By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer
SEATTLE – To say the veterans are ready for the regular season would be an understatement.
“We were ready for the regular season in July,” Seattle Seahawks linebacker Chad Brown said just before making a quick exit out of the team’s locker room at Husky Stadium on Saturday.
When the Seahawks closed out their preseason schedule with a 28-14 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Saturday afternoon, it had all the makings of a formality.
Sure, there were a group of scrappy rookies and free agents out there for the final three quarters, some of them battling just to keep their jobs. And even some of the veterans like Brock Huard and Karsten Bailey were trying to establish their roles on this team.
But for the most part, Saturday’s game reeked of so what?
Most of the starters only played the first quarter, although the first-string offensive line stayed on the field to help usher Huard into halftime. The veterans were out there hardly long enough to break a sweat.
Still, the starting units were on the field long enough to make an impression.
Matt Hasselbeck and the offense continued to shine, getting into the end zone on their only two drives of the game. Hasselbeck completed 4 of 6 passes for 99 yards during his limited duty, including a 60-yard touchdown completion to Darrell Jackson that was made possible only after linebacker Keith Mitchell fell down and Jackson made a nice adjustment on a badly underthrown ball.
Hasselbeck left the field with the Seahawks owning a comfortable 14-0 lead, which was also a tribute to Seattle’s No. 1 defense. Although New Orleans rookie Deuce McAllister was impressive – running for 67 of his game-high 108 yards against the Seattle starters – the Seahawks’ first defense kept the Saints out of the end zone on all three drives. The Saints stalled at Seattle’s 14 during their first drive, then were held to just two first downs over the next two drives.
“I definitely think we’re jelling and bringing it all together,” Brown said. “I think this group is going to very, very good. Now that we’re playing some games, maybe it can become a reality, instead of just talking about it.”
Overall, Seattle’s defense forced four turnovers, and held the Saints on fourth down on three other occasions. Twice, New Orleans got inside the Seahawks’ 5-yard line without scoring a point. Two other trips inside the 20 went without so much as a field goal.
“Our defense made some big plays today,” Hasselbeck said. “Anytime you’re sitting there on the sidelines and hear the crowd roar, it’s like getting the ball back for free. It’s really nice.”
Despite the strong overall performance on both sides of the ball, the Seahawks still have a few areas they’ll need to shore up in the next week:
Yet for at least one day, the Seahawks basked in the glory of a preseason victory – their second in a row.
“Our momentum is pretty high right now,” Jackson said. “We’re pretty high on ourselves. Every day we want to get better, and we’re trying to make plays. You can never be stuck on what you’ve got. We want to get better and have everyone jump on our bandwagon.”
The Seahawks will take today and Monday off before returning to work. And this time, it’s for real.
“We’re about as ready as anybody to start the thing off,” Holmgren said.
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