After three-game skid, Holmgren looks for answers
Seattle Seahawks' Marcus Trufant can't stop Arizona Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald from scoring a touchdown in the first quarter Sunday, Oct. 24, 2004, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Roy Dabner)
KIRKLAND, Wash. (AP) — Matt Hasselbeck never performed like this last season. Seattle's defense, slowed by injuries, didn't look so vulnerable through the first three weeks.
After a 3-0 start, the Seahawks are in a funk following three straight losses. Back in training camp, the chatter around the league was that Seattle was ready to join the NFL's elite.
Sorry. Not quite yet.
”I'm very frustrated with how we're playing right now,” coach Mike Holmgren said. ”I wish I could say I have all the answers.”
Hasselbeck is coming off what he called ”probably the worst game I've ever played.” He completed 14 of 41 passes for 195 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions in last weekend's 25-17 loss at Arizona.
”Honestly, I never really got it going,” said Hasselbeck, coming off a Pro Bowl season with a franchise-record 3,841 yards passing in 2003. ”It sort of felt like I was at the driving range. You know it's bad, but you just can't fix it.”
One month ago, Seattle was unbeaten after a 34-0 win over San Francisco. Then came a bye week and 3 1/2 solid quarters against St. Louis, followed by a meltdown in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime in a 33-27 loss.
The Seahawks haven't been the same team since.
In fairness, they were close in a loss the next week at New England. If not for Bethel Johnson's leaping 48-yard reception on third-and-7 with 2:45 to play, Seattle might have ended the Patriots' NFL-record winning streak.
What followed at Arizona, though, was a stunner. Hasselbeck acknowledged the quarterback must play well for Holmgren's offense to be effective, and he blamed himself for the loss.
”This is football. If the quarterback is off like that, it's not good,” he said. ”Your team's chances of winning go way down. That's why it's unacceptable. I can't have days like that.”
His counselor and friend, reserve quarterback Trent Dilfer, is telling Hasselbeck to shrug it off.
”Find me a quarterback in this league who hasn't played one like that,” Dilfer said. ”He didn't play his best? It happens all the time. What separates the really fine quarterbacks is that they have very few of those games.”
Seattle's problems run deeper than Hasselbeck, however.
His offensive teammates missed blocks and dropped passes. Arizona's Emmitt Smith had 106 yards rushing — his NFL-record 78th 100-yard game — and the Seahawks lost their 17-16 fourth-quarter lead on a blocked punt for a safety.
They're just not making plays right now.
”If everyone does their job and does it better than the other team, then it doesn't really matter what you call,” running back Shaun Alexander said. ”We'll just work on it this week and see what happens.”
The Seahawks played in Arizona without three defensive stars: end Grant Wistrom (broken kneecap), and linebackers Chad Brown (broken leg) and Anthony Simmons (shoulder surgery).
Brown returns this week against Carolina (1-5).
”We expect him to play Sunday, which is good news,” Holmgren said.
Holmgren believes he and his coaching staff have overwhelmed Hasselbeck with formations and personnel groupings, placing too much of ”the weight of the world” on the quarterback's shoulders. His solution is to step back and simplify the offense, and Alexander likely will see more of the ball after carrying 12 times for 57 yards rushing against the Cardinals.
Holmgren said he will ”force-feed it if we have to” for Alexander. He also said he and other coaches must do a better job of teaching their players how to make the plays work.
”We have a lot of great ideas,” Holmgren said. ”We have some creative people in there, and I just think we've overloaded the circuit.”
The coach insisted he still has high hopes this season. With 10 games to play, Holmgren said there's plenty of time ”to stop the bleeding.”
Hasselbeck said the Seahawks will rise again.
”We really are close,” he said. ”It may not look like it, but the guys still believe in this offense. We've just got to improve in certain areas. They're small things, but they'll turn into big plays.”