The Hawk defense made a lot of tackles Sunday but not the most important one
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Maybe it’s time the Seattle Seahawks elect Russell Wilson an honorary member of the Legion of Boom. After all, Wilson may have made the most important tackle of the Hawks’ season yesterday. Read on.
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• Wilson wasn’t having his best day Sunday in Dallas. He was inaccurate – to put it kindly – early. He was making poor choices with the football. He was, bottom line, not playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. So he decided to show he could tackle like Kam Chancellor? No, not really. But when Greg Hardy, a guy Wilson cozied up to earlier in an early game time out, leaped and stole a Wilson screen pass deep in Hawk territory, the Seattle quarterback didn’t shy away from making a defensive play. Now his tripping tackle (pictured) won’t be on any NFL big-hit highlight film – though, to be fair, the league has gone away from such things – but it should be the Hawks’ one. If they go on to make the playoffs. See, if Hardy had rumbled into the endzone early in the fourth quarter, instead of falling to the turf at the Hawks’ 16-yard line, Seattle’s season might have imploded. A touchdown there, and a 16-10 Dallas lead, may have been enough to seal the Hawks entered their bye week with a losing record. Instead they are 4-4 and have a tiny bit of momentum. About as much as the amount of Hardy’s leg Wilson was able to influence. Beating a Cowboy team that was without its starting quarterback – Tony Romo is still just a cheerleader on the sideline due to injury – and basically without its best receiver – Dez Bryant returned to the field but was rendered nearly invisible by Richard Sherman – isn’t an accomplishment to rate with the Super Bowl win over Denver. But it did have one thing in common with that game. They are the last two contests in which Wilson wasn’t sacked. Sunday, against the Cowboys’ talented front, Seattle accomplished that goal without left tackle Russell Okung, who missed the game with – raise your hand if you’ve heard this before – an injury. But that’s about all they accomplished offensively, until the final drive. Needing at least a field goal, the Hawks went the length of the field, killing clock, killing the Cowboys with short, efficient plays – 17 of them on the drive – and clinging to hope thanks to Wilson. The Russell Wilson who began the game and the one who finished were two different guys. I like the later one. He ran when needed, made accurate throws and did enough to get Steven Hauschka in position to put the Hawks’ up 13-12 on a 24-yard field goal. The defense, which never let Dallas pass the goal line, did the rest. Like it’s done the last two games.
• Let’s clear one thing up. I don’t believe the missed replay review on the fumble was the deciding factor in the Cougars’ 30-28 loss to No. 8 Stanford Saturday night. How they responded to it may have been a bigger factor – as was their inability to penetrate the Stanford end zone in any of the five first-half field goal drives. But my point, though not as clear as I would have liked yesterday, is simple: If we are going to take so much time to “get it right,” it seems a waste of said time when the goal isn’t accomplished. This weekend I can think of three high-profile occurrences in which replay didn’t save a key error: at the end of the Miami/Duke game; the overtime touchdown in Oregon’s win over Arizona State; and WSU’s non-fumble. Such problems undermine credibility and make it easier for someone with a soapbox (me) to stand up and say let’s at least start discussing whether the process is worth the time and effort. Maybe it’s time to at least entertain the thought college football would be better off without it.
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• WSU: There was no practice last night but Jacob Thorpe did take the time to look back at the 30-28 loss to Stanford. He also has a morning post with links. ... The Stanford loss wasn’t the only near-upset in Pullman over the weekend. The volleyball team took top-ranked USC to five sets only to come up short Sunday. ... The soccer team edged Oregon State 2-1 in Corvallis. ... The football team is still in the top half of this Pac-12 power ranking. ... The conference isn’t dominating the AP top 25. Stanford, thanks to quarterback Kevin Hogan’s legs, is the top-ranked Pac-12 team. ... The “real” rankings come out for the first time Tuesday. They may or may not resemble the final product released next month.
• Chiefs: Spokane is on a six-game road trip through Canada this week, which isn’t easy. Even if the Chiefs are making it look that way. They won their third consecutive game, defeating Edmonton 3-1 last night. ... Everett scored late and defeated Portland 2-1.
• Seahawks: If you watched the Hawks’ win yesterday, the toughest play to see was Seattle’s punt late in the first half. Ricardo Lockette was laid-out by a vicious hit from Dallas’ Jeff Heath and spent minutes motionless on the turf. Lockette was carted off and was reported to be doing much better Sunday evening. ... Thanks to the hit-and-miss nature of the game, the Hawks’ grades were up and down. ... The hard-earned win can’t mask the need for improvement.
• Mariners: The 2015 baseball season is officially over. The Kansas City Royals rallied – again – and defeated the Mets 7-2 in 12 innings to take the Series 4-1. It was KC’s first title since 1985. ... The Mariners have an offseason priority. It may be simpler than you think.
• Sounders: FC Dallas scored early, led 1-0 until midway through the second half. Then Seattle turned it on, tied the game and, with time running down, turned to its franchise player. Clint Dempsey delivered on a penalty kick, bending the ball into the upper corner near the far post and giving the Sounders a crucial 2-1 home win. ... Though Portland and Vancouver tied 0-0, thanks to the importance of away goals, the Timbers are basically in the same spot as Seattle after the Sounders' home win.
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• It was Seattle 2, Dallas 0 yesterday as the Hawks and the Sounders took key contests against their Texas brethren. Ironically, it was a guy who is as Lone Star as you get, Dempsey, who determined the latter match. That’s sports for you. ... I’ve got a busy week. According to my schedule, and it is right this time, I will be on the radio today from 3 to 6 p.m., joining Dennis Patchin and Rick Lukens on 700 ESPN. And I will be on at least a couple hours each day this week. You can listen here if you like. Until then ...
