IT TOOK LATE HEROICS BUT A SWEET ROAD VICTORY FOR HAWKS

It was a struggle and wasn't pretty,  but it was a Win,  A Road Win. The Seahawks will take it.

SEAHAWKS WIN IT  12-7 IN A HOT HUMID SQUEAKER

The Seattle Seahawks have had perhaps more hype surrounding their upcoming season than any other team in the NFL.  Russell Wilson has turned heads of all of his doubters and Richard Sherman has backed up his talk on almost every stage across the country.  The Legion of Boom certainly has earned its moniker and Beast Mode has lived up to his grisly reputation as a punishing, tempo setting running back.  So as the 2013 season begins, the expectations cannot be higher for the fourth youngest football team in the league.

Pete Carroll and the rest of the Seahawks players knew that this opening game in Charlotte wasn't going to be a cakewalk and they were right.  The Panthers have one of the best front seven defensive sets in football and a quarterback who has perhaps the highest ceiling in terms of potential of any quarterback in the NFL.  Seattle's defense knew they were in tough Sunday morning with the 247 lb., 6'5" former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, Cam Newton.  He is simply a nightmare to take down once he decides to pull up the ball and run, and he has a laser right arm capable of making all the NFL throws necessary to be elite.  Newton threw the ball well and took advantage of a couple of mismatches down the field, but for the most part the Seahawks secondary responded and kept him mostly in check, allowing just 116 net yards on 16 of 23 passing.  This is a quarterback and receiving corps capable of putting up much higher numbers.  Some of Newton's decision-making wasn't the best Sunday, hence the 74.1 QBR for the day.  However, with his supreme athleticism and that rocket launcher connected to his right shoulder, the game was constantly in jeopardy of getting out of control.  Despite his mediocre passing stats, Newton made few mistakes and ran with the football very well, lumbering down the field to convert three first downs.  Cam Newton was fun to watch, but it was Carolina's defense that gave Seattle fits all Sunday morning.

The Panthers defensive line definitely won the battle in the trenches.  Russell Wilson had a good day throwing his first 300+ yard game in the regular-season.  However, Wilson's legs are what really helped the Seahawks offence score enough points to win this game.  The diminutive Seattle QB spent most of the early afternoon running and extending plays as the pocket collapsed on nearly every passing play.  Not many of Wilson's completed passes came easy.  In fact, one of his longest completions was to Doug Baldwin on the left sideline as Wilson tried to avoid a quickly disintegrating pocket.  After the game, Wilson said he was throwing to Baldwin, hoping he could make a play on the desperation pass, but he appeared to be throwing the ball out of bounds to avoid a sack.  Lo and behold, out of the dust and smoke came Baldwin seemingly out of nowhere, catching the rainbow pass and just scraping his toes in-play as he crashed and burned on the sideline.  Out of the heap of players also landing on the sideline chock, Baldwin rose with the ball still in his hands as the official signaled a completion.  Baldwin was all over the field with his never failing soft hands and the ability to deceptively create separation between defenders, giving Wilson a place to throw especially when he was in trouble.  It would be natural for most to criticize the Seattle offensive line for failing to protect their quarterback, but that would be an insult to the Panthers' front seven defenders who were an "all day nightmare" for Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and all five offensive line positions.  The truth of it is that Carolina has an awesome crew of defensive linemen and Luke Kuechly leading a very formidable trio of linebackers.  It seemed like Kuechly was everywhere at once, sidelined to sideline, and in Wilson's face most of the game.  Head coach Ron Rivera might lose his job this year if the Panthers don’t improve their season record, and if he does, it won't be because the Panthers don't have the horses to do the job.  Cam Newton has Hall of Fame potential and D'Angelo Williams did an admirable job against a very good defense in the Seahawks.  This was proof that Seattle can have a bad game and still do enough to win, even on the road.  Anyone who thought the Seahawks were going to march into Bank of America Stadium and romp all over this Carolina team hasn't been watching this football team the last two seasons.  They are young, very smart and athletic football team and have the talent to challenge the best in the NFC South.  Any team boasting players like; Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly, Steve Smith, Star Lotulelei, DeAngelo Williams, Ryan Kalil and Greg Olson, has a great nucleus and this is a very much improved football team since Seattle play them a year ago.  Seattle seems to have their number, but that number is small represented by the margin of victory.  Seattle escaped Carolina two years in a row… on a razors edge and with a very tough, resilient and determined Seahawks combined team effort.

It's difficult to name a Most Valuable Player in this Seahawks game victory, because it was one of the more ugly wins that the team has had in recent history.  However, Doug Baldwin, Golden Tate, Sidney Rice, Jermaine Kearse and Zach Miller didn't fail their quarterback this week.  There were very few dropped balls and some of the catches were simply spectacular.  Baldwin's sidelined miracle highlights some of the clutch catches by Seattle’s receivers, but Kearse’s end zone beauty was the difference in the football game.  Wilson threw the football in the only safe place it could have been thrown, as Kearse timed his leap perfectly, muscling the football away from the two Panther defenders that doubled him in the end zone.  Kearse seemed to jerk the football out of the sky like a bug and tumbled to the grass.  He rolled out of his fall to stand up facing the Panther crowd in the end zone, then ripped open his imaginary white dress shirt, exposing a super "S", in a "how about that" gesture to quarterback Cam Newton who has made it his trademark to do his Superman move in the end zone after scores.  It was timed beautifully and had a certain "You ain't Nuttin" to it, that a team (like the Seahawks) expecting to win- should have.  I'm not one to applaud end zone buffoonery, but this was "smart" and it was humorous and one of the things that keeps the NFL fun. 

