I waited to write about the Seahawks' schedule release until after the NFL draft and free agency had occurred, because, well, it matters.
Let's take a look at the Seahawks' 2014 schedule:
Week 1: Sept. 4, 2014 vs. Packers (Thursday Night Football)
Week 2: Sept. 14, 2014 at Chargers
Week 3: September 21, 2014 vs. Broncos
Week 4: BYE
Week 5: Oct. 6, 2014 at Redskins (Monday Night Football)
Week 6: Oct. 12, 2014 vs. Cowboys
Week 7: Oct. 19, 2014 at Rams
Week 8: Oct. 26, 2014 at Panthers
Week 9: Nov. 2, 2014 vs. Raiders
Week 10: Nov. 9, 2014 vs. Giants
Week 11: Nov. 16, 2014 at Chiefs
Week 12: Nov. 23, 2014 vs. Cardinals
Week 13: Nov. 27, 2014 at 49ers (Thanksgiving Night)
Week 14: Dec. 7, 2014 at Eagles
Week 15: Dec. 14, 2014 vs. 49ers
Week 16: Dec. 21, 2014 at Cardinals (Sunday Night Football)
Week 17: Dec. 28, 2014 vs. Rams
It's a tough schedule from beginning to end with few "cupcake" opponents. In fact, the way the NFC looks as a conference nowadays means very few NFC cupcakes exist in the first place. Match that with the NFC West pairing against an increasingly tough AFC West in 2014 and it creates a tough schedule for everybody.
In 2014, momentum will be the key for the Seattle Seahawks finding success. Start off on a bad note, and the team could very well collapse this season. Start off strong with three wins before a bye, and Seattle fans may be able to have high hopes for another playoff run with the chance at an appearance in Glendale come February.
September 4th - Opening Kickoff Game vs. Green Bay Packers
Fans are incredibly excited about the Opening Kickoff game against Green Bay in Week 1. This is what Seattle lives for: home primetime match-ups against tough opponents. Take Green Bay. The Packers are no stranger to highly anticipated Week 1 match-ups as of recent years. After winning Super Bowl XLV vs. Pittsburgh in 2011, the Pack handled business at home against the Saints 42-34 in the 2011 Opening Kickoff game. However, Week 1 losses in 2012 and 2013 vs. the 49ers have led the Packers to 1-2 starts in both seasons. Green Bay hopes to turn their fortunes around in 2014, and a win in Seattle in front of a raucous crowd would be a statement that they are serious contenders next season. With that said, expect Green Bay to be a little tougher than San Francisco has been at the C-Link in recent years. They will come out firing, and the offense featuring Aaron Rodgers, Randall Cobb, and Eddie Lacy will attack Seattle fast and hard. Expect to see Richard Sherman targeted a few times with the Packers looking to make a statement in front of a national audience.
October 6th - Monday Night Football at Washington Redskins
This match-up features more of an unspoken rivalry -- the one between Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III. After underperforming and eventually being benched in the 2013 season, Griffin has mostly taken a backseat to the 2012 third round pick Russell Wilson in the discussion for which is better. After Wilson took home the Lombardi Trophy with his Seahawks in dramatic fashion, the 2012-QB discussion has focused on Wilson and Colts QB Andrew Luck. For Griffin, 2014 is about redemption. He will be out to prove himself and attempt to lead the Washington Redskins back to the playoffs after a disappointing 2013. I would guess that Griffin has this meeting with Seattle circled on his calendar. The Wilson-led Seahawks were the team that marched into Landover in the 2012 playoffs and knocked both Griffin and the Redskins out of the season, arguably leading to the 2013 downturn. Like the Packers on Opening Night, the Redskins really, really want this one. This will be a fun game to watch come October.
