Game 25: Seahawks 29, Bears 26 (OT)

All right, Bears? Seahawks? You're next on stage. Have a song and dance number ready. Please don't call us, we'll call you.

It's warm and muggy tonight in Seattle? What, it's up to 78 out?

Verne Lundquist and Warren Moon are the Seattle announce team. Rough week for the Seahawks leading up to this game; they lost Bobby Engram due to injury and Matt Hasselbeck has been fighting back problems. That has made Charlie Frye Mike Holmgren's starter tonight, and he's expected to play most of the game.

Olindo Mare hits the opening kickoff 80 yards, the best way I can think of to keep the Devin Hesters of the world from killing you. Bears take the field with Rex Grossman at QB and Matt Forte at RB. Earl Bennett drops a pass on 2nd-6 - I think that's been a problem with him - and three Seattle blitzers get to Grossman for a big sack on 3rd down. Hill and Tatupu beat LT JOHN ST. CLAIR and Forte. 123-kick to start the game for Chicago.

Frye tees it up for Seattle at their 43. Julius Jones is the starting RB tonight and gains 4 off the left side. Courtney Taylor gets wide open down the far sideline; Frye misses him by inches. Great surge by Israel Idonije up the middle drops Frye on 3rd down before he can even figure out what's going on.

123-kick! 123-kick!

Bears from the 12. We had a first down on a nice Forte run, but Desmond Clarke's hold made the play and brings it back. 1-16 from the 6. Another draw to Forte gets 7 to the 13. Marcus Trufant fell trying to cover Devin Hester and gives up a 13-yard catch. FIRST DOWNNNNN!!!!! Grossman wings to Clark for 7. Clark was injured on the play, possibly a knee injury. Grossman throws it away on 2nd down; Seattle probably blew up a screen. Josh Wilson makes a terrific breakup of a deep pass on 3rd-and-3. Bennett has that otherwise. (Earl, not Drew) Maynard's punt hooks out of bounds at the Seattle 38.

On-field temperature right now is 86. And shut up, Al Gore. It hasn't been that hot here in St. Louis, IN AUGUST, for over a week. They're out to the 50 on a catch by Jones as Moon takes a veiled shot at Shaun Alexander's receiving skills. Jones gets the left corner for a 12-yard gain on 2nd down. Ball at the Bears 36. Idonije knocks down the first down pass - he's active early on - and Jones only gets a couple on the left side on 2nd down. Frye uses Seattle's first timeout. Jones got the first down on a draw, but Kevin Payne popped it loose, and when Ben Obamanu fell on it for Seattle, it wasn't a first down any more. Brandon Coutu hits what had to be a 46-47 yard FG to put Seattle ahead 3-0.

Mare pins Hester in the back of the end zone again to get a touchback on the kickoff. Very good crowd noise by the Seattle crowd for preseason as Forte gains 1. Grossman throws the second down pass away, though it appeared he had the TE open. Wilson, Julian Peterson and Leroy Hill all get to Grossman on a blitz and draw an intentional grounding penalty. Just lousy work by the Chicago offensive line, including Greg Olson blowing the block on Wilson and John Tait throwing a matador block at the charging Peterson. Maynard's punt is terrible, and even after a terrible backwards-running return by Justin Forsett, Seattle's still at midfield.

Frye hits Jordan Kent at the 25, but is then picked off at the 5 by Charles Tillman, who returns it to the Bears 33. Frye was looking for Kent again but Tillman cut off the route nicely.

Grossman hits Jason McKie in the flat for an initial first down this drive for Da Bears. Next play he's hit while he throws, by Darryl Tapp, and throws a dying seagull, and who better to pounce on a dying seagull than a Seahawk? Leroy Hill - there's that name again - picks Grossman off and returns the pick to the 5.

First and goal, let's see if Seattle can screw this up. Yep, false start. Draw to Leonard Weaver gains maybe 2. Alex Brown breaks up a screen pass. 3rd and goal. Frye has to throw away the third down pass, and the home crowd sounds restless. I'm about four hours away from the kickoff of tonight's Ravens-Rams game and hoping not to hear similar sentiments in the Ed tonight. Coutu goo joob from 36 to put the Hawks up 6-0.

That last scoring drive was four plays, minus-3 yards. VIVA PRESEASON!

