Play every down.

It's a refrain heard in every film session, meeting, practice and game for football players from Pee-Wees to the Pros.

In the playoffs last year, Seattle stayed alive in the playoffs when Dallas quarterback Tony Romo mishandled the snap on a field goal that would have won the game for the Cowboys and ended the Seahawks season. The snap and hold of the ball on a place kick is one of the simplest, and most well-executed plays in pro football.

Last Sunday's bizarre 24-19 win for the Seahawks over the St. Louis Rams was another proof in point, only the play that the Rams botched was even simpler — it was the snap between the center and the quarterback, which is a play that goes off without a hitch perhaps hundreds of times in a row during a season without error.

With less than a minute to go in the game, St. Louis faced fourth-and-one at the Seattle half-yard line, with a touchdown almost assuredly guaranteeing victory. But Rams backup quarterback Gus Frerotte fumbled the snap and was tackled behind the line of scrimmage, giving the ball, and the win to the Seahawks.

As St. Louis drove down the field on that final drive, I had a lot of decisions to make. Where did I want to be positioned? Every choice had its pros and cons.

If I was in the end zone, I could possibly make a photo of the game-winning touchdown, but the backs of the Seahawks players would be facing me. Coverage for the local paper usually demands that readers see the faces of the local team. However, I also thought that if I was along the back of the end zone, I could shoot back towards the Seattle bench and possibly get a reaction photo of head coach Mike Holmgren, the assistant coaches and other players.

I could also choose to be behind the line of scrimmage, along the Seattle sideline. Doing so would provide me a good look at the Seahawks defense. If they gave up the touchdown, or stopped the Rams, I would have a good shot of their reaction, win or lose.

For most of the drive I chose the latter. I liked the odds of having the Seahawks facing me, and I could also turn around and shoot the coaches and players on the sidelines during these final tense moments.

But when St. Louis faced fourth-and-one with the game on the line, I made the choice to take a risk, and moved down as close as I could to the line of scrimmage. I put a 1.4 extender on a 70-200mm/f2.8 lens so my range is nearly 300mm to the line of scrimmage and I also have the flexibility to shoot shorter should the run come my way. Adding the extender costs me a stop of light, but I know from covering nighttime prep football, that the Mark III camera is solid up to ISO 3200. I bump the ISO to 2000, and set the shutter at 1/500 sec, and the aperture wide-open at f4.0).

I also put a camera with a 16-35mm wide-angle lens around my neck should the play come all the way to the sideline.

Like most of the people in the stadium, I figured the Rams would run the ball, with Steven Jackson making the carry. A pass would have been a gutsy call in that situation. I was hoping they would hand off to Jackson and he'd try to leap over the pile for the end zone. I imagined one of Seattle's linebackers, like Lofa Tatupu, coming up to meet him head on and the game would be decided. Or, if the handoff came towards my sideline, I'd have a good angle.

This was also a risky strategy because there were so many chances I could get blocked. Along the line of scrimmage is the an official (the side judge), as well as the "chain gang", the men who mark down and distance. There was also the risk that if the play went to the opposite side of the field, I would get nothing of the play and would have to rely on reaction.

As I made all of these evaluations before the teams lined up, the last thing on my mind (and probably most of the players) was a fumbled snap. I made a frame of the teams lineup, mostly to get myself ready:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens + EF 1.4 extender @ 280mm, ISO 2000, 1/500 sec., f4.0)

In this frame, you can see the ball just rising off the turf as the snap happens:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens + EF 1.4 extender @ 280mm, ISO 2000, 1/500 sec., f4.0)

But the Frerotte fumbles the ball away from me. Because I'm hitting the shutter and I'm also blocked by about eight men weighing 300 pounds, I don't see the ball come loose. But I do sense that something unusual has happened. Like everyone else on the sidelines, I'm just firing away, not sure of what the heck is going on. I shoot the Seahawks tackling Frerotte and then celebrating.:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens + EF 1.4 extender @ 280mm, ISO 2000, 1/500 sec., f4.0)

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens + EF 1.4 extender @ 280mm, ISO 2000, 1/500 sec., f4.0)

...and that frame cropped in the final edit:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens + EF 1.4 extender @ 280mm, ISO 2000, 1/500 sec., f4.0)

At this point I'm thinking "great — the game just turned and I have no idea what just happened or what I'm supposed to be shooting".

