GREEN BAY, Wis. – After an extended break from football, the Seattle Seahawks will be back on the field this morning. A few hours later, an even longer wait might be over.
With a victory over the Green Bay Packers today at Lambeau Field, the Seahawks would improve to 4-0 for the first time in franchise history.
Not that there’s any shame in that. Only two teams won their first four games of 2002, while four others have a 4-0 record this season. The San Francisco 49ers, considered perhaps the NFL’s best franchise of the past quarter century, have done it only twice since Seattle entered the league in 1976.
So if there are any seats left on the Seahawks’ bandwagon, a victory today is sure to fill them.
”We’re in a little different position than we’ve been in the last couple of years,” coach Mike Holmgren said. ”Now, it’s very important that we keep our feet on the ground and understand that to get to 3-0 is because of hard work, turnovers, playing pretty smart football.”
If a 4-0 mark is not incentive enough, many of the Seahawks’ coaches might have an extra bounce in their step today when returning to Lambeau Field. Half of the 20 coaches on staff have ties to Green Bay, the most notable of which are Holmgren and defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes. Even quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn has ties to the Packers, a team he played for in 1985 after nine seasons as a Seahawk.
”The coaches have stepped it up a little this week, no question about that,” center Robbie Tobeck said. ”That’s fine. They’re going to step it up every week. The more we win, and the longer the season goes, every game gets bigger than the next. We all recognize that.”
A win today would set Seattle up well for the rest of the month. With home games against San Francisco (1-3) and Chicago (0-3), followed by a contest at Cincinnati (1-3), the Seahawks’ chances of a 7-0 start are not that far-fetched.
Before they can even think about 7-0, the Seahawks are going to concentrate on 4-0. But even the historical significance of that record is lost on them.
”A lot of that stuff is for the fans,” Tobeck said of becoming the first 4-0 team in Seattle history. ”This year’s Seahawks team has never been a team before. So you can throw all that stuff out the window. If all that counted for something, then there would be no way we could go into Green Bay and win because of all their history. It’s a new team, a new year, and our plan is to come back 4-0.”
One thing the Seahawks haven’t lacked is preparation time. The last time they were on the field for a game was two weeks ago, giving them a full 13 days to prepare for Green Bay. In some respects, the time off could prove to be a negative in that the Seahawks are hoping to maintain the momentum of a 3-0 start.
”Everybody feels like the ball is still rolling, and we’re picking up from right where we left off,” cornerback Marcus Trufant said. ”We just try to get better and better every day in practice.”
Two other Seahawks teams have started 3-0, but neither went on to win the fourth game of the season.
”We’re just trying to keep it moving right now,” defensive tackle Cedric Woodard said. ”We’re trying to build on what we’ve done and get better and better.”
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