RENTON — After a delayed holiday, the Seattle Seahawks returned to work on Monday in an unfamiliar position.
That is, with no mathematical chance of making the postseason.
While it has been a long time coming over the past few weeks, the Seahawks (2-10) have continued to promise that they would push forward until they were officially out of the playoff race.
That time has arrived. So what now?
“I told the team today that we’re going to play every game to win,” head coach Mike Holmgren said Monday, after the players returned from a three-day weekend. “Whatever that means as far as the roster, that’s what we have to do. There’s not a lot of things to try, if you think about it.” To be sure, the Seahawks have exhausted most of their options already.
Injuries have led to nine different starting wide receivers, and the offensive line has featured six starting lineups in 12 games. Young cornerbacks Josh Wilson and Kelly Jennings have both had plenty of opportunities, and the running backs have been rotating for most of the season.
A youth movement is unlikely, seeing as how Seattle’s top two draft picks — defensive end Lawrence Jackson and tight end John Carlson — are already in the starting lineup. Fourth-round pick Red Bryant is nursing a sprained ankle, fifth-round pick Owen Schmitt has already been forced into the starting lineup for two games, and sixth-round pick Tyler Schmitt is on injured reserve.
Kicker Brandon Coutu, a seventh-round pick, is the only healthy rookie who has yet to see significant action.
Holmgren mentioned only one possible change specifically on Monday, saying that third-string tailback T.J. Duckett could see extended action down the stretch so that the team can evaluate him.
“I wouldn’t think you’d see any drastic changes,” Holmgren said. “And it’s not by design. We have to play who’s healthy.”
That led to an inevitable question about whether the health of quarterback Matt Hasselbeck — he missed five games with a bulging disk in his back and continues to take a pounding in games — would lead the Seahawks to rest their franchise quarterback down the stretch.
“Matt’s going to play,” Holmgren said. “…You get torn, because you’re competitive and you want to win the game and you see some good things out there that probably only he can do, but look, I hope we can protect him a little better than we did last week.
“… You’re still trying to win the game. You’re trying to do what you need to do. I don’t want him to get (hurt). I don’t want anybody to get hurt.”
During a short session with reporters on Monday, Hasselbeck initially called his status “a dangerous situation,” but later amended that by saying he doesn’t necessarily feel like he’s putting himself at risk of further injury.
“The fact that we are out of the playoffs, to me, doesn’t affect anything,” the quarterback said. “If someone (a coach) decides to play it a little differently at the end, that’s their call. As a player, you really have to have tunnel vision; you have to focus on yourself and on your body. … If it’s an injury that is not helping (the team), then you have to let your teammates step in.”
While Holmgren continues to defend the play of his offense because of a series of injuries, he has been overly critical of the defense as of late. That continued Monday, when the coach was asked about his defensive unit.
“At any position, if you have a high expectation level anywhere, and you haven’t reached it, you’ve got to look at why,” Holmgren said. “The biggest thing that jumps out at me is that there’s a little bit of a size differential. (The Cowboys were) very, very big up front. … A good big guy will beat a good little guy, if they’re both good.”
The Seahawks are, at the very least, acknowledging their flaws. But a series of injuries and a lack of depth might not give the team much opportunity to evaluate players down the stretch.
So what will the final four weeks mean?
“We just have to play for pride right now,” defensive tackle Howard Green said. “… This is always a crucial time for everybody. You try to put your best work on film and handle your job appropriately, and everything else will take care of itself.”
As far as team goals, December is essentially a meaningless month for the also-ran Seahawks. Second place in the division is nice, but not when it comes with a sub-.500 record.
Maybe that’s why Don and Betsy Hasselbeck, who live near the New England Patriots facility and attend most of that playoff contender’s games, might be torn this week. Their oldest son, Matt, plays for the Seahawks, but it’s the Patriots (7-5) who are still battling for a playoff spot.
“I would hope they’re pulling for the Seahawks,” the Seahawks’ quarterback said of his parents on Monday. “… I shouldn’t have to ask. You never know anymore. You never know.”
Hard as it is to take, the Seahawks have become the kind of team that not even a mother can love.
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