Things are so chaotic that I don't know whom to focus on. Everyone is jumping around and I'm just struggling trying to make a frame. I'll spare you the terrible ones and you can see the average ones. As you can tell, none really have the "it" that I'm looking for:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens + EF 1.4 extender @ 185mm, ISO 2000, 1/500 sec., f4.0)

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens + EF 1.4 extender @ 195mm, ISO 2000, 1/500 sec., f4.0)


(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens + EF 1.4 extender @ 140mm, ISO 2000, 1/500 sec., f4.0)

For all intents and purposes, the game is now over, even though there there is still over a minute left on the clock. St. Louis is out of time outs and Seattle will run out the clock.

When the game ends, I shoot with my wide-angle. I'm targeting Seahawks defenders, even though at this point I'm not sure who caused the fumble, or who made the tackle. I see a group of players that includes Lofa Tatupu, so I rush over there, and just as I start to shoot, more players, and assistant head coach Jim Mora celebrate together.

As no one will ever confuse me with Yao Ming, I have to stretch my camera as far as I can over my head to see over the players and down into the celebration. Editing during postgame, I am relieved to find this very lucky shot. I like the composition, the framing, the faces and the moment. Even the "amputated" arm coming in from left creates a visual division. I have absolutely NOTHING to do with any of it except aiming the camera. This is pure and simple luck:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 16-35mm/f2.8 lens @ 16mm, ISO 1000, 1/400sec.,f2.8)

When deciding how to present my photos to our editors back in Seattle, I decide this is my best frame. I'm worried they will want to see a photo of the actual fumble on the cover, because that is the play of the game. But to me, for the Seahawks this win was more about a sense of relief (play like crap most of the game, take the lead, nearly give it back and then get really lucky at the end).

The fumbled snap wasn't a season-defining moment like the play against Dallas last season. But it did give the Seahawks their third win in a row, pushed their record to 7-4, and in a way made up for the game they themselves gave away at Arizona earlier in the year.

Finally, even though readers see the paper as a reflection of the past day's game, I also think of our coverage in terms of a 16-game season. I liked being able to use a wide-angle photograph on our cover that looked vastly different than the usual 400mm lens shots we usually lead with.

The editors in photo and sports did a great job working the photo onto the cover, and I think it was the right call. By Monday morning, Seattle sports fans mostly felt a sense of relief over the game than anything, and I was pleased our coverage was able to reflect that.

Play every down. In football it's a cliché that matters.

Like a football team, I try to be prepared with a strategy before I head in to any game. The only difference is I don't watch hours of film during the week, unless that film happens to be a rerun of "The Simpsons."

This involves doing a bit of research — how are the Seahawks playing? Are they passing more or running more? How about the opponents? What can I learn about them?

Heading into Sunday's game between the Seahawks and the Rams, I was thinking about a couple of things.

Here's one example: I wanted to pay attention to Seattle's pass rush, which was among the league leaders in sacks. My buddy Flaamf, a sportswriter who covers the team regularly, thought the Seahawks had the potential to record 10 sacks against the Rams. He cited Seattle's improved pass rush, especially that of Patrick Kerney, and also the Rams' poor offensive line, which was decimated by injuries. Add to that a slow, immobile quarterback in Marc Bulger, and the potential was there.

So my plan for the first quarter was to stay close to the line of scrimmage. I was hoping for a tight shot of him getting sacked, hopefully fumbling in the process. There is inherent risk in shooting so tightly, and that is not seeing downfield very well.

