SB Nation Seattle

Matt Is Over XL. Are You?

I finally dispelled the demon of Super Bowl XL this spring while writing my book. I did it the old fashioned way: by re-watching the game and challenging my own assumptions about what happened. And I think Matt Hasselbeck’s quote regarding Bill Leavy perfectly reflects my opinion:

It’s a game. It’s not a perfect science.

Leavy himself has recently admitted error, but it wasn’t error that left me so angry. It was the feeling that the fix was in. And in retrospect, that is not at all what happened. The officials missed some calls because human officials are capable of error, just as Jerramy Stevens is capable of dropping a pass, Matt Hasselbeck is capable of throwing an interception and Chris Gray is capable of committing a holding penalty.

And, ultimately, we will never know for sure what the game’s outcome would have been in a perfectly officiated game. Seahawks fans would do themselves a service by letting go of anger and remembering one of the greatest moments in team history. Seattle didn’t win, and they didn’t lose all on their own, but they fought with every ounce of their collective will. I’m ready to reclaim what felt like a stolen moment of glory, are you?

2 comments

by John Morgan • Aug 7, 2010 7:40 PM PDT

Get To Know A Husky: Johri Fogerson

Who can't love a guy named Johri Fogerson. Guy's got to have a chip on his shoulder.

Name: Johri Fogerson

Birthdate: Hard to find. Johri is presumably 20.

Position: Running back

Recruiting: Three-star recruit as rated by Rivals.

Class: Junior

Stats: 46 yards on 14 attempts. 191 yards on 17 receptions. Two combined touchdowns. Worked special teams and sparingly as a punt and kick returner.

Has a mad case of the: Snoop Dogg eyes.

Scouting profile: Fogerson has played safety, been split out wide and worked as gunner, but is now back at his natural position: Running back. That identity as an athlete in search of a position has defined/haunted his college career. Fogerson is a slashing back that will see snaps if UW suffers injuries, but is probably set for another year of situational use. He's a little slight for an every down rusher, but he finds a way onto the field with his ability and desire. Fogerson is no rival to Chris Polk and could fall behind freshman Deontae Cooper. However he contributes, as a return man, on special teams, as a situational rusher and receiver, he will give the Huskies a little spark.

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by John Morgan • Aug 6, 2010 5:12 PM PDT

The Player The Mariners Are Losing For: Anthony Rendon

Jeff invited this, so I'll just take the torch and run with it.

Seattle is a terrible team. There is a not-insignificant chance they will end this season the worst team in MLB baseball. The italics is meant to imply a hard "e", just so you know. Right now, they stand four games behind the Orioles for the worst record in baseball. The Orioles are a terrible team. Nearly as terrible is the ever-terrible Pittsburgh Pirates. Baltimore and Pittsburgh are good at this bad thing, but the Mariners are only on-again off-again epically bad. They are dark horse for the Losingest Bunch of Losers Award for 2010.

Major League Baseball awards the worst team in baseball the first overall pick in the following year's amateur draft, then the second worst the second pick and so on. The two through whatever picks are often undifferentiated, but the first overall pick is where great players originate from: Stephen Strasburg, Joe Mauer, Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodrigues, etc.

This year's great talent is Anthony Rendon. Rendon is a 20-year old third baseman that plays for the Rice Owls. Here's the skinny:

Continue reading this commentary »

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by John Morgan • Aug 6, 2010 12:45 PM PDT

High Hopes For Jake Locker

This, from UW Dawg Pound, caught my eye:

Sark thinks Jake will complete 65-68 % of his passes this fall. Expects his TD to interception ratio to be 3-1.

If he could, Locker would secure himself as among the greatest quarterback prospects to ever come out of college football. And I intend no exaggeration. Locker has always had Snap-On tools, but that, and a bevy of highlights, has always been story: Good promise; little success.

Locker only completed 58.2% of his passes last season, and that was a major step up. He completed 53.8% in his injury shortened 2008 and a rotten 47.3% as a freshman. I understand that he has often been the only pro talent on some terrible Husky teams, and I understand that means he has often carried the team on his back, but there is a meaningful cutoff for completion percentage. If you’re completing fewer than 50% of your passes, you are not a pro talent. And to be a solid prospect, it’s much better to be above 60% than it is to be anywhere near 50%.

Jake’s a senior this year. Has Sark’s projected improvement ever been done by a similar quarterback? His peers would presumably be other first-round quarterbacks. Let’s look.

Matthew Stafford didn’t top 60% until his final year at Georgia. He struggled as a rookie. Same basic story with Josh Freeman, but Freeman topped 60% in 2007 and then regressed in 2008.

Matt Ryan twice topped 60%, but fell below as a senior. In 654 attempts, mind you. Joe Flacco never had any problem, but he was playing inferior competition.

JaMarcus Russell pulled the trick in the extremely simplified LSU offense. Brady Quinn was comfortably above 60% for his final two seasons.

Vince Young was sort of in the Russell boat. High completion percentage for a season, but simplified offense. Matt Leinart was always well above average at completing passes.

I’ll skip down a bit. There is nothing magical about completing 60% of your passes. It doesn’t ensure success or guarantee failure, but completing a pass is the most basic job of a quarterback. If a quarterback struggles to complete a high percentage at a lower level of competition, it’s hard to project them to improve upon that as a pro. And it’s difficult to be a valuable professional if you’re not completing a least 60% of attempted passes. Locker might be great, but unless he has a season better than last year, if not as good as Steve Sarkisian hopes then somewhere in between, he might be dangerously close to a Kyle Boller- or J.P. Losman-type prospect. Teams are seduced by the talent, but can Locker play?

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by John Morgan • Aug 5, 2010 3:17 PM PDT