The Seattle Seahawks only have one
Super Bowl appearance in their history, and the quarterback who led them there
was Matt Hasselbeck. Today though, Hasselbeck is a member of the Tennessee
Titans, but was welcomed back with a long and loud cheer by Seahawks fans when
he stepped on the field Saturday to take on his former team in the first
preseason game for both teams.
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| Robert Turbin |
Those cheers of support immediately
turned to cheers of success for the Seahawks. On Hasselbecks first play, his
throw to wide receiver Nate Washington was dropped, but as Washington fell
down, the ball stayed on his body. It was picked up by corner Brandon Browner,
who took it back to the house to put Seattle up 7-0 after only 9 seconds had
ticked off the clock.
As the first quarter went on, it
was Seattle’s offenses turn. Led by newly signed QB Matt Flynn, fans were
anxious to see what the announced starter could do. But Seattle started by
running the ball, both to Leon Washington and rookie Robert Turbin. Washington
started, with three straight big runs. Turbin then came in and ran all over
this Titans defense that was struggling to take him down. Flynn started to get
some passes in as well, and after a very long drive, Seattle kicker Steven Hauschka
hit a 41 yard field goal. Seattle was up 10-0.
Flynn was 6/6 for 36-yards on his
first and only drive of the first quarter.
Hasselbeck came back onto the field
for the start of the second, and hit his first three passes, all for first
downs. On his fourth throw, he made a crucial mistake lobbing the ball up to a
double covered receiver. 2nd year pro Richard Sherman out of
Stanford made the pick and stepped out on the Titans 5 yard line.
Matt Flynn was off to another hot
start, hitting TE Zach Miller with a 9 yard pass, then a 14 yard pass to Miller
again. Next play though, Flynn made a very poor pass that was picked by Titans
Colin McCarthy.
Hasselbecks day was done, and Jake
Locker came in. Locker was a star at University of Washington, and went to
Ferndale High School in northern Washington State. Seahawks fans had another QB
to welcome back, and they gave him another huge standing ovation. Locker did
not do much on his first drive, but on his second moved the ball with quick
clean passes. Tennessee kicker Rob Bironas
hit a field goal as they headed to half, 10-3 Seahawks.
Seattle did make a QB change in the
second half, bringing in rookie Russell Wilson. And Wilson took advantage of
this opportunity, surprising many with his play. Wilson was completing passes
all over the field. The offensive line was letting the d-line get through and
get to Wilson, but he was able to scramble away each time. It was capped off by
a 39-yard TD pass to Braylon Edwards that had the whole stadium rocking.
Former Florida Atlantic standout Rusty Smith started at quarterback for the Titans in the 2nd half. Smith looked very poised in the pocket and for the most part played very well. Seattle was stuffing the run but was giving up a lot of completions. However, Titan's running back Darius Reynaud did break a 21 yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter.
But Reynaud was not done, and kept
on impressing. At the end of the 3rd, he was able to return a punt
85-yards for a touchdown. That tied the game up at 17-17 going into the fourth.
Wilson did make one terrible
decision to start the fourth quarter though. After Heath Farwell picked up a
fumble that put the Seahawks on the Titan's twelve, Wilson tried to lob a pass
into triple coverage and it was easily picked off by Zac Diles. But it was not
enough for the Titans, and the Seahawks were able to get a field goal on the
next drive to go up 20-17. Tennessee kicker Will Batson had a chip shot FG to
tie it with 4 minutes left but missed. That all but put the game out of reach.
Wilson added a huge 32 yard TD run, only solidifying his huge night. And from
there, Seattle rolled 27-17.
Seattle and Tennessee both played
similar tonight. The offenses looked good passing the ball, but at times the
run game had issues. Chris Johnson had only 8-yards on 5 carries, and Robert
Turbin had 24-yards on 10 carries. But both passing attacks were very
fluent. Russell Wilson was 12/16 124-yards 1 TD 1 INT with 3 carries for 59-yards and a touchdown. Matt Flynn was
11/13 with 71-yards and a pick. One thing that stood out was how much Seattle
seemed to be throwing to its running backs a lot. Seattle’s backfield had 10
receptions while the receivers had 13. But short passes were the key, as
Seattle only averaged 6.4 yards per pass and Tennessee averaged 5.9.
Titans QBs Locker and Smith did
well. Locker was 7/13 for 80-yards and Rusty Smith was 7/10 for 76-yards.
All quarterbacks had a high
completion percentage, and both defenses struggled defending the pass. But they
limited each other to respectable amount of yardage. Seattle had 321, Tennessee
had 305.
For Seattle, Tarvaris Jackson and
Josh Portis did not play. Both will most likely play in the week 2 game at
Denver. Flynn played well enough to keep the starting job, but it will be
interesting to see what Wilson can keep doing. He played exceptionally well and
like all rookie QBs will have flashes of greatness at times. Hopefully it can
be a sign of things to come. Terrell Owens did not play, but was visible at all
times on the sideline. Both he and Braylon Edwards could be in a battle to stay
on the team past the preseason, and with Edwards impressive touchdown grab,
Owens needs to get on the field quick. Marshawn Lynch did not play much, with
only one carry for no yards. Robert Turbin did a great job playing as a receiving
back and if Lynch is playing in the regular season, we could see Turbin used as
a short yardage dump off option. Heavily criticized first round pick Bruce
Irvin did not register a single stat in his first game as a Seahawk. Doug
Baldwin, Ricardo Lockette, and Sidney Rice also did not play.
For Tennessee, all quarterbacks
played for the Titans. Hasselbeck did struggle, only adding fuel to the fire of
letting Locker start. Locker had a very decent game, and third string Rusty
Smith did as well. But with Hasselbeck and Locker ahead of him Smith will not
be higher than #3. Chris Johnson had a tough time running the ball, but Javon
Ringer was able to pick up 22-yards on only 4 carries. The MVP of the game for
Tennessee goes to Darius Reynard. Reynard was an UFA in 2008 out of West
Virginia. After spending time with the Vikings and Giants, he signed with
Tennessee this off-season. He has never registered a single reception but has
returned many kicks. But with his performance tonight he should not have much
left to lock up a roster spot. While he is listed as a receiver, he played
running back, finishing with 29-yards on only five carries (good for a pre-season
game) and added a touchdown. He also had the 85-yard punt return for a
touchdown. Titans first round pick Kendall Wright had 3 receptions for 47
yards. Nate Washington, fresh off a 1,023-yard season, had 3 receptions for 24-yards. G Steve Hutchinson also returned
to Seattle for the first time with Tennessee.
65,589 people were in attendance
for tonights game.
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