As it happened, I got burned early. St. Louis had the ball, and I was shooting from behind the line of scrimmage on the Seahawks sideline. The handoff went to their running back Steven (not STEPHEN) Jackson and he ran up the right side for a 52-yard touchdown. It did NOT look good from my angle, but that's why I want to take these kinds of risks early in the game:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400mm/f2.8 lens, ISO 1600, 1/800 sec.,f2.8)

Moments later, Bulger was sacked by Patrick Kerney. Although I didn't get a clean shot of the sack, one could see the pain in his face as he lied on the turf. He would leave the game a few series later with a concussion:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400mm/f2.8 lens, ISO 1600, 1/800 sec.,f2.8)

I stayed with my strategy when Rams backup Gus Frerotte came in at quarterback, figuring he was immobile as Bulger was. I was lucky and got the moment I was looking for when Patrick Kerney (again) hit Frerotte's hand as he sacked him, forcing a fumble. I think shooting tight here really helps the frame:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400mm/f2.8 lens, ISO 1600, 1/800 sec.,f2.8)

Obviously as a game progresses, new themes and storylines emerge. One of them that was clear to anyone watching was how out-of-sync the Seahawks offense seemed to be in the first half.

I tried to concentrate on Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck between plays, searching for moments of leadership amongst the chaos. In the huddle deep in their own territory, Hasselbeck takes the blame for causing a false start penalty which backed them up further:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 200mm, ISO 1600, 1/800 sec., f2.8)

A play later, Maurice Morris was sacked for a safety:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 200mm, ISO 1600, 1/800 sec., f2.8)

I tried to keep track of head coach Mike Holmgren as his team continued to play poorly in the first half, as he was clearly frustrated. I saw him go to talk to quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and followed along. Holmgren doesn't spend a lot of time talking to players during a game, but he spent the equivalent of 2-3 plays talking to his quarterback:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 200mm, ISO 1600, 1/320 sec., f2.8)

All of this happened in the first half, and as anyone who follows the NFL knows, the games are rarely decided that early. In the next post, I'll discuss how one play can really change a game.

One of the perks of working in sports is that I already know who will be going to the Super Bowl in February.

I'll share it with you.

Tom Brady isn't a lock to be there (okay, he might be as close to a lock as there is, but Brady and the New England Patriots still have a two months of work to do to get there).

Neither is Dallas' Tony Romo (he, too, has a chance, but has demons to exorcise, including not choking away sure victories in the playoffs).

And no, I'm not making a bold prediction about the team I cover, the Seattle Seahawks (they have to get healthy, and play more consistently to even have a chance).

The only guaranteed person going to Glendale, Arizona next year is an 83-year old grandmother named Mary Sorenson from Seattle.

Who? What?

Mary Sorenson. Remember the name.

As the football season unfolded, many of you were muddling in your fantasy football league, making trade after trade, desperate to win it all. "Why did I draft Shaun Alexander this year? Anyone want to trade for Larry Johnson? Hey, I've got Frank Gore available! Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?"

Others played the betting lines, living and dying with last second plays that determined if your team covered or not. With the Seahawks a five-point favorite at home against the Bears last week, countless gamblers cursed when Chicago coach Lovie Smith elected to kick a field goal in the fourth quarter instead of trying for a touchdown. The field goal cut Seattle's lead to 30-23. A touchdown would have cut the lead to 30-27, and the Bears would have beat the spread, whether or not they added a game-tying field goal at the end of the game.

Amateurs, all of you.

Because while all of that was going on, Mrs. Sorenson, a quiet, 83-year old assassin of a football picker, outlasted thousands of entrants to win the Seattle Times' Guess Guesser contest, earning a trip to the big game.

I had the chance to visit her at her home earlier this week, when it was announced that she had won the contest. My assignment was to make a quick portrait of her for the next day's paper.

What does a grandmother/football savant look like? She answered the front door in dark top and pants, graying hair on top of a face that was well, grandmotherly. She didn't look "savantly", whatever that is.

"It still hasn't sunk in that I've won," she admitted. "Do you know I've entered for the past 53 years?

I reminded her it only takes one to win. One-for-53 beats zero-for-30. Just ask the Seahawks.

The way the contest works is that contestants are asked to predict the outcomes of a series of college and pro games each week. Win or tie one of the qualifying weeks and you get an entry into the final round, which was last weekend's slate of games.

