Seahawks 24, 49ers 0
After September's win over San Francisco, in which the Niners managed only nine first downs, we did a little capsule history over on our all-sports blog of the other times in Seahawk history when they'd held an opponent to less than ten first downs.
It had only happened seven times before that game--the September game made it eight--and never twice in once season. Now the Hawks have done it twice in once season to the same opponent.
The Seahawks' defensive staff has owned the Niners. Four of the last eight times they've played, going back to the first meeting of 2004, the Hawks have held the Niners to less than 10 first downs. That's nuts.
We're not really sure what's going on with the Niners. After Browns' tight end Kellen Winslow victimized the Hawks for 11 catches last week, you figured the Niners would try to get the ball to their own talented tight end, Vernon Davis. We kept waiting and waiting for Davis to make a big play--it never happened, he finished with one catch for four yards.
At Seattlest HQ we turned it to our Tivoed last week's 30 Rock, since, knowing that the 49ers offense couldn't score, we figured that 12 safeties in five minutes was unlikely.
Just like last game, it should've been worse. The Niners got only one first down in the first half (on a hail mary on the last play of the half that should've been ruled incomplete) and turned the ball over twice, yet the Hawks were up only 17-0 at half.
The new passing offense was fairly efficient. Hasselbeck had some missteps, including an awful pass on the Hawks' second drive of the second half that Nate Clements intercepted, but the terrible Niners' offense couldn't cash in.
We liked what Ron Jaworski was saying on TV--that the Hawks need to ride Hasselbeck--they need to convince themselves that he's a top five NFL QB (at the start of this season, Hasselbeck was 14th all-time in QB rating) and see if they can't ride him the way the Packers are riding Brett Favre.
After seeing the running game sputter once again (Mo Morris averaged only 3.1 yards per rush--maybe Shaun Alexander wasn't the problem, folks), that may be the only chance this team has at going deep into the playoffs.
You can buy that 1948 AAFC Yankees/49ers program for $15 at Gasoline Alley Antiques
