KIRKLAND — In this season of giving, the Seattle Seahawks have been more concerned with taking away.
Turnovers have been a big key to the Seahawks’ current winning streak, and they’ve also played a large part in the team’s 9-4 record this season.
Seattle has forced 31 turnovers this season — the second-highest total in the NFC — and 14 of those have come during the current five-game winning streak. With a turnover differential of plus-13, the Seahawks lead the NFC and rank third in the NFL.
“Getting stops is one thing, but ultimately you want to get turnovers,” defensive tackle Rocky Bernard said. “Those can change the whole game around. We’ve been doing that a lot this year.”
Seattle leads the NFC with 20 interceptions, led by the seven of cornerback Marcus Trufant. He had three in Sunday’s win over Arizona, while linebacker Lofa Tatupu had three of his own in the previous week’s game at Philadelphia.
In the past two games alone, Seattle has nine interceptions. That’s the franchise’s highest two-game total since 1984.
“We’re just playing the defense the way it’s supposed to be played, and good things happen,” said Tatupu, who has a career-high four interceptions for the season.
Tatupu and Trufant have only been part of the theft brigade. Linebacker Julian Peterson and defensive back Jordan Babineaux have forced four fumbles apiece, while safety Deon Grant has added three interceptions.
“Guys have gotten the opportunity,” defensive coordinator John Marshall said. “They’re good athletes going after the ball.”
According to Marshall, the defense is more advanced than in the past seasons. That has a lot to do with the number of veterans, among them a pair of dependable safeties — Grant and Brian Russell — whose presence allows for others to gamble now and then.
For the most part, the gambles have paid off.
With three games to go, the 2007 Seahawks have already surpassed last year’s total (26) for turnovers forced. The last time Seattle forced more than 30 turnovers in a season was in 2004, when the Seahawks had 35 takeaways.
This year’s Seahawks have a long way to go to reach the franchise record of 63 takeaways, set in 1984. But it has been a more opportunistic defense than units of the recent past.
“We work on it in practice. We worked on it all (training) camp long,” Tatupu said. “We’ve got it in our mind: get off the field, but if you can’t, get the turnover.”
Just as important, the Seahawks have taken care of the ball on offense. Only four teams — New England, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and Minnesota — have thrown fewer interceptions than Seattle’s season total of 10. The Seahawks have lost only eight fumbles, which marks the fourth-lowest total in the NFC.
The turnovers have had a direct effect on wins and losses. Seattle has a plus-15 turnover ratio in its nine wins, as compared minus-2 in the four losses.
“Every once in a while, ESPN will pop a stat up there about the (few) times you win a game and turn the ball over twice,” Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. “It’s remarkable how many games you lose just by looking at that number and how it correlates with winning and losing.”
Most of the time, anyway. Seattle has had more than one turnover in less than half its games this season, yet the Seahawks have a 4-2 record in those games.
Even on the rare Sunday when this year’s Seahawks are turning the ball over, they’ve been doing more taking than giving.
“The guys just have a real good feel for what we’re doing defensively,” Marshall said. “They’re trying to make plays, and they’re making them.
“There really isn’t a magic answer. Turnovers can come in bunches and clusters. I’m just glad they’re coming.”
Notes: Defensive end Patrick Kerney has a chance to make history in the final three games of the season. If he has one more three-sack game, he would become the second player in NFL history to record four in the same season. Only Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor, who did it with the 1986 New York Giants, has accomplished that feat. Kerney is also three sacks away from Michael Sinclair’s franchise record of 16.5. … Safety Mike Green (knee) and tackle Walter Jones (shoulder) returned to practice Thursday. Russell (abdomen) and guard Chris Gray (general soreness) did not participate. The official injury report comes out today. … The Panthers practiced a second consecutive day without quarterback Vinny Testaverde, who has an undisclosed injury. Coach John Fox will not say whether Testaverde or Oregon State rookie Matt Moore will start Sunday.
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