Ryan Leaf's Career Still Causing Him Pain

Even six years after retiring from the NFL, Ryan Leaf still suffers from his four disastrous years in pro football. He has taken a leave from his position as Quarterbacks Coach at West Texas A&M because he asked a player for a pain pill. Allegedly, he needed the pill for pain in his wrist caused while playing football.

I'm not sure of the exact pill he asked for but if it was Viacaden, Percocet, or Oxycotton those are the same pills I took while painfully watching his NFL career. In fact, with the amount of Leaf jokes told by UW fans you practically need pain pills at the mere mention of his name.

Leaf is also the men's golf coach at West Texas. I can already picture practice: Take a couple pills, down three beers, then play golf all afternoon under the warm Texas sun. And to think he gets paid for that.

Redskins Hire Jim Zorn As Head Coach

Wow! Just 3 weeks ago he was hired as offensive coordinator, now he is named their head coach. I guess the Redskins are really desperate for a coach since they just hired a former quarterback coach who has no head coaching experience.

Redskins owner Dan Synder is turning the Redskins into a joke of an organization. Hiring both coordianotrs before his head coach, overpaying for free agents, and, now, striking out on finding a head coach so promoting his OC that has been on the job less then 3 weeks.

Jim Zorn is a great QB coach, a great guy, and great football mind. But is he ready to be an NFL head coach? We say no.

Ex-Seattle QB Zorn hired as head coach for Redskins [ESPN]

The Giants Beat Who?

Has a team ever gone from the brink of greatness and history to meaningless so fast? All it took was an Eli Manning-to-Plaxico Burress TD pass and the Patriots were no more important than the Jacksonville Jaguars. Nobody remembers second place. Florida beat who to win the NCAA basketball championship last year? Who’d the Chicago Bears beat in Super Bowl XX? Yesterday, the New York Giants made the 18-0 Patriots meaningless. A team that dominated the NFL this season couldn’t close the deal.

Hello 1935 and 1942 Chicago Bears! We’re the 2007 New England Patriots and we’re here to join your exclusive club: Undefeated teams who couldn’t win the Big Game.

Think about this: A team coached by Tom Couglin and quarterbacked by Eli Manning beat a team coached by “mastermind” Bill Bellichick and quarterbacked by the Greatest QB Ever* Tom Brady. The Patriot offense was confused and frustrated all game, except their go-ahead drive in the 4th quarter. The offensive line that is sending 3 players to the Pro Bowl couldn’t stop the Giant’s front four. The Patriots didn't lose the game, the Giants won the game.

Wasn’t it great to watch Peyton Manning cheering on his brother and hating the Patriots? To see Bill Bellichick leave the field with 1 second left? To hear Rodney Harrision say the Giants made more plays than the Patriots and how if he could have taken some more HGH the Patriots would have won?

31 NFL teams, including the Patriots didn’t bring home the Vince Lombardi Trophy this year. We here in Seattle know about being the best during the regular season but not bringing home the championship. Anyone remember the 2001 116-win Seattle Mariners? Unless your from Seattle you remember Luis Gonzalez and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

So take your rightful place in history New England and tell George Halas hello.

Oh yeah, in Super Bowl XX the Bears beat the same team the Giants beat yesterday. Who was that again?

Seahawks May Play in England

The NFL's new tradition of playing one regular season game in England may include the Seahawks in 2008. The two opponents being discussed are the Jets and Patriots, both of which are a Seahawk's home game.

The Seahawks don't want to play in this game. Not only do they lose a home game, which as we know, is very valuable, but they also have to endure more travel. As the team that travels the most every season anyway, a trip across the big pond would tax this team even more. We don't know if a team can deny the NFL's request to play in the game, we assume they cannot, then the Seahawks may be playing a home game against the defending Super Bowl champions 4,800 miles from Qwest Field.

The league will announce the teams Friday, February 1.

Jets Could Possibly Play in England [Jets Central]

Why 16-0 Doesn't Matter

The New England Patriots are 16-0, the first team in NFL history to win 16 regular season games. Tom Brady and Randy Moss are setting individual records faster then the Celtics are winning games (which if you haven’t been paying attention, is at a ridiculous rate). But in order to be remembered as a truly great team, perhaps the greatest team of all-time, the Patriots have to reach another number: 19.

