I should have dropped Shaun Alexander on my Fantasy Football draft board when I saw him on the cover of John Madden’s new football game.  Alexander only lasted 10 games this season and carried the ball 252 times for 896 yards (3.6 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He also caught 12 passes for 48 yards (4.8 avg).  For his career, Alexander has played in 106 games (86 starts) and he has carried the ball 1,969 times for 8,713 yards (4.4 ypc) with 96 TD runs.  He also has caught 200 passes for 1,435 yards (7.2 avg) with 11 TD catches.

Maurice Morris didn’t step up while Alexander was out and it hurt the Seahawks offense.  Morris played in all 16 games (8 starts) and he carried the ball 161 times for 604 yards (3.8 ypc) without a TD run.  He also caught 11 passes for 46 yards (4.2 avg).  For his career, Morris has played in 74 games (11 starts) and he has carried the ball 332 times for 1,410 yards (4.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also has caught 32 passes for 204 yards (6.4 avg) with 1 TD catch.

Fullback Mack Strong did his job well as usual.  He played in all 16 games and carried the ball 33 times for 149 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 29 passes for 159 yards (5.5 avg).  For his career, Strong has played in 196 games (102 starts) and he’s carried the ball 226 times for 890 yards (3.9 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also has caught 209 passes for 1,384 yards (6.6 avg) with 10 TD catches.

Marquis Weeks played 10 games as a rookie and carried the ball 3 times for 8 yards (2.7 ypc).

The Seahawks have absolutely nothing to feel bad about as they gave everything they had yesterday and fell just a little short.  The defense had some lapses in the secondary but that was to be expected with all the injuries they have suffered there.

Matt Hasselbeck played like a warrior as he had a couple of broken fingers on his left hand.  He completed 18 of 33 passes for 195 with a TD pass and one interception.  Shaun Alexander looked like the MVP that he was last season as he carried the ball 26 times for 108 yards (4.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Nate Burleson only caught one pass, but it was a big one as it went for a 16 yard TD.  Darrell Jackson added 4 grabs for 49 yards in his first game in awhile.  Deion Branch also had a decent game with 4 catches for 48 yards.

The defense didn’t play too well for the Seahawks.  LBs Leroy Hill (10 tackles) and Lofa Tatupu (8 tackles) came to play, but nobody else really stepped up when the Seahawks needed it.  The Seahawks had a breakdown in coverage in OT as Rex Grossman hit Rashied Davis with a 30 yard pass on 3rd and 10 and that led to the gamewinning 49 yard FG by Robbie Gould.  The Seahawks couldn’t stop the Bears running game as they carried the ball 34 times for 120 yards (3.5 ypc).  They also had problems with the Bears passing game as they completed 21 of 38 passes for 251 net yards passing.

The Seahawks season has now ended, but at least it was fair and square on the field……unlike last season.  http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270114003

Mike Holmgren did a good job keeping this team together and focused with all of the major injuries that hit the Seahawks this season.  Holmgren was winning with Seneca Wallace and Maurice Morris for a chunk of the season and that speaks volumes about the coach.  The Seahawks finished 9-7 and beat the Cowboys last week in the first round of the playoffs.  Holmgren’s career record now sits at 147-93 (61.3%) during the regular season and 12-9 in the post season.  In his Seahawks career, Holmgren is 72-56 (56.3%) during the regular season and 3-4 in the post season.

The Chicago Bears destroyed the Seahawks 37-6 in week #4, but that was the Seahawks first game without Shaun Alexander and he’s starting to play really well as of late so this should be a very different game.  The temperature is expected to be real cold which should favor the Bears at home.

The Seahawks are going to try to run the football with Shaun Alexander and it will be Brian Urlacher’s job to chase him all over the field.  If the Seahawks get their running game going they will have a chance to win this football game.  Matt Hasselbeck must be careful with the football as he’s been prone to throwing interceptions at bad points of the game.  The receiving corps is banged up as Darrell Jackson and DJ Hackett might not play.  So, TE Jerramy Stevens, Bobby Engramand Deion Branch will have to play big games for the Seahawks to have a chance.

The Bears will run the football plain and simple.  The Seahawks allow 126.8 yards rushing per game which was 22nd in the NFL this season so Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson should have huge success on the ground.  If the Bears are running the football well that will take alot of pressure off of Rex Grossman in the passing game.  The Seahawks are banged up in the secondary, but Jordan Babineaux (a converted safety) played a huge game last week against the Cowboys.  Chances are that the Bears will try to throw the ball deep when they throw it, because Grossman can’t be trusted on the short stuff right now.

The Bears have a huge edge on special teams in having Devin Hester returning kicks.  Watch out when rookie punter Ryan Plackemeier kicks to Hester as this will be a key to this football game. 

The Seahawks have a huge edge at coaching in this game.  Mike Holmgren has won a Super Bowl and sports a 12-9 post-season record.  Lovie Smith has only coached one post-season game and it was a huge disappointment as the Bears lost at home last season to the Carolina Panthers.

I think the Bears will win this football game because of their defense and special teams.  But, if the Seahawks keep this game close, Rex Grossman could make the big mistake.

The Seahawks QBs didn’t play great this season, but they played good enough to get the Hawks back to the playoffs.  Matt Hasselbeck started 12 games this season and he completed 210 of 371 passes (56.6%) for 2,442 yards with 18 TD passes and 15 interceptions (76.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 18 times for 110 yards (6.1 ypc).  For his career, Hasselbeck has played in 119 games (80 starts) and he’s completed 1,552 of 2,576 passes (60.2%) for 18,367 yards with 114 TD passes and 72 interceptions (85.1 QB Rating).  He also has carried the football 207 times for 802 yards (3.9 ypc) with 5 TD runs.

Seneca Wallace kept the boat afloat for the Seahawks while Hasselbeck was out.  Wallace played in 8 games (4 starts) and he completed 82 of 141 passes (58.2%) for 927 yards with 8 TD passes and 7 interceptions (76.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 12 times for 122 yards (10.2 ypc).  For his career, Wallace has played in 15 games (4 starts) and he’s completed 95 of 166 passes (57.2%) for 1,100 yards with 9 TD passes and 8 interceptions (75.4 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 18 times for 117 yards (6.5 ypc).