Dear Seattle: That Was Awesome, Now Please Lose

NBC Miami ^ | Mon, Jan 10, 2011 | DREW MAGARY

[nickcarraway]

I was asked earlier this morning if Seattle beating New Orleans was good for the NFL or if it was an impending Sign Of The Rapture, and if we are now mere days away from the Lord whisking us up to the heavens and leaving nothing but our underwear on the ground to be consumed by oceans of hot lava.

It’s kind of a catch-22, isn’t it? After all, it was thrilling to see Seattle pull off the upset on Saturday. Best game of the weekend. Matty Hasselbeck played out of his mind, and Marshawn Lynch’s run was the greatest thing I’ve ever seen. All that said, this was still a bad team that lucked into a playoff spot and now we have to watch them for a second straight week.

The Seahawks play the Bears this weekend, a team they already beat once this season. What if they win THAT game? What if they end up in the NFC title game? Is that good thing? Is it good to know your team can have a losing season and still get a little hot and make a deep playoff run? Or is it a fundamental flaw with how the NFL is set up?

My opinion is that this whole Seahawks thing is cute once. It’s fun to see them upset the defending champs and get out of the Wild Card round. But once they get to the divisional round, order needs to be restored. You don’t want Seattle making the NFC title game or the Super Bowl. You really don’t.

It’s not that it makes a mockery of the regular season (though it kinda does). It’s that I think we all know that, at some point, the Seahawks will go back to being the bad team they were during the regular season and ruin an otherwise watchable playoff game. It’s simply a matter of when, and you don’t want them stinking once the games get super meaningful. We only get so many of these playoff games. We want to know they’ll be played at a high level, and I strongly doubt that Hasselbeck has another miracle in him. That’s just the law of averages. So savor this Seahawks win. Enjoy it. Watch replays of the Lynch run over and over again. But after this coming weekend, it’s time to leave the playoff football to the big boys.

[John W]

There have been moments...

[KoRn]

It’d be funny as hell if they won the Super Bowl. I’d love to see it happen! LOL

[discostu]

One of the great parts about 1 and done tournaments is the possibility for the “how the hell did they pull that off” winner. Although truthfully the Seahawks over the Saints wasn’t that big an upset. I predicted last week it would be a one score game because the Saints really haven’t been that good this year and they were missing their two best runners, and one score games are really all about who had the big plays.

I wouldn’t mind the Seahawks going deeper, heck it might even be cool to see them win it all just to irritate Holmgren.

[Nitehawk0325]

Lol, just 5 years?? The Bears will take out the Seahawks this weekend and at the end, Brady and the Patriots will get another ring. No one can touch the Pats and the Jets will feel the wrath this coming weekend. Everyone can just watch in awe when Brady runs onto the field and leads his men to another winning season.
I can't wait to get the hate mail from this post. LOL

[AceMineral]

You are a football man.

[normy]

Every Wildcard visiting team had a better record than the home team (GB actually tied Philly but beat them regular season). Every Wildcard visiting team won except New Orleans. Seattle won a great game and deserve to go to Da Bears. If the Hawks win and Green Bay wins they will host the NFC Championship game. If the HAwks beat 11-5 defending champs, 11-5 NFC North Champs and either the NFC champs or the PAckers(who will by then be 12-6) they should go to the Superbowl.

I wouldn't mind seeing a Seahawks/Steelers Superbowl again but I still think the Pats will be there. Go Seahawks!!

[Acrobat]

Dear America:Whatever happened to the America that loved the "Hickory State", the "Amazing Mets", the underdogs, the Cinderella team of March madness?

Isn't there something wrong when we have to see the mighty British defeat the upstart American patriots?

When the lowly defeat the mighty, it's American!

Note to journalist: See David vs Goliath

We watch sports because the games matter!

[random_user_827]

If I may add one to your list...

11. Cut roster sizes in half and return to one platoon football. Everyone plays both ways for 60 minutes.

[60Gunner]

Seattle may have lost more than they won, but they won all the games that counted. It is what it is. They won their division fair and square and thus deserve as fair a shot at the Lombardi trophy as any other team in the playoffs.

These big-market loudmouths need to STFU and let the teams go for it.

[Dilbert San Diego]

Yes he probably wants a BCS system.

I think he’s talking about how the Seahawks won their division with a 7-9 record. If I recall correctly, the Giants went 10-6 but missed the playoffs. So a team with a better record missed out.

So I guess he figures the Seahawks should have been one and done.

Of course we all know that when the playoffs start, every team is back to 0-0 and it’s single elimination.

[normy]

Funny but if you look from ‘99 to now,the best of the 6 NFC teams has been Philly w/ 9 playoff appearences and 6 division titles.
The Pack and Seattle both have 7 appearences but Seattle has 6 division titles to Packs 4.

Pack and Saints both have Superbowl wins, Bears and Seahawks both have Superbowl losses.

Bears and Falcons both have 4 playoff appearences in that span.

[60Gunner]

So what you're saying is that in spite of the fact that Seattle won their division fair and square, they should still be locked out of the playoffs because they didn't win enough games to suit whatever standard you happen to hold up.

I'm not a Seahawks fan. I'm not really a football fan, either. In my world there are two seasons: Baseball, and utter darkness. But I can tell stupid sports snobbery when I see it. Buddy, I'm looking right at it.

Besides: when was the last time anything good ever came out of Chicago?

[boop]

Love it! Back to the 50's football. But then again, you only had about 12 teams.

BTW, I hope the Seahawks win. My Colts lost so I have no other dog in the hunt. The only saving grace would be to see the Patriots denied.

[cld51860]

Now that is Old School!

... And I like it!

GO BEARS!!!

[erod]

DA BEARSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!

[Logic n' Reason]

You are a football man.

A very OLD football man....I remember it when it was football....a game....not a business.

[SamAdams76]

Seattle fulfilled the requirements to be seeded in the playoffs. Then they beat the Saints by the simple trick of scoring more points than the Saints. What could be more outrageous?

Don't you know how this is supposed to work? The playoffs are only a formality. The top seeded teams are supposed to automatically get to the Super Bowl while the lower seeded teams are expected to roll over out of deference to their superiors with the better regular season records.

Why have playoffs at all? Only one team finished at 14-2 (New England Patriots) and they should automatically be rewarded with the Vince Lombardi trophy.

What if the Seattle Seahawks were to beat Chicago next week, beat Atlanta the week after and then beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl? That would be heresy. Lightning bolts will descend upon the earth from the heavens above, Al Gore would be made president and Tom Brady will be forced to have sex with Helen Thomas.

[SamAdams76]

Seattle fulfilled the requirements to be seeded in the playoffs. Then they beat the Saints by the simple trick of scoring more points than the Saints. What could be more outrageous?

Don't you know how this is supposed to work? The playoffs are only a formality. The top seeded teams are supposed to automatically get to the Super Bowl while the lower seeded teams are expected to roll over out of deference to their superiors with the better regular season records.

Why have playoffs at all? Only one team finished at 14-2 (New England Patriots) and they should automatically be rewarded with the Vince Lombardi trophy.

What if the Seattle Seahawks were to beat Chicago next week, beat Atlanta the week after and then beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl? That would be heresy. Lightning bolts will descend upon the earth from the heavens above, Al Gore would be made president and Tom Brady will be forced to have sex with Helen Thomas.