KIRKLAND – Nothing was going to take this Monday excitement away.
The giddiness of an improbable win had Seattle Seahawks players bouncing around the locker room, laughing and ribbing each other with smiles all around.
And there would be no bad news to disrupt it.
One week after seeing the joy of a convincing win over Houston replaced by concern for hospitalized teammate Ken Hamlin, the Seahawks were able to bask in their victory without distraction.
Not only had Seattle knocked off NFC contender Dallas 13-10 the previous day, but the players showed up Monday to find out that coach Mike Holmgren would hold up to his promise of giving them the entire week off.
“We worked really hard for it,” safety Michael Boulware said before the players left the facility for the final time until next Monday. “It’s really nice, especially when you win like we won (Sunday) night. We fought really hard, and it just makes everything more deserving.”
Seattle’s comeback victory – the Seahawks scored 10 points in the final 40 seconds – brought with it an excitement level that lasted well into Monday afternoon. Even Holmgren, who often preaches the importance of staying focused, was able to live in the moment for a few hours.
“The mood in the building’s pretty good today,” he said Monday, “I think mainly because I gave the players the day off. But they deserved it. They’ve worked very, very hard.”
In addition to the unlikely victory, Seattle (5-2) maintained its two-game lead atop the NFC West. The Seahawks have gone from a playoff longshot to a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Only the 5-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a better record in the NFC right now.
“Everybody’s feeling real good about the game and real good about the season and how it’s going,” cornerback Marcus Trufant said. “Everybody’s spirits are high. But we know there’s still a lot of football left to be played, so everybody’s trying to stay focused.”
The Seahawks have gone into bye weeks on a high before. They’ve actually won all seven of their games immediately preceding the bye during Holmgren’s tenure. But every bye week has been followed by a loss.
With three consecutive games against NFC West opponents on tap, beginning Nov. 6 at Arizona, the Seahawks are trying to enjoy their success without getting too far ahead of themselves.
“We really feel good about the way we’ve been playing, especially this last game,” tight end Itula Mili said. “It shows a lot about our team. We’re definitely a different team. We feel good about the position we’re in and the bye week we have. The next three games are going to be hugely important for us.”
Some Seahawks have plans to go out of town, while many will remain in Seattle.
The most important homecoming actually happened over the weekend, when Hamlin was released from Harborview Medical Center. While Holmgren had no health update on the Seahawks’ safety, the fact that he had been released from the hospital came as good news.
“He’s got a tough road back; that’s all I know,” Holmgren said.
Holmgren’s decision to give his players the bye week off was not unprecedented. He has given his players four-day weekends in each of the past two bye weeks, and once gave his 1996 Green Bay Packers an entire week off. That team went on to win the Super Bowl.
“That’s the only other time I gave the team the (entire) week off,” Holmgren said Monday. “I did it then for certain reasons. We had a veteran team; I really trusted them.
“This group, I talked to (Monday), and said, ‘Listen, I’m going to do this, and you deserve it, but this thing’s a two-way street.’ The trust thing goes both ways, so they have to be smart about how they handle themselves.”
Holmgren is more concerned with how his team will return mentally than he is anyone getting into trouble. But after the Hamlin incident, there’s still a part of him that has to wonder.
“Sometimes, bad things happen to good people – timing, wrong-place-wrong-time, whatever it is,” he said. “But this team, if they weren’t aware of it before, they certainly are now. I do trust them to have a good week off and come back ready to go.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
