Sport often reveals interesting paradoxes. The institution praises dynasties such as the New England Patriots, Kentucky Wildcats and New York Yankees.
Those organizations are some of the most venerated in sport, but when they fail to produce an ample supply of championships, the news cycle dictates that they are in dire straits.
Sometimes a team steps forward and captivates the spotlight and sheds some positivity on the “sky is falling” mentality that is force-fed to the public.
In this installment of the NFL playoffs, one particular team has captivated my attention more than watching New England quarterback Tom Brady carve up a Cover 2 defense with “surgical precision” or the swan song that is Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis’ final season.
Speaking of such, that phrase needs to be erased from sports lexicon. Surgical procedures should never be compared to out routes.
But back to the team that has captivated my attention. The Seattle Seahawks — yep, remember them? They sure are making former Seahawks Steve Largent and Dave Krieg happy.
Seattle has made it to the playoffs in two of the past three seasons without the help of well-known names like Shaun Alexander or Ricky Watters.
They signed former Packers backup Matt Flynn to a rich contract in the offseason (three years, $26 million). But instead of playing Flynn, who is known for shredding the Detroit Lions’ defense for six touchdowns as a Packer last season, they opted to start equally unproven Russell Wilson.
The results were staggering.
He completed 64 percent of his passes for 26 touchdowns and more than 3,100 passing yards. He also ran for almost 500 yards, which is pretty impressive considering today’s pass-happy offensive schemes.
The Seahawks’ stout defense, which is led by the likes of Chris Clemons, Bruce Irvin and Brandon Browner, surrendered the fewest points per game during the playoffs this season and gave up the fourth-fewest yards during the regular season. Had I not watched one or two Seahawks games on a whim, I would likely be asking the same question you are right now: “Who the heck are those players?”
Allow me the pleasure of introducing them: Clemons and Irvin combined for 19.5 sacks as defensive linemen, and Browner led a group of defensive backs that frustrated receivers all season long.
It happens every so often that a team such as the Seahawks comes along with a band of players that meshes and can make something happen.
Before Atlanta Falcons’ kicker Matt Bryant spliced the uprights Sunday, the Seahawks had chances to secure a victory and a spot in the NFC championship game. The take-away message from the game was that Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan won the game rather than the Seahawks failing to execute and lauding a team that came from nowhere to make some noise.
Now the only noise we will hear is how the Patriots will handle not having injured tight end Rob Gronkowski in the lineup. Yep, just like it’s been dictated.
Did the Seahawks catch your attention? Email Nick at nr225008@ohiou.edu.