Hester gets a returnable kick at the goal line but never makes it past the 10. He sure didn't look very fast there. There's also a Chicago penalty, so Grossman gets to start from the 7. Four-te. Four-te more, out of a run that should have been a loss. 3rd-2 from the 15 as the first quarter expires.

We come back late from commercial - how is that possible for a taped game? - and miss Grossman hitting Marty Booker for 13 and a 1st. Next play loses three, but Grossman hits Kellen Davis to get 11 of it back. Forte just barely converts the first down by cutting back after the pitch left. Without the cutback, Seattle would have been all over him and he would have lost a ton. Grossman hits Hester on a slant at midfield. Hester is slow to get up, in case you're wondering what that pooped-pants smell coming from the general direction of Lake Michigan was. Holding on the Bears makes it 2nd-and-20. Grossman fights back to third-and-five, then they throw a TWO-YARD OUT ROUTE to TE Olson. CHRIST. Warren Moon agrees with me. At least one team has figured out how to pin the opponent deep. Corey Graham downs Maynard's bouncing punt at the 4.

Seattle's ball, with most of the Great Northwest in front of them. Frye to Kent for 6. 13 to Kent again for the first down. Frye's drilled as he throws - Idonije again, for a wild sideline pitch. Maurice Morris now in at RB; his draw play gets nothing. 3rd down, big pressure by Ogunleye and Idonije AGAIN, despite a hold, forces a punt. Darrell McClover blocks it, it rolls into the end zone where Lance Laury bats it beyond Seattle's end line rather than chance giving up a TD. That gives us the unique score of Seattle 6, Chicago 2. Go White Sox!

Hester returns the free kick from the 15 to his 48. Man, he does not need a lot of space, and he can accelerate like nobody's business once he hits the seam. New backfield of Kyle Orton and (Not That One) Adrian Peterson for Chicago. 3rd and 7 at midfield, false start on Josh Beekman. Orton guns a sideline pass incomplete. 3 and out. Forsett breaks a couple of early tackles on the punt return, which gives him plenty of room to roam until Maynard can slow him down for a couple of other Bears at the Chicago 48. That's 40-plus yards on the return.

Draw to Morris for about 7, 5:40 left in the half. Another draw gets nixed up the middle. 3rd-3. Screen to Morris was briefly open but the Bears shut it down a yard short. Hawks go for it on 4th-and-1 and send big TJ Duckett up in there for the 1st. 1st-10 at the Chi 36. Frye play-actions to Morris for 13. Maybe a yard for Morris now on 1st down. After Chicago blows up a screen pass again, a face mask on Ray Willis moves Seattle back 15. Nathan Vasher just barely breaks up a pass to Kent in the end zone. Long FG attempt coming for Coutu after the 2:00 warning. He hits from 46 to put the Mariners, er, Seahawks, up 9-2. I guess Zambrano just isn't himself today. (P.S. - CUBS SUCK)

I must say, this game is moving along quite nicely.

Orton will get 1:50 to drive the Bears from his 27. DRAW to Peterson for 4. Quick pass to Brandon Lloyd for 5. Peterson gets the 1st at the 40 as the Bears call timeout at 1:02. Seattle's PA quite hilariously plays the Three Stooges theme during the opposition's timeout. Four to Lloyd out of bounds. Moon is complaining about Chicago's persistent use of the four-yard out. I think I like Warren Moon. Another first down pass to Lloyd, at the Seattle 44. Same thing to Lloyd AGAIN, at the 27. Very nice footwork. Orton chucks out of bounds with 0:40 left. Peterson takes a checkdown pass to the 22. Chicago uses their second timeout. Kelly Jennings breaks up a nice pass from Orton to Hester in the end zone. A Geovany Soto home run (CUBS SUCK) pulls Chicago within 9 to 5.

What a way to make a... oh, forget it.

Seattle seems likely to just run out the half with 0:14 left, and they do.

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Man is that blitzing Seattle defense murder. Leroy Hill was repeatedly in Chicago's backfield. Jordan Kent has stepped up for Seattle at a position where they desperately needed that. Frye hasn't looked totally bad, but I'd sure rather have Hasselbeck out there at 75% over Frye if I were them.

Grossman got no help from his offensive line, so you understand why he had a bad outing. Let's face it, it's an o-line with John St. Clair at LT, what do you expect? Idonije was the big player for Chicago in the first half.


