SI.com is reporting the Mariners will hire former Indians skipper Eric Wedge. I am not too excited about this move. Wedge is another “yes-man” able to do what the upper management says. The problem with this franchise is Lincoln and Armstrong. With those two dinosaurs running things, the M’s don’t have a chance. Yawn.
Have a nice weekend.
-Joe
Filed under Mariners
So Felix Hernandez goes 8 innings, gives up 2 hits, one run, a HR to league leader Jose Bautista. No shame in that. Problem is the Mariners continue their epic fail of a season and score exactly zero runs for Felix, yet again. I have never heard of a pitcher who gets less support from his teammates. The man continually goes out there week after week, throws quality game after quality game, never complains except when they pull him early, and plays with fire and intensity. Felix is my hero.
Will he win the Cy Young? He will. I guarantee it. The sympathy vote. Enough national writers know about how terrible the Mariners offense is, today was a prime example. If Felix plays for the Yankess he has 23 wins right now, maybe more, and is literally the king of NYC. It’s impressive how he can get himself up for games that mean nothing and considering the Mariners have been playing meaningless games since April, it’s amazing. Statistically it’s an easy choice, the win-loss record that may be his downfall, but pitchers have almost no control over that. Every category he has control over he is dominating.
Could Seattle be home to a Cy Young winner with a sub .500 record, and an NFL division winner with the same? Could happen. Only in Seattle.
-Joe
Filed under Mariners
I am a glutton for punishment, so I am typing out my thoughts after witnessing my favorite school get absolutely destroyed by a vastly superior football team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. There are a million different directions to go with this, but I’ll just touch on a few things that I am steamed about:
Demeanor – The Huskies came out flat and emotionless. I was shocked by this. How on earth can a team come out this way in front of their home crowd on national TV? They all looked like deer in the headlights. Inexcusable.
Special Teams – Simply put, the kickoff coverage was an embarrassment. Throughout the first half, Nebraska had tremendous field position. This put undue pressure on the defense. The outcome was short fields for Nebraska, leading to scores.
Wide Receivers – Terrible. I don’t care how good Nebraska’s secondary is. 4 receptions. FOUR. I have been hearing for a while now that Jake and Huskies offense has so many great weapons at WR. Well, not today, and that is too bad. Today was an opportunity to step up and play on a big stage and prove they are ready for the bigtime. Instead they flopped.
Playcalling – I really hate to even go here, because I have been a huge fan of Coach Sark’s playcalling, even if it has been erratic over the past season. Today though, I have major issues. It was painfully clear early on the Huskies could not get a passing game going. They could run the ball. On the Huskies 3rd possession, the Dawgs ran the ball down Nebraska’s throat, en-route to an 80 yard drive for a touchdown. I realize defenses make adjustments, so I am sure there is a reason the Huskies went away from the run, but over the next 3 Husky possessions, the Dawgs ran 11 plays for a net 9 yards. Very few runs. Mostly disastrous passing attempts. Momentum swung back to Nebraska during these possessions. Would have loved to see the Dawgs run more early in the game.
Tackling – Beyond bad. Atrocious. There’s not much to say here. Anyone who watched the game knows what I am talking about. Whiffs. Ole’s. Bad angles. You name it, the Dawgs botched it.
Of course Jake Locker had a bad game, and he is taking most of the heat for the loss, but he’s low on my list. It’s easy to take pot-shots at the high profile QB, and there are plenty of Locker haters out there having a fun time. The loss today was a team effort. Every aspect of the game was terrible. Everyone is responsible, top down. I think Coach Sark should take the most heat, he is getting paid, he is the face of the program, this is on he and the coaches. This is not a bad thing, I want my head coach to take the heat rather than the players. I still have a lot of hope in Sark and the coaches to rebuild this program. Yes, they are still rebuilding, games like today prove they are far from being an elite program again.
Right now, unfortunately, 6-6 is the best they will do. The Pac-10 is a grinder, and they have brutal road games waiting for them, starting in two weeks at USC. The next two weeks better be spent on the basics and self reflection. I think too many people around the program have been reading their own press clippings rather than playing with an earn everything mentality. Despite all of this, I am still hopeful this team can make a run in the unpredictable Pac-10. Anything can happen any week. The road ahead is a very difficult one, here’s hoping this group of Dawgs find themselves and play real, true Husky football.
-Joe
Filed under Huskies Football, UW Game Recaps
Coming into the Seahawks game today, I honestly had no idea what to expect. I have been supportive of the new direction Pete Carroll and John Schneider are taking the Hawks in. I really feel I have no choice. When a team wins 9 games in two years, and look really bad doing it, blowing up and starting over is a good course of action. Because of this, expectations are hard to gauge.
The 49ers have been the chic pick to win the division all off season. They have a stout defense, some nice skill position players, a solid offensive line, Frank Gore and, uh, oh yeah, Alex Smith. Somehow the fact that Alex Smith has done absolutely nothing in his pro career was lost all the experts. Maybe because the rest of the division is so bad, people figured he was the lesser of all QB evils. I have never been a believer in Smith, and have been vocal that the 49ers will go as far as Smith takes them, no matter how good their defense is. Today was a perfect example of this fact, even though the Niner defense wasn’t great either.
The shocking 31-6 waxing the Hawks put on SF was a joyful surprise. I thought all along the Hawks had a shot to win, simply by virtue of the home field advantage and first game adrenaline, but I never thought they would completely dominate in all areas of the game.
