For Seahawks, it’s the most wonderful time of year

KIRKLAND – This is supposed to be the part where the Seattle Seahawks find their stride and head into the offseason with high hopes for the following year.

The 2003 Seahawks hope that scenario is only half right.

Seattle has its sights set on a third consecutive winning December, although this time around it would actually mean something.

The past two years have seen the Seahawks get hot late in the season, only to miss out on the postseason because of a forgettable start. An 8-4 record and a two-game lead in the wild-card race mean this year’s Seahawks need only concern themselves with the present.

“It’s a good spot to be in. It’s an exciting time of the year,” coach Mike Holmgren said. “For those of us in this business, if we have a chance and can play for something tangible like the playoffs, it just makes it that much better. Last season, we were playing for pride, respect and getting the train back on the track, so to speak. And this year, it’s different, which is a good thing.”

While Holmgren is cautioning the team to live one week at a time, the locker room atmosphere Monday showed that the players are well aware of their playoff possibilities.

John Randle jokingly challenged practice squad receiver Antoine Burns to a fight, complete with Muhammad Ali-style bravado. Linebacker D.D. Lewis paraded around the locker room flexing his muscles while quoting the movie “Braveheart.”

And the locker room laughter became almost deafening when defensive linemen Antonio Cochran and Anton Palepoi playfully dragged wide receiver Darrell Jackson into the middle of the room and held him down as he squirmed like a bratty little brother.

“We’re having a lot of fun right now,” Palepoi said when the locker room shenanigans finally died down. “When you know you’re in the hunt, everybody’s having a good time. Everybody’s excited to be here right now and to be on this team.

“This time last year, everybody was in the tank. It wasn’t fun. People were coming around here with straight faces. And right now, everybody’s happy. That’s a good feeling.”

The Seahawks have their weekly day off today, then will start getting serious Wednesday in preparation for a big game against the Minnesota Vikings (7-5). Both teams are fighting for their playoff lives, so Sunday’s loser will feel even more pressure as the number of games dwindles.

Holmgren is trying to alleviate the pressure on his team by making sure no one uses the dreaded ‘P’ word – playoffs – around the players.

“It’s fun for people to talk about it, and I’m happy that people are excited about the possibilities,” he said. “But when they’re around me, I don’t want to think about it (or) hear about it.”

Another thing Holmgren doesn’t like to mention to his team is the Seahawks’ mental block on the road. They have lost their last four games away from Seahawks Stadium, while winning all seven home games.

That pattern will have to change down the stretch, as three of Seattle’s final four games will be played on the road.

“We’ve got to become road warriors, win these upcoming games on the road, because that’s something we haven’t done very well all season,” cornerback Ken Lucas said. “We’ve had a lot of games in our hands and ended up losing them in the fourth quarter.”

Before the Seahawks can start looking toward what looks like the biggest game of the season, a road battle with St. Louis in 12 days, they have to focus on the task at hand. If they can steal a win at Minnesota this Sunday, the final three games might not hold quite as much importance.

So no one is looking ahead – to the Rams, or the playoffs.

“If you want to get to the ultimate prize, it’s like climbing a ladder,” offensive lineman Robbie Tobeck said. “You want to get to the top, but to get to the top you’ve got to go up each rung. That’s what taking it a game at a time means. We’ve got to take it a rung at a time. You can’t skip rungs, or you’ll get knocked off.”

At least the Seahawks haven’t been knocked off yet, which has been the story of too many Decembers past.

“In control of your own destiny at this point in the season? We’ll take it every time,” Tobeck said.

Fighting for six

A look at the teams battling for playoff spots in the NFC:

Division leaders (4 get into the playoffs)

St. Louis (9-3): at Cle (4-8), SEA (8-4), CIN (7-5), at Det (4-8)

Minnesota (7-5): SEA (8-4), at Chi (5-7), KC (11-1), at Ari (3-9)

Philadelphia (9-3): DAL (8-4), at Mia (8-4), SF (5-7), at Wash (4-8)

Carolina (8-3): at Atl (2-10), at Ari (3-9), DET (4-8), at Giants (4-8)

Potential wild cards (2 get into the playoffs)

Seahawks (8-4): at Minn (7-5), at St. L (9-3), Ari (3-9), at SF (5-7)

Dallas (8-4): at Phi (9-3), at Wash (4-8), NYG (4-8), at New Orl (6-6)