Game 7: Seahawks 20, Chargers 14

I'm expecting a pretty decent broadcast here; we're getting the Seattle crew of Fox studio host Curt Menefee and Warren Moon. Does that mean Verne Lundquist is out in Seattle? That would be a shame.

1st-round pick Aaron Curry is expected to see plenty of action tonight.

How did the Seahawks manage to hang on to Brandon Coutu? They cut him last year even though he had a good preseason. Charger kick return is out to the 30, and whoa, they're actually making LT PLAY this preseason. Corey Redding and Colin Cole haul down Philip Rivers for a sack on 1st down, though. LT spins up the middle for 3. 3rd-7. Drop by Malcolm Floyd, and Seattle has quickly forced a punt. Already looks like they want tonight's game more than the Chargers do.

Matt Hasselbeck leads the Seahwwks from their 14 after the punt. Julius Jones gets the corner and sprints up the sideline for a big gain. Add 15 for Eric Weddle's out-of-bounds hit and Seattle's already at their 37. Loss for Jones on 1st down, so Seattle brings in 4 receivers. Hasselbeck hits John Carlson for 10; 3rd-and-1. Mighty collision between T.J. Duckett and Jamal Williams, which I believe Williams won. Yep, Hawks are a football's length short. That was an awesome play by Williams. John Ryan's punt is into the end zone.

LT stopped almost immediately for a yard. Rivers hits Antonio Gates for 6 over the middle to beat a blitz, then hits him on a quick out for 5 more and a first. Play-action screen to LT, with room, for 8. Another quick dump to Gates for about 6. Chargers at the 45, where they stay after LT gets cut down at the line for no gain. Seahawks blitz, and Rivers finds Gates beating Leroy Hill deep, but Gates blows the catch. 3rd-10. YET ANOTHER pass over the middle for Gates, but Daryl Tapp dropped back in coverage and knocks it down. TURN YOUR MIKE ON, REF. Defensive holding on Ken Lucas. First down, Chargers at the Seattle 49. LT left side for 6. Seattle stops a screen to Darren Sproles for 1. Their d-line has been very active so far. Rivers tries to go up to FOR GATES, AGAIN, but Deon Grant has him well taken care of, and that'll force a punt. Mike Scifres' kick is downed at the 3.

Hasselbeck drops into his end zone and hits Nate Burleson for 12. Jones, running well, hits off left tackle for 7. Quick pass to new, big free agent acquisition T.J. Housemazilli for a first down. After Jones is stopped for a couple, Shaun Phillips gets after Hasselbeck on a blitz and forces a throwaway. 3rd-and-8. Another blitz, and Seattle picks it up, but Carlson drops the first-down-otherwise pass. Ryan, of the University of Regina in Alberta, Canada, punts it to the 22; Craig Davis returns it to the 34.

New Charger QB is Billy Volek. Sproles now the tailback and he goes up the middle for a couple. We're pretty much done with most of the starters tonight for both teams. Sproles bounces off David Hawthorne's hit to gain maybe one more. Charger running game isn't doing a whole heck of a lot. But Legedu Naanee is open on the drag pattern for 13 yards or so, to midfield. Sproles gains 8 on a couple of handoffs, and we'll settle that 3rd-and-2 after the teams switch ends.

End of 1st quarter: Seattle 0, San Diego 0.

Chris Chambers beats Kevin Hobbs deep on third down, but Rivers overthrows him pretty badly to force another punt. Deon Butler makes a fair catch at the six.

Seneca Wallace now leading Seattle back into battle. They've got Duckett at tailback now, and he pounds the left side for 2. Quick hitch to Butler's good for a first. Wallace follows that with a wild pitch way over Courtney Taylor on the near sideline. And San Diego's all over the smoke route to Butler on 2nd down for a loss. They blitz and blow up the intended screen pass on 3rd down. Davis returns the punt to the Charger 43.

Volek to Vincent Jackson, who breaks a bad Kelly Jennings tackle to gain 15. Quick hitch to Chambers for 4. Kris Wilson gets wide open deep behind the Seattle secondary and Volek hits him at the 7. 35-yard gain. Jacob Hester gets down to the 2 with a swing pass. After a Charger timeout, Michael Bennett cuts back and drives through the middle for a TD.

