Russell Wilson, loose and ready to lead this team to a Championship
We all we got.
We all we need.
That was the message that started it all.
Back in 2010, the Seahawks were a shell of a team.
Pete Carroll and John Schneider had gone through so many roster moves, tried out so many players.
They were left with a small group of guys willing to buy into the vision and start this thing off.
Very few actually remain as the Seahawks try to win Super Bowl 48. But that same message has stood the test of time.
And it has just as much value today.
We all we got.
We all we need.
The Seahawks are not favourites to win the Super Bowl. That’s despite having the best overall roster in the league, a much healthier group of players and for the most part superior quality than the Broncos.
Yet very few people outside of Seattle really believe in this team.
Would you want it any other way?
This is what the Seattle Seahawks are about. Shutting up the doubters. Proving people wrong.
Winning football games.
It’s not totally disrespectful to expect a Denver victory — Peyton Manning has just recorded the best single season by a quarterback in the history of the NFL.
To quote Richard Sherman: “We’ve got 11 players out there to play great ball, and we’re never going to let one man beat us. It’s not just about one man.”
He made that comment after beating Tom Brady last season.
That’s another game Seattle were not favoured in.
I’d say it’s fantastic news that the majority of pundits seem to be picking the Broncos.
Take a look at ESPN’s pick page.
I’ve removed the word ‘experts’, seeing as for the most part the term is not relevant. It’s basically a comedian, Skip Bayless (he’s not the comedian) plus a handful of insiders and radio broadcasters.
Of the 37 people asked to decide, 27 pick the Broncos.
Here are a few of my favourite quotes:
Cari Champion, “First Take” host
Broncos 31, Seahawks 26 — Peyton Manning is a surgeon. He will carve up the defense and go down as the greatest doctor in NFL history
What does this even mean? The greatest doctor in NFL history? Shouldn’t he be working on RGIII’s knees instead?
Tom Jackson, “Sunday NFL Countdown” analyst, former Broncos LB
Broncos 24, Seahawks 13 — If you give Peyton Manning and this Broncos team two weeks to prepare, they’ll figure out a way to score 24 points.
The Seahawks, of course, spent the last two weeks finishing off a Breaking Bad box set — so will only score 13.
Mark Schlereth, “NFL Live” analyst, three-time Super Bowl champion, former Broncos OL, Denver resident
Broncos 31, Seahawks 17 — As long as it’s not windy out, I think the Broncos have too much offensively.
The last time Seattle lost a game by more than seven points was week 9 in the 2011 season. Good old Mark.
Another note of interest — nobody is predicting more than a six point victory for Seattle. The narrative appears to be Denver ‘could’ win quite convincingly, but the Seahawks can only get by with a squeaker.
We’ll see.
It’d be easy to get frustrated by stuff like this — and there’s worse out there.
Scott Wetzel at Sirius Radio called Russell Wilson one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL, Jim Rome has predicted a Manning-inspired blow out and apparently some guy named after a pot roast is suddenly the NFL’s defensive MVP.
None of this noise matters.
In fact, it’s a really good thing.
The attitude inspired by ‘we all we got, we all we need’ is crafted by doubt.
Every scout, coach, GM or ‘expert’ who questions these players — it just fuels the fire.
This is a rag tag bunch of so-called misfits who found a home and turned into the best.
#1.
And now they get a chance to prove it.
Gushing praise just doesn’t suit this team, this group.
It’d be weird to hear universal approval of what’s going on, however much it’s justified.
And maybe, just maybe, it’d take away some of the edge?
Right now there are players in that locker room determined to make the ultimate point.
Red Bryant. Doug Baldwin. Richard Sherman. Earl Thomas. Breno Giacomini.
These guys don’t want praise.
They just want to win.
At the heart of everything is a quarterback who quietly just gets on with his business.
A player who has barely received any attention this week, except for those complaining about his recent lack of prolific stat-making performances.
It’s funny, I went back and had a look at the stats from last season.
(You know, the time when Russell Wilson was the next best thing)
In the last four games of the regular season, when Seattle was blowing everyone out of sight, he recorded an average of 194 yards per game.
He had a further 187 yards in the playoff victory over Washington.
The Seahawks won all of those games without Wilson needing to be sensational or carry his team.
Guess what? He wasn’t flawless either. He struggled against the Rams — missed a couple of opportunities against the Redskins and played a minuscule role in the 58-0 win over Arizona.
Right now he’s not playing as well as he did to finish the 2012 season, but the facts are he’s never been a big yardage quarterback. He’s been the point guard this team has always wanted under Carroll.
And coming up against the lowest ranked defense he’s faced since week 11… tomorrow, I fully expect Wilson to play a great game.
This guy has been preparing for this moment his entire life.
The words, ‘pressure’, ‘choke’ and ‘worry’ are not part of his vocabulary.
Russell Wilson is a gift to Seattle. On and off the field.
And it’s a gift that’ll keep on giving, win or lose against the Broncos this weekend.
This city deserves some success.
The Seahawks fans finally have the team they fully deserve. And more importantly, this fantastic Seahawks team have the fans they deserve.
It’s time to make history.
My final message tonight is to enjoy these last few hours.
Make a toast to this team and its direction.
Treat yourself to a bit of humour and watch this video:
There’s no need to stress about this game.
Unlike 2006, this isn’t a window waiting to be slammed shut. This team is here for the long haul, with the right people in charge.
And despite that fact, they are ready to deliver right now.
They really are bigger, faster, stronger and louder.
They’re ready to leave no doubt, 24/7.
And there’s only one more question to ask…
Why not us?
We all we got.
We all we need.
Let’s do this.
Great post, Rob. I sure hope the team shuts up the doubters. “I’m in!” Go Hawks!
We’re gonna win. We’re gonna win! The Broncos are a very good team, but we’re better. To quote Sherm, we’re not one man (or one Manning) we’re a team. Pedestrian appetizers, loudmouth thugs, who are going to bring Lombardi all the way back to Seattle!! Go Hawks!
I’ve removed the word ‘experts’, seeing as for the most part the term is not relevant.
Friggin Classic!!
I’m so excited about tomorrow’s game. The team has played tremendous and has overcome so much. An interesting point was made on NFL Network today. They were discussing who the “X-Factor” could be in the game and of course Percy’s name came up. They were saying that SEA was coming into the season hungry after the playoff loss to ATL last year and that Percy was the “missing piece” to get us to the Super Bowl. They praised SEA by saying “SEA got to the Super Bowl w/o Harvin and maybe he’s going to help close it out tomorrow.”
I am PUMPED!!! GO HAWKS!!!
Go Hawks!
Love it. SEA!
HAWKS!
Nice article Rob. I agree, I have been enjoying all the national doubters. Because of the game, I have been listening to a lot of ESPN radio and Fox radio. The hosts talk about the Seahawks and they are all saying the Broncos are going to win. However, when they talk about the Seahawks, all their facts are wrong.
Just today, I heard Seattle’s offense is mediocre.
Seattle never makes big plays on offense.
Seattle will be lucky to score 14 the offense is so bad.
I know Denver’s offense is historical and will score points. But, I do not know how good Seattle’s defense is. They may be first. They may be second. I don’t know.
What are you an idiot? A hosts answer to when a caller said Seattle would score 31.
Pete Carroll likes to do a lot of trick plays.
As you said, it’s not like Denver cannot come out and win the game. They’re plenty good — Super Bowl champ caliber.
That said, as I look around the interwebs for accounts of how Denver could win I’m not hearing anything all that coherent. If this were basketball we’d be laughing at some of the things people are saying. It’s the equivalent of, “The Heat will win because LeBron is going to average 40ppg for a series.” Wow. I mean, you can’t put it past him. But THAT’s the plan? Give it to LBJ. Get out of the way and let him score 40.
Most of what I have read is that Manning will work the flats and short middle routes. I get it. There are yards to be had there. But that sounds a recipe for long patient drives more than for 30+ points, unless Denver can generate turnovers/short fields. They might, but it’s not what they have been doing.
On the other hand it’s pretty obvious that they have no idea what Seattle does on offense.
It’s reminding me of what people said in the 60s coming into the Sonny Liston/Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) fight. They just didn’t know how good Ali was yet.
***
As for Jackson and Schlereth, I can’t blame those guys. Denver is their town. Schlereth lives there full-time I think. The NFL has never really asked for much objectivity among former players in the media. In fact there are strong norms against it.
In fairness to Denver and the Heat, teams usually have more sophisticated plans than fans. I wouldn’t be surprised if Denver manages to spread the ball around the flats so efficiently that it opens up room for runs and results in long scoring drives that Seattle can’t match.
But I agree, a lot of previews of the game seem to assume that there will only be SEA defense vs. Peyton; kinda bonkers. We’ll see soon! I’m looking forward to the game.
Best article to date. All the talk about the Denver offense, Seattle’s offense not doing anything, the running games etc. It will be Russell Wilson tomorrow who wins this thing and I cannot wait to hear what all the “experts” have to say.
The funny thing about offenses….Denver scored 30 and 24 against too terrible defenses while Seattle wasn’t far behind against 2 top 5 units. The media has been baffling these past two weeks. If anything its Denver’s offense that has been subpar in comparison to its regular season numbers. Regardless none of this matters tomorrow.
Go Hawks!
Austin, I am guessing that you mean in the playoffs. They have actually scored 24 and 26 points in the playoff, or four more points than the Seahawks have.
