Heard some gumball on a Seattle radio station this week railing about the Seahawks and giddy fans on the verge of buying airline tickets to Detroit.
He’s not convinced, he said. The Seahawks have been an illusion. The schedule has been a pushover. They were unbelievably lucky against the New York Giants. Their defense will let them down in the playoffs. They’re too injured.
First reaction: This guy must be great fun at parties.
Second reaction: At this point, with an NFC-best 10-2 record, with an eight-game win streak and coming off a resounding, 42-0 statement on Monday Night Football against the defending NFC champion Eagles, isn’t there even a sliver of something to like about this team?
Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren understands this. And he doesn’t care.
“I think we’ve been pretty anonymous all season long,” he said. “I think there are probably people that still don’t believe were at a certain caliber. But that’s OK. We let our record speak for itself. I don’t have to apologize for anything.”
Think of this: The reason the Seahawks aren’t 11-1 is because of a field-goal attempt that clanked the upright in Washington. The season-opening 26-14 loss at Jacksonville seems hardly a disgrace, given the Jaguars’ 9-3 mark and given their supreme confidence that they can knock off unbeaten Indianapolis today.
Champions of the NFC West, the Seahawks now look to a goal they’ve never reached: homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.
That’s exciting stuff.
“To do that, we must keep winning because there are good teams – Chicago, Carolina – there are a bunch of teams that are shooting for the same thing,” Holmgren said. “That’s the big picture than I’m focusing on now.”
Yes, the Seahawks have had moments of letting down. They were lucky to get out of San Francisco with a victory. They were shaky and lucky against Dallas. And yes, the Giants probably should have converted one of their three late field goal attempts that could have won the game.
But isn’t luck a small part of getting to a Super Bowl?
Besides, for most of the season, the Seahawks have been clearly superior than each opponent.
They do what they do and win with it. On offense, the supremely gifted Shaun Alexander runs behind one of the three best offensive lines in the league. The running game, a precious commodity in the playoffs, keeps defenses honest and sets up Matt Hasselbeck, who is having a solid, efficient year, completing 62 percent of his passes, with 15 TDs and eight interceptions.
This, despite injuries to receivers Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram that forced Holmgren to test the depth of his receivers group.
In that way, Joe Jurevicius was the smartest free-agent pickup of the year by any team. Who expected him to catch 44 passes, including seven touchdowns? Tight end Jerramy Stevens has had the best season of his career, with 33 receptions and a 13.2-yard-per-catch average.
Second-year guy D.J. Hackett spent last season on injured reserve, yet has 20 catches for 313 yards. Many of his receptions, including a 47-yarder late against the Giants, have been absolutely clutch.
On defense, linebacker Lofa Tatupu gets my vote for Defensive Rookie of the Year. The line has been the best in Holmgren’s tenure. The secondary, thin because of mounting injuries, has been mostly solid.
The banged-up secondary is the biggest concern. Corner Andre Dyson suffered a high ankle sprain against the Eagles and will miss the rest of the regular season. Already on the shelf are corner Kelly Herndon, as well as safeties Ken Hamlin and John Howell.
Corner Jordon Babineaux has never started an NFL game, yet he likely will today, alongside the superb Marcus Trufant.
“I have confidence in his ability to do this,” Holmgren said of Babineaux. “He has had a good year.”
Contributions from the younger players have given the Seahawks an unexpected lift through the injuries, which has never happened. Besides the receivers and secondary, tackle Pork Chop Womack went down and Sean Locklear stepped up. Jamie Sharper got hurt and Leroy Hill has filled in more than admirably. Marcus Tubbs got hurt and Rodney Bailey filled in.
“I don’t expect the team to do anything differently,” Holmgren said. “I don’t expect the game plan for the offensive and defensive coaches to be adjusted because of that. That is the challenge to the players. And to the players’ credit, the young guys who have stepped in to a starting position or played a lot have done a good job.”
The Seahawks have the 2-10 49ers, the 3-9 Titans and the 2-10 Packers left on the schedule, along with a showdown against the Colts on Christmas Eve.
Homefield advantage, even with the lengthy medical list, seems inevitable.
That should excite even the sourest of gumballs.
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