November 16 - at Kansas City Chiefs
There are more than a few reasons why this will be a fun game for both Chiefs and Seahawks fans to get pumped up for later in the season. One could point back to the old Chiefs-Seahawks rivalry from the days that the Seahawks played in the AFC West. Another could be the fact that both teams were in the 2013 playoffs and have high expectations for 2014. In the 2013 season, the Chiefs broke the all-time noise record that the Seahawks set earlier that season before the 12th Man won it back against only a couple of weeks later (I expect Chiefs fans to organize another rally to break the record in this very game as a jab to the 12th Man). For Seahawks fans, playing the Chiefs has always been nerve-wracking -- especially in Arrowhead Stadium. The Hawks are only 18-32 all-time against their old AFC West foes, and 5-20 at Arrowhead Stadium. The Seahawks have not won at Arrowhead Stadium since 1999, and have not beaten the Chiefs since 2002. The last time the two teams met, the Chiefs embarrassed the Seahawks in Seattle 42-24 when Matt Cassel (yes, it was Matt Cassel) threw three touchdowns to Dwayne Bowe alone. Needless to say, the stakes will be high this time around and this could be a statement game for Seattle late in the season if they can escape Arrowhead with a win.
November 27 - Thanksgiving Night at San Francisco 49ers
It is a little weird for Seahawks and 49ers fans to have to wait until Thanksgiving to see their two teams knock heads this season. However, the wait will pay off because this will be an amazing game. This will be the first time the Seahawks play their rivals at the new Levi's Stadium, and it will happen after America has stuffed themselves full of amazing turkey dinners all day. These games have been so much fun to watch for both teams, but winning at home has gotten a bit old. The Seahawks need to make a serious statement in 2014 by beating the 49ers in San Francisco -- a feat they have not accomplished since 2008, when the 49ers were a 4-12 team. Yes, two weeks later the two will meet in Seattle. But as a Seahawks fan, I look most forward to this game, on a national holiday, on primetime, and mostly, in San Francisco.
Other match-ups to keep an eye on in 2014:
Week 2 at San Diego Chargers: The Chargers are a team that has the potential to contend for a Super Bowl almost every single year but they squander it with poor coaching and execution. With that said, that potential does come out. Let us not forget that the Chargers were clutch in 2013, making the playoffs then beating the Bengals in Cincinnati in the Wild Card round. They were close to making a comeback against the AFC Champion Denver Broncos in the divisional round. In the regular season, they pulled out surprising wins in Denver, Kansas City, and Philadelphia. With that said, there is no true homefield advantage in San Diego, as the Chargers lost at home to the Texas, Broncos, and Bengals last season.
Both match-ups against the Rams and Cardinals: Let us not forget that the NFC West has been referred to as the "NFC Best" and that is not only because of the Seahawks and 49ers. The Cardinals are a team that beat the Seahawks in Seattle and barely missed out on the playoffs with a 10-6 record. When Carson Palmer does not decide to drive the team into the ground, Arizona is a legitimate force. On the other side, Bradford has had a start of his career very similar to former No. 1 San Francisco QB Alex Smith. Everybody knows that Sam Bradford can be a great quarterback in the NFL, but injuries and coaching has held him back. The Rams have a tantalizing defense that can keep them in games this season, and they always play the Seahawks tough, especially in St. Louis. The Seahawks have four tough games against the Rams and Cardinals that should not be overlooked.
Week 14 at Philadelphia Eagles: In the midst of two extremely tough games against the rival 49ers, the Seahawks will travel to Philadelphia to play a very fundamentally sound Eagles football team. This could be considered a must-win for the Seahawks, especially if they fail to win in San Francisco the week before. The Eagles are coached very well by Chip Kelly and make very few mistakes. They almost beat the Saints in the playoffs last season. While the nation will be watching the Seahawks in Weeks 13 and 15, this could turn out to be the most critical game of the three.
Overall, everybody knows the Seahawks have a very tough schedule. Everybody knows repeating as Super Bowl Champs is also extremely difficult. However, I would not have it any other way.
Go Hawks!
Friday, May 23, 2014
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Why today is more than just a game to me
This is it. Super Bowl XLVIII is finally here, and my Seattle Seahawks are playing in it.
