Mooolight Graham Award

[Continued from 12 Seahawks Street]

For finally stepping out of NFL obscurity, with the best record in the league, and home field advantage throughout the playoffs, this week's MGA goes to the entire Seattle Seahawks team and organization.

So pour yourself a large glass of Egg Nog (preferably with several shots of rum), throw another Yule Log in the fireplace, and sit back and enjoy these Seahawks renditions of your favorite holiday classics:

GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMEN

Should Mike rest his healthy starting men
as they gameplan for Green Bay?
Should he risk a major injury
to get records for SA?
Rushing and TD titles are in reach
but 2,000's too far away
Not to mention Lofa's Qwest for the D-ROY
Qwest for D-ROY
Not to mention Lofa's Qwest for the D-ROY!

LET IT SNOW

Oh the weather up north is frightful
Making home field so delightful
and the next game we'll play on the road
is the Super Bowl, Super Bowl, Super Bowl.

SILENT NIGHT

Silent Crowd, Rowdy Crowd
All is calm, when we have the ball
Number 12, Loudest fans in the league
Helpless foes get false start penalties
Sweep the NFC teams
Seahawks bring Superbowl Dreams

JINGLE BELLS

What the hell?
I hear Jingle Bells
Am I asleep or half awake?
I dropped back to pass
now I'm flat on my ass
I'm a Darby-Tubbs-Rocky pancake!

FROSTY THE SNOW MAN

Shaun Alexander
Is a happy, holy soul
but when he has the rock
and Mack throws a block
he's gonna take it to the goal

He's a free agent
and a lock for MVP
After our superbowl win
Ruskell better sign him
he's the best in History!

RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER

You know Wistom, and Fisher and Lewis and Sharper
Rocky, and Tubby and Darby, Tafoya
But do you recall, the most fearsome defender of all?

Lofa the little linebacker
has a very violent streak
but all the pundits mocked him
said the Seahawks made a reach

All of the other rookies
were thought to be much better than him
now they all get to watch him
thoughout the playoffs as we win

On one snowy Monday night
Lofa picked off an errant pass
then kicked the goal posts' ass in fight
Now he's standing pretty tall

Now all the pundits love him
said they knew it all along
but Seahawks fans know better
they couldn't have been more wrong

Hated us all season long
Like they're toking off a bong!

SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN!

You'd better watch out
You'd better not try
You'd might as well punt
I'm telling you why
Joe Tafoya's bringing you down!

He's knows the snap count
and when you hut twice
He's coming with Tubbs
Like Miami Vice
Joe Tayoa's bringing you down

He sees you when you hand off
He knows when it's a fake
And when he takes your knees out
it'll feel like an earth quake

Oh, you'd better watch out
You'd better not try
You'd might as well punt
I'm telling you why
Joe Tafoya's bringing you down!



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W15: Moonlight Graham Award

[Continued from Main Blog Page]

When you team is on this kind of roll, with second and third stringers contributing throughout the run, it's getting harder and harder to find a player who is considered obscure, let alone one who steps out of that roll during the game.

Watching the game you see guys named Etric Pruitt, Cornelius Wortham and the newly signed Michael "no not that one" Harden stepping up and making tackles, and at this point of the season, we're getting used to it. Now, none of these guys made a substantial enough contribution to compete for this week's MGA, but I'll bet way back in training camp, NONE of them thought that their names would even get mentioned in conjunction with this prestigeous piece of hardware.

My first thought for this week's award is Darrell Jackson. "Darrel Jackson?" you say? "The perennial #1 receiver on the Seahawks?" you say? "The dude who still held the lead in receptions and yardage three weeks after being injured? you ask?

To all those I say "Yes, THAT Darrel Jackson!"

Anyone who REALLY believed that a guy could be out for 10 weeks and come back and play like THAT...6 catches for 72 yards and 1 TD, not to mention 7 yards on an end around, and great downfield blocking in the running game...please take two steps forward. I didn't think so!

But really, as impressive as DJACK was in his triumphant return after a 10 week layoff, I don't think he's really eligible for this award.

Looking at the stat shet, I got to give a lot of consideration to Kevin Bentley, who's been thrust into the starting LB position due to the injury to D.D. Lewis, and all he did was come out and lead the team with 8 tackles! It's this sort of "plug replaceable" team that we all knew we wanted, but didn't realize we were getting, when Ruskell was making his off season acquisitions and draft choices.

But this week's Moonlight Graham Award is going to a guy who doesn't ever show up in the stat sheet, but did his best to keep the guy in front of him from showing up either. If Walter Jones is "the Eraser", then Sean Locklear is quickly earning the title "White Out", with his performances against the opposition's edge rusher on the left.

Kyle Vanden Bosch of the Titans came into the game leading the league with 12.5 sacks, and after the long day that Osi Umenyiora of the Giants gave "the Eraser" a few weeks ago, this I'm sure was a major focus of the Titan's defensive game plan.

What was the result? Matt had all day to pass, completing 21 of 27 and was sacked only once, by Travis LaBoy. The final line on Vaden Bosch? One tackled. One Assist. One bad case of being "whited out".

