Seattle Seahawks Breathe a Sigh of Relief, but Playoffs? A Lot Has To Go Right

There seem to be mixed reactions among Seahawks fans about yesterday's 32-20 W over the woeful Detroit Lions. Some view it as a W we were supposed to get; some, like me, view it as a nice comeback, erasing the deja vu feeling of the Arizona beat down.

I have heard a lot of playoff talk amongst Seahawks fans that are already thinking we have a playoff team in front of us here after beating Detroit.

Playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs? They're the Detroit F**king Lions!

This is a game they were supposed to win, not just win, dominate, and what they did was slide down a black hole right out of the gate. They should have never been in a position to have to come back. The only reason we had a chance to recover from that INT-fumble-failed-fourth that led to 17 points was the fact they were playing against the Lions.

We proved we can't climb out of the same deficit we dug ourselves against a good team when we went down 17-0 against the Cardinals with the same sloppy play.

Bottom line: We just had to come back 17-0 to beat the Lions, we are sloppy, inconsistent, and can't run the ball at all, even when we are completely healthy (minus our two best players in Lofa Tatupu and Walter Jones).

Our rushing guru might as well toss his worthless running scheme out and get a new one because even my woeful Washington State Cougars can run the ball better then the Seahawks can right now. Fact, not fiction.

For all you Hasselbeck haters, I would quit dissing him because if you actually think this team is going to have a shot at the playoffs. He will have to air it out 40-50 times every game with those broken ribs because Julius Jones is plain horrible and the coaching staff won't start Justin Forsett.

Hasselbeck just saved our season like he has done many times since 2006 with no line, and no running game.  Give the man some respect.

Let's break down the rest of the season

At Arizona Cardinals

At Minnesota Vikings

At St Louis Rams

Home vs. San Francisco 49ers

At Houston Texans

Home vs. Tampa Bay Bucanners

At Green Bay Packers

Home vs. Tennessee Titans

Sitting here at 3-5 just like I predicted , it means from this point forward the Seahawks have to go at least 6-2 to make the postseason.

We have to win games we're supposed to, so if we lose to Tampa Bay, Tennessee (who is experiencing a resurgence with Vince Young at QB), or St. Louis, those hopes are pretty much dashed.

Even at 6-5 with those three "should win" W's, we would still have to go at least 3-2 from that point, and four of those games are road games.

For a good, consistent team, going 3-2 against the Packers, 49ers, Cardinals, Texans, and Vikings, is not a tall task; for the 2007 Seahawks, this would be doable.

But for the 2009 Seahawks, a team with scoring lines of 28-0, 17-34, 41-0, 3-27, and 17-38, twice giving up 17 points in the first quarter, they are far from consistent.

We face a must-win in Arizona next week; winning that game pulls us within one game and rids the Cards of their tiebreaker with us as the series would be 1-1. I didn't expect the Seahawks to roll over and die in the last meeting, and after getting trounced in front of the 12th Man, I don't expect a repeat in Arizona.

Keep in mind the Cardinals are at 5-3 right now and have the Titans, Lions, and Rams twice, remaining on their schedule. If they beat us they could coast to a 10-win season if they do everything right.

As the Seahawks have proved though, not everything goes right, and sometimes, nothing goes right.

For all those Seahawks still clinging to playoff hopes, an atrocious Arizona meltdown, and a significant Seahawks surge, must ensue. We have to get consistent, stay healthy, and hope to God that Hasselbeck can stay upright for eight more games.

We have to find a running game; our 30th ranked rushing game won't take us anywhere.

We have to get Houcaresaboutyourbitching to start making catches at the same rate he runs his mouth. I don't mind some fiery passion, some trash talk, in fact I encourage it, but when you're on pace to make well over $1,000,000 for each TD, eat some humble pie.

Seahawks and fans, catch your breath, feel good about erasing a potential disaster against Detroit, but don't be thinking playoffs quite yet.