seattle seahawks

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FMQB: Game of the Year

Posted by fmquarterback on January 22, 2016
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Divisional round

Photo Credit: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

 

 

With all the Wild games from the first week, with road wins and crazy calls, we have a bit of a normal playoff set, with the #1 and #2 seeds facing off in both conferences. Perhaps a bit boring, but we had another great week of games.

 

Race against the Clock:

Despite dominating the Patriots in time of possession, yards, and even first downs, New England held the lead the entire day. The first drive, the Patriots had an 11 play scoring drive. What was telling about this is what has plagued the Patriots recently; all 11 plays were passes, not runs. I’ll get into that later, but the lack of a running game proved to be an issue. The Pats ran 14 times for 38 yards, but Brady was efficient enough to win the game for them. The story of the game however came down to clock management. The Chiefs got the ball back with 6:29, all 3 timeouts but down by 2 TD’s. This is feasibly plenty of time, as you can even take your time and score in 4 minutes, then use your timeouts and get the 2 minute warning. Inexplicably, they get down to the 1 yard line with about 2:53 left, but it takes 5 plays to punch it in and the Chiefs huddle for every one. Their score came at 1:13 left in the game; or 5:16 after they got the ball. That’s inexcusable, and they didn’t even give themselves a chance. In true Patriots fashion, needing one first down, Brady throws it to Gronkowski who tips the ball up and into Julian Edelman’s hands getting the perfect amount of yardage for the first down and the win.

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FMQB: Rival-Tastic

Posted by fmquarterback on December 18, 2015
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Week142

Photo Credit: NFL.com

Packers Back?

Sure they were only playing the Cowboys, but the Packers looked to return to a bit of their old selves. They showed improvement after a 2-4 six game stretch, and they probably shouldn’t have beaten the Lions. Mike McCarthy is back to calling plays, which seemed to help both Aaron Rodgers and the run game. In fact, the Packers ran for 230 yards on 44 carries (vs. 35 passes for 218). And 28 points will win you a lot of games in the NFL, but in saying that there was a stretch of 5 straight punts on offense in the 2nd half.

 

Quick Hits:

  • Russell Wilson threw his 2nd 5 TD game in 3 weeks
  • Brock Osweiler lost for the first time in his career. He has now led his team to 1 TD in 2 games
  • Jacksonville has a legit shot at winning the division. They play the Falcons, Saints, and Texans. And the Texans and Colts are down to 3rd string QB’s
  • Andy Dalton getting injured this late in the season nearly guarantees a playoff birth but 1st round loss for the 5th straight year
  • Speaking of Dalton, didn’t it seem like he was in the locker room, back in street clothes, and fully casted up in about 7 minutes?
  • Sending LeSean McCoy as the only Bills captain against his old team? Love it!
  • Wow, Bengals Steelers felt like a playoff game. Very chippy! Rival-tastic! Bengals LB Burfict was fined $70,000 for 3 plays.
  • Raiders are looking strong! Great couple drafts (Derek Carr, Khalil Mack, Amari Cooper) and strong coach in Jack Del Rio. Should be a playoff team next year
  • An unblocked Clay Matthews coming at you through the line must be one of the scariest things a QB can see

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FMQB: Quarter Pole

Posted by fmquarterback on December 11, 2015
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Week132

Photo Credit: NFL.com

 

Without trying to sound like a broken record, the final 4 or so weeks of the season is always the most exciting! We’re down to the nitty gritty, and one of my favorite websites is back up again! Head over to the Playoff Machinehttp://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/machine where you can pick the final 4 weeks to see what the Playoff matchups would be.

 

  • I have the Packers and Vikings tied for record entering their Week 17 matchup, which could bring the entire division down to that final game in Lambeau.
  • The Broncos vs Bengals Week 16 matchup will determine who gets a first round bye
  • I have quite the change in seeding for the AFC, with the Patriots pulling the #1 Seed (at 3 now), and the Steelers leapfrogging the Jets.
  • The NFC is pretty much the same, with the Packers winning the division, Seattle and Minnesota flipping Wild Card spots, and the Eagles taking the East.

