A New Era in Seahawks Football

Bringing the House illustration

Yesterday, the Pete Carroll Era in Seattle Seahawks football began with a dominant 31-6 victory over NFC West rival and preseason division favorite San Francisco 49ers. The Seahawks looked particularly tenacious on defense, which is Carroll's specialty. During his reign at USC, Carroll's defenses were characterized by athletic play makers who flew to the football and caused turnovers. Hopefully, in a handful of years, we can say the same about the Seahawks. For now, Carroll's main focus is trying to get his players to buy into his system of high competition, fun, and hard work. Carroll aims to not only build a solid team this season, but also to develop a strong organization for years to come. He wants to "Win Forever." So, in honor of that mission, I created a banner that features Coach Carroll, rookie Earl Thomas, and the team's main goal, the Lombardi Trophy. Enjoy.

Seahawks' 2006 Super Bowl Gripes Vindicated

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Ever since the 2006 Super Bowl, I have hated the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ask any sports fan that knows me. I cannot stand the team, the colors, the fans, the stadium, former coach Bill Cowher, Willie Parker, Jerome Bettis, and, MOST of all, Hines Ward. I dislike Hines Ward with a passion. He plays dirty, he is arrogant, and every time a defensive player lays into him, I relish in it. My hatred has been mitigated a bit since Troy Polamalu joined them.

But the biggest reason why I dislike the Steelers is because they, with significant help from the referees, robbed the Seahawks of their only Super Bowl opportunity to this date. There were multiple blown calls in the game, from errant holding calls to whistles for nonexistent chop blocks. The Steelers capitalized on each and every one of the referee's blunders, and eventually "beat" the Seahawks 21-10. The game was close enough as it was, but just think of how the outcome would've been different had the Seahawks gotten a fair game.

I have been screaming for justice ever since the tragic day. Every chance I get, I rip the Steelers and the refs who screwed the Seahawks. I often don't even recognize the 2006 Super Bowl as a legitimate game with an official result. And now I, along with the Seahawks and the city of Seattle, am vindicated! NFL veteran referee Bill Leavy recently admitted that he made costly mistakes in the big game. If only we could turn back the clock and resurrect the dominant years of Shaun Alexander, Matt Hasselbeck, and Walter Jones.

See the ESPN.com article here:  NFL ref admits mistakes in Super Bowl.

Looking Forward to the 2010 NFL Season

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With all the coverage surrounding the annual Brett Favre retirement saga, the Albert Haynesworth conditioning test, Darrell Revis' holdout, and the Terrell Owens/Chad Ochocinco pairing in Cincy, I thought I would give a short list of the five things I am most looking forward to for the 2010 NFL season.

1A. The Pete Carroll Era in Seattle

As a lifelong Seahawks fan and a Trojan alum, this couldn't have been a better match. While I was sad to see Pete leave SC, I would rather him go to Seattle than anywhere else. His past stints in the NFL have been overvalued and I think the next couple of years will give us a more accurate picture of his coaching abilities at the professional level. He has full control of personnel, a great owner with money, a great fan base, in a great city. The team? Not so great. The Seahawks have veteran leadership at quarterback, a solid defense built around franchise-caliber players like Aaron Curry and Lofa Tatupu, and young talent like Russell Okung and Earl Thomas. I am not realistically expecting the playoffs in year one, although that would be awesome. But I am expecting signs of improvement.

1B. Fantasy Football

For obvious reasons.

2. New Places, Same Faces

A lot of marquee players shuffled around in the off-season, and I cannot wait to see which moves worked and which moves didn't. I am most excited to see Donovan McNabb in Washington. I have always been a huge McNabb fan, and I hope he gets the support he deserves while playing for the Redskins. Some other acquisitions that I am excited to see are Anquan Boldin in Baltimore, Julius Peppers in Chicago, Brandon Marshall in Miami, and yes, Terrell Owens in Cincinnati.

3. J-E-T-S

I am really excited for Year 2 of Mark Sanchez in New York. Last year the Jets had an amazing run to the AFC Championship game, and as challenging as that was, it may be even more challenging this season. The league always finds ways to adapt. Teams like the Patriots will be healthy again and gunning for the young Jets. Can Rex Ryan conjure up some more magic to inspire his team? Sanchez certainly hopes to improve off of his rookie campaign and all signs in camp point to a more composed, experienced quarterback and leader. They lost two very important pieces in their vaunted rushing attack in Leon Washington and Thomas Jones, so the burden will be on Shonn Greene and newly acquired veteran LaDainian Tomlinson. The defense also improves with the pickup of Antonio Cromartie to play opposite of Revis Island. But how will Revis and his holdout affect the team? Gotta love it all.

4. Rookies

It's always great to see the young kids out of college jump into the pros and find their footing. Sam Bradford should get the nod in St. Louis and we will see how his shoulder holds up, as well as his mental fortitude because the Rams will undoubtedly be a cellar dweller. I already mentioned the Seattle rookies. Then there's the men in the middle like Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy. Finally, I can't wait to see the playmakers like Eric Berry, C.J. Spiller, and Dez Bryant.

5. Adrian Peterson

He's my favorite player in all of football (inches ahead of Ed Reed). He's the best running back in the game. The most dynamic player on the offensive side of the ball. And he is sponsored by Muscle Milk. I can't wait to see my boy ALL DAY suit up and run over defenses. Oh yeah, and the opportunity to see Brett Favre try again to win the Super Bowl might be cool, too.