Seneca Wallace

Seneca Wallace was born on the 6^th of August in 1980. He is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Seahawks in the 4th round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played his college football for Iowa State.

It is extensively thought his draft value dropped because of his persistence that he play quarterback for the team, rather than Antwaan Randle El-type wide receiver. Intrigued by his athleticism, the Seahawks gave him that opening. Wallace made his mark in the 2005 NFL Playoffs when he caught a supple 28 yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck in the NFC Championship game against the Carolina Panthers’ Ken Lucas. Wallace threw for the best touchdown pass in Seahawks franchise history with a 90-yard completion to Koren Robinson in the Seahawks’ opening play from scrimmage. Nonetheless, the Seahawks still lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 26-7.

Mora remains optimistic with Seahawks

Maybe it’s the Seahawks’ unending string of injuries. Or their constant misplays on defense. Or the penalties and mistakes on a washed-out offense. Something has Jim Mora sounding silly. Seattle has lost three straight and is 1-3 for the second successive season. The Seahawks are three games out of the NFC West lead, given they have previously lost to division-leading San Francisco (3-1). They trailed 34-3 against Peyton Manning and the undefeated Colts on Sunday, until Seattle scored two touchdowns in the last three minutes to make the result appear less unflattering. Mora’s sunny outlook is based upon his conviction his team will eventually return to health, and on what he sees as sufficient leadership and pride in the locker room.

The offense has been doomed by inconsistency, Hasselbeck’s pain and constant change along the battered line the last two seasons, as Seattle has gone 5-15 since its last playoff appearance at the end of the 2007 season. Rob Sims, the opening left guard since Mike Wahle was waived for failing a pre-training camp physical, is out for at least two games with a sprained ankle in Indianapolis. He will join nine-time Pro Bowl tackle Walter Jones as missing from the left side of the line. The other starting tackle, Sean Locklear, is out until as a minimum November with a high ankle sprain.

Signs are Hasselbeck will play Sunday

All signs are pointing in the direction of Matt Hasselbeck returning to quarterback the reeling Seahawks on Sunday versus Jacksonville. The three-time Pro Bowl quarterback looked razor-sharp while finishing a second successive practice Thursday. It’s his first work ever since he broke a rib on a lunge for the goal line at San Francisco. The team formally listed him as limited on the everyday practice report it filed to the league. Hasselbeck took the greater part of snaps with the first-team offense, with backup Seneca Wallace left with only a little. Hasselbeck didn’t look very restricted to top receiver Nate Burleson.

The Seahawks could use a wakeup call. Five starters are already out for Sunday’s game, including three-fifths of the offensive line. Coach Jim Mora said this week there is a “major sense of urgency, a HUGE sense of urgency” following a blowout defeat at the hands of Indianapolis, which has Seattle essentially three games behind first-place San Francisco in the NFC West because the Seahawks have already lost to the 49ers.

Pensive Seahawk speaks loudest on the field

Before talking to him on Wednesday, here’s all I knew or heard about Seahawks defensive end Lawrence Jackson — 2008 first-round draft choice from USC who was largely disappointing during his rookie year. Whenever his name mentioned, it was always connected to something harmful, as if he were a bust. Now four games into his sophomore season, Jackson is leading the Seahawks and is tied for third in the NFC in sacks with three – only three players have more than he does.

After spending 15 minutes at his cubbyhole, he struck me as being highly academic, maybe somewhat reserved, a person who doesn’t require the highlight. Most of all, he was very pleasant and interesting, and I want to openly thank him for doing something that no other sportsperson has ever done in my 30 years as a sportswriter. During the interview, Darryl Tapp turned on a stereo two lockers down from Jackson’s. The music went from noisy to noisier, and the soft-spoken Jackson, realizing it was intrusive with the discussion, turned it down. I don’t know what this says about him, most likely nothing, but my budding deafness appreciated that, and honestly, everything about the guy impressed the hell out of me.

SEATTLE (PK) vs. Jacksonville

Jacksonville is proving to be a pretty good team, as their offense has been 0.6 yards pe rplay better than average so far this season (5.9 yppl against teams that would allow 5.3 yppl to an average attack), while the Jags’ defense is only 0.2 yppl worse than average despite allowing 6.1 yppl (to teams that would combine to average 5.9 ypppl against an average team). The Seahawks are having all sorts of injury issues to each and every part of their team (All-Pro OT Jones, QB Hasselbeck, DE Kearney, etc, etc) and that has affected their level of play. Seattle has been out-gained averaged just 4.9 yppl (against teams that would allow 5.0 yppl to an average team and there really isn’t much difference between backup Seneca Wallace and starting quarterback Hasselbeck (at least there wasn’t last season).

