Seahawks No Longer the Laughing Stock of the NFL

In a scene straight out of college, Pete Carroll
stood in the middle of a pile on the midfield logo, jumping up and

down with his players celebrating in unison.
      The labels stuck on the seven-win Seattle Seahawks - jokes,
lightweights, laughingstocks - no longer fit Saturday.
      That's when Carroll's rowdy crew sent the defending Super Bowl
champions packing, pulling one of the most unlikely upsets in
playoff history, a 41-36 win over the New Orleans Saints.
      Who Dat moving on in the NFC playoffs? It's the Seahawks.
      "It didn't matter what I said to them, or what was said
outside, and all of the story lines and all that, they just did not
buy it," Carroll said. "Where that came from? If I knew that,
we'd have something special here. It came out of an attitude and it
came out of a faith in one another."
      Matt Hasselbeck threw four touchdown passes and Marshawn Lynch
scored on an electrifying 67-yard run with 3:22 left to clinch the
first playoff victory by a losing team.
      The Seahawks (8-9) held a 34-20 early in the fourth quarter
before Drew Brees looked ready to lead the Saints (11-6) on one of