed to do and make any field goal attempt not much more than a chip shot.
Josh Brown prefers to kick from the left hash mark but he missed a potential game winner left against the Redskins and again missed left from the left mark last week so it looked very much at Mike Holmgren's insistence that this kick was centred. It would be a 36 yard attempt.
Up the kick went and once again it was trailing left but from the centre it was good enough. Amazingly, breathlessly and noisily (in my house and I'm sure everywhere) the Seahawks had won.
In the Seahawks version of The Great Escape Steve McQueen would have made the leap over the wire. How far over the wire the Seahawks can go remains to be seen but it sure is good to be a Seahawks fan today.
Andrew Robinson (HawksHead)
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