Professional Soccer – Leonard "Green shoes" Weaver leads Seahawks to second win in 7 games

Football should be fun and the Seattle Seahawks finally got it done by pulling the San Francisco 49ers out of their home field on Sunday (10/26/08) behind the catch-and-run explosion of Leonard “Green Shoes” Weaver and the ability to catch passes. by Josh Wilson, winning 34-13.

On a day when Seattle’s defense not only showed up but played, Weaver converted two short catches from backup quarterback Seneca Wallace for 43 and 62 yards touchdowns.

Just watching Weaver run down the touchline in shoes with a prominent lime green presence was worth the price of admission. Weaver, the 6-foot, 242-pound fullback for Seattle, was a great move and a great style in bringing the stone home twice. Typically, Weaver is the lead blocker for running backs Julius Jones and Mo Morris.

Weaver’s green shoes are reminiscent of another more famous athlete from the mid-1970s, Billy “White Shoes” Johnson. Johnson, a 3-time All-Pro pick as a kick return specialist, wore white shoes when everyone else wore black shoes.

Johnson had great speed, and long before the show became an end zone pastime in the NFL, he was one of the first players to launch scoring celebrations, initially doing the then famous soul dance, the ” Funky Chicken “.

Josh Wilson, the Seahawks’ second-year defensive running back and kickoff return specialist, picked up a fumble in last week’s 20-10 loss at Tampa Bay and was rushing for an apparent 96-yard touchdown when a officer whistled the game dead.

It came as no surprise Sunday when Wilson intercepted a pass from JT O’Sullivan and took off on a 75-yard opening return to put Seattle up 20-3 with 31 seconds left in the first half. Coach Mike Holmgren saw Wilson’s steal as a tremendous change in momentum for his

Seahawks.

The Seahawk defense had sacked O’Sullivan 8 times in their first meeting this year in Seattle, but the 49ers walked away with a 33-30 overtime victory. This time they reached the San Francisco quarterbacks 5 times, but forced starter O’Sullivan to throw two fumbles, and 6-foot-5, 272-pound defensive end Patrick Kerney picked up one of the fumbles and ran 50 yards, setting up a second field. goal in the 1st quarter.

Seattle’s missing defense earlier in the season appeared in JT O’Sullivan’s backfield, putting so much pressure on O’Sullivan that new 49ers coach Mike Singletary threw it in Shaun Hill’s favor. It didn’t seem to matter because Seattle left San Francisco on top this time.

The Seahawks, now 2-5 on the year, are tied for second in the weak NFC West with the St. Louis Rams. The Arizona Cardinals lead the division with a 4-3 record.

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley