Hawks a team in waiting

KIRKLAND -- This much, we know: The Seahawks are in the playoffs and will host a first-round game at Qwest Field.

After that, not so much. Because the Seahawks' opponent, and when they play, will not be determined until Sunday.

While the Seahawks are playing a 3-12 Falcons team at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, the events that will unfold at three other sites will determine the NFC's No. 6 -- and last -- seed in the postseason.

It will be the Washington Redskins, if they can beat the Dallas Cowboys at home -- or the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints lose.

It will be the Vikings, if they beat the Broncos in Denver -- and the Redskins lose.

It will be the Saints, if they beat the Bears in Chicago -- and the Redskins and Vikings lose.

Crystal clear? Not exactly. But the intrigue over whom the Seahawks will play next week definitely is sexier than their matchup with the beleaguered Falcons.

The players must be figuring out the possible scenarios, as well as listening to all the conjecture about whether they'll play Saturday or Sunday on that first weekend in January.

"I could care less," running back Shaun Alexander said Wednesday after practice. "I'm just happy we're in. I was really hoping that we had a first-round bye. That was my favorite first opponent -- bye.

"They didn't want to play against us. They're scared."

Apparently levity wins out over logistics.

So do the simple mathematics of what is anything but a simple equation.

"I've been trying to break it down and ask guys, because I know they know better than I do," Pro Bowl linebacker Julian Peterson said. "It's like, 'OK, if Washington wins and Minnesota wins, how does it break down?'

"They were trying to give me all the different scenarios. But the bottom line is, when they come here -- no matter who comes here -- we've got to win."

Coach Mike Holmgren trumped even that conservative approach. He wants to win starting with the game against the Falcons, and will not allow himself the luxury of looking past that trip to Atlanta.

"I told the players today, 'We are going to play this game, and we are going to play it like we've played the last seven,' " Holmgren said.

After stumbling to the midway point at 4-4, the Seahawks have won six of their past seven games. Holmgren wants that to be seven of the past eight heading into the playoff opener against whomever it might be.

Nate Burleson appreciates that attention to the immediate detail -- this weekend and next.

"I'm not concerned about that stuff -- matchups, what DBs we might face, any of that," said the wide receiver who used to play for the Vikings. "At the end of the day, it's about us. That's what we have to realize. Regardless of whom we play, we're going to have to play our best game to beat whomever we're facing.

"If we're good enough, if we're as good as we can be, it will be up to the other team -- regardless of that team -- to come up with a way to beat us."

At least Peterson has a preference.

"Me? I would love to play Washington," said Peterson, who grew up in D.C. and attended Crossland High School in Temple Hills, Md. "So I would love to beat them down and go back and just say, 'Look who made you go home and eat popcorn.' "