TERRY MOSHER
TOP OF THE TOWN – Before the season I predicted the Seahawks would finish last in the NFC West because they had not improved their roster while others in the division had. I also had a hunch that the luck the team had in previous seasons of winning most of its close games would turn the other way. Boy was I right. Their playoff hopes were finally crushed Tuesday in Inglewood when the Rams closed the Hawks out with a 20-10 victory that gave them a sweep of their two division games this season and dropped the Hawks to 5-9 with three games left. I feel bad for the Hawks, though, because they got screwed by the officials Tuesday on several questionable calls that went against them, The worse was the no-call on the clearly obvious pass interference on Deejay Dallas in the fourth quarter with the score 17-10. The play came on about the 31 of the Rams and would have set the Hawks up for a possible tying TD. Instead, the official who was right on the scene did nothing. No flag. No nothing. The ridiculous no-call reminded me of January 2019 in the NFC championship game between the Rams and Saints when Rams’ cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman ran over receiver Tommylee Lewis as the ball was in the air and officials swallowed their whistles and no call was made. Had the officials did the correct thing and called the PI the Saints could have run out the clock and kicked a last second field goal to win the game 23-20 and advance to the Super Bowl. Instead, the Rams were able to kick a last-second field goal of their own and kicked another in overtime to win the game 26-23 and moved on to the Super Bowl. If the Hawks didn’t have bad luck in this game they would have had no luck, which included the NFL moving the game to Tuesday that allowed the Rams to get key players back from the Covid-19 list and led the Hawks to lose nine players to the virus. Sometimes you just have to shake your head and let it all flow off your back and accept things for what they are and get ready to be better the next time around (next season). I believe the Hawks are stuck in a time warp and are playing like its 2018. They need to step back and rethink the direction of the franchise. Maybe it’s time for a coach that is the oldest in the NFL to retire. We all reach a point in our age that time passes us by. Has the advances in football passed by Pete Carroll? Is it time for him to step back and rethink his philosophy? Maybe he needs a younger staff with fresh ideas? Maybe he should resign and allow the franchise to go in a different direction? Maybe it’s time for Russell Wilson to move on? The Saints and Steelers would be a good fit for him. If Wilson is moved that would ensure the franchise would have to do a complete rebuild and that probably would cost some of the 12s. Wilson clearly has lost some of his magic touch. He doesn’t escape pressure like he use to do. He was a Houdini, now he’s the Wile E. Coyote who slams into a brick wall while chasing the Road Runner and gets sacked (probably by Aaron Donald). The obvious answers to what needs to be done is a change in philosophy that includes first building an offensive line that is like the brick wall the Coyote runs into. Second is gaining a running back that is explosive and can shake and bake and evade defenders like they are standing still and run away from the rest of the defenders like the Road Runner. They need corners and a safety that can shutdown most receivers and take away the deep bombs. If Wilson returns the team needs to have an effective threat from running backs. One does not do it. The Hawk needs two good running backs and one like I said needs to be as quick as he is fast. I may be asking for too much, but these are places where Carroll and John Schneider need to start. One more thing: Schneider needs to go a better job drafting players. … One more thing before I leave for today. Washington has to do something about its men’s basketball program. It’s one of the worse I have seen in my many years covering the Huskies. The current roster might be good enough to finish third in the Bremerton City League. It’s a terrible shooting team. You know the team is in trouble when most of last year’s roster jumped into the transfer portal, forcing a rebuild through the same transfer portal. Something is wrong, that’s for sure. I and my youngest son, Michael, sat around the other day trying to figure out who the Huskies can beat in the Pac-12. California, Oregon State and maybe Stanford might be had. Maybe. Coach Mike Hopkins is a super nice guy. But the question is whether he can coach well enough. Husky athletic director Jen Cohen has to figure that out. I’m sure she’s on it. Ok, that is enough for today. Stay safe.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.