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On this date: Seahawks lead AFC Pro Bowl victory

A look at a memorable moment in Seahawks history that occurred on Jan. 27:

1985: Fredd Young blocks a punt to set up a touchdown, Norm Johnson kicks two field goals and Kenny Easley has a game-high 10 tackles as the AFC wins the Pro Bowl 22-14. The Seahawks’ largest Pro Bowl contingent in franchise history also includes Steve Largent, Dave Krieg, Joe Nash and Dave Brown.

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On this date: Brown returns as coach

A look at a memorable moment in Seahawks history that occurred on Jan. 24:

1992: Former Seahawks cornerback Dave Brown is named a defensive assistant on Tom Flores’ staff. Brown, the franchise record-holder with 50 interceptions, would be added to the team’s Ring of Honor in August.

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On this date

A look at the memorable – and not-so-memorable – moments in Seahawks history that occurred on Dec. 18:

1977: Jim Zorn throws a 15-yard touchdown pass to Steve Largent in the fourth quarter, giving the Seahawks a 20-19 victory over the Browns at the Kingdome in their season finale.

1983: The Seahawks clinch their first playoff berth with a 24-6 victory over the Patriots in their regular-season finale at the Kingdome, and all three units contribute as Steve Largent catches seven passes for 133 yards and a touchdown, Dave Krieg passes for two TDs and Curt Warner runs for 116 yards; Jacob Green has three sacks and Kenny Easley and Dave Brown intercept passes; and Jeff West has five of his six punts downed inside the 20-yard line.

1988: The Seahawks win their first division title with a wild 43-37 victory over the Raiders in Los Angeles on the final Sunday of the regular season. The Seahawks jumped to a 30-17 lead and held on as Dave Krieg passes for 410 yards and four touchdowns, with Brian Blades catching four passes for 123 yards and two TDs and John L. Williams adds seven catches for 180 yards.

1994: Jeff Hostetler passes 77 yards to Tim Brown for a fourth-quarter touchdown as the Raiders take a 17-16 victory over the Seahawks at the Kingdome. Chris Warren runs for 122 yards and the Seahawks’ only touchdown, while John Kasay kicks three field goals.

2005: Matt Hasselbeck throws second-half touchdown passes to Joe Jurevicius and Darrell Jackson as the Seahawks rally for a 28-24 victory over the Titans in Tennessee that is win No. 10 in their club-record 11-game winning streak. Shaun Alexander also runs for 172 yards and a TD.

On this date

A look at the memorable moments in Seahawks history that occurred on Dec. 11:

1977: David Sims runs for two touchdowns, Sherman Smith has 149 yards rushing and receiving and another TD and Dave Brown returns an interception for a TD as the Seahawks hold on to win a wild 34-31 game against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium after taking a 34-21 lead at halftime.

1983: In a game that features “the holding call heard ‘round the Pacific Northwest,” the Seahawks win 17-12 over the Giants at the Meadowlands behind two touchdown passes from Dave Krieg to setup the first playoff appearance in franchise history. The Giants’ Jeff Rutledge passes for an apparent game-winning touchdown on a fourth-and-7 play with 30 seconds to play, but a holding call nullifies the score and his final pass is broken up. The win puts the Seahawks in a situation where they earn a wild-card spot with a victory over the Patriots at the Kingdome on the final weekend of the regular season, which they do.

1988: Curt Warner scores four touchdowns and rushes for 126 yards and John L. Williams has 183 yards rushing and receiving in a 42-14 victory over the Broncos at the Kingdome.

1994: Chris Warren runs for 185 yards and a touchdown and Cortez Kennedy has two of the Seahawks’ six sacks of Billy Joe Tolliver in a 16-14 victory over the Oilers in the Astrodome.

2005: Matt Hasselbeck passes for four touchdowns, including two to Bobby Engram; Shaun Alexander rushes for 108 yards and a TD; and a defense led by Lofa Tatupu (interception) and Marcus Tubbs (two sacks) limits the 49ers to 113 yards in a 41-3 victory in Seattle that is win No. 9 in the team’s club-record 11-game winning streak.