San Diego 7, Seattle 0.

Devin Moore out across the 25 with the return. Could I maybe get a sideline shot or two of the San Diego cheerleaders? Please? How about two straight screen passes to Justin Griffith? A drop and a 3-yard gain. Wallace floats a slant pass to Butler and gets him DESTROYED by Steven Gregory. The Mack truck-quality hit jars the ball loose for an incompletion and forces another punt. Jordan Kent drags down Davis before he can get much of a return going.

Chargers from the 12. Bennett gets a hole on the right side for 5. That's followed by a Volek one-hopper on the run and a deflection by Jennings of a pass intended for Naanee, and San Diego's punting. The Chargers finally take down an elusive Butler at the 39.

Duckett up the middle for 6, while Housemazilli expresses dissatisfaction in a sideline interview with Gregory's big celebration after his hit on Butler. T.J. wants to get back out on the field and go after Gregory. Justin Forsett sweeps right for 9 and a first down. Wallace hits Ben Obamanu to convert a 3rd-and-3 to put Seattle at the Charger 33. Wallace beats a blitz nicely and hits Taylor for another first down. The Chargers knuckle down with Seattle at the 22, flushing Wallace out of bounds and stuffing Forsett to force a 3rd-and-3. The Chargers can't disrupt the timing of the Seattle passing game right now, as Wallace hits Taylor on a stick route and he bangs down to the 5. Forsett gets them down to the 3. On 2nd-and-goal, Wallace hits John Owens in the back of the end zone. Nice over-the-head catch, and we're tied with just 2:14 left in the half. Very nice drive for Seattle, with Wallace's mobility critical to several successful plays of the drive.

Seattle 7, San Diego 7.

Davis returns the kickoff to the 27. Volek goes deep for Floyd, who makes an impressive leaping catch over Jennings. 38 yards, and San Diego's at the Seattle 35 at the 2:00 warning.

Volek throws out of bounds under heavy pressure from two Seahawks. Highly questionable vanilla handoff to Gartrell Johnson is good for maybe 1. Volek bails the San Diego OC out by hitting Wilson at the 22 for a first down on 3rd-and-9. Bennett over right tackle for 5 and San Diego takes a TO with 0:39 to go in the half. Jordan Babineaux makes a nice play to shut down a short pass to Craig Davis for 4, and a HANDOFF TO BENNETT?? gets squat up the middle. Timeout at 0:03 to bring in the FG unit. Serving Norv Turner some karmic justice, Nate Kaeding hooks the 34-yard FG miserably. Somehow, that only took one second off the clock to give Seattle the ball back. Shouldn't the officials overrule that? Bah, Seattle just kneels to end the half anyway.

Halftime score: Seattle 7, San Diego 7.

Moore opens up the second half by muffing the kickoff and getting swamped at the 18. Mike Teel now at the wheel for Seattle. Pitch left to Forsett for no gain. Teel guns to Obamanu on a square in, nice throw, catch and run for 24. Forsett bulls for 5. He tries to bounce the 2nd-down run outside, but Kevin Ellison delivers an all-time hit, hitting a jumping Forsett at his feet and literally knocking him head over heels. Pro wrestling would call what Forsett just did something like a 270 Splash. A Mike Hass drop forces a punt.

Yay! A cheerleader shot! Can we do the next one for more than 2 seconds, please? Criminy, it's like giving someone a blindfolded tour of the Louvre.

Chargers start from their 26 with Charlie Whitehurst (he's still in the NFL?) at QB and Gartrell Johnson at tailback. DE Nick Reed smokes L.J. Shelton to sack Whitehurst, and on 3rd-and-10, Whitehurst's pass is deflected at the line by Baraka Obama Atkins and flutters harmlessly to the ground. Scifres' punt goes out of bounds at the 37.

Teel's deep rainbow for Hass is broken up by Antoine Cason. He's high on a quick hitch to Obamanu for another incomplete. And the 3rd-and-10 pass is poor and nowhere particularly near an open Seahawk receiver. That may have been the first triple-whiff possession of the preseason so far.

