And XBox Madden Says...

Well, since I am "working" from home today, I figured I'd be productive.. By playing out the Seahawks-Redskins game on XBox Madden, and then running a few simulations...

For the first game, I actually controlled the Seahawks.. and dominated... Final Score: Seahawks 41, Redskins 6. Here's the game diary I kept while actually playing:

Redskins win the coin toss, choose to receive.

A few plays into their drive, Portis fumbles, the ball knocked loose and recovered by linebacker D.D. Lewis. But the play is challenged by the Skins, and overturned. The Skins get the ball back. Huge tackle for a loss on 3rd and inches by Tatupu on the Seattle 15. Field goal attempt... good.. 22 yarder.
6 plays, 72 yards. Redskins 3, Seahawks 0.

Seattle marches down the field, mixing run and pass. 3rd and goal from the 9.... Slant in to Jackson, TD, just barely breaking the plane.
Ack! Missed extra point! That could come back to haunt the Seahawks later on...
9 plays, 63 yards. Seahawks 6, Redskins 3.

Redskins, 3 and out. Punt to the Seattle 26.

After a big run by Alexander, a little curl to the TE Stevens is picked off when LaVarr Arrington jumps like 10 feet in the air and grabs the pass. The real Hasselbeck never makes that throw. Sadly, I didn't see the bastard hidden behind the blocking at the offensive line. Skins take over at the 50.

Defense holds though. 2 Portis runs and an incomplete pass by Brunell on 3rd and 2, and the Skins are punting again. Damn good punt, out of bounds at the 2... Long field for Seattle...

Seattle gets a decent drive going, and find themselves at their own 46 on 3rd and 1. Handoff Alexander, but he stuttersteps a second too long in the backfield and gets stopped short. Dammit, I was playing like the old Alexander on that play, thinking about trying to get the big gain rather than just powering forward and getting the first down. PS - the REAL Alexander has been perfect on 3rd down and short this season, something like 12 for 12. It's 4th down and inches at midfield... I consider going for it for a moment, then remember this is the playoffs! Punt angled for the corner, but I didn't quite get it as close as I wanted. Out of bounds at the 14. Skins take over there with 59 seconds left in the half.

3 and out (again) for the Skins. Seattle takes a timeout, and returns the punt back to their own 48 with 24 seconds and two timeouts remaining. Could be enough time to get in range for a long field goal.

First play.... Redskins blitz, Seahawks pick it up... Jeramy Stevens slipped past the blitzing linebackers, and Hasselbeck hits him on a short flag route.. down the sideline he goes, tiptoeing along the line as a safety dives at him and misses! The 30... the 20... the 10... touchdown! 52 yard touchdown. This time, Josh Brown doesn't miss the extra point. Seahawks 13, Redskins 3.

Redskins take the kickoff and run the ball twice, ending the half.

Halftime score: Seahawks 13, Redskins 3.

First Half Stats:
Seattle - 39 yards rushing, 137 yards passing, 7 first downs, 1 turnover.
Washington - 40 yards rushing, 36 yards passing, 5 first downs, 0 turnovers.

Seattle receives the second half kickoff, and could put themselves in a nice position by scoring here.

Good kickoff return by Maurice Morris, all the way back to the Seattle 46. A steady dose of Alexander with a few short passes mixed in, and it's soon 20-3. Alexander breaks off a 15-yard TD run, offtackle left, set up by a nice block by Mack Strong on LaVarr Arrington. This could be getting ugly, folks.

Ridiculous catch downfield by Chris Cooley on 3rd and 10. He was even double covered. Oh well, that happens sometimes. The defense holds in the red zone again (like it has all year), and John Hall kicks another short field goal. Seahawks 20, Redskins 6.

On 3rd and 3, Alexander comes up a yard short for the first down. As the crowd is chanting "Go Go Go Go Go!" to go for it on 4th down (and yes, they really were doing that in the game), the punt team trotted on. Long but low punt fielded by Santana Moss at their own 10... He's hit hard by backup linebacker (and Harvard graduate) Isaish Kacyvenski. Fumble! Mack Strong (who would no way be playing special teams) picks up the fumble. Seattle ball at the Skins 16! Uh oh, wait.. Joe Gibbs throws out the challenge flag. This time the call on the field stands! Seahawks ball looking to put the Skins away for good.

5 plays later... Touchdown, Seahawks! Akexander left from 8 yards out. That missed extra point is long since forgotten. Seahawks 27, Redskins 6.

Did I say 27-6? I mean 34-6. Michael Boulware picks off a Mark Brunell pass intended for Santana Moss and takes it back 52 yards the other way for the score. Quite a day for the Seattle defense!

And, just to seal the deal.. Mack Strong takes it in from 6 yards out to make it 41-6. I was really just trying to kill the clock, but they just couldn't stop Alexander. Hell, I gave the ball to Strong hoping he'd be slow enough for them to tackle, but no such luck. And to add insult to injury, Marcus Trufant picks off a Brunell pass he throws a few downfield as the clock ticks away.

Final Stats:
Total Offense: Seattle 309, Washington 177
Rushing Yards: Seattle 152, Washington 57
Passing Yards: Seattle 157, Washington 120
Turnovers: Seattle 1, Washington 3
3rd Down Conversions: Seattle 5/7, Washington 4/10
Time Of Possession: Seattle 11:42, Washington 8:18

Key Players:
Matt Hasselbeck: 13/17, 157 Yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 118.9 QB Rating

Mark Brunell: 8/17, 129 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT, 33.3 QB Rating

Clinton Portis: 18 rushes, 52 yards, 2.8 average, 0 TD, Long 11

Shaun Alexander: 25 rushes, 141 yards, 5.6 average, 2 TD, Long 22

Darrell Jackson: 5 catches, 49 yards, 1 TD
Jerramy Stevens: 3 catches, 70 yards, 1 TD

Chris Cooley: 3 catches, 58 yards, 0 TD
Santana Moss: 2 catches, 28 yards, 0 TD

Lofa Tatupu: 7 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
Leroy Hill: 7 tackles, 2 sacks
Marcus Trufant: 4 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 INT
Michael Boulware: 3 tackls, 1 INT, 1 TD

Lemar Marshall: 8 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
Lavar Arrington: 4 tackles, 1 INT

After that I ran a simulation of the game. Redskins won in OT 24-21. The Seattle play calling was awful though. Alexander got the ball 7 times the whole game. Yes, 7 times. Hasselbeck was somehow sacked 8 times. And the defense played Cover 2 with the Skins on their own 5 with under a minute left on third and goal. Brunell had about 20 seconds to find an open receiver. No pressure at all...

Anyways, running Pats-Broncos now for Anonymous.. Check back a bit later for the results. ;)