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Saturday, January 8, 2011

Silencing The Critics




The Seattle Seahawks didn't deserve to be in the playoffs. They didn't deserve to host a playoff game. They would get blown out of the water by the New Orleans Saints. It wouldn't be close. The NFL has to change its playoff seeding. It has to change who gets homefield advantage. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!!!!

The Seahawks told their haters to re-seed this Saturday afternoon as the NFL playoffs opened with a bang.

When you follow the Riders all season long and write/report on what they are doing, you cheer for them, but you can't be a fan the way that some are. You have to try to be subjective and neutral. Its not that way with the Hawks. As you do every weekend during the football season, I put on the Seahawk colours and cheer on my squad with as much passion as you do the Riders. I wasn't confident in the Seahawks beating the Rams with Charlie Whitehurst last week, but they did. There was something that told me Seattle would give New Orleans a battle in the NFC Wild-card game and that if they lost, it wouldn't be a blowout. It turned out to be one of the best playoff games we've seen in recent memory.

The two teams went up and down the field, and it wasn't until Seattle recovered what was a terrible onside kick (something Colts fans are saying why couldn't you have kicked one that bad in the Super Bowl last year) that I could relax and bask in the 41-36 win.

Marshawn Lynch had perhaps the best run of the NFL season (see below post), but I don't know if it was the greatest run in the history of the NFL playoffs. I can think of Marcus Allen's 75 yard jaunt when the Raiders pounded the Redskins in the Super Bowl, I can think of Steve Young's meander through the Vikings defence in a playoff game and even though it was an interception return, what about James Harrison's end to end run on the last play of the first half of the Pittsburgh-Arizona Super Bowl. Nonetheless, its one you will see for years.

Matt Hasselbeck looked like he was back in 2005 with the way he was throwing the football and the crowd at Qwest Field was as loud as they ever have. IT WAS GREAT!!

It means Seattle will play either Chicago or Atlanta next weekend. If the Packers beat the Eagles today, (which I think will happen) it means the Bears. If the Eagles win, it means the Falcons. I have not been sold on the Bears all year long and Seattle beat Chicago earlier this year at Soldier Field. I'm not a Jay Cutler fan so I would relish the opportunity to go up against Chicago. The Bears will be favoured and they should be considering their record, the fact they will be at home and the weather which I'm sure will be frosty. However, you've got to play the game.
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While the NFL needs to crown a new Super Bowl champ, we know that both teams that played in last year's championship game won't be there this year. The Saints said goodbye to the post-season party and they were followed by the Colts. The Jets defence did a number on Peyton Manning and the Colts. It looked as if Peyton and company were going to escape with a win, but they left too much time on the clock and lost on a last play field goal thanks to a big kick return and a couple of big Mark Sanchez passes.
At the start of the day, who would have said the combo of Hasselbeck and Sanchez would beat the combo of Brees and Manning? Not many!
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Is Richie Hall back in Riderville? If you believe Sportsnet's Perry Lefko, the answer is yes. Citing numerous sources, Lefko says Greg Marshall is hiring Hall to come back and take over the defence that he left two years ago when he went to become the head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos. Hall had been rumoured to be perhaps heading to Winnipeg or Hamilton. If this story is true, and I'm guessing it is, I would think that Gary Etcheverry will now be in demand by the Bombers and Ti-Cats.
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I'm not one to sit and poke at Don Cherry but I think he went over the top last night in criticizing the Russian juniors for their celebration and the fact they were unable to fly home because they were too drunk. Cherry said the Canadian kids at least went out with honour while the Russians didn't and that he can't stand people who can't stand their liquor. If this is the case, Don can't like too many hockey players then. His patriotism went a little overboard on this one as far as I'm concerned.
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Enough of the snow. Seriously! I think we've had more snow this winter than we have had in the last decade. I had had enough before January 1 so needless to say the more white stuff we get, the more miserable I am. I guess its not -40 yet, but I'm guessing that will come sooner or later.
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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mr. Lefko has been pretty much bang on with his statements about the Rider coaching situation so I would highly suspect its "welcome back Richie and adios Mr. Etcheverry" Where do these "Out of Town" reporters get their information from?

Nelson

Anonymous said...

Why does HNIC continue to let old men like Cole and Cherry ramble? Both were great, but both are now way past their prime. Its time for Healy to take Cherry's spot.

I'm with ya on the snow.


Terry C

Anonymous said...

you know as well as I do that if the Canadians did the same thing, Cherry would defend the Kids and you and all of the Canadian media would skewer them.

Given that I would take sides with Grapes any day over the canadian media

Anonymous said...

Best run I've ever seen and I'm not a Seahawks fan. How many tackles did he break and the stiff-arm is a thing of beauty.

David

Anonymous said...

Thankful: greatly enjoying the 4 NFL playoff games this weekend - the best way to beat the cold Sask winters in January for those of us without enough cash or time off to go sit on the beach in the Carib.

Anonymous said...

Congrats anonymous, you just found a way to defend the fact that Don Cherry is a hypocrite. Nice work!