KIRKLAND — Having ended their season at Green Bay on Saturday in a flurry of snowflakes and Packers points, the Seattle Seahawks gathered for a final time on Sunday before heading off into their individual offseasons.
It was a day to think about all the good things that were, and some of the even better things that might have been.
And it was also a day to acknowledge that some of the players, and perhaps even the team’s head coach, will not be back next season.
In the days before the Green Bay playoff game, said quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, “you don’t even let your mind go to the fact that this could be your last game.” Even with Seattle trailing the Packers 28-17 at halftime, he added, “I don’t think any of us expected to lose.
“But we did lose the game and then it’s kind of an abrupt end to your season. Guys are going their separate ways now. And who knows, every year the team is different. I’m sure next year’s team will look different because it always does.”
Hasselbeck, for one, will almost certainly return next season. But the team also has a handful of free agents, among them Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Trufant, as well as others who may simply not be re-signed.
But one of the biggest questions has to do with head coach Mike Holmgren, who just completed his ninth season with the Seahawks, his 16th as an NFL head coach, and his 22nd as an NFL coach.
The 59-year-old Holmgren (he will be 60 by the start of next season) hasn’t committed one way or the other about his future. He expects to take some time to vacation with his wife Kathy in the coming weeks before making and announcing his decision.
Holmgren was not available to speak with the media on Sunday, and his players said they are as unaware as anyone about his plans.
“Obviously (Holmgren) knows how we feel about him,” Hasselbeck said. “He’s meant a lot to the turnaround of the franchise, and he’s a huge part of the reason we’ve been in the playoffs the last five years in a row. But at the same time as players, it’s not something that’s in our control at all. … We’re low-level guys worrying about high-level stuff if we’re worried about that.
“I have no idea (what will happen),” wide receiver Nate Burleson said. “But as of right now, Mike’s our coach. He’s the guy who brought me in here, so I’m not thinking anything otherwise.”
When the announcement is made, Burleson added, “I’ll probably be sitting at home, looking at the news (on TV) like everybody else.”
“He’s been doing this for 16 years,” said linebacker Julian Peterson, “so he has the right to kind of take some time off and get his thoughts together. We’re not really worried about it. But the biggest thing is that we’ve got the majority of our core guys intact, so regardless of what the situation is, we have enough leaders here to overcome any adversity.”
Free agent fun: Cornerback Marcus Trufant just finished his fifth NFL season, and now he’s about to enter his first offseason as an NFL free agent.
And it will be, he said with understatement, “an interesting offseason.”
Trufant made the Pro Bowl this year, and at age 27 he is entering his professional prime. Which means he could draw plenty of interest on the free-agent market in the coming months.
“I love the organization and the organization loves me, but that only goes so far,” he said. “There’s always a business side of it.”
The Seahawks are obviously interested in re-signing Trufant, and there have already been exploratory talks about a new contract.
“(Both parties) want to get things done,” he said. “But there’s a business side, like I said, and you can never tell which way it’s going to go. I would like to have it already done, but this is how it works. It’s my first time going through it so I’m learning on the run. And I’m just going to play things by ear and hope for the best.”
Praise for a pal: Though he was not named to the Pro Bowl, wide receiver Bobby Engram’s season was remarkable by every measure. Engram finished with 94 receptions for 1,147 yards in the regular season (both team and career highs), and he had six touchdown catches (tying a career best).
In light of a disappointing 2006 season in which he missed nine games with a thyroid condition, Engram’s comeback was “absolutely incredible,” said Burleson. “To play the way he did, not only producing on the field, but also carrying a group of young guys on his shoulders the whole year … was unbelievable.”
Engram, who turned 35 on Jan. 7, is something of a mentor to his younger teammates, among them the 26-year-old Burleson.
“A lot of the things I’ve learned over the last couple of years came directly from the talks I’ve had with Bobby Engram,” he said. “For as old he is, he doesn’t play like it. He’s just as fast, just as quick and just as strong as any young athlete on the field. On top of that, he’s an intelligent individual on and off the field. And I’m just excited that he’s here.”
Waiting his chance: The 2007 season was a mixed bag for backup quarterback and sometimes wide receiver Seneca Wallace, who played in nine regular-season games, plus the playoff loss to Green Bay.
Wallace, one of the team’s best all-around athletes, appeared at quarterback in just four of the team’s 18 regular and postseason games. And because he’s behind Hasselback, a Pro Bowl QB, Wallace’s playing time might not improve much next season.
Wallace, who will be 28 by the start of next season, is nearing a career crossroads of sorts. Although he loves being in Seattle, he also yearns for the chance to be a regular NFL player.
“It’s difficult at times when you feel like you want to play and contribute to the team, but you can’t,” he admitted. “But that’s what God had planned for me, and I just have to be patient for it and just wait until something opens up.
“I’m to that point where I want to see what I can do,” admitted Wallace, who has two years left on his contract. Still, he is wary of going to another team, and maybe to a bad situation, “just because you feel like it’s time to move on. If you’ve got a good thing going, why ruin it? And there’s a good thing going here in Seattle.”
Injury report pending: Though a handful of Seahawks players were injured in Saturday’s game, most notably wide receiver Deion Branch and special teams player Josh Scobey, the team did not make any announcements on Sunday. That information is expected to be released later in the week, and possibly today when Holmgren meets with the media.
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