Friday in Hawkville

A recap of the activities at Virginia Mason Athletic Center for Dec. 2:

FOCUS US

Russell Okung. There is no official word on the severity of the shoulder injury the Seahawks’ left tackle got in Thursday night’s game against the Eagles, but coach Pete Carroll said today that “he’s got extensive damage to his (pectoral), it looks like.”

Okung, last year’s top draft choice, was injured late in the 31-14 victory at CenturyLink Field when the Eagles’ Trent Cole grabbed Okung under the arm and flung him to the ground.

“He got thrown down after the whistle, really blatantly,” Carroll said during his day-after news conference — which was on Friday this week, rather than Monday. “Stuff like that happens in the game sometimes, but this was most unfortunate because he was damaged by it.”

Asked if he thought it was dirty play, Carroll said, “It was a bad play.”

And the Seahawks lost a good player. “Russell played a fantastic football game,” Carroll said. “He had a very-aggressive big game throughout. He’s so much better than he was at anytime last year.”

Carroll stopped short of discussing what the team will do is Okung is sidelined for an extended period, but during the game, right guard Paul McQuistan moved to left tackle for Okung, with Lemuel Jeanpierre taking over for McQuistan – who is starting because rookie John Moffitt sustained a season-ending knee injury in the Week 10 win over the Ravens. Breno Giacomini has started the past three games at right tackle for first-round draft choice James Carpenter, who got a season-ending knee in practice.

“I don’t want to put this crassly, but it’s not about the guys that you lose, it’s about who’s coming up and who’s stepping in,” Carroll said. “We’ll expect however we configure it, we’ll step to the front. I think it is a statement about our depth and the development of these guys throughout the ranks – not just the first guys.”

Carroll praised line coach Tom Cable and his assistants, Pat Ruel and Luke Butkus, for developing the depth the Seahawks are leaning on.

“They deserve a lot of credit for developing these guys so that they can step up and we can maintain a good level of performance,” Carroll said. “And we’ll expect to do that again, however we do this thing.”

Despite playing without Carpenter and Moffitt, the Seahawks have rushed for 126, 124 and 174 yards in their past three games – and are on a streak of five triple-digit rushing efforts that is the team’s longest since 2005.

STAT DU JOUR

Brandon Browner is a yard shy of the club single-season record for return yards off interceptions. But he and record-holder Dave Brown have gone about it in very different ways. Brown got his 179 yards on eight interceptions in 1984, while Browner’s 178 yards have come on four picks – including three in the past two games and two Thursday night. Here’s a closer look at their seasons

Dave Brown              Category         Brandon Browner

1984                      Season                    2011

8                     Interceptions                 4

179                    Return yards              178

2                     TD returns                       1

90                     Long return                  94

Brown got 148 of his yards in one game, returning picks 90 and 58 yards in a victory over the Chiefs; and had no return yardage on four of his interceptions. Browner had his club-record 94-yard return in the Week 5 upset of the Giants and 68 yards off his two picks on Thursday night.

UP NEXT

Well, nothing. At least not until Tuesday, when the players will return from their four-day weekend to begin prepare for the Dec. 12 “Monday Night Football” game against the St. Louis Rams at CenturyLink Field.

“We’re going to take a break right now,” Carroll said. “We’re going to get a lot of legs break right here. This is a terrific opportunity for us to get fresh and we’ll see where this takes us. But we look forward to the big finish here.”

Tickets are available for the game against the Rams and can be purchased here.