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FMQB: Instant Classics

Posted by fmquarterback on December 4, 2015
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Week 13

Photo Credit: ESPN/SportsCenter

 

In an FMQB first, I’m switching the picture and title after a Thursday night game (most of my blog is written by Friday morning). What a game last night! I would typically turn off any game that’s 20-0 in the 3rd quarter, but I’m sure glad I kept with it. Granted people will be harping on the facemask penalty on Rodgers to give them an extra shot, but it was an incredible final hail mary (albeit lucky) to end the game. Successful game winning hail marys are extremely rare in the NFL. The last one was the “Fail Mary” in 2012, then the Jags Titans in 2010, and then you have to go all the way back to 2002. So that’s only 3 endings like this in the last 13 years! Here’s a list of all successful hail marys if anybody is interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hail_Mary_passes_in_American_football#Professional_football . Huge division game though, it was a must-win for the Packers (although they didn’t act like it in the first 40 minutes of the game).

 

We’re into the nitty gritty, with only 5 games left in the season. The playoff push will be strong, with most divisions having a fairly clear winner, but about 10 total teams vying for 4 total Wild Card spots. Let’s dive into last week.

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FMQB: Super Bowl Experience

Posted by fmquarterback on February 6, 2015
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IMG_1082

Wow, what a Super Bowl! A running theme to most people I have spoken to was that nobody really cared who won the game, and if that’s the case they might as well give us a game worth watching! It seemed to have nearly as many story lines as the Packer Seahawks game, and it was like a movie where you can tell exactly where it’s going until the last minute twist that has your jaw on the floor.

IMG_1066

The first quarter started, and it seemed that both teams were kind of feeling each other out, not wanting to make a mistake. It was extremely fast and it flew by thanks to a Patriot 8 minute drive that was picked off in the endzone. As dull as the 1st quarter was, both teams came out with a bang and put up 28 points in the 2nd. Three of the TD’s were scored within the last 2:16 of the half. The Seahawks tied it up at 7 which seemed like a miracle at the time. Then the Patriots had a great 2 minute drill to score with :31, and reminding fans that the best teams score right at the end of the half. The Seahawks could have taken the ball into halftime down 14-7, but after 2 run plays got them 36 yards, they were smelling the endzone.

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FMQB: Super Bowl Sunday!

Posted by fmquarterback on January 30, 2015
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SB

Time for the Super Bowl preview post, and we’re a mere 2 days away! As most of you know, Sunday I will be like a kid at Christmas, and I’ll actually be IN Glendale the day of the game!!!! AAHHHHHHH!!!! It’s my favorite day of the year, there are a lot of story lines to cover, and of course it wouldn’t be FMQB without a prediction or two. So let’s take a quick look at the penultimate game.

 

Proof of Passion:

For the last 14 years (which is half of my life), I have extremely disliked 3 teams. One of these teams was the Broncos, which I have flipped on since Manning arrived 3 years ago. The other 2 teams were the Patriots and Seahawks. I eluded to it last week, but it’s something only a hardcore Rams fan can feel. The Patriots beat the Greatest Show on Turf and stole our dynasty status back in 2001. As an impressionable 14 year old kid, that was tough on me and that kick is still hard for me to watch. On the flip note, in the mid-2000s, the Seahawks started to become a contender with Hasselbeck and now Wilson. Any time the Rams had a shot at the division, the Seahawks would steal it away from them. What I’m getting at is this: I’m still incredibly pumped for the game on Sunday despite my 2 least favorite teams being in it, which I think borderlines on obsession. I suppose it’s a similar feeling to when somebody asks if you want a beer, but they only have Keystone Light; you’ll still take the beer.

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FMQB: Sounds Like a Broken Record

Posted by fmquarterback on October 24, 2014
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AustinDavis

Before we get to the elephant in the room, I am SO excited this week that I can actually talk about the Rams and not just sound like a homer! The rest of the sports world is talking about Sunday’s game, so I will follow suit. Last week I proclaimed that there were 2 ways to beat the Seahawks, either a strong run game or controlling the clock. Let’s add an incredibly accurate passing game, and pulling trick plays like crazy! Austin Davis was a cool 18-21 on Sunday which is hard to beat.

To the plays everybody is talking about: First, how does one run a trick play when the other team has the ball?!?! The punt return was genius and the entire Seattle team fell for it, running to a floundering Tavon Austin who was on the opposite side of where the ball actually went. Also nice job by Stedman Bailey to run down the punt from the line of scrimmage! The fake punt with 2:55 left was also one of the gutsiest calls I’ve ever seen. Miss that play and Seattle wins the game.

