First, basketball’s Supersonics were ripped from Seattle and brought to Oklahoma City. Then the baseball Mariners became the first MLB team to lose more than 100 games with a payroll of $100 million. Then the football Huskies made Washington the worst college team in the nation by going 0-5 to open their season, becoming the only BCS eligible school without a win.
Now, the football Seahawks have opened their season at 1-3 with a defense so porous that housewives all over Seattle could use it as a strainer to pass liquids.
The Hawks lost their first road game to the Buffalo Bills 34-10 (the scourge of the AFC East that went 7-9 last year), lost in overtime at home to the San Francisco 49ers 33-30 (the 49ers went 5-11 last year), ultimately beating the Los Angeles Rams at home 37-13 (the Rams were 3-13 last year), and losing on the road to the New York Giants 44- 6 (the Giants won the Super Bowl last year).
This Sunday (10-12-08) Seattle receives Green Bay at home. Prior to coming to Seattle, Holmgren spent 7 years compiling a 75-37 regular season record with the Packers while winning 3 straight NFC Central titles and making 2 trips to and winning one Super Bowl.
So how bad are the Seahawks sucking on defense this year? Really bad. They rank 24th in run defense (among 32 NFL teams), 25th in pass defense, 27th in total defense, and 29th in scoring defense. They have allowed 24 big plays of 20+ yards in their first 4 outings.
These negative stats become more significant when you know that 1) Seattle’s defense was much better last year, 2) they led the NFL in fewest touchdown passes allowed last year, and 3) all 11 starting team members returned. defensive back from last year.
Adding insult to injury, Seattle hasn’t played well on the road and supposedly has an East Coast curse. Seahawk coach Mike Holmgren isn’t listening or believing any of the East Coast nonsense. Before the Hawks’ trip to New York and the loss to the Giants, Holmgren had this to say in no uncertain terms:
“You lose a football game (away) for the same reason you lose a football game at home … you lose because you played poorly. You lost the ball, you threw interceptions and you missed tackles. Period. I don’t want to hear it.”
Mike is an imposing man of size with success and earned authority. When he talks, you shut up and listen. When you win 8 NFC division titles, lead your team to 3 Super Bowl appearances, and win the Super Bowl, then you can talk.
I totally agree with Holmgren. The Seahawks have talent, proven success and experience in key positions. Perhaps the lapse in their performance in the away game is nothing more than a mental problem.
The Seahawks have played much better defense at home, where they are fed by their raucous supporters, than they have on the road. Cooler heads know that if your game is based more on emotion than self-control, you’ve got a serious problem, as you can’t take the emotional support of the fans with you on the road.
The more control you have over your thoughts, words, emotions, and behavior, the more effective results you will have when the time comes. That’s why smart players don’t get in trouble (on and off the field) while other players get in trouble.
When you have a lot of stars on a team (Matt Hasselbeck, Walter Jones, Lofa Tatupu, Julian Peterson, Leroy Hill and Marcus Trufant), sometimes the stars become bigger than the team and there isn’t enough space on the playing surface to accommodate to all. of the egos
Knute Rockne may never have been a professional football manager, but he was a smart football manager. Here’s a quote from Rockne in the 1920s that applies today to any team anywhere at any level:
“The secret (to success) is to work less as individuals and more as a team. As a coach, I don’t play my best 11, but my best 11.” (Read Rockne’s last sentence about 20 times and you can understand it.) All NFL teams have stars, but only one team wins the Super Bowl.
Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley