Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Seattle 30 at Atlanta 24 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Seattle Seahawks: Matt Hasselbeck showed accuracy and poise in executing the west coast offense well. Seattle moved the ball throughout the game, when they weren't shooting themselves in the foot (3 fumbles lost and two drives came up short on 4th and inches) that is. Only two their drives ended with a punt in this game. Shawn Alexander put up great numbers again while fighting through some nagging injuries. Seattle gave 6 carries in the game to Mack Strong and Heath Evans to try and give Alexander a break. Seattle wanted to be able to get some work in for Maurice Morris, but he was still out with a hamstring injury. Koren Robinson is taking more strides towards becoming the #1 WR in Seattle. He was held without a catch in the first half, then erupted for 143 yards through the rest of the game hauling in 9 balls on 10 second half targets. Jerramy Stevens is officially the #1 TE now in Seattle. He was targeted 7 times in the game compared to only 1 for Itula Mili. Stevens has also grabbed 3 TDs over the last 4 weeks since returning from an ankle injury. Atlanta Falcons: Michael Vick brought the Falcons roaring back in the 4th quarter yet again. He seemed cool and confident during their final drive of regulation. Early in the game Vick missed several open WRs with terribly inaccurate passing including 2 first half INTs. He added a second quarter fumble totaling 3 first half turnovers. Late in the game in goal line situations Atlanta called two Vick running plays. Warrick Dunn totaled 101 rushing yards against the worst rushing defense on only 20 carries (5.05 ypc). TJ Duckett was only given 2 carries in the second quarter and didn't see the field otherwise. Trevor Gaylor was the WR de-jour today for Atlanta, but trying to determine which Atlanta WR will produce on a week-to-week basis is a massive gamble from a fantasy perspective. Alge Crumpler looks to be the only consistent target for Michael Vick. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Seattle Seahawks QB: Matt Hasselbeck: 22-31-298 (TD). Matt Hasselbeck is putting Mike Holmgren into a tough situation in the off-season. Holmgren is going to have to decide how early he wants to grab a QB in what will likely be a QB rich draft. Hasselbeck has run the Seattle offense with a high level of efficiency during the past 4 weeks. He's showing enough mobility to evade a strong pass rush. He's showing plenty of arm strength and accuracy to get the ball to Jackson and Robinson down field. On top of all this, Hasselbeck barely practiced this week with a sprained ankle. RB: Shawn Alexander: 28-127 yards rushing (2 TD), 1-15 yards receiving (1 target). Alexander put up great numbers once again despite being nicked up with some nagging injuries. Local radio announcers predicted an early exit for Alexander and some possible use of Heath Evans (second year FB) in the tailback spot today, but Alexander toughed it out through the whole game. Alexander had his one catch on the last play of the first half. He was non-existent in the Seattle passing game today. Maurice Morris: Morris was held out this week with a hamstring injury. WR: Koren Robinson: 9-143 yards receiving (10 targets), 1-10 yards rushing. Robinson was targeted one time in the first half. The pass wasn't complete, but it drew a long pass interference flag on Big Play Ray Buchanon (his first of the year according the the tv announcers). Robinson showed great explosion out of his breaks today and racked up lots of yards after his catches. Darrel Jackson: 7-99 yards receiving (11 targets). Jackson was mostly targeted on underneath routes across the middle. He dropped one ball that hit him in the hands in the first quarter. Jackson took a monster hit on an incomplete ball down the sideline in the third quarter that had to make his family cringe, especially after what happened earlier this season with his concussion that led to a locker room seizure. Bobby Engram: Out this week. TE: Itula Mili: 1-5 yards receiving (1 target) Jerramy Stevens: 3-19 yards receiving (TD & 7 targets). The targets tell the story. Stevens missed most of the season with a high ankle sprain. Stevens is back. Seattle worked extensively with Stevens in the red zone during the preseason. It's starting to show. Stevens has scored a TD three of the last four weeks. Pass Defense: Seattle sacked Vick only one time in the game which yielded a fumble return for a TD. Shawn Springs may have got away with a push on a deep ball in the third quarter. Ken Lucas picked off two first quarter balls. One was a horribly thrown ball by Michael Vick, the other was a great play by Lucas when he jumped a deep out on the sideline. Rush Defense: Seattle may have been handed a win by the Atlanta coaching staff. Dunn had 12 carries at half time, but was only given 4 in the entire second half. Seattle still can't stop the run. Mike Holmgren may want to consider sending a thank you note to Dan Reeves for not pounding TJ Duckett in the game. Special Teams: The onslaught of injuries to the Seattle defense is affecting the special teams. The players that were making plays on the special teams earlier this year are now having to start on the defensive side of the ball. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Atlanta Falcons QB: Michael Vick: 21-38-240 yards passing (2 TD, 2 INT), 13-40 yards rushing (1 fumble lost). Michael Vick makes a 12 yard run that drops your jaw, then throws a terrible pass that makes you shake your head. During the first half he was terribly inaccurate, but down the stretch with the game on the line Vick was on fire completing laser beams as well as touch passes. It was obvious that Vick was in control in the fourth quarter and overtime. If Feeley had hit his overtime FG attempt the legend of Vick would have grown even more this week. RB: Warrick Dunn: 20-101 yards rushing, 6-45 yards receiving (8 targets). Warrick Dunn was the workhorse RB today. He had 84 yards at half time. Folks are going to question Reeves pretty hard on why Dunn was not more involved in the second half. TJ Duckett: 2-9 yards rushing. Duckett had only two carries in the second half. Other than this, Duckett was no where to be seen. Given that Seattle had given up more than 5 yards per carry all season (mostly up the gut), it was a surprise that Duckett was not given more carries. WR: Brian Finneran: 4-45 yards receiving (7 targets). Brian Finneran is not a #1 WR. Truth is he may not even be a decent #2 WR. His size helps in the red zone, but his lack of athleticism keeps him from making plays all over the field. Trevor Gaylor: 4-60 yards receiving (TD & 9 targets). Gaylor is Vick's preferred deep threat, but lacks great hands. He had a deep ball from Vick pass right through his arms. He was targeted 7 times combined in the 4th quarter and overtime. Shawn Jefferson: 2-15 yards receiving (5 targets). Jefferson was targeted early and often. All five of his targets were in the beginning of the game. In his defense it was a play that flag may have been warranted on. TE: Alge Crumpler: 5-75 yards receiving (TD & 6 targets). Crumpler has established himself as Vick's favorite target. Vick tends to run around in the backfield trying to keep his eyes downfield. Atlanta is running red zone plays specifically for Crumpler. Crumpler's TD this week was on a misdirection. Everybody goes left except for Alge who stands wide open to the right. Pass Defense: Matt Hasselbeck picked apart the Atlanta defensive backfield throughout the game. The defensive pass rush yielded two sacks including a fumble, but Hasselbeck was mostly able to sit in the pocket and make plays downfield. Rush Defense: Atlanta gave up 166 yards on the ground, but the front seven was tough in short yardage situations. Seattle was stopped on 4th and short twice. Atlanta also forced a fumble at the goal line. Special Teams: Alan Rossum swung the early tide after a Seattle TD with a kickoff return TD. Jay Feeley had the opportunity to end the game with a 36 yard FG in overtime, but pushed it wide right.