Published: Sunday, November 29, 2009
Seahawks: Who are these guys?
Seahawks need “to figure out who we are”
At 3-7, the sad reality for the Seattle Seahawks is that they’re playing for things like pride and the future.
Playoffs? Extremely unlikely. Instead they’ll try to finish strong and gain some momentum heading into what figures to be an interesting offseason.
Sad reality No. 2? The 1-9 St. Louis Rams are probably looking at a home game against the Seahawks as a pretty good chance to double their win total.
Yes, the Seahawks beat St. Louis 28-0 earlier this season, but St. Louis appears to be much improved in recent weeks, while the Seahawks are still sputtering along and seeking an identity. St. Louis won its first game of the season earlier this month, then gave a real scare to New Orleans and Arizona, both of which are headed towards division titles, on back-to- back weekends.
So is this the beginning of a turnaround for St. Louis?
“You know, as a head coach, you like to think that, but what you realize in this business is that every week kind of stands on its own,” Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “So we don’t get any extra points going into this game because we played hard last week, unfortunately. But we’ll practice hard, and hopefully get one or two more plays that will turn this thing around for us.”
And what about the Seahawks? Even if they win out, a highly unlikely scenario, they’d end up 9-7, and the way the Cardinals are playing that wouldn’t be good enough for a playoff berth. So what’s left to play for?
“Regardless of what happens, we’ve got to figure out who we are,” Seahawks wide receiver Nate Burleson said. “That’s the most important thing. Figure out some character on this team, some identity in this team, because if we don’t, this stuff will follow you into the offseason. You can’t just continue to play poorly then pack it in and expect everything to get turned around in the summer time.”
And don’t worry, the Seahawks don’t expect to win over disgruntled fans right away. The next six games, instead, will be about instilling confidence in the people in the locker room.
“There’s still a lot to play for and there’s still a lot to really prove to ourselves,” Burleson said. “I think proving it to the critics and the fans is a little out of reach, because a lot of people hopped off the wagon, so right now it’s just proving to ourselves who we are and what we can do.”
What the Seahawks won’t do today is assume the Rams are the same team they beat by four touchdowns in September.
“Yeah we can put all this hoopla up about what we did when we played them, but that was a long time ago, and I’m pretty sure they’re not the same team,” Burleson said.
In 2002, the Seahawks started the year 3-7, just like this team, and finished 4-2, including a three-game winning streak to end the season. No one could be sure at the time, but that was the beginning of a team hitting its stride. The Seahawks finished 10-6 the following year, the first of five straight playoff seasons.
Success at the end of the season certainly won’t guarantee a repeat of that success next year and beyond, but it could certainly help.
“Last year in Cincinnati, we were terrible and we won the last three games, and look at them now,” receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh said of his former team, which is currently 7-3 and leading the AFC North. “So you can kind of get on a roll and hopefully it rolls into the following season.”
The following season. That’s hardly what the Seahawks imagined they’d be discussing 10 games into 2009, but that’s exactly where they are headed into today’s game.
“If we do create some momentum and start to win games, regardless of what happens with the playoff situation, we’ll have something to hold onto, some foundation, something to grab onto when we go into these camps, the draft and training camp next year,” Burleson said. “Thinking past the playoff scenario, what we do now is going to have a great impact on next season.”
Playoffs? Extremely unlikely. Instead they’ll try to finish strong and gain some momentum heading into what figures to be an interesting offseason.
Sad reality No. 2? The 1-9 St. Louis Rams are probably looking at a home game against the Seahawks as a pretty good chance to double their win total.
Yes, the Seahawks beat St. Louis 28-0 earlier this season, but St. Louis appears to be much improved in recent weeks, while the Seahawks are still sputtering along and seeking an identity. St. Louis won its first game of the season earlier this month, then gave a real scare to New Orleans and Arizona, both of which are headed towards division titles, on back-to- back weekends.
So is this the beginning of a turnaround for St. Louis?
“You know, as a head coach, you like to think that, but what you realize in this business is that every week kind of stands on its own,” Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “So we don’t get any extra points going into this game because we played hard last week, unfortunately. But we’ll practice hard, and hopefully get one or two more plays that will turn this thing around for us.”
And what about the Seahawks? Even if they win out, a highly unlikely scenario, they’d end up 9-7, and the way the Cardinals are playing that wouldn’t be good enough for a playoff berth. So what’s left to play for?
“Regardless of what happens, we’ve got to figure out who we are,” Seahawks wide receiver Nate Burleson said. “That’s the most important thing. Figure out some character on this team, some identity in this team, because if we don’t, this stuff will follow you into the offseason. You can’t just continue to play poorly then pack it in and expect everything to get turned around in the summer time.”
And don’t worry, the Seahawks don’t expect to win over disgruntled fans right away. The next six games, instead, will be about instilling confidence in the people in the locker room.
“There’s still a lot to play for and there’s still a lot to really prove to ourselves,” Burleson said. “I think proving it to the critics and the fans is a little out of reach, because a lot of people hopped off the wagon, so right now it’s just proving to ourselves who we are and what we can do.”
What the Seahawks won’t do today is assume the Rams are the same team they beat by four touchdowns in September.
“Yeah we can put all this hoopla up about what we did when we played them, but that was a long time ago, and I’m pretty sure they’re not the same team,” Burleson said.
In 2002, the Seahawks started the year 3-7, just like this team, and finished 4-2, including a three-game winning streak to end the season. No one could be sure at the time, but that was the beginning of a team hitting its stride. The Seahawks finished 10-6 the following year, the first of five straight playoff seasons.
Success at the end of the season certainly won’t guarantee a repeat of that success next year and beyond, but it could certainly help.
“Last year in Cincinnati, we were terrible and we won the last three games, and look at them now,” receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh said of his former team, which is currently 7-3 and leading the AFC North. “So you can kind of get on a roll and hopefully it rolls into the following season.”
The following season. That’s hardly what the Seahawks imagined they’d be discussing 10 games into 2009, but that’s exactly where they are headed into today’s game.
“If we do create some momentum and start to win games, regardless of what happens with the playoff situation, we’ll have something to hold onto, some foundation, something to grab onto when we go into these camps, the draft and training camp next year,” Burleson said. “Thinking past the playoff scenario, what we do now is going to have a great impact on next season.”
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