TERRY MOSHER
JADEVEON CLOWNEY
TOP OF THE TOWN – Sometimes it’s best to just shut up. I will never learn, though, and I will keep on keeping on what I do and say because most of my outlook on sports (and life) has been built on over 70 years of doing it. I was wrong when early in the Seahawks game against San Francisco with the score 10-0 49ers I thought the Seahawks looked terrible and said that in a Facebook post. I figured they would get blown out — easily. But a fumble return by Jadeveon Clowney turned on the Seahawks and in a classic game that had all the earmarks of a doozy with seven turnovers and more turning points than the S Curves on 405 the Seahawks finally won 27-24 in overtime on a 42-yeard field goal by Jason Myers as time ran out. The Seahawks are now 8-2 and have a bye this week in the NFL. I think I have Clowney figured out (Yeah, here I go again saying something that may be proved wrong). He appears to have two levels of play. When he’s not really into it he’s good. When he is into it he’s really, really good. It was clearly obvious he liked being on the national stage last Monday with the game being televised throughout the country and he played like he had a fire burning in his butt. He was making a mockery of the 49ers offensive line and was in their backfield as often as Jimmy Garoppolo. Now if Pete Carroll can figure out how to make Clowney play that way every game he should automatically be named coach of the year in the league. In my 50 years as a sportswriter I have seen all kinds of personalities playing sports. What I discovered, although I’m not the first one to discover this, is that there are some athletes that are just better than others with as much talent or more because they have that mental attitude that can’t be matched. They just keep coming no matter how hard you try to stop them. I was kind of like that as young kid. But it would take me, as it apparently does Clowney, for something to happen to get me going. In football it wasn’t much. I just had to be hit hard a couple times to get tears flowing and then afire would be lit in my butt and I became very determined. In basketball, on an opponents’ floor, when fans got on me I would pick up my game to show them and shut them up. That seems to be Clowney’s motivation. As for the Seahawks, I can’t in all honestly see how they can walk that tightrope they seem to walk every week and not suffer a great fall. Yes, they arose to the occasion against the 49ers and played through four turnovers and used a blistering defense keyed by Clowney to prevail in another squeaker. But they also show they play down to the competition, so I’m going to reserve judgment on them until they can prove they can blow out somebody. They are in the tough stretch of their schedule. Next up is at Philadelphia on Nov. 24, home with Minnesota on Dec. 2, at the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 8, at Carolina on Dec. 15, home with Arizona on Dec. 22 and then the rematch with the 49ers at home Dec. 29. That’s a tough row to hoe and Clowney better be psyched. As for me, I’m going to stop talking. For now.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.