Preparing to make a portrait, I scanned her nicely appointed North Seattle home.

No piles of football magazines, but plenty of photos of her children and grandchildren.

No piles of taped pro and college games lying on the coffee table, but the beginnings of a Thanksgiving meal in place in her kitchen.

I imagined a TiVo filled with games from the season, which she undoubtedly studies before making her picks.

Part of any good environmental portrait is finding something about the story to include in the photo. There was nothing remotely connected to football in her home.

We shot some photos in her living room. I decided in that in lieu of a football connection, I would show her "grandmotherliness" (btw, I love making up words that would never appear in our paper).

(Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 16-35mm f2.8 lens @ 18mm, ISO 500, 1/25th sec., f3.2)

I needed another shot of her for the Sports section. Desperate, I asked her if she had a special place where she did her picks. "Nope", she replied. "I just fill it out". Any lucky pencil? "Nope, I use a pen!", she replied.

She was uncomfortable being photographed, and jokingly asked if I could smooth her wrinkles in my computer before her photo was published.

(Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 24-70mm/f2.8 lens @ 50mm, ISO 1000, 1/60th sec., 2.8)

I made small talk as we shot to help her nervousness.

"I'm guessing you picked both the Seahawks and the Huskies to win this week", I offered. The Seahawks were a favorite, but the Huskies game had a closer line and they emerged with a win over a California team that started the season hot.

"I actually made a dumb pick on that!", she admitted. "I didn't trust my instincts and picked Cal! That was stupid. I should have known better".

Fair enough. That game was a close call. Then, Grandma Sorenson showed off her football knowledge to me with a brief dissertation on the Huskies.

"Look, even after Jake Locker got hurt against Oregon State, Carl Bonnell came in and played real well. Plus, he was a starter last year. Starting against Cal wasn't new to him. And the running back, Rankin — he ran for all those yards the other week (255 yards at Stanford). I should have seen that and gone with the Huskies!".

Yowza.

Bo might have known football, but clearly Mary does, too.

Last week, I complained (whined, griped, b*tched) about shooting 43 frames and never having a clear shot of a play.

This week, however, the photo gods apparently took pity on me.

Again, the play in question was an important moment in the game.

Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman (alternately known as "Sexy Rexy" or "Wrecks Grossman", depending on how he's playing) scrambled for the sidelines being chased by Seattle defensive end Patrick Kerney.

Kerney, who had his best game as a Seahawk since signing a large free-agent contract in the offseason, closed in fast for a sack and knocked the ball loose, causing a fumble that Seattle's Darryl Tapp recovered.

As coach Mike Holmgren said in his postgame press conference, "that play was the game".

Luckily, I was in a decent position to get a clear view of the play, and got a good series of photos.

Editing in the photo workroom after the game I found three frames that I liked, all in a row. Each had a different aspect I liked, and each had elements I didn't like.

The first frame finds a great expression on Grossman's face, but the ball is somewhat hidden between his legs:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400mm/f2.8 lens, ISO 1600, 1/800 sec.,f2.8)

The second frame is probably the most "peak" moment, and while I liked the position of the ball better, I was bothered by the foot ever so slightly blocking part of his face. That said, the position of the legs and feet is interesting, and one can the momentum that Kerney is carrying into the play. This is the frame I instinctively thought was best:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400mm/f2.8 lens, ISO 1600, 1/800 sec.,f2.8)

In the third frame, the ball is very visible (which matters, since it is a key turnover), but Grossman's face has fallen further back and the sense of impact is lessened, in my opinion:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400mm/f2.8 lens, ISO 1600, 1/800 sec.,f2.8)

I went over and over in my mind, couldn't decide, then transmitted all three back to the paper. The photo editor looked at all of them, and agreed with my instinct about the second frame. Each had pluses and minuses, but we eventually had consensus. Meanwhile, I was polling every photographer who walked by in the workroom for more opinions.

In the end, the photo led our sports cover, and the story of the game was told.

