SEATTLE – The film study was over, the pens and notebooks were out of sight, and the relentless analysis had been put on hold. After four months of tinkering with the defending NFC champions, of wondering what’s wrong and how to fix it, the Seattle Seahawks came to one single conclusion.
The team that has yet to play up to its potential is ready to break out. And the reason?
“We have to,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said this week. “It’s just time to get it right. It’s time to hit your stride and play your best football. Hopefully we can do that.”
There is no time like the present, especially when the future is on the line.
And so when the Seahawks host the Dallas Cowboys in their playoff opener today, they plan on having that breakout performance that has eluded them for most of the season.
And then? Maybe the Seahawks can find a way to make another improbable postseason run.
“The chemistry on this team has risen to a different level right now,” fullback Mack Strong said. “We’re playing playoff-caliber football.”
Last season, the Seahawks streaked into the playoffs and didn’t cool off until the Super Bowl. This year’s team hasn’t had quite the consistency, but there have been a few subtle signs that it might be ready to get hot at the right time.
“Everybody’s coming back off injury,” said wide receiver Darrell Jackson, who missed the final two games of the regular season with a toe injury but is holding out hope that he’ll be able to play today. “We haven’t been together all year, and now everyone’s coming back, and we’re starting to get on a little roll.”
“Roll” might be a bit strong, but the Seahawks have definitely played better in their final two games. A Week 16 loss to Super Bowl favorite San Diego provided plenty of reasons for optimism, led by Shaun Alexander’s 140-yard rushing performance. Sunday’s win over Tampa Bay added more, including a solid defensive performance and a ball-control offense.
“We’ve got a sense of urgency going on,” wide receiver Deion Branch said. “We know what we can do after the last two games. We’ve played good, solid football the last two games.”
Solid football, but far from perfect football. The Seahawks know that they’ll have to raise their level of play, especially on offense, if they are going to advance to a second-round meeting at Chicago or New Orleans.
“Whenever you are playing against Terrell Owens, you are going to have to score points,” Alexander said, referring to the Cowboys’ star receiver. “The whole Sharpie thing happened here; we are not naive to that. He has had great games against us his whole career from every team and we just have to play well; we have to match that.”
Alexander, who missed six games with a cracked bone in his left foot, said his recent success has a lot to do with his improving health.
“I feel a lot better,” he said. “I feel like when I am playing in the game, I’ve got my legs up under me.”
Alexander’s was just one injury that hamstrung the offense this year. Eight of the 11 starters – Alexander, Hasselbeck, Jackson, tight end Jerramy Stevens and four offensive linemen – have missed a game with an injury. A ninth starter, Branch, was acquired two weeks into the regular season.
That leaves only Mack Strong and Walter Jones as wire-to-wire starters on that side of the football.
The defense has had its share of injuries as well, with the positions of cornerback and defensive tackle getting hit the hardest. But that side of the football also has improved as of late.
“We have really simplified our game plan on defense,” defensive end Bryce Fisher said. “We’re playing a kind of defense where guys are confident in their reads, and they’re playing to the best of their ability.”
If there’s an advantage to the Seahawks’ mediocre season, it’s that they don’t have quite the pressure they did as the NFC’s top seed in 2005.
The Seahawks haven’t looked very super this season, but there’s still time to get it all together and make a run toward their ultimate goal.
“When it comes down to it, Pittsburgh went on the road and they won the Super Bowl last year,” middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu said. “They won on the road for four games, and they pulled it off. So anything is possible when you get in to the dance.
“And we’re in.”
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