RENTON — Jim Mora isn’t in panic mode.
He can’t be.
So while Seattle Seahawks fans may look at this week’s injury report — remember last season, and make like Chicken Little — the team’s head coach remains calm.
And for those of you ready to declare this a repeat of last year’s 4-12 campaign, for those who assume this team is cursed and headed for another miserable autumn, consider following Mora’s lead.
First off, you’ll enjoy a much more relaxed weekend leading up to Sunday’s home game against the Bears, and secondly, how can you not get at least a little fired up by a coach who addressed his team Monday with this message:
“I look out here and I don’t see starters and I don’t see backups,” Mora told his team during a morning meeting. “I see football players. Give me 45 football players on Sunday at 1:05 and let’s go.”
Mora the motivator has his work cut out for him this week and on Sunday, but don’t count the Seahawks out yet. Yes the Bears are coming off a win over the defending Super Bowl champs. And yes, the Seahawks are going to be without several starters, including possibly their starting quarterback and middle linebacker, and definitely another starting linebacker, a tackle and a cornerback. But Seattle can still win the game at home, can find a way to keep the game close and steal a victory despite whatever injuries are limiting them Sunday.
This certainly isn’t how Mora hoped he would start his second head-coaching gig — with a dozen starters showing up on his injury report after two games. But if he can get the Seahawks through the slew of injuries, win a few games between now and the bye week, he’ll be off to one heck of a start as Seattle’s head coach.
And whatever struggles Mora and his team go through — and there will certainly be plenty of those — it won’t be because anyone is feeling sorry for themselves.
“You can’t think that way,” Mora said. “You gotta think about one thing and that’s getting ready to win on Sunday. Can’t even think about it, can’t do it, don’t have time, don’t have room in my brain.”
And remember that the long-term outlook isn’t as bad as it was this time last season. We’re talking weeks, not season-ending, when it comes to injuries. For all we know, this team could be close to full strength in two or three weeks, and fully healthy after the bye.
Or it won’t be.
We don’t know if the Seahawks will overcome their injuries and return to the playoffs. It’s way too early to know how they’ll handle adversity, the 2009 addition. Maybe these injuries are just the beginning of another wretched season, maybe the team is just too old at key positions or too unlucky with injuries to win this year. It could all fall apart again. But rather than assume the worst — which 2008 taught us all how to do — give hope a chance.
Sure, disappointment might slap you in your optimistic face on Sunday, but until then, why not believe that whoever is called upon — be it second-year linebacker David Hawthorne or oft-criticized and undersized cornerback Kelly Jennings — can to the job.
“That’s got to be our attitude,” Mora said. “We can’t worry about anything other than that. Just get ourselves ready to play, and go play the best we can play regardless of who we’re playing, who’s playing for us, what we’re playing, or any other circumstance. That’s the bottom line, and that’s going to be our mindset going forward.”
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at www.heraldnet.com/seahawksblog
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