Seattle didn't win. Stop it.

Everyone needs to stop the nonsensical over-praise of the Seattle Seahawks.

·         Am I saying they’re not a tough team? No.

·          Am I saying they didn’t deserve to make the playoffs? No.

·         Am I saying that Pete Carroll isn’t a good, possibly great, coach? No!

·         Do I think their defense is the best ever? Best in the league? Not necessarily, although their defense is hella tough!

·         Do I think Russell Wilson is overrated? Maybe a little bit right now. He has exceeded everyone’s expectations and has absolutely earned the right to be elevated into the same conversations as Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. But he’s a rookie, and Pete Carroll has a lot of “college” plays that favor Wilson. As a football fan, I will love seeing Wilson develop over the next couple of years, and expect him to be in the top 10 QBs of the league for years to come.

But I think in this age of over-exposure of just about everything by the Media, they are creating a story more than a story actually developing.

Let’s be clear: in any NFL game (or any sporty competition, for that matter), it is each team’s or competitor’s responsibility to plan, prepare and execute to win the game. One team’s or competitor’s failure to do so should not diminish the accomplishment of the other’s.

However, when one team or competitor comes to play with their C game, the other team or competitor can’t be held up as David, who conquered Goliath.

If you watched the Seattle v Washington Wild Card playoff game, from the beginning, here’s what you would have witnessed:

1^st Quarter: an outright slaughter of Seattle in its entirety. The Redskins, led by RGIII, marched up and down the field at will. Seattle could not stop them… not even a little bit.

Let’s keep in mind that it was towards the end of the 1^st quarter when RGIII re-injured the knee running out of bounds. He limped noticeably back to the lineup, stood straight up and delivered his second TD pass, and then hobbled off. He was not the same from that point on.

In the 1^st quarter, Washington racked up 129 yards and 2 TDs. In the final 3 quarters, after the injury, Washington could muster only 74 yards. Was that because Seattle’s defense suddenly kicked in? Yes, quite honestly, it was. However, what none of the so-called experts seem to want to talk about is that it’s easy to “kick in” when you have an immobile QB playing on the other team. It was obvious that RGIII was unable to move in or out of the pocket, could not get comfortable when throwing the ball, and couldn’t even consider running. It doesn’t matter how big, fast or strong your opponent is when he’s got but one leg.

EVEN WITH RGIII’s inability to function in the Redskins’ offense, still the Seahawk’s offense could not effectively move the ball.  Their most effective offensive strategy was wearing out the Redskins’ defense… which they did.  That’s how they were finally able to score the go-ahead TD.

And to further show the inefficiency of the Seahawk’s offense, on the play that finally put RGIII on the sidelines for the rest of the game, the Seahawks recovered a fumble at like the 3 yard line…. And again had to settle for a FG. That is NOT the makings of a legend.

Now, before anyone jumps up and down on my throat for speaking so terribly about these fairytale Seahawks, I am not saying that the Seahawks suck. They absolutely deserved to make the playoffs, and Mike Shanahan’s failure to do what was best for his star player and the team doesn’t diminish the Seahawks’ victory. All I am saying is that this drivel about how amazing Russell Wilson played and how staunch the Seahawks’ defense was… it needs to stop. Had RGIII not reinjured his knee, and if Shanahan would have put Kirk Cousins in for the entire 2^nd half, the outcome of that game would most likely have been different. Coming into the 2^nd half, the Skins still had their 1 point lead.  Kirk Cousins, at that point, goes in and there’s no need to alter from the game plan. He’s clearly a capable backup. He came in for the save when RGIII initially injured the knee, and led the Skins to a victory the following week.

If Cousins had been put into the game earlier, and if the Seahawks had pulled out the win, at least they could say they WON. As it stands, this was clearly a case where one team lost much more so than one team winning.

Right now, I am hoping that RGIII has not so seriously damaged his knee that his career is shortened, altered or (God forbid!) over.