SEATTLE – It seems long ago, but it was only August. The Seahawks were in training camp.
The mantra then: This is finally the year. The planets are aligned correctly.
We’ll finally win a playoff game, the Seahawks exclaimed. For the first time since 1984, after two straight first-round defeats, this is the year we’ll punch one into the win column, they said.
Now, for many, stopping at one post-season victory would be as cold as a bag of rocks for Christmas.
Take it one step further. Is it out of the realm of reasonable thought, given today’s state of knee-jerk reactions where coaches are concerned, that winning only one playoff game could make head coach Mike Holmgren nervous about his job?
This is how nutso the Seahawks’ nine straight victories, an NFC-leading 11-2 record and dreams of the Super Bowl have made this place.
Suddenly, merely reaching the playoffs isn’t enough. Neither is the prospect of the Seahawks winning their first playoff game in 21 years.
The prevailing feeling from a success-starved Puget Sound public: Super Bowl or bust, bay-bee!
Which is akin to saying: Walk before you crawl, bay-bee!
Or even: Angelina Jolie or nothing, bay-bee!
To which we say: Hold on, bay-bee!
Where does it say making the playoffs is a dismal collapse? Isn’t now, in the middle of all this, a kick?
“We’ve felt like a really good team for a long time,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “At the same time, we feel we can be a lot better.”
There’s been good football played here at QwestField. Great games. High-quality performances. And the quarterback says it can get better.
How cool is that?
The original goal was fair, reachable and reasonable. More than that, it was logical.
It was a natural progression for this team after two straight seasons that ended in the first round. Logic dictated that, if the team is making reasonable, normal progress, the next valid step would be a post-season victory.
If not, Holmgren should have a lot of explaining to do to keep his job.
The question: How satisfied would anyone be now if the Seahawk train stopped after winning one?
Answer: Not very.
In that way, the Seahawks are victims of their own, newfound success. Oh, how expectations have changed since training camp. The mention of “Super Bowl” and “Seahawks” in the same sentence formerly seemed as silly as Monty Python’s “Dead Parrot” sketch.
Now, a Super Bowl berth is the expectation. If the Seahawks gain home-field advantage leading up to The Big One (and they have a two-game bulge over the field with three games left), the Super Bowl is theirs to blow.
“There are no guarantees,” Holmgren said. “You still have to play, but having our fans with us is a huge advantage for us, like it would be for any team. This is a tough place to play. Our fans are awesome. I imagine if we get a couple of playoff games here, which is our goal, it will be wild.”
The reason for all the hoo-hah isn’t so much the nine-game streak as it is the manner in which the team is winning and the numbers it’s putting up.
In the past two games, the Seahawks have outscored their opponents, 83-3.
Shaun Alexander leads the NFL in rushing and set an NFL record Sunday with his ninth straight 100-yard regular-season rushing game against NFC West opponents. He also picked up his league-leading 23rd touchdown of the year and is within reach of the 2,000-yard barrier.
Lately, quarterbacks don’t come more efficient than Hasselbeck, who was 21-for-25 passing against the 49ers Sunday for 226 yards and four TDs in three quarters of play.
The defense came into Sunday’s game ranked 20th, but rankings mean little. As it showed against the Eagles, this is an opportunistic defense nearly as capable of scoring as the offense is. On Sunday, it held the 49ers to just 113 yards.
“If you can’t cross the 50-yard line, you’re not going to beat us,” Alexander said.
Maybe. And maybe home field will prove to be enough advantage to pave a path from Seattle to Detroit.
But isn’t it enough to enjoy this run, regardless of where it ends? Thirty NFL teams would love to be where the Seahawks stand today.
To consider anything other than a Super Bowl a failure is to miss the thrill of the ride.
And that’s both a drag to the passengers and unfair to the drivers.
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