Scene from “Dumb and Dumber” with Lloyd Christmas and Mary Swanson:
Lloyd: What are the chances of a guy like you and a girl like me … ending up together?
Mary: Well, that’s pretty difficult to say.
Lloyd: Hit me with it! I’ve come a long way to see you, Mary. The least you can do is level with me. What are my chances?
Mary: Not good.
Lloyd: You mean, not good like one out of a hundred?
Mary: I’d say more like one out of a million.
(Pause)
Lloyd: So you’re telling me there’s a chance.
When the Seattle Seahawks defeated the San Francisco 49ers last week and the other teams in the NFC West dropped their respective games, it gave the Seahawks a sudden infusion of optimism that they were back in the race for their fifth consecutive division title.
But history would suggest that it will take significantly more than a fortuitous weekend and some far-flung hope for the Seahawks to dig their way out of the deep hole they have dug for themselves.
After all, only one team in the history of the NFL has started its season 1-5 and come back to make the playoffs.
O-N-E. (1). Uno.
The 1970 Cincinnati Bengals.
That Bengals team accomplished the feat in a 14-game season. Since the NFL went to a 16-game season in 1978, no team has rallied to make the playoffs after such a poor start.
When Seahawks cornerback Josh Wilson – who had the big play (a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown) last week that the team said was needed to turn around its abysmal season – was informed of the incredible odds he and his teammates are facing, he whipped out his best impression of Lloyd Christmas without missing a beat.
“So you’re telling me there’s a chance,” Wilson said.
Well, yes, technically there is, but the Seahawks have to play inspired football, beginning with today’s home game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Making things more difficult for Seattle, however, the Seahawks will not have Pro Bowl defensive end Patrick Kerney for this game, and may have lost him for much longer with a shoulder injury. He is in Birmingham, Ala., this weekend to have the shoulder examined by the doctor who performed offseason surgery.
The Seahawks remain uncertain if and when quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will return from a bulging disk in his back, the reason that Seneca Wallace will start his third consecutive game this afternoon.
And the most difficult part of the Seattle schedule remains, with games against the Eagles (4-3), Washington (5-2), New England (5-2), New York Jets (4-3) and the 5-3 Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day at Texas Stadium.
“Any time the season is going on and there is still football to play, you never know what is going to happen,” Wilson said. “You look around the NFL, besides the (Tennessee) Titans up at the top, everybody else is hanging around the middle. There is always the chance to go out there and still run the table.”
Seattle clings to the knowledge that it still has two games remaining against the division leading Arizona Cardinals; with a sweep of that division rival, as well as another win over the St. Louis Rams, the Seahawks think they can do well enough in non-division games to come away with a playoff berth. That is less than the Bengals had to do so many years ago.
That team – whose quarterbacks coach was Bill Walsh, Mike Holmgren’s NFL mentor – actually started the season with a victory, then lost six in a row, then reversed its fortunes by winning the final seven games to win the AFC Central division with an 8-6 record. The Bengals lost in the first round of the playoffs to Baltimore, which won the Super Bowl.
“My son-in-law called me the other day and said, ‘You are only two games behind Arizona and you play them twice. You can win the division at 8-8,’ ” Seahawks offensive coordinator Gil Haskell said. “And I said to him, ‘You know what? You are right.’ You don’t even think about that during the season. But he was right.”
A victory against Philadelphia today would go a long way toward bolstering the optimism that was generated in San Francisco last week.
A look at statistics this season suggests the Seahawks are unlikely to beat the Eagles. But Seattle has won the past two meetings, both in Philadelphia.
Given Seattle’s problems in the Eastern Time Zone, those wins seemed unlikely. Not a million to one, but unlikely.
“We are not really looking at what the standings are and what we have to do,” Wilson said. “All we can do is go out on the field and try to win, and at the end of the year we’ll look at the standings and see if we are in the playoffs or not.”
blogs.thenewstribune.com/seahawks
SEAHAWKS GAMEDAY
SEATTLE (2-5) VS. PHILADELPHIA (4-3)
Kickoff: 1:15 p.m., Qwest Field.
Television: Ch. 13. Radio: 710-AM, 97.3-FM
The series: The Eagles lead the series, 6-5, though the Seahawks have swept the past two games, both in Philadelphia, including last year’s 28-24 victory in which Lofa Tatupu had three interceptions.
What to watch: The Seahawks would appear to have a very difficult time winning this game, the reason they are 61/2-point underdogs at home, where they have lost two of the past three despite the 12th Man. Philadelphia has an exceptional passing game facing Seattle’s 30th-ranked pass defense, which no longer has the pass rushing skills of defensive end Patrick Kerney, out of the game with a shoulder injury. The Eagles have the league’s eighth-ranked defense facing Seattle’s struggling offense, which still does not have quarterback Matt Hasselbeck; Seneca Wallace will start for the third straight week. And the Eagles have one of the most dynamic players in the league in running back Brian Westbrook, who came back last week from broken ribs to total 167 yards. Meanwhile, the Seahawks are limited by injuries to linebacker Tatupu and fullback Leonard Weaver.
TNT pick: Eagles, 30-13.
Prime numbers
PHILADELPHIA
No.Name (position)Ht./Wt.Year
5Donovan McNabb (QB)6-2, 24010th
8th QB in NFL history to rush for more than 3,000 yards.
36Brian Westbrook (RB)5-10, 203Seventh
Second in total yards in NFL since 2004.
10DeSean Jackson (WR)5-10, 175Rookie
Rookie from Cal leads the Eagles with 32 receptions.
2David Akers (K)5-10, 20010th
Has missed 12 of past 15 FG attempts from 40-plus yards.
SEATTLE
No.Name (position)Ht./Wt.Year
15Seneca Wallace (QB)5-11, 205Sixth
Moving much better since calf strain has begun to heal.
18Koren Robinson (WR)6-1, 205Eighth
He’s more agile now that sore knee has gotten better.
95Lawrence Jackson (DE)6-4, 271Rookie
Has two sacks; asked to start for injured Patrick Kerney.
58D.D. Lewis (LB)6-1, 241Seventh
Will have much bigger role if Lofa Tatupu unable to play.
Frank Hughes, The News Tribune
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