Well we’re a team that plays old school football, so I’m hoping we shut every up with an old school Superbowl. Let’s go all 80’s on the Broncos and blow them out like in the good old days.
I just don’t see how Denver’s defense is going to stop us. I have a feeling that Wilson is going to run more in this game, and Lynch is going to tear up the smaller Denver linebackers. We are the 7th ranked offense by DVOA and hopefully will have a fully healthy Harvin.
The key matchup is going to be special teams. We’re just so much better than Denver in coverage and their return guy is known to be fumble prone.
Another great article I am pumped for tomorrow I can’t even sleep this is like chrismas when I was a kid. Thanks rob for all the excellent articles and thanks to all the posters. No matter the outcome tomorrow this has been a great ride. I believe in this team and its future as much as its present. Which is maybe why its so fun. Go hawks
I actually woke up at 2:00 am for no reason and was disappointed it wasn’t morning, and it took forever to will myself back to sleep. Can’t believe it’s here!
I believe the Seahawks will win big. We will disrupt their routes and force PM to hold the ball longer. We will hurry PM with our 4 man rush. We will hurt and frighten those that run crossing patterns. Thurmond will slow WW’s production. PM lacks the requisite arm strength to beat us deep. Percy Harvin commands so much attention that our offense rolls. PC will run up the score because he respects PM and it is the Super Bowl. 37-23 Go Hawks!
Today’s the day.
And what a day it shall be
The Hawks come out and rip em a new one!!!!!!
GO HAWKS
Go Hawks!!!! I’m in!!!!
I never bet on football, but I just put £100 on the Hawks to win (money line) plus a £10 bet on RW as MVP. Go Hawks!
This is it. I’m so excited and nervous right now. GO HAWKS!
I guess i don’t blame the sites that much. I mean the game is pitting the NFL’s cash cow for the last 15 years against a team most people have only seen a hand full of times. I am sure ESPN, in particular, has to pick Manning contractually.
The experts love to use sundry facts to support vague conclusions. I was reading the Ashley Fox article and thought the way she presented the data that she was picking the hawks. At the end she pointed out had bad Payton was in cold weather and then conclude it was his destiny to win.
ESPN wasn’t all wrong. Ashley Fox wrote “As we’ve heard endlessly, Super Bowl XLVIII is about the L-word: legacy.”
And she is right, Russel Wilson’s Legacy starts today.
Read option runs & Harvin will open things up for Lynch. I expect a big day from the offense. Defense will bend, but not break and hold Denver to several field goals and some late/desperation TDs. Manning will have big passing numbers, but they will not result in points.
Predictions:
Wilson: 250yds passing, 1TD, 1 Rushing TD
Lynch: 110yds rushing 1TD
special teams 1TD
Seattle: 31
Denver: 23
Seahawk Nation, this is the moment
Tonight is the night, we’ll fight ’til it’s over
So we put our hands up like the ceiling can’t hold us
Like the ceiling can’t hold us
Go Hawks!
Have to admit I’m afraid all this Peyton blather might effect the refs calls on the field – going against our secondary. It’s like the Jerome Bettis retirement BS in 05 and then the refs went on to screw us….I can’t handle that scenario twice in one lifetime!
According to this: http://www.fieldgulls.com/seahawks-notes/2014/2/2/5369344/super-bowl-48-seahawks-broncos-swept-under-the-turf
All we have to do is win 2nd down conversions.
My game day prediction: 26-20 OT Win, Wilson to Robinson, flat route.
I’m not worried about the officiating. The NFL doesn’t want any controversy and no one wants to watch a game with a ton of flags. They will let them play.
I don’t know which I enjoyed more the Duck replaying Marshawn’s wildcard run in 2010 playoffs, or the extended Marshawn soliloquy ending with his little singing chant “beast-mode, beast-mode!”
Excellent piece, It’s logged and sure to be repeated with my posts for the next year or so!
It’s over for us – we – the fans. It’s over for us.
This is Game Day, Championship Day, Immortality Day – this is the day that our warriors win or lose on their own – on a bloody field in New York state against the Red Coats (er..Orange Coats). We have to sit at home and wait for the news from the field of battle. Will we have to abandon our homes, our families and flee abroad? – Or will be safe and victorious?
We know we are well represented – we know Sherman’s Cry and Russell’s Refrain – “Give us victory or give us death! Personally, i believe with every fiber of my beings that our boys will come marching home – in victory. In glory.
To victory! To glory! To Seattle!
Game time! I can just feel the difference with this team. They collectively have no doubt.
SEA-HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Been waiting a long time for this. Going offline for the game.
See y’all on the other side of victory!!!
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ll say it again, Seahawk beatdown, BAM!!!!!