YOU DON’T SAY

“This was really a good game for our program. It was really a complete game and one that we had a lot of fun playing the game and a lot of fun mixing with the crowd. I like that we were able to do it against Philadelphia, which is a team that we hold in high regard. So it was a good night for us, in all ways – offensively, defensively and on special teams.” – Carroll on the win over the Eagles

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Cyber surfing: Tuesday

Good morning. Here’s what’s “out there” about the Seahawks for today, Nov. 29:

Mike Sando at ESPN.com has his “Silver Linings” from the Seahawks’ loss to the Redskins on Sunday, including this one: “Seattle’s offensive line generally played well, helping to limit the Redskins’ Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan to a half-sack between them.”

Sando also wonders if the Seahawks should take a look at No. 3 QB Josh Portis before the end of the season, something several on our game-day online chat also have asked about. Says Sando: “This season was about discovery at the quarterback position and building other positions before drafting a QB in 2012. The Seahawks have seen enough from backup Charlie Whitehurst, who likely will not be back next season. Tarvaris Jackson proved he’s tough and capable enough to serve as a bridge to the team’s next starter. Portis’ talents have intrigued the coaching staff. When else will the team have a chance to give Portis a look in real games?”

Speaking of Jackson, Danny O’Neil at the Seattle Times says Jackson’s sore shoulder could put the Seahawks in a bind with the short week to prepare for Thursday night’s game against the Eagles: “His passing yardage has declined in each of the past four games, and his health will be a central issue when the Seahawks play the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday. That’s the day Jackson has just begun throwing in practice the past couple of weeks. Forget all the questions concerning Seattle’s quarterback of the future, because there’s a question of how long Jackson can stay in the pocket in the present.”

O’Neil also has “Three Things we Learned” from Sunday’s loss, including this one: “Three yards in a cloud of dust has its risks. The Seahawks have established a formula for winning, which includes a heaping helping of Marshawn Lynch and a gob of defense thick enough to choke out the opponent. Lynch surpassed 100 yards rushing for the third time in four games, but when the Seahawks gave up two touchdowns on third-down plays in the span of 3 minutes, 33 seconds in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks were in a position where they had to throw and they simply couldn’t. Having an offense that is as repetitive and as run-based as Seattle’s has been leaves a team very vulnerable should it fall behind. To repeat: If Seattle is put in a position where it has to throw, it’s in trouble.”

John Boyle at the Everett Herald also looks at Jackson’s situation: “At this point, no one can question Tarvaris Jackson toughness, his desire, or his dedication to the team. What Sunday’s loss to Washington showed we can question, however, is if the Seattle Seahawks quarterback should still be playing. That’s not to say Jackson is the primary reason why the Seahawks lost. His receivers let him down by repeatedly dropping passes, the defense gave up some unforgivable big plays, and penalties on both sides of the ball again played a big role. But what was evident watching Jackson play Sunday is the Seahawks quarterback is playing hurt, and that the pectoral injury is affecting his play.”

Also at the Herald, Scott Johnson continues his “The Game of My Life” series with a look at Keith Simpson: “Atop the desk of Keith Simpson’s office at his Houston-area home, a photograph greets him each morning. The black-and-white, unframed photo is a keepsake of a time when young football players were in the prime of their lives, when they felt indestructible. In the picture, four men celebrate arm in arm after their Seattle Seahawks recorded a dominating win and made history in the process. Two of the men, Pro Bowl safety Kenny Easley and defensive backs coach Ralph Hawkins, are beaming with pride. The others, cornerbacks Keith Simpson and Dave Brown, are too tired to even grin. Easley and Simpson hold a football under their arms, signifying the touchdowns they scored that afternoon. Brown, he has a pair of footballs, having made it to the end zone twice. And Hawkins grins like a proud father: These are my guys. Four men, having the time of their lives.”

Eric Williams at the News Tribune looks at the Seahawks’ penalty problem, and how it’s not a new problem for coach Pete Carroll: “According to statistics compiled by the Tucson (Ariz.) Citizen, during his time at USC (2004-09), Carroll-led teams were the fourth-most penalized team in the Pacific-10 Conference, averaging seven penalties per game for 61.44 yards. The Trojans led the Pac-10 in penalties in 2007 and 2008, with an average of eight a game. USC finished a combined 23-3 those two seasons largely because the Trojans had more talent than the rest of the Pac-10.”

