Seattle Seahawks Official Blog

The Marketing of Matt

2008-07-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

The ambiguous feelings drenched John Drana, the business manager and close friend of Matt Hasselbeck, when the reality of being traded to Seattle from Green Bay in March of 2001 hit them hard.

For three years, their friendship and respect had grown since Hasselbeck was drafted in the sixth round and hung on as a backup quarterback with the Packers. But with Mike Holmgren having bolted the Packers two years earlier to not only become head coach but general manager and executive vice president of the Seahawks, it was incredibly flattering that he had elected to deal for Hasselbeck as the quarterback of the future for the Seahawks.

“We became friends … very good friends,” Drana said. “We were better friends than client-attorney or manager in our relationship. So when it was announced, my first reaction was, ‘Man, are you kidding me? I find a good friend and he’s shipped out of town?’ But it changed real quickly and I was happy for Matt. He was only 25 at the time and nobody really knew him, so we came up with a plan to take advantage of the opportunity, not just on the field, but off the field.”

The new kid on the block

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eternal optimists; neither had a feel for the Seattle market, which is a far cry from today for Hasselbeck, the Pro Bowl quarterback and most marketable athlete in the region. There had been some buzz about Hasselbeck, if only because word had leaked that Holmgren the quarterback guru thought Hasselbeck to be the right fit for his next project and lead the Seahawks into contention.

The problem was the perception, initially. They were frustrated by a 6-10 season in 2000, with two local products – Jon Kitna and Brock Huard – as the quarterbacks. Who was this Hasselbeck guy? And, by the way, we kind of like the other guy we signed – Trent Dilfer – better. It was a rude awakening for Hasselbeck and Drana with the Seahawks playing their second year in Husky Stadium, one year removed from moving into Qwest Field.

Besides, the Mariners were on the brink of winning 116 games and selling out virtually every game at their new stadium, Safeco Field. This was a much tougher nut to crack than they ever imagined.

“The plan was to get out, meet as many people as we could,” Drana said. “We wanted to see what we could generate from a marketing/business management standpoint – rolling into what everybody was calling Green Bay-West because of what Mike was building here. It was comfortable to do that, but everything else was a real eye-opener. In Green Bay, if you were a Packer you had an automatic status. I started going into board rooms, and I wasn’t prepared for ‘Matt who?’ One of my memorable moments, I won’t repeat the company, but he looked at me and said, ‘John, this is a baseball town, the Seahawks have a lot of work to do.

“But Matt never let down, even when the fans were chanting, ‘Dilfer, Dilfer, Dilfer,’ which is something neither of us will forget. He said it a thousand times, ‘I’m going to build it a fan at a time,’ and he did. He would call a civic organization and offer to speak to a group. And he did that, and he kept doing that. And the result it has changed 1000 percent if that’s possible. Anyone connected with his wife Sarah or his (three) kids, he’s the man everybody wants to have around.”

The star begins to brighten

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today at the age of 32, Hasselbeck is not only the spokesman for the Seahawks, and in a lot of ways, the region, he’s becoming the representative of family values for the National Football League as well. Having grown up in the game with his father Don a nine-year NFL veteran and now the director of sports marketing for Reebok, he had a feel for what needed to be done on and off the field.

What helped immensely is Holmgren had the confidence he could pull it off. He watched the growth unfold in a way that wasn’t dissimilar to Brett Favre, his legendary quarterback in Green Bay.

“How this city has embraced him really makes me feel good,” Holmgren said. “I had the same conversation with Matt as I had with Brett. The quarterbacks in this league, if they’re any good at all, will have a lot of opportunities off the field thrown their way. You’re going to be tugged. If you’d say yes to everything, you wouldn’t be playing football anymore – you’d be doing other stuff. You’ll also see a number of examples of players that have gone the other way losing themselves in all the attention, and pretty soon those 10, 12, 15-year careers ended up being a five-year career and they’re done.

“Matt’s grown up with three great kids and his wife is so special. I figured, ‘OK, she obviously, likes and trusts him, so there’s got to be something there.’ And Don and his wife did such a great job with him. All the things you look for to be the leader of your football team were in place, but nobody is smart enough to know for sure. I’m so proud of him and how he’s handled all of this … he’s big now, so it’s my job to keep him humble.”

Oh, he’s humble all right, in an ironic way. His self-deprecating humor tends to stop people in their tracks. Once he won the starting job from Dilfer for good in 2003, the tide turned and his popularity - at least locally - began to grow. But it was as the quarterback of the NFC Champions in 2005 that changed everything. At Super Bowl XL, he was a big hit, before and after the loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But it obviously didn’t happen all at once.

Keeping a lid on everything

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I don’t think anyone can prep you for the amount of attention the Super Bowl brings with two weeks of nothing but media,” Hasselbeck recalled. “It changed everything looking back on it. It was a reality check, for sure, because nobody really knew any of us. It was so funny the week of the Super Bowl when they have the first press conference my name was the No. 1 searched for name by one of the (Internet search engines) because no one knew anything about me. They had to do research. They had to find out about me, ask me about my dad. I could tell from the questions people were asking because there were some inaccuracies in my Wikipedia bio – and that’s where they were getting their information.

“I mean, really, one of the questions I would get was, ‘What’s it like being a bald quarterback?’ So I’d answer, ‘I’ve been bald for a long time guys, so I haven’t thought about it.’ But the reason they used was because they’d never seen me without my helmet off. There was so much of that kind of stuff I couldn’t believe it because nobody knew me. But I had to handle it and most of the time I handled it with humor.”

Hasselbeck was born in Boulder, Colo., where his dad played college football for the University of Colorado as a tight end and was drafted by the New England Patriots. He grew up in the Boston area where his parents still live today. Don couldn’t be more proud of the way Matt has handled all the attention as a shooting star. They had no conception of whether Matt would be drafted out of Boston College or not. He graduated six months early with a degree in marketing and was already enrolled in the MBA program there to take advantage of the final 18 months of his scholarship.

But the Packers snapped him up in the 1998 draft and that ended the MBA aspirations about half way through. It’s just that nobody was quite sure what the bright, glib and talented Matthew would make of the opportunity. Sometimes, he was too smart for his own good, which is why he and Holmgren locked horns early on. And he had to deal with the booing. He had grown up with it sitting in the stands at Patriots game when their quarterback Steve Grogan, a good friend of the family, was so often jeered.

“I think he got a really good dose of it when he first got to Seattle because things just weren’t going as smoothly as initially anticipated,” Don Hasselbeck said. “I thought he would weather it because he was pretty much thick-skinned, and we talked about it - typically the guy making the most noise knows the least about football. All those things that don’t kill you make you a little bit stronger. It helped him. Some of the (newspaper) beat guys were pretty rough on him in the beginning. They probably looked at him as the guy to save the franchise and it didn’t look like he was the guy.

“Once they got to the Super Bowl, it changed everything. Obviously, that’s the big stage for the for any NFL player. Obviously if you’re the quarterback – or the running back at times – those are the most recognizable people. At the same time, you have to have the personality, and Matthew’s personality is contagious because he’s real and he’s likeable. That’s why you’re seeing so much of him today.”

And yet Hasselbeck was prodded by numerous people in the organization, from Holmgren, to director of community relations Sandy Gregory to president Tim Ruskell to be careful and not get carried away. Holmgren had already experienced every player wanting to do a book or a television appearance when the twice coached the Packers to the Super Bowl. He had also seen in as an assistant coach in San Francisco. He had to learn to just say no.

Ruskell saw it plenty too when he was in Tampa Bay when the Buccaneers won a Super Bowl.

“Matt is fantastic about it,” Ruskell said. “He’s such a good guy and so ingrained in our community. he makes it easy because of the way he handles everything. His priority is being a leader for our football team and I don’t see him falling victim to that. But I have seen it happen to other players. it’s something you have to think about it. ‘OK, we went to the Super Bowl, maybe won the Super Bowl and everybody is going to want to cash in however they can. More and more teams are talking about how to deal with it from an organizational standpoint.

