KIRKLAND – It seems safe to assume that the Seattle Seahawks, who have played exactly one playoff game since 1988, don’t know what to expect when the postseason begins this weekend.
But that’s not the case. The Seahawks know exactly what to expect when they face the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in a first-round playoff game Sunday.
What Seattle may lack in postseason experience, it certainly makes up for in opponent familiarity.
Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren spent six years with the Packers and may well know Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre as well as anyone. Packers running back Ahman Green started his career in Seattle, while head coach Mike Sherman used to be a Holmgren assistant with the Seahawks.
And the connections go both ways. The Packers know a little about Holmgren’s tendencies and are familiar with former teammate and current Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck as well.
Then there are players like Seahawks defensive tackle John Randle, a former Minnesota Viking whose 14-year career has included 23 games against the Packers.
“It’s familiar,” Randle said. “As a player, I’ve played against them; Mike’s coached them. So we know what to expect.”
Adding to the intrigue is the fact that the two teams met at Lambeau Field less than three months ago, when the Packers stomped Seattle 35-13. So this will mark a rare playoff game between non-divisional opponents who know each other very well.
Hasselbeck will use his knowledge in different ways this week, when he intends to assist his defensive teammates in their game planning. Hasselbeck will sit in on defensive film sessions, beginning today, and will try to give input as to how to play against Favre and Co.
“If there’s anything I can add, I’m going to do that,” Hasselbeck said. “That’s not something that I did the first (meeting in October). I really tried to focus on my job and what I could do. We’ve got a little extra time – we didn’t play (Sunday) – and so that’s what I’m going to do.”
Hasselbeck isn’t pretending to have any special tricks in terms of shutting Favre down. Once Favre’s backup, Hasselbeck realizes that sometimes the Green Bay quarterback gets on a hot streak, and there is no solution.
That was the case when Green Bay beat the Seahawks in October, and again eight days ago, when Favre put on a memorable Monday Night Football performance the day after the death of his father.
“That Brett Favre is unstoppable,” Hasselbeck said. “That’s one of the things you get when you play a future Hall of Famer like that. You just hope he’s not having one of those days. And if he is, we’re just going to do our best to match it.”
Hasselbeck might know Favre well, but Holmgren knows him better than just about anyone. In this familial matchup, Holmgren represents the godfather.
He is the central figure in the playoff pairing, having ties to Sherman, Favre, Green and several other Packers starters – not to mention everyone in a Seahawks uniform.
Holmgren says his knowledge of the people involved won’t have much effect on the game.
“I think it probably helps us, but it helps them, too,” he said. “Mike (Sherman) knows us pretty well. That thing is kind of a push.”
Said Sherman: “Certainly there’s a lot of Mike Holmgren here, as there is in Seattle. But I don’t think there’s enough that they could figure out what we’re doing based on that.”
What will work in Seattle’s favor, at least to some degree, is the fact that historic Lambeau Field won’t be a shock to their system. One of the toughest venues in the NFL, Lambeau isn’t quite as intimidating the second time around.
That will even be the case for Hasselbeck, whose trip to Lambeau in October makes this return less significant.
“Having gone there already this year, I think there will be less distractions for me personally in terms of that stuff,” he said. “But no question, I’m really excited.”
There shouldn’t be any surprises this time around, especially for a pair of teams who know each other so well.
“We played them already this year, so it’s not going to be that different,” Seahawks wide receiver Koren Robinson said. “Except that this time we want to go out to Lambeau and win.”
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