Special attention should also be given to the mostly unheralded position, Jon Ryan, the punter.  Ryan saved the Seahawks a couple of different times as they were pinned very deep in their own end zone and not able to put together consecutive positive yardage plays.  Ryan launched a 69 yard punt from 8 yards deep in his own end zone, saving the Seahawks a possible short field to defend.  With all the other key plays in the game, it's difficult to imagine giving an MVP to your punter, but he also should be given the credit due him.  He was everything you would hope to get from the man whose job is to dig you out of trouble every time he comes onto the field.  That's his job, and Ryan can fly home feeling pretty good about his contribution to a very tough and well-deserved road win across the country.

So, it was an ugly win, but it was still a win… and not only that, it was a conference win and those don't come easily in the NFC.  Russell Wilson proved, in the first game of his second season, that he indeed doesn't really know what the words "Sophomore Slump" even mean.  Pete Carroll and Daryl Bevell put the game in his hands and treated him like a veteran quarterback attempting 33 passes and completing 25 which is 76% and Wilson took care of the ball, throwing zero interceptions!  Wilson did commit one fumble resulting in a turnover, but it was during a passing play when the right defensive end came at him completely unblocked from behind,  swatting the ball out of his throwing hand.  Wilson probably hung on to the ball a little too long, but the Panthers pass rush was relentless.  Those defenders definitely did their job against the Seahawks offense and went away from that loss with a lot to build on.  This was certainly a game of big plays and no two plays were bigger than Jermaine Kearse catch in the end zone and Earl Thomas' hit and strip of D'Angelo Williams as the Panthers were driving toward the red zone for either a touchdown or at least, a field goal.  It turned out that that turnover, recovered by Richard Sherman, was enough to seal the victory and as the Seahawks offense chewed up 5:25 left in the fourth quarter on a couple of great passes by Wilson and some valuable (YAC) yards after catch by Derrick Coleman, Golden Tate and Marshawn Lynch.

The Seahawks have a lot to work on after this nailbiting performance, and penalties are on top of the list.  The offensive line cannot be criticized too much, for they were playing one of the best rushing defenses in football, and it was the Seahawks offensive line that provided Wilson enough time to throw the 43 yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse.  The O-line did their jobs, helping the Seahawks offense “shore up the game” gaining a series of first downs to eat up the remainder of the game-clock and doing what it takes to finish games down the stretch.  This is extremely important and an obvious factor on how this game was won, they made plays when they needed to.

It was an ugly game, I don't think there would be a player or coach on the team that would deny that.  But it was a rare road victory for the Seahawks and one that will get them closer to the ultimate goal.  This is an important thing and bears repeating:

It's always a good win; when you go on the road, across the country, in inclement playing conditions, in your first game of the season, playing horribly, making several physical and mental mistakes, against a very good opponent with several key players out with injuries… and still Win the game.  All NFL games are difficult to get a win, and road wins are particularly difficult, but each of them is vital on the road to a Super Bowl Championship. 

There's a lot of work to do for this Seahawks football team, but coming home 1-0 fits right into Russell Wilson's wheelhouse.  As he says each week at his press conferences; ”Each week it is our goal to go “One and Oh.”  Well, the Seahawks are “one and oh” this week and on the season.  Next week, the much maligned, conference and division rivals, the 49ers visit the C’Link in Seattle.  There's no question that the 12th man is ready to do their jobs.  Expect  record-breaking noise and nearly legal mayhem coming from 67,000 questionably sane Seahawks fans.  Amidst an already raging Stadium of screaming Seahawkers, will be a semi-organized attempt to best the Guinness Book of World Records loudest stadium ever at 131 dB. Set by a rowdy bunch of Turks in Istanbul at a soccer game.  So, what does that mean to you and I in our homes?  Expect some damage to your TVs loudspeaker.  For the fans at the stadium… I have three words for you; "Serious Ear Protection!"

For the Seahawks players, this will be a much more difficult opponent than the Panthers and the Seahawks must right their wrongs of the week prior, because this football team won’t allow the Seahawks to make many errors, and it’s a new season.  The Seahawks’ 42-13 drubbing of the Niners last December is history and you don’t simply pick up where you left off last season.  The boys better be ready…  because Colin Kaepernick burned the Packers for 412 yards passing, and three TD's.  They're going to come to play and they will be salty about last December.  Getting a 42 burger hung on you is something you just don't forget for a long off-season.  However, Seattle better forget about it.

Go Hawks!