Before you read this, better head to the kitchen and grab some cheese, because you're about to be served some whine, courtesy of yours truly.

Tough night at Qwest Field for yesterday's Monday Night Football game.

Not only for the San Francisco 49ers, who absorbed a 24-0 drubbing at the hands of the Seahawks, but also for me.

We had three shooters at the game, which takes a lot of pressure off of me. By virtue of the late kickoff (5:40pm), we run into deadline issues, so having three shooters helped a lot. It helped our coverage anyway, and I'm happy for it because all night I felt like I couldn't shoot my way out of a paper bag (what the heck kind of expression is that, anyway? Can anyone explain where that came from?)

Our planning was designed that fellow photographers Jim Bates and Steve Ringman would handle the lion's share of the deadline stuff, and I positioned myself to be on the field at all times so we hopefully wouldn't miss any important plays.

As it turned out, Jim went to the photo workroom halfway through the second quarter to meet our first deadlines. At halftime, Steve joined him and they cranked out the major portion of our coverage.

The game was fairly decided by halftime, so our planning paid off and we had three shooters on the field for the first quarter, which was when this game was at its best.

When I am shooting a game by myself, I can rely on my instincts and experience to guide me to where I feel is the best place from which to shoot.

However, with two other shooters, I limit myself to a certain part of the field and respect the other's abilities to cover their territories.

This leaves me free to shoot from certain areas, and allows me to keep an eye on the others so we're constantly covering the field equally. This responsibility falls to me because I do most of our Seahawks coverage and am therefore more flexible.

I was on the wrong side of a couple of big defensive plays by the Seahawks in the first half, but knew that Jim and Steve had great angles, so I wasn't worried. If this had been a road game and I was flying solo, I would have been frustrated.

But even when plays happened in front of me, things never came together to make a good picture.

You know the camera settings "Shutter Priority" and "Aperture Priority"? I think mine were set on "Boring Priority". Proof?

Check out Seattle's first touchdown, on a one-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck to Will Herring. The action...the drama...that horrible white tent (courtesy of Monday Night Football) in the background:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens, ISO 1000, 1/800 sec., f2.8)

Or later, D.J. Hackett's 10-yard touchdown reception (He's open! He catches! He scores! It's... a mediocre photo!):

(Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens, ISO 1000, 1/800 sec., f2.8)

Even though I had my lens on a big play that was full of action, it seemed like I could never get a clean, well-composed shot. Faces were turned away from me, officials or players were in my way, or the backgrounds were junk.

One example occurred in the second quarter, when Seattle's Julian Peterson and Craig Terrill combined to sack San Francisco's Alex Smith. I shot an astounding 43 (!) frames of the play, and was either partially blocked, or couldn't see faces in most of them.

Here's how the play started, with Seattle linebacker Julian Peterson coming on the blitz. As you can see, he chases Smith and gets a hold of his jersey. Stretched out jerseys always make a good picture, even though they are a poor way to tackle most times. I can feel that this play has promise, even though both players' backs are to me:

Things get worse as San Francisco running back Moran Norris (40) tries to help Smith, but only succeeds in blocking my view (and after all, it IS all about me, isn't it?):

I won't bore you with breaking down each frame, so here's a nifty 18-frame series you can look at that either has no faces, lots of football player butt, or just plain suckiness (feel free to start playing the world's smallest violin for me at anytime):

Want more? Here's another 18 frames. None of which I can turn into a publishable photograph (yes, I'm really whining now):

I know it's hard to view all those little pictures, but trust me they're all terrible. But because we're all friends here, I'll share some enlargements from the series. The first features some bare shoulder and some fullback rear end:

Next we can see Julian Peterson's face as he continues the sack, but our friend number 44 is squarely blocking the rest of the play:

Eventually, Smith turns himself around and looks for an escape route, and of course he's turned away from the camera:

Next, Smith turns even further, ol' number 44 is still in the way and I can't even see a facemask, much less someone's face:

Just to add insult to injury (and we're at about frame 38 here), San Francisco's Adam Snyder (all 326 pounds of him, most of it apparently located in his backside) steps in. I guess if you can't block a linebacker, you can at least block a photographer):