“It helps the brand name, but not if you’re a one-hit wonder. That’s the whole point. If you sustain success over a long period of time, it all happens for everybody involved. That’s the focus I’m talking about.”

Meanwhile, Hasselbeck moves along and has learned so much about what to get involved with and what to stay away from. He gets bombarded with e-mails, and even from members of the media. In the beginning of his growth process, he was convinced he could handle it all. Taking pride in being nimble of foot and tongue, it was inevitable they would meet on occasion if he wasn’t careful. A dream of a quote and unfailingly accessible, not everybody in the media was appreciative or fair when given the opportunity to make him look bad if so inclined.

It was the job of Seahawks vice president of communications Dave Pearson to run interference for Hasselbeck on occasion; or at least prompt him from time to time.

“He is so gifted and smart, he was hesitant to allow control in certain areas to other people,” Pearson said. “He believed, ‘I can manage this. I can do it all. I know what’s best for me without involving other people.’ What he learned over time was trusting people that have his best interest at heart. You’ve got to believe those people are talented, smart and care about you enough to handle things for you. Once you establish that trust, it empowers him even more because it clears him of one less thing he has to think about. He just has to show up and do whatever has been set up because it has already gone through the filter. It makes everybody’s life a lot easier.”

They’re all part of the team

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So now, between Drana and his agent David Dunn in business, Pearson and Sandy Gregory’s community outreach department with the Seahawks, and his family, things are as balanced as he could ever hope. Hasselbeck is inundated with requests for appearances locally for any number of things. Because his children Annabelle, Mallory and Henry are still lingering around the toddler age, and Sarah is such an advocate for children, it plays a large role in his decision-making. He and his brother Tim, a journeyman quarterback, did a “Father’s Day” ad for the NFL regarding Don. This past Father’s Day, with all three children on his lap, Matt did a public service announcement.

Aside from those, he was thrilled to do a “Campbell’s Chunky Soup” ad with his mother after witnessing the first one when he was a rookie with the Packers Reggie White. He is obviously very involved with Reebok, and has been a strong spokesman for EAS supplements. After some early faltering with other products, it’s come down to those he not only supports, but uses, and EAS fit for a number of reasons.

“First of all, it’s what we all drink,” Hasselbeck said. “But more than that, steroids are a problem in baseball and not football for a reason. I had to get myself educated because the No. 1 question from parents during my quarterback/receiver camp is always about supplements. What do you take? What’s in it? What are the effects?

“Well, it just so happened that EAS has always been sort of the leader in the industry, so they stepped up to educate me and had all their products analyzed by a third party. So it’s been real easy for me to feel good about representing them and their message. Besides, I like the way their stuff tastes.”

His open and ingratiating personality about all of this hasn’t changed from Day 1. It’s amazed Pearson, who has spent years with three different franchises and countless self-serving personalities how Hasselbeck has dealt with it. He’ll give and take with pranks just as he did as a practice squad quarterback in Green Bay, which may very well be a big reason why he appreciates what he has today so much.

Then again, the playfulness works on so many different levels. He was invited to the NFL business sponsor summit two years in a row with Disney and Universal Studios hosting. The second year they had a stuntman come in and go through a scene on the Indiana Jones ride, with fire, spikes coming at him and the boulder rolling at him full speed.

“So they have this dude come for the sponsor showing to handle the stunt,” Hasselbeck said. “Well, I was also dressed up as Indiana Jones’ body double too. I’m in full gear, the hat, the rope, the boots – it was awesome. This guy comes out, the boulder starts to roll on him and he dives into this cave. The director yells cut, ‘Stop filming - that was not right. Bring him out here, is he OK?’ But I was the one who comes out, dusting himself off and throwing a few lines at them with questions. ‘What’s the toughest part?’ And I answer, ‘The toughest part is keeping the hat on.’

“So I take the hat off, and the guys say, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, Matt Hasselbeck from the Seattle Seahawks!’ Everybody just sort of gasped and he handed me the mike. So I said, ‘I just want to say, everyone has been talking about Jason Taylor, he’s been on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ for two weeks and his training. Well, I’ve been training for this stunt for 2½ weeks and it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.’ I did it for a ha-ha, but for the next couple of days there I’d see people and they were like, ‘I was so impressed with you. I had no idea you were such a great athlete.’ And then I’d tell them it was a joke, ‘That wasn’t really me. I just came out in the end.’ And they were totally fooled. The people had this image of me that I could jump flames, handle snakes and climb mountains. I’m just a believable guy.”

Or as Mel Brooks often said in his movies, “It’s good to be king.”

The problem is expectations never cease on and off the field. Somehow, from his experiences hearing Grogan get drilled at Patriots home games provided Hasselbeck with plenty of perspective. That’s not to say he doesn’t hear the whispers or the screams for that matter. Even if he doesn’t there’s always a teammate, friend or family member to remind him.

Nonetheless, the stable of products grows, whether it is Infinity cars, EAS, Campbell’s Soup, dancing for Reebok, or the new national product that is locally based and has everyone excited that hasn’t been announced yet. It’s all about keeping it together and not losing sight of the task at hand - leading the Seahawks to Super Bowl XLIII and making Holmgren the first coach ever to win Super Bowls with two different teams – but staying grounded enough to keep everything moving in the right direction.

“It’s all about my job right now,” Hasselbeck said. “I have no idea what I will do after that, but it doesn’t matter right now. I know in this business, you never know. Everything is good now. I’ve got a former teammate who was on top of the world a couple of years ago and now it’s not so good. So this is a temporary thing and I’m fully aware of that.

“So while I’m at this point, I’ll beat people to the punch making fun of myself. Why am I at this point in sports? It happens and then it stops. Whether it’s you or not you, somebody takes the blame. Somebody falls on the sword. This is how I’ve chosen to deal with it … when people say really good things, I really pay no attention. When people say really bad things, I try to pay no attention. The only opinions I really, really care about are the opinions of the people that aren’t going to flip-flop on you. I’m talking about your head coach, your position coach, your wife, your dad your brother – people that are going to shoot straight with you and have an accurate assessment. They’re with you all the time. They see it clearly.

“And when it’s over, they’ll still be there for me.”

As far as John Drana – friend, attorney, business manager - is concerned, however, when football is over, the real impact Matt Hasselbeck will make on this world will be just getting started. There is no master plan for Hasselbeck at this point of his NFL career.

Rest assured there will be one in the not too distance future.

“I’m not anointing the guy yet,” Drana said. “No one’s perfect, but he’s pretty darn close. I’m proud to call him a friend; not a client, a friend. I’d rather be known as Matt’s friend than anything else, and it’s not because he’s an NFL quarterback. I’ve got other clients. Everybody wants autograph signings but he doesn’t want to do that when he’s speaking to a group of kids. I can teach a monkey to do that. He’ll talk to them, and then he’ll sit down at an arts and crafts table with them and do a project with them. Do you think any of those kids will ever forget Matt doing an art project with them?

“He works at it because he cares what he’s doing. This is the guy you want your daughter to marry, to be your best man or your advocate. You want him on your rope team because he’s not letting go. And that’s why his football talents just pale compared to who he is as a person. To Matt, whoever he touches, it is imperative they succeed. Football is just a temporary thing. He’s just a superstar in life who is going to help people. I can’t wait. The sky is the limit.”

Seahawks compete in NFL HSPD 7-on-7 Tournament

2008-07-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

Twelve high school football players from around the state of Washington will travel to New Orleans, Louisiana for the National Football League High School Player Development (HSPD) 7-On-7 National Tournament Championships on July 10-13.

12 of the top high school football players in the State of Washington will represent the Seattle Seahawks as they compete against 15 teams from NFL markets across the country. The Seahawks will cover team expenses for airfare, hotel, food and transportation.

