GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NFL: TAMPA BAY (0-0) at SEATTLE (0-0)

NFL: TAMPA BAY (0-0) at SEATTLE (0-0)

<h3>Healthy again, Seahawks open against Buccaneers</h3>



Tampa Bay (4-12) at Seattle (9-7) Sunday 4:15 pm EDT

SEATTLE (Ticker) -- The Seattle Seahawks entered the 2006 seasonwith the goal of returning to the Super Bowl, but a couple of keyinjuries shelved those plans.


The Seahawks, coming off three consecutive NFC West titles, hostthe Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday in the season opener forboth teams.


Despite winning the division in 2006, Seattle never gotuntracked offensively, losing All-Pro running back ShaunAlexander for six games with a broken bone in his foot andquarterback Matt Hasselbeck for the final four games with a kneeinjury.


With both players healthy, the Seahawks have the pieces in placeto duplicate the success of the 2005 squad, which lost to thePittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL. Seattle was held to 17points or fewer seven times in 2006 after leading the league inscoring with 452 points the previous season.


Alexander, who accounted for 98 touchdowns in a superbfive-season stretch (2001-2005), was limited to seven and acareer-low 3.6 average per carry last season.


Hasselbeck threw for just 2,442 yards and, forced to carry theoffense without Alexander, threw 18 touchdown passes and 15interceptions. In the Super Bowl season, Hasselback had 24 TDpasses vs. just nine picks.


The Buccaneers have their own issues, tumbling to a 4-12 mark in2006, including a season-ending 23-7 loss at home to theSeahawks.


Starting quarterback Chris Simms suffered a spleen injury,forcing Tampa Bay to go with three signal-callers during theseason.


All three have been relegated to backup duty this season, ascoach Jon Gruden brought in free agent Jeff Garcia to take thereins of the offense.


Garcia revived his career with the Philadelphia Eagles followinga season-ending injury to Donovan McNabb in 2006.


The 37-year-old Garcia directed Philadelphia to five straightwins to close out the season and Gruden is hoping for a similareffect on his offense.


The Buccaneers were held to seven points or fewer six times enroute to an NFC-low 211 points.


Tampa Bay also retooled its defense, bringing in formerIndianapolis Colts linebacker Cato June and drafting defensiveend Gaines Adams with the the No. 4 overall pick. The Bucs alsoadded Ryan Sims and Kevin Carter to bolster a defensive linethat managed only 25 sacks in 2006.

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL
TAMPA BAY 0
SEATTLE 0 14:54 LEFT, 1ST QTR

TAM BALL ON TAM 32 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL
TAMPA BAY 0
SEATTLE 0 13:19 LEFT, 1ST QTR

SEA BALL ON SEA 49 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL
TAMPA BAY 0
SEATTLE 0 12:31 LEFT, 1ST QTR

TAM BALL ON TAM 25 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL FG TAM
MATT BRYANT 38 YD

TAMPA BAY 3
SEATTLE 0 8:56 LEFT, 1ST QTR</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL
TAMPA BAY 3
SEATTLE 0 8:49 LEFT, 1ST QTR

SEA BALL ON SEA 16 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL TAMPA BAY 3
SEATTLE 0 6:19 LEFT, 1ST QTR</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL
TAMPA BAY 3
SEATTLE 0 5:56 LEFT, 1ST QTR

TAM BALL ON TAM 10 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL FG TAM
MATT BRYANT 32 YD

TAMPA BAY 6
SEATTLE 0 0:01 LEFT, 1ST QTR</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL END, 1ST QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TAMPA BAY 6 6
SEATTLE 0 0 END, 1ST QTR

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER: TAM - FG, MATT BRYANT 38 YD, 6:04. Drive: 6
plays, 55 yards in 3:35. Key plays:
Garcia 49-yard pass to Galloway to
Seattle 25. TAMPA BAY 3-0
TAM - FG, MATT BRYANT 32 YD, 14:59. TAMPA BAY
6-0</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL
TAMPA BAY 6
SEATTLE 0 14:55 LEFT, 2ND QTR

SEA BALL ON SEA 14 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL
TAMPA BAY 6
SEATTLE 0 9:12 LEFT, 2ND QTR

TAM BALL ON TAM 8 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL
TAMPA BAY 6
SEATTLE 0 6:42 LEFT, 2ND QTR

SEA BALL ON SEA 21 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL FG SEA
JOSH BROWN 28 YD

TAMPA BAY 6
SEATTLE 3 2:39 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL
TAMPA BAY 6
SEATTLE 3 2:31 LEFT, 2ND QTR

TAM BALL ON TAM 16 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL TWO MINUTE WARNING, 1ST HALF

TAMPA BAY 6
SEATTLE 3

TAM BALL ON TAM 17 YD LINE
3RD AND 9</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL
TAMPA BAY 6
SEATTLE 3 1:35 LEFT, 2ND QTR

SEA BALL ON TAM 14 YD LINE
1ST AND 10</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL TD SEA
SHAUN ALEXANDER 1 YD RUN
(JOSH BROWN KICK)

