Saturday, January 8, 2011

SEAHAWKS: Who Dat? WE DAT!!

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"Who Dat? Who Dat? Who Dat say they gonna beat them Saints?" That has been the New Orleans Saints' rallying cry the past two seasons.

Well, the Seahawks finally have an answer.

In their first playoff game since 2007, versus the defending world champions, the Seahawks shocked the nation and beat the Saints 41-37 in the most exciting game of the season.

To Continue...

The national media crapped on the Seahawks all week, saying they were the worst playoff team in history. The Hawks had no chance against the mighty Saints according to Bob Costas and Rodney Harrison, who had to eat their words after the game.

The Seahawks at one point were down 10-0, and you could sense how the Hawks responded on offense would impact the game heavily. A year ago, Jim Mora's Seahawks would have folded and just accepted losing the game.

Not Pete Carroll's Seahawks.

Seattle responded with a touchdown drive to make it 10-7. There was life. Hope even. The perviously silent 12th man was awakened, and didn't fall back asleep again. The Seahawks looked like a new team after that drive, with Matt Hasselbeck leading the charge.

Hasselbeck played like he was superman, as he threw for 272 yards with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. He had multiple deep throws so accurate it made your jaw drop. He ran the offense with precision that made you remember 2007, when he was the vocal point of the offense.

The Seahawks looked great until midway through the third quarter, when the Saints started driving. The Hawks at that point had a 34-20 lead, but a 4-yard touchdown by former Seahawk Julius Jones cut the Seattle lead to 7.

The Seahawks went 3 and out on the next possession, giving the ball back to Dree Brees. Not a good scenario. You could sense that the Saints had the momentum, and maybe it was not meant to be. Maybe the Seahawks weren't supposed to win.

Marshawn Lynch says no.

Before Lynch went into "Beast Mode", the Seahawks defense held the Saints to a field goal, making the score 30-34 Seahawks.

There was about 4:00 left in the game, and the Seahawks needed a touchdown to clinch the game. A touchdown would put a dagger in the Saints' chances of winning. Could the Seahawks muster up one final drive for a score?

Marshawn Lynch says yes.

Lynch, when it mattered most, came through. Marshawn ripped off one of the best postseason runs in history, avoiding 7 Saints defenders on his way to a 67 yard touchdown. He would not be brought down, which was the theme of the day for the Seahawks.

On ESPN's "NFL Primetime", Host Trey Wingo said to Matt Hasselbeck "On behalf of me and the national media, we're sorry", referring to the bashing the Seahawks have been getting lately. Even if he said it jokingly, it still felt so sweet.

The past three weeks have brought Seattle back to prominence in the sports world.

1) The University of Washington Football team beat Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl.

2) The UW Basketball team has rattled off 4 consecutive wins, including an LA sweep of USC and UCLA.

3) The Seahawks beat the St. Louis Rams to get into the playoffs, then beat the Saints IN the playoffs.

Seattle's back. Well, almost (c'mon Mariners!).

Reach Nathan Parsons at nathanparsons98@yahoo.com