All of the student-athletes selected to represent the Seattle Seahawks completed the NFL’s Character Development and life skills sessions during the spring of 2008. The NFL’s nationwide HSPD program focuses on character development and specific skill training and provides participants with a curriculum that focuses on inspiring excellence in the classroom, community, and on the playing field.

The 2008 National 7-On-7 Tournament will take place at the New Orleans Saints training facility. Teams will advance to the championship game through a series of round-robin competitions.

The Seahawks team will be coached by Skyline’s Chad Barrett and Mat Taylor.

Taking it to the next level

2008-06-10T22:24:00.001-07:00

Lost amid all the plaudits hurled at the Seattle Seahawks secondary last season just happened to be the guy who made the most improvement, right cornerback Kelly Jennings.

Sure, Marcus Trufant earned his trip to the Pro Bowl with seven interceptions and finishing second on the team in tackles. Undoubtedly, the signing of free agent safeties Brian Russell and Deon Grant was a big difference-maker. But with the hiring of Jim Mora as the defensive backs/assistant head coach, it also created a diving board of sorts for Jennings, and he scored a 10 when it came to growth at the position.

“He has turned into a very good cover corner,” Mora said. “We brought Deon and Brian in and they solidified the safety position, and Tru had a Pro Bowl year, so Kelly kind of got lost in the shuffle. But he had an equally good year. He made a ton of improvement and helped us get to the next level back there.”

.

Two years ago, the Seahawks used their No. 1 draft choice for Jennings, a billed as a “cover corner” from the University of Miami. The staff stressed his extreme quickness, his affable personality and being very bright – his degrees in both finance and business management from the private school telling the story.

At 5-11, 180, and surrounded by veterans coming off a trip to Super Bowl XL, he didn’t play much. He was nicknamed “Slim,” the joke being he didn’t have to fly across country when he would return home to Florida from Seattle when he could simply be faxed.

Jennings didn’t play much early in the year, other than some nickel, and then when injuries necessitated him moving into the starting lineup late. Irrespective of Jennings and his improvement as a rookie, the secondary struggled all season, ultimately causing their demise in the NFC Divisional Playoff game at Chicago.

Seahawks president Tim Ruskell responded by signing Grant and Russell. He stuck with the talented young Trufant, moving him back to left corner and the inserted Jennings as the right corner. And Mora coaxed and cajoled them into leading the NFL with fewest touchdown passes. Suddenly this was a unit and Jennings became a significant factor.

“I love the success we had as a group,” Jennings said. “That has to do with the great safeties we brought in, the experience of Tru and me trying to learn from them. All of that with Coach Mora helped us have great success last year. And after having a year together, I think we’ll be even better.”

All eyes, of course, are always on the corners, out there on the island with the marvelously talented NFL wide receivers staring them down on ever play. They’re going to get beat. It’s inevitable. The key is how they react to that, and when they start winning the war. It required five years and veteran safeties for Trufant to reach the next level, and he had a spectacular year.

The question is how quickly Jennings will get there.

“The next step for Kelly is the one that Tru made last year in terms of down the field, making plays on the ball,” Mora said. “He’s really working hard on that, and it is coming. It gets frustrating to him when he doesn’t get a lot of interceptions, but he’s a hard worker. He has a great attitude and he listens to everything we tell him, and that’s why we’re confident he’s going to make that jump.

“He works hard to understand what you’re saying. Things don’t just go in one ear and out the other. He listens to what he’s told, he writes it down, he studies, and comprehends it. He’s very smart and so is his approach to the game. Really, it’s a real smart group, and I don’t just mean book smart or street smart – which they are – I’m talking about football smart. They all have real good football intelligence and it shows on the field.”

It’s no accident with Jennings. He learned how to accept coaching as soon as he was old enough to play, and he’s been reaping the benefits ever since. His logic is simple, if a guy is hired to coach you, he probably understands the game.

Besides, the coach is the one deciding who plays and who sits. It’s his goal to reach the level of confidence he had at Miami so he is more consistent making plays on the ball. Nonetheless, he was ninth on the team in tackles with 55 and second in passes defended with 12 and tied for first with two fumble recoveries.

“When I was young, whatever the coach said I took heed to because the coach knows what he’s talking about otherwise he wouldn’t have his job,” Jennings said. “Just by getting into the habit of that example and holding onto what the coach said, I’d have a chance to play. By doing that from the beginning, it instilled good work habits and I’ve tried to stick with it. I still believe if I take what the coach says and apply it to the field I’ll be a better player.

“My next step is to trust myself and trust what I see. I’ll see something, but then I’ll hesitate because I don’t want to give up the big play. And if I don’t trust myself, I won’t make a big play. I just need to let go sometimes and play. I had a lot of pass breakups. But my next step is to go up, get my head straight and find the ball. The interceptions will come too instead of just knocking the ball down.”

All of that figures to pay dividends as virtually the entire starting unit that played together at the end of last season is back intact. Their goal is obviously to be the stingiest defense in the NFL, and the secondary fully intends to do its share as well – with Jennings continuing his improvement.

“It’s a matter of getting back to the state where I’m comfortable and trust that I can go up and intercept the ball instead of just knocking it down,” Jennings said. “I want to get to the confidence level I had at Miami - knowing the defense so well, I wasn’t stressing so much on one thing because I understood the whole picture. Now I’m getting to that point here, and let my talent show instead of cancelling out things in my mind that get in the way.

“I take great pride in last year. The biggest thing a defense can do is limit teams from scoring touchdowns throwing the ball. That’s a great accomplishment. We’re striving to do that again this year and get more interceptions than we had. With the great players that we have back there, I think we can do it again and help us win more games.”

Tom Catlin dies at 76

2008-06-10T22:19:00.002-07:00

Tom Catlin, a longtime NFL assistant coach and a two-way star in the 1950s at the University of Oklahoma, has died. He was 76.

Catlin died Saturday at a hospice in Seattle of complications stemming from recent surgery, said his brother, Charles Catlin, who added that his brother recently had Parkinson's disease.

Catlin was assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks, where he coached from 1983-1995. He earlier worked as an assistant coach for the Dallas Texans and Kansas City Chiefs in the American Football League, then the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills in the NFL.

Catlin played center and linebacker at OU from 1950-1952, and was a member of the Sooners' 1950 squad that won the national championship under coach Bud Wilkinson.

Catlin was selected in the fourth round of the 1953 draft by the Baltimore Colts, and was traded to Cleveland and played for the Browns in 1953-54. He was an Air Force pilot in 1955-57, and returned to the Browns in 1957-58 before finishing his playing career a year later with the Philadelphia Eagles.

He is survived by his wife, Betty, daughter Kimberly Ekdahal and son Thomas Jr., four grandchildren and his brother.

Holmgren misses another day

2008-06-10T22:19:00.001-07:00

Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren missed a second consecutive day of minicamp on Wednesday with what a team spokesman continued to emphasize was a minor, but undisclosed, medical condition.

Holmgren, who turns 60 Sunday and is entering his 10th and final season as Seattle's coach, is expected on the field Wednesday. He had been expected back Tuesday.

Instead, longtime offensive coordinator and assistant head coach Gil Haskell has been running practices during the Seahawks' final minicamp before training camp begins late next month. Assistant head coach Jim Mora, whom the Seahawks have already signed to a five-year contract to be Holmgren's successor beginning in 2009, has remained in his role as the team's defensive backs coach.

Holmgren is still scheduled to address the media at the end of practice Thursday, when the minicamp ends.

Holmgren's agent, Bob Lamonte, was traveling Tuesday and did not return a message from The Associated Press.

"If it was serious, we would have made sure you already knew about it," a Seahawks spokesman said of Holmgren's issue.

In June 2005, Holmgren missed a day of a minicamp when he went to a hospital after feeling discomfort in his chest, but tests showed no problems.

He has repeatedly talked of how thankful he's been for having fine health throughout his 16 years as an NFL head coach. And he has hinted he may want to move into an executive's role with an NFL team once his Seattle contract ends following this season. At the end of last season he playfully expressed envy for the cushier lives of friends and former coaches Bill Cowher, now a TV analyst, and Bill Parcells, now an executive with the Miami Dolphins.