When editing after the game, I closely examine each frame trying to find one that is both visual and storytelling. I choose this frame, and envision cropping out much of the clutter:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400mm/f2.8 lens, ISO 1600, 1/800 sec, f2.8)

After a couple of tries with different crops I begin getting to what I see as the essence of both the photograph and the entire play — that is, the quarterback going down, the jersey stretched, and the teamwork of the Seattle defenders in bringing him down:

I think a lot of people wonder how we use cropping, and what the ethical ramifications are to cropping, toning, and all the other little tools we use after the fact. I think it's pretty clear by this example that all I've done here is to eliminate unnecessary elements. That's much of what editing is, both in writing and photography.

I've been fortunate during my career to have been the beneficiary of great advice from my mentors and editors.

Harley Soltes, who was a sports photographer at the Times when I was in college, mentored me and pounded the following into my little head: "It's just as important to tell stories with your photos in sports as it is in news".

Fred Nelson, one of my photo editors, told me when I started my career, "Shoot lead pictures." What he meant was to make photos that can "lead" a page — the photos that can run big without being boring and are compelling enough to draw the reader in.

Angela Gottschalk, another photo editor, constantly reminds me, "Trust your instincts." She wants me to draw on my experience and knowledge in sports to find the best ways to communicate through my pictures.

Finally, Barry Fitzsimmons, our director of photography, always tells me, "Don't be afraid to take risks. Find new ways of looking at things. If you take a risk and it doesn't work out, keep trying, keep expanding your range."

All of that advice came into play during Seattle's loss to the Browns in Cleveland on Sunday.

Like the loss at Arizona earlier this season, the Seahawks coughed up a game that they easily might have won.

After blowing a lead and giving up 21 points in the second half, Seattle raged back and forced overtime.

Knowing that every play in overtime can be crucial, I was putting a lot of frames through the camera on every play.

When Matt Hasselbeck charged up the middle needing eight yards and appeared to have a first down, I thought Seattle had a good chance of winning. One more first down and they would have been in field goal position. Officials reviewed their initial call of a first down and ruled that he hit the ground short of the marker:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400mm/f2.8 lens, ISO 1600, 1/800 sec. f2.8)

If you're a Seahawks fan, you know all about the next play, a fourth-and-one. Actually, as columnist Jerry Brewer points out, it wasn't even a yard. It was 18 inches, and Seattle couldn't get it. I was guessing a quarterback sneak. You have to believe your center, with the advantage of knowing the snap count, can move the guy in front of him two feet back, right? Or not, as the Seahawks chose a handoff to Maurice Morris that got stuffed.

One thing about quarterback sneaks and inside handoffs. Rarely do they make a good photograph. Knowing that, and knowing the importance of the officials' measurement, I chose to shoot with a 70-200mm lens to see if I could get a reaction. I didn't think I made a good frame, but when I was editing after the game I saw that the frame told the whole story — the ball shy of the marker, Sean Taylor of the Brown leaping in celebration, and Seattle's Walter Jones watching helplessly:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 155mm, ISO 1000, 1/500 sec.,f2.8)

The Browns had spent the second half shredding Seattle's defense like it was a game of flag football. I took a position in the far end zone, figuring if the Seahawks somehow created a turnover, I would be in a good spot. And if the Browns scored to win? I'd be in a decent position for reaction.

Cleveland got into field goal range and I shot from 80 yards away. This reaction photo of kicker Phil Dawson was the best of that play (I asked that my editor crop this photo so it could run small on the cover and the kicker would still be visible):

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400mm/f2.8 lens, ISO 1600, 1/800 sec. f2.8)

I'd spent much of the fourth quarter and overtime thinking about where I would shoot dejection in case of a Seattle loss. Losing after leading 21-9 at halftime, especially against a team that looked as disheartened as Cleveland did would be devastating. I rejected shooting reaction over the at the Seattle bench. It's the natural place to shoot, but the pictures tend to look the same. I wanted something different.

