Lingering effects from meltdown?
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, October 14, 2004
For those who might have been curious, Mike Holmgren was not wearing a suit and tie to Seahawks practices this week.
He was not carrying any Jerry Falwell books or extolling the virtues of right-wing politics.
You half expected to see that, though, after all the talk about Holmgren’s conservatism earlier this week. Everyone who’s ever so much as looked at a pigskin suddenly became a football expert when evaluating last Sunday’s classic meltdown against the St. Louis Rams.
The radio airwaves were undoubtedly filled with the typical questions. Not all of us were listening, but we’ve heard the predictable babble enough over the years to get a pretty good idea.
What happened to the Seahawks?
What was Holmgren THINKING?
Why do teams continue to play the PREVENT DEFENSE?
Who is to BLAME? WHO THE HECK IS TO BLAME???
(Cue the commercial for Dj Vu Gentlemen’s Club.)
The only legitimate question is this one: Could the Seahawks’ meltdown over the final 5 minutes of last Sunday’s game affect them the rest of the season?
The answer should be no. Not unless they follow the lead of the 2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For the defending Super Bowl XXXVII champions, the 2003 season took a turn for the worse with a historical meltdown on Monday Night Football. The Buccaneers were well on their way to improving to 3-1 on the season when Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts jammed a stick in their spokes. The Colts rallied from a 21-point deficit over the final six minutes, then won on a Mike Vanderjagt field goal in overtime.
Indianapolis improved to 5-0 on the season and breezed to an AFC North title. As for the Bucs, well, they hit the skids. They lost four of the next six games and went 4-7 down the stretch. The defending Super Bowl champs found themselves with a sub-.500 record and on the outside looking in when it came to the playoffs.
“That certainly did crush Tampa,” said Brock Huard, a backup quarterback on the Colts lasts season. “They didn’t respond very well. … There were a lot of veteran guys slowing, and that certainly did get the ball rolling for them.”
The Colts’ win marked the biggest comeback victory over the final six minutes of a game in NFL history. The Rams’ performance last week – overcoming a 17-point deficit before winning in overtime – was second.
Huard, who is spending this season on the Seahawks’ injured reserve list, doesn’t see Seattle going through a similar freefall that the Bucs did last year.
“I don’t think we can compare this team to Tampa’s team,” he said. “Tampa was kind of ready to crumble, while we’re on the way up.”
Every January, people like to talk about turning points in seasons. Sometimes the pivotal moments come early and lead to positive results, like when the New England Patriots got spanked 31-0 at Buffalo in the 2003 season opener. The Pats, left for dead by the so-called experts, responded by winning 17 of the next 18 games en route to a Super Bowl trophy.
But all too often, turning points are more of the back-breaking variety, when a team starts to let doubt creep in.
That was the case in 1999, when the Seahawks took an 8-2 record into a November meeting with Tampa Bay and came away from it an entirely different team. That 16-3 loss sent Seattle spiraling into a drain that included just one win over the final seven weeks.
This Seahawks team is a lot more talented, a lot more experienced and – above all else – has a lot more resolve.
But the 2003 Buccaneers knew what it took to be a winner, too, and look what happened to them.
A loss to New England on Sunday wouldn’t mean the end of Seattle’s season, but it might say something about how this team can bounce back.
With upcoming games against three teams with a combined record of 3-11, the Seahawks should recover quickly from whatever happens this weekend. But the big question is whether they’ll still have the swagger that took them to a 3-0 record and a 24-7 halftime lead over the Rams.
And swagger can be the difference when it’s time to separate the pretenders from the contenders in the coming weeks.
Seahawks at Patriots
Kickoff: 10 a.m. Sunday
TV: Fox (Ch. 13)
Radio: KIRO (710 AM)
Stars to watch: Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck grew up near Foxboro and attended Boston College. RB Shaun Alexander has had two games of more than 130 rushing yards this season. WR Darrell Jackson needs six receptions to tie Joey Galloway for fourth place on the Seahawks’ all-time receiving list. CB Ken Lucas leads the NFC with three interceptions, including two last week.
Patriots QB Tom Brady is a two-time Super Bowl MVP. RB Corey Dillon, a University of Washington product, ranks eighth in the AFC in rushing (417 yards). LB Willie McGinest has three sacks this season. S Rodney Harrison leads the Patriots with 34 tackles and has three sacks.
Breaking down the game: If there is a good time to be facing the Patriots, this might be it. New England could be without as many as three offensive starters: Dillon and wide receivers Troy Brown and Deion Branch.
But the Patriots are one of those teams that doesn’t necessarily rely on superstars. The backup players should step in and perform admirably for a squad that is the embodiment of the word team.
Make no mistake, Seattle is capable of beating the Pats, even in New England. When the Seahawks play like they did during the first 52 minutes of last Sunday’s game, they’re almost unbeatable. That’s the team that will have to show up Sunday.
And even that might not be enough to beat the NFL’s best team.
Pick: Patriots, 24-20.
Injury report: Seahawks LB Chad Brown (left fibula) is out. P Tom Rouen (hamstring) and DT Cedric Woodard (toe) are questionable. T Sean Locklear (shoulder), S Ken Hamlin (toe) and LB Anthony Simmons (shoulder) are probable.
Patriots WR Deion Branch (knee) and WR P.K. Sam (groin) are doubtful. RB Corey Dillon (foot), CB Tyrone Poole (knee) and WR Troy Brown (shoulder) are questionable. QB Tom Brady (shoulder) and QB Jim Miller (shoulder) are probable.
Little-known fact: The last time the Patriots and Seahawks did battle, New England eked out a 10-9 win at the Kingdome in 1993. The game was supposed to feature the top two picks in the 1993 draft, but an injury to Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe left Seahawks rookie Rick Mirer to duel with New England’s Scott Secules.
Other NFL games
Miami (0-5) at Buffalo (0-4), Sunday, 10 a.m.: Will it be Cedric Benson of Texas? A quarterback like Kyle Orton of Purdue or Matt Leinart of USC? Maybe Mike Williams is the guy. Yes, fans, it’s time to start talking about the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft. And the Dallas Cowboys, who own Buffalo’s first round pick, will be listening. Pick: Miami, 6-3.
San Diego (3-2) at Atlanta (4-1), Sunday, 10 a.m.: Hey, who put the cooling pad on Marty Schottenheimer’s seat? He used to be the Bob Melvin of the NFL, and now he’s putting up 30 points a game. Atlanta’s surprising D should put a stop to that. Pick: Falcons, 20-16.
Carolina (1-3) at Philadelphia (4-0), Sunday, 10 a.m.: This NFC Championship game rematch has lost a bit of its luster, thanks to the Panthers’ rough start. The Eagles, meanwhile, look unstoppable. Look for Philly to get by this game, then stumble at Cleveland next week. Pick: Eagles, 27-20.