Here at Seahawks.com, in our “Monday metatarsal musings” we take another look at Red Bryant’s block party on Sunday and exactly what’s going on: “It’s the scheme, of course, as special teams coach Brian Schneider and assistant Jeff Ulbrich have devised ways to allow Bryant to come free for those blocks. It’s also team work, as Raheem Brock, Anthony Hargrove and David Hawthorne have to do their assignments properly to allow Bryant to do his thing. ‘For that entire group, it’s become extremely important to them,’ Ulbrich said on Monday. ‘You look around the league and a lot of defenses take that snap off. But these guys have really approached it like it’s the most important defensive play.’ It’s also Bryant, too. A 6-foot-4, 330-pounder with long arms, he has the ability and agility to wedge his body through the slightest of gaps and a drive that borders on the demented. ‘Obviously Red is very talented,’ Ulbrich said. ‘He has great get-off and then he has great length. That makes a big difference.’ ”

We’ve also got a look at this condensed week in “Monday in Hawkville,” and a look back at Sunday’s game in Tony Ventrella’s video review.

On this date

A look at the memorable moments in Seahawks history that occurred on Nov. 18:

1979: Jim Zorn throws fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Steve Largent and Brian Peets as part of his 384-yard, four-TD passing performance in a 38-24 victory over the Saints at the Kingdome. Largent accounts for 146 of those yards and two of the TDs on nine receptions.

1984: Kenny Easley and Dave Brown intercept passes and the Seahawks also recover three fumbles in a 26-6 victory over the Bengals in Cincinnati.

2001: Rian Lindell kicks a pair of fourth-quarter field goals, including a 51-yarder, as the Seahawks hold on for a 23-20 victory over the Bills in Orchard Park.

2007: Matt Hasselbeck passes for 337 yards and two touchdowns, D.J. Hackett catches nine passes for 136 yards and TD, Patrick Kerney has three sacks and Josh Brown kicks three field goals – including two in the fourth quarter – in a 30-23 victory over the Bears in Seattle.

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On this date

A look at the memorable moments in Seahawks history that occurred on Nov. 4:

1979: The Seahawks are held to a NFL-record minus-7 total yards in a 24-0 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at the Kingdome.

1984: The Seahawks set an NFL record by returning four interceptions for touchdowns in a 45-0 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs at the Kingdome. Cornerback Dave Brown had two of the scoring returns, while strong safety Kenny Easley and cornerback Keith Simpson each had one.

2007: Nate Burleson returns a punt 94 yards for a touchdown in a 33-30 overtime loss to the Browns in Cleveland, becoming the first player in NFL history with three punts returns of 90-plus yards in his career.

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On this date

A look at the memorable moments in Seahawks history that occurred on Oct. 19:

1986: Jacob Green collects four sacks and Dave Brown intercepts two passes as the Seahawks post a 17-12 victory over the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants at the Kingdome. The Seahawks defeat both Super Bowl teams during the regular season (the Broncos being the other), but fail to make the playoffs despite a 10-6 record.

2003: The Seahawks beat the Bears 24-17 to complete the best start in franchise history (5-1) as Shaun Alexander runs for 101 yards and two touchdowns. The 1984 and 1986 teams also had started 4-1.

2004: Jerry Rice, the NFL’s all-time leading receiver, is acquired in a trade with the Raiders. Rice plays only one season with the Seahawks, catching 25 passes for 362 yards and three touchdowns.

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Tuesday in Hawkville

A recap of the day’s activities at Virginia Mason Athletic Center:

FOCUS ON

Steelers. Past, not present. Yes, the Seahawks play the Steelers in Pittsburgh on Sunday. But this is a look at the ex-Steelers who have been very, very good to the Seahawks.

