Keeping faith works for Hawks

  • Scott M. Johnson / Herald Writer
  • Monday, October 15, 2001 9:00pm
  • Sports

By Scott M. Johnson

Herald Writer

KIRKLAND – The season is over. The coach’s job is in the balance. The sky is falling.

Just two weeks ago, that was the outside perception of the Seattle Seahawks. Two wins later, everything rust has turned to gold.

Back-to-back 24-point losses to Philadelphia and Oakland have been replaced in the Seahawks’ rearview mirror by improbable wins over Jacksonville and Denver. Slumped shoulders have given way to a swagger not seen in these parts for a long time.

Keeping the faith has paid off for the Seahawks.

“It’s a lesson to the young guys,” linebacker Chad Brown said. “This is the NFL, things are going to happen, and you’ve got to prepare for next week. You can’t let last week’s bad things interfere with next week.”

Once considered a sinking ship, Seattle heads into its bye week with a 3-2 record, just one game behind the Oakland Raiders for first place in the AFC West. While no one is ready to anoint the Seahawks a Super Bowl contender yet, this team is starting to make believers out of those who buried them too soon.

“Our confidence is building,” defensive end Michael Sinclair said. “Our big-play guys are stepping up and making big plays. … I think that if we stay away from the injury bug, we’ll be able to do some good things.”

One of the keys to Seahawks’ recent success has been the players’ ability to keep the faith. Despite two blowout losses early in the season, Seattle stuck together.

Coach Mike Holmgren said the resolve of this year’s team is much better than that of the 2000 unit that finished 6-10.

“It shows that they’re a pretty resilient group,” Holmgren said of the recent turnaround. “This can be a very difficult business as you know, and you’ve got to have some hide to you because you’re going to have tough stretches. The most important thing that we can get out of the last four weeks is that the team came together really well. And the leadership stayed there. There wasn’t second-guessing of what we were trying to do.”

Said center Robbie Tobeck: “It could have went the other way, but that’s the type of team that Coach Holmgren tried to bring in here. Veteran guys, leader-type guys.”

Dilfer, Robertson hobbled: Holmgren said the injuries to quarterback Trent Dilfer and safety Marcus Robertson will probably limit them from taking part in practices this week. There is a chance that neither player will be available when the Seahawks return to the playing field for an Oct. 28 date with Miami.

Robertson pulled his hamstring in Sunday’s loss to Denver, keeping him off the field for the final three quarters. Holmgren said the injury was not as serious as the one that kept cornerback Shawn Springs out seven weeks, but Robertson probably wouldn’t have been available if the Seahawks had a game this week.

Dilfer’s injury is a bit more, shall we say, delicate. It was originally termed a groin pull, but Holmgren hinted Monday that the actual injury is more personal.

“He’s injured and he won’t practice this week,” Holmgren said. “There’s more to it than just a normal groin pull. We’ll just leave it at that.”

Dilfer wasn’t expected to play against Miami anyway, as Matt Hasselbeck has already been named the starter.

Holmgren said he expects kick returner Charlie Rogers (toe) to be back in time for the Seahawks’ next game.

Quick slants: Running back Shaun Alexander ranks ninth in the AFC with 345 rushing yards, and third in the conference with five touchdowns. … Despite Sunday’s victory, the Seahawks dropped three spots to 26th in the league in offense. In terms of passing yards per game, only Pittsburgh, Washington and Dallas rank below Seattle. … The Seahawks’ defense ranks ninth in the league, its highest ranking since the beginning of the 1998 season. … The Seahawks will practice Wednesday and Thursday of this week, then will take a three-day weekend because of their bye week. Seattle will resume a normal practice schedule next week, and will return to action Oct. 28 against Miami at Husky Stadium.

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