A Grip on Sports: With the Hawks done early in the week, Sunday gave us all time to contemplate the future
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Why is it we had to already suffer through another Sunday without the Seahawks to either brighten or darken the day? Were the football gods giving us an opportunity to reset and rethink our mistakes after the up-and-down start? Or were we supposed to imagine the possibilities the rest of the season brings?
•••••••
• If it was the latter, well, it wasn’t good news. Not at all. The next two weeks don’t look promising. Division leader Atlanta on Sunday in Georgia. Division leader Buffalo – facing the Jets tonight in New Jersey – in Seattle the week after.
Neither would be easy even if the Hawks weren’t in the midst of a chemistry-challenging three-game losing streak.
They are, though. With a first-year head coach having to deal with the type of adversity his previous franchise, Baltimore, has rarely experienced. It’s not just a test for Mike Macdonald. It’s a test for everyone in the building.
And the Falcons will supply another one Sunday.
It’s not so much how they played against Carolina this week that elicits such a response. The Panthers may not be as bad as they were since they’ve turned to veteran Andy Dalton at quarterback, but they still are just a step above awful. Which made the Falcons’ five-point halftime lead a little suspect. A different team popped out of the locker room, though, outscored Carolina 16-3 the rest of the way and eased to a 38-20 win.
It’s that second-half team Macdonald and his staff have to worry about. Us too.
• You can watch the Bills play tonight if you are so inclined, though an AFC East matchup is rarely pretty. If Aaron Rodgers was not wearing the New York shade of green these days, this game would have disappeared into yesterday’s flotsam and jetsam. Instead, we are forced to watch the J-E-T-S, Jets if we want one more NFL fix.
Or if we want to do some scouting. If that’s the case, try to imagine what a locked-in Josh Allen might do to the Seahawks’ defense in a couple weeks. No, don’t. No reason to put yourself through that torture.
• If you really want to punish yourself, watch the Yankees and the Guardians play tonight instead. In one dugout you will see the team with Major League Baseball’s second-highest payroll, according to the Spotrac website. In the other you can watch former Mariner bullpen coach Stephen Vogt manage Cleveland and marvel at how a team that spent $40 million less than the M’s – yes, the Guardians’ payroll was $107 million, while Seattle spent $148 – can be this good.
Isn’t it impressive what good decision-making can do?
• We will get our baseball fix this afternoon. Watching the Mets and Dodgers – with the first- and fifth-highest payrolls, respectively – play in L.A. Funny thing about the Dodgers’ finances, though. A lot of it is invested in starting pitchers who aren’t even available.
Sure, the top three hitters in their lineup, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, make more money than Bill Gates, but Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow and a handful of other injured pitchers take up quite a bit of the $241 million L.A. spent. Their deep pockets, however, have allowed the Dodgers the build a bullpen that can compensate. And it has, playing a huge role in defeating the Padres and in pulling together an MLB-record-tying string of 33 consecutive scoreless innings.
• One last thought for your Monday. We had a chance to watch such young quarterbacks as Caleb Williams, C.J. Stroud and Jayden Daniels play a bit yesterday. To see Lamar Jackson do what he does. Kyler Murray. And to think about Russell Wilson’s legacy.
Not his Seattle legacy. His NFL legacy. Wilson broke a quarterback mold in place for decades. Big guys with big arms. Stand tall. Stand strong. And deliver a pass from the same place at the same time.
Not Wilson. He was short. Elusive. Different. He won games with his arm, sure, but also with his quick feet. With quick decisions. And he opened a door to more of his ilk. He made all those guys we mentioned possible. Heck, he helped pave a path for Patrick Mahomes, who sits at the top of the quarterback ladder.
People will debate whether Wilson belongs in the NFL’s Hall of Fame. He does. Not due to his numbers. Not solely. But also due to the number of Wilson-like players who followed. He changed the game. For the better.
