Grip on Sports: Seahawks’ offensive performance made us want to bang our head against something
A GRIP ON SPORTS • I can’t speak for everyone, sure, but yesterday tuckered me out. Basketball, soccer, football. Lots and lots of bad football. Sports all day. It’s not easy sitting on your, you know, and watching all day. Especially when your NFL team gave you every reason to pound your head against the TV tray. Read on.
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• Ugly might be the right word. Or, if you want to use a few more letters or syllables, exasperating might be better. Whatever word you choose, it can’t be satisfying. We’re talking about the Seahawks’ performance yesterday and no one – except the six Tampa Bay fans in the Northwest – can use the term satisfying.
Heck, even that half-dozen folks must have been bored beyond belief.
The Hawks’ 14-5 loss – and I received no pleasure in seeing this coming – was as bad a football game as you can watch.
The Tampa Bay offense was somewhat exciting – for about a quarter. The Seahawk offense was embarrassingly boring. And scary at the same time. Anyone else worry Russell Wilson was going to go down one time and not get back up?
At times it looked like a seven-on-seven passing drill, except the Bucs’ defense got to use 11. The Hawks’ offensive line was, I don’t know, is there a more descriptive word than horrendous? That will have to do.
Wilson was sacked six times, knocked down another million or so and the Hawk offense never got all that close to scoring. Or winning.
If it weren’t for a banged up defense playing better than it should have been able to, television sets all over the Northwest would have been thrown through windows. Wouldn’t that have helped the economy this holiday season? “Yes, I need a new TV. The old one ended up in the yard Thanksgiving weekend.”
As it was, the Seahawks kept the game close enough you had to watch even though there was less action offensively than displayed by the other Seattle pro sports team in Colorado. And that game ended 1-0.
It was like watching a Melissa McCarthy movie in slow motion. You know there are going to be pratfalls, bloopers and eye-averting scenes. You just sat there for three hours hoping for a happy ending.
Sorry, it was not to be. Not on this Sunday.
• At least the other two sporting events of interest to the area ended better, even if Gonzaga tried to give away an 18-point lead and the Sounders seemed to be happy trying to protect a half-goal edge for most of the day.
The Zags held on for a 73-71 win over 21st-ranked Iowa State in Florida, winning the latest iteration of the Orlando-area Thanksgiving tournament, now called the AdvoCare Invitational.
And the Sounders’ Jordan Morris scored an impressive second-half goal that lifted Seattle into the MLS title game for the first time.
Both of those results were welcome. A lot more welcome, in fact, than the performance of the Hawks’ offense.
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WSU: It’s that time of year. When we have to begin transitioning from football to basketball. There’s a few weeks of overlap, sure, but up until last weekend, football was so important, Pac-12 basketball had to take a backseat. But with seven football teams basically done for the year, it’s time to focus on both sports. With the Cougars, of course, basketball has always been mentioned, even if they aren’t off to the best start. That was evident yesterday when they lost at home to San Jose State. Jacob Thorpe was at Beasley with about 350 of his closest friends and he has this game story, video of player comments and the thoughts of coach Ernie Kent. … The WSU volleyball team was chosen for the NCAA tournament and will travel to Wisconsin to play Marquette in the first round.
Elsewhere in Pac-12, it was an up and down season for the conference in football. There were just five teams who had a better season, all of which are among the top of these power rankings. … The polls are out and there was some change for Pac-12 schools. WSU dropped out as did Utah. … The playoff committee may have some tough choices next week. … Speaking of tough choices, schools like Arizona, Arizona State and Oregon will have some this offseason. As will Heisman voters. … Colorado has the best story of any school. … In basketball, the Buffs picked up a win yesterday as did USC and UCLA. And, yes, the Bruins’ Lonzo Ball is the real deal.
Gonzaga: The Zags were nearly perfect before halftime, less so afterward. Jim Meehan was there and has this game story as well as the all-tournament team and the three keys to Gonzaga’s sixth win. … We chipped in with our look at the television coverage – and how Zag fans reacted. There are also a whole bunch of photographs. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Portland picked up a win at the Wooden Classic.
EWU: The Eagles handed USF its first loss of the season and they didn’t have to work overtime to get it. Jim Allen was at Reese Court and has this story of Eastern’s 96-90 win over the Dons. … The Eagle women’s basketball team also picked up a win yesterday. … Elsewhere in Big Sky basketball, Portland State went on the road and got past Pepperdine in Malibu, making the Big Sky 2-0 against the WCC on Sunday. … North Dakota rallied past Cal State Bakersfield in Ohio. … Montana lost on the road in South Dakota. … In football, North Dakota’s 2014 recruiting class was rushed but still really good. … Cal Poly was surprised by its defeat to San Diego.
Seahawks: You really want to read about that game? OK, here’s what we can pass along. There are game stories of course, though a 14-5 score makes it hard to really earn a Pulitzer. And there are columns, with most everyone trying to figure out if yesterday was an aberration or a precursor to a poor stretch run. I tend to believe it was a one-day thing, especially if Justin Britt gets healthy quickly.
Sounders: Morris grew up a Sounders’ fan. And he probably used to dream about leading them to the MLS Cup. He did it for real yesterday in Colorado.
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• Is there any way Mondays can be worse? How about throwing in some wet snow to make the roads a bit treacherous? Thanks November. You can leave now. Until later …