I Thought The Hawks Would Win

I don't follow the Seahawks as fervently as I do the Oregon State Beavers, the Portland Trailblazers or the Seattle Mariners, but they are my pro football team of choice. I started following them when I lived in Spokane back in the 1980's. Its been fun to see them finally rise to the top. They've earned it. They have a great team and a great coach, not to mention the richest owner in sports. I thought that this team would beat the Pittsburgh Steelers today. I still can't quite get my brain around how they lost. I'm not depressed or anything... it was a fun game to watch.

Let me give some credit to Pittsburgh for a second. They delivered on two excellent touchdown plays in the second half. Willie Parker's 75-yard run and the trick pass from Randle-El to Hines Ward were things of beauty. They didn't make many mistakes. Really just the one big interception pass to Kelly Herndon. But that's enough of that.

Seattle quickly dispelled the myth that Pittsburgh's defense was too much for them. The Steelers vaunted "D" were on their heels the entire first half. Just when it seemed like the Seahawks were about to score, something would go wrong. Usually a dumb penalty, or a dropped pass or a surprisingly poor call by the ref. How the first half ended with the Steelers up 7-3, I'll never quite figure out. I thought Seattle totally out-played them. Pittsburgh's offense never looked that great... except for the previously mentioned 2 big plays in the second half.

Its always the little things that count. Did Roethlisberger really score a touchdown on that 3-down late in the second quarter? I don't think so... he was just short. Should have been a field goal on that drive at best. Seattle's Darrell Jackson caught a touchdown pass in the first quarter, but it was called back because of a very slow and late flag because of a "push off". You have got to be kidding me. "I don't think I touched him" Jackson said. "I was very surprised when I got the call." Other bad calls took their toll over the course of the game. The chop block call on Hasselbeck. The invisible holding call on Sean Locklear that negated the successful pass to Jeramy Stevens on the Pittsburgh two-yard line. All of these little things ended up pushing Pittsburgh into the driver's seat.

Eventually the Seahawks were in too deep of a hole. Hasselbeck's woefully thrown interception pass to Ike Taylor pretty much put an end to things. That was so unlike the usually reliable Hawks QB. By that point, the Steelers cruised to an easy finish. In the end, the Seahawks were not good enough to overcome all of their mistakes and the terrible calls.

Don't get me wrong. I really do like the Steelers. I like a lot of their players and I like their blue-collar culture. I like Jerome Bettis. I really like Troy Polamalu, who played his high-school football in Douglas, Oregon. I'm happy for them. They really did beat some great teams to win this title. They took care of business today in a way that Seattle simply could not.

I expect to see the Seahawks right back in the hunt next year. I hope they are able to hang on to Shawn Alexander and a few other key free agents during the off-season.

So who's my player-of-the game?

Referee Bill Leavy... and Mike Holmgren agrees with me.