If Monday night's 18-17 loss at San Diego had been in the regular season it would qualify as a heart breaker. It would nag the coaches, players and fans for the rest of the season. It would be on every local sports cast over and over. It would be the topic of discussion among Seahawk fans for weeks to come, maybe months.
Headed for a nice 17-10 victory with 3:29 left in the game the Seahawks hit a snag. Working with a first and ten from his own 48 Billy Volek tossed a "Hail Mary," pass into the endzone in the direction of Malcolm Floyd. Seahawks defensive back Kevin Hobbs made a beautiful play on the ball but was called for pass interference. The Chargers got the ball on the one, scored a touchdown two plays later and trailed 17-16. To his credit Volek lofted a perfect pass to Floyd in the corner of the end zone for the two point conversion and the 18-17 victory.
"I thought Hobbs did exactly what he was supposed to do, he made a great play on the ball," said Mike Holmgren after the game.
Here's the good news, it wasn't a regular season, it doesn't count, it's not heart breaking just dissapointing and Kevin Hobbs doesn't have to worry about making a bad play on the eve of the NFL roster cuts.
Shuffle in the Backfield
Fan favorite Justin Forsett, who ran the ball for 136 yards against the Bears last week hardly touched the ball as a runner in this game. He is expected to see a lot of action Friday at home against the Raiders.
On the other hand Mo Morris and Julius Jones who will share starting duties did run the ball quite a bit. Morris carried it five times for 31 yards including an explosive escape from deep in Seahawks territory near the end of the first quarter. Jones had eight carries for 30 yards, his longest an 11 yard effort.
T.J. Duckett was the Seahawks most effective runner Monday night carrying the ball six times for 46 yards for an average of 7.7. His longest run came in a 4th quarter drive that ended with a Frye touchdown pass to Jordan Kent.
Line Changes
Early in the second half the Seahawks made massive substitutions getting an almost entirely offensive line into the game. With Chris Spencer not playing it gave Ben Claxton a chance to spell Steve Vallos at center for a while. Manny Wrotto and Kyle Williams also got some valuable on the job training in the O-line.
This is a very short week for the team since they have a game Friday night at home against the Raiders. You can expect to see final auditions for spots on the roster in that game. For some fans that's as entertaining as any other part of the game. For the players it's a difficult part of the game. Obviously those who are cut need to either hook on with another team or say goodbye to their pro football careers.
