Seahawks vs. Broncos game thread

Published 9:51 pm Saturday, August 22, 2009

Seahawks now up 27-10 after three quarters

Big special teams play has helped the Seahawks build a 17-point lead. After the second-team defense created a turnover early in the half, the punt coverage team followed suit to lead to another score, a 52-yard Brandon Coutu field goal. Nick Reed also got his hands on a punt to give Seattle a short field.

This will probably be it until after the game unless something crazy happens.

Thanks for reading.

Seahawks lead 14-10 at halftime

Seattle took full advantage of Ken Lucas’ interceptions, driving 80 yards on 14 plays to take a 14-10 lead just before halftime.

Hasselbeck, who was sacked for the third time of the half on the drive, was 9 for 12 on the drive, including a one-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

Some quick observations on the half:

—Hasselbeck looks sharp, and after an early miscue with Houshmandzadeh on the first pass play of the game, the two seem to be in synch. Hasselbeck went 16 for 23 for 171 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the half, and is probably done for the night.

—Hasselbeck has taken a few hits, and seems to be bouncing back from all of them just fine.

—Sean Locklear, the man who has to fill in for Walter Jones, is the reason Hasselbeck has taken at least a couple of those hits, and so far isn’t doing a lot to ease the fears of Seahawks fans worried about Jones’ knee injury.

—The secondary, aside from Lucas’ pick, hasn’t done much to make anyone forget about the injured Marcus Trufant. Lucas could have had a pick on Denver’s first drive, but couldn’t make the catch, and one play later the Broncos scored.

The good news for Seattle is that Denver isn’t torching the Seahawks deep despite the 177 passing yards. Instead the Broncos are killing Seattle with short passes.

—Rookie Deon Butler so far is much more impressive as a receiver than a kick returner. His two catches for 47 yards and score look a lot better than his two kick returns that haven’t gotten outside of the 20.

Still 10-7

Seattle’s defense is still looking a little shaky, but did get a turnover to end a long Denver drive. The Broncos managed to 86 yards on their last possession without a point thanks to a Ken Lucas interception on fourth-and-goal from the one.

Seattle now has 2:57 left in the half to try to tie the game or take the lead.

Denver leads 10-7 after one quarter

Seattle’s three-and-out gave Denver a short field on its second possession, and the Broncos capitalized with a 53-yard field goal. Denver QB Kyle Orton (remember, three picks in his last game) was 9 for 11 for 92 yard that quarter.

Tie game, 7-7

Denver answered Seattle’s scoring drive with one of its own. Kyle Orton, who struggled mightily in his last preseason game throwing three picks, was six for eight for 63 yards, including a three-yard touchdown to Brandon Stokley.

The Seahawks were pinned inside their own 20 on the next drive, and went nowhere. Matt Hasselbeck did survive his first hit of the preseason, however, popping up quickly after a third-down sack.

So far two areas of concern for this team—the run game and the secondary—aren’t off to a good start, as is evident by Orton’s numbers above as well as Seattle’s eight rushing yards on two drives.

Seahawks go deep to grab a 7-0 lead

Seattle got the ball first, and Matt Hasselbeck connected on five of six passes on the drive for 64 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown to rookie Deon Butler.

Hasselbeck missed T.J. Houshmandzadeh on the first pass of the drive, but connected with his new receiver twice on the drive, including a 13-yard completion on third down to keep the drive alive.