RENTON — Just two months ago the Seattle Seahawks were 2-4, and many in the NFL were prepared to write the obituary for the team that went to each of the past two Super Bowls.
But following Sunday’s comfortable 30-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns the Seahawks’ regular season rehabilitation is complete. Seattle has assured itself a place in the playoffs for the fourth straight season, and the Seahawks did it with two weeks to spare.
It’s all a testament to Seattle keeping faith.
“You can’t give up on your way, give up on your philosophy and approach,” Seattle head coach Pete Carroll said Monday at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. “I don’t think that’s the way to go. I think you’ve got to stay with what you know, stay the course and make it work out for you.
“That doesn’t mean you don’t adapt, you’re always adjusting and adapting,” Carroll continued. “But the main themes you live by, you need to stay true to it. Teams that try to make a big shift, it’ll hold up for a while. But it’s hard to maintain. You need the real foundation of your thinking and your approach so you can answer your problems and your questions as they come.”
Seattle’s turnaround began with its 29-13 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Nov. 22. Since then the Seahawks have won five straight to improve to 9-5, and Seattle has looked strong on both sides of the ball, outscoring its opponents by a combined score of 154-69. The past three games were blowouts that were never in doubt, and the Seahawks are very much resembling the team that came a play away from being the two-time defending Super Bowl champion.
“A big part of that is knowing what you’re all about and who you are, so you can fix things,” Carroll said about the role staying the course played in the turnaround. “When you don’t know it’s really hard to adjust and get back on course.
“That’s what you have to do,” Carroll added. “You have to stay to it and not waver. The players can tell when you do, they know. That’s not the sign we want to demonstrate. We want a sign of strength and commitment and belief in what we’re doing so they can stick to it as well.”
Carroll said he thinks having a roster full of players who have experienced success with the team in the past aided in the process.
“When you haven’t had success in your background it’s much more difficult because the belief is maybe not as deeply embedded,” Carroll said. “So when you reaching down in there and pulling it out of the guys that know, it’s harder when it’s not firmly cemented in there.”
The Seahawks now find themselves in a far different position than even a couple weeks earlier. Not only did Seattle clinch a playoff spot Sunday, the Seahawks were knocked out of contention for the NFC West title by the Arizona Cardinals’ 40-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Therefore Seattle, which needed wins to keep its playoff hopes alive, suddenly doesn’t have a lot to play for over the final two weeks. There’s still seeding in the wild card — Seattle currently owns the No. 5 seed, holding the tiebreaker over the 9-5 Minnesota Vikings by virtue of its head-to-head victory. There’s some incentive for earning the top wild-card seed, because that team will face the champion of the NFC East, a division in which no team is above .500. But Seattle will have to hit the road in the playoffs regardless.
However, Carroll said the Seahawks’ won’t change their approach for their final two games — Sunday’s home finale against the St. Louis Rams, followed by the season’s final game at Arizona. Seattle will play to win rather than rest for the playoffs.
“We’ll try to get the best position we can in the playoffs, whatever that is,” Carroll said. “Winning games will help us get that, so we’re going to try and win games.
“I really don’t believe you should ever ask players to take a break,” Carroll added. “I think they have to go. Now, if we decide not to play guys for different reasons, that could happen. But that’s not because we’re going to take a step off the gas pedal right now. We’re going to keep driving.”
Whether that approach includes Marshawn Lynch remains a doubt. Lynch, the team’s No. 1 running back, has missed five consecutive games because of an abdominal injury that required surgery. Lynch has been rehabilitating off site, with reports surfacing over the weekend that Lynch was doing his rehab in San Francisco with an MMA trainer. Carroll confirmed Monday that Lynch is in the Bay Area, but there remains no set timetable for when Lynch may return, though Carroll did say Lynch wouldn’t return to practice this week.
“He’s working out with his guys down home who he’s always worked out with,” Carroll said. “It sounds like he’s making good progress.
“I know each day is a challenge for him, he’s working hard and all that,” Carroll added. “He’ll get back here when he can.”
With both Lynch and Thomas Rawls (ankle) out injured, Seattle used the committee approach at running back Sunday against the Browns. That did the job as the Seahawks were still able to rush for 182 yards.
Extra points
Carroll said follow-up tests on Russell Okung’s strained calf, which forced Seattle’s starting left tackle out of Sunday’s game, showed no significant damage. However, Carroll said Okung remains sore and his availability of next Sunday’s game is unknown. … Carroll said starting strong safety Kam Chancellor, who was inactive against the Browns because of a bruised tailbone, was moving around better Monday. However, Carroll did not know whether Chancellor would be able to make it back in time for next Sunday’s game. … The Seahawks lost receiver B.J. Daniels as the Houston Texans signed him off Seattle’s practice squad Monday. Daniels had yo-yoed between Seattle’s 53-man roster and the practice squad throughout the season. Carroll said the Texans signed Daniels, a converted quarterback, to play quarterback.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/seattlesidelines, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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