19-0. That is the only way 16-0 matters. Every team’s goal is to win the Super Bowl. Every player would trade their individual statistics for a championship ring. New England’s won 16 games to put themselves in the best position to win #19. While the Patriots have to be the odds-on favorite to win Super Bowl XLII, there are plenty of things standing in their way. Right now, 16-0 is great but not important. What is important?

-The 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears. Both finished the regular season undefeated, both lost in the championship game. History shows that just because you dominate the regular season it doesn’t necessarily mean you win the championship. New England will forever be grouped with those teams if they don’t bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Foxboro.

-January in Foxboro: The Patriots rely on Brady throwing the ball. If they can’t throw it, their in trouble. The offensive line and running backs have shown nothing, other than the fact that you don’t want to rely on them to win you a game.

-The Indianapolis Colts: The defending Super Bowl champions are quietly waiting in the bushes. They have beaten New England before, Peyton Manning loves beating Belichick, and with all the focus on the Patriots, they have to feel disrespected. Yes, they are a dome team and the Patriots have beaten them in the playoffs before, but after last year that "mystic" may be over.

-19 games: The Patriots have to win 19 games IN A ROW!!!! That is incredible. As only the second team to win 16 games in a season, we know they can stay focused. But now they will be playing back-to-back games against quality opponents, knowing full well that history is on-the-line with every play. Every mistake will be overblown, every great play over celebrated. The desire to go undefeated will drive them, the chance to knock them off will fuel their opponents. Mentally, the Patriots are going to go through possibly the toughest month ever.

Right now, the 2007 New England Patriots and the 1972 Miami Dolphins are in the same category. If the Patriots lose this season, they get acquainted with the ‘34 and ‘42 Bears. If they go 19-0, they stand alone, atop the NFL mountain, the best football team this world has ever seen.

Would Somebody Please Call Warren Moon A Taxi?

Seahawks radio color commentator and NFL Hall of Famer Warren Moon was arrested on suspicion of DUI early Friday morning. This is the second time this year that Moon has been suspected of a DUI.

Your a NFL Hall of Famer, legend at the University of Washington, and have a sweet gig as Seahawks radio analyst and FSN Northwest co-host. What in the hell are you doing driving around drunk, even buzzed? Call a taxi.

Maybe this is a sign that Moon has some deeper things to deal with then just being stupid and driving drunk. Let's hope not, but this is a dangerous path to be on.

Moon arrested on suspicion of DUI [Seattle Times]

2007 NFC West Champions!!!

They just blew a 12-point halftime lead, lost in OT on a field goal, and fell to 4-4 on the season. It looked like they were going to be in a fight for the division until Week 17. Then the offense opened up, the receivers stepped up, and Hasselbeck proved he has to be in the conversation with Tony Romo and Brett Favre for the best QB in the NFC. The Seahawks became dangerous again.

5 wins in a row, 4 straight division championships, 5 straight playoff appearances

Question: Which 3 NFL teams have made the playoffs the last 5 years?
Answer: Indianapolis, New England, Seattle

Critics will say that Seattle plays in the weakest division. Compare the NFC West with the AFC East this season. New England is clearly the best team in the NFL, but the rest of the division is weak. You don't hear any pundits talking about how facing the Bills, Jets, and Dolphins twice a season has helped the Patriots on their undefeated run. If you played 1vs.1, 2vs.2, etc., the NFC West would win 3 of 4 from the AFC East.

Michael Irvin, Sean Salisbury, Tiki Barber, and Dan Marino can say what they want about the Seahawks. Their opinions determine exactly zero games. The only words you need to pay attention to: 4 Straight Division Championships.

Hang up another banner.

What's Up With...

Bryce Fisher!!!

The former Seahawks starting DE was traded to the Titans on Sept. 11th this season for an undisclosed draft pick. We haven't read or heard anything about Fisher lately so we wanted to see how he's been performing this season.

Fisher has played in 6 games this season recording 0 sacks and 5 tackles. It doesn't look like Fisher is getting the playing time he needs to be really effective but he wouldn't have got that here in Seattle either.

Fisher was a great off-the-field guy who was mildly entertaining on his weekly-radio spot with Softy on KJR. The Seahawks made the right decision trading him and allowing Darryl Tapp to start. Tapp has been great this season, 6.5 sacks, 1 INT, and 2 FF. Not to mention he recovered the fumble Sunday that allowed the Seahawks to hold off the Bears.

Photo Courtesy of The Seattle Times

Catching Up!

We have had a very busy week so there has been no posting since Thursday, which is not what we want but it had to happen.

