Perfect debut supports Seahawks` outlook
If it feels like you`ve been waiting 15 years for this moment, well, it`s probably because you have.
Sunday morning, feet up on the couch, remote control in your hand, hopes in your heart.
Remember when Seahawk Sundays were the highlight of the week? The focal point of every fall? The social event for Seattle sports fans who lived and died with every Curt Warner run and Kenny Easley hit?
If not, you`re not alone. An entire generation of Puget Sounders have grown up since the Seahawks were king of the local sports scene, since they last won a playoff game in 1984, since they last commanded the attention of more than just the hard-core sports nuts around the Northwest.
But wouldn`t you know it. Just as the Mariners are fading into oblivion, here come the Hawks.
I can`t remember higher national expectations surrounding the Seahawks in their 29 years. And while area sports followers are naturally wary, Sunday`s 21-7 victory at New Orleans serves as the best possible tonic for Seattle cynicism.
What wasn`t to like about this opening-day showing? Can`t win on the road? Defense young and questionable? Offense overconfident?
Scratch those off the short list of concerns. Replace them, if you want, with worries over the health of Shaun Alexander`s right knee, which buckled in uncomfortable fashion with three minutes remaining in the game and sent a chill through this feel-good day.
But Alexander said he felt OK afterward, perhaps bolstered by the endorphins of a three-touchdown day in which he rushed for 135 yards on 28 carries.
We`ll wait for test results today to determine Alexander`s status. But there should be no holding back on the optimism over Sunday`s showing in the Superdome.
Even with all the high expectations, there were legitimate reasons to wonder how well this club would start, given the difficult double of back-to-back games at New Orleans and Tampa Bay for a team that went 2-7 on the road last year, including the dramatic playoff loss at Green Bay.
These first two games figure to set a huge tone for this club, which is why my season-start meter read: 2-0: Excellent. 1-1: Expected. 0-2: Uh-oh.
So the Seahawks have already avoided uh-oh. At worst, they`ll split those first two road challenges. At best, they`ll be off to a superior start that catapults them toward the sort of season everyone thinks possible.
Why the unbridled optimism? Because the Seahawks controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Because the defense provided non-stop pressure on a pretty good Saints` squad and took Deuce
McAllister, one of the NFL`s top backs, completely out of the equation.
And because Matt Hasselbeck looked like he`s ready to lead his potent offense to another level.
Fox TV analyst Tim Ryan called Hasselbeck a ``bonafide stud`` before Sunday`s game, leading me to wonder if The Balding One has ever heard those words associated with his name. But it`s true. Starting his fourth season with the Seahawks, Hasselbeck seems poised for a breakthrough to the big time.
He moved smartly in and out of the pocket against the Saints, sidestepping trouble, throwing from all arm angles, finding ways to make things work. Hasselbeck is looking increasingly comfortable as an NFL quarterback and the unquestioned leader of the team.
At one point Sunday, safety Ken Hamlin slapped Saints receiver Dante Stallworth on the helmet after shutting down a third-and-long play.
Hasselbeck immediately pulled the emotional Hamlin aside on the sidelines, reminding him not to pick up silly penalties at such a critical juncture.
Instead, it was the Saints who seemed to lose their cool while the Seahawks clinically went about their business. The Seahawks got big plays from a host of defenders. Cedric Woodard and Rashad Moore shut down the middle.
Grant Wistrom and Chike Okeafor put pressure on quarterback Aaron Brooks from the outside. Hamlin put the hammer on Joe Horn, cornerbacks Ken Lucas and Marcus Trufant were superb, new free safety Terreal Bierria was everywhere, rookie Michael Boulware made an interception. Suddenly things looked remarkably simple in the Big Easy. The Seahawks played superior team defense and put their offense in position to do its damage.
Alexander, almost overlooked in the preseason as attention focused on Holmgren`s plethora of pass weapons, scored all three touchdowns.
In the end, only the sight of Alexander being helped off the field dampened an otherwise perfect opening day.
But that`s the way it is with professional football. Emotional ups and downs. Seasons filled with highs and lows. On this Sunday, it felt like old times. Like this game mattered. Like this team has a chance. Like we ought to care.
It`s been a while, but maybe, just maybe, this is the season when Seattle truly does rediscover the joy of big-time Seahawks football.
This region`s sports fans just need a reason to believe. And Sunday was the perfect first step.
Related News:
