TERRY MOSHER
Strong winds today (Tuesday, Nov. 24) are causing havoc with the trees, sending big branches slamming into our house and creating whitecaps on Puget Sound waters. It’s almost like the thoughts swirling around in my brain, causing me a headache as they crash against my skull.
So to the Boneyard I go, to ease some of the pressure and allow me to see straight once again.
I get a big kick out of most of you now that the Seahawks have a one-game winning streak after a victory over the 49ers. Shock jocks on radio are saying the Hawks finally have things straighten out and are not out of playoff contention, but are a real threat now to go all the way.
Right.
No matter how you slice it, the Hawks are still 5-5 and two more defeats will almost certainly mean they will be home watching on TV when the playoff begin. So how are they now playoff contenders?
I’m beginning to come around to what others have been saying for most of the Hawks’ season about the team’s defense. Russell Wilson played well against the 49ers, the offensive line looked better and Thomas Rawls looked like the second-coming of the Beast Mode.
But again the secondary was giving up big plays and this against a second-team quarterback in Blaine Gabbert who looked like an all-pro at times against that Hawk secondary.
So what is wrong with a secondary that used to be the Legion of Boom? All I can think about is that teams have figured out how to attack it, using three wide offenses that cause confusion by going in different directions than usual and then sending the tight end down the seam where tight ends have consistently been wide open against the Hawk defense this season.
It’s not unimportant to note that cornerback Cary Williams was benched the second half against the 49ers. He looked pretty silly on at least one play when a back-up 49ers’ tight end got loose down the sidelines for a big gain. Williams must have been picking his nose in a moment of distraction.
Pittsburgh will be a huge test for that secondary on Sunday just because six-foot-five quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has a huge arm and will be throwing deep. I’ll be very interested to see how that all plays out.
Friday’s Apple Cup should also have my strict attention because Washington State has been the big surprise of this college season, and the Washington Huskies have played extremely well at times even though it’s a very young squad.
I would like to see Washington State at full strength, however. And the Cougars may not have Luke Falk, the explosive sophomore quarterback with a quick release and toughness to stand in the pocket and weather intense defensive pressure. He is doubtful with what appears to be a concussion, although we don’t know for sure because coach Mike Leach dislikes talking about injuries and has yet to reveal what is wrong with his sensational signal-caller.
The 5-6 Huskies are underdogs in this in-state battle even though they are playing on their home field. I think the Cougars will win despite the possibility of not having Falk. Their defense is better than it has been for a long time and even without Falk the Air Raid offense of Leach will hum right along.
Certainly, it will be a big test for a Husky defense that is the best in the Pac-12. So we’ll see won’t we?
I’m impressed that Olympic and North Kitsap not only had good football seasons, but showed some toughness in the playoffs. Our teams here in Westsound have a tough time competing at the state level for reasons I really haven’t figured out over nearly 50 years and then and to see NK make it through the opening round of state before falling should give hope not only to future Viking teams but to others in the Olympic League that, hey, we can compete at state.
So kudos to NK and to Olympic, which suffered just one defeat all year.
Now it’s on to the high school basketball season, and like football our teams have trouble competing consistently at the state level. But hopefully that will change this year and somebody will emerge that will be a state contender.
I don’t know what is going on at Washington. I covered the Huskies in football and basketball (women and men) for the Bremerton Sun/Sun and Kitsap Sun for nearly 30 years and this year is the first time I can remember when both the school’s men basketball team and it’s football team have been so young and fairly good.
The Husky basketball team is 3-0 and has scored 100 or more points in each of its last two games. The 15-man Husky roster has seven freshman, five sophomores, two juniors and one senior (Andrew Andrews). And those freshmen are really good.
I can’t get too excited for them, however, because a pre-season poll among writers covering the Pac-12 have them picked for 11th place, just above Washington State. They are picked to win just four conference games, and I’m not yet ready to say the poll is wrong. That’s because you are dealing with kids who are just barely 18 going against guys that are in their early 20s in the conference, and physically maturity usually wins when there is a big disparity.
But I’m guessing that on certain nights these young Dawgs may pull off a stunning upset or two and somebody is bound to sing, “Who let the Dogs out?”
Some swirling thoughts in my confused brain that will have to say there for now have to do with the idiots who not only in the presidential race, but are leading in some polls, and the downing today of a Russian fighter jet by Turkey when it strayed (the Turks say) into its air space. I’m not saying that it’s a dangerous turn in the wild and conflicting events going on in the Middle East, but it’s not comforting to know that we have Russian and American Jets flying in the same air space and wondering when they will turn on each other and really turn this into a dangerous game.
For now, though, all I have to dodge is those tree branches swirling about our house from strong winds and swirling thoughts that rumple around in my brain. But being in the Boneyard has eased some of the pressure off my brain, and now if the winds will quiet down the rest of the day may go by peacefully.
Hopefully, this finds you at peace.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.