So I decided to not go to the places where I knew there would be "safe" pictures. I didn't venture over to the sideline area, and I decided not to go onto the field for the postgame handshakes. Instead, I staked out a spot in front of the tunnel that led to the Seahawks locker room.

To me, this was the kind of risk that my boss talks to me about. If it failed, there was a good chance that I would not have any storytelling jection photos at all.

Looking over at the sideline area, however, I saw linemen Chris Spencer and Walter Jones just standing. Stunned? Defeated? Puzzled? Frustrated? I learned long ago to refrain from trying to put thoughts into their heads since I don't directly ask them. It's important to let the photos speak for themselves:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400mm/f2.8 lens, ISO 1600, 1/800 sec. f2.8)

Postgame is chaotic, and while many players linger on the field, some run straight for the locker room, especially after a tough loss. I was hoping for a shot of head coach Mike Holmgren walking towards me, perhaps with players behind him. In my mind, they would all look defeated. I spotted him heading towards me, but because of his three-person security detail, I didn't get the clean image of him I wanted, and I'll spare showing you the lame wide-angle shot I grabbed as he walked by.

As frustrating as that was, I stayed in my spot and used the 70-200 to shoot players walking towards me. I figured this was a better choice than the much tighter 400mm, and it would also show more of the surroundings.

I got lucky, and although this rarely happens to me, I saw it all come together when a group of players walked towards me in a line, some staring at the scoreboard. Editing later, I would find many of the key players of the game in this photo, and it would lead our Monday sports cover:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 200mm, ISO 1000, 1/500 sec.,f2.8)

Another one of my postgame goals was to shoot Shaun Alexander. He'd been injured during the game, but was ineffective prior to that. I knew he'd be the subject of stories either in our game report or later in the week. As usual, Shaun appeared unfazed by the game, and was smiling as he chatted with teammate Leonard Weaver as they walked off the field:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 125mm, ISO 1000, 1/500 sec.,f2.8)

Interstingly, I saw Shaun about 30 minutes after the game, still in his football pants and undershirt, and tried to make a photo of him walking down the concourse by himself. But he saw me, smiled and clowned like he always does. He's a pretty good-natured guy (for which he gets criticized as not being fiery or competitive enough), and he probably knew that by mugging for me, the photo would be unusable. That, or he was just being goofy Shaun.

Since I didn't have anything I really liked of Mike Holmgren, I went to the photo workroom and started downloading one of my full CF cards, then grabbed a body and lens and went to this post-game press conference.

These gatherings rarely make a photo, but I try to attend them because it helps me to understand what happened in the game.

This time, I wanted to see Holmgren's reaction after losing in such a way as they did. It seemed that after each question, he put his head down and frowned while considering how he should answer.

I certainly don't blame him at all. Can you imagine having had a bad day at work, only to have to immediately face questions about your poor performance from a bunch of people who've never done your job?

Yeah, kinda maddening, I'm sure. Holmgren's face doesn't lie:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 125mm, ISO 1000, 1/500 sec.,f2.8)

Our coverage of this game ending up looking different from earlier games this season, mostly because of how the game was lost. Focusing on the telling the story with photos other than the typical action photos was a bit risky, but the newspaper the next day reflected the mood of the game.

I'm in Cleveland for today's game between the Seahawks and the Cleveland Browns.

Walked into the photo workroom, expecting to see the usual throng of photographers, their equipment and laptops, getting ready for the game.

Instead, I found famous Getty photographer Jonathan Daniel sitting alone, going through his pregame routine (which I believe is surfing the Sports Illustrated swimsuit site. However, he just informed me he was editing file photos from yesterday's Ohio St. win over Wisconsin. Whatever.):

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 16-35mm lens @ 16mm, ISO 1600, 1/320th sec, f3.5)

"Where the hell is everyone?", I asked.

"Got bad news for you buddy," he said, barely turning around. "Everyone who's anyone is in Indy."

Oh. THAT game. Super Bowl XLI 1/2, for those of you keeping track.

Should make the sidelines easier to navigate here in Cleveland, anyway.