The Seahawks’ defense has allowed 5.9 yppl to teams that would average 5.3 yppl against an average team, but their run defense is much better than the 5.2 ypr that they’ve allowed on the season, as 159 yards came on just 2 plays by San Francisco’s Frank Gore. Seattle has allowed an average of just 81 rushing yards at 3.7 ypr in their other 3 games (against teams that would average 4.2 ypr), which I believe is more indicative of their true run defense. The defense is still a bit worse than normal with the injuries to Kearny and CB Josh Wilson and Seattle is certainly at a disadvantage from the line of scrimmage in this game. The math model actually favors Jacksonville by 4 points but Seattle applies to a very strong 63-19-6 ATS bounce-back situation while the Jaguars apply to a negative 29-74-1 ATS situation. Consider Seattle a Strong Opinion at +3 regardless of whether Hasselbeck returns at quarterback.

Seahawks’ Jones Out Into At Least November

Seahawks nine-time Pro Bowl tackle Walter Jones will not come back until at least November, if at all this season. Coach Jim Mora said Wednesday the team has decided Jones will draw back trying to come back from two knee surgeries. The 35-year-old affix to Seattle’s offensive line for the previous decade will now be reassessed after the bye week, before a game at Dallas on Nov. 1. He came out to watch the end of practice whilst walking laboriously next to a team trainer.

Thanksgiving Day was Jones’ last game. He played with painkilling injections in his left knee then had micro fracture surgery to regenerate cartilage. After a few practices in camp, he had arthroscopic surgery on the knee and it still pains him. Brandon Frye, who was released last month by the Dolphins, will start once more for Jones on Sunday against Jacksonville. The team is hoping the subsequently three weeks of rest will be adequate for Jones to be ready for the final 10 games of the season. If he isn’t, Jones may go on the injured reserve list and that would probably end his season and perhaps his career, given his age and the brutality of his knee injury.

Seahawks’ Tatupu to Donate to Tsunami Relief

Lofa Tatupu’s father was born and raised in American Samoa and the Seattle Seahawks star still has family members on the island. And he hasn’t heard how they fared through last week’s deadly tsunami that rolled across the U.S. region, as well as Samoa and Tonga. He figures the least he can do is give to the calamity reprieve efforts in the Pacific Rim region.

Coach Jim Mora said his three-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker is volunteering to match the first $10,000 that fans contribute in a collection drive started by the Seahawks and Medical Teams International. Tatupu didn’t want notice on his kindness, and he was surprised to learn word got out. The team released a statement which quoted Tatupu saying, “Every donation will help provide relief to those affected by the disaster.” The Seahawks are inviting fans to donate on their way into the stadium at Sunday’s home game against Jacksonville, or on their team’s Web site. Mora was struck by Tatupu’s generosity, and by the perspective the tsunami and the earthquake that triggered it give when fans are bemoaning the injuries and defeats the Seahawks are enduring.

Hasselbeck Back for Seahawks, But Will He Play?

Matt Hasselbeck started the week in what his coach described as agonizing pain. The Seahawks quarterback was too vigorous in his rehabilitation, trying to hasten his return from a broken rib. By Wednesday, he had willed himself through Seattle’s whole practice. He wore large rib pads and twisted to extend his torso throughout his first on-field work ever since the injury. It shows, in coach Jim Mora’s words, how Hasselbeck “is without question doing everything possible to get out on the football field” for Sunday’s home game against Jacksonville.

It also shows how desperate his team is to save its season after three consecutive losses. Seattle is already essentially three games behind San Francisco for first place in the NFC West. Mora is wowed by Hasselbeck’s determination to help save Seattle’s season. The coach has set a goal of winning these two remaining games before the bye, including next week’s home game against division rival Arizona, with the hope the week off will get the battered Seahawks back to full health.

Colts D Makes Big Turnaround in Last 2 Weeks

Colts defensive end Robert Mathis is enjoying again. He’s smiling, joking, taking pride in his big game against Seattle and the recent improvement he and his teammates have made. It’s a stark contrast to two weeks ago when an exhausted Mathis had to answer questions about Indianapolis’ defensive debacle at Miami—and that was a win for the Colts. Mathis didn’t hide then, and he’s not hiding now.

Over the past two weeks, the Colts have put quarterbacks Kurt Warner and Seneca Wallace under tremendous duress. They limited Arizona and Seattle to a combined 73 yards rushing and only 27 points—14 coming in the last three minutes of Sunday’s 34-17 victory over the Seahawks. The brand new Indy defense is using blitz packages to help Mathis and Dwight Freeney draw more one-on-one blocking matchups, a jam for opponents that appears as one-sided on tape as it does in the stat books. Freeney and Mathis already have five sacks between them, nearly half of their combined total from last season when Mathis finished with 11 1/2, Freeney had 10 1/2 and both went to the Pro Bowl. They’ve enforced four fumbles and when they’re not catching quarterbacks they’re still forcing them into pitiable decisions, hurried throws or inaccurate passes.