Also Tuesday, a clerk for the Kirkland Municipal Court said Pro Bowl linebacker Lofa Tatupu is scheduled to be arraigned June 17 on a drunken driving charge. Tatupu, who is expected to plead not guilty, was arrested May 10 after an officer reported seeing him driving about 50 mph in a 35 mph zone near team headquarters in suburban Kirkland.

The police report said Tatupu registered blood-alcohol levels of .155 and .158 in breath test readings - nearly twice the .08 legal intoxication threshold in Washington. Those readings came about two hours after Tatupu was stopped in the drive-thru lane of a fast-food restaurant.

Starting defensive tackle Rocky Bernard is scheduled to have a hearing on Monday in Seattle Municipal Court. Bernard has pleaded not guilty to a domestic violence assault charge. The 29-year-old, who is in the final year of his contract, is accused of hitting his girlfriend in the head in April at a Seattle nightclub.

Tatupu and Bernard are not commenting on their cases until they are resolved.

SEATTLE CHASE BACK-TO-BACK WINS

2007-11-16T11:01:00.000-08:00

With the status of running back Shaun Alexander uncertain, the Seattle Seahawks look to string together consecutive victories on Sunday, when they host the Chicago Bears in an NFC contest.

Alexander sat out last week with a sprained knee, missing his first game of the season.

He was not missed as Seattle blanked the San Francisco 49ers 24-0 on Monday night to complete a season sweep.

The Seahawks would like to think they've turned the corner, but they can't be sure as Monday's win came against a woeful team.

Seattle's longest winning streak this season is two games. It beat the the Cincinnati Bengals and 49ers to start the year 3-1. Since then, the Seahawks have dropped three of five games.

Despite its inconsistent play, Seattle has a one-game lead over the Arizona Cardinals (4-5) in the weak NFC West.

"The Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - it's got to end," Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu said. "I'd love to say it's over now, but we've got to prove that."

The Seahawks might wish they could play all their games under the lights as they recorded their fifth shutout on Monday Night Football, extending a league record they already owned.

Matt Hasselbeck completed 27-of-40 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns, while Maurice Morris, filling in for Alexander, rushed for 87 yards and a score.

The Seahawks will be facing another team with offensive issues, as the Bears struggled to get past the Oakland Raiders, 17-6, last week.

For nearly 57 minutes, Chicago was limited to three points, but Rex Grossman, who took over when Brian Griese suffered a shoulder injury, tossed a 59-yard TD pass to Bernard Berrian with 3:11 remaining for the go-ahead score.

The Bears' starter for their first three games after leading the team to the Super Bowl last season, Grossman had mixed results in his first appearance since September 23.

He completed only five of his first 12 passes for 72 yards, but did engineer the winning drive and finished seven-of-14 for 142 yards.

The Bears have yet to name a starter for this week. Griese has started Chicago's last six games.

The reigning NFC champions are struggling to stay in playoff contention, training the New York Giants (6-3) and Detroit Lions (6-3) by two games in the wild-card race.

Chicago likely needs to finish at least 5-2 to have a shot at returning to the playoffs.

Seahawks' Hasselbeck can relate to what Grossman is going through with Bears

2007-11-16T11:00:00.001-08:00

Hey Rex Grossman, Matt Hasselbeck has been where you are.

No, the mild folks of Seattle have never placed a Good Matt, Bad Matt watch upon Hasselbeck each week.

But in 2002, after a rocky debut season as Seahawks quarterback, Hasselbeck started the opener only because Trent Dilfer was hurt. Though Hasselbeck's stats looked OK that day, the Raiders pounded him into the dirt baseball infield at the Oakland Coliseum so much he looked like Charlie Brown's old pal Pigpen. Seattle lost by two touchdowns to the eventual AFC champions and Hasselbeck was benched in favor of Dilfer.

Coach Mike Holmgren kept Hasselbeck sitting for six games, the same span Grossman has watched Brian Griese lead the disappointing Chicago Bears this season. But then Dilfer got hurt in a game at Dallas. Hasselbeck returned to lead the Seahawks past the Cowboys and has been starting ever since.

He has gone on to become a Super Bowl and Pro Bowl quarterback, plus a star of national soup and shoe commercials, something no one is calling Grossman for right now even though last season he, too, started in the Super Bowl.

So Hasselbeck has insight into the scrutinized Grossman upon his return to starting for Chicago (4-5) on Sunday at Seattle (5-4), now that Griese and his sore shoulder have yielded.

"The key is how you handled the benching," Hasselbeck said. "For me, I was fortunate that I had real good people around me that kind of helped me through that and helped me handle it ... in a way that was really good for the team."

So Hasselbeck thinks Grossman has already either won over his teammates or lost them forever - no matter whether he is Good Rex or Bad Rex in this matchup of the last two NFC champions who don't look much like their Super Bowl selves.

"I think in a way I earned the respect of my teammates, not by how I played on the football field, but more how I handled getting benched, if that makes any sense," Hasselbeck said.

"I don't know much about the Chicago situation. But I do know as a quarterback your teammates have to believe in you, your teammates have to respect you."

That may all be too deep for a guy who is in the last year of his contract. A guy who says he's "probably missed the boat on the big one" and "I'm just going to go out there and play like it's recess and just have fun."

As Grossman added: "I've already been benched. What are they going to do to me?"

The Bears are 1-2 this season with Grossman starting. He has completed 52 percent of his passes, with two touchdowns and six interceptions.

"I didn't even know if I was going to play again," said Grossman, who threw a long touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian with 3:11 left to complete Chicago's rally at Oakland last weekend.

"Not playing is not fun. ... You never know if you're going to have this opportunity again to play with this team, so I'm excited about that."

He and the Bears would be more excited if the offensive line and halfback Cedric Benson would improve upon his average of 3 yards per carry this season. Or if the defense became more consistent, if not as dominant as it was last season. Both would lessen the burden on Grossman.

The Seahawks also have inconsistencies on defense. Their on-and-off pass rush has caused problems on third downs. Seattle has 23 sacks in its five wins, including three in a 24-0 rout of the hapless 49ers Monday night. It has three sacks in its four losses.

The Seahawks also are struggling with their special teams. Veteran special teams coach Bruce DeHaven said that before he can worry about Devin Hester, Chicago's electrifying returner, he has to solve nagging issues over a new punt- and kick-coverage system.

Then there's Shaun Alexander's saga. The 2005 league MVP missed Monday night's game with a sprained left knee and may miss this one, too. Holmgren said he is searching for a way to use both Alexander and Maurice Morris, a loosening of Alexander's seven-year grip on the lead runner's job in Seattle.

Injuries, the main reason the last five Super Bowl losers failed to even reach .500 the following season until the Seahawks reached the playoffs before losing at Chicago last January, have limited the Bears' defense. Six starters have missed at least one game, including safety Mike Brown, an emotional leader, and tackle Dusty Dvoracek. They ruptured knee ligaments during the season opener.

Defensive tackle Tommie Harris (knee) and linebacker Hunter Hillermeyer (foot) missed practice time this week. And six-time Pro Bowl linebacker Brian Urlacher is playing with an arthritic back.

"I haven't been as consistent as I want to be, nor has our whole defense," Urlacher said.

"You say, 'It's easy to fix.' Well, then fix it. We just can't do it for some reason."

If they don't do it soon, it won't matter which quarterback plays. Or which Rex, for that matter.

* For Immediate Release

2007-10-26T19:43:00.001-07:00

*********** For Immediate Release **********

ReliefSpark.org is pleased to announce a new message board to help
provide an online place for evacuees and volunteers to connect and share
information.

