You waited for a wink, or at least a hopeless show of surrender.
But Mike Holmgren sat there, stone-faced, explaining that his team’s best chance at success is to run the football as often as possible.
Yes, that Mike Holmgren. The one who never saw a quick slant he didn’t like. The one who single-handedly brought the three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust NFC Central out of the 1950s.
A Holmgren team running the football? That’s like Tom Osborne installing the run-and-shoot at Nebraska. Or Don Coryell turning to the wishbone.
Holmgren made his declaration without remorse, no hint of irony.
And then his team went out and ran for a franchise-record 319 yards against the Oakland Raiders.
Consider it the unveiling of Ground Mike. This year’s Seattle Seahawks are a running team, and even Mikey likes it.
For all the talk about the Seahawks’ quarterback of the future, it appears that this franchise might just ride the shoulders of running back Shaun Alexander. Maybe, just maybe, Alexander is the heir apparent to Montana, Young and Favre.
Running the football might not seem like a so-called quarterback guru’s ideal game plan, but in Holmgren’s case it has worked. Only twice in his 12-plus seasons as a head coach and offensive coordinator have Holmgren’s teams run the ball more than 45 percent of the time. On both occasions his team went on to win the Super Bowl. Those Super Bowl wins, 1997 with the Green Bay Packers and 1989 with the San Francisco 49ers, were Holmgren’s only two as a coach or coordinator.
This year, the Seahawks have run the ball more than 47 percent of the time.
“You analyze who you have, what kind of team you have, where you are, and then you plan accordingly,” Holmgren said this week. “To say, ‘OK, I’ve got this great system and we’re going to do this come hell or high water,’ well, that’s wrong. Ego can’t be a part of that. It really can’t. You have to do what you think is best for your team and gives you the best chance to win, period.”
So all that talk about the exciting West Coast offense and the intricate passing schemes and the aerial attacks … that may have been premature. Perhaps Holmgren’s Seahawks will get to that point one day, but for now they’re better as a running team.
It’s a fact that’s not lost on the players. Tight end Christian Fauria, who was expected to be one of the main beneficiaries of an offense that helped turn Brent Jones and Mark Chmura into Pro Bowl players, has caught just 12 passes this season. That ranks behind 22 other tight ends.
“People are like, ‘Oh, the West Coast offense. You’re going to catch a lot of passes,’” Fauria said this week. “No, this is the Great Northwest offense. The tight end’s a blocker.”
Holmgren has always unfairly been portrayed as a pass-first coach, perhaps because of the lineage of quarterbacks that have played under him. But he’s had his share of 1,000-yard rushers, too, from Roger Craig to Edgar Bennett to Dorsey Levens to Ricky Watters.
Alexander, on pace to become the second Seattle running back in history to surpass the 1,500-yard mark in a season, is Holmgren’s latest feature back.
Alexander’s recent success has been the most obvious reason for the team’s running philosophy this season. The ground game also plays into the strength of the offensive line, and it cuts down on possible mistakes from a young unit.
But perhaps the main underlying reason for the run-first attitude this year has been the play of quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who isn’t yet the player Holmgren thought he was acquiring in late February. Earlier this week, Holmgren pleaded for people to consider Hasselbeck a rookie quarterback, even though the former Brett Favre backup has been in the NFL for three years.
“I thought because he wasn’t in fact a rookie, but a rookie in terms of starting, that he might be able to shoulder a little bit more responsibility,” Holmgren said. “And that was unfair to him. … I don’t want him thinking about carrying the whole team. He can’t do that yet.”
Perhaps Hasselbeck won’t ever have to carry the team like Favre did in Green Bay. Maybe that will be Alexander’s job.
And don’t expect Ground Mike to shudder at the thought.
Kickoff: 10 a.m. Sunday at Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, N.Y.
TV: CBS (Channel 7).
Radio: KIRO (710 AM)
Stars to watch: Seahawks – RB Shaun Alexander is on pace to rush for more than 1,500 yards this season, even though he did not become the starter until Week 4. WR Darrell Jackson tallied his third 100-yard receiving performance last weekend. MLB Levon Kirkland leads the team with 63 tackles, including 49 solo. FS Marcus Robertson is expected to see his first action after missing three weeks with a sore hamstring.
Bills – FB Larry Centers is tied for sixth in the AFC with 47 receptions. WR Eric Moulds has been hampered by a shoulder injury, but coach Gregg Williams said he is as healthy as he’s been all season. G Ruben Brown has been to the past five Pro Bowls. DE Phil Hansen, an 11-year veteran, is one of the few remaining ties to the Bills’ Super Bowl days.
Breaking down the game: As much as young running backs Alexander and Travis Henry have done for their respective teams, this game could come down to quarterback play.
Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck learned last week that his best chance for success is to hand the ball off to Alexander, so he’ll probably play a conservative game again. But the Bills will try and force him to beat them with his arm.
Buffalo has a relatively untested starter in Alex Van Pelt, who has had moderate success during his six years in the league. Van Pelt is not as mobile as starter Rob Johnson, so the Seahawks will try to pressure him as often as possible.
Whichever quarterback can provide a semi-stable passing game will put his team in position to win.
Pick: Seahawks, 27-10.
Injury report: Seahawks – RB Ricky Watters (shoulder) is out; WR James Williams (quadriceps), DT John Randle (knee) and FS Marcus Robertson (hamstring) are questionable; QB Trent Dilfer (hip), WR Bobby Engram (knee) and KR Charlie Rogers (toe) are probable. Bills – QB Rob Johnson (shoulder) is out; DE Erik Flowers (back), DE Phil Hansen (leg), DT Leif Larsen (elbow) and TE Dan O’Leary (wrist) are questionable; FS Keion Carpenter (rib) is probable.
Little-known fact: Hasselbeck has the NFL’s worst quarterback rating on first and second downs (56.1), but is third in the league on third downs (93.0).
New York Jets (6-3) at Miami (6-2), 10 a.m. Sunday: Jets running back Curtis Martin is quietly putting up an MVP season. He could surpass the 1,000-yard rushing mark this Sunday, and he’s already got 10 touchdowns. The Dolphins won’t lose sight of him this week. Pick: Dolphins, 20-16.
San Diego (5-4) at Oakland (6-2), 1:05 p.m. Sunday: Seahawks fans are at a loss as to which team to root for in this one. A win by the Raiders really puts Seattle in tough position to win the AFC West, while a San Diego win hurts the Seahawks’ wild-card chances. Both teams are hobbled and reeling, so emotions and momentum will be the key. Pick: Raiders, 28-20.
Chicago (6-2) at Tampa Bay (4-4), 1:15 p.m. Sunday: These two offenses are so conservative that they’d look uptight at a church function for the elderly. This one will be NFC Central football in its purest form. May the best grind-it-out team win. Pick: Buccaneers, 16-14.
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