Football gods finally smile on Seahawks
Published 10:59 pm Sunday, September 23, 2007
SEATTLE — Even Matt Hasselbeck called it “my catch.”
Yet, had the bumbling officiating crew ruled it a catch, the Seahawks would have taken the ball, second and about 15, around midfield. Somehow, though, the zebras inconceivably called it an incomplete pass after they reviewed what referee Ed Hochuli announced was an unreviewable call.
Well, OK then.
The Seahawks gladly took the early Christmas present. Four plays later, Hasselbeck hooked up with Nate Burleson for Sunday’s game-winning touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals.
What breaks the Seahawks didn’t get in the previous game against Arizona, a 23-20 loss punctuated by a fumble late in the game on a handoff between Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander, they received in spades against the Bengals.
Every fortunate turn for the Seahawks late in the game, and there were many, didn’t happen the previous Sunday against the Cardinals.
The catch, or whatever it was, was one.
“My catch?” Hasselbeck asked, looking like an eighth-grader who’d just gotten away with toilet-papering his teacher’s house. “Had I caught it, I probably would have scored. I was gone.”
Oh, it was a catch, all right. Defensive end Michael Myers got a paw on a Hasselbeck pass and sent it back to him as if it had been Fed-Exed. Hasselbeck caught it, took two steps and was slammed to the ground at midfield.
Yet, somehow, it’ll go into the books as an incomplete pass instead of a 5-yard loss.
Maybe the Seahawks were due. Is there an explanation for why Hasselbeck and Alexander slammed into each other, fumbled and ended Seattle’s comeback bid against the Cardinals seven days ago? How many thousands of times have they made similar exchanges in games and practices without a hitch?
Clearly, the football gods made it up to the Seahawks by dumping on the Bengals. And they saved it for the game’s final 212 minutes.
The follies started immediately after the Bengals took a 21-17 lead with 2:48 remaining.
First, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis brain-locked into deciding to go for a two-point conversion, a debatable decision at least, because it would have meant a difference of a five- or six-point lead.
Lewis’ explanation: “By going for two, it gives us an opportunity late in the game to put different things on the table.”
Uhhhh, OK.
Second, Bengals kicker Shayne Graham booted the ball out of bounds on the Seahawks 13. The penalty gave Seattle superb field position on its own 40, with 2:48 still left.
“That was big,” Hasselbeck said. “The better your field position is, the better your (scoring) percentages are. The statistics are just ridiculous. No clock ran off. That’s a momentum-builder.”
Next was Alexander’s 14-yard gain off right tackle on fourth-and-1. The Bengals were ripe for a burning because injuries took some frontline linebackers out of the lineup. That may have contributed to a defensive mix-up. Tackle Sean Locklear pulled to the edge and looked for someone to block, but no Bengal defender was where he normally would be to take Locklear on.
“With their linebacker situation, they went to five down linemen a bunch,” Hasselbeck said. “We were just up there, communicating at the line of scrimmage, with Chris Gray telling everybody what to do, and just running it. Mack (Strong) and Shaun were doing a nice job of adjusting and running hard.”
On the next play, Burleson beat cornerback Jonathan Joseph and Hasselbeck froze safety Madieu Williams with a filthy play fake. The winning TD looked easy.
Even with a 24-21 Seahawk lead, the game was hardly done. Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer already had burned Seattle’s defense for 342 passing yards. With a minute left, Palmer had more than enough time for a final scoring drive.
He didn’t get the chance. The Seahawks got final break. On the kickoff, Alvin Pearman and Lance Laury together flew into returner Glenn Holt, whose fumble sealed the game for Seattle.
“I was running real hard, then I tried to jump over people,” Holt said. “I lost control of the football as soon as the guy’s helmet hit the football. It just popped right out.”
Maybe next week, the gods will deem the Bengals worthy of good fortune.
They’ll certainly be due.
Sports columnist John Sleeper: sleeper@heraldnet.com. To reach Sleeper’s blog, click on “Dangling Participles” at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet.
