Defense takes Thrash-ing, looks for help next week

By Scott M. Johnson

Herald Writer

SEATTLE – By the looks of Sunday’s 27-3 loss to Philadelphia, the Seattle Seahawks sure could use cornerbacks Shawn Springs and Willie Williams back. Upon closer inspection, it might not have helped.

Young starters Ken Lucas and Paul Miranda got beat often in Sunday’s loss, but not because of poor coverage. Much of the success of quarterback Donovan McNabb and wideout James Thrash came because of what they did – not because of what Lucas or Miranda failed to do.

“They made good plays,” Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said of the Eagles. “They made great catches. The ball was delivered well. It wasn’t like the (defender) was beaten by 10 yards; they made good plays. Give them credit for that.”

Miranda got beat on the game’s first big play, a 64-yard touchdown pass to Thrash. He had perfect coverage on Philadelphia’s speedy wideout before Thrash found another gear to get by Miranda.

Thrash scored another touchdown, this time over Lucas, in the second quarter.

When all was said and done, Thrash – a free agent who spent the past four years with the Washington Redskins – had career highs of 10 catches and 165 yards. Until last season, he had never had a season in which he put up totals like that.

Thrash is the only veteran among a rebuilt Philadelphia receiving corps that might be younger than Seattle’s.

“It was nice to see James go out and play a physical game,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “He came out and took the fight to them. I think that is tremendous.”

McNabb, sometimes wrongly considered a better runner than passer, completed 24 of 37 passes for 283 yards and the two touchdowns. His threw pinpoint passes, even when Seattle’s cornerbacks were right on the receivers.

“You’ve got to give credit to Donovan and the wide receivers,” Lucas said. “Those were nice catches and throws today. We couldn’t play any better; we were all over the wide receivers. They just made the catch.

“There’s nothing I can say. No excuses. They were the better team today.”

Springs and Williams were inactive for the game due to injuries. There is a chance both will return to practice this week. That would be quite a boost to the defense – especially when considering that Tim Brown and Jerry Rice will be lining up for the Oakland Raiders in next week’s game.

“It can be a learning experience,” Lucas said of Sunday’s loss. “It’s a bad feeling to have balls caught on you everywhere. You don’t want to have that feeling too many times.

“You’ve got to do something about it in practice and get better on the little things. This week is behind us, and we’ve got to look forward to next week against Oakland.”

Emotional return: The NFL’s return from a week hiatus included a 20-minute ceremony before the games.

Singers Lionel Richie and Mary J. Blige were shown on the Husky Stadium big screen singing “America the Beautiful” from New York City, followed by a local presentation that included an American flag that covered almost half of the playing field.

During the singing of “The Star Spangled Banner,” Seahawks players and coaches joined with Eagles players and coaches as well as local policemen and firefighters in holding the expansive flag.

“It was a very emotional moment for me personally,” Holmgren said. “You go out there with the policemen and the firemen and so on and you grab onto that flag, you forget about everything else for a little while.”

The Seahawks said their on-field performance was in no way related to the emotional ceremony.

“I don’t think that had anything to do with it,” linebacker Anthony Simmons said. “Today wasn’t our day. We just didn’t have a good game.”

One-man gang: As has been the case too often over the past two-plus seasons, running back Ricky Watters had to carry most of the offensive load for Seattle. Watters finished with 81 yards of 17 carries.

“He’s a warrior and he plays hard,” Holmgren said. “But you can’t give him the ball every time when they put nine guys (up front). He can’t block for himself. He’s going to give you that type of effort every week, and by the time the season ends he’ll have another great year.”

Watters’ impressive numbers Sunday were relatively deceiving. His longest run, a 17-yarder in the second quarter, came on a draw play from third-and-26, during which the Eagles were playing a soft defense designed to prevent long passes.

Quick slants: The Eagles lost starting running back Duce Staley to a shoulder injury in the first quarter of Sunday’s game. Correll Buckhalter, a rookie from Nebraska, came on and rushed for 52 yards on 18 carries. Cornerback Troy Vincent hurt his shoulder in the second half. Philadelphia also played without rookie wide receiver Freddie Mitchell (hamstring). … The Seahawks lost middle linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski to a concussion in the first quarter. Simmons re-injured his toe, but remained in the game. … Three injured players were among the Seahawks’ inactives: Springs (hamstring), Willie Williams (forearm) and wide receiver James Williams (wrist). Also inactive for the game were linebacker Orlando Huff, offensive lineman Dennis Norman, offensive lineman Pork Chop Womack and tight end Russell Stewart. … The loss dropped Holmgren’s mark against his former assistants to 7-4. … The Seahawks gave 10,000 free tickets to local civil servants as part of a way to say thank you following the recent events in New York City and at the Pentagon.