The list of former Steelers who have gone on to play for the Seahawks includes two members of the franchise’s 35th Anniversary team, a receiver who made one of the most memorable catches in team history and last year’s choice for the Steve Largent Award and Man of the Year.

Here’s a close look at the Steelers who would be Seahawks:

Dave Brown – A first-round draft choice by the Steelers in 1975, Brown came to the expansion Seahawks in the 1976 veteran allocation draft. All he did was become the franchise’s all-time leader in interceptions (50) and he also ranks No. 6 in games started (159) and No. 7 in tackles (684). He was voted to the Pro Bowl in 1984, inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor in 1992 and voted to the 35th Anniversary team last year. Brown died of a heart attack in 2006.

Paul Skansi – A fifth-round draft choice by the Steelers in 1983, Skansi joined the Seahawks in 1984 and played eight seasons. His most memorable play came in 1990, when he caught a 25-yard TD pass from Dave Krieg on the final play of the game in a 17-16 victory over the Chiefs in Kansas City. His best season came in 1989, when he caught 39 passes for 488 yards and five TDs.

Chad Brown – A second-round draft choice by the Steelers in 1993, Brown was the Seahawks’ big free-agent signing in 1997. Over the next eight seasons, Brown led the team in tackles three times and was voted to the Pro Bowl twice. He ranks No. 4 in career tackles (744) and No. 5 in sacks (48). He was voted to the 35th Anniversary team as an outside linebacker.

Willie Williams – Once Brown signed, he helped recruit Williams to do the same. The durable cornerback had been a sixth-round draft choice by the Steelers in 1993. In seven seasons with the Seahawks, Williams started 75 games.

Roy Lewis – He joined the Steelers as a rookie free agent in 2008, but signed with the Seahawks in 2009. Last season, he was voted the special teams captain and then won the Steve Largent Award and was named Man of the Year. He is currently on the physically unable to perform list while recovering from the knee injury that ended his season in December.

ROSTER MOVES

The club made moves involving its 53-man roster and practice squad today.

Because Michael Robinson, the only fullback on the roster, is out indefinitely after spraining an ankle in Sunday’s opener against the 49ers, fullback Eddie Williams was signed off the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad.

To clear a spot on the 53-man roster for Williams, tight end Dominique Byrd was released.

To address the fact that there are now only two tight ends on the 53-man roster – Zach Miller and Anthony McCoy – tight end Fendi Onobun was signed to the practice squad. To clear a spot, guard Brent Osborne was released.

The 6-foot-1, 242-pound Williams was a seventh-round draft choice by the Washington Redskins in 2009. He spent time on the active roster as well as the practice squad as a rookie, but was released in March of 2010. He then spent time with the Chicago Bears in 2010 and 2011 and was with the Browns in training camp this summer before being released and signed to the practice squad.

Williams played tight end at Idaho, where he was named team MVP as a senior after catching 54 passes for 687 yards and six touchdowns.

Onobun (6-6, 249) caught two passes in three games last season for the St. Louis Rams, who had drafted him in the sixth round. After playing basketball for four years at Arizona, Onobun played football at Houston in 2009.

STAT DU JOUR

The Seahawks (minus-3) and Steelers (minus-7) rank 31st and 32nd in the league in turnover ratio. Neither team forced a turnover its opener, while the Steelers tuned the ball over seven times (four fumbles and three interceptions) and the Seahawks three times (two fumbles and one interception).

UP NEXT

The players return from their off day on Wednesday to start a practice schedule intended to get them ready for Sunday’s 10 a.m. kickoff, PDT, in Pittsburgh. They will have a walk-thru at 10:15 a.m. and practice at 11:45.

YOU DON’T SAY

“What jumped out was the safety play. Earl (Thomas) and Kam (Chancellor) were really active and very effective and they cleaned up some of the miscues on the run and made really big-time tackles and hits and things that showed up in the run packing.” – Carroll on the play of his safeties in Sunday’s opener, when they combined for 17 tackles

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