With Big Blue traveling to Seattle later today, the Giants’ C Shaun O’Hara recalls November’s 24-21 OT loss to Seattle. From the Newark Star-Ledger’s Mike Garafolo.
“It was like ‘Wayne’s World,’ when Wayne and Garth are sitting on the hood of the car at the end of the runway and the planes are landing right over them,” O’Hara (above) said the other day. “You see their mouths moving while they’re cursing each other out, but all you can hear is the sound of the airplane.
“It was kind of like that.”
Amidst all the conjecture surrounding Qwest Field’s Is-It-Real-Or-Memorex crowd noise, The Tacomna News Tribune’s Mike Sando reminds us that as gaffe-prone as the Giants were that afternoon, the Seahawks’ sputtering offense didn’t fare much better.
As the teams prepare to play again at Qwest Field today, one important detail has gone unexplored: Seattle needed those false starts and missed field goals because its offense was so inconsistent.
The Seahawks finished the game with nine punts, six of them after three-and-out possessions. Two additional three-play drives ended with turnovers, including an interception deep in Seattle territory.
The Eagles™ offense went three-and-out on its only overtime possession, while the Giants hogged the ball for 20 snaps.
The Giants rolled up 490 yards on Seattle last season, nearly as much as the Seahawks have allowed against Detroit and Arizona this season.
That 2005 Seattle defense did not have current starters Ken Hamlin and Julian Peterson. Their presence today gives the Seahawks additional speed to combat Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey, who burned Seattle for 10 catches and 127 yards last season. Peterson, arguably the NFL™s most athletic linebacker, is relishing the matchup.
Lest anyone doubt the New York Times is totally in touch with the cultural zeitgeist, The 5th Down’s Toni Monkovic tackles the heady topic of how to cope with ridiculous fantasy trade propositions.
In advance of the 1pm clash between the Bears and Vikings, Football Outsiders‘ Aaron Schatz, writing in the New York Sun, is less than blown away with 2-0 Minnesota, nor the former Ravens running back described below.
Chester Taylor provides a good example of how public perception doesn’t line up with Minnesota’s actual play on the field. Television announcers continually refer to the ex-Ravens backup as a workhorse who wears down opposing defenses. Even though the Vikings improved their offensive line with the return of Pro Bowl center Matt Birk from injury and the signing of Steve Hutchinson, the best guard in the game, Taylor is averaging just 3.7 yards a carry.Six of his 55 carries have lost yardage, seven more have gained nothing, and more than half have gone for two yards or less. He isn’t running better late in games, either; even considering a 33-yard overtime run last week, Taylor averages just 3.75 yards per carry in the fourth quarter or overtime.
Never let it be said there’s nothing worth doing in Canton, OH.