Have something to donate? Need practical FEMA information? Looking for a place to
stay? Visit our new message board at:

http://www.reliefspark.org/messageboard/

Other topics on the message board include:

-Fire News
-Long Term Recovery Needs
-Donations Offered
-Donations Requested
-Donation Drives
-Free Services Available
-FEMA Information
-Insurance Company Information
-Temporary Housing Solutions
-Temporary Pet Housing Solutions
-Volunteer Information
-Non-Profits Helping Out
-Information on Fraud, Price Gouging, Scams and Ripoffs

Visit the message boards today! :)

http://www.reliefspark.org/messageboard/

-------------------
About Relief Spark:
-------------------

Relief Spark is a non-profit that provides marketing, PR and volunteer support to
grassroots organizations in New Orleans, LA and Southern CA that assist with
helping communities respond and rebuild during and after natural disasters.

We are a network of volunteers that span across the world. We create channels of
distribution, we collect information and provide resources for volunteers and
individuals alike.

For more information please visit our website:

http://www.ReliefSpark.org

NFL Report

2007-02-27T14:34:00.001-08:00

It wasn’t a single-file sprint to a meeting room – but it was clear Seattle Seahawks president Tim Ruskell had convened the troops in the middle of Monday afternoon, as the NFL Combine had less than 24 hours remaining before they were to fly back to Seattle.

Regional scouting directors Scott Fitterer and Mike Yowarsky were moving across the broad hallway of the Indiana Convention Center faster than anyone had seen them move in years.

“Let him tell you what’s going on – he’s the expert,” Fitterer chuckled, pointing at Yowarsky. They’ve all been engaged for weeks now in sharing information. Fitterer is in charge of the West scouts and Yowarsky the East. They’ve galvanized as a group for specific positions they’re after – most likely defensive line, safety, tight end and guard – but Ruskell will virtually always go for the highest ranking player on his draft board that is available, regardless of position.

In accordance with the availability of free agents on the NFL market, they’ll utilize their draft picks from rounds 2-7, with the second round pick No. 55 overall. This year’s first round pick was traded to New England for wide receiver Deion Branch.

“It’s been a good week because we’ve seen everyone,” Yowarsky said. “There are a lot of players that have verified what we’ve been thinking about them, and some that have actually surprised us - like a couple of the small-college guys. Through the process of interviews and the workouts, it’s been a productive week.”

And then Yowarsky took off for the meeting.

On came pro personnel director Will Lewis, with assistant director Lake Dawson and pro scout Chris Culmer.

“It’s our job to become familiar with these guys for later – after they’ve been in the league or if they become available in training camp,” Lewis said. “We’ve been working on the free agent market too.”

This week was all about coordinating the efforts of the staff to assure they will fill the holes and supplement the strengths from last year’s team that won its third consecutive NFC West title. Ruskell says he’s comfortable they’re on the right track, even without a first round draft choice.

He’s quick to point out young starters last year Lofa Tatupu (2005 second round), LeRoy Hill (2005 third round), Rob Sims (2006 fourth round) and Ryan Plackemeier (2006 seventh round) are just as significant as first round choices.

“We’re not all that worried about going into the first round,” Ruskell said. “We’ve done well with our 2-7 the last two years. We use just as much energy and have success finding those players 2-7 as we would have for the first rounder. So we stay the course with the same kind of intensity all the way through.

“It’s been a good week. Everything we’ve needed to do in terms of the interviews and the workouts – everybody we’ve needed to talk to – all of it has gone smoothly. Then again, it usually does because everybody is here – you can’t run away from anybody. A good percentage of the guys have worked out, and that’s always a good thing. We’ve had really good interviews where the players are staying. It’s been informative, so it’s been good.”

There haven’t been many surprises, and with virtually all of the best players working out if healthy, it’s validating the process. The key for the Seahawks is finding the right balance of free agents and draft choices to fulfill the needs. Fortunately, when vice president Mike Reinfeldt, the lead contract negotiator and salary cap expert, left to become general manager at Tennessee, Ruskell was able to quickly lock up John Idzik, who did the same job at Arizona and had previously worked with Ruskell and vice president Ruston Webster at Tampa Bay.

“It was a big help getting John on board quickly,” Ruskell said. “We’ve done this for a few years now so we know how to prioritize our time and focus between the draft and free agency. Since John and I had worked together, it made a big difference in the transition because he got up to speed quickly.

“We’ve been comfortable with what we’ve seen, and most of these guys have been true to form. Between free agency and the draft I think we’re going to be able to do the things we need to do.”

Late kick lifts Seahawks past Broncos

2006-12-04T16:51:00.000-08:00

It was cold, bitter cold. So was the way the Seattle Seahawks started their game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday night.

And things never got much better at Invesco Field, where before a national television audience, the Seahawks' offense froze.

Until the final quarter.

The Seahawks (8-4) scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and withstood a tying touchdown in the last three minutes, winning 23-20 on another Josh Brown crunch-time field goal.

Brown connected from 50 yards with five seconds left, completing a 10-play, 54-yard drive and another comeback.

The frosty Seahawks offense thawed with temperatures in the teens, but a stone-cold Seahawks defense couldn't finish the job. Thankfully for Seattle, their offense took care of that.

For almost 3 1/2 quarters, all looked lost. Seattle's offense relied on running back Shaun Alexander for whatever it could generate.

Then suddenly, the Seahawks took to the air.

Starting a drive with 9:42 left in the game, Matt Hasselbeck found Darrell Jackson for 27 yards. It was the Seahawks' longest play from scrimmage - for a few seconds.

Hasselbeck hit Jackson for 33 yards on the next play, and Alexander ran in for a 1-yard touchdown to give the Seahawks their first lead of the game, 14-13.

Then Kelly Jennings forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff return. The Seahawks recovered the ball, ending the drive with a 44-yard Brown field goal.

Then what appeared to be the knockout blow: Defensive end Grant Wistrom tipped first-time starter Jay Cutler's pass, and Jordan Babineaux intercepted it. The Seahawks got a 23-yard field goal from Brown, giving them a 20-13 lead.

Thirteen points in about 5 1/2 minutes. That was the game.

Not quite.

Cutler, not a factor for much of the game, connected with wide receiver Brandon Marshall from his own 29. What should have been a routine catch-and-tackle turned into Marshall busting through the arms of Babineaux, Jennings and Michael Boulware on his way to a 71-yard touchdown.

Tie game, 20-20.

The Seahawks got the ball back with a little more than two minutes to play and fought their way into field-goal range, bringing on Brown.

The game didn't appear to be headed for so much excitement.

Broncos running back Tatum Bell's 25-yard run set up a 37-yard Jason Elam field goal to open the scoring.

The Seahawks spent the first half unable to get much going. They had three delay-of-game penalties, two more drops from Jackson and Jerramy Stevens, then a missed 40-yard field-goal attempt by Brown.

Bell ran for 31 yards to set up Cutler's first career touchdown pass, a 7-yard toss that Stephen Alexander juggled but brought down. A penalty on Seattle's Julian Peterson for a personal-foul facemask produced 15 more yards on the drive, added to a 9-yard run on the play.

Bell also had runs of 11 and 17 yards before halftime. But the Seahawks made two plays that kept them close.

Rookie Darryl Tapp was in the right place at the right time when the Seahawks pass rush - defensive end Bryce Fisher and defensive tackle Chuck Darby - got to Cutler. The youngster tried a desperation heave that Tapp picked out of the air and ran back 25 yards for the Seahawks first points of the game.

Seattle trailed 10-7 with five minutes left in the second quarter.

Denver (7-5) was on the move again when Cutler hit Rod Smith for a short gain. Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant had fallen down, but got back up to strip the ball from Smith.

Peterson recovered the ball and ran it back 25 yards to the Broncos 35. But the Seahawks were stymied.

Brown, last week's NFC Special Teams Player of the Week, missed a 53-yard try on which the Seahawks were also called for holding. The Broncos got the ball to the Seahawks 23 after a costly fake field goal run by Elam, on which the veteran injured his left hamstring.

Elam was still able to make a 41-yard field goal for a 13-7 Broncos lead to close out the half.

