Sea Hawkers,

Before I talk about the game, a few administrative items. First, the Seahawks are still looking for videos from those of you serving overseas. If you have one you’d like to share, please send it to military.seahawkers@gmail.com or email with questions.

Next, I’m looking to trade for a pair of tickets to the Broncos game, Sept. 21. I have two tickets to the Military Appreciation Day game vs. the Giants, a single ticket to the game against the Raiders, and any items from the Military Sea Hawkers store. I might be able to make it work if you only have one ticket.

Lastly, if anyone is interested in writing game recaps immediately after the game to share with the club, please drop an email to the address above. Now . . . onto the game!

Personally, I’ve never experience an NFL season opening game before. It’s nothing like I’ve ever seen on compared to the average first game of the season. But this wasn’t your average opening home game either.

Pioneer Square was filled with vendors, satellite radio hosts interviewing former Seahawks players, and Seattle Hall of Famers and former players were there to sign autographs and take pictures. America’s Game 2013, the recap of the Seahawks Super Bowl winning season, played on screens inside and outside the stadium and then iconic Seattle rock band Soundgarden took the stage at the north entrance of the stadium as Seahawks fans flocked into the stadium.

Then came the unveiling of the World Champions banner in the rafters on the west side of CenturyLink Field as a larger replica of the banner was stretched out across the field. In the Hawks Nest on the north side of stadium, a group of Army National Guard helped unveil a giant banner of the Lombardi Trophy.

It was the perfect introduction to what was a nearly perfect effort on the field by the Seahawks. Seattle overcame an early error on special teams as Richard Sherman was locked up with a Packers player on punt coverage and Earl Thomas couldn’t field the punt. Green Bay recovered and went up 7-3 with a short field.

That’s when Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and Percy Harvin took over. The three players combined for 180 yards rushing and Wilson threw for 191 yard yards and two touchdowns.

The defense was equally impressive in holding Aaron Rodgers and the Packers to 16 points. Rodgers completed avoided Richard Sherman concentrating on throwing to the left side of the field. That meant plenty of action for cornerback Byron Maxwell who picked off a pass intended for Packers receiver Jordy Nelson. That interception led to a field goal that put Seattle up 20-10 early in the third quarter.

The Packers starting right tackle went down to injury early in the game and the Seahawks took advantage. Cliff Avril had a big sack on fourth down coming around the right side and Michael Bennett’s strip sack of Rodgers also came against the backup tackle and it resulted in a safety to put the team ahead 22-10.

From that point on, the Seahawks made a point of running a lot of time off the clock as they drove down the field for their final two scores of the game. The strategy of avoiding Sherman didn’t work well for Rodgers as he finished the game with only 189 yards passing and just one touchdown.

With Russell Wilson at the helm, the win by the Seahawks gives them a 7-0 record when facing opposing quarterbacks who have won a Super Bowl. The only two Super Bowl winning quarterbacks they haven’t faced in the last two years are Joe Flacco and Ben Roethlisberger.

GO HAWKS!!!

-Brandan

seahawks vs. Chargers live on afn/DTS

There’s a large contingent of Seahawks fans expected to show up in San Diego for the Chargers home opener. The good news is that you will get to listen for the chats of “SEA-HAWKS” ring throughout the crowd, because the game is scheduled to be on AFN and DTS.

Here’s a game this Seahakws team should be able to win. The Chargers defense may be slightly better than the Packers and San Diego will have the benefit of playing at home, but they just don’t have the speed on defense to be able to keep up with all of the weapons Seattle has on offense. Not only that, but Phillip Rivers says he’s going to test Richard Sherman and not avoid him. Last year Sherman intercepted (or tipped for an interception) one pass for every 7-8 thrown his direction. That’s a big reason why Rodgers avoided him entirely.

Watch for the Seahawks defensive line to get a lot of pressure up the middle with the Chargers backup center in the game and a left guard who acted as a human turnstile against the Cardinals defense last week.

The game is set to broadcast on both AFN and DTS Sports. The game airs at 1300 PST, 2000 GMT and 0030 in Afghanistan.

Sea Hawkers podcasT: packers recap, chargers preview, seahawks road crew interview

The Seahawks continue their primetime dominance at home and defeat the Green Bay Packers 36-16. As great as the 20-point victory is, Brandan says the defensive performance is what impressed him the most. Brandan opens the show by talking about the scene around Seattle and the unveiling of the banner for the World Champion Seahawks.

The Seahawks go on the road this weekend to take on the San Diego Chargers who suffered an 18-17 defeat against the NFC West rival Arizona Cardinals. Looking at the matchup, and their performance against the Cards, the Seahawks match up very favorably.

Check out this episode!

Brandan Schulze
Military Sea Hawkers
VP of Communications and Membership