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Sunday 1st January 2006 |
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If the Superbowl is the Holy Grail for the Seahawks then this game was definitely Monty Python.
With Tiki Barber having a huge game for the Giants the previous night the only number on anyone's mind was 54 - the number of yards Shaun Alexander needed for the rushing title. I'm sure Mike Holmgren would have preferred him to sit on the bench for the entire game but when there are titles to be won then Shaun Alexander can be brave.
Sing: "Bravely bold Alexander rode forth from Camelot. He was not afraid to die, oh brave Alexander. He was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways, brave, brave, brave, brave Alexander. He was not in the least bit scared to be mashed into a pulp, or to have his eyes gouged out, and his elbows broken. To have his kneecap split, and his body burned away - just as long as he got that record."
The Seahawks didn't so much have drives as series of set pieces aimed at getting the record which to be fair everyone on the team wanted him to get as a recognition for all their efforts. Guard Steve Hutchinson was keeping count of the yards in his head so they knew how close they were getting. It was remorseless but it wasn't a necessarily fast way of getting there.
There was actually another number on Seahawk minds and that was 1 - that being the number of touchdowns Shaun needed to take the single season touchdown record outright. After having run 7 times out of 9 on a 69 yard drive to the Packers 1 there was really only one outcome and Shaun ran it in for number 28 of the season.
If anyone cared that made the score 7-6 for the Seahawks early in the second quarter. The Packers then scored a touchdown sandwiched in between 2 ineffective Seahawk drives that saw a few more yards ticked off but precious little else.
With just over 2 minutes left in the half the Seahawks stopped the Packers and got the ball back. No-one wanted the side show to continue into the 2nd half which it would have done if the record had not been reached but there was no need to worry.
Consecutive runs of 3 yards, 6 yards and another 3 were enough to clinch the title and a further 5 were added for good luck in case of any adjustments by the NFL statistics departments. Matt then got to throw the ball twice for 9 and 16 yards before Shaun broke a 12 yard run and was approaching the Packers 10 when he fumbled. It was actually his 5th fumble of the season but the first one he had lost and so the Seahawks regular season effectively ended as it had begun with a dropped ball. 7-13 for the Packers at the half.
Sing: "When danger reared its ugly head, he bravely turned his tail and fled. Yes, brave Alexander turned about, and valiantly, he chickened out. Bravely taking to his feet, he beat a very brave retreat. A brave retreat by brave Alexander."
Just in case anyone is missing the joke here I am Shaun Alexander's biggest fan in the UK and that is OFFICIAL!
Seneca Wallace came out for the second half as did every sort of back up player you could care to mention and if Seneca Wallace never does anything else in the NFL he can remember his 71 yard drive at Lambeau Field in January which he completed with a 5 yard pass to Jurevicius. Classy guy that he is JJ recovered the ball after his celebration and handed it to Seneca back on the sidelines.
It might have been nice if the Seahawks could have conjured another 3 TD's for Jurevicius as that would have made him the NFL season leader in receiving touchdowns. What an outstanding player he has been this season with 10 TD's and no drops. The 1 year contract he signed indicates that the Seahawks were not entirely sure about him and maybe rightly so seeing he had only 13 career TD's prior to this year but you can bet they'll be scrambling to tie him up for another couple or three seasons.
The rest of the match degenerated into a bit of a farce as Seneca standing behind a back up line was blitzed and battered whilst the officials were so keen to play a part in Favre's potential farewell were throwing phantom flags. On 3rd and long he was sacked for a 12 yard loss by Bryce Fisher but as he went down he stood on Fisher's leg. Yep, that's a flag for tripping! Even Favre seemed embarrassed!
As
Mike Holmgren said to the official who threw the flag "I don't want to
talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in
your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of
elderberries." Thanks to that penalty he eventually completed a touchdown pass and 14 -20 Packers. Both teams added field goals for the final score of 17-13.
With the Seahawks field goal coming in the last 2 minutes we lined up for an onside kick. The kick bounced out of bounds but I hope and pray that we don't have to line up in an onside kick formation in the play offs.
So the Seahawks left Lambeau awaiting a date with Monty Pythons 'Bridgekeeper' in the play offs.
"Who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see."
As the script goes:
"Sir
Lancelot: Ask me the questions, bridgekeeper. I am not afraid.
Here's to hoping that the answer to the 3rd question is Seahawk Blue.
Andrew Robinson (HawksHead) (In need of a bye week)
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