By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Nobody flew Chris Gray down to Los Angeles for a television appearance last week.
And Todd Weiner didn’t get to sit down for any one-on-one interviews with Marcus Allen.
Walter Jones’ coaches said he played a “perfect” game last week, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be on ESPN during this morning’s pre-game show.
All of the lights and media attention went to Shaun Alexander last week, and with good reason. The Seattle Seahawks’ young running back rambled for a team-record 266 yards on national television last Sunday night.
But the five men equally responsible for Alexander’s breakout performance got barely a sniff from any national reporters.
So the Seahawks’ offensive line had to wait until last night to reap their rewards for an outstanding game in last week’s win over the Oakland Raiders. Gray, Weiner, Jones, Robbie Tobeck and Steve Hutchinson finally got the royal treatment Saturday evening, when Alexander was scheduled to take them out for a five-star dinner.
“I’m going to go up to the concierge and find out where the most expensive restaurant in Buffalo is,” Tobeck said last week, in preparation of Alexander buying his offensive line dinner. “You’ve got to take advantage of these deals when you can.”
Alexander might want to be careful. The last time a player splurged for Seattle’s o-linemen, they quickly went into the tank.
Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck rewarded his linemen with coolers full of assorted meat following a strong preseason performance, and they promptly responded by giving up 18 sacks over the first three weeks. Jones offered to give his raw meat back, but Hasselbeck declined.
Since then, the line has come together, and now it’s one of the strongest units on the team.
“We felt like coming into the year that we should be the strength of the team, but we had a couple games early in the year where as a unit we let the team down,” said Tobeck, a 31-year-old center. “We feel like how we play will determine how the team’s going to play, and that guys can feed off us. We try to take it upon ourselves to go out and set a tone, and that’s what we’ve got to do from now on. We’ve got to get off the roller coaster and try to be the dominant unit that we know we can be.”
During the first three weeks of the season, the Seahawks gave up 18 sacks. In the five games since, they have allowed 13.
The first three games included a rushing average of 4.1 yards per carry. In the last five, that number is 5.1.
Yes, the improved quarterback play has been a factor. And the insertion of Shaun Alexander into the starting lineup has improved the running game.
But the offensive improvement since Week 3 has been due in large part to the improved play along the offensive line.
“It’s just been a matter of guys playing together,” offensive line coach Tom Lovat said, “getting a little chemistry going.”
The unit came into this season with high expectations. There was so much depth on the o-line that at least two former starters were going to have to work with the second team.
But a lingering injury to right tackle Chris McIntosh and a new interior that took a few weeks to come together made for a rough start.
“It was frustrating, very frustrating,” Tobeck said. “Coming into the year, we talked amongst ourselves and felt like we could be a line that can stay together and carry this team to bigger and better things in years to come. We didn’t get that consistency out of ourselves at the beginning of the year.
“We’ve worked real hard and tried to come out of it, and part of being successful is hitting some adversity, especially as a group. People questioning you, a little criticism. Working through that just makes you better. It toughens your edges. One thing I’m proud of is that everyone came together.”
The Seahawks’ line passed a major test last week, when it held the Raiders to one relatively meaningless sack. Six weeks earlier, against the same Oakland defense, Seattle gave up six sacks to the Raiders – and had two quarterbacks knocked out due to injury.
Today’s game against the Buffalo Bills will provide an altogether different challenge. The Bills’ defense includes three rookies, and the line hasn’t exactly been knocking on opposing quarterbacks’ doors. So Seattle’s challenge will be to enter this game with the same kind of motivation it had last week against the Raiders.
“I think we’re coming together well,” Jones said. “It took a while, but hopefully we can stay together and put up more wins together.”
The high expectations come from the fact that three of the starters were first-round draft picks, including two in the past 19 months. One of those, Hutchinson, has played so well that ESPN.com named him to their first-half all-AFC team. Another, tackle McIntosh, has been hampered by a neck stinger since training camp. The injury sapped his strength during the course of games, and it’s gotten to the point where the team has re-inserted Weiner in the starting lineup.
“He’s played well,” Lovat said of Weiner, “and it’s hard to sit him down.”
After it looked like the 2001 Seahawks were on their way to challenging the all-time NFL record for sacks allowed in a season, this unit is starting to get a little publicity for more positive statistics lately.
“I think we experienced some getting to know each other early on because of the sack situation,” coach Mike Holmgren said. “The fact that we were throwing the ball and (were in) positions where we had to throw the ball was tough on them. They have a lot of pride and they are playing better.”
GRAFIC IF YOU WANT IT:
Drawing the line
Since Week 3 of the regular season, the Seahawks’ offense has turned around its misfortunes. The improved play of the offensive line has been a major factor. Here is a look at the Seahawks’ statistical turnaround:
Weeks 1-3 4-8
Points/game 7.7 19.4
Rushing yards/game 92.3 164.2
Yards/play 3.9 5.8
Sacks allowed/game 6 2.6
Third-down eff. 31% 44%
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