Seahawks D burned by too many big plays

Published 10:39 pm Sunday, September 14, 2008

SEATTLE — The 2007 Seattle Seahawks spent so much time talking the talk, and walking the walk, that their ability to cut down on opposing teams’ big plays seemed ingrained in them.

But when it counted the most in Sunday afternoon’s 2008 home opener against the San Francisco 49ers, the Seahawks defenders just couldn’t stop the bleeding.

Twice on third-down plays in crucial situations, the Seahawks gave up long pass plays from first-year starter J.T. O’Sullivan to longtime veteran Isaac Bruce, and that proved to be the difference in the 49ers’ 33-30 overtime win at Qwest Field.

“Not good,” safety Deon Grant said of the big plays that paved the way to San Francisco’s Sunday upset. “We gave up too many. We had the game won plenty of times, and we let them score.”

Too often, Bruce was at the center of the action.

He caught a 63-yard pass to set up the 49ers’ first touchdown in the second quarter. That helped San Francisco climbed out of an early 14-0 hole and get back into the game.

When the game got tight, Bruce broke the Seahawks’ backs again. His 30-yard reception on third-and-14 helped keep alive a fourth-quarter drive that resulted in the game-tying field goal.

A few minutes later, on what would go down as the only drive of the overtime session, Bruce caught a 33-yard pass on third-and-7.

“I still think we pretty much controlled the game. It was just a couple big plays,” Seahawks linebacker Julian Peterson said. “They couldn’t really move the ball. They got a couple plays. If it weren’t for those, they never would’ve gotten past the 50.”

On four receptions, the 35-year-old Bruce accounted for almost half — 153 — of O’Sullivan’s 321 passing yards. A former St. Louis Rams star, Bruce now has 65 receptions and 966 yards in 14 career games against the Seahawks.

“He’s always been a good player,” Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant said. “I got to play him twice every year in St. Louis, and he goes hard every game. I don’t care what the score was, he’d go hard.

“… He’s been playing for like 14, 15 years, and he’s still got it.”

Whether it was Isaac Bruce or Bruce Wayne, the biggest issue for the Seahawks was the sudden inability to stop big plays. The 2007 unit allowed just 19 pass plays of 30 yards or longer, and yet Sunday’s game saw Seattle yield three.

“It’s a little alarming,” Peterson said. “We’ve just got to see what plays they were. I know sometimes it was a blitz where they just threw it up. (O’Sullivan) made some plays, and we made plays.”

O’Sullivan became the first 49ers quarterback since 2004 to pass for 300 yards, while he became only the fourth opposing QB to reach that milestone against a Seattle defense since the 2007 opener.

“You have to take your hat off to him and give him credit,” Seattle’s Grant said. “Sometimes we had coverage downfield, and he still made things happen. He got loose and made some good throws and scrambled and got some key first downs going.”

Seattle’s defensive players knew that their performance would be the key to the team’s success on Sunday, when the offense was playing without five offensive starters. And yet the Seahawks couldn’t stop San Francisco when it counted most.

“At times we looked good,” said middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu, who played with a cast protecting an injured right thumb, “and at times we looked terrible.”

That lack of consistency seemed too familiar to fans of the 2007 defense that played great at home but often struggled on the road. The difference this year is that Seattle’s D has given up far too many long pass plays for comfort.

“We’ve got a great defense, despite what we displayed out there,” Tatupu said. “We’ll get it turned around. But it’s got to happen soon.”