Wednesday report for the Seahawks

2006-11-23T21:20:00.000-08:00

Mike Holmgren didn’t want to hear about it.

Eight teams are either 5-5 or 6-4 in the NFC with six weeks to go in this wild and crazy 2006 NFL season, with the 6-4 Seahawks sitting precariously atop the NFC West – one game ahead of the San Francisco 49ers. And considering the Seahawks lost at San Francisco 20-14 Sunday, every game from here on in takes on more significance – beginning Monday night at Qwest Field against the Green Bay Packers.

“I really don't monitor that – purposely,” Holmgren said. “I've got enough things to make me nervous without looking at that thing or trying to figure out stuff. Honestly, I don't. I talk about the next game and that's it. I've tried to do that - discipline myself to do that for the last few years.

“When I first started, first had the opportunity to be a head coach, I used to do that all the time, figure out stuff. Who is going to help me by winning the game? And then it just seemed like, I don't know, probably not true; but it just seemed like every time I needed another team to beat somebody else, the game went just the opposite. And it used to just kill me. And so I just don't do it any more. I've got to concentrate on Green Bay. I want the team to concentrate on Green Bay.”

Rightfully so, considering the great win over the St. Louis Rams two weeks ago and the flat performance at San Francisco. The topic of the day Wednesday was discipline for the defense in the wake of Frank Gore’s 212-yard performance Sunday. Last year, the 49ers had 172 yards rushing in the two losses to the Seahawks combined, and Gore had 5 yards on two carries.

“Anytime you get a team that really gashes you in the running game with that many yards, it’s because you’ve lost your discipline in a gap-controlled type of defense,” Holmgren said. “The way run defense is taught with many, many teams, you have teams responsible for a gap all the way along, and someone outside forcing things in.
And if that player gets blocked or makes a mistake, then the other player has to compensate, and hopefully you’ve got an athlete making a play. If you’ve got more than that, if you have two guys next to each other not disciplined in their gaps, then you have these big holes; and it’s tough.

“Then you count on your safeties to make tackles in the secondary. Against a really good back, I said it the other day (when I was asked five questions about the same thing but none of you lazy TV people were here): if you give the back enough room between the safety and the back in the open field, you see the safety miss the tackle, but my goodness that is tough. That is really hard against a good back to tackle a guy in the open field that way.”

A lot of the issue can be because the offense turned the ball over four times – three interceptions and a fumble – continuously giving the 49ers good field position while failing to sustain drives. With the Seahawks defense predicated on speed and a pass rush, when they fall behind and teams run – it puts undue pressure on the run defense. Last year, only Tiki Barber of the New York Giants had 100 yards rushing against the Seahawks – and that required overtime.

This season, there is Gore, Chester Taylor (169) and Larry Johnson (155). But a lot of that has to do with not having their offense intact, they are scoring eight less points a game, down 45 yards a game rushing, and minus-13 in the turnover/takeaway category (minus-7 as opposed to plus-6 last year).

But the good news is the return of starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck this week from the sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee following a four-game absence, and the second week of running back Shaun Alexander playing after missing six games with a broken bone in his left foot. Clearly, the primary issue is Hasselbeck getting the tempo of the offense back to normal. Seneca Wallace did a fine job of keeping things together and showed improvement, but it’s not the same thing. And for the Seahawks to make a solid run into the playoffs, they must regain their confidence and offensive proficiency down the stretch. Hasselbeck, knee brace and all, has to lead the charge.

“(The tempo) is necessary,” Hasselbeck said. “Some of the new guys actually were complaining today, and it's going to get worse – (or) it's going to get better – however you say that. They just have to deal with that. That's just something that Mike Holmgren has always pressed and pushed and talked about.

“Obviously, I still have some more time, but I was encouraged by today’s practice. I know it is not going to feel any worse tomorrow, so we have to keep fighting through it, and I think it will be good to go by Monday.”

Alexander expects the tempo to pick up, and his own efficiency along the way as well.

“I just think Matt brings us back and forth to the huddle and to the line of scrimmage faster,” Alexander said. “I think that's just off of experience. Seneca did a very good job before I got back and I could tell how his mind and how he thinks through the game – and the difference from how Matt thinks through the game. That's just because Matt has been our starter for four years and that's how it happens.”

So Hasselbeck and Alexander have returned. To regain momentum, this is a game Monday night they absolutely need to catapult them back into the mindset to be a serious playoff contender.

“One of the things I do all the time in all areas of our team - offense, defense and special teams - is to try and be realistic as to who we are and what we can do,” Holmgren said. “So when any phase of the football team doesn't meet expectation levels that way for me, than I get uncomfortable, and I don't like that. We just now have to regain our swagger a little bit and get down to being fundamentally sound, smart. I think our effort is a natural thing. I think we have high-effort guys, I don't worry about that. But I believe we're capable of playing much better football than we have the past couple of weeks, and now we'll see. Time will tell.”

The Favre Factor
Although now is in his eighth season with the Seahawks compared to seven with the Packers, Mike Holmgren clearly remembers the transition into quarterback Brett Favre’s first start – and 15 years later he has not missed a game. According to sources, the Chicago Bears have had 20 different starting quarterbacks while Favre hasn’t missed a game.

He has a sore elbow from last week’s game, is listed as questionable, and didn’t practice Wednesday, but everyone expects him to start.

“I would bet the ranch he’s going to play,” Holmgren said. “I know him.”

Of course he does. Favre has started a record 231 consecutive regular season games, and 251 if you count the playoffs. The Packers acquired Favre from the Atlanta Falcons for a first-round draft choice in 1992 as a backup to Don Majkowski. The Falcons had drafted Favre in the second round of the 1991 draft from Southern Mississippi.

Holmgren obviously adores him not only as a quarterback, but as the type of standup guy he is – particularly considering his foundation has donated more than $2.2 million in two states – including nearly $1 million for Hurricane Katrina relief.

But on this particular day, Holmgren was talking about how Majkowski sprained his ankle in the first quarter of the third game in that 1992 season against Cincinnati. Keep in mind, this was Holmgren’s first year as a head coach in the NFL after being a career assistant with the San Francisco 49ers, and he had played Favre some the previous week in a 31-3 loss to Tampa while falling to 0-2.

Favre led the Packers to a thrilling 24-23 victory over the Bengals on a 35-yard touchdown pass to Kitrick Taylor with 13 seconds left. With only one winning season from 1979 until then, Favre led the team to a 9-7 mark that season, and 13 consecutive seasons of .500 or better until last year’s 4-12 collapse.

“Brett came in that game and won the game in the last few seconds on a long pass,” Holmgren said. “And he's started every game for the last 15 years. It's unbelievable. If you think about it and about quarterbacks, and how any given teams lose one and how many get hurt, how many quarterbacks miss a game or two - it's one of the more remarkable things in sports history. It's gotta' be."

Twice, Holmgren recalled, the streak was in jeopardy. Favre finished a game with a separated shoulder in a win over Philadelphia. Then he had a bad ankle sprain that forced him out of a game against Minnesota. He didn’t practice all week in preparation for the Chicago Bears, then got taped up on Saturday and the staff decided to give it a shot.

“Now, him moving around is a big part of his game, but it was a very, very important game,” Holmgren recalled. “And he said he could play. He practiced a little bit Saturday, kind of gingerly. And then I said, 'If I'm looking out there and you're at risk or something, then I'm taking you out.' We started him in the game, and he ended up throwing five touchdown passes. I mean, really, he couldn't move. We were lucky he was in the pocket. He played as fine a football game as he has.”

Twice, as the Seahawks lost at Green Bay to end last year’s regular season, Favre, now 37, told Holmgren he was going to retire. But he changed his mind in the off-season and he’s still the leader on the 4-6 Packers.

“I think the world of him, obviously, that's clear,” Holmgren said. “I'm very proud of what he has accomplished, on and off the field. I think he's really special. He's got a great family, he's got a great wife. Things are going well for him. But the record is remarkable.”