TAMPA BAY 6
SEATTLE 10 0:50 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL HALFTIME 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TAMPA BAY 6 0 6
SEATTLE 0 10 10 HALFTIME

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER: TAM - FG, MATT BRYANT 38 YD, 6:04. Drive: 6
plays, 55 yards in 3:35. Key plays:
Garcia 49-yard pass to Galloway to
Seattle 25. TAMPA BAY 3-0
TAM - FG, MATT BRYANT 32 YD, 14:59. Drive: 10
plays, 76 yards in 5:56. Key plays:
Garcia 28-yard pass to Hilliard on
3rd-and-4 to Tampa Bay 44; Garcia
17-yard pass to Smith to Seattle
39; 15-yd roughing the passer
penalty on Seahawks' Hill on
3rd-and-7 to Seattle 21. TAMPA BAY
6-0
2ND QUARTER: SEA - FG, JOSH BROWN 28 YD, 12:21. Drive: 11
plays, 69 yards in 4:03. Key plays:
Hasselbeck 49-yard pass to Engram
on 3rd-and-7 to Tampa Bay 7. TAMPA
BAY 6-3
SEA - TD, SHAUN ALEXANDER 1 YD RUN (JOSH
BROWN KICK), 14:10. Drive: 3 plays,
14 yards in 0:45. Key plays:
Burleson 56 yard punt return to
Tampa Bay 14. SEATTLE 10-6</div>

 

NFL: TAMPA BAY at SEATTLE

<div class="pre">NFL HALFTIME 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
TAMPA BAY 6 0 6
SEATTLE 0 10 10 HALFTIME

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

6:04 TAM - FG, M Bryant 38 Yd.
Drive: 6 plays, 55 yards in 3:35.
Key plays: Garcia 49-yard pass to Galloway to Seattle 25. Tampa Bay
3-0.
14:59 TAM - FG, M Bryant 32 Yd.
Drive: 10 plays, 76 yards in 5:56.
Key plays: Garcia 28-yard pass to Hilliard on 3rd-and-4 to Tampa Bay
44; Garcia 17-yard pass to Smith to Seattle 39; 15-yd roughing the passer
penalty on Seahawks' Hill on 3rd-and-7 to Seattle 21. Tampa Bay 6-0.

2ND QUARTER:

12:21 SEA - FG, J Brown 28 Yd.
Drive: 11 plays, 69 yards in 4:03.
Key plays: Hasselbeck 49-yard pass to Engram on 3rd-and-7 to Tampa
Bay 7. Tampa Bay 6-3.
14:10 SEA - TD, S Alexander 1 Yd Run (J Brown Kick).
Drive: 3 plays, 14 yards in 0:45.
Key plays: Burleson 56 yard punt return to Tampa Bay 14. Seattle
10-6.

Tampa Bay - Seattle End 2nd Qtr Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS Tampa Bay Seattle

FIRST DOWNS 8 9
Rushing 3 4
Passing 4 5
Penalty 1 0
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 2-6-33% 2-6-33%
TOTAL NET YARDS 193 158
Total offensive plays 29 30
Average gain per play 6.7 5.3
NET YARDS RUSHING 58 61
Rushing attempts 13 16
Average gain per rush 4.5 3.8
NET YARDS PASSING 135 97
Times sacked: Number-Yards 2-7 1-11
Gross passing yards 142 108
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 14-10-0 13-8-0
Avg gain per pass play 8.4 6.9
PUNTS: Number and Average 2-49.0 3-37.0
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 2-15 2-20
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 1-1 0-0
TOUCHDOWNS 0 1
Rushing 0 1
Passing 0 0
Interceptions 0 0
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 0 0
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 0-0 1-1
Kicking: Made-Attempts 0-0 1-1
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 2-2 1-1
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 15:32 14:28


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Tampa Bay Seattle

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
C WILLIAMS 11 56 5.1 20 0 S ALEXANDE 12 39 3.3 16 1
M PITTMAN 1 2 2.0 2 0 M STRONG 1 9 9.0 9 0
M CLAYTON 1 0 0.0 0 0 M HASSELBE 1 6 6.0 6 0
M MORRIS 1 4 4.0 4 0
N BURLESON 1 3 3.0 3 0

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J GARCIA 10-14-142 0 0 49 M HASSELBE 8-13-108 0 0 49

Sacked-Yards Lost: J GARCIA 2-7. Sacked-Yards Lost: M HASSELBE 1-11.

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
J GALLOWAY 3 59 19.7 49 0 M POLLARD 3 28 9.3 11 0
I HILLIARD 2 35 17.5 28 0 B ENGRAM 2 58 29.0 49 0
C WILLIAMS 2 14 7.0 8 0 M STRONG 2 15 7.5 8 0
A SMITH 1 17 17.0 17 0 D HACKETT 1 7 7.0 7 0
M CLAYTON 1 11 11.0 11 0
M PITTMAN 1 6 6.0 6 0

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
M BRYANT 0/0 2/2 J BROWN 1/1 1/1
Dist.: 38 32 Dist.: 28</div>