Seahawks seek 8th straight win tonight in Philadelphia

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, December 4, 2005

PHILADELPHIA – Kind of funny how these things pop up now and again.

Like a Terrell Owens outburst. Or a Lawrence Phillips arrest warrant.

Just when you think their problems are behind them … bam! And the cycle continues.

After the Seattle Seahawks had finally put to rest all that talk about their East Coast struggles, they go and lose four in a row – the last two of which came at the beginning of this season.

And now, after the Seahawks made their 2,800-mile journey to Philadelphia for tonight’s game against the Eagles, the question rears its ugly head again.

Is a trip to the Eastern time zone going to throw off the NFC’s hottest team?

“There are a lot of things you’ve got to put to rest: playing the St. Louis Rams, going to the East Coast, or whatever,” fullback Mack Strong said. “If we can go there and play well, we can put that to rest.”

Despite the outward appearances, there is no curse, no mental block and no Bermuda Triangle-like obstacle that keeps the Seahawks from winning on the East Coast.

But there are factors that make it more difficult to win in a different time zone.

“You’re being taken out of your element,” defensive tackle Rocky Bernard said. “For some reason, on the road, it’s always tough. Around here we’ve always struggled on the road. We’ve just got to go in there and get it done.”

Seattle’s current four-game slide in contests played in the Eastern time zone is nothing compared to 2003. That year, the Seahawks had a perfect 8-0 record at home but barely made the playoffs because of a 2-6 mark on the road. Their only two road wins came in West Coast cities – Arizona and San Francisco – while Seattle went through one streak of six consecutive losses away from their home stadium.

Back-to-back wins over New Orleans and Tampa Bay to open the 2004 season ended talk of an East Coast jinx, and yet the road woes have quietly returned.

Seattle lost at New England in October 2004, lost a road game against the New York Jets last December, and dropped games at Jacksonville and Washington earlier this season. While the Seahawks have four road victories in between – at San Francisco twice, at Minnesota and at St. Louis – they still haven’t won a game in the Eastern time zone since that 10-6 win over Tampa Bay on Sept. 19, 2004.

That wouldn’t be so alarming, except that the Seahawks are 11-3 at home in that span.

“It isn’t an issue unless you make it an issue,” Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “It’s kind of like playing in hot weather or cold weather: if you allow yourself to be distracted by it, then you’ll be distracted.”

Adding to the difficult nature of playing in Philadelphia is a fan base that isn’t exactly known for its congeniality.

In 1999, Eagles fans cheered while Dallas wide receiver Michael Irvin lied motionless on the turf with a neck injury.

In 1997, fans at a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game threw batteries at St. Louis Cardinals outfielder J.D. Drew.

And in 1968, a man dressed as Santa Claus got pelted with snowballs and booed during halftime of an Eagles-Minnesota Vikings game.

“The one thing I have always said is that they are going to let you know when you are doing good,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said, “and they are going to let you know when you are doing bad.”

The Seahawks have dealt with surly fan bases before, having played in Oakland every year from 1977 through 1981 and again from 1995 through 2002. They’ve also gone through plenty of long road trips, with the 800-mile flight to San Francisco being their shortest venture.

The Seahawks are scheduled to travel about 17,400 miles this season. That’s quite an adjustment for, say, linebacker Kevin Bentley, who logged just 5,200 miles as a member of the Cleveland Browns last season.

“My three years in Cleveland, our longest trip was to San Fran, when we left on a Friday to get acclimated. That was it in three years,” said Bentley, who went on trips of shorter than 500 miles in five of the Brown’s eight 2004 road games.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve been to Jacksonville, to Washington, now we’re going to Philly. And it’s not like St. Louis is close. I’ve had a lot of long trips this year. I didn’t know they traveled this much.”

Traveling is nothing new to the Seahawks. But sometimes it seems as if they still haven’t figured out how best to do it.

Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren hopes that tonight’s game in Philadelphia will be a different story.

“It’s on the road, Monday night, hostile environment, and it’s against a good team,” he said. “So these are all measuring sticks. We’ve had a few already. Here’s another one.”