THE FRONT ROW WITH MARK NELKE: Sunday, August 2, 2015
Handing the ball to a quarterback-turned-fullback on fourth-and-short in a divisional playoff game at Atlanta, rather than handing it to their resident Beast Mode.
Trying to complete a 1-yard pass with the Super Bowl on the line, when they had an almost untackleable player in their backfield.
The Seattle Seahawks weren't going to screw up the call on this Russell Wilson contract extension too, were they?
In the end, they didn't mess this one up, because not only would it have been politically incorrect to shine off one of the most popular (and talented) players in the league, the Seahawks would have run the risk of their fans burning down CenturyLink Field - or drowning it in their tears.
Seahawk fans, you can breathe easy now.
BUT SUPPOSE the Seahawks had decided to continue their, shall we say, outside-the-box thinking, and call the bluff of Wilson. And, instead of re-signing their quarterback for $20 million ... $25 million ... $30 million per season, opted to let him walk at the end of the season - the final year of his rookie contract?
You could make the argument that money could be better spent elsewhere on the team - that the Seahawks don't need a high-priced playmaker at quarterback. Maybe all they need is that dreaded "game manager" that won't lose the game for you.
With that dominant defense they have - and the fact most of them appear to be sticking around like irritants for years to come - they don't need a whole lot of points to win.
It's possible they could get by with someone to hand the ball to Marshawn Lynch, aka Beast Mode (or now, it seems, Decoy Mode), and get out of the way. Win a lot of games 16-6 that seem more one-sided than that - or maybe 23-6 or 30-6 with a pick-6 and a scoop-and-score.
Someone like Alex Smith. As we remember from his days in San Francisco, he did a lot of good things with the 49ers
- he couldn't make the downfield throws Colin Kaepernick made to get them to the Super Bowl, but he probably would have found a way to get his team into the end zone from 5 yards away in the closing minutes against the Ravens.
However, there were also too many series where he completed three checkdown passes for 7 yards, and Andy Lee came on to punt.
You think if Tarvaris Jackson was the quarterback, the Seahawks would have asked him to throw a 1-yard slant pass to a journeyman wide receiver with a chance to win the Super Bowl? No, he would have been asked - ordered, in fact - to hand the ball to Lynch. Who cares if New England was in a goal-line defense and Seattle was not in a short-yardage offense. I'm going to guess that Lynch - if he truly is Beast Mode and not Decoy Mode - would have dragged as many Patriot defenders as was necessary for 1 yard and a second straight Super Bowl title.
STILL, GIVEN Pete Carroll's history, the Seahawks could have messed this signing up as well.
They could have insulted Russell Wilson's attempt at facial hair. Got his girlfriend confused with his ex-wife. Dared him to play baseball. Reassigned his locker to a free-agent quarterback. Faxed the contract offer to the wrong number - or after the deadline. Accidentally referred to him as Russell Crowe instead.
Maybe Wilson saved the Seahawks the embarrassment of another screwup by encouraging the team to make the deal just before training camp started, and taking a little less money than had been originally been reported - with an efficient use of coupons in his Sunday paper, he should be able to get by on a reported $87.6 million for four years, and a $31 million signing bonus. Even with the high cost of living in Seattle.
Of course, both sides may be going through this process again in 4-5 seasons.
That being said, if the Seahawks were crazy enough to let Wilson go after this season, most of the rest of the NFL - including a certain divisional rival in the Bay Area - would have been on the horn faster than Percy Harvin returning the second-half kickoff for a touchdown in the Super Bowl.
But, alas, the Seahawks did the right thing, and even with the suddenly highly paid Wilson in the fold, still appear to be in position to take care of the contract demands of whoever else they deem important to the operation, and they'll begin the season as favorites to return to their third straight Super Bowl.
Until, of course, the next big call comes along for them to make.
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.