For me, this is more than just a game. However, my fandom has always been about more than just "being a fan."
I was born in Seattle in 1994, but moved to the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia when I was almost two years old. Needless to say, I do not remember living in Seattle in contrast to my dad, who grew up in Seattle, has been to Seahawks games at the Kingdome and can cite the memories of watching Ken Griffey Jr. turn into a star.
I could say that I became a Seattle sports fan when I was born; I have a toddler-sized Griffey jersey that hung on my bedroom wall my entire life. I believe this is the case. When kids starting sporting their Atlanta Falcons jerseys in third grade, I never identified with the team. I have been to more Atlanta Braves games than I can count, but every time I went to Turner, I wished I was at Safeco.
I guess the main point here is the reason behind this love. I'll start with my dad, who has had blue and green streaming through his blood since the day he was born. I've been asked many times why I didn't really watch football until the season that Seattle went to the Super Bowl. From the outside, it can seem very bandwagon-esque. The truth is that my dad never put on football because the Seahawks were never on television in Atlanta. Whenever the Seahawks played in a primetime game, the start time was my bedtime until I turned ten years old anyway. However, when 2005 rolled around, all of the sudden the Seahawks were on a lot more, our neighbor had the Sunday ticket, and my dad and I watched almost every single game. I have a memory of watching the NFC Championship, the game when Seattle just pummeled Jake Delhomme's Carolina Panthers. I was excited, but it was beginner's excitement. My dad, he was happy. The team he grew up watching fall over and over again was going to the Super Bowl. Looking back, I did not understand the weight of his excitement and passion until years later. I was only eleven years old.
My first year as a Seahawks fan was the year they went to the Super Bowl and lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers. I watched as many games as I could with my dad, and fell in love with the team that my dad fell in love with as a child.
After that season, I was already hooked. We could never afford the Sunday ticket and there were a few years before I figured out how to stream the game on European sites. I was also heavily into travel baseball from 2006-2009 which led to many times having to rely on our flip phones to update scores for us as we drove back home from tournament weekends almost every Sunday. It sucked. But at the same time, I savor those memories, being in the car, smelly and exhausted from another baseball tournament, but still being able to get excited when the phone updated us on another Seahawks moment.
I am also the oldest of three brothers and I have a half-brother (and another on the way!). Alex is a freshman in high school while Ian is in sixth grade. Of course, through my middle and high school days, they were too young to truly care about football or the Seahawks. Besides, half of the time the Seahawks were not very good anyways. That changed about the time I was a sophomore in high school (when Alex was in sixth grade). He started watching the games with my dad and me; while he enjoyed them, I think he was watching so we could spend time together as brothers. He watched me get pissed off when Hasselbeck threw an interception or when the referees spoiled another one. He watched me jump up and down when Marcus Trufant secured another possession for the offense. Now that I think back to it, he watched me like I watched my dad years before. I remember BeastQuake as if it were yesterday, when my dad, Alex and I woke our baby brother up because we were screaming so loud. I think that was when I knew that Alex was going to become as big of a fan as me.
In August of 2013, I left home to go to Duke University. I was mostly excited, but I was told that I would miss my family after a few weeks. To be honest, I was so busy that I never had time to miss my family until I went to bed at night when I had no more work to worry about (Duke is hard, guys). But when Seahawks Sundays rolled around and my roommate and I had to scrounge around to look for a place to watch the game on, I really began to miss home. Home on Sundays for me was always about the Seahawks, even if I was the only one to watch the game sometimes. The family was always in the living room or kitchen together; it was fun. My mom would laugh about how excited I would get about the game and always tell me not to get too upset when the Seahawks lost. If I was with my dad, we would go crazy together or get pissed together, but only after three to six hours of anticipation before the game began. And of course my brother, who got more and more into the games as the years went on.
