Seahawks Blog

My assessment going into Sunday's game was the outcome would depend largely upon Rex Grossman. He's a short guy with a big arm and a very strong tendency to throw long. He can be very good at that. The Seahawks know. Grossman completed three passes to Bernard Berrian of 40 yards or more in the two games last season. He can also come completely undone and look very much like he's just throwing the ball up for grabs.

So I expected Grossman's performance would decide the game. He would either be very good -- like he was against Seattle in Week 4 last season -- or he would be awful. Turned out he was simply very, very efficient. He showed a willingness to throw the checkdowns. He showed great touch on that pass Bernard Berrian dove to catch in the fourth quarter. He was never intercepted.

And still, Chicago lost a game that was a much more entertaining feature -- even at its matinee starting time -- than the Patriots' romp over the Bills. Why did Seattle win?

Because quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was better.

Most NFL games are decided by who makes more mistakes. Sunday's game was decided by the quarterback who made more plays. Grossman and Hasselbeck had one turnover apiece, each stripped of a ball on a sack.

Those turnovers didn't make the difference, though. Rather it was the throws Hasselbeck made. The scrambling, sidearm fling to Nate Burleson in the end zone. The perfect placement on that throw to D.J. Hackett for a 59-yard completion after Hackett beat the opponent's jam at the line. And in my opinion, Hasselbeck's best throw of the game was one that resulted in an incompletion when he zinged a pass that Hackett should have caught in the end zone at the end of the second quarter. Now, Hackett leapt, and Hasselbeck put some heat behind that throw. It wasn't an easy catch, but it's a catch he should have made.

Here's Steve Kelley's column from Sunday's game, which takes a look at Hasselbeck's third 300-yard passing performance in his past five games.

The view from Chicago was quite a bit different. The Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Marriotti wrote someone must tell Rex Grossman it's over for the Bears this year.

But as the Sun-Times reporter Mike Mulligan wrote, this loss wasn't due to Rex Grossman.

The Chicago Tribune's David Haugh begins his assessment with a great phrase:

Like the reputation for being a turnover machine that followed him to the Pacific Northwest, Rex Grossman just couldn't outrun Seahawks defensive end Patrick Kerney.

Grossman's mistakes didn't really unplug the Bears in this game, though. It's just he didn't make as many big plays as his counterpart in Seattle's offense.

The Seahawks players have the day off, but coach Mike Holmgren will hold his usual day-after press conference at the team's headquarters at 2:15 p.m. I'll post an update after Holmgren finishes.