Seattle emerges from losing streak with 34-13 win

Seattle emerges from losing streak with 34-13 win
The breaks, at long last, went the Seahawks' way. This time, finally, the other team fell victim to its own blunders. Three big plays, two...
By José Miguel Romero
Seattle Times staff reporter


SAN FRANCISCO — The breaks, at long last, went the Seahawks' way. This time, finally, the other team fell victim to its own blunders.

Three big plays, two by fullback Leonard Weaver, and some productive pressure on both San Francisco quarterbacks added up to the Seahawks' 34-13 pounding of the 49ers on a sunny Sunday at Candlestick Park.

The Seahawks (2-5), off to their worst start since 2002, were in desperate need of a win — if not to revive any hopes of another NFC West title, then to bolster their confidence. The Hawks had lost their past three. They'd been on the bad end of big plays and the wrong end on the scoreboard.

Sunday, they caught the 49ers in transition. San Francisco had earlier in the week fired coach Mike Nolan when it was mired in a four-game losing streak.

Make that five.

Seattle's defense set the tone early on its way to five sacks, four forced fumbles — one recovered by the Hawks — and an interception. On the second play of the game, defensive end Patrick Kerney hit 49ers quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan and forced a fumble. The Seahawks didn't recover the loose ball, but it was a good sign of things to come.

"Our defense played a much better game against them than what they did in Seattle," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said, referring to Seattle's 33-30 overtime loss to the 49ers at Qwest Field last month.

On the 49ers' second possession, they were poised to score as O'Sullivan dropped back from the Seattle 6-yard line. That's when linebacker Julian Peterson knifed in, knocked the ball out of O'Sullivan's hands and led Kerney to a 50-yard return.

The Seahawks led 6-0 after those fumbles. The 49ers fans booed lustily.

Late in the first quarter, Holmgren gambled and came up big as the Seahawks converted a fourth-and-six from the San Francisco 35. Seven plays later, T.J. Duckett plunged in from the 1 to give the Hawks a 13-0 lead.

"He set the tone for us," quarterback Seneca Wallace said of Holmgren. "He said, 'Let's go out there and play football and let it all hang out.' "

It was 13-3 as the 49ers drove in the final seconds of the first half, reaching the Seattle 29 on fourth-and-four. New coach Mike Singletary gambled this time, and it proved costly.

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Seahawks cornerback Josh Wilson, who moved into the starting lineup for Kelly Jennings in Week 5, intercepted O'Sullivan's pass for Arnaz Battle and took it 75 yards for a touchdown 31 seconds before halftime. With the Seahawks leading 20-3, the 49ers switched quarterbacks, and the game was well in hand.

"It was great for the team," Wilson said. "We needed that, and it got us going. To give this team a lift and a spark is what I always try to do."

There were more plays to be made, though. The score was 20-6 in the third quarter when Wallace, starting at quarterback again for the injured Matt Hasselbeck, hit Weaver over the middle with a short pass. Weaver turned on the jets and ran 40 yards after the 3-yard pass to pay dirt, giving the Seahawks a 27-6 lead.

Weaver wasn't finished. With the Seahawks struggling to run the ball, he became a better receiving option. It was 27-13 midway through the fourth quarter when Wallace avoided a blitz, rolled out to his left and found Weaver all alone.

Weaver raced upfield again, picking up a nice block and scoring a 62-yard touchdown as the befuddled 49ers defenders failed to recover in time to make a tackle.

The win moved the Seahawks two games out of the lead in the division, as Arizona lost Sunday to sit at 4-3. Now the Seahawks and the St. Louis Rams, each 2-5, are tied for second place.

"The way our division is right now, it really belongs to anybody," Kerney said.

Holmgren, battling a cold, walked off the field a winner in his hometown.

"Clearly it feels a lot better this week than it has the last couple," he said.




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Weaver sparks Seahawks' improbable victory
Fullback turns two short passes into long scores
By CLARE FARNSWORTH
P-I REPORTER

SAN FRANCISCO -- "Leon-ard Wea-ver. Leon-ard Wea-ver."

Say what?

In a game played at Candlestick Park on a picture-postcard Sunday afternoon, it was Seahawks fans who were serenading the team's fullback as he made his way off the field after an improbable 34-13 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Not, however, until Weaver had done a post-game TV interview at midfield and a radio interview as he made his way to the locker room.

Leonard Weaver?

Leon-ard Wea-ver, indeed.

The former undrafted tight end from Carson-Newman turned blocking back morphed into the kind of big-play performer that has been missing during the Seahawks' 1-5 start.

Weaver, a square-bodied 242-pounder, took two short passes from backup quarterback Seneca Wallace and turned them in long scoring plays -- a 43-yarder in the third quarter and a 62-yarder in the fourth -- to help the Seahawks snap their three-game losing streak.

