Best Coast Sports

Compete is the well know philosophy of third year Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. Ironically, you cannot spell compete without a “T” and an “O”. Hawks made the biggest splash of the new season by bringing in one of the most decorative players of NFL past in Terrell Owens.

Rewinding back to 2010 was the last time Owens played at this level. In 14 games with the Bengals, T.O. had 72 catches for 983 yards and nine touchdowns. Due to the torn ligaments in his knee, the season was cut short. Being the competitor he is, Terrell played eight games for the Allen Wranglers in the Indoor Football League and was later released in May 2009.

Next stop for the T.O. Show is Seattle, WA. Late Sunday night rumors broke on Twitter that the Seahawks were hosting him for a private workout on Monday August 6. He was in fact trying out and left Coach Carroll and GM John Schneider very impressed, especially by running a sub 4.4 forty yard dash at 38 years old. The contract was signed a day later.

Many Seahawks fans have mixed emotions due to his troubled past and cancerous behavior in the locker room. This potentially will be one of the best acquisitions of the year due in part to Seattle filling a need. The young wide receiving core can learn a lot from T.O. from a regiment standpoint. Former teammates have praised him for being one of the hardest working individuals they have been around. Work ethic can be contagious. Unfortunately, those not named Sidney Rice and Doug Baldwin have not proven themselves, but Rice has been injury prone two out of his last three years.

Also this preseason, Braylon Edwards was signed. Expect a fierce competition throughout the end of camp/preseason and into the regular season. Other notables such as Golden Tate, Ben Obomanu, and Ricardo Lockette may find themselves on the outside looking in. However Golden Tate’s early camp reviews are refreshing. Without much progress in the first two years of ballin’ he was building a reputation toward that awful B word (bust).

It is about to time to keep a close eye on who will step up the most. Luckily each receiver brings something different to the table. Rice, Edwards, and Owens are all very good possession WR’s. Tate, T.O. and Lockette have big play ability. Doug Baldwin is the main man in the slot who will sit in the zones and work the middle of the field. Newly named quarterback Matt Flynn will have a lot of shiny new toys to play with.

Even though the offense is going to be run through running back Marshawn Lynch, the pass is going to open up holes in the running game and make a drastic improvement in Red zone offense. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will salivate at the opportunity to involve his All Pro tight ends Kellen Winslow and Zach Miller with the cast of receivers and a beast of a running back. With already a top 10 defense, Seattle may be a surprise team coming out of the NFC. Terrell said it best “Get your popcorn ready.”

First Press Conference as a Seattle Seahawk

The start of the New Year marks the completion of the NFL regular season. Those teams who continue to play throughout January will be competing for a championship. Both conferences will only be represented by one Best Coast team, as the second seed in the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers. Although there is only one team, there is no shortage of top level talent that ranked amongst the top in their positions.

Philip Rivers had a rough start to his season. Many were under the impression that injuries still plague him as they did last season. Philip is one of those players that will play hurt and not broadcast his pain. He once played with a torn ACL, which is considered to be one of the gutsiest performances in history. Injuries to others proved to be the main downfall to Rivers play in the middle of the season. Lack of play makers forced him to take more chances, thus leading to more mistakes or poor execution. When the team was healthy, Philip and the Chargers bust back onto the scene to make a late push for the playoffs, but falling short. The 2012 Pro Bowl quarterbacks’ rating was the 11^th best, finishing the season at 88.7 with 4,624 yards in the air. The 27 touchdown passes and 20 interceptions led San Diego to an 8-8 record and would prove make Rivers the most valuable quarterback on the Best Coast.

Beast Mode is the new movement running through the NFL. The angry, aggressive style of Marshawn Lynch was well documented by teams coming into this season, just ask the Saints. Lynch ended the defending Super Bowl champs dream for a repeat with the 76 yard touchdown run which caused him to break eight tackles and cause seismic activity. An inexperienced offensive line halted some of his play early in the season. When it appeared the Seahawks were down and out, Lynch put the team on his back, reeling off a streak of 11 straight games with a touchdown and running for over 100 yards in five out of six games. By season end, Lynch was top 10^th in overall rushing yards with 1,204 on 285 carries. His 12 touchdowns were the fourth most in the league.

The man nicknamed Fitz has consistently been in conversation as one of the best receivers in the NFL. His catch radius is enormous and his ability to use his 6’3 frame to elevate above defenders to make catches is hard to fathom. There has been concern about the direction of his team, due to not having a reliable option as quarterback. John Skelton to Fitzgerald has been a connection that led the resilient Cardinals back into the wild card playoff picture. Larry made some clutch catches, like the diving catch in overtime against the Seahawks, leading Arizona to an 8-8 record after starting 2-6. He had 80 receptions for 1,411 yards and eight touchdowns.

By leaps and bounds the best Tight End in the west is Antonio Gates from San Diego. Like his teammate in Rivers, his lackluster start was due to a toe injury that he tried to play through but often came up hobbled. Finally taking time to heal his injury, it proved to be the best for him and the team. As he went, so did the team. In 13 games, Gates was a featured target in the red zone, causing headaches for defenses.  The 2012 Pro Bowl Tight End had 778 yards on 64 receptions and seven touchdowns.

Marshawn lynch carried the 12th man flag out of the tunnel, but no one knew this would be a representation on how his night would go. Behind a physical offensive line, lynch rushed for 148 yards on 22 carries. His aggressive running style called “Beast Mode” led him to scoring two spectacular touchdowns leading the Seahawks to a 31-14 win over the Eagles.

After each score, Lynch was shown eating Skittles on the sidelines. Since high school Marshawn’s mother buys him a pack of Skittles before every football game. This may have lead to a new trend or a potential endorsement.

For most of the game, the Seahawks offense was clicking on all cylinders behind a great balanced attack with the run and pass. Tavaris Jackson arguably played his best game as a Seahawk throwing for 190 yards on 13-16 passing.

Golden Tate is having a bit of a coming out party with his play as of late. He earned the start tonight in the absence of injured wide receiver Sidney Rice. Tate caught his second touchdown pass in the last two games. A player who has raw talent great potential may finally be arriving on the scene in Seattle to help contribute.

The clock struck midnight on the Eagles. In a must win, the team made countless mistakes to kill drives. Vince Young threw for a career high four interceptions, one of which was returned 77 yards for a touchdown by David Hawthorne. Before the “pick 6″ the Eagles were down 24-14 and were driving in Seattle territory.

An overall solid game by the Seattle defense. Not only did they win the turnover battle, they won in the trenches by getting penetration on the Eagles offensive line. LeSean McCoy was held to 85 yards rushing. When a big stop was needed, the defense didn’t disappoint.

Seattle will move to (5-7) on the season and remain at home to face a division foe in the (2-9) St. Louis Rams on Monday Night Football December 12. Here the link for full highlights of the game.

Seahawks vs Eagles Game Highlights [/video]