Week 13: 49ers @ Seahawks
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A catch, and a kick
Rookie receiver Deon Butler and veteran kicker Olindo Mare made big plays in the closing second as the Seahawks grabbed a 20-17 victory over the 49ers
They now have won back-to-back games for the first time since last December, when they beat the Rams in St. Louis and then returned to Qwest to down the New York Jets in Mike Holmgren’s final home game as coach. The Seahawks also pulled themselves to 5-7 and into a tie for second in the NFC West with the 49ers.
“It feels good to win a close game at the end against a good football team,” coach Jim Mora said.
That’s because the Seahawks had done neither in his first year as coach. Their previous wins had come by scores of 28-0 and 27-17 (over the Rams), 41-0 (over the Jaguars) and 32-20 (over the Lions). Their losses have come by 13 points (to the 49ers), 6 (to the Bears), 17 (to the Colts), 24 and 11 (to the Cardinals), 21 (to the Cowboys) and 26 (to the Vikings).
But on this day, the Seahawks played tough and hung tough – to the anything-but-inevitable end.
The table for the exciting finish to a not-so-exciting game was set as Hasselbeck threw two touchdown passes (7 yards to Deion Branch and 8 yards to Justin Forsett) and 49ers QB Alex Smith matched it (33 yards to Vernon Davis and 22 yards to Josh Morgan). Mare kicked a 25-yarder in the fourth quarter – his 17th in a row to break the team record he shared with Todd Peterson and Josh Brown. Joe Nedney kicked a 34-yarder for the 49ers, also in the fourth quarter to tie it at 17.
That’s when the unexpected and expected converged in the final frantic seconds.
First, the unexpected – Butler’s 32-yard reception on an “alert” route against one-on-one press coverage from Smith, who was signed a few weeks ago when Pro Bowl corner Nate Clements was injured. The Seahawks were in a trips formation that featured three much-more experienced receivers on the left side and Butler all by his lonesome on the right side.
“On every play, there’s a progression – one, two, three, four, five,” Hasselbeck said. “And if you’re not in the progression, they’ll put ‘alert’ next to your route. Meaning, hey listen, you’ll probably never get this ball, but be alter.”
That was Butler on what proved to be the biggest of Hasselbeck’s 25 completions.
“But,” Hasselbeck quickly added, “there are certain coverages where you could get the ball.”
Like being in single coverage, with no safety help over the top, as Butler was on what proved to be the biggest reception of his rookie season.
“I was really hoping Matt came to me, because I was like, ‘OK, I’m one-on-one with this guy,’ ” said Butler, who had seven receptions entering the game and eight coming out of it. “I really didn’t think about the timing in the game or anything. I just knew it was a great matchup.”
So did Hasselbeck. “That was a big one, and we hit it,” he said.
Added Butler, “Matt made a great throw to keep it away from the safety and I just looked it in. Then everybody got real excited.”
Everyone expect Mare, that is. He approaches every kick the same, regardless of distance or significance. Yes, he was aware that he was kicking toward the north end zone. Where the wind was swirling, and also where he had missed his only two attempts this season – in that six-point loss to the Bears in Week 3.
“It’s always good to break a record in a win,” Mare said. “Twenty yards. Fifty yards. In the books, they’re all knuckleballs. It doesn’t matter what they look like as long as they go in. I try to approach it all the same every time, and I think that’s the only way to do it.”
Before the last-second heroics, there also was some sustained substance to this victory.
The defense, led by a nine-tackle performance from free safety Jordan Babineaux and the stoutness of defensive tackle Brandon Mebane, limited Frank Gore to 2.8 yards per carry. It was 49ers coach Mike Singletary and offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye who limited Gore to just nine carries – this after he gashed the Seahawks for 207 yards and touchdown runs of 80 and 79 yards in Week 2 at Candlestick Park.
“I was a bit surprised, honestly, because I figured they would run the ball a little more than they did,” Babineaux said. “Regardless, we did a pretty good job on him, and they have a great running game that can explode at anytime.”
The offense, which generated 107 rushing yards and 205 passing, was effective in spots. Hasselbeck had the longest run of the game (a 23-yarder) and also spread his 25 completions (in 34 attempts) to nine receivers.
