SEAHAWKS FINAL PRESEASON GAME

In the final preseason game of the year the Hawks JV squad took care of business and came away with a 19-14 win over the Raiders. But in the preseason its not about the final score, its about improvement and seeing what you got on the depth chart, as well as avoiding injuries.

While Oakland played its first team offense for most of the first half, Seattle played only three starters. This presented an interesting opportunity for the Hawks second team to get some reps versus a number one offense.

Positives:

- Nate Burleson: After an early drop he made three nice catches for 52 yards and a TD and looked really good after the catch.

- Leonard Weaver: Ran the ball hard and picked up a handful of firstdowns, he's going to be a nice tool to have on 3rd down.

- C.J. Wallace: UW grad was all over the field making big hits and intercepting a pass, hopefully last night's performance earned him a spot on the team.

- Joe Fernandez: The return man looked good but there may not be enough room on the depth chart at WR.

- Joe Newton: Rookie had a nice catch and could be the answer at TE in the future.

- Cameron Jensen: Third string middle linebacker made a lot of plays and outperformed Koutouvides.

- Marcus Tubbs: Until injuring his knee Tubbs looked great, breaking into the backfield or demanding a double team on almost every play. (Still awaiting word on the sevarity of the injury but Mike Holmgren said after the game that it doesn't look good).

- Brandon Mebane: Looked like he could do an adequate job of filling in for Tubbs, a big body that can clog the middle.

Negatives:

- Marcus Tubbs injury: The Hawks were depending on this guy to help stop the run and now they will need to depend on a rookie and the same crew that gave up 140 rush yards per game (versus 80 ypg with Tubbs on the field).

- Leonard Stephens: A tightend named Stephens should throw up red flags, and last night Leonard looked a lot like the former Stevens; jumping offsides on two occasions including a 4th and short that forced the Hawks to punt.

- 2nd team linebackers: Granted they were facing Oakland's starters, but the crew of Bentley, Laury and Koutouvides missed a few tackles and didn't fill the gaps as well as you would have hoped.

- Josh Wilson: Didn't look like he was ready for one-on-one coverage. The rookie corner got stiffarmed and knocked to the ground on two seperate occasions and his lack of size really showed.

Other observations:

- The offensive line, made up of a few starters and reserves, had some trouble run blocking to start the game, but pass blocked well and gave Seneca Wallace enough time to find open receivers.

- Special teams: The kicking and return game looked good, highlighted by a Josh Brown FG, nice punts by Plackemeier and some solid returns by Wilson and Fernandez. But the coverage team wasn't very sharp, taking bad angles, missing tackles and allowing a punt return TD.

- Jordan Kent: The rookie out of Oregon is an incredible athlete, but not polished at WR yet, hopefully there is room for him on the practice squad where he can learn the position better.

- The Raiders were still trying to figure out their quarterback situation, and Dante Culpepper looked very sharp. His passes were accurate and had a lot of zip on them, they should be in no hurry to rush JaMarcus Russell onto the field.

AL WILD CARD BREAKDOWN

After being swept by the Angels at home by scores of 6-0, 10-6 and 8-2, the Mariners hopes for the division title look grim, and if they dont pick it up quick the wild card could be out of the question as well. Many consider the wild card a two-team race between the Yankees and Mariners (they are currently tied) but don't forget the defending AL champion Detroit Tigers. The Tigers are three games back in the wild card and are in good shape to make a run. Here's a look at the remaining schedules for the contending teams.

Mariners:

30 games (13 home/ 17 road) *One of the home games is actually a road game that will be played at Safeco Field vs. Cleveland. The Mariners are on the road against New York and Detroit where their record this year has been 4-3 and 3-4 respectively. These games are where the wild card will be won or lost, the best way to distance yourself in a race is to play head-to-head, but its also the best way to give up ground. If Seattle can play .500 ball in that stretch they will stay in the thick of things. The Mariners finish out the year with four games on the road against the Angels, who they were just humiliated by and have a season record of 4-11 against. Then they play AL Central leading Cleveland for three home games and a "road game" at Safeco. Lastly, they finish off with two more at home against Texas to close out the season.

Its going to come down to starting pitching and winning big games toward the end of the season. The Mariners rotation has been wildly inconsistant and the team is stumbling down the stretch. Seattle will continue to struggle against a tough schedule and eventually finish third in the wild card.