Booming punt by Ryan's fielded by Gary Banks at the 5 and returned to the 15. Now Whitehurst goes up top for Davis, who burns Hobbs for a 41-yard catch up the near sideline. The next throw's behind Naanee and incomplete. Coverage by: TRAVIS FISHER. Whitehurst chucks a screen meant for Johnson to the ground. 3rd-10, Whitehurst gets plenty of time on a deep drop but underthrows a deep route for Banks, who goes out of bounds right in front of a particularly hot Charger cheerleader that THE SEATTLE BROADCAST WON'T GIVE US ANY CLOSEUPS ON. Scifres' punt ends up in the end zone.

After a couple of Forsett runs, Teel hits Joe Newton over the middle at the 38 fro a first. 8 more on a swing to David Kirtman. Forsett lunges for a first down over right tackle. But no more for Seattle, as Teel throws a poor pass behind Obamanu that's intercepted by Antwon Applewhite after a couple of ricochets.

Chargers take over at their 35. Promising-looking end-around to Nannee is shut down after just three yards after a good hit by Lance Laury. Bennett gets tripped up just before he can hit a big hole in the middle and settles for 3 more. And Seattle gets the turnover back, as Baraka Obama Atkins severely taxes RT Corey Clark and swats the ball out of Whitehurst's hand for a fumble recovered by Seattle.

Play-action by Teel to Forsett and then a throw to him over the middle for 5. Forsett's then stopped for 1 by Ogemdi Nwagbuo (Spell checker: Dodgem Unwaged). Menefee's too busy interviewing Hasselbeck from the sideline to let us know a San Diego penalty has given Seattle a first down. Teel capitalizes on that with a sweet TD pass to Hass on a post pattern. Seattle does much more with their first turnover than San Diego did with theirs.

Seattle 14, San Diego 7.

San Diego gets good field position on the kick return, but on 3rd-and-3, Whitehurst throws another interception, right to Kelly Jennings when "Buster" Davis stops his quick dig route too early.

Seattle starts from their 41, but Jyles Tucker (Spell checker: GILES Tucker) swallows up Forsett for a 3-yard loss. Forsett gets that back but Teel's deep sideline pass into double coverage is incomplete. They back up five yards with a delay of game for Ryan but he splooshes it into the end zone anyway. Roughing penalty on Owen Schmitt will start San Diego at the 35.

The referee's mike hasn't worked all night. None of the brilliant NFL people know this? None of the officials? The referee, Mike Carey's brother, himself? Nobody on either sideline? Nobody who works in the stadium? What the hell, does everybody just not care any more?

Either fix the referee's mike, or start getting me come cheerleader cheesecake shots!

Michael Bennett stuffs Johnson on first down for a loss. Yes, that's right. Explanation in a minute. Whitehurst hits Johnson and then Banks with short passes to get a first down prior to the teams changing ends, for the last time tonight, I pray.

End of third quarter: Seattle 14, San Diego 7.

Bennett opens the fourth quarter by sacking Whitehurst for a six-yard loss. Whitehurst then tries a screen pass that is terribly underthrown and picked off by Reed.

Seattle ball now at the Charger 37. Teel hits Logan Payne for 7, then zips it too hard for Jordan Kent, who has the ball go off his hands. Devin Moore makes a couple of nice dodges around left end to gain 6 and pick up a first down. Teel to Kirtman (not Cartman) in the flat for nothing. (Respect my authoritah!) Moore gains 2 after spinning out of a tackle that would have had him for a loss. 3rd-8 from the Charger 20. Seattle picks up the Charger blitz but Teel misses TE Cameron Morrah by a lot. Brandon Coutu hits a 38-yard FG with 12 minutes left in the game.

Seattle 17, San Diego 7.

So you see, San Diego has a running back named Michael Bennett, and Seattle has a defensive end named Michael Bennett. I am very eager for them to get on the field at the same time. Perhaps if Michael Bennett tackles Michael Bennett, we'll all get to witness time and space fold in on itself or something else cool like that.

Good kick by Coutu returned 25 yards from the goal line by Charly Martin. Thumbs up, btw, to the NAPA Auto Parts commercial where they soup up a JUGS machine and it launches a football into space. Looks like we'll be seeing a lot of that commercial this month, too.

Whitehurst actually doesn't get intercepted for one pass in a row, connecting with Davis over the middle for 19. Comeback pass for Naanee on the far sideline is well high, though. I believe both Michael Bennetts were on the field as the RB gained 9 on a draw. Will Herring stops him on third and 1, but Seattle accepts a holding penalty to push them back 10, and the third down downfield pass to Bennett is incomplete. Seattle has to waste a timeout on 4th-and-11 before Butler fair catches the punt at the 20.

New QB for Seattle is Jeff Rowe. The Chargers are having a hard time containing Moore, who runs twice for 14 yards before slashing around right end for another 8. Rowe misses Payne with a deep pass but Payne drew a DPI on The Unknown Corner, and Seattle's down to the Charger 32. Good sideline tackle by Brandon Hughes on Michael Bupkus stops Seattle short of another first down, so they call Coutu in to hit from 38.

Seattle 20, San Diego 7.

Seattle kickoff comes with 6:34 left. Martin dodges a tackle on the return and propels across the 30. VERY short drag pass to Naanee. Whitehurst hits Naanee again for 13, and Martin for 16 and then 15 more, to get them to the Seattle 22. Whitehurst misses TE Kory Sperry at the goal line. A premature jump and recovery by Reed sucker Tyronne Green into a false start, but Whitehurst floats a nice pass to Banks at the 8. He hits Naanee over the middle just inside the goal line two plays later for a TD.

Seattle 20, San Diego 14.

San Diego kicks deep with about 3:50 left, and they corral Butler at the 15. Moore gets a couple of runs for a net loss of minus-2, while San Diego calls its first timeout with 2:42 left. This game is now encroaching on the Green Bay-Cleveland game scheduled for midnight. Rowe guns to Kent for about 10, but that's short of the first down, and Seattle's punting, right after the 2:00 warning.

I don't know how, but Ryan rockets a punt 77 yards to force San Diego to drive 80 yards for the winning score. 1:45 left. Martin makes a nice sideline catch for 8, then Whitehurst connects with him on the far sideline for 12. Over the middle to Martin again for 14. Chargers at the Seattle 46. Marquis Floyd breaks up Whitehurst's next attempt a ball intended for Martin and thrown with a blitzer in the QB's face. They screen to Johnson, and he gains 9 to make it 3rd-and-1. San Diego uses a timeout with 0:59 left. Johnson goes right up the middle for 3 to get the first. Whitehurst spikes it with 0:46 left. San Diego should still have one timeout left. Deep throw for Naanee into double coverage is broken up. The Seahawks flush Whitehurst on 3rd down but he just overthrows Johnson releasing down the sideline in front of him. The Seattle D blows up Whitehurst's attempt to swing the 4th down pass outside to put a bow on the win.

Final score: Seattle 20, San Diego 14

MVP: I'll go the unconventional route and give the game ball to Seahawk DE Nick Reed, who had a sack and an interception and was pretty much a thorn in San Diego's side the whole second half.

What did we learn: Oof, I'm going to have to go with "not much". The Chargers didn't look like they cared that much about the result of the game, making it doubly difficult to gauge. They actually ran Tomlinson out there, but either their run blocking's that bad, or Seattle's run D is that good. Rivers didn't even look that good, locked in on Gates all the time as he was. We're all excited here about the Rams' ongoing defensive revival, but the Seahawks have got their own renaissance happening on D. Their new guys like Redding and Cole are contributing right away, though first-round pick Aaron Curry seemed to have a pretty quiet night. Seattle completed passes to an obscene 16 different receivers. Wallace's mobility sure kept him out of a lot of trouble on the TD drive he engineered. He intimated in a sideline interview that he'd get to run some Wildcat for the Seahawks this year, so maybe we learned more than we thought.

Up next: I'm going to try to finish up the Dallas-Oakland game and get some z's in before tomorrow morning's Texans-Chiefs and Bucs-Titans doubleheader.

photo - NFL.com. See, I know what football fans want to see at a San Diego game.