Hold it: Penalty wipes out Hawks’ hopes

JOHN MCGRATH; THE NEWS TRIBUNE

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For maybe 20 or 30 seconds Sunday, it was easy to forget that the only thing the 2008 Seahawks have in common with the four Seattle playoff teams that preceded them was the coach on the sideline and the logo on the helmet.

For maybe 20 or 30 seconds, it was easy to forget that Matt Hasselbeck was out and Charlie Frye was in, that the young receivers are hurt and the old receivers often turn invisible, that the defense once regarded to be the team’s calling card has turned into a house of cards.

For maybe 20 or 30 seconds, as Julius Jones bulled through the left side of the Seahawks’ line and wasn’t brought down until his 51-yard run put the Seahawks in position to break a 10-10 tie against the Green Bay Packers, it was easy to forget that football Sundays at Qwest Field have become every bit as bleak football Saturdays at Husky Stadium.

The Seahawks had the ball at the Packers’ 24-yard line. The joint was jumping, the Green Bay defense was on its heels, surely this was the start of something good.

Or not.

While Jones still was pumping his fists, it was as if the volume knob at Qwest Field had been rotated counterclockwise. An penalty flag was on the ground, and when some of the Packers defenders pointed toward the line of scrimmage, fans had the astute sense to expect the worst.

Of course, the penalty was on the Seahawks. Of course, it negated Seattle’s most highlight-worthy play of the day – come to think of it, the only highlight-worthy play of the day.

Of course. It’s 2008.

“When you’re losing, sometimes those calls can go either way,” left guard Mike Wahle said. “You know?”

We know, Mike. We know.

The call on Wahle was for holding defensive tackle Johnny Jolly. Upon review, it did not appear that Wahle did anything untoward to restrict Jolly’s pursuit. Wahle cleared a path, Jolly lost his balance, and it cost the Seahawks 61 yards, once the penalty was assessed.

When the word “borderline,” was offered to Wahle afterward, he chuckled.

“That’s one way to put it,” he said.

An 11-year veteran from Navy, Wahle understands games are decided on the field, not in the locker room.

“I’m not going to get in a debate with the referee,” he said. “It’s a little late for that. But I’d certainly block him the same way if I had another opportunity to do it.”

Hawks coach Mike Holmgren wasted no time getting into a debate with referee Jeff Triplette and umpire Jim Quirk, but 90 minutes later, he’d changed his tone from angry and reactionary to calm and reflective.

“When you are in the situation we’re in, and you pop a nice play – and you get a penalty – that is one of those things that there is a noticeable sag,” Holmgren said. “We finally got one, and we needed it, and it was important, and then we got it called back.

“Right now, it is hard for us to overcome those types of things.”

It is next to impossible for the Seahawks to overcome those types of things. Erasing Jones’ 51-yard gain not only deflated the Hawks, it affected everything from their play-calling (pedestrian) to their energy (lackluster).

Frye, the third-team quarterback, was too consumed by the moment to appreciate the bigger picture. His responsibility was to organize a huddle.

“You only get 25 seconds once the refs set the ball,” he said. “Guys were a long way down the field, and I needed to make sure we got the next play off.”

As for the flag that changed the game?

“A momentum breaker,” Frye acknowledged, “but I didn’t get to see it.”

Join the crowd, kid. The holding penalty attributed to Wahle can be called on any given snap on any given Sunday. The fact officials seem to be flagging fewer linemen for holding this season only made the penalty more curious.

A good team, behind a veteran quarterback throwing to breakaway-threat receivers, is able to overcome a momentum-sapping penalty like that. The Seahawks are not a good team. Their veteran quarterback, Matt Hasselbeck, was hurt much more seriously last week at the Meadowlands than he let on. There are no breakaway-threat receivers.

Small wonder that Wahle’s holding penalty, called on the Seahawks’ second play of the second half, essentially put the offense on ice.

After the 10 yards were marched off, Jones took the ball again on a sweep to the right side. Two yards. (Just wondering: The guy was winded after 51-yard run. Why give him the ball before he’s had a chance to get his legs back?) On third down, Frye tried to connect with Bobby Engram over the middle. Incomplete, send in the punter.

Almost 13 minutes remained in the third quarter when Jones’ game-changing gain was nullified; slightly more than 11 minutes were left in the game – with the Packers leading 24-10 – before the Seahawks produce their next first down. The achievement must’ve rattled them. Moments after Maurice Morris moved the chains to the Seattle 33, Frye’s short pass to tight end John Carlson landed in the hands of cornerback Charles Woodson.

That turnover set up a Green Bay field goal, giving the Packers an insurmountable 27-10 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Back to the holding penalty.

“An unfortunate call was made,” Wahle said. “When things are going bad, that’s what happens.”

Things are going bad, for sure. Between Nate Burleson’s left knee, Hasselbeck’s right knee, Seneca Wallace’s calf muscle, Ben Obomanu’s clavicle, and Deion Branch’s, uh, you name it, the four-time defending NFC West champs are hurting.

And then a flag was dropped after a 51-yard gain, leaving the Seahawks dazed and bewildered, their spirit broken. It’ll turn out to be the most devastating break of them all.

John McGrath: 253-597-8742; ext. 6154

john.mcgrath@thenewstribune.com