So, back in November, after the Seahawks lost to the Arizona Cardinals, I wrote of the loss:
"This probably means the Seahawks are not going to the playoffs and definitely not the Super Bowl..."
Well, I am an idiot, because with yesterday's 30-13 win over the Cleveland Browns, the Seahawks clinched a spot in the NFL postseason, which is remarkable. The Hawks have not lost since I made that stupid declaration and so perhaps I should continue making haphazard statements and they'll continue to prove me wrong.
One thing I will go out on a limb and declare, though, is that Russell Wilson is the best quarterback in the league right now. The dude has thrown three touchdowns in five consecutive games, many of them to Doug Baldwin, who has been similarly touchdown-prone of late. And yesterday, the tandem connected twice on a day in which Wilson had laser focus on his passing, going 21 of 30.
The passing game is on lockdown, but the running game? A lot of us were wondering how exactly that was going to work out a week after Thomas Rawls rawled his ankle and ended his season. But the Seahawks went out and got the formerly disappointing Christine Michael who they, as well as the Dallas Cowboys, had already cut from their roster this year. And guess what? Michael was adequate, running for 84 yards.
That's a good sign because the Hawks' offense is predicated on the running game and I am not convinced that anyone in the Seahawks organization has the faintest idea where Marshawn Lynch is. The rumor is that he's in his native
Bay Area working out with some MMA fighter, but I'm not buying it. I'd be more inclined to believe that he's doing the
Rocky III route and running on the beach/hugging with Apollo Creed.
The Seahawks have the Rams coming to Seattle next Sunday for what will likely be their last home game of the season.
THE ZAGS ARE BACK FROM WINNING IN SEATTLE, AND...WAIT, IT'S ALREADY WCC TIME?
Over the weekend, Gonzaga crossed the snowbound Cascades for the annual Battle in Seattle, in which they took on Tennessee. And for a team that has struggled mightily in the second half of games...well, they struggled again down the stretch. But this time, they came out with the win, a 86-79 victory in front of a packed house at Key Arena.
The difference was Domantas Sabonis, who was a one-man wrecking crew, scoring 36 points in the game, a bunch of them coming in a fury near the end of the game as the Volunteers closed the gap on what was once a 19-point Zags lead. In all, he shot 12-16 from the field and grabbed 16 rebounds. Those are insane numbers.
Sabonis should look to be as dominant in the upcoming WCC slate, which somehow is already underway, even though it's not even Christmas yet. Gonzaga takes on Pepperdine tonight here in Spokane, and with the students gone, maybe you even hooked up some tickets, right? Tipoff is at 6 pm and if you're ticketless, it's on ESPN2...and rumor has it that local sportscaster Greg Heister is taking to the national stage to call the game.
THE COUGS HEAD TO EL PASO
Washington State held its final practice in Pullman last night before making the trek down to the Mexico border for the Sun Bowl. That game is at 11 am on Saturday — the day after Christmas — and you can see it on CBS if you don't plan on spending your holiday in El Paso.
Currently, the Vegas line has the Cougs as 3-point favorites over Miami. Both teams come in with 8-4 records.