Football should be fun and the Seattle Seahawks finally got it by driving the San Francisco 49ers off their home field on Sunday (10-26-08) behind Leonard “Green Shoes” Weaver’s burst of catching and running and skill to steal passes. Josh Wilson, winning 34-13.
On a day when Seattle’s defense didn’t just show up but play, Weaver converted two short catches from backup quarterback Seneca Wallace into touchdowns of 43 and 62 yards.
Just seeing Weaver running down the sideline in prominent lime green shoes was worth the price of admission. Weaver, the 6-foot, 242-pound fullback from Seattle, had big steps and great style in bringing the rock home twice. Normally, Weaver is the primary blocker for running backs Julius Jones and Mo Morris.
Weaver’s green shoes are reminiscent of another more famous athlete of the mid-1970s, Billy “White Shoes” Johnson. Johnson, a three-time All-Pro selection as a kick return specialist, wore white shoes when everyone else wore black shoes.
Johnson had great speed, and long before swaggering became an end zone pastime in the NFL, he was one of the first players to throw scoring celebrations, initially doing the then-famous soul dance, the ” Funky Chicken.”
Josh Wilson, the Seahawks’ second-year defensive back and kickoff return specialist, spotted a fumble in last week’s 20-10 loss at Tampa Bay and was running for an apparent 96-yard touchdown when an umpire called the dead play.
It came as no surprise Sunday when Wilson intercepted a pass from JT O’Sullivan and took off on an initial 75-yard return to put Seattle up 20-3 with 31 seconds remaining in the first half. Coach Mike Holmgren saw Wilson’s steal as a tremendous boost to his
Seahawks.
The Seahawk defense had sacked O’Sullivan 8 times in their first meeting this year in Seattle, but the 49ers walked away with a 33-30 overtime victory. This time they got to San Francisco quarterbacks 5 times, but forced starter O’Sullivan to lose two fumbles, and 6-foot-5, 272-pound defensive end Patrick Kerney picked up one of the fumbles and he ran 50 yards, creating a second field. Goal in the 1st quarter.
Seattle’s missing defense earlier in the season appeared in JT O’Sullivan’s backfield, putting so much pressure on O’Sullivan that new 49ers coach Mike Singletary replaced him with Shaun Hill. It didn’t seem to matter because Seattle left San Francisco on top this time.
The Seahawks, now 2-5 on the year, are tied for second place in the weak NFC West with the St. Louis Rams. The Arizona Cardinals lead the division with a 4-3 mark.
Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley
