I asked for it and I got it.

The 12th Man indeed showed up and so did the Seahawks defense. That was the loudest stadium I’ve ever been in and definitely had playoff atmosphere. The Hawks fed off it and it turned into another NFC West banner in Qwest Field.

A few comments from last night:

• I couldn’t believe arguing with people on the ferry ride home about Charlie Whitehurst’s performance. The dude was on the winning side of the game, for goodness sakes! Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think he’s our next franchise QB. However, he played a decent game (in fact his stats were better than Sam Bradford’s). His mobility saved easily 5 sacks and actually picked up positive yardage. Charlie’s job was to not lose the game and that’s exactly what he did. He’s a capable backup, a young guy who’s learning, and played a solid game. ESPN’s Trent Dilfer (a guy who won a Super Bowl as a “solid” QB) said as much after the game. Cut the guy some slack. He played a game good enough in the biggest game of the year.
• The defense was crazy. I know it wasn’t the New England Patriots, but Sam Bradford has had an excellent rookie year, and Steven Jackson is a stud. To hold the Rams to 2 field goals was unbelievable. I loved how Aaron Curry, Chris Clemons, David Hawthorne, Lofa Tatupu, and Marcus Trufant played. Will Herring played a great game. This was a total team effort and a sight for sore eyes.
• Pete Carroll is the right guy for this city. He brings a great energy that really gets the 12th Man going. I think good things are on the horizon.
• I expect that Matt Hasselbeck will start if he’s healthy. He’s the veteran; he’s got playoff experience; he played a good game against the Saints last month; and he’s the right guy. However, if he can’t go or plays poorly, I have less issues with Charlie Whitehurst than I did 2 weeks ago!
• Marshawn Lynch bounced back after being stripped of the ball and ran in “beast-mode” the rest of the way. He could not be stopped in the 4th Quarter when the Rams knew we were running.
• I don’t care what our record is. The Mariners won 116 games in 2001 and didn’t win the American League to go to the World Series. This is about getting to the playoffs by winning your division.
• I just LOVE that the Giants, who humiliated us at home earlier this year, aren’t even in the playoffs. That’s really cool.

This was a huge win for this franchise. Just like the University of Washington needed a bowl game and the rest was gravy; the Hawks needed to get to the playoffs and the rest is gravy. Two years ago, the Huskies were 0-12 and the Seahawks were 4-12. Now, the Dawgs have upset Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl and the Hawks are NFC West Champs. Unreal.

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