Let's see if I can't push through the third quarter before I have to leave for Rams game 3.

Forsett continues to get some good lanes and brings the second-half kickoff out to the 35. Duckett rumbles for 10. David Kirtman gets a carry for about 4. Frye barely escapes trouble and hits Michael Bumpus for 15. Ball at the Chi 41. Forsett tries to spin out of trouble but takes a two-yard loss. Play action bomb for Kent broken up by Trumaine McBride as the Chicago secondary continues to have a super night. Not only do the Bears keep Seattle imperfect (0-for-8) on 3rd down, Jamar Williams picks off Frye and returns it to his 47. Frye simply must not have seen Williams, because he tossed it right to him, playing possum in front of the breaking TE.

New Bears QB is Mr. Caleb Hanie. Two carries by Garrett Wolfe get nowhere. Mark Bradley's well-covered by Omare Low on an incomplete long pass down the far sideline. Punt goes into the end zone, as Maynard stupidly overkicks it to get his woeful average up.

Seattle has it at their 20. Frye to John Carlson for 7 to beat a blitz. Ervin Baldwin swallows up Duckett for no gain. Frye's 3rd-and-2 pass is intended for Logan Payne but is too high and is nearly picked off.

123-kick! 123-kick!

Unsurprisingly, Reggie Hodges launches a poor punt, that, along with an illegal formation, sets Chicago up at their 43. Incomplete, run for no gain, Hanie escapes a huge sack after a high snap and gets out of bounds for a 1-yard gain.

123-kick! 123-kick! 123-kick!

Penalty forces a repunt after Chicago had originally pinned Seattle at their 3. Forsett has an exciting return across midfield nullified by a Carlson penalty. Seahawks are stuck at their 5. After Duckett's stuffed for no gain, Frye makes as dumb a play as you'll ever see. He dodges a sack in front of his goal post, rolls right through the end zone and is nearly brought down by (?) Nick Osborne, and then chucks a pass NOWHERE REMOTELY NEAR Duckett, and right to Graham, who at 6 yards, surely just made one of the shortest INT TD returns ever. 12-9, Chicago. The Seattle o-line did a terrible job handling a stunt and twist by Chicago's d-line, I think all three of the Bears linemen on that move got to Frye.

Bumpus returns the Chicago kickoff to the 26. On 2nd-7, Baldwin and Joe Clermond destroy Frye on the naked bootleg screen. God, that is a stupid fucking play. Circle route to Kirtland on 3rd-17 gets about 10. Punt, Seattle.

Chicago is in midseason form. They have one offensive score, a FG. The defense has scored nine points, on a safety and the INT return a minute ago. And now his name is Earl Bennett returns a punt 75 yards for a special teams TD. The first man down made a STUPID diving effort which Bennett dodged easily, Payne made a crushing block on the next man down and Bennett basically just had to cut it inside and sprint the rest of the way after that.

OH THOSE NFC WEST SPECIAL TEAMS.

19-9, Chicago.

Frye hits Jeb Putzier for a first down before Chicago starts swallowing up the Seattle run game again. Frye hits Payne for 8. 3rd-and-2 at the 43. Frye gets plenty of time and scrambles for 11. Sweep left to Forsett gets them a rare ground gain, 14 yards. A sweep right is just short a couple of plays later and Seattle has 3rd-and-1 from the Bear 23. Kirtland bangs up the middle for 4. Frye rolls away from pressure and scrambles up the right sideline for 14. 1st-goal, Seattle at the 5 as the third quarter ends.

And that puts me on Rams break for the foreseeable future. I'll try to wrap this one up sometime on Sunday.

Aaaaand we're back, with the 4th quarter from Seattle. Duckett pounds to the 3, then Frye has to chuck through the back of the end zone on second down. THROWING AGAIN on 3rd down, Frye throws a swing pass RIGHT OFF DUCKETT'S HANDS to set up a FG attempt. Coutu's good from 26 and our score is 19-12.

Oh great, we're set up for a tie. Penalty on the return starts Chicago at their 9. Garrett Wolfe is getting nowhere tonight. Josh Wilson kills a screen pass to Lousaka Polite. Wolfe gets a couple more on A DRAW. Bears punt.

