NFL’s quick fix doesn’t fit in Seattle

The quick fix wasn’t supposed to be possible. To turn around an NFL franchise, they would tell you, takes years of hard work.

The San Francisco 49ers toiled in despair for years while slowly building a winner. The Dallas Cowboys had to hit rock bottom before climbing back to the top in the early ’90s.

That was the way to do it – the only way.

Then came the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars, two expansion teams that found themselves in their respective conference championship games in their second year of existence. A few years later, the St. Louis Rams came out of nowhere to win the Super Bowl, with the Baltimore Ravens turning the same trick last season.

No, it doesn’t take long to build a winner anymore. No matter what NFL owners and coaches might have you believe, the quick fix is now possible.

How else to explain how the San Diego Chargers can win more games in the first two weeks of the 2001 season than they did all of last year? How could five of the last six Super Bowl qualifiers be coming off seasons in which they didn’t even make the playoffs?

It just doesn’t take long to turn things around anymore.

That’s what made last weekend so frustrating for Seahawks fans. Not only did Seattle look bad in its home opener, but it looked like a rebuilding team – again.

There are expectations for this year’s Seahawks. Some national pundits went as far as to predict a postseason appearance. Yet the team that stumbled to 147 total yards Sunday hardly looked like a legitimate contender.

Through it all, coach Mike Holmgren has done his best Alfred E. Newman impression.

What, me worry?

Holmgren has something that is the envy of his coaching counterparts: job security. He’s in Year 3 of an eight-year deal that will pay him $32 million. Even multi-billionaire owner Paul Allen isn’t ready to throw away that kind of scratch.

So Holmgren is doing it his way, the way that seems to be no longer possible in the NFL. He’s taking his time. No quick fix here.

Earlier this week, Holmgren admitted, “it’s a little bit of a starting over year in terms of the passing game.” That’s more than he would admit last year, when the coach bit his lip through the first losing season of his career without muttering the word rebuilding. He also has said publicly that he doesn’t feel any more outside pressure than he has in previous years.

All the while, fans in Washington, D.C., are calling for Marty Schottenheimer’s job. In Tampa, they’re calling this a make-or-break year for Tony Dungy. Other successful coaches with long tenures might also start feeling their collars tightening soon, especially in Pittsburgh and Minnesota.

Yet Holmgren keeps patiently working toward his so-called “Plan,” unfazed by the possibility of ultimate failure. A quick fix was never in the cards. He gave the team a surgical procedure instead of applying band-aids. And as the old joke says, no doctor can stay in business without patience.

In San Diego, they’re talking about playoffs and contending for the AFC West title. In Baltimore, they’re talking about the possibility of a Super Bowl repeat. In St. Louis, they’re no longer known as the Lambs.

Yes, it’s now possible to turn things around in a hurry in the National Football League. But here in Seattle there is no such rush. If the fix is on, there’s nothing quick about it.

Kickoff: 1:15 p.m. Sunday at Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland, Calif.

TV, radio: CBS (Channel 7), KQBZ (100.7 FM).

Stars to watch: Seahawks – RB Ricky Watters ranks fourth in the AFC with 178 rushing yards. LB Chad Brown is tied for the NFL lead with four sacks, and is atop the Seahawks’ tackle chart with 19. DE John Randle has recorded a sack in each of Seattle’s two games this season.

Raiders – QB Rich Gannon is coming off a career season in which he led the Raiders to the AFC Championship Game. WR Tim Brown has 93 receptions in 24 games against the Seahawks, which remarkably is less than he has against any other AFC West team. WR Jerry Rice and RB Charlie Garner came across the bay from San Francisco to add extra dimensions to Oakland’s offense. DE Trace Armstrong, a free agent pickup from Miami, was in on three sacks in each of his last two meetings with the Seahawks.

Breaking down the game: For the Seahawks to get another win over the Raiders, they’ll have to pull off some sort of trick as amazing as they did late last season. In that game, the Seahawks relied on a since-changed fumble ruling to pull off an improbable upset.

The way things have been going this season, Seattle needs another miracle to beat the Raiders. The Seahawks have too many question marks, while Oakland is expected to contend for the Super Bowl.

The touchdown draught should end, but the losing streak is just getting started.

Pick: Raiders, 24-13.

Injury report: Seahawks – LB Isaiah Kacyvenski (concussion) and CB Shawn Springs (hamstring) are questionable; CB Willie Williams (forearm) and TE Christian Fauria (hip) are probable. Raiders – C Barret Robbins (knee) is out; S Johnnie Harris (shoulder) and T Lincoln Kennedy (shoulder) are questionable; RB Tyrone Wheatley (neck) is probable.

Little-known fact: This is the last time Seattle will visit Oakland as a member of the AFC West.

Miami (2-0) at St. Louis (2-0), 10 a.m. Sunday: The Dolphins are the kind of team that likes to stop at every rest area to look at the map. The Rams just want to put the pedal to the metal and go. This game might look something like Jeff Gordon’s car with a driver’s ed teacher manning the brakes. The Pick: Rams, 20-10.

Baltimore (1-1) at Denver (2-0), 1:15 p.m. Sunday: OK, so maybe the Broncos don’t need Terrell Davis and Ed McCaffrey. Denver may have the deepest team in the NFL, while the Ravens still haven’t replaced Jamal Lewis. This may be a matchup of the Super Bowl champions from last season and this one. Pick: Broncos, 17-9.

Cincinnati (2-0) at San Diego (2-0), 1:15 p.m. Sunday: Someone break up these juggernauts! Regardless of the result of this game, these two teams will come out of it with as many combined wins (five) as they had all of last season. San Diego has yet to beat a quality team, which will still be the case after this game. Pick: Chargers, 20-17.