It's Apple Cup week and the birds are already chirping. Jordan Reffett, the Husky DT, had a lot to say about the Cougs. We hope the Cougs shove it to the dawgs, but it isn't looking good.

*Update: Locker is going to start for UW, meaning the Cougar defense needs to play its ass off.

The Seahawks beat a mediocre Bears team on Sunday. They have the Rams this week, which should be a win. That would put them at 7-4 with probably still a 1-game division lead.

The state football playoffs semifinal round is this weekend. In the 4A game across the mountain, Bothell visits Ferris with the winner being the favorite to win the whole thing. In the other game, Lewis & Clark plays Edmonds-Woodway at the Tacoma Dome.

In 3A Skyline and Bellevue both play but in opposite sides of the bracket. This could potentially be a huge championship game if they both win.

Dawg has plenty of yap in him [Seattle PI]

Is Harrington Better Than Vick?

Michael David Smith of Fanhouse thinks so. He compares Harrington to the other QBs he has split time with: Byron Leftwich, Daunte Culpepper, and Jeff Garcia. It looks like Smith handpicked the stats he used in the argument, but the stats don't lie.

As life-long Vick haters we don't have any arguments that someone plays the QB position better than him. The only bad thing about Vick not playing this season is we don't get to watch him humiliate himself every Sunday. The guy is a joke, was always a joke, and will always be a joke.

Is Joey Harrington a better QB than Michael Vick? That is a debatable question. Is Joey Harrington a better person, teammate, and leader than Micheal Vick? That's like asking if Tony Dungy is a better person than Bill Belichick. It's no contest.

Joey Harrington Is Better Than Michael Vick [FanHouse]

Photo from The Onion

What Happened Last Night...

The Seahawks beat a very bad 49ers team and the Cougars B-Ball team wins one game and moves up one spot.

The Seahawks threw it accurately and often in their 24-0 shutout over the 49ers. Hasselbeck threw it 40 times, completing 27 for 2 TD and 1 INT. We wonder what Shaun Alexander was thinking over on the sideline. Did he realize that Holmgren has lost his patience and he may never again get the amount of carries he wants. After losing both games to SF last season the Seahawks took it to them in both games this season.

The Cougars have matched their highest ranking ever, #9 in the AP Poll. Wazzu beat Eastern Washington and Michigan State didn't play so the Cougars moved up. They play tonight against Boise State in Boise. Since Ian Johnson doesn't play basketball and Chris Petersen isn't coaching I like the Cougars in this one.

Win comes to pass [Seattle PI]
AP Top-25 Men's College Basketball Poll [Seattle Times]

Wishing Seattle's RB Ran Like This

We got the priviledge yesterday to watch the Chargers-Vikings game before Seahawks started. Little did we know that we would be watching history be made right before our eyes. If you missed Adrian Peterson setting the NFL single-game rushing mark, you can see a highlight reel here.

What was even more impressive was his style of running. It's something we haven't seen all season up here in Seattle. Don't you just wish sometimes Alexander would burst through the hole and takeoff down the sideline like that.

Watching Peterson's performance reminded us of 2005 when Alexander and that offense line carved up defenses. Wishful thinking says Shaun will improve when he gets that cast off. If not, Maurice Morris looked pretty good yesterday in limited action. (If you throw out that 4-1 play in OT, which was horrific)

What Happened Last Night...

The "regular season game-of-the-century" was played and the bad guys came out on top, the new BCS rankings came out and we are headed straight for a huge controversy, and the Sonics start the season 0-3 for the first time since 1985-86.

The game wasn't the high scoring affair many thought it would be, but did hold up to the hype in the drama department. How often is it that a losing headline for the Colts starts off with Manning did something to lose the game?

The great BCS has given us its newest rankings. LSU is #2, for now, and Oregon and Kansas are right behind. Here's a question: What happens if Kansas goes undefeated and wins the Big 12 Championship game? Can they jump over two teams if they both win out as well? We've got a feeling the BCS people are going to be big Missouri fans in a couple weeks.

Kevin Durant had another solid game, 24 pts., 8 rebounds, and 5 assists but the Sonics lost again. The Clippers, with their powerful duo of Corey Maggette and Tim Thomas, pulled away in the 4th. That makes it 3 for 3 for the Sonics in the "keep-it-close-till-the-4th-then-fall-apart-and-lose" category.

