WEEK 1 SEAHAWKS GAME IN REVIEW

Note To The 49ers: AND STAY DOWN!!!

I hate to toot my own horn, but BEEP MOTHER F***ING BEEP! It killed me the week leading up to this game having to listen to how great San Fransisco was going to be this year, how Alex Smith is more confident than ever, how amazing Patrick Willis is, and Crabtree and Vernon Davis, and Frank Gore..and..and...and. Little was said about Seattle, granted little was known about Seattle, but that worked to their advantage on Sunday, as the Seahawks dominated the 49ers in a 31-6 route!

The start of the game had pits in the stomachs of all Seattle fans. For the second season in a row Matt Hasselbeck has thrown and interception on the first possession of the game, giving SF the ball deep in Seattle territory. That's where the Niner highlights end.

Seattle Defense was the star of the game in my opinion. They were fast, disruptive, spirited, and tenacious. The only allowed San Fransisco into the redzone 3 times during the game. They held SF to 2 field goals, and only 1of 15 on third down conversions. I bet Carroll was happy he resigned Jordan Babineaux after cutting him earlier the previous week, as he had an interception in the game. Marcus Trufant also had an interception which he ran back for a touch down.

In the spirit of tooting my own horn however, I would like to point out the defenses ability to keep Frank Gore in check. I said if they could stop Gore they could beat the Niners, and that's just what they did. Actually they shut him down, allowing Gore only 38 yards on 17 carries. Furthermore, it was blatant that Alex Smith is not the leader Mike Singletary is pushing him to be, he didn't make the throws he needed to , and it was clear on the 4th n 6 pass to the  wide open FB where Smith threw the ball behind the player resulting in a turn over on downs.

What was up with that BTW? San Fransisco went for it so many times on 4th down I thought I was watching a Madden game. It showed no respect for our defense and even less confidence in their defense. I don't mind going for it on 4th down, sometimes, but I can't stand coaches who do that shit all the time. That's NOT how the game is played, and clearly its NOT how the game is won!

Now to the offense. It took a while to get rolling, which seems to be the case for the Seahawks in the past. Seattle only had possession of the ball for 4 of the first 23 minutes of the game, for only 11 yards total offense. That all changed half way thru the 2nd quarter however, when Matt began to exploit to aggressive nature of the 49ers defense. Matt pump faked his way to going 18-23 for 170 yards and 2TD passing and 1TD running.

I held my breath on the 1yard TD run by Matt to give Seattle their first score and put them up 7-6, as flashbacks of last years game in San Fransisco flooded my mind. That was the play where Matt attempted to run a ball in, and was cracked in the ribs, an injury he never fully recovered from all season. Things were different this time however, and the momentum spoke to it.

Hasselbecks 2 TD were to Butler and Branch, and he spread the ball around hitting Williams and Obamanu as well. The offense didn't have an impressive drive necessarily, but they took advantage of the opportunities given to them, and scored quickly. The running game faltered, but wasn't disastrous. The play calling was directed toward what SF was giving up and it just so happened SF defense was geared to stopped the run game. I look for that aspect to improve with the return of  Okung at left tackle as well.

Finally, I just want to take a minute to acknowledge Pete Carroll and the 12th man. The atmosphere fed the players, fed the coaching staff and they players and coaching staff fed the fans. It was a dynamic and invigorated game fueled by the 12th man. When things looked bad early the crowd roared louder and louder, it was the enthusiasm of the 12th man that let me know we were going to win this game early. Whoever said Seattle isn't a football town can eat shit and die as far as I'm concerned, it should go good with the crow the local and national media is eating this Monday as well, as NO ONE picked Seattle to win this game, no one but THE SPORTS MRS.

Quote of the Day : "You win four preseason games and you start to feel pretty good about yourself," he said. "And you maybe you begin to read the press clippings a little bit and you begin to think about we got the division won. Obviously, we don't."          - Mike Singletary, Head Coach San Fransisco 49ers

GO HAWKS!!!!