Seahawks pound New York into submission

• The Seahawks probably aren’t going to repeat as Super Bowl champions unless they can get – and stay – healthy. But until that time comes, they are going to continue to give us glimpses of how good they can be. We had one yesterday in their 38-17 victory over the defenseless New York Giants. With an offensive line that was close to full strength – Alvin Bailey was playing for James Carpenter and not only blocked well, he made one of the bigger plays, a key fumble recovery – they ran all over the Giants, leaving tread marks from the Beast Mode’s tank-like advances. How about a franchise-record 350 yards rushing ? Marshawn Lynch, Robert Turbin, Russell Wilson and, yes, even Christine Michael, took turns blasting through open holes and rumbling downfield. The Hawks averaged 7.8 yards on their 45 running attempts, something Oklahoma used to aspire to back in the Wishbone days, but not your typical NFL statistic in the Peyton Manning era. So what does it mean? When in doubt, go back to the basics. The Hawks have been hurting, we all know that. So instead of putting all the weight on Wilson’s shoulders, they have decided to rely on the guys up front and a stable of running backs who each offer a different dynamic. Lynch is power, Michael speed, Turbin steadiness (his fumble yesterday notwithstanding) and Wilson sneakiness. It’s their strength on that side of the ball. And it relies on the big fellas being healthy. They are getting there.

• On the other side, Seattle defense isn’t what it was last season. The bodies up front just don’t compare. Yet when Brandon Mebane – the Hawks best defensive lineman this season and their rock against the run – went out with a hamstring injury, the defense responded. It helped the Giants were far enough behind at the time to abandon the running game, but that doesn’t take away from the shutout pitched in the second half. Or the ability to adjust to the odd ways New York was attacking them. Still, Mebane’s injury – compounded by the missing Bobby Wagner at middle linebacker – is problematic and could be throughout the stretch run. The schedule gets tougher from here on in and the defense will have to be in top form if the Hawks are going to make a Super Bowl run – or even make the playoffs for goodness sakes. This isn’t last year’s team. It isn’t even the same team from this year’s opener. But it is what it is, and that has to be good enough. It certainly was back in the old days.

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• WSU: The second of two bye weeks is now in session, robbing the Cougars of the momentum built in Corvallis last Saturday. That’s my half-empty interpretation. It’s a also a chance to get more people healthy – did you notice how much Charleston White’s return meant to the secondary? That’s the half-full one. Jacob Thorpe kicks off your bye week coverage with this story looking back at the Oregon State win and a morning post that looks ahead – in case you missed it, it’s going to be cold around here this week, as in 30-degree highs cold. … What are commitments worth? Nothing really . Not when Stanford comes a knocking. … The Cougars have moved up in the Pac-12 power rankings , though they are outside looking in at the national ones . … It was a weird weekend in college football.

• EWU: We can’t move forward just yet. Jim Allen had to take one more look at the Eagles’ big win over Montana from Saturday. And why not? It was a crucial victory in Eastern’s Big Sky season. … With the football team in a bye week, Jim had some time to cover the Eagles’ basketball exhibition win over Puget Sound. Dan Pelle has a photo gallery from the game as well.

• Gonzaga: The Bulldog men will be part of a neat event during the 2015 basketball season. Jim Meehan breaks the story on next year’s Armed Force’s Classic. … The GU men took another soccer victory .

• Seahawks: The throwback nature of the 38-17 victory didn’t escape the keen eye of the Seattle columnists, including Art Thiel and Larry Stone . Neither did Wilson’s struggles . If they are going to continue, Seattle will have to rely on Lynch more and more – and quite possibly into the future . … The defense was struggling a bit, then Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas made a play (pictured). From that interception on, the Giants never entered Seahawk territory again. … The usual cast of suspects talked with the media after the game. … The Hawks played smash-mouth football, sure, but they did it with a modern twist: They played hurry-up as well. … A Giant rookie gave Seattle fits.

• Mariners: The hot-stove season is underway . Just like last offseason, the Mariners may just cook up some headlines.

• Sounders: It’s game day in Seattle and the Sounders need to advance if their dream of an MLS Cup is to stay alive. … The elusive Obafemi Martins has made himself an integral part of the Seattle attack. … The winner of the series between Seattle and FC Dallas will face the L.A. Galaxy in the next round. … The MLS isn’t a ratings juggernaut just yet.

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• I’m not feeling well this morning. It’s a bit of anxiety, really. You know how people use a root canal as a comparison when life is really awful? Well, this afternoon I’m having a root canal. Life is really awful. Painful too. Wish me luck. What a day. It snows – there was some of the white stuff on the ground at our house today – and I have a root canal. Today sucks. Until later …