-Geoff

I cannot speak for you, but I'm pretty sure my blood pressure did not recover until Tuesday (along with voice and maybe liver...). The game was the about the lowest of the low and the highest of high in watching football. If there is ONE thing Seahawks fans should know about Pete Carroll's philosophy of winning, it's about how you finish. That is not radical thinking, if you sprint out of the gate and leave no gas in the tank to finish, what is the point.

That is not a perfect analogy to football, but the Seahawks have proven that it works for them. And so as a fan, how can I doubt that concept when the team knows what is on the line. Lose this game, they are packing up lockers on Monday. Win this game and you are on your way to a second consecutive Super Bowl. Never give up.

After 4 years of trying, the Hawks finally put the stake through the heart of the Niners that finished them.  They had the alligator blood of Mike McDermott from Rounders.  You had a fear that like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, they might get out of the bathtub one last time.  But when Paul Richardson caught that pass from Russell in the end zone on Sunday, it likely signified the end of the best rivalry in the NFL.  Douchebag Harbaugh Style most likely will find himself across the Bay in Oakland or perhaps will darken the door of Michigan Stadium once again.  I’ll be honest, I’m a little saddened by that.  As many of the Seahawks often say, iron sharpens iron.  I truly believe that the personal rivalry (even though they deny it exists) between Pete and Jim made each work just a little harder and the results were evidence of that.  Granted, the animosity that Seahawks fans feel toward Niners fans (and vice versa) will keep the rivalry stoked a little bit, but that edge will be gone with Harbaugh’s departure.

In its place though, we could very well see the birth of the next best rivalry in the NFL between the Seahawks and the Cardinals on Sunday night.  A battle for the #1 seed in the NFC playoffs is at stake.  What better movie to preview it with than the battle within the Griswold household come Christmas Vacation.

Well, that was just what the doctor ordered.  The Hawks came out and dispatched the Cardinals with extreme prejudice.  The 12th Man showed up in a manner not seen since the home opener against Green Bay and it was incredibly enjoyable to have them back.  Drew Stanton was exposed as the backup quarterback he is and you could just hear the sphincters of the Cardinal faithful clenching at the thought of him trying to lead that team to playoff success. 

But that was Sunday.  Now it's on to Thanksgiving and the renewal of the greatest rivalry in the NFL.  The nation gets to wrap up its favorite day of food and football with a Seahawks-Niners tilt that's been circled on the calendar for 7 months.  With that spirit of competition, let's preview the game through the competition of larger rubber balls with Dodgeball.

Well, find ourselves in a place that I don't any of us thought we'd see this year. 3 games back in the division at the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  The very real possibility of missing the playoffs the year after winning the Super Bowl.  National pundits going after the 12th Man in a very direct way.  12's fleeing the bandwagon like it's the Bill Cosby Fan Club.  It's all been pretty sobering the last week. 

But, in the immortal words of Bluto from Animal House, Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is!  The Seahawks get the exact opportunity they need with the Birds of the Desert making their trek northward.  They get the ability to bring that gap down to 2 games.  They can improve their division and conference records which will almost certainly come into play when we get to the tiebreakers. Apparently Vegas believes in the Hawks as well, instilling them as 6.5 point favorites in the sports book.  I think Springfield believes in the Hawks too.  Let's get ready for the game through the antics of Homer, Bart, Marge, and Lisa in The Simpsons Movie. 
 

Like many of you, I was not only disgusted by the related actions, but also weary of the onslaught of negative news through the last few months about pro athletes committing assault, child abuse, and DUIs. In true to form of the adage "If it bleeds, it leads," these stories dominated the news cycle and contributed to the further drowning of the good things pro athletes, coaches, and teams do nearly daily to positively advance our society.

Perhaps these negative stories are elevated because of the ever evolving 24 hours news cycle, but as was highlighted in July 2013 by Seahawks WR Doug Baldwin, this is not a new phenomenon to 2014.

And so it begins.  The home stretch of games that's been looming on the horizon for Seahawks fans the last couple months.  The 7 games that could have the Hawks as a #1 seed in the playoffs, limp in as a wild card, or watching from home once January comes around.  The Seahawks have the toughest remaining schedule in the NFL (and it's not close) where they'll face opponents with a combined .667 winning percentage.  Maybe not the best time to have Brandon Mebane's hamstring rip apart from the rest of his body.

However, the show must go on.  The Hawks will get on their Delta charter this afternoon and wing their way to the City of Fountains aka Kansas City.  This week, we're using an old favorite of mine.  Best In Show is one of the series of mockumentaries that Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy wrote the past 20 years and is the consensus best one that they did.  So let's see if we can get a fake dog show to somehow equate to a Seahawks-Chiefs matchup.

Our beloved Seahawks begin the second half of their season with a 5-3 record.  I'll be honest, I didn't see that coming.  I was wearing my blue-colored glasses when we started this year, particularly after that thumping the Hawks gave Green Bay to open the season.  I was fully expecting to be at least 6-2 at this point, and likely 7-1.  But as we all know, repeats in the NFL are rare and almost as rare is a Super Bowl-winning team actually winning a playoff game the next year. A pessimist will look at this 5-3 as a sign that the window is closing, there's no way they can win the tougher games later in the year playing like that have so far this year, and looks at the prospect of not having to buy playoff tickets as a slight silver lining.  An optimist will remember that the Hawks will be getting back some key players from injury over the next few weeks, takes solace in the fact that the Hawks haven't played their best game yet but knows they can, and looks for possibilities for how they can host the NFC Championship game as a #5 seed. I say let's be optimists.  Much more fun.  Better for our health.

Speaking of fun, we go back to the well of Leslie Nielsen classics for our preview this week.  Let's see how Ted Stryker, Roger Murdock, and Captain Oveur feel about the Giants through the lens of Airplane!

So, anything happen the last couple weeks?  What's that?  The Hawks lost a home game where they were completely dominated?!! Percy Harvin's gone?!!  The Hawks dirty laundry has become national news??!  The media is chuckling to itself after the way that Rams game ended as if it were payback for the Fail Mary game??!  Pretty much anything could happen at this point and I wouldn't be surprised by it.  I'm half-expecting Pete Carroll to rip off his mask and reveal it was actually Dennis Erickson that's been coaching so far this year. 

But I digress.  The 12's, and particularly the 12's Since '12 (copyright Seattle Sportsnet) are in full-blown panic mode.  You can actually hear the hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth this week.  While I certainly understand the anxiety that goes with how this team is playing, it's time to take a deep breath and remind ourselves it is a long season, things can turn around on a dime, and there have been many Super Bowl winning teams that you would have left for dead in October.  So, let's see if we can't chuckle a little bit and preview this week's game through the shenanigans of Bushwood Country Club and Caddyshack...