It's hard to remember that if it weren't for the preseason injury to Pork Chop, Sean Locklear wasn't even supposed to be starting. And on a day where the defense was struggling at best, and we really needed the offense to step up and win the game on its own, it's only right that the award goes to one of the unsung heros on the front line, who open up those huge holes for Shaun to run through, and protect Matt (and the aspirations of the franchise) with superb pass blocking.

So congratulations Sean Locklear. What may seem like one small step for you, as been one major leap for all Seahawk-kind! And with the way you're playing this season, don't be surprised if your lunar module splashes down a little West of Seattle in Hawaii!




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A Christmas Carrol

[continued from the main blog..]

The game brought us pleasure
as we watch most intently
to find a Moonlight Graham winner
could it be Kevin Bentley?

He seemed to be everywhere
three tackles in the bag
but sadly we heard his name more often
after every seahawk flag

So our reseach continued
through this blowout of a game
and names that were mentioned
already won MGAs, or had fame

Like Hasselbeck on offense
or Babineaux on D
Shaun, Bobby, Juriviscus
can't win this, you see

Then ever the good sportsmen
As Mike Holmgren tends to be
In came the replacements
near the end of Quarter three

On Mo Mo, on Spencer
On Weaver and Wallace
To close out a huge win,
we'll call you (don't call us!)

Don't take that line literally
it was meant quite in jest
for you guys contributed
in our dominance of the West

And we know you'll come in
and play your hardest to the end
which make all fans confident
that upon y'all we can depend

So to all Seahawk reserves
we bestowe this Moonlight Graham
because you prepare and are ready
when big Mike hollers "play 'em"

And you're just as important
as the team reaches goals
and our biggest Chirstmas wish
is to watch you close out the Superbowl.

We'll have home field advantage
as contenders book flights
so Merry Christmas to all
see y'all in Detroit!


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OH WHAT A FEELING!

continued from main 12SS blog...

My first reaction was to bestow this award on the Seattle Seahawks. Not the offense. Not the defense. Not just the team. But the entire Seattle Football franchise and its ill fated 30-year legacy. Last night, the Seahawks definitely stepped out of NFL obscurity, shedding yet another perennial monkey from its back, winning a game in the Eastern time zone. Again, the fact that this game was under moonight, instead of sunlight, may have assisted in that respect, but it was a global coming out party for the franchise who everyone thought still needed to prove something.

Then there was the image of billionaire software magnate Paul Allen, standing on the sideline snowstorm, in his Dr. Zhivago fez, and I thought, THERE'S a potential MGA Award winner. I mean, in a league with Jerry Jones, Daniel Snyder and Al Davis, Paul Allen is one of the MOST obscure major sports team owners, who for the fist several years of presiding over this franchise, only seemed to be moonliging in the NFL. Then reality set in and I figured that anyone who cofounded Micro$oft with Bill Gate$, and is described as a BILLIONAIRE software magnate couldn't really be considered for this award.

So I had to look at the players.

On the initial scoring drive, the big name 'regulars' stepped up, Matt, Jerramy, Shaun, Bobby, the O-line, so there were no MGA eligible players there. By the time the game was out of reach, Holms called it so conservatively, not to show up his good friend Andy Reid, that AVIS, Weaver and MoMo didn't get a chance to pick up some MGA love either.

The game was put out of reach by two Andre Dyson TDs, one Lofa Tatupu TD, and a Michael Boulware INT that was returned inside the 5, setting up an each TD for Shaun Alexander. Even though Lofa is a rookie, and this was definitely a breakout game for Dyson as a Seahawk, these guys are all household names, at least to the Seahawk faithful, so they didn't fit the MGA requirements.

NO, this week's MGA award goes to a guy who really won it before the game really got going, as he announced his name, position, and college on the MNF player self-introductions. This award goes to a guy claimed off waivers who was described as the "Seahawks' summer boy on the bubble" in training camp, and to someone who nearly gave up on his NFL dreams as he bounced from team to team trying to make a roster.

"It's disheartening to get a call and then get your hopes up and then nothing. You don't get a call back from anybody. While everybody was playing the games, I was just working out, trying to be ready for that one call I hoped would be the right one. But there was nothing I could do about it."

In true MGA fashion though, this player did NOT give up, and hung in there until the RIGHT TEAM did make that call.

"He's not going to be the guy that runs the fastest, or does all the jumps," Ruskell said. "But when you watched him at the University of Arizona what struck you was just the effort at everything that he does. That's the only way he knows. He can't choke it down. He can't only go half. He's one of those high-motor guys."

So, when he got his first NFL START, on Monday Night Football, and said these fateful words, "Joe Tafoya, Defensive End, University of Arizona", he stepped out of obscurity and into the MGA Limelight. Then he proceeded to go out and pick up 2 Tackles, 1 Assist, a Sack and a Forced Fumble, cementing his selection as the Week 12 Moonlight Graham Award winner.

Congratulations, to the "average Joe". Much like the Seattle football franchise, and all of their long-suffering, faithful fans, your patience, persistence and never-say-die attitude has finally paid off!

BONUS: click the picture of Joe Tafoya to hear his post game comments.

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