49ers’ Success Comes Despite Offensive Struggles

The San Francisco 49ers has taken early command of first place in the NFC West despite an offense that ranks among the worst in the NFL. It’s no secret where the team needs to improve entering Sunday’s key NFC matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, a game that will take the 49ers to their bye week. Regardless of being shut out offensively in the first half and finishing the game with just 228 total yards, the 49ers rolled to a 35-0 win over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, San Francisco’s most lopsided victory in 87 games. The 49ers had two touchdowns on defense and another on special teams to improve to 3-1 and swept the first round of divisional play at 3-0 as the 49ers beat defending NFC West champion Arizona in Week 1 and Seattle in Week 2.

The power rushing attack San Francisco was expecting to carry its offense has not quite lived up to its billing through the first quarter of the season. The 49ers have averaged just 77 yards rushing and 237 total yards per game from the time when star running back Frank Gore was hurt on his first carry against the Vikings on Sept. 27. Even with them ranking 28th in the league in total yards, the 49ers rank ninth with 105 points scored. They have outscored the opposition 55-24 in the second half and 31-10 in the fourth quarter. The 49ers make it when it counts the most, crunch time.

2 Reasons Why the Seahawks Will Upset the Colts in Week 4

Colts have been having problems stopping the run. The Indianapolis Colts may be riding high at a perfect 3-0, but there are some problems that lie underneath this perfection. They may have held Arizona, which has little to no run game at all, to less than 50 yards rushing, but containing the Seahawks will be a different story. Seattle has a much better run game than the Cardinals, led by Julius Jones who is averaging 4.9 per carry for 226 yards YTD. If the Seahawks can pound it on the ground consistently, they may be able to exploit Indy’s biggest weakness and rush their way to a victory.

Indy is so banged up on defense. While it is debatable whether Seattle has more offensive weapons than Arizona, the team might have enough to dominate an not a hundred percent Colts defense. After spending most of the first three quarters in the Arizona backfield, Dwight Freeney spent the left over 15 minutes in the Indianapolis locker room watching the Colts roll to an easy 31-10 win over the Cardinals. Freeney hurt his right quadriceps this past Sunday and told team doctors that he “felt something pop” in his leg. Team officials are still in the course of finding out the brutality of the damage and how much time he will miss. Sadly, the Colts have much more to worry about than the health status of their top pass rusher. Indy is missing a few key players on the defensive side of the ball, including safety Bob Sanders, who was a previous Defensive Player of the Year. Although cornerback Kelvin Hayden and defensive captain Gary Brackett might return Sunday night, Dwight Freeney’s injury could create a huge void that simply cannot be filled.

Colts Vs. Seahawks

Peyton Manning has been in his top form so far this season, averaging an incredible 9.9 yards for every pass play while the offense is on a 7.4 yards per play pace. Manning is not going to keep continuing an average of 14.9 yards per completion (his lifetime average is 11.9 ypc and his single season high is 13.1 ypc) so his numbers which are moving onward won’t be as impressive. But he might be on his way to his best season ever, with the presence of a new blood at the receiver position now that over the hill, Marvin Harrison is gone. The Colts are also playing a very good defense (allowing 4.6 yppl to each team that would combine to average 5.3 ypl against an average team) and they’ll be too much for a mediocre Seahawks team that is worse than average offensively with backup Seneca Wallace at quarterback and also a bit worse than average on defense.

The ratings favor the Colts by 15 points even after docking them 2 points for injuries to star DE Dwight Freeney, starting CB Kelvin Hayden, and LB Garry Brackett. Hayden and Brackett both missed last week’s game and the Colts were able to hold Arizona’s good offense to just 4.6 yppl, but losing Freeney (4 sacks already) is worth about 1 1/2 points. Even so, the Colts should have no problem beating Seattle and I’ll consider Indianapolis a Strong Opinion if the line goes down to -10 points or less.

Bears VS. Lions

Detroit finally won a game last week, but don’t be fooled by their win over the Redskins. The Lions were outnumbered 5.3 yards per play to 7.0 yards per play by Washington and other teams are not going to be as inept in the red zone as the Redskins are. For the season Detroit has averaged only 4.5 yards every play (against teams that would allow 5.0 yards for every play to an average team) while allowing a horrendous 6.6 yards for every play (to teams that would combine to average 5.7 yards per play against an average team).

Chicago has out-gained their tougher than average schedule (Green Bay, Pittsburgh and Seattle) 5.3 yards per play to 4.8 yards per play and my ratings favor the Bears by 15 points in this game while the math using this year’s games only would favor them by 17 1/2 points. Unfortunately, Chicago applies to a negative 72-147-3 ATS big home favorite letdown situation while Detroit applies to a 44-14-3 ATS week 4 angle.

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