Manning's late fumble seals deal for undefeated Patriots [ESPN]
LSU takes over second place in BCS [CBS Sportsline]
Durant scores 24, but Sonics fall to 0-3 [Seattle Times]

Seahawks-Browns Notes

Wow, what the hell happened today. The 1st half was going so well, the offense was looking good and the defense was holding Cleveland. This is one of those rare, ultimate-loss weekends that happen about once every two years: where Puyallup, Washington State, and the Seahawks all lose on the same weekend. We have to vent, so here are some notes we took while watching the game, these are in no particular order since we don't want to think right now.

-Why the hell can't Seattle convert 3rd and 4th and short. We've been harping on that for 3 seasons now and it has cost them at least 2 games. Today and the Chicago playoff game last season. It is absolutely embarrassing and frankly, its pissing everyone off.

-Hasselbeck's INT was thrown into double-coverage, he tried to force it.

-The 1st quarter Engram TD pass was on a great design. The play was a different wrinkle then we have seen and we love that.

-Spencer missed bad on the 1st and goal run from the 3 when Alexander lost 2 yards, that one's on him not Shaun.

-The blitzes were very ineffective today. The one play we especially picked out was when Winslow almost scored in the 4th. Russell blitzed from the left-side of the line and didn't get past the line of scrimmage. This had been happening all game, in that situation you gotta drop back, only rush 4 and concentrate on covering the receivers.

-Anderson was killing the defense with those dump-offs to the RBs and FB. Those were going for 5-8 yards a piece.

-Where the hell was Julian Peterson?

-Kellen Winslow is a baby. Every time he didn't catch a pass thrown to him he bitched to the officials about PI.

-The Burleson celebration after his punt return TD - the Lebron James chalk clap - was great.

-Did any else notice that Ben Obomanu was on the field a lot on critical plays?

-You can't blame this loss on Hasselbeck, Engram or Burleson. They were the Seahawks players of the game.

Damon Huard

It's Week 8 of the NFL schedule and guess who's in 1st place in the AFC West? That's right, the Kansas City Chiefs. They are 4-3 with a 1 game lead on the division going into their bye week. Does this mean they are headed to the playoffs? No. But who would have thought they would be in position to, near the halfway point of the season.

Damon Huard has not put up big numbers this season. He has more interceptions (7) then touchdowns (6), but his team is still in 1st place. The former Puyallup Viking and Washington Husky is doing the things that need to be done in order for his team to win. This past Sunday he lead the Chiefs to a come-from-behind victory over the Raiders, completing a 58-yard pass to Dwayne Bowe to setup the winning score. This is the second time this season he has won a game in the 4th quarter, as the Cheifs upset the Vikings in Week 3.

Last year Huard came in and had Kansas City in position to make the playoffs until head coach Herm Edwards pulled him, put Trent Green back as the starter, and the Chiefs lost 2 games in a row to fall out of the race. Through 7 weeks this season Huard has them in place to make a 2nd half push. His play needs to improve if they are serious about making the postseason, but the play of his offensive line and RB Larry Johnson needs to improve as well.

Kansas City faces a huge test out of the bye week with Green Bay and Denver at home followed by a trip to Indianapolis. They probably need to win 2 of those 3 games to stay in the hunt. In order to do that Huard needs to pick up his play. Clearly, he is not the QB of the future, but if he can lead his team to an unexpected playoff berth he can maybe postpone the future in KC a little bit longer. Right now he is a starting QB in the NFL and only 31 other guys in the entire world can say that.

What Happened Last Night...

The Colts keep pace with the Patriots, the U.S. rid themselves of soccer coach who doesn't know how to coach soccer, and my fantasy team took a bit hit.

-MNF showcased the Colts moving to 6-0 for the third straight season, beating Jacksonville 29-7. To be fair, the Jaguars played most of the game with their backup QB Quinn Gray who would be a good NFL QB if his receivers were 10 ft. tall.

-Hope Solo must be a happy girl this morning since U.S. women's coach Greg Ryan is out. He is the famous coach benched Solo, the starting goalie, instead playing Briana Scurry because she had beaten Brazil before. The U.S.'s 4-0 lose to Brazil knocked them out of the championship game, instead settling for 3rd place.

- One of the surprise players on my 1st-place fantasy football team has been Miami RB Ronnie Brown. While I expected him to be a solid contributor, he has single-handily led my team to victory twice this season. That's why yesterday's news that he was done for the season with a torn ACL really hurts. I'll be swifting through the wavier wire this week to find a replacement.