Defensively, the Hawks shined. Early in the game while the offense was still feeling out the Niners defense, the Seattle defense spent a lot of time on the field. Bending, bending, but not ultimately breaking. Three times SF was in the red zone, only coming away with 6 points. They held Frank Gore to only 38 yards on 17 carries, and forced Alex Smith into an interception. Because the defense was able to hold the 49ers down, they gained confidence and became extremely aggressive as the game wore on. Right off the bat in the 3rd quarter, Marcus Trufant picked off Smith for a TD, which in many ways was the finals straw for SF, they had no fight after that. The Seahawks sent blitzes from every conceivable angle. Chris Clemons and Red Bryant were in Smith’s face all day long, and the secondary did a great job covering and hiding looks. Mid way through the 3rd quarter, I had the distinct feeling the game was on ice, Smith had zero confidence in his line, Gore was constantly getting stuffed, the WRs were unable to get YAC and the 12th Man was bringing serious noise. The defense was my MVP for the game. They played with their hair on fire, all the while playing with discipline and control. That is a scary combo for opposing offenses.
Offensively, the Hawks warmed up as the minutes ticked by. The first play of the game, Matt Hasselbeck threw as bad an INT as you could throw. But, like the good veteran he is, Matt bounced back and made play after play, hitting Mike Williams, Butler, Carlson, Branch for various gains. The running game was efficient, not great by any means, but able to get small gains. Overall the offense was efficient, not making mistakes, gaining first downs, and exposing mismatches in the secondary. I would like to see the running game get better, but seeing Matt Hasselbeck look like his old self was so great to see. A healthy and aggressive Hasselbeck will spell success for the Hawks.
Having Lofa Tatupu, Matt Hasselbeck and Marcus Trufant healthy and fast makes this team a team that can indeed win the NFC West. That is not the kool aid talking either. Considering how bad the 49ers looked today, and how pathetic the Rams and Cards looked as well, the Hawks are sitting pretty after one week. Injuries are the key, they must stay healthy. Denver will be a very difficult game, Mile High is a brutal place to play for road teams. Can Seattle go in and win? If they play defense like they did today, they can be in any game in any venue.
Game 1 of the Pete Carroll era is a smashing success. I hope Seahawks fans (myself included) will enjoy this. Just take it all in and enjoy the week. Please don’t be the boo hoo naysayers you have been all off season. Put on your Hawks colors and get ready for Denver. Talk some smack, have fun, dream big. This is Seattle, bad things are always around the corner, so let’s get on the bandwagon now and have a blast!
-Joe
Filed under Seahawks Football
Reports all over the place that offensive line coach of the Seahawks, Alex Gibbs, has resigned. This is shocking news. Speculation is the Hawks will release OG Ben Hamilton, who Gibbs brought in to help mentor Russell Okung. So much for that plan. This development is mystifying on so many levels. I understand how a guy can resign over health issues, which if that is the case, I hope he is fine, but it also could be the fact that it is becoming more and more apparent by the days and weeks that this franchise is rebuilding, and Gibbs may not have the patience for that. Wish he would have figured this out when he decided to come back to coaching. Ridiculous!
-Joe
Filed under Seahawks Football
The news yesterday and today is that T.J. Houshmanzadeh has been released by the Seahawks, additionally, today, Jason LaCanfora is reporting they have released J.P. Losman, leaving Seattle with two quarterbacks on the depth chart. Obviously this will not be the case going into week 1. I fully expect the Hawks to sign a 3rd stringer soon, because as we know, Patrick Willis, whom they play in the opener, has a knack for putting QB’s in the hospital.
On the Housh front, I am fully in support of cutting him. I know his defenders will say he is a competitor and wants to win, hence his brash behavior, something Seattle sports needs because we are a soft sports town, and the Hawks are a soft team. News flash: He was on the team last season that was the softest I have ever seen. Huffing and puffing, undercutting your offensive coordinator, and going on local sports radio stations ripping media members who are paid to critique and give their opinions was chump and frankly embarrassing to the franchise (I include Deion Branch in my criticism as well…). Teams in the NFL with distracting, big ego diva players will not go far. (Unless you are the 1990’s Dallas Cowboys who had HOFs all over the field, they are the exception…). The Seahawks are light years from that. The Hawks need team players who keep their mouths shut and go out and let their play do the talking. I could give a rip what Housh did in Cincy. What he did in Seattle was meaningless. I’d rather have Mike Williams, Deon Butler, Golden Tate. They have something to prove and will play hard and won’t belly-ache about getting the ball, then disguise that opinion by saying “oh, I just want to win, I’m not bitter”. Sure, never heard that before, c’mon.
The Seahawks have a long way to go to be in serious playoff contention, so a move like this I think is healthy in purging the team of problems and looking to the future. Is it a drop off in talent? Probably, but I think it will be an increase in moral and team chemistry. This is Carroll and Schneider’s team. Any time they cut ties with the Ruskell era, I am all for it. I am fine with the Josh Wilson trade as well. If they don’t think he fits, better deal him, or he’ll be a problem as well. Wilson has some talent, but people are overreacting like the guy was a pro-bowler. Again, the Hawks will be thin in the secondary, but this regime wants to see if Walter Thurmond can play. I like the move. I think Thurmond has all the tools to be a good NFL player.
Overall? Addition by subtraction.
-Joe
Filed under Seahawks Football
Come here you big moose
Filed under M's Transaction News, Mariners
Tacoma Rainiers games are a fun time anyway, but now more than ever. With Pineda and Ackely there now, the future is looking bright (I am trying to be Mr. Optimistic here!).
Filed under M's Transaction News, Mariners
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