Now it appears as though the fans are the ones feeding Lynch the Skittles.

With less than three minutes remaining in the game, Lynch put the icing on the cake with a 16-yard touchdown run.  And rather than having to wait till he got back to the bench to get some Skittles, fans seated in the back of the end zone proceeded to throw the hard pieces of candy at Lynch.  Luckily his visor protected him from taking any in the eye.

You can watch the Seahawk fans “feed the beast” in the video below.

Baldwin’s first appearance saw him take the opening kickoff 37 yards on a reverse play.   Just a few minutes later he helped Seattle get on the board first by blocking a punt on the Rams’ opening drive of the game, which was eventually scooped up by Michael Robinson and returned 17-yards into the end zone for the 7-0 Seahawks lead.  That would mark the end of Baldwin’s heroics on special teams, but he was just getting started on offense, catching seven passes on the night for 93 yards and a touchdown.

Baldwin was certainly doing it all, and in addition to being a key factor during the Seahawks’ 30-13 victory, he also earns “The Stat Line of the Night” for Monday, December 12, 2011.

The Seahawks would not play their first season until 1976.  Unfortunately, Lloyd W. Nordstrom would pass away from a heart attack before then, preventing him from having the opportunity to watch Seattle play their first game ever.  The Seahawks’ first season would be a tough one, as they would win only two games, while losing 10.  It wasn’t until their third season that the Seahawks would finally put up a winning record (9-7), and in 1983 they would make the post-season for the first time, winning in the Wild Card and Divisional Playoff rounds before eventually losing in the Conference Championship to the Oakland Raiders.

In 33 seasons, the Seahawks reached the playoffs eleven times.  They would make the Super Bowl in 2005, but failed to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in what turned out to be a game with several controversial calls.  Last year the Seahawks won their seventh division title, and reached the divisional round of the playoffs, where they would eventually lose to the Chicago Bears.

Here is a tribute to the Seahawks’ impressive 2005 season.

Notable Birthdays

Jim Plunkett, NFL – Born December 5, 1947 (age 64) in San Jose, California

Art Monk, NFL – Born December 5, 1957 (age 54) in White Plains, New York

Olli Jokinen, NHL – Born December 5, 1978 (age 33) in Kuopio, Finland

Yes, that’s right.  Skittles.

Following his “beast mode” 15-yard touchdown run against the Philadelphia Eagles last night, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch was awarded with a hand full of Skittles upon his return to the sidelines.  According to the broadcasters at the NFL Network, Lynch’s mom had always given him a pack of Skittles to eat after touchdowns.  With that being said, it appears as though the bruising running back has been eating plenty of Skittles over the past couple of months, as he has now recorded a touchdown in each of his last eight games.

I guess there is nothing quite like “tasting the rainbow” after reaching the end zone.

Here is a look at Lynch’s 15-yard beast-mode touchdown run and his ensuing Skittles feast.

Hat Tip – [Pigskin Doctors]

Lynch carried the rock 22 times, and he turned that into 148 rushing yards and two touchdowns.  One of those touchdowns came on a highlight reel run in the first quarter that saw Lynch barrel over a pile of tacklers at the line of scrimmage, before emerging through other side and tip-toeing his way 15-yards to the end zone.  Then, on the very first play of the second quarter, Lynch would find the end zone again, this time on a 40-yard run.  In the end, his two touchdowns and 148 yards on the ground would be a key factor in the Seahawks 31-14 victory.  Those impressive stats would also earn him “The Stat Line of the Night” for Thursday, December 1, 2011.

After James asked ESPN’s John Clayton when the deadline to sign free agents in the NFL was, Pete Carroll intervened, and the following conversation ensued:

@PeteCarroll: hey @KingJames are you aware of what the League’s rookie minimum is?

@KingJames: yeah more than what I’m making now Coach

@PeteCarroll: I kinda think of you as a touchdown maker but is it true you think of yourself as a pass rusher?

@KingJames: TD maker for sure!

@PeteCarroll: @KingJames I like it! maybe you should head over to #TheU & I’ll set up a little workout for you to catch a few balls… just ask for BC

Carroll has since Tweeted this image to LeBron, but this entire act, which is clearly nothing more than a joke, didn’t sit well with NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith, who sounded off on LeBron during his appearance on ESPN’s First Take.

Apparently, Smith believes LeBron is somehow responsible for the lockout and it is up to him to end it.  At least that is what I got from the clip below.  Check it out.

One of those new rules involves moving the spot of the kickoff up from the 30-yard line of the kicking team to the 35-yard line.  It is intended to limit the number of kickoff returns, thus limiting the number of injuries.  And while many fans felt that it would mark the end of exciting kickoff return touchdowns, San Diego Chargers’ return man Bryan Walters proved us all wrong with the following 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks last night.

Great to have you back football.  We all missed you dearly.

I guess now that the No Fun League is out of commission, Pitts and Brock are free to have all the fun they want, but once the lockout is over, I’m sure Goodell will put an end to that.

Hat Tip – [Shutdown Corner]

EA Sports has taken an interesting approach towards picking their Madden ’12 cover boy this season.  Taking a page from the NCAA Tournament, they have decided to create a bracket-style tournament of their own, with one representative from each of the NFL’s 32 teams taking part for a chance to grace the cover of the popular video game.

Much like the NCAA Tournament, players from each team are ranked and will face off with another player in a single elimination tournament until only one man is left standing.  The winners are decided by the fans, who can vote at ESPN’s SportsNation.

While most of the nominees are players you would expect to see on such a list, there is one rather surprising/embarrassing/stupid entree into this tournament.  That would be Seattle’s sixth man.  That’s right!  Despite making the playoffs and winning their wild card game against the New Orleans Saints, EA Sports still couldn’t manage to find a player on the Seahawks who was worthy enough to battle for the honor of being a Madden ’12 cover boy.  Not Marshawn Lynch.  Not Leon Washington.  Not even Earl Thomas.

I can’t believe my 49ers lost to a team whose best player is a bunch of loud, drunken fans.  Perhaps the only thing sadder than that is the fact that “The 12th Man” was given a No. 10 ranking, ahead of players like Chris Johnson (11), DeMarcus Ware (14) and Darren McFadden (16).

Hat Tip – [ESPN]

Here is an idea.  How about we leave the strip-show celebrations to the Larissa Riquelme’s of the world?

Hat Tip – [The Big Lead]