Seattle starts at their 34. Frye hits Bumpus at midfield. Pass to Payne in the flat gets 8. Forsett gets a big hole off right tackle and breaks out for 20. We get a panoramic view of the Seattle cheerleaders... IN LONG PANTS. WTF??!?! Frye scrambles to the Bears 6 yard line. Duckett eventually punches it in to tie the game for Seattle. We're tied at 19. 7:24 left.

Another kick thru the end zone will start the Bears at their 20. Naked bootleg screen to Fontel Mines. NO GAIN. Then, GAAA! Hanie's lollipop for Mike Hass is intercepted on the sideline by Kevin Hobbs of Seattle. How many of those is that around the league this week, 5? 6?

Have I mentioned the Bears have FOUR YARDS of offense this half?

A big run by Owen Schmitt is followed by a nice 10-yard cutback TD run by Forsett. He even scores without his shoe! The Seahawks score their 17th point of the quarter and take a 26-19 lead.

Will the Bears, well, do ANYTHING here? 5:17 left, Hanie steps up and hits Kellen Davis for 35 yards into Seattle territory. RB is PJ Pope. Facemask on Seattle, and the Bears are suddenly running up and down the field. From the Hawks' 23, Pope gains 11 with a shifty run. David Hawthorne stops him for no gain the next play. 3rd-7 from the 9, 3:00 left, Hanie's pass misses everything like a Rick Ankiel fastball. 4th down. Another poor high pass from Hanie, but it is flagged down by Davis with one hand with a spectacular play in the end zone to tie the game. 26-all, 2:50 left.

I can't believe a game featuring the Chicago Bears offense is a nominee for Game of the Week.

Bumpus gets, well, bumpused, at the 18 on the kick return by Brandon Rideau. Forsett off right end for 14. Frye throws to Forsett over the middle for 7 more. HUGE hole on the draw for Duckett, who gets out across midfield for 12 more. Frye is DRILLED by McClover when he throws but gets it off to Trent Shelton for 5. Wow, they get away with a sweep left, as Forsett gets the corner for a 5 yard gain. 1:26 left at the Bear 40. False start. After a timeout (VIVA PRESEASON CLOCK MANAGEMENT), Frye barely avoids a sack with a throwaway. DRAW PLAY?!?!? loses one. 3rd-17, both teams let the clock run!?!?!? Another Bear blitz forces another clumsy Frye throwaway. 4th down.

Bears pour through the Seattle line like kids getting out for the last day of school and BLOCK THE PUNT. They take over the 30 and let the clock run down to set up Robbie Gould. 3 seconds left.

NATURALLY, THE KICK HOOKS AT THE LAST SECOND AND GOULD MISSES IT.

OVERTIME!

I am so zombified today I completely missed Lovie Smith's failure to go for 2 with 2:50 left. YOU DON'T TIE A GOD DAMN PRESEASON GAME WITH 2:50 LEFT! Win or lose by a point, this game should be OVER, and it's Lovie Smith's fault it isn't.

Just what I need, overtime. Seattle starts at the 13 after the inevitable penalty on the kickoff, but Justin Forsett busts loose for close to 40 yards across midfield. That play had a lot of pancakes posing as Bear linebackers. Great blocking by Seattle. 2nd-11, Payne breaks a tackle after the catch for 15. Forsett sweeps left for another huge gain, 14 yards down to the 22. More outstanding blocking by Seattle. Forsett has 135 yards. Put in the FG team NOW, Humgrum. No, make us wait for three running plays.

Here comes Coutu. Phew, he hits it to give Seattle the win, 29-26.

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Seattle needed a WR to step up with all the injuries they have at the position, and that man may be Jordan Kent. I like how Humgrum gave Charlie Frye all the snaps. He knows enough now to know that Frye is a major dropoff from Hasselbeck. Seattle's blitzing is going to be a bear; Leroy Hill's already making plays like he's playing against the Rams or something. Their special teams SUCK, tho not their kickers. Coutu's a very good bet to replace Josh Brown.

And that's why the Rams suck. They spent $14 MILLION on a kicker the Seahawks will likely replace with a 7th-round pick making league minimum.

I don't know where Israel Idonije came from, but he was a monster tonight for the Bears, who also got good plays from Darrell McClover and Corey Graham. Their offense, however, was and is wretched. Orton kept his lead on Grossman, mainly because the o-line in front of Grossman was AWFUL. If they can't run, they are DEAD, and that's going to be iffy behind that o-line.

That's 25 down, 40 to go, Colts-Falcons next.