If the Hawks attitude about this game resembles mine in any way, this could be a tougher game than you’d think. There is a palpable feeling this week among the fans and media that the Hawks have reached a new tier of strength and consistency. Lots of praise is being showered on them. When you’ve had three emotional wins in a row, culminating in a division championship, and then you head out on the road for a game against a weak opponent, you had better watch out.
Even with that setup, the Hawks should roll today. A big part of their win streak has been their ability to play at a consistently high level the last few weeks. Perhaps, more importantly, Carolina looks to be a doormat.
A few items I’ll be watching for to see if Holmgren is gearing up for the playoffs:
– Leonard Weaver
I think this this guy has untapped potential. I’d like to see Holmgren try some different things with him today to see if we can pull him out of a hat come playoff time.
– Marcus Pollard
Same thing here. I’d expect the Hawks to sacrifice a little bit of their normal game plan to see if they can force Pollard into a rhythm.
– Pressure from Non-Kerney’s
It’s time for the LeRoy Hill’s, Darryl Tapp’s and Julian Peterson’s to make other teams pay for double-teaming Kerney.
– #94 DT Howard Green
He played a fair amount last week. It will be interesting to see if that’s a new member of the rotation.
– Kelly Jennings breakout game
It’s coming. I’m going out on a limb and predicting a pick-6 for this guy. His breaks on the ball have been outstanding.
– Bobby getting to 1000 yards
He needs ~70 (too lazy to look up specifics) yard to get his first 1000-yard season. That would be nice to see.
– Shaun 100th TD
He’s one away.
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let’s get this party started
Do not let the rook get untracked
kerney has already had an impact on the false start
tempo baby!
That was on Weaver….he didn’t chip 99
that was all bad blocking. shaun was running hard. chris gray
chris gray is killing us. pork chop time
BTW….morning Hawkblogger., early up here and im still working on the coffee
nice 37 yard kick with the wind at his back for plack…jeez
good morning to you, cwu!
yikes. peterson bit
That was a good look off on the rook…dial it up D
christian fauria. blast from the past
that 57 yard reception was the longest against the hawks all year.
jennings makes another great play on the ball
whoa! that’s crazy wind.
Slim with the hands….most excellent D. Man that kid has come a long way…Heh, nice kick NOT!
good to see Brian russell is playing
that was on shaun. indecisive.
it seems the defense is going to need to get this game started
Looks like Robinson is snapping well..
another nice play by jennings
Now, bring it
let’s start the fast break. we’ve got 3 runs and 3 passes. pass to setup the run, please!
Toss the script Mike..it ain’t working
hello mr. laury
This crosswind is screwing things up a bit
Damn fine pursuit JP…that’s how you play it
howard green sighting. the guy seems to move pretty well
mr. hobbs! against steve smith, no less. how do we let hobbs get matched up against hobbs?
holy crap. don’t get hury bobby.
I was wondering when we’d see burleson on the end around this year.
beauty, plack! got rid of it quickly as well.
Well, keep this up and they will eventually find something that works on 3rd and short. Psst….mike, trying running weaver out of the upback position.
Thought they had that….
not a great opening qtr on offense. defense looks solid, but we’re on the road and we need the offense to rip their heart out, or this will be a long day.
gotta pick that one off. nice to see the coverage back there
Good coverage right there
Good coverage Tru…way to end the drive
See if they run that double post route here..
there is no 1st down in the next three games that is worth having hasselbeck go head first instead of sliding
You know Holmgren’s unhappy about that, but that was smart football on Matt’s part.
Good call ref
Third and five…what’s your call Hawkblogger?
holmgren has completely reverted in his play calling. 11 passes, 9 rushes. I sincerely hope this is just reigning it in for Matt’s health, because we have proven how much better we are as a pass first team.
damnit weaver!
Weaver, come on!
nice kick plack. dumbass
Kearney again……
let’s take advantage of that turf on offense. misdirection.
See if they bring the heat on 2nd
kerney get a sack for that?
Boy, Carolina was screwed up on that series
thank god for rookie QBs (on opposing teams)
Yeah, I think he gets a freebie
let’s get some points before the half
bobby!
Great catch Bobby.lets go O
the wind must be tougher than it looks, because Matt’s throws are coming in short to the outside
damn! it was there. matt was behind him
good half for plack
That’s the problem with the empty set…few options other than receiver adjustments. Don’t like that call as a rule.
this is not the game I expected. it was the game I was worried about, though. slow start, focus and execution is not quite there.
need the defense to give us an advantage to get untracked.
Yep, a forgettable half, save the defense and special teams.
Robinson looks good….glad they got that squared away.
Lets go O! Good field position
Nice adjustment by Matt
rob sims!! jesus.
Terrible call
the offense was back to pass first on the first drive, and it looks better. things fell apart when they returned to the run.
Here we go….not getting pressure
son of a… the guy is getting ALL DAY back there.
It’s the same old 3rd and short story today.
Good play Babs
we’re going to need a serious scoring spree to keep our 7 game streak of 24+ points scored
YES!
Woot!…great job D!
nice stop, fellas
Moore is starting to look more and more confided (no pun intended).
Great stop by the D on 4th & 1.
See if they work Morris inside on the running game
I’d like to see morris in the game.
shaun drops a pass. shocker.
holy cow. talk about lucky
Great awareness by Bobby..
Nice run SA…hold onto the ball!
Run that draw here Mike
Run that draw here Mike
My bad…lost track of down and distance on that one
no shortage of practice for robinson and plack today.
Carolina doing a nice job of play calling on this drive
thank goodness I cna watch lord of the rings on the other channel. this is painful to watch
See if they can coax the rook into a mistake here
Plenty of time left, but the offense has to step up and execute.
Execute for one drive.
One
we were going to need more than 3 points to win this game anyway. Let’s get a touchdown and go home.
green bay pulling away. at least we won’t have many consequences from a loss.
Lets go
Finally…Morris
I think bobby needs about 15 yards for 1000…now about 10
wow. that could have gone against burleson.
There it was…PI, yes indeedy!
or not. pretty clear
Run the drag route mike
I don’t know about that draw call
Good Kick…lets go D!
odds are pretty slim you’re going to get that draw for 5 on 3rd down.
whew…my heart stopped for a second on that kick by josh.
Drew has some wheels
close em out D
pitt is getting rolled by jacksonville
we’re making this guy look like peyton manning
get off the freakin’ field on 3rd down
Good job Lofa
does *anyone* not know they’re going to smith on a big play? anyone?
now, we just need them to score quickly so we can have another shot
what a horribly annoying game this has been.
Damn, gotta make that tackle Brandon
big stop there. this could work out.
See if Matt can close this out
Roll him out if you have to Mike
Nice catch Branch…
Matt just held on to that too long….should have rolled him out
Well, at least I can make my travel reservations now for the playoffs.
Carolina, enjoy the offseason…I think yo found your QB
what a joke. I talked about the chance of a laying an egg this week in my post, but I never expected this kind of embarrassment.
shameful.
I guess Branch’s teams are now like 19-4 when he scores a TD.
that run for the TD turns out to be huge.
Kick it hard short, bounce it off the guy
Your point on Carolinas TD was spot on, and will not be overlooked by Holmgren as a coaching point.