Love seeing Brett Favre say that Austin Davis could be the next Kurt Warner or Tom Brady. I haven’t crowned him yet, but I’m still drinking the Kool-Aid!

Sounds like a Broken Record:

By now everybody’s heard enough about Peyton Manning’s 509. But this is truly a once in a decade type of accomplishment. Marino broke it in 1995, Favre in 2007, and now Manning in 2014. We all just witnessed history, and with the numbers continuing to skyrocket, the odds of a QB playing this many years at such a high level is going to become increasingly difficult. Congrats Peyton!

The Quiet Record Breaker:

Amidst the shuffle, DeMarco Murray is slowly putting up incredible numbers as well. On Sunday, he became the first RB in NFL history to run for 100 yards in his first 7 games.  Hard to believe, but he just took down another Jim Brown record, and yet he’s still not quite on pace to break Dickerson’s record. Could be interesting to see how this turns out, as RB’s tend to do better at the tail end of the year with defenses tiring down. Yet Jason Garrett has had to fuel “pitch count” questions due to the amount of time he gives Murray the ball.

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FMQB: I’ll Trade you Autographs for Crab Legs

Posted by fmquarterback on October 17, 2014
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murray

Not Again!

Just 3 weeks after the Buccaneers dreadful blowout against the Falcons, Lovie Smith must have been thinking “Not Again!” Joe Flacco got off to 4 TD passes in the 1st quarter, 5 in the first 17 minutes of regulation. By halftime they were up 38-0, though they had already put the Cruise Control on at the beginning of the 2nd quarter. It wasn’t as bad as going down 56-0 against the Falcons, but to have 2 awful blowouts in 3 weeks is horrible.

 

Effect of New Overtime Rules:

In 2012 the new overtime rules were put into place, where a TD wins the game but a FG gives the other team a chance to match it. And yes, every older football fan remembers how cheap it was to have the coin toss pretty much decide the game, so I’m giving the new rule an overall thumbs up.

 

However, we’ve had an interesting side-effect on this new rule; an increase in ties (ugh, that’s worse than kissing your sister). Take a look at this crazy stat! From 1990-2011, there were only 4 ties in those 22 seasons. There has now been 3 ties in the last 3 years with the new rule change. The reason why is due to the FG aspect of the rule. The Bengals had the ball for 6 minutes and banged home a FG. The Panthers then had the ball for 6 minutes themselves with an equal result. All of a sudden, the Bengals only had 2 minutes of regulation to avoid a tie. Yes, I hear all of you saying “they missed the FG.” But that alone is almost asking for ties to happen! NEW RULE PROPOSITION: They should say that if both teams score in OT, then it’s sudden death with no game clock.

 

I feel like the purpose for having a tie is to avoid 6 hour games where teams can’t score (ala some NHL games, or the Steelers Dolphins 3-0 hurricane game). But if teams have proven they can score (twice), then give them a chance to play it out. Better yet, just switch it to College rules.

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FMQB: It Is Time

Posted by fmquarterback on February 2, 2014
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SB3

Welcome to a special Super Bowl Sunday edition of FMQB! We are finally here! Why there are 266 games prior to this one will all be decided in ONE…FINAL…GAME. Last week was FMQB’s bye week (perhaps a mistake), but hey, I only have 3 things to talk about. The Super Bowl and the 2 games last week, so let’s take a look at 2 of those games which decided how we got here.

Patriots at Broncos:

There were a few key points to why the Broncos won this game. The epic matchup between Brady and Manning soon turned into Peyton making plays and Brady making mistakes. Right away, Brady missed on a wide open receiver downfield, overthrowing a sure TD. It happened at least 3 times that game, and those minor mistakes alone killed the Patriots. The Broncos defense also showed up this game, holding LeGarrett Blount to 6 yards rushing (after a 166yd and 4 TD game last week). But the most telling stat of the game was the pressure on the quarterback. Brady was hurried 6 times, and sacked twice. Manning had an incredible stat line, with 0 hurries, 1 hit, and 0 sacks! That dominance by the offensive line is how Peyton was able to complete 32 passes for 400 yards. Continue Reading