Colts take solid lead in AFC South after breezing past Jags [ESPN]
Greg Ryan out as U.S. women's coach [Fox Sports]
Hurting, winless Dolphins lose top back Brown, S Hill for season [CBS Sportsline]

Rams at Seahawks - Game Notes

This is what should be expected from the Seahawks when they play an 0-6 team at home. This is a good division win, leaves them alone in 1st place going into the bye, and we saw what this defense is capable of.

-The defense played a hell of a game. Darryl Tapp is today's MVP. Let's hope his hand isn't injured badly. Peterson had another strong game, proving he is the best player on this defense, maybe the team.

-Shaun Alexander. Clearly, he is not running as well as he can. Toward the end of the game when he and Holmgren were having an animated conversation, I was glad to see it. It showed Alexander's got some pride and frustration. The thing that will make this bad is if he comes to the media and complains and whines.

-Understanding that Alexander is playing badly, do we really need the booing. I like the passion from the Seahawks fans, but I'm tired of hearing it. These are the same fans that root for the Mariners when a guy advances the runner to third, but makes the third out. The perfect example of this is when Alexander couldn't catch the high pass from Hasselbeck with his cast the fans started booing, why? Booing should be used when a guy isn't putting forth 100%. Alexander is running hard, he has a broken wrist with a cast. As long as he's running hard, the booing isn't necessary.

-Hasselbeck wasn't himself after pulling that muscle. He was very inaccurate, but hopefully the bye week will allow him to get healthy.

-I fully expect this offense to come out swinging after the bye. Branch, Hackett, and Pollard should be back. Hasselbeck and Alexander should be healthier. Its go time in Week 9.

-The team still cannot convert 3rd, 4th and short. This has been a problem for two years now. I've voiced my idea, but they don't seem to want to do it.

-In the end, good win and let's get healthy in the bye week.

Holmgren's Play Sheet

NBC's cameras picked up Mike Holmgren's offensive playsheet during the game Sunday night. Holmgren was able to joke about it and didn't see too much harm in it saying:

"The guys that have worked with me and for me over the years, have a very similar type of set-up. The plays change weekly. That whole sheet is different now."

Although he did also say: "There are not a lot of secrets, but I think those things probably, they should probably tell you if they're going to try and do that," Holmgren said. "Or ask you, and if you say no, they should honor that request. I would rather they didn't do that."

I like to see that he has a separate section called "Seneca Plays", plays just for when Seneca Wallace is in the game. Hopefully in the next few weeks that section will expand and allow Wallace to be a more integral part of the offense.

Danny O'Neil's Seahawks Blog [Seattle Times]
Photo Courtesy of Enjoy the Enjoyment

Seahawks, Saints Random Thoughts

That isn't what I was expecting last night. That was an overall bad performance by every aspect of the Seahawks team. That should have been a win, at home, on Sunday night, against an 0-4 team, but now the Seahawks find themselves slipping and questioning their game plans.

-Special Teams was horrible. A bad snap for a TD, a blocked FG, little yardage on any returns.

-Alexander 14 carries for 35 yards? What the hell is that? The O-line didn't help him out but Shaun continues to go down to early.

-Hasselbeck was not accurate. He continues to miss on the deeper patterns. It seemed like he was either not seeing the open receivers or holding the ball too long. The last interception he threw was a horrible decision.

-The Seahawks should have kicked the FG at the end. That would have made it an 8 point game with the Seahawks needed to get an onside kick. Either way the Seahawks were going to have to get a 3 and a 8. Take the 3 instead of going for it on 4th and long.

-The defense was playing off the receivers too much. On 3rd and longs they were given them 8-10 yards and allowing them to run to the sticks and catch the ball.

-With Branch and Hackett out the receivers were in trouble. They were keying on them single coverage and sending everyone else at Hasslebeck and Alexander. But Wallace did have a nice grab at the end.

Reggie Bush Story

The Reggie Bush got illegal benefits while at USC story is back on again. Yahoo! Sports is reporting that financial records totally $280,000 while be turned over to the NCAA.

I don't want to comment on this story because we've heard this claim before and nothing was ever determined. I will say that this sounds a lot more serious then the initial claims. If Bush and his family did receive these things then they will have a lot of explaining to do.

Pete Carrol better hope that the NCAA doesn't find that he had anything to do with this or his week is going to get a lot worse. Worse then a home loss to Stanford when you were 41 point favorites.

Report: NCAA to get evidence on Bush [Yahoo! Sports]