Packers-Seahawks Quasi Live Blog: First Quarter

And we're back! In drifing snows, Matt Hasselbeck fails to win the coin toss, depriving him of his little joke. The first bad sign of the day for the visitors!

Does anyone have more post-season interceptions than Brett Favre? 26 seems like a ton, really. After a sloppy kickoff return and a momentum-sapping injury to a Seattle special teamer -- what is it with Seattle playing molasses-slow first quarters? -- we get told about the Seattle defensive All-Pros taking everyone else from their unit. How much play is that going to get, really?

Ryan Grant puts the ball on the ground on a screen, giving Seattle the ball on the Packers 1 yard line. That sound you just heard was 10 million people betting the favorites saying "Oh crap." And since Shawn Alexander is not touched before the goal line, he gets in. 7-0 Seahawks after about 25 seconds.

The Pack give the ball to Grant on the first play after the mistake, and he burst left for 8. Smart play call to get his head right back in it. But on 2nd and 2, he goes off tackle for 5+... and puts the ball on the ground again. Seahawks ball at midfield, and this is about as bad an opening minute for the home team as you can imagine.

Can the Pack defense stand up and stop the bleeding? Not on first down, when Nate Burleson gets manhandled for an easy PI call. Hasselbeck gets it to Burleson for 7 on the next play, and Fox is now calling the Pack out for being overwhelmed by playoff atmosphere. Alexander is then tackled by the first person that touches him, but it's 4 yards downfield for a first. They are in Josh Brown territory already. Another quick one to Hackett, but Branch blows out his leg, so the play may not be at all positive. And we're into another delay / commercial melee.

Alexander makes a guy miss! Wow! Still, no gain. I don't mean to overstate things, but he's a terrible, terrible RB. On 3rd and 3, Hasselbeck has all day and an open receiver (Obomalu, in for Branch) for the first. No push from the Pack DL... and on the next day. it's a very nice ball from play action to Bobby Engram for the touchdown. Woodson hits Engram in the air, creating a forceout, so Packers coach Mike McCarthy can't challenge. Easy call on the forceout though, as Engram had a lot of room to come down with that. After 4 minutes, it's 14-0 Seahawks, and a nightmare for the home team -- because the next 56 minutes is shaping up to be Favre Tries To Do Too Much. If the Pack turns the ball over again on the next possession, I might be getting some housework done before the late game...

A nice and chippy kickoff return to the Packers 30. A Fox graphic that states that they only trailed by over 10 points for 0.5% of their game time this year -- hoo boy. Play fake to Grant freezes the LBs, and it's an easy 14 yards to Jennings. Grant makes a nice move to the corner for 3. Ugly improv by Favre for no gain; it probably counts as a sack. On the critical 3rd and 7, Favre has all day and James Jones gets free on a drag route; he runs for 31, and the Pack are in the red zone.

Faver gets a little dangerous on first down, but Donald Lee gathers it in for 9. The crowd is loud now, and it's 2nd and 5 from the 15 -- and Favre hits Jennings for the score on a nice piece, as the CB never saw the ball coming, and got beaten back inside. Favre was 5-for-5 on the drive, and we're halfway to the 42 point over after just half of the first quarter. 14-7, Seattle, and just what the home team needed.

Burleson, who did a nice job on returns last week against the Redskins with the exception of the Taylor's Ghost play, gets it to the 31... but this is now the Seahawks road team we've come to know and love. Two bad incompletions are followed by a bailout offsides, and on third and 5 after the offesne had a broken play, it's a scary sack as Hasselbeck almost turns it over. With the snow coming down and the noise getting really loud, the punt goes out at the Packers 36, and the momentum is all with the home team now.

I don't know anyone, really, who doesn't like football games being played in snow. It's just more fun to watch.

Driver for 3 on a quick screen. On 2nd and 7, Favre hits his man under pressure, but the ball bounces off Jones and is nearly picked. Huge non-play, really. On 3rd and 7, Favre takes a timeout, and this first quarter can't get any slower, really. Ten minutes of game over forty minutes of life. An odd cross-field screen to Franks is spotted just shy of the first, and McCarthy has a tough decision -- lose the momentum with a punt, or go on fourth and inches from their own 45? I'd go for it and sneak... but McCarthy is challenge-happy, and uses one on Favre's behest.

What's worse -- going to commercial for the ninth time this quarter, or giving more dead air time to Siragusa and Johnston? They choose the latter. Isn't there a Verizon ad that I haven't seen yet?

The ball is respotted for just a few inches, but it's enough. From the Pack 46, Grant has another nice hole to the left for 7, and if he can keep the ball in his hands, he's going to get a lot of yards today. Quick toss to Jennings for the first. Grant bursts the hole and makes a man miss for 26, the last 5 of which is spent holding the ball as Babineaux tries to punch it out again. He then goes around the right side for 15 more, setting up first and goal from the 1. Seattle can't stop the run, and Grant took Trufant to school. His third straight carry is the first positive run play that wasn't a fumble for Seattle, as Hill stops him cold. From a power set, Grant then goes in with some measure of ease, and after 14 minutes, we have a tie game and 28 points. That lead didn't last long.

Burleson gets little on the return, and neither does Morris on first. On second, he gets a hole and goes for eight... but that hole was from a hold, and it's 2nd and 19. Ouch. The quarter ends with a tie game that feels like it's going to be a blowout, and if every quarter is as long as this one, this game will take four hours, and have 16 touchdowns. So, um, probably not.