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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Same losing story

Seahawks have familiar struggles, drop to 1-5

By Scott M. Johnson Everett Herald

TAMPA, Fla. — The Boston Red Sox weren’t the only team to see their season come to an end in this part of the country on Sunday night.

Across the bay from St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field, the Seattle Seahawks saw their 2008 campaign continue to spiral down the drain. The 20-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium served as another humiliating road defeat and the Seahawks’ third consecutive loss overall. And, quite possibly, it could be the proverbial nail that seals the coffin shut.

In a sense, Red Sox fans had it easy. The Seahawks (1-5) still have 10 games left, so the suffering will drag on.

“It’s mind-boggling,” offensive lineman Chris Spencer said after the team’s latest defeat. “On paper, we’re supposed to be a really good team. To be 1-5 right now, that’s hard to swallow.”

Those area sports fans who skipped the baseball game to attend Sunday night’s NFL matchup were undoubtedly kicking themselves. The game had about as many highlights as a good night’s sleep, and the Seahawks were the ones looking lost in hibernation.

Sunday’s game had all the elements of recent Seattle losses, from Kelly Jennings giving up a long touchdown to Mike Wahle getting called for a costly penalty to shoddy play at the quarterback position. The Seahawks struggled to convert third downs (2 of 10) and stop the Bucs on third down (10 of 18). And, it was yet another subpar performance on the road.

Playing in front of a surprisingly attentive crowd — most of the area was watching Tampa Bay’s Rays hold off the Red Sox in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series — the Seahawks continued their pattern of futility.

Afterward, the words were all too familiar as well.

“We’ve got to play better football — all around,” linebacker Leroy Hill said. “It isn’t magic. It isn’t rocket science. We’ve just got to play better ball.”

“It’s nothing we could have imagined,” defensive tackle Craig Terrill added of the team’s surprising start. “It’s uncharted water for us.”

Seattle sits at 1-5 for the first time since 2002, matching the fourth-worst start in franchise history. No team over the past 22 seasons has rallied from a 1-5 record to make the playoffs, and only three have gone on to finish at or above .500.

The Seahawks sit alone in last place in the NFC West, three games behind Arizona (4-2).

The blueprint for the first six games has been all too familiar, and Sunday night was more of the same.

Jennings fell down as a Jeff Garcia pass arrived at the 5-yard line, allowing receiver Antonio Bryant to corral the ball and jog into the end zone untouched for a 7-0 lead.

While Seneca Wallace struggled — he was 4 of 10 with an interception and 26 total yards in the first half — Tampa Bay (5-2) sprinted out to a 17-0 halftime lead. The Seahawks finished the first half with 44 yards and one first down.

Wallace didn’t play well in his first start since 2006, but he was hardly alone in his struggles. Seattle’s running game took awhile to get going, while the defense had its share of troubles in the first half.

Even when the Seahawks seemed to get a break, their spirits got broken. Such was the case on a 20-yard run by T.J. Duckett, which seemed to breathe a little life into the offense until it was called back because of Wahle’s holding penalty.

On the opening kickoff of the second half, the Buccaneers fumbled the ball … but recovered it.

After Maurice Morris broke off a 45-yard run midway through the third quarter, Wallace threw three bad passes before Olindo Mare missed a field goal for the first time this season.

It was that kind of day for the Seahawks.

Bucs 20, Seahawks 10

Seattle 0 0 3 7 10
Tampa Bay 7 10 0 3 20

 TB—A.Bryant 47 pass from Garcia (M.Bryant kick)

TB—Graham 1 run (M.Bryant kick)

TB—FG M.Bryant 27

Sea—FG Mare 26

TB—FG M.Bryant 27

Sea—Carlson 2 pass from S.Wallace (Mare kick)

A—64,811.

Sea TB
First downs 7 22
Total Net Yards 176 402
Rushes-yards 16-103 38-97
Passing 73 305
Punt Returns 3-42 3-3
Kickoff Returns 5-170 1-4
Interceptions Ret. 0-0 1-19
Comp-Att-Int 12-23-1 27-36-0
Sacked-Yards Lost 0-0 1-5
Punts 5-47.4 4-38.5
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 4-1
Penalties-Yards 1-6 4-26
Time of Possession 18:19 41:41

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Seattle, Morris 6-56, J.Jones 7-42, S.Wallace 2-6, Duckett 1-(minus 1). Tampa Bay, Graham 23-52, Dunn 13-37, Garcia 2-8.

PASSING—Seattle, S.Wallace 12-22-1-73. Tampa Bay, Garcia 27-36-0-310.

RECEIVING—Seattle, Carlson 3-11, K.Robinson 2-23, Colbert 2-18, Morris 2-12, Engram 1-8, Weaver 1-6, J.Jones 1-(minus 5). Tampa Bay, A.Bryant 6-115, Stevens 4-55, Dunn 4-21, Clayton 3-30, Smith 2-25, Gilmore 2-20, Cook 2-15, Graham 2-13, Clark 1-12, Hilliard 1-4.

MISSED FIELD GOALS—Seattle, Mare, 38 (WL). Tampa Bay, M.Bryant 47 (SH).