On special teams, there was Mare, of course, who also got off a pooch punt from field goal formation that pinned the 49ers at their 2-yard line. But there was Jon Ryan, too. He averaged 47.1 yards on his eight punts (with a net of 45.0) and did an exemplary job holding for Mare’s record-breaking and game-winning kicks. There also was a 33-yard kickoff return by Ben Obomanu and a 21-yard punt return by Nate Burleson. Then there was rookie Nick Reed’s recovery of a fumbled kickoff return and three coverage tackles.
“One of the things that impressed me about our football team today was the way we hung in there in the last minute,” Mora said. “We hung in there, and we found way to win it at the end.”
Thanks to a rookie wide receiver who had no business being the target on the biggest pass play of the game and a veteran kicker who was able to block out everything else with the game on the line.
http://www.seahawks.com/news/articl...d-a-kick/ccf6fe2a-b122-4c3e-8166-72ab7b325ac9
Rookie receiver Deon Butler and veteran kicker Olindo Mare made big plays in the closing second as the Seahawks grabbed a 20-17 victory over the 49ers
They now have won back-to-back games for the first time since last December, when they beat the Rams in St. Louis and then returned to Qwest to down the New York Jets in Mike Holmgren’s final home game as coach. The Seahawks also pulled themselves to 5-7 and into a tie for second in the NFC West with the 49ers.
“It feels good to win a close game at the end against a good football team,” coach Jim Mora said.
That’s because the Seahawks had done neither in his first year as coach. Their previous wins had come by scores of 28-0 and 27-17 (over the Rams), 41-0 (over the Jaguars) and 32-20 (over the Lions). Their losses have come by 13 points (to the 49ers), 6 (to the Bears), 17 (to the Colts), 24 and 11 (to the Cardinals), 21 (to the Cowboys) and 26 (to the Vikings).
But on this day, the Seahawks played tough and hung tough – to the anything-but-inevitable end.
The table for the exciting finish to a not-so-exciting game was set as Hasselbeck threw two touchdown passes (7 yards to Deion Branch and 8 yards to Justin Forsett) and 49ers QB Alex Smith matched it (33 yards to Vernon Davis and 22 yards to Josh Morgan). Mare kicked a 25-yarder in the fourth quarter – his 17th in a row to break the team record he shared with Todd Peterson and Josh Brown. Joe Nedney kicked a 34-yarder for the 49ers, also in the fourth quarter to tie it at 17.
That’s when the unexpected and expected converged in the final frantic seconds.
First, the unexpected – Butler’s 32-yard reception on an “alert” route against one-on-one press coverage from Smith, who was signed a few weeks ago when Pro Bowl corner Nate Clements was injured. The Seahawks were in a trips formation that featured three much-more experienced receivers on the left side and Butler all by his lonesome on the right side.
“On every play, there’s a progression – one, two, three, four, five,” Hasselbeck said. “And if you’re not in the progression, they’ll put ‘alert’ next to your route. Meaning, hey listen, you’ll probably never get this ball, but be alter.”
That was Butler on what proved to be the biggest of Hasselbeck’s 25 completions.
“But,” Hasselbeck quickly added, “there are certain coverages where you could get the ball.”
Like being in single coverage, with no safety help over the top, as Butler was on what proved to be the biggest reception of his rookie season.
“I was really hoping Matt came to me, because I was like, ‘OK, I’m one-on-one with this guy,’ ” said Butler, who had seven receptions entering the game and eight coming out of it. “I really didn’t think about the timing in the game or anything. I just knew it was a great matchup.”
So did Hasselbeck. “That was a big one, and we hit it,” he said.
Added Butler, “Matt made a great throw to keep it away from the safety and I just looked it in. Then everybody got real excited.”
Everyone expect Mare, that is. He approaches every kick the same, regardless of distance or significance. Yes, he was aware that he was kicking toward the north end zone. Where the wind was swirling, and also where he had missed his only two attempts this season – in that six-point loss to the Bears in Week 3.
“It’s always good to break a record in a win,” Mare said. “Twenty yards. Fifty yards. In the books, they’re all knuckleballs. It doesn’t matter what they look like as long as they go in. I try to approach it all the same every time, and I think that’s the only way to do it.”
Before the last-second heroics, there also was some sustained substance to this victory.
