They kicked. They screamed. They dug their nails into the floor, protesting vehemently as the NFL dragged them away.
The Seattle Seahawks made like a spoiled child when the league announced its realignment plans in 2001.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald
What would they do without the AFC West? What would happen to ticket sales without the hated Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos on their home schedule every year? How would the players survive without that annual trip to beautiful San Diego?
And how in the heck were the Seahawks going to compete in a division that also included the St. Louis Rams and San Francisco 49ers?!
Four years later, the Seahawks have some choice words for the NFL:
Thank goodness for realignment, baby!
Thanks in large part to the mediocrity of the NFC, the 9-2 Seahawks currently have the best record in the conference and are in position to gain home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. And the so-called “competition” in the NFC West has left Seattle one win (or a St. Louis loss) away from clinching their second division title in a row … in Week 12.
This change in conference allegiance has been quite a coup for the Seahawks, huh?
Let’s just pretend, for example, that the Seahawks were still in the AFC West. While a 9-2 record would be good enough to match the division-leading Denver Broncos, there’s a pretty good chance Seattle wouldn’t have nine wins – not with games against the Broncos, Chiefs and Chargers replacing the 49ers, Rams and Cardinals. The Seahawks are 5-0 against NFC West teams this year, but their record might be closer to 3-2 or 2-3 against the AFC West.
Or maybe the Seahawks could have ended up in a division like the NFC East, where all four teams are still battling for a playoff spot. Seattle has a 2-1 record against teams from that division this season, but two of those games went to overtime, while a third – a 13-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys – was decided on a game-winning field goal on the game’s play. The Seahawks’ games against NFC East opponents have all been decided by three points, while their NFC West contests have had an average differential of 12.4 points.
Things looked a lot different in 2002, when the Seahawks were leaving an AFC West division that had just one playoff team (the 10-6 Oakland Raiders) for an NFC West division that included 14-2 St. Louis and 12-4 San Francisco.
But a more subtle realignment that involved moving the Arizona Cardinals from the NFC East to the NFC West might have been the most important adjustment – for both divisions. The Seahawks have undoubtedly benefited from facing Arizona twice a year – Seattle has won six of the past seven head-to-head meetings – while the teams from the NFC East have no one left to kick around.
The NFC West might have the team with the best record in the conference, yet has the second-worst combined winning percentage in the NFL (.432). Only the AFC East’s 16-28 aggregate record ranks below the NFC West’s 19-25.
And as for the concern about losing rivalries with Oakland, Denver and Kansas City? Those were mostly one-sided rivalries that didn’t extend beyond the Washington state border. Ask Raiders fans about their biggest rival over the years, and they’ll talk about the Chargers, Broncos and Chiefs. Ask Broncos fans about their rivalries, and even teams from outside the AFC West – Cleveland, Buffalo and Indianapolis come to mind – probably rank ahead of Seattle.
But now the Seahawks have a true rival. As long as the 49ers and Cardinals flounder at the bottom of the league, Seattle and the Rams will continue to battle for supremacy. Just four chapters into their NFC West novel, the Seahawks have a more alluring antagonist than they had in any of the AFC West teams.
(Sure, Seattle fans always hated the Raiders. But at least the Rams’ fans actually hate back.)
And so while another year in the AFC might have had the Seahawks hovering around .500, the jump to the NFC has worked wonders.
Any pipe dreams of a Super Bowl berth for the AFC Seahawks would end in Indianapolis. The NFC Seahawks, however, might be just two home playoff wins from a Super destination.
Seahawks at Eagles
Kickoff: 6 p.m. Monday
TV: ABC (Channel 4)
Radio: KIRO (710 AM)
Stars to watch: Seahawks – RB Shaun Alexander is leading the NFL with 1,339 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns. After catching a total of eight touchdown passes over three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, WR Joe Jurevicius has seven TDs this year. MLB Lofa Tatupu is leading the team with 81 tackles. DT Rocky Bernard has a team-best 81/2 sacks this season.
Eagles – QB Mike McMahon took over as starter for ailing Donovan McNabb two weeks ago but has completed just 30 of 67 passes during that span. RB Brian Westbrook is leading all NFC running backs with 56 receptions this season. DE Jevon Kearse has a team-high 61/2 sacks. S Brian Dawkins has been to four of the past six Pro Bowls.
Breaking down the game: This is a classic matchup of strength-versus-strength, with Seattle’s top-ranked offense taking on a Philadelphia defense that can give coaches fits.
That means the key to the game might be on the other side of the football, where the Eagles are trying to find an identity without Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens and the Seahawks are struggling defensively. Philly’s new-look offense, led by quarterback Mike McMahon and featuring running back Brian Westbrook, will try to attack a Seattle D that has given up too many big plays.
One thing the Seahawks defense has done well, for the most part, has been to stop the run. But that changed last week when Tiki Barber became the first opposing running back to rush for more than 100 yards in a game. The Eagles are hoping Westbrook can do the same.
Chances are, both offenses will struggle at times. The long road trip and Seattle’s difficulty handling the Philadelphia blitz might be the difference.
Pick: Eagles, 16-13.
Injury report: Seahawks – S John Howell (hamstring), WR Darrell Jackson (knee), CB Kelly Herndon (knee) and LB Jamie Sharper (knee) are out. DE Bryce Fisher (foot) is questionable. DT Chartric Darby (knee), WR Joe Jurevicius and LB D.D. Lewis (knee) are probable.
Eagles – G Artis Hicks (knee), DT Sam Rayburn (shoulder) and LB Dedrick Roper (elbow) are questionable. K David Akers (hamstring), RB Lamar Gordon (concussion), RB Reno Mahe (back) and TE Stephen Spach (foot) are probable.
Little-known fact: The past four NFC representatives at the Super Bowl have had sub-.500 records the following season. The 5-6 Eagles could follow in the footsteps of the 2000 New York Giants, the 2001 St. Louis Rams, the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the 2003 Carolina Panthers.
Other NFL games
Dallas (7-4) at New York Giants (7-4), Sunday, 10 a.m.: For the Giants’ sakes, let’s hope this game doesn’t come down to a field goal. If not for a couple of strange finishes against the Seahawks, these two teams would be 8-3 and battling not only for division supremacy, but also for the NFC’s best record. Instead, the loser of this game will be scrambling just to make the playoffs. Pick: Giants, 20-17.
Cincinnati (8-3) at Pittsburgh (7-4), Sunday, 10 a.m.: The battle for top billing in the AFC South has lost a little of its luster over the past two weeks, when these two teams proved non-challengers to Super Bowl favorite Indianapolis. The good news is, the winner of this game gets to put off a playoff rematch with the Colts for a little bit longer. Pick: Steelers, 27-24.
Atlanta (7-4) at Carolina (8-3), Sunday, 10 a.m.: Wow … speaking of huge division games. What a morning it will be in the NFL, with three huge matchups between playoff contenders. This one comes down to a familiar question: Can the Panthers stop Michael Vick? The quarterback is 5-0 against Carolina during his career, and his Falcons can’t afford to lose this week. Pick: Falcons, 17-10.
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