I have visited home a few times, which are always great times. We went to the Seattle game in Atlanta earlier this year -- my step-dad, Alex, my roommate Kevin (also a Seahawks fan) and me. My dad and his fiancee were also there in another section of the Dome. Sure enough, Alex was up and yelling as much (or more) than I was. We destroyed the Falcons that day, and all was good. I have only been back to watch two other games this season -- the loss against Arizona and the win against St. Louis. Both were reminders of what it was like to live at home and experience the games with my family. I miss those days.
My mom spent years in Seattle, but has moved around -- living in Texas and Colorado as well. Today, she is a Seahawks fan and she says it is because of her sons. I don't blame her, as she has realized the bond that Seattle football has created for this family.
For us, for my family, even if my parents aren't together, the Seahawks have already brought us together in different ways. I am a fan, and I get excited and pissed and sometimes have to be reminded that it is just a game. But my passion for the Seahawks comes from within, it comes from home, and it never goes.
Win or lose today, I am proud of the Seahawks. My only wish is that I could be with Alex and my family today to anticipate, get excited, get pissed, celebrate or not, and talk about the game for hours.
Go Seahawks! I love you guys, and I hope that you can bring home the first Super Bowl ring in Seattle history!
For me, this is more than just a game. However, my fandom has always been about more than just "being a fan."
I was born in Seattle in 1994, but moved to the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia when I was almost two years old. Needless to say, I do not remember living in Seattle in contrast to my dad, who grew up in Seattle, has been to Seahawks games at the Kingdome and can cite the memories of watching Ken Griffey Jr. turn into a star.
I could say that I became a Seattle sports fan when I was born; I have a toddler-sized Griffey jersey that hung on my bedroom wall my entire life. I believe this is the case. When kids starting sporting their Atlanta Falcons jerseys in third grade, I never identified with the team. I have been to more Atlanta Braves games than I can count, but every time I went to Turner, I wished I was at Safeco.
I guess the main point here is the reason behind this love. I'll start with my dad, who has had blue and green streaming through his blood since the day he was born. I've been asked many times why I didn't really watch football until the season that Seattle went to the Super Bowl. From the outside, it can seem very bandwagon-esque. The truth is that my dad never put on football because the Seahawks were never on television in Atlanta. Whenever the Seahawks played in a primetime game, the start time was my bedtime until I turned ten years old anyway. However, when 2005 rolled around, all of the sudden the Seahawks were on a lot more, our neighbor had the Sunday ticket, and my dad and I watched almost every single game. I have a memory of watching the NFC Championship, the game when Seattle just pummeled Jake Delhomme's Carolina Panthers. I was excited, but it was beginner's excitement. My dad, he was happy. The team he grew up watching fall over and over again was going to the Super Bowl. Looking back, I did not understand the weight of his excitement and passion until years later. I was only eleven years old.
My first year as a Seahawks fan was the year they went to the Super Bowl and lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers. I watched as many games as I could with my dad, and fell in love with the team that my dad fell in love with as a child.
After that season, I was already hooked. We could never afford the Sunday ticket and there were a few years before I figured out how to stream the game on European sites. I was also heavily into travel baseball from 2006-2009 which led to many times having to rely on our flip phones to update scores for us as we drove back home from tournament weekends almost every Sunday. It sucked. But at the same time, I savor those memories, being in the car, smelly and exhausted from another baseball tournament, but still being able to get excited when the phone updated us on another Seahawks moment.
I am also the oldest of three brothers and I have a half-brother (and another on the way!). Alex is a freshman in high school while Ian is in sixth grade. Of course, through my middle and high school days, they were too young to truly care about football or the Seahawks. Besides, half of the time the Seahawks were not very good anyways. That changed about the time I was a sophomore in high school (when Alex was in sixth grade). He started watching the games with my dad and me; while he enjoyed them, I think he was watching so we could spend time together as brothers. He watched me get pissed off when Hasselbeck threw an interception or when the referees spoiled another one. He watched me jump up and down when Marcus Trufant secured another possession for the offense. Now that I think back to it, he watched me like I watched my dad years before. I remember BeastQuake as if it were yesterday, when my dad, Alex and I woke our baby brother up because we were screaming so loud. I think that was when I knew that Alex was going to become as big of a fan as me.