The defense, led by a nine-tackle performance from free safety Jordan Babineaux and the stoutness of defensive tackle Brandon Mebane, limited Frank Gore to 2.8 yards per carry. It was 49ers coach Mike Singletary and offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye who limited Gore to just nine carries – this after he gashed the Seahawks for 207 yards and touchdown runs of 80 and 79 yards in Week 2 at Candlestick Park.
“I was a bit surprised, honestly, because I figured they would run the ball a little more than they did,” Babineaux said. “Regardless, we did a pretty good job on him, and they have a great running game that can explode at anytime.”
The offense, which generated 107 rushing yards and 205 passing, was effective in spots. Hasselbeck had the longest run of the game (a 23-yarder) and also spread his 25 completions (in 34 attempts) to nine receivers.
On special teams, there was Mare, of course, who also got off a pooch punt from field goal formation that pinned the 49ers at their 2-yard line. But there was Jon Ryan, too. He averaged 47.1 yards on his eight punts (with a net of 45.0) and did an exemplary job holding for Mare’s record-breaking and game-winning kicks. There also was a 33-yard kickoff return by Ben Obomanu and a 21-yard punt return by Nate Burleson. Then there was rookie Nick Reed’s recovery of a fumbled kickoff return and three coverage tackles.
“One of the things that impressed me about our football team today was the way we hung in there in the last minute,” Mora said. “We hung in there, and we found way to win it at the end.”
Thanks to a rookie wide receiver who had no business being the target on the biggest pass play of the game and a veteran kicker who was able to block out everything else with the game on the line.
http://www.seahawks.com/news/articl...d-a-kick/ccf6fe2a-b122-4c3e-8166-72ab7b325ac9
Artistic, can I ask u why??
I was at the game n watchin it very closely. Most 9er fans complained bout how rayes playcallin was bad. This game he actually opened up his play book n even used the spread in first quarter. How'd that work out?? Smith was some what able to move the ball around n pass for 300 yds.
That walker pass was a PI, but there were other bad/missed calls just like any other game. Walker and crabtree BOTH had key dropped passes in that game. One for a td that wouldve given y'all the lead. U can't blame smith for dropped balls.
Personally, this loss is on the defense, I thought. Ya smith couldn't get some points on the last drive, but they couldve stopped the seahawks O as well. The seahawks offense wasn't too impressive.
Turnovers hurt the 9ers badly and Seattle took advantage of that n scored PTS.
I was at the game n watchin it very closely. Most 9er fans complained bout how rayes playcallin was bad. This game he actually opened up his play book n even used the spread in first quarter. How'd that work out?? Smith was some what able to move the ball around n pass for 300 yds.
That walker pass was a PI, but there were other bad/missed calls just like any other game. Walker and crabtree BOTH had key dropped passes in that game. One for a td that wouldve given y'all the lead. U can't blame smith for dropped balls.
Personally, this loss is on the defense, I thought. Ya smith couldn't get some points on the last drive, but they couldve stopped the seahawks O as well. The seahawks offense wasn't too impressive.
Turnovers hurt the 9ers badly and Seattle took advantage of that n scored PTS.
What a shitty ass performance yesterday. Couldn't watch most of the game due to niece's baptism. Key dropped passes I hear? Stupid lateral by Battle to weak-ass Brandon Jones (WHY THE FUCK IS HE STILL ON SPECIAL TEAMS). Missed penalty calls?
Just another shitty ass close game which ends up as a loss for the 9ers.
Just another shitty ass close game which ends up as a loss for the 9ers.
we shouldn't have given them the ball with time left in regulation. they coulda done a couple plays on that last drive and if we didn't move the ball run out the clock and start over in overtime. don't give them the perfect setup to win with no time left. also we had a timeout before the first play of the game wtf?
http://www.nfl.com/videos/san-francisco-49ers/09000d5d814c3351/WK-13-Alex-Smith-highlights
Alex Smith week 13 highlights
he looked great
Alex Smith week 13 highlights
he looked great
True, he's far from perfect...but he definitely looks much more poised and confident back there when throwing.
I didn't like how we totally abandoned the run game though...mix it up a little bit! 9 carries from Frank Gore is just dumb, IMO. Especially since he's been shredding up the Hawks for the past few years consistently.
I didn't like how we totally abandoned the run game though...mix it up a little bit! 9 carries from Frank Gore is just dumb, IMO. Especially since he's been shredding up the Hawks for the past few years consistently.