•••
WSU: Ethan O’Connor wasn’t supposed to be playing this much. The redshirt freshman entered the season as a backup. An insurance policy if anything were to happen to a Cougar corner. It happened. Jamari Colson was forced to miss the season’s first game (and the next four). In stepped O’Connor. Well, we will let Greg Woods tell you the rest in this story. … If you count the teams in the “others receiving votes” category of the A.P. Top 25 football poll, 5-1 Washington State would be 30th. That puts them third among last year’s Pac-12 members. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, Jon Wilner has his Best of the West rankings and, as one would expect, Oregon is No. 1. WSU’s win in Fresno moved it from nine to five. … A tough loss at Nevada, one that may be hard to explain the rest of the season, is followed by a visit from UNLV for underdog Oregon State. … Even after thinking about it a while, Christian Caple still feels Washington was pushed around by Iowa. He is right. … Oregon did not ascend to the poll’s top spot, even though the Ducks’ resume is better than top-ranked Texas’. No matter. It’s on to Purdue, with beat-up UO favored by four scores. … When Arizona State and Utah met last season, the Utes won by 52 points. Last Friday night they met again. This time ASU won by eight. A 60-point turnaround in a season. … Colorado cannot dwell on the loss to Kansas State. Not with a disappointed Arizona up next. … Lincoln Riley has done some head-scratching things since taking over at USC. … UCLA is riding a four-game losing streak. … In the Mountain West, it has been since 2019 that Boise State has been ranked this high. … The loss to Washington State bothers Fresno State coach Tim Skipper. … Hawaii has a lot to fix as it prepares to travel to Pullman. … San Diego State won Saturday but the win at Wyoming was never a sure thing. … The New Mexico offense is on an unprecedented run. … Colorado State heads to Air Force after a much-needed win.
EWU: It’s homecoming week for the Eagles. And the weekend the school honors its newest Athletic Hall of Fame members. Dave Cook tells us who the six honorees are, focusing on former linebacker Derek Strey. And he focuses on the current Eagle who calls Strey “Uncle D.” … Dan Thompson stays in the present, at least sort of. He looks back at last Saturday’s 35-28 win at 18th-ranked Sacramento State and forward to Saturday’s visit from sixth-ranked UC Davis. Hey, aren’t homecoming opponents supposed to be guaranteed wins? … Kendrick Bourne is still trying to regain his pre-injury form for the Patriots. His Sunday performance leads off Ethan Myers’ latest look at local players in the NFL. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, the Montana defense is looking forward to the bye week. … Tommy Mellott was pretty much unstoppable in Montana State’s win over Idaho. … Losing is never good but getting stomped 56-10 in their rivalry game really stings for the Cal Poly Mustangs. … Sacramento State just could not stop the run against Eastern. … Portland State finally has a win to look back upon on a Monday.
Chiefs: A rare Sunday afternoon matinee in Saskatchewan resulted in a 4-3 win for Spokane. Dave Nichols has the coverage. The win also gave the Chiefs 14 points in the standings, as many as any WHL Western Conference squad.
Zephyr: The Lexington Soccer Club traveled across the country and jumped ahead of Spokane early at ONE Spokane Stadium. The Zephyr bounced back to tie. Lexington scored again. Spokane answered. The third time, in the 94th minute, LSC’s goal would not be answered.
Seahawks: Before the season, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said he wanted to run often. After six games, that hasn’t been the case. Will it ever be? … What did we learn Sunday? Lamar Jackson is playing at a high level.
Kraken: Seattle, playing the second of back-to-back games, started slowly in Dallas, fell behind by two goals and never got going. The Stars won 2-0. … But, hey, the Kraken have a new postgame tradition.
Storm: After blowing the first game of the WNBA Finals, Breanna Stewart decided to take over the second on the defensive end. She led the Liberty to an 80-66 win over visiting Minnesota.
Reign: Seattle lost. The Reign will not make the NWSL playoffs.
•••
• Nothing is worse than be woken at 4:30 in the morning by a sick dog. There is a silver lining, however. We got our work done early. Until later …