Russell Wilson, Seahawks, take wide berth of 49ers

Russell Wilson gets the job done. Sunday night’s game between the Seahawks and 49ers wasn’t all about Russell Wilson. Anyone who saw Doug Baldwin’s great leaping catch in the first quarter would agree the Seahawks are comprised of an ensemble of very talented players. Doug Baldwin: Astronaut. Doug Baldwin is at it again. He caught a few well placed passes from Russell Wilson. It seems Wilson’s passes to Baldwin are all “top shelf”. I can hardly remember Baldwin making receptions with either foot on the ground. Remember Seattle’s “quantum leap” victory over the highly rated New England Patriots? Seattle’s victory against the 49ers may be recognized as a second quantum leap. This isn’t just because of Baldwin’s jumping, it’s also because Seattle has now doubled it best string of wins all season long with four in a row. Until this recent streak, the Seahawks have not won more than two in a row. The string looks like this: L-W-W-L-W-W-L-L-W-W-L-W-W-W-W. The thing I admire about this season, is the complexity of Seahawks football. As simple as their discipline, they have built up a variety of options and play each scheme soundly.   Seahawks fans around town seem very “Baldwin-ed” after their 10th victory. “Baldwin-ed” in this case means “elated”. Remember the Patriots game?             See what I mean? Zero feet on the ground. Baldwin’s not the only one jumping into success. Enter Red Bryant. Red’s the guy in the air. You were probably thinking he’s one of the three down linemen.   Credit Heath Farwell, special teams master, for shoving Bryant through the gap. I want to say it’s the “B” gap. That’s the “Blocking” gap, isn’t it? Red Bryant has a few blocks to his name. Richard Sherman, I believe I heard Cris Collinsworth of NBC’s Sunday Night Football joke that you were sort of lazing around (my words, not his) near the left flat when the play started. That was not just any purposeless “lazing”. Great heads-up play and endurance on the run-back. Just enough gas in the tank. Richard Sherman blocked FG return for TD Immediately following the game, I went to P.F. Chang’s in Bellevue. After sipping on a cup of hot sake, I was told by a friend of a friend, that the Seahawks primary running back was present. I looked toward the opposite end of the bar and saw a few people sitting down apparently waiting for a table. This is a very nice place to eat with family. Despite a smattering of patrons in Seahawks apparel, the player and his small group was given their privacy. The atmosphere presented some adversity for the 49ers’ offense. They were more prone to delays of game than the typical false-start. Thanks to NBC for grabbing this game. As one-sided as the results, it remained exciting and exceeded expectations.                                             While the Niners were being called for a couple of game delays, the Seahawks didn’t slow down. Seattle’s Musing of Flight…Photo derivative of NBC SNF footage.   29 point wide berth berth: ORIGIN early 17th cent. (in the sense ‘adequate sea room’): probably from a nautical use of bear1 + -th2. The Seahawks are getting very big. How big are they? The Seahawks are so big, when they go around opponents, the go AROUND opponents! With this win, the Seahawks clinch a playoff berth. Though they are currently a meager 5th Seed, many football followers are taking keen notice of them. The 58 and 50 point games against the Cardinals and Bills were only academically interesting. Putting up 42 points against San Francisco was not predictable. I heard more talk about Bobby Wagner as strong candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year. I also think I heard some talk about Russell Wilson becoming the next Fran Tarkenton. Must have been the rain. Russell Wilson is worth considering for a major honor this year. Perhaps that will only be fully considered upon watching him compete on the big stage against Peyton Manning, someone who holds the record for most touchdown passes as a rookie. Most Passing Touchdowns, Rookie, Season 26, Peyton Manning, 1998 With his 4 passing touchdowns last night, Russell Wilson moved into a tie for second on the list with 22 passing TDs. Timeout! I was recently reading through comments at the tail end of a sports article centered on the 49ers – Seahawks match. One commenter pointed out the crowd noise and how it might affect Colin Kaepernick. Someone responded that the crowd noise only affects the other players who can’t hear the quarterback’s cadence. Crowd noise doesn’t only create higher instances of false starts. They create problems with audibles, delays of game and they deplete timeouts, elements of the quarterback’s role. As much as the crowd noise was a nuisance, so was Seattle’s defensive pressure. Kaepernick was contained for the most part. The read-option that so many were talking about wasn’t as featured in this game as in each team’s recent-past games. Substitute defensive backs were also mostly effective. It helped greatly that the Seahawks have a great support system surrounding those substitutes. Final callouts Doug Baldwin and Marshawn Lynch both scored twice. Baldwin’s scores were both receiving and Lynch scored one of each (rushing and passing). Vernon Davis and Mario Manningham each suffered injuries that kept them from coming back into the game. Godspeed in their recoveries. FOR MORE S-L-U-G-G-O-!-!-!- POSTS, CLICK HERE.  Go Seahawks!