The Alexander File
Shaun Alexander continues to improve despite the results of the x-rays from Monday following Sunday’s game, during which he had 37 yards on 17 carries after missing six games with a crack in the fourth metatarsal of his left foot.

“I feel real good,” Alexander said. “We took x-rays, and, of course, there is still a crack there, but you know what – I’ve felt good for about a month now. I felt a little rusty in the game, but I guess taking two months off will do that.”

But it won’t prevent him from enjoying Thanksgiving dinner at home with his family. When asked if he would help cook Thanksgiving dinner for his family, Alexander said: “My wife loves to cook, and I’m going to let her do that. And it’s really cool because I like to eat. We have a good combo with it.”

Coach’s Corner
Packers coach Mike McCarthy on former Seahawks safety Marquand Manuel, now on the Packers:

“Well, the first thing that jumps out about Marquand is his leadership ability, and he is a very big part of our locker room," said McCarthy. "He is clearly the communicator in the back end of our defense, and we are happy he is here.”

Ironically, McCarthy called Manuel into his office after Manuel told reporters they were out-coached in Sunday’s loss to New England.

This & That
As part of their tradition, Holmgren and his wife Kathy will go down to the Salvation Army soup kitchen to serve on Thanksgiving after he finishes morning practice. This year, everyone served will also get a Seahawks blanket given to them. “I told you I always get more out of that than I think the folks that I see down there,” Holmgren said. “So I think that (the blanket) is probably the best thing we could give those folks. It’s a special time for our family down there.”

The Seahawks made a couple of rosters moves, adding practice squad defensive end Robert Pollard to the 53-man roster after running back Marquis Weeks was released from the 53-man roster and re-signed to the practice squad Wednesday. Wide receiver Sloan Thomas signed last week to the practice squad, was released and defensive tackle Eric Taylor was signed. Taylor was a seventh-round draft choice of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004 and played a game last season for the Minnesota Vikings...Gibran Hamdan remained on the active roster in the unlikely role as the fourth quarterback. But he was in an even more unusual position Wednesday as a wide receiver on the scout team...Packers coach Mike McCarthy is giving the team Thanksgiving Day off, while the Seahawks will practice late Thursday morning...Center Robbie Tobeck now is recovered from the flu, but strained his left hip and didn’t practice Wednesday. He is questionable for the game. “I have no idea how it happened,” said Tobeck, 36. “It’s just real uncomfortable.” Sean Locklear (ankle) didn’t practice, and neither did Rocky Bernard (foot). All three are questionable for Monday’s game...Bobby Engram did practice and has been upgraded to probable as he adjusts to his medication for the thyroid condition. The medication tires him out, but his blood pressure soars if he doesn’t take the medication, according to Holmgren, so he is gaining tolerance of the medication while building strength...Josh Parry (foot) is doubtful and D.D. Lewis (big toe) is out...Quarterback Seneca Wallace was at practice Wednesday, but wasn’t available Monday and is expected to miss another day this week. His mother is in town from Sacramento and has fallen ill.

Here are some stats that will give you an indication of where the Seahawks are this season compared to last season. They are averaging 20.3 points per game compared to 28.3; they are minus-7 in turnovers compared to plus-6 last season – a differential of 13; they are averaging 301.9 total yards compared to 369.7, and 108.5 yards per game rushing as opposed to 153.6.

Returning stars on offense won't matter if Seahawks' defense doesn't improve

2006-11-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

Wash. -- Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is following league MVP Shaun Alexander back from injury.

The assumption is that - Voila! - Seattle (6-4) will regain Super Bowl quality, beginning with Hasselbeck's expected return Monday night against Green Bay (4-6).

But if the defense doesn't improve from its latest, mysterious spate of horrid tackling, it wouldn't matter if Jim Brown and Johnny Unitas were returning for the Seahawks.

Coach Mike Holmgren was so infuriated by Frank Gore stampeding his defense for 212 yards during Sunday's loss in San Francisco that he ripped into the players following the game. The lashing was so fierce, Holmgren felt compelled to apologize to the team the next day.

"I think I know what they're capable of playing and I get frustrated and angry when they don't do certain things. And I don't think I'm being unrealistic," Holmgren said Wednesday.

The frustration grows when the Seahawks consider there's been only one major change to their defense from one that was so improved last season while boosting Seattle to its first Super Bowl: The arrival of dynamic linebacker Julian Peterson. And that's been anything but a problem. Peterson, a two-time Pro Bowler, has a career-high eight sacks in 10 games.

"Essentially, this is the same defense as last year. Last year, we let one back gain 100 yards - and that took five quarters," middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu said, referring to Tiki Barber of the New York Giants in an overtime win for on Seattle Nov. 27, 2005.

"Things have that snowball effect."

It's been an avalanche lately.

San Francisco's 262 yards rushing last week came three weeks after Kansas City and Larry Johnson romped for 191. That followed Minnesota rolling for 175 yards on the ground, including Chester Taylor's 95-yard touchdown run - a Vikings record.

Seattle has allowed an average of 29 points in each of those games, all losses.

Why?

After Sunday's debacle, defensive end Grant Wistrom said opponents are exploiting a lack of gap discipline, especially on the backside of Seattle's defense on cutback runs.

And as Holmgren noted: "The teams we play are going to be looking at it and we have to have an answer. We have to fix it and have an answer if we expect to reach our goals this year."

Tatupu said that alone is "embarrassing."

"That's a tape that's going around the NFL now," Tatupu said of the 49ers running over the Seahawks. "I think that's what people are going to try to do. We've just got to respond."

Packers running back Ahman Green, probable with a sore knee, ranks just behind Shaun Alexander as the sixth-most-productive NFL running back this decade, with 7,747 yards. But Green has had just 55 and 28 yards rushing in Green Bay's last two games - following three consecutive 100-yard games.

After Green, Seattle will face Denver runner Tatum Bell - though he's questionable for this week with turf toe. Then it's Arizona's Edgerrin James, Gore again - and San Diego's white-hot LaDainian Tomlinson.

As for last week, Tatupu credited Gore with being "an unbelievable running back."

"But when it comes down to it ... it's just discipline," he said. "Whether it was a d-lineman, a linebacker, a safety or a corner (it's) being where you need to be and holding yourself accountable.

"Another thing would be the tackling."

Oh, that.

Tatupu said coaches let the defense know that Gore gained a whopping 130 of his yards after the Seahawks' first hit on him.

"On occasion, it was people not being in the right place," Tatupu said. "But sometimes it was just him wanting it. And going and taking it.

"There's no one in here shying away from contact," he said, including himself as a culprit of missed tackles. "It's just taking the right steps in tackling."

Defensive coordinator John Marshall said being out of position is not causing the poor tackling. Marshall said his defenders were generally in their assigned places in San Francisco, unlike in earlier games, but they just whiffed making stops.

"They've just got to make the plays," Marshall said.

Seahawks/Broncos selected for Sunday night

2006-11-23T12:38:00.000-08:00

The NFL has moved the December 3 game between the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos to 8:15 p.m. (et) as part of the flexible scheduling system.

The Seahawks lead the NFC West by a game over San Francisco and Denver trails the San Diego Chargers by a game in the race for the AFC West crown.

The league's new scheduling plan tries to ensure that Sunday night nationally- televised games on NBC and the late-afternoon Sunday time slot for FOX and CBS will feature quality matchups. The league must give at least 12 days notice for the switch, with the exception of Week 17 when a six-day period is in effect.

In addition to the Seahawks/Broncos game, the league has also moved the Week 13 contests between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Steelers to 4:15 p.m. (et) starts. Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins tilt will now start at 4:05 (et).

Seahawks QB Hasselbeck probable for Monday night

2006-11-23T12:32:00.000-08:00

Seattle Seahawks head coach quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is listed as probable for his team's game against the Green Bay Packers on Monday night.

