Earth Shaking

by Tuesday Morning Tailback

According to a local geologic agency, when Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch broke eight or nine tackles on the way to scoring what would ultimately be the game winning touchdown run, the crowd noise literally registered on the Richter scale.

Lynch is a fourth year player, who was given up on midway through the season by his original team, the Buffalo Bills, after he had some injury and legal problems. Likewise, the Seahawks were given no chance against the defending champion New Orleans Saints, even though they were at home for this Wildcard playoff game. This was because the Seahawks entered the playoffs with a losing record, 7 winsm 9 losses – the first team in history to do so – while the Saints finished at 11-5.

Yet the game was played in Seattle because the Seahwks won their division (NFC West) while the Saints did not win theirs (NFC South), coming in second to the 13-3 Atlanta Falcons. Two teams with better records than Seatlle, the New York Giants and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers bothe 10-6, did not make the playoffs because they failed to win their divisions and there was no wildcard slots open. But those are the rules, and the beauty of the NFL playoffs is that you have to win every game – there are no gimmes, just byes in the wildcard round for the two top teams. In all twelve teams make the playoffs, and eleven are eliminated by losing, and the Saints lost.

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