Krieg Doesn’t Pass Up Chance : Seattle Quarterback Picks Apart Secondary in Second-Half Rally

Quarterback Dave Krieg of the Seattle Seahawks dropped back to pass from the 19-yard line in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s National Football League game against the Raiders at the Coliseum.

Spotting wide receiver Brian Blades, who was being covered by Raider cornerback Mike Haynes, Krieg lofted a pass to Blades in the left corner of the end zone to give the Seahawks a 21-14 lead.

“It was bump and run and I just threw it up there and (Blades) ran underneath it,” Krieg said. “It was a simple as that.”

The play turned out to be the winning touchdown in the Seahawks’ 24-20 victory.

Matched against Haynes for much of the game, Blades caught seven passes for 113 yards.

Why did Haynes have so much trouble covering Blades? Is Haynes still able to defend against receivers in single coverage?

“I think (Haynes) is still a great corner,” Blades said. “And he’s still going to be a great corner until he retires.”

Krieg said he wasn’t concentrating on Haynes.

“We weren’t trying to pick on anyone, it just worked out that way,” Krieg said. “I think Mike’s still a good cornerback. Mike was all over Brian on the (touchdown).”

Haynes wasn’t the only Raider defensive back that Krieg burned.

Krieg completed 22 of 31 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns. He has thrown 11 touchdown passes in his last three games against the Raiders.

“Dave Krieg had an excellent game,” Seattle Coach Chuck Knox said. “He put the ball on the money. He made some big plays. You can’t ask him to do any more than that.”

Krieg is criticized for playing well with a lead, but being unable to rally a team. The Seahawks had lost 18 previous games in which they had trailed at halftime.

After falling behind 10-7 at halftime and 17-7 in the third quarter, Seattle rallied this time.

“We’ve been in games where we tried to come back and we just came up a little bit short,” Krieg said. “To come back in a game and win against the Raiders is a big victory for us.

“Ten points isn’t too big to overcome. When you get down by 13 or 14 it takes you out of your game plan, but 10 isn’t any time to panic.”

Not the way Krieg was playing Sunday.

After being held to 64 yards rushing in the first half, Krieg used play-action passes to open up the ground game. The Seahawks rushed for 96 yards in the second half.

Curt Warner rushed for 76 of his season-high 102 yards in the second half, including a six-yard touchdown run.

“Curt Warner had a big day today,” Knox said. “He looked like the old Curt Warner.”

Warner was at his best in the fourth quarter, rushing for 39 yards on nine carries. Warner did most of the work in the Seahawks’ final drive that ended in a 48-yard field goal by Norm Johnson with 1:15 remaining.

“Curt was getting tired and he wanted to come off the field but we wouldn’t let him,” Krieg said. “He seems to run better when he’s tired.”

Why?

“Sometimes I think too much,” Warner said. “I start getting too analytical but when I get tired I don’t think.

“I’m not making up excuses. That’s just the way it is. Sometimes I play better when I’m tired.”

With Warner and the ground game running smoothly, Krieg was also able to pass effectively, completing eight of 12 passes for 116 yards in the second half.

“Any time Dave is throwing the ball the way he was throwing today he’s going to be a real good game,” said Seahawk fullback John L. Williams, who caught six passes for 34 yards and one touchdown.

Said Krieg: “The (offensive line) was getting pushed around a little bit in the first half and they started to push back in the second half.”

The Raiders, who sacked Krieg three times for 23 yards in losses in the first half, sacked him only once in the second half.

“Krieg is very aware of what’s going on around him,” Raider nose tackle Bob Golic said. “We had some halfway decent pressure on him, but he’s a very experienced and very poised quarterback and he still gets the ball off.”

There’s little doubt Krieg has helped make the difference for the Seahawks, who now have back-to-back victories.

“People said let’s write off the season after we started 0-2,” Krieg said. “I can’t understand why they were saying that. All I know is that you’ve got to just keep doing what you’re doing and things will work themselves out.”

That philosophy seems to be working for Krieg and the Seahawks at the moment.