KIRKLAND – The lonely drive toward motivation sometimes leads to dead ends this time of year, when most NFL players and coaches are rallying around oft-forgotten concepts like pride and dignity.
A pair of San Francisco 49ers have a bit more to fire them up this week.
Head coach Dennis Erickson and placekicker Todd Peterson not only face their former team but also have a chance to ruin its season when the 49ers host the Seattle Seahawks this weekend.
“I don’t know if it’s an irony, but that’s where it is,” Erickson said Tuesday when asked about the irony of the situation. “Obviously, they’ve got to beat us to have a chance to make the playoffs, and they’ve got to have some other things too. I don’t know if it’s irony. We’re looking forward to having them down here.”
Neither Erickson nor Peterson is the type to gloat, so their public emotions leading up to Saturday’s game will probably resemble those of Marc Bulger on the drive home from work. But inside, these guys are probably eager to get a little payback.
Erickson was unceremoniously dumped by the Seahawks following a 31-33 record from 1995-98, while Peterson got cut after the 2000 training camp in favor of an undrafted rookie named Kris Heppner.
Erickson, an Everett native, should have incentive to put in a little extra work this week. His 49ers (7-8) are going to miss the playoffs for the first time in three years, leading to media speculation about his job status.
His need for a 49ers win outweighs any personal desire to hand the Seahawks a loss.
“For me, the motivation is for us to win and to knock whoever we are playing – it happens to be Seattle – out of the playoffs,” Erickson said. “That’s the motivation of everybody in this organization and on our football team.”
The heat on Erickson cooled off recently, when his team knocked off the Philadelphia Eagles for a rare road win. That victory, combined with a win over the Seahawks on Saturday, would allow the 49ers to salvage an 8-8 record after starting the season 1-3.
“We’re obviously disappointed in the season, there’s no question about that,” Erickson said. “I really hoped that we could make the playoffs. That was our goal, to try to get into it and win our division. And it didn’t work out. So we’re disappointed in how we finished and where we finished.”
The win over Philadelphia was rare not only because it came on the road, where the 49ers now have a 1-7 record, but also because it involved San Francisco making a big kick. Peterson’s overtime field goal gave the 49ers a 31-28 victory.
The 49ers have used three kickers this season, with less-than-thrilling results. Jeff Chandler started the season on the active roster but got cut after two games.
Mercer Island native Owen Pochman missed the potential game-tying extra point and go-ahead field goal in the third quarter of a 20-19 loss to the Seahawks on Oct. 12 and was cut two weeks later.
That opened the door for Peterson, who was out of football after his 2002 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers was derailed by a rib injury. Peterson has made 11 of 13 field goals since signing with the 49ers in late October, and his game-winner Sunday had Erickson singing his praises.
“We finally got a veteran in here who’s made the kicks when he’s supposed to,” Erickson said. “That kind of set us behind earlier in the year.”
Peterson, 33, spent five seasons with the Seahawks from 1995-99 but was released in a salary cap-related move after the 2000 training camp. Peterson contended at the time that an injury affected his training camp performance but has since moved on.
He played with Kansas City and the Steelers before landing in San Francisco on Oct. 28.
Because his tenure as a Seahawk is so far removed, the low-key Peterson isn’t making any promises of revenge this week.
“I’ve always said that a game was a game,” he told reporters Tuesday at the 49ers’ practice facility. “I wish I was in their shoes and knew that we had a chance to play the following week.
“We have great memories of there. I had a great run and still have a lot of great friends on the team. We play a game that’s a business. What happened as I left there was a long time ago. I’ve gone on and had fun.”
Not everyone believes that this is just another game for the people who once called Seattle home, especially Erickson.
“Deep down inside, he’s probably like, I really want to beat the Seahawks,” said Seattle cornerback Shawn Springs, who played his first two NFL seasons under Erickson. “But then again, he’s just like, I want to win because I’m the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.”
With nothing on the line for the 49ers in terms of playoff possibilities, Erickson and his team will have to find other sources of motivation this week.
“Obviously, it’s a big game for Seattle,” Erickson said. “We don’t have a chance, but we do stand in their way. It’s our last game, and our guys are excited about playing at home.”
Some players and coaches might be more excited than others.
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