SEATTLE – The reactions immediately following a disastrous loss to the NFC West rival St. Louis Rams were supposed to show a desperate team.
The Seattle Seahawks should have been throwing helmets, pointing fingers and throwing in towels.
But shortly after a 23-12 loss to the Rams one week ago, the Seahawks did an even bigger no-no in NFL circles. They actually started looking ahead a few weeks.
“We’ve been through the meat of our schedule,” center Robbie Tobeck said after the Seahawks played their sixth road game in nine contests this season. “Not to sell other teams short, but we’ve got to feel good. We’re tied for first place in our division, and we’ve got mostly home games left. Five of seven are home games, and that’s where we play well.”
And home field isn’t Seattle’s only advantage. The next three games, all played at Qwest Field, come against teams with a combined record of 7-20. It starts today, when the 1-8 Miami Dolphins are in town for a 1:05 p.m. game.
“If we could win three games at home here,” offensive lineman Steve Hutchinson said, “we’d put ourselves in a pretty good situation.”
Not that the Seahawks are looking too far ahead. Hutchinson was quick to point out that he has no idea whom Seattle will face after the Dec. 6 game against Dallas on Monday Night Football. But he’s also aware that there will be no more long plane trips for a while.
“I don’t think that happens very often,” Hutchinson said of Seattle’s first three-game home stretch since 1996. “You want to play every game at home if you could.”
Playing at home isn’t quite the slam dunk it was last season, when the Seahawks went unbeaten in Seattle for the first time in team history. They’ve already lost once this year – a 33-27 overtime decision to the hated Rams on Oct. 10 – so the Seahawks aren’t feeling quite so invincible at Qwest Field anymore.
Adding to their problems lately is the status of quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who missed practices all last week and is still questionable for today’s game. Hasselbeck will probably test his sore knee before the game, at which time the team will decide whether he can play.
If not, Trent Dilfer would make his first start since Oct. 2002.
” (Last) week I got the benefit of having some (practice) reps,” said Dilfer, who ran Seattle’s first unit all week. “I got to work with the team all week and got to get all the rust off. I feel pretty good.”
Perhaps the toughest opponent could be complacency. With three struggling teams on tap for the upcoming weeks, the Seahawks can’t catch themselves looking too far ahead.
Miami is playing its first game under interim head coach Jim Bates, with A.J. Feeley taking over as the starting quarterback.
It would appear to be an opportunity for an easy win, but the Dolphins have plenty of reasons to be inspired today.
“They’ve got nothing to lose,” Hutchinson said. “I’ve seen some of the trick plays they’ve pulled out on special teams and on offense. Their coach resigned before the bye week, so I’m sure they’re going to want to show they want to fight for pride. That’s a team that historically was playing for something.”
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