Yankees:

29 games (14 home/ 15 road)

New York has been the hottest team since the All-Star break and have stormed back into the playoff chase. The last part of their schedule sets up nicely, with four at home against the Blue Jays, then on the road for three games against Tampa Bay and three more against Baltimore to close out the year. If the race comes down to the last week of the season the Yankees have the best chance to put a streak of wins together and take the wild card. However, New York's starting rotation hasn't been much better than that of Seattle. Mike Mussina was recently demoted to the bullpen after being shelled his last three outings, and Roger Clemens isnt living up to his $28 million contract (he's earning $1 million a start to be slightly above average). Bottom line, the pitching is a question mark but the offense can carry this team and down the stretch the wild card is theirs to loose. Yankees win the wild card by 2 games.

Tigers:

29 games (16 home/ 13 road)

The Tigers were my pick at the beginning of the year to win the World Series and have battled injuries all season. They are hot and finally starting to play like the AL championship team of a year ago. Detroit closes out the year at home versus the Royals and Twins, whom they are 8-6 and 7-5 against this season. Then they finish up on the road at Chicago, the White Sox have given Detroit trouble this year winning eight of twelve meetings.

The offense is hitting well lately, led by Curtis Granderson and their starting rotation has been more consistant than either the Mariners or Yankees. The Tigers will make a run and I believe will tie or even take the lead in the wild card before faltering in the last week of the season. Tigers will be in a tie with the Yankees but loose three of their last six, while New York wins five of six.

Storm Update and Other Tid-bits

-For all you Seattle Storm fans out there demanding coverage, today is your lucky day. The Storm lost their 3-game series with the Phoenix Mercury two games to none. Lauren Jackson had a solid year and could claim MVP honors for the season. Check back next year!

-Joey Harrington may have found a system where he can excel, don't rule the Falcons out just yet. They will probably go 8-8 and miss the playoffs, but dont be surprised if they are this year's New Orleans Saints and come out of nowhere.

-Went to the Mariners game last night and it was a mess. Bautista got knocked around and the Mariners couldnt even muster a run off of John Lackey. For being one of the most important series of the last few years, the first game was very disappointing.

-The girlfriend got me season tickets to the Huskies this year for my birthday (awesome gift). So I'll give a brief overview of every home game from an "East Bleachers point-of-view".

-Thanks for all the comments. It keeps the blog going, knowing what readers think or want to hear about.

-On deck: Going to the final preseason game for the Seahawks on Thursday, and I'll try to see how much of a post I can put together with the 3rd-string guys playing most of the game. Also, a Mariners post on their chances down the stretch.

Husky Preview:

Everyone is wondering if this is the year Willingham and the Dawgs finally get back to a bowl game. With a redshirt freshman Jake Locker at QB and the nation's toughest schedule ahead of them, it will be no easy task. RB Louis Rankin will need to have a big year to keep the pressure off Locker and a reciever needs to step up and emerge as his go-to man.

On defense both the line and linbacking core are solid and should stuff the run consistantly. The secondary is where the Huskies could loose some games. Senoir cornerback Roy Lewis is the veteran and should hold down his side of the field, but the Huskies may end up having to play some freshman in the secondary and you better believe the high powered offenses in the Pac-10 will take advantage of that.

Its usually hard to tell how special teams will be, but word is the Dawgs are having problems in the kicking game, something that Seahawk fans know can win you 3 or 4 games a year.

Predictions:

WIN at Syracuse - Locker shines at times and struggles at times.

WIN vs. Boise State - Hyped up crowd cheers Dawgs to win in home opener

LOSS vs. Ohio State - UW shows they still aren't on that level

LOSS at UCLA - Dawgs always a few steps behind the Bruins

LOSS vs.USC - Best team in the country takes care of business

WIN at Arizona State - Huskies snap losing streak and "save season"

LOSS vs. Oregon - Secondary fails in sloppy shootout

WIN vs. Arizona - Dawgs rebound and Locker shows improvement

WIN at Stanford - UW gets revenge for last years meltdown

WIN at Oregon State - Tough game, but defense holds Bernard in check

LOSS vs. California - Cal O is too much for Husky D

WIN vs. Washington State - Smelling a bowl game, UW gets it done

LOSS at Hawaii - Colt Brennen feasts on Husky secondary

LOSS vs. Air Force - VEGAS BOWL

Locker consistantly improves over the season but secondary costs the Dawgs a few games. Huskies finish 7-6 and lose to Air Force in the Vegas Bowl.