Hasselbeck, who has not played the last four games with an MCL sprain in his right knee, was 103-of-176 with 1,249 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions on the season before being injured on the Seahawks opening possession of the third quarter during Seattle's 31-13 loss to Minnesota. Vikings linebacker E.J. Henderson rolled into Hasselbeck's right knee on a third down pass play.

Hasselbeck crumbled to the ground in obvious pain but did manage to limp off the field.

Seattle was 4-2 with Hasselbeck and just 2-2 with the quarterback sidelined this season.

Seahawks miss Manuel

2006-11-23T12:30:00.000-08:00

Safety Marquand Manuel, who signed a free-agent contract with the Packers following the 2005 season, was a key player on last year's Super Bowl team. The images of Michael Boulware getting beat on long passes and Jordan Babineaux whiffing on San Francisco running back Frank Gore have led some Seattle Seahawks fans to wonder if maybe their team would be better off with a different starting safety.

That safety could well be playing against them this Monday night.

Green Bay's Marquand Manuel was a key piece to the Super Bowl puzzle last season, so much so that the Seattle defense all but fell apart after he got hurt in the first half of that game. While Ken Hamlin has since returned from off-field injuries to regain his starting spot at free safety, the Seahawks' strong safeties have struggled at times this year.

Manuel started 14 games, including three in the postseason, with the Seahawks while Hamlin recovered from head injuries last year. He signed a five-year, $10 million contract with the Packers in March and has started all 10 games at strong safety.

He said during a Wednesday conference call that the move has been a good one, but that he's still adjusting to his new team.

"You're going to have your goods and your bads," he said. "You're getting used to the guys, and they're getting used to you. You're getting used to the coaches, and vice versa. From that standpoint, it's been a good experience."

While it's unknown what kind of an impact Manuel would have had on this year's Seattle defense, his value to the 2005 team was evident in the Super Bowl. After he got hurt in that game, the Seahawks' defense struggled.

"When we played Detroit in the third game of the year, I thought about that," Manuel said Wednesday. "What if (the injury) didn't happen? What if I didn't hit (the ball carrier) as hard as I did on the sideline? What if, what if, what if? I'm probably going to what-if until I get that chance. And if I don't get that chance, I'm probably going to what-if for the rest of my life."

As for this year's Seahawks, coach Mike Holmgren has defended the play of his safeties. He's sticking with Babineaux despite the missed tackles, although Holmgren said on Wednesday that Boulware could start seeing some limited time as part of the defensive rotation.

"Heck, I believe he learned a hard lesson," Holmgren said, referring to his decision to bench Boulware three weeks ago. "Sometimes you see the guy who watches, and then he comes in and he's a better player for having done that.

"He certainly wants to do the right thing. And he's certainly bright enough to do it and physical enough to do it. ... I'll make sure he's involved somehow."

Holmgren offered that his increase in playing time was not an indictment on Babineaux.

"I wouldn't pin that on what we did" in Sunday's loss to San Francisco, he said.

Injury report: Center Robbie Tobeck, who is nursing a sore hip that flared up in the past few days, was among three Seahawks starters who were held out of Wednesday's practice. Tobeck, right tackle Sean Locklear (ankle) and defensive tackle Rocky Bernard (foot) are all listed as "questionable" on the injury report.

Locklear continues to recover from a high ankle sprain that has cost him five weeks. Bernard played in Sunday's game but was on crutches Wednesday.

Reserve linebacker D.D. Lewis (toe) is listed as "out," fullback Josh Parry is "doubtful," while wide receiver Bobby Engram (thyroid condition) and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (knee) are "probable."

The Packers' injury report includes six starters, the most notable of which is quarterback Brett Favre (questionable, elbow).

Also on the list are two "doubtful" starters - linebacker Nick Barnett (hand) and right tackle Mark Tauscher (groin) - as well as two other "questionable" starters: fullback Brandon Miree (elbow) and cornerback Charles Woodson (shoulder/knee).

Running back Ahman Green (knee) is "probable."

Alexander's foot still cracked: Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander wasn't listed on the injury report, but that doesn't mean that the cracked bone in his left foot has fully healed.

Alexander said Wednesday that he has continued to undergo X-rays but that the small crack is still there.

"I told them we might as well stop X-raying it," Alexander said. "We don't know (when it will be fully healed).

"We know that we are at a point where, in order for me to hurt it again, it would have to be almost the same exact way. We don't think that is going to happen and we just keep on playing, try to get some wins."

Alexander admitted that he was favoring the foot, but his health continues to improve since suffering the injury in win over the New York Giants almost two months ago.

"I've felt good for about a month now," he said. "I felt a little rusty in the game, but I guess taking two months off will do that."

Quick slants: The Seahawks promoted defensive lineman Robert Pollard from the practice squad. He took the roster spot of running back Marquis Weeks, who was released the previous day before being resigned to the practice squad on Wednesday. ... Seattle also signed defensive tackle Eric Taylor to the practice squad and made room for him by releasing wide receiver Sloan Thomas.

Seahawks Notebook: Hawks blanket less fortunate with 1,000 pounds of care

2006-11-23T12:27:00.000-08:00

Despite the rash of injuries that have played into the Seahawks being 6-4, they still have a lot to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day.

After practice, coach Mike Holmgren and his wife, Kathy, will make their annual pilgrimage to the Salvation Army in Seattle to serve meals.

"I always get more out of that than the folks that I see down there," Holmgren said Wednesday. "It's a special time for our family down there."

This year, the Seahawks are passing out blankets to those who go to the soup kitchen for a turkey dinner.

"That's probably the best thing we could give those folks," Holmgren said.

Tuesday, All-Pro running back Shaun Alexander distributed 1,000 pounds of food through his foundation to the food banks in Tacoma.

"It was awesome," Alexander said. "A thousand pounds of food is crazy, and it is the most we have ever done."

INJURY REPORT: Center Robbie Tobeck (sore hip), right tackle Sean Locklear (sprained ankle) and defensive tackle Rocky Bernard (sore foot) did not practice and are listed as questionable for Monday night's game against the Green Bay Packers at Qwest Field.

Holmgren said the status of each would be a game-day decision. Tobeck has missed the past two games because of the flu. Now it's a hip problem.

"It's one of those seasons where things happen and there's no real great explanation for it," Holmgren said.

Wide receiver Bobby Engram practiced, but whether he plays this week remains tied to the medication he is taking for a thyroid condition that has sidelined him for the past six games.

"The stamina is his issue," Holmgren said. "It's a little bit of a Catch-22. He needs the medication to get his numbers in line, but the medication makes him sluggish."

FAVRE UPDATE: Packers quarterback Brett Favre ran some plays in practice, but did not participate in team drills because he hasn't fully regained the feeling in two fingers in his throwing hand after injuring a nerve in his right elbow Sunday.

"It's kind of an odd deal," said Favre, who has started 251 consecutive games. "But once again, at this point, I feel confident I'll be OK."

Favre is one of seven players listed as questionable by the Packers, who also list three players as doubtful -- linebacker Nick Barnett (broken hand), right tackle Mark Tauscher (strained groin) and backup cornerback Will Blackmon (bruised ribs).

BCS MESS: As he sits in front of his locker wearing a USC cap, there's no need to ask if middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu has more than just a passing interest in which team plays Ohio State for the national championship.

Q: So I would assume you're against an Ohio State-Michigan rematch?

A: "Are you kidding?" the former Trojan harrumphed. "Who wants to see that pillow fight?"

HAWK TALK: Running back Marquis Weeks was released and re-signed to the practice squad so defensive end Robert Pollard could be signed off the practice squad. ... The club signed defensive tackle Eric Taylor to the practice squad and released wide receiver Sloan Thomas. ... Packers coach Mike McCarthy is giving his players and coaches the day off. ...

Not surprisingly, 49ers running back Frank Gore was named NFC offensive player of the week for his 212-yard rushing performance against the Seahawks. He is the third player to earn a weekly award for his efforts against the Seahawks, joining Chiefs running back Larry Johnson and Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris.