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Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Shaky offense pulls itself off Matt
By ART THIEL
P-I COLUMNIST
In the air, on the ground, up the nose and down the shorts.
In Green Bay, it would have been just another snow day at the beach.
In Seattle, it was magnum freak.
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The expression "frozen polyethylene fibers" doesn't have the cachet of "frozen tundra." We don't do Arctic sports here. Rain, sure. Rain shields us from tourists and cancer-causing sunlight. Rain is good.
Against the Green Bay Packers for the longest time Monday night, the Seahawks played as if they had no business in snow business.
The guy who handled it least well grew up in New England and apprenticed in Green Bay. He couldn't have had better preparation if he had trained with the Russian army in Siberia.
But in the first half, Matt Hasselbeck threw three interceptions, and his fumble was returned for a touchdown. By intermission, his passer rating was closer to subzero than the temperature. He drove the Seahawks in snow as most Seattleites drive cars: Everything is fine until they try too hard.
But somewhere after the Packers went up 21-12 in the third quarter, Hasselbeck took a deep breath. The snow stopped, the offense started, and perhaps a seasonal renaissance was underway.
Backed by a remarkable 40 carries for 201 yards on a slippery field by a reinvigorated Shaun Alexander, Hasselbeck was virtually error-free in the second half. By the end of the 34-24 triumph, it was hard to know whether his comeback in the game was more dramatic than his comeback from a four-week injury layoff.
By refusing to buckle, Hasselbeck showed the leadership that has been his trademark, and missing despite a valiant effort from his backup, Seneca Wallace. He said that during his injury layoff, he saw his teammates' expressions when they were playing poorly.
"Maybe that's the only thing I learned watching the games," he said. "Seeing the look on everyone's faces, like I have shown (when not playing well), I said tonight, 'Guys, we're still in this game: Stay positive.'
"Bad as it was -- and four turnovers, one for a touchdown, were all my fault -- I kept reminding myself to stay with this."
He also credited Holmgren for keeping his cool, a week after a loss in San Francisco that produced a big eruption, which merited a rare apology from the coach.
"He really set the tone -- he was really calm before the game," Hasselbeck said. "Even at halftime. That's the kind of stuff we need. Everyone kept their poise."
Hasselbeck out-Favred his mentor and hero, Brett Favre. Wearing short sleeves while Favre went long, he won the toughness element in both fashion and football. The final numbers weren't pretty -- a QB rating of 52.7 on 157 yards passing and three each of TDs and picks -- but grit was the featured element for a national TV audience.
"If it hadn't been the Packers," he said, smiling, of his old team, "I would have worn (long) sleeves."
Even Packers fans -- of which there were many in the largest crowd for the coldest game in Seattle's pro football history -- would have to tip their cheeseheads.
"When you have five turnovers, you usually don't have a chance," said a relieved Holmgren, whose club (7-4) has a two-game division lead with five to go.
The turnovers should have been disastrous, particularly on a night where scoring chances figured to be few. But the Seahawks in the second half put together three consecutive touchdown drives of more than 50 yards that were flashbacks to the 2005 form when they led the NFL in long scoring drives.
Impressive as was the return of Hasselbeck and the recovery of Alexander, the patchwork offensive line had its best seasonal effort in the second half, pile-driving the Packers' front seven like old times.
"With Matt back and throwing it around, they've got to honor that," said right tackle Tom Ashworth, the injury replacement for Sean Locklear. "That opened up some running lanes for us."
The defense rallied nearly as much as the offense. Despite the 24 points, the Packers had only two offensive touchdowns, one a short-fielder after a game-opening interception.
The key offensive moments came after trailing 21-19 late in the third quarter. The Seahawks began at their own 23-yard line, and after an incompletion, connected on a pass of 16 yards to Nate Burleson and rushes of 15 and 16 yards by Alexander. It may have been the best three consecutive plays of the season.
Seven plays later, Hasselbeck found receiver Darrell Jackson on a 4-yard fade in the corner of the end zone. After tacking on a two-point conversion pass to much-booed tight end Jerramy Stevens, the Seahawks' 27-21 lead felt like a breakthrough event not only for the game but for the season. They have to do it on the road, and have yet to do it against a quality opponent. Denver will provide that opportunity.
Even if it's 11 games into the season, a team has to start somewhere. Given the conditions, the early deficit and the season-long, injury-speckled apprehension that has dogged the Seahawks, this one felt like early Christmas.
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