In August of 2013, I left home to go to Duke University. I was mostly excited, but I was told that I would miss my family after a few weeks. To be honest, I was so busy that I never had time to miss my family until I went to bed at night when I had no more work to worry about (Duke is hard, guys). But when Seahawks Sundays rolled around and my roommate and I had to scrounge around to look for a place to watch the game on, I really began to miss home. Home on Sundays for me was always about the Seahawks, even if I was the only one to watch the game sometimes. The family was always in the living room or kitchen together; it was fun. My mom would laugh about how excited I would get about the game and always tell me not to get too upset when the Seahawks lost. If I was with my dad, we would go crazy together or get pissed together, but only after three to six hours of anticipation before the game began. And of course my brother, who got more and more into the games as the years went on.
I have visited home a few times, which are always great times. We went to the Seattle game in Atlanta earlier this year -- my step-dad, Alex, my roommate Kevin (also a Seahawks fan) and me. My dad and his fiancee were also there in another section of the Dome. Sure enough, Alex was up and yelling as much (or more) than I was. We destroyed the Falcons that day, and all was good. I have only been back to watch two other games this season -- the loss against Arizona and the win against St. Louis. Both were reminders of what it was like to live at home and experience the games with my family. I miss those days.
My mom spent years in Seattle, but has moved around -- living in Texas and Colorado as well. Today, she is a Seahawks fan and she says it is because of her sons. I don't blame her, as she has realized the bond that Seattle football has created for this family.
For us, for my family, even if my parents aren't together, the Seahawks have already brought us together in different ways. I am a fan, and I get excited and pissed and sometimes have to be reminded that it is just a game. But my passion for the Seahawks comes from within, it comes from home, and it never goes.
Win or lose today, I am proud of the Seahawks. My only wish is that I could be with Alex and my family today to anticipate, get excited, get pissed, celebrate or not, and talk about the game for hours.
Go Seahawks! I love you guys, and I hope that you can bring home the first Super Bowl ring in Seattle history!
Middle school selfie days
Me with my dad after a game
Alex, me, and Kevin
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Welcome to my Sports Mumbles
In my inaugural post, I want to get a few facts out there right away:
-I am a Seattle sports fan. I will ruthlessly post about the Mariners and Seahawks.
-I may post about your team. I probably do not like them.
-I will exclusively talk baseball and football, both at the professional level.
-Anything else I talk about, I will probably be wrong about.
-I will be wrong anyways.
Welcome to my sports mumbles.
Let's start off with a Happy Mother's Day!
And so it was for the Seattle Mariners, who took two out of three at home against Oakland after beating Tommy Milone this Sunday afternoon with home runs from Kendrys Morales and Jason Bay in a 6-1 contest.
Joe Saunders is finally looking like the Joe Saunders Seattle wanted to bring in, allowing 1 run, 5 hits, and 3 walks while striking out 6 over six and a third innings. He improves to 3-4 on the year while lowering his Earned Run Average to a 5.51.
Meanwhile, Michael Saunders continues to glisten in that leadoff spot, hitting 2 for 4, scoring twice. His average sits at .286, vouching for his leadoff spot to stat secure.
Eric Wedge should definitely think about giving today's batting order another go, as the first five (Saunders, Bay, Seager, Morales, Morse) all performed well and worked together to produce runs. This was evident as soon as the first inning, when Saunders led off with a single, following later by a Seager walk and a Morales bomb to bring them both in and start the game off with a 3-0 lead. This is the kind of offense Seattle needs at the beginning of these types of contests to secure confidence and victories.
Looking ahead to Tuesday, Seattle travels to New York to take on the hottest team in the league, the Yankees. The first match-up is great on paper, with Felix Hernandez and C.C. Sabathia taking the mound. The Yankees hate Felix for two reasons: 1) He always beats the Yankees, and 2) He doesn't want to play for the Yankees. Felix goes into Tuesday's game with a 4-1 record at Yankee Stadium, boasting a 1.13 ERA in those five starts. To add to that success against the Yankees, Felix also has a league-leading 1.53 ERA so far in 2013. Sabathia has been effective so far this year, recording a 4-3 record and a 3.23 ERA. Look for this pitching match-up to be intense, and the hurler who makes the fewest mistakes will likely emerge the winner.
Keep in mind that the Yankees will be coming off of a doubleheader in Cleveland, so a few of their players may be dreary from the previous day's events, while Seattle will be coming off of an off-day. Hopefully the Mariners can capitalize on the circumstances and start this three-game series off with a victory, with the next two pitching matchups being: (5/15) Iwakuma vs. Hughes; (5/16) Harang vs. Pettite.
It is important for Seattle to bring their A-game to New York, because they do not catch a break travelling straight to Cleveland to take on a hot-hitting Indians ball club this upcoming weekend.
-I am a Seattle sports fan. I will ruthlessly post about the Mariners and Seahawks.
-I may post about your team. I probably do not like them.
-I will exclusively talk baseball and football, both at the professional level.
-Anything else I talk about, I will probably be wrong about.
-I will be wrong anyways.
Welcome to my sports mumbles.
Let's start off with a Happy Mother's Day!
And so it was for the Seattle Mariners, who took two out of three at home against Oakland after beating Tommy Milone this Sunday afternoon with home runs from Kendrys Morales and Jason Bay in a 6-1 contest.
Joe Saunders is finally looking like the Joe Saunders Seattle wanted to bring in, allowing 1 run, 5 hits, and 3 walks while striking out 6 over six and a third innings. He improves to 3-4 on the year while lowering his Earned Run Average to a 5.51.
Meanwhile, Michael Saunders continues to glisten in that leadoff spot, hitting 2 for 4, scoring twice. His average sits at .286, vouching for his leadoff spot to stat secure.
Eric Wedge should definitely think about giving today's batting order another go, as the first five (Saunders, Bay, Seager, Morales, Morse) all performed well and worked together to produce runs. This was evident as soon as the first inning, when Saunders led off with a single, following later by a Seager walk and a Morales bomb to bring them both in and start the game off with a 3-0 lead. This is the kind of offense Seattle needs at the beginning of these types of contests to secure confidence and victories.
Looking ahead to Tuesday, Seattle travels to New York to take on the hottest team in the league, the Yankees. The first match-up is great on paper, with Felix Hernandez and C.C. Sabathia taking the mound. The Yankees hate Felix for two reasons: 1) He always beats the Yankees, and 2) He doesn't want to play for the Yankees. Felix goes into Tuesday's game with a 4-1 record at Yankee Stadium, boasting a 1.13 ERA in those five starts. To add to that success against the Yankees, Felix also has a league-leading 1.53 ERA so far in 2013. Sabathia has been effective so far this year, recording a 4-3 record and a 3.23 ERA. Look for this pitching match-up to be intense, and the hurler who makes the fewest mistakes will likely emerge the winner.
Keep in mind that the Yankees will be coming off of a doubleheader in Cleveland, so a few of their players may be dreary from the previous day's events, while Seattle will be coming off of an off-day. Hopefully the Mariners can capitalize on the circumstances and start this three-game series off with a victory, with the next two pitching matchups being: (5/15) Iwakuma vs. Hughes; (5/16) Harang vs. Pettite.
It is important for Seattle to bring their A-game to New York, because they do not catch a break travelling straight to Cleveland to take on a hot-hitting Indians ball club this upcoming weekend.
Kendrys Morales sends a home-run over the left-field wall, scoring Michael Saunders and Kyle Seager en route to a 6-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday, May 12, 2013.
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