KIRKLAND – The spotlight of a Monday Night Football game might be enough to intimidate some Seattle Seahawks next week, but 42-year old wide receiver Jerry Rice is not among them.
Rice has played in 44 MNF games during his career, with 246 receptions and 3,884 yards to show for it. To show how impressive those numbers are, just five receivers in Seahawks history have better numbers over their entire careers.
So Rice should be ready when the Seahawks host the Dallas Cowboys next Monday night.
“I’m going to be an insane man out there,” he said. “I’m still fired up, I get excited, I get butterflies, I feed off the crowd, and I feed off the Monday Night song. Just everything that’s happening.
“I think the biggest game is the Super Bowl, but compared to that, Monday Night Football is next.”
Rice has 33 touchdowns on Monday nights, 13 games of at least 100 receiving yards, and three games of at least 200 yards. He’s had 10 or more catches or more in four of those games.
“Don’t remind me of that,” Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said when informed of Rice’s MNF success on a Wednesday conference call. “I know he’s been very successful on Monday night. He’s been very successful on Sundays, and whatever days he’s played.”
Although Rice’s overall numbers have been down in recent years, he broke out in his last game on MNF. While playing for the Oakland Raiders last December, Rice caught 10 passes for 159 yards in a 41-7 loss to Green Bay. He’s caught at least three passes in every MNF game since Sept. 2, 1991, when he was held to one reception in a game against the New York Giants.
In typical Rice form, that one catch went for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Didn’t you coach my dad? If it seems like Parcells has been around forever, maybe that’s because he’s coached for and against two generations.
Of Hasselbecks, that is.
Parcells coached Don Hasselbeck with the New York Giants and New England Patriots. He’s coached against Don’s son, Washington Redskins quarterback Tim, the past two seasons. On Monday, the Cowboys’ coach will face another Hasselbeck son, Seahawks quarterback Matt.
“I’ve always liked their family,” said Parcells, who gives credit to Don for mentoring two-time Pro Bowler Mark Bavaro with the Giants. “They’re a wonderful family. Nice boys. I’ve always kind of rooted for all of them, certainly including Matt.”
Matt Hasselbeck was a ball boy when his father played in New England, so he’s been on the field before when Parcells was calling the shots.
“Of all the coaches my dad played for, Parcells was his favorite,” Hasselbeck said. “He’s a great coach. He’s a Hall of Famer.”
Edgar to raise flag: Former Seattle Mariner Edgar Martinez will raise the 12th Man flag at Monday’s game.
The Seahawks have had local sports legends raise the flag at games throughout the season. Past celebrities have included ex-Seahawks like Cortez Kennedy, Dave Krieg and Eugene Robinson, former Washington State quarterback Jack Thompson, University of Washington alumnus Chuck Nelson and Olympian Brett McClure of Mill Creek.
Martinez announced his retirement in August after 18 seasons with the Mariners.
Tickets made available: The Seahawks have added more than 1,000 temporary bleacher seats to Qwest Field. They went on sale Wednesday at $50 per seat.
The Cowboys-Seahawks game had been sold out since the summer.
Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-888-NFL-HAWK.
Quick slants: Although Parcells and Seattle’s Mike Holmgren have combined to coach 501 NFL games, they have only gone against each other three times. Parcells owns a 2-1 advantage in head-to-head meetings, but Holmgren won the biggest game of all. His Green Bay Packers beat Parcells’ Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI … Six Seahawks did not practice Wednesday. Left tackle Walter Jones (left thumb) is listed as probable for the Dallas game. Running back Kerry Carter (ribs), defensive end Chike Okeafor (right ankle) and cornerback Bobby Taylor (right knee) are questionable. Linebackers Tracy White (right hamstring) and Chad Brown (left knee) will not play. … Seattle signed LaTarence Dunbar to its practice squad. Dunbar has played wide receiver with Atlanta and Cleveland since being taken in the sixth round of the 2003 draft, but the Seahawks are giving him a look at cornerback.
By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer
KIRKLAND – Through the first six games of the 2004 season, the book on the Seattle Seahawks could have included a prologue warning the dangers of messing with the cornerbacks.
Starters Marcus Trufant and Ken Lucas knocked down just everything in sight, except for the six times they intercepted passes in that span.
But something subtle happened in an Oct. 31 win over Carolina that changed how teams have attacked the Seahawks.
The Panthers tested both cornerbacks and had moderate success. Muhsin Muhammad found a seam between Trufant and linebacker Tracy White for a 15-yard touchdown in the first half. Rookie Keary Colbert split Trufant and Lucas for an 11-yard reception in the fourth quarter. Colbert later beat Lucas for a 63-yard reception to give the Panthers hope late in the game.
Carolina’s struggling pass offense threw for 248 yards, showing no signs of fear of Trufant or Lucas along the way.
San Francisco passed for 243 yards the following week. Then the Rams went for 262.
Little by little, Seattle’s cornerbacks were giving opponents room to throw.
“You’ve got to make the plays so they will stop throwing your way,” Lucas said. “If they see they have something, they’re going to keep throwing it until you can stop them. That’s how the NFL is.”
The Rams had success with what is known as a “dig” pattern, which includes 10- to 20-yard throws over the middle. Seattle’s secondary had trouble adjusting, and St. Louis continued to move the ball down the field.
Typical of the NFL’s copycat style, Miami and Buffalo ran similar routes against the Seahawks over the next two weeks. The Dolphins’ A.J. Feeley and the Bills’ Drew Bledsoe had some success throwing the ball on Seattle’s cornerbacks using that blueprint.
“Teams are going to keep running something until you figure out a way to stop that play,” Lucas said. “The digs are a pass play we’ve been seeing quite a lot lately. So we’ve got to figure out a way to put that fire out.”
Lucas, who has always held himself up to a high standard, gives his play a grade of C-minus this season. This despite the fact that he’s leading the NFC with five interceptions.
“It doesn’t mean anything when you’re 6-5 and still struggling to make the playoffs,” Lucas said of an interception number that matched his total from the previous three seasons. “If those interceptions could correlate to wins, I would love to have them. But right now it doesn’t mean anything to be leading the NFC in interceptions when we’re still fighting our tails off every week just to try and make the playoffs.”
Trufant is just as critical of his own play even though he has been a steady cover guy for almost two full seasons in the NFL.
“I think I’m playing pretty well, but I still think I can get better,” said Trufant, who was taken with the 11th overall pick in the 2003 NFL draft. “I’m pretty hard on myself, so I feel like I’ve still got room to improve.”
Coach Mike Holmgren said earlier this week that Trufant has shown a recent habit of giving opposing receivers too much cushion. Trufant has always been a good tackler, and he has good closing speed, yet he’s given up 13 receptions over the past three weeks due in part to his positioning.
“He has a great ability to cut and break on balls, and sometimes he gives the receiver, in my opinion, a little too much credit,” Holmgren said. “We’re getting some balls thrown in front of us.”
Seattle’s cornerbacks are still playing at a high level, but their early results have made the past five games seem subpar by comparison. Opposing quarterbacks were held to a rating of 67.1 over the first seven weeks, while they have a more respectable mark of 79.7 in the past five.
“Early in the season, we were making a lot of plays and teams weren’t really coming at us,” Trufant said. “But as the season goes on, teams can look at more film and see where they can attack us.”
While they both admittedly want to play even better, Trufant and Lucas don’t shy away from the extra work. Opposing quarterbacks have been testing Seattle’s cornerbacks lately, and the Seahawks’ secondary welcomes the challenge.
“It gives you the opportunity to make plays,” Lucas said. “You’d be frustrated if all the teams did was run the ball and you never had an opportunity to make a play. Then no one would ever know how good you could really be.”
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