This from a player who could not remember the last time he had scored on two such plays. Whose previous long gain in two seasons with the team was a 46-yard reception last year.

Hey, it made as much sense as anything else that happened on this eighth Sunday of the NFL season.

Because the Seahawks were the only team in the NFC West to win, they are tied for second place in the division -- with a 2-5 record.

They put up 34 points, despite the 49ers putting up lopsided advantages in total yards (388-261), rushing yards (124-39) and time of possession (slightly more than 34 minutes to not quite 26).

In the long run, however, the Seahawks just had too many of them.

In addition to Weaver's rambles, cornerback Josh Wilson returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown, defensive end Patrick Kerney returned a sack-forced fumble by pass-rushing linebacker Julian Peterson 50 yards to setup the first of two field goals by Olindo Mare and Wilson also had a 40-yard kickoff return that preceded the first of Weaver's scores.

"We were able to come up with the big plays," coach Mike Holmgren said. "And that was really the difference."

None were bigger than the two turned in by Weaver.

On the first, he was the primary receiver for Wallace -- who was making his second consecutive start because Matt Hasselbeck remains sidelined with his back/knee situation.

As Weaver looped out of the backfield and ducked inside linebacker Takeo Spikes, Wallace also was moving to avoid the 49ers' blitz. Once Wallace got Weaver the ball, there were no defenders to get in his immediate way.

"I knew the blitz was definitely there and I knew the route was going to be hot," Weaver said. "I did not know the middle of the field was going to be as open as it was."

Weaver then split linebacker Patrick Willis and strong safety Michael Lewis and was gone, with the assist of a downfield block by wide receiver Koren Robinson.

On the second of his long runs after taking a short pass, Weaver was Wallace's last option. But with Wallace flushed from the pocket and scrambling, and Weaver wide-open along the sideline, it was a pitch-and-catch that had to happen.

"I was scrambling around a little bit, Leonard stayed with his route and I found him," said Wallace, who was sharper against the 49ers (15 of 25 for 222 yards and a 115.8 passer rating) than he was the previous week against the Buccaneers (12 of 23 for 73 yards, 55.2).

Weaver again got a block from Robinson down field that helped him score.

It's not that the 49ers defense wasn't prepared for Weaver.

"Everybody in this league is good, so you shouldn't really sleep on any of them," 49ers linebacker Manny Lawson said. "We knew about Weaver. He's a fullback and he's a brutal back, because he will come and get you to let you know he's there."

As a blocker. "That's one of the things that we were trying to focus on as a defense," Lawson said.

But as a big-play receiver? The smile that Lawson could not suppress was as good as saying, "Not so much."

Not surprising on this day when a wide receiver was blocking for the blocking back.

"That's what it going to take right now," wide receiver Bobby Engram said. "Our motto really was trying to get done by any means necessary today."

As pleased as the Seahawks were, the 49ers were that dissatisfied.

"We are not a charity," fumed Mike Singletary, who became the 49ers head coach a week ago after Mike Nolan was fired. "We cannot give them the game."

Now, back to the standings in the NFC West. The Seahawks are two games behind the division-leading Arizona Cardinals, and play three of their next four games at Qwest Field.

Is this team that looked like it had forgotten how to win poised to go on a run that could get them back into the division race, and playoff berth that goes with winning the title?

Preposterous, perhaps. But as this game proved, anything can happen.

Just ask Leonard Weaver.

GAME AT A GLANCE

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Leonard Weaver. His teammates call the Seahawks' fullback "The Church Van," because of his religious fervor and the fact that the 6-foot, 242-pounder usually delivers when called upon. Sunday, at Candlestick Park, Weaver provided the plays that helped the Seahawks snap their three-game losing streak. Not, however, by throwing lead blocks. No, Weaver scored on not one, but two long plays after taking short passes from QB Seneca Wallace. The first, a 43-yarder in the third quarter up the right sideline, stretched the Seahawks' lead to 27-6. The second, a 62-yarder in the fourth quarter up the left sideline, provided the final score: 34-13. Talk about special deliveries.

PLAYS OF THE GAME

Offense: Either of the long pass plays from Wallace to Weaver qualify, but more went into the shorter of the two. First, Weaver looped out of the backfield. Then, he made a nice move to slip inside 49ers linebacker Takeo Spikes. Wallace made a move of his own to buy some extra time against the 49ers' blitz. Once he got the ball to Weaver, the middle of the field was wide-open because the blitzers had vacated the area. Weaver used a block downfield from Koren Robinson to go the distance.

Defense: Late in the first half, with the 49ers trailing 13-3 but also sitting on the Seahawks' 29-yard line, interim coach Mike Singletary decided to give turnover-plagued QB JT. O'Sullivan one more chance to make a play -- on fourth-and-4, no less. O'Sullivan did just that. Except that the Seahawks' Josh Wilson, who was lined up as the nickel back, jumped a route being run by wide receiver Arnaz Battle and returned the interception 75 yards for a touchdown. It was only the Seahawks' second interception of the season, and first since their Week 3 win over the Rams. The big play lifted the Seahawks to a 17-point halftime lead, and ended O'Sullivan's day.

Special teams: It was Wilson again, only this time he used his breakaway speed on a kickoff return in the third quarter. The 49ers had gotten a field goal from Joe Nedney to make it 20-6, but Wilson broke the ensuing kickoff for 40 yards. Six plays later, Wallace went to Weaver for the 43-yard touchdown. Wilson's big-play day also included six tackles and a forced fumble.




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Sacks are good, but turnovers are better for Seahawks
FRANK HUGHES; frank.hughes@thenewstribune.com
Published: October 27th, 2008 01:55 AM | Updated: October 27th, 2008 06:25 AM

SAN FRANCISCO – The Seattle Seahawks did not match the eight sacks they got against San Francisco quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan in the teams’ first meeting.

But this game was more about the quality of the sacks than the quantity.

When the Seahawks lost an overtime decision to the 49ers on Sept. 14, they chided themselves for getting to O’Sullivan eight times and failing to get any turnovers.

In Sunday’s 34-13 victory at Candlestick Park, they got to San Francisco quarterbacks five times, but they forced starter O’Sullivan to fumble twice, with Patrick Kerney picking up one and returning it 50 yards.

“We felt like that was one aspect of the game that we could really be effective at,” said defensive tackle Rocky Bernard, who had two sacks. “We wanted to make him move it around in the pocket.”

The Seahawks’ pass rush had an impact almost immediately. On the Niners’ second offensive play, O’Sullivan found himself hemmed in by Bernard and Kerney. He was stripped of the ball, which was picked up Darryl Tapp, who headed for the end zone. Tapp, however, lost control and San Francisco recovered. But a tone had been set.

“Any time a quarterback gets rattled like that early in the game, it makes it really difficult for him,” Bernard said. “That is when he started turning the ball over a little bit and he threw the (interception). I thought we did pretty good as a defensive line.”

In the second quarter, the Niners drove to the Seahawks’ 9, threatening to take the lead. But as O’Sullivan dropped back to pass, former 49ers linebacker Julian Peterson beat offensive tackle Joe Staley, hit O’Sullivan from behind and caused him to fumble. Kerney scooped it up and ran for 50 yards, setting up Seattle’s second field goal and a 6-0 lead.

“I made it look like I was running a stunt,” Peterson said. “I faked inside and then went outside and it was pretty much over after that. Our emphasis is to get the ball out and create turnovers to change the field position and help our offense out. That is when we win ballgames.”

Tatupu injured

The major negative that came out of Sunday’s victory was that linebacker Lofa Tatupu suffered a pulled groin in the first half that kept him out of the rest of the game.

Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said Tatupu will miss some practice this week, but he did not know if the three-time Pro Bowl player would miss next week’s home game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Kerney also suffered a shoulder injury and had the left shoulder wrapped after the game. But Holmgren said he thinks Kerney will be fine.”

Who’s in charge? Singletary

New 49ers coach Mike Singletary kicked tight end Vernon Davis off the field before the end of the game, telling him to go take a shower.

At the end of the third quarter, Davis caught a short pass from Shaun Hill on first down and was tackled by safety Brian Russell.

Russell said something to Davis, Davis said he tapped Russell on the facemask and Davis was then penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Singletary told Davis on the bench that he had to be smarter and couldn’t make those plays. When Davis did not respond the way Singletary thought was appropriate, he sent him to the locker room.

“I will not tolerate players that think it’s about them when it’s about the team,” Singletary said. “I would rather play 10 people and just get penalized … rather than play with 11 when I know that right now that that person is not sold out to be a part of this team. Cannot play with them. Cannot coach with them. Cannot win with them.”

S.F. woes traced to Bernard

Bernard has been linked with the current demise of the San Francisco organization because it was Bernard’s sack of Alex Smith last season that started a downward spiral.

Bernard’s sack injured Smith’s shoulder; Smith and former Niners coach Mike Nolan got into public arguments about the injury; Nolan then chose O’Sullivan as his starter this year; and O’Sullivan has been so bad that Nolan got fired last week.

“I would never want to deliberately hurt anybody, I am just going out there and playing football,” Bernard said. “But it is really kind of sad how things have gone since that play. I just kind of feel bad for everybody all around.”




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