The Holmgren Years: A Retrospective: 2003

This was the year everything clicked and everything turned around. No longer were the Seahawks scrambling to get to .500, this was the year they turned into a contender. Don't let the easy schedule fool you, this team was good.

After 2002, they fired Steve Sidwell as defensive coordinator and brought in the simple, fundamentals based Ray Rhodes. He got a lot of heat his time here, but with a relatively young defense, especially a young secondary, this hire was important. The Seahawks already had Ken Lucas, but thanks to a Vikings draft day slip up, Marcus Trufant fell into their lap. Later on they drafted Ken Hamlin. Overnight, the secondary was leaps and bounds better.

I remember the first game of the season, a home game against the Saints, as being a huge game. If this team, with its gluttonous talent was going to be a contender, they had to beat the Saints. From high atop the Hawks Nest, I think I cheered harder than I have for most games, I was depserate, I didn't get my voice back for four days. They hammered the Saints 27-10, but showed their one fatal flaw, finishing games.

The Seahawks in 2003 and 2004, couldn't close games. In 2003, this only came back to bite them on the road, but in 2004, it ruined the season. Had the Seahawks had a bounce here or there, they could have easily been 12-4 or 13-3. They always started incredibly fast, but halftime always seemed to zap the energy of this team and Holmgren would often close up the playbook.

Look at some of the leads they had at halftime

Saints: 21-3 Halftime

Cardinals:24-0 Halftime

49ers: 17-3 Halftime

Lions: 35-14 Halftime

Ravens: 27-10 Halftime

Cleveland 17-0 Halftime

Cardinals: 21-3 Halftime

7 of their 16 games they held at least a two touchdown lead at halftime.

This season had unforgettable games, the infamous wild card game against the Packers where Hasslebeck and Favre had a duel for the ages until Alex Bannister(why was he in the game?) ran the wrong hot route.

The two battles against the last great Rams team were classics. In Seattle, the official "We've arrived" game when they came back from 13 points down in the fourth quarter to win. And the intense, brutal, maddening loss in St. Louis where the refs would sooner swallow rat poison than slow down the greatest show on turf and the back judge tackled Bobby Engram. I'll also remember the Rams offensive line holding so blatantly that the announcers were reduced to silence. I'll also never forget the column Pete Prisco of cbs wrote about this game, truly a precursor to the media as we know it today. If I ever meet him in person, I'd like to chat with him about it. It was a hell of a battle.

I'll also never forget the "loss" to the Ravens, the Seahawks got a nice apology letter about that one. They made the vaunted Ravens defense look silly the entire game, forcing them to resort to their standard tactics of grabbing Shaun Alexander by the throat, choking him, and punching him, while the refs looked on. Of course, the refs wouldn't have had the chance to screw it up if our corners could stop a jump ball on a 4th and 26.

The high point was coming back from 14 down for only the second road win of the season against the 49ers to clinch a playoff spot. Absolute delirium when that happened.

This team was good, and talented, but a bit immature and not as physical as the 2005 team, but they were good, and that offense was just lethal.

Thoughts on the Finals

My viewing of the NBA playoffs is slowly decreasing, not for lack of interest, but lack of time. I watched the second round obsessively on a week long foray to the East Coast, where games being on at a late hour was a great advantage. But, regardless, here are my thoughts.

Logic tells me the Lakers will win, and win easily. Its not hard to see why. They have the most talent, and the better coach. However, their Jekyl and Hyde act, a staple of the Lakers under Phil Jackson, has bitten them in the past. And sometimes, the bursts of dominance, the teases, hide the real truth, that they might not be all that good. The 2004 Lakers were bothered by inconsistency as well, but were still the heavy favorites against the Pistons, who summarily dispatched them with ease.

The Magic are growing on me, mainly because they keep proving me wrong. They have shooters, lots of them, a horse in the middle, and athletic guards that can give the terrible point guards of the Lakers fits. The whole reason Denver hung around against LA, despite the bench not showing up for any road games, was the disparity among the guards. When the Aaron Brooks of the Rockets played well, the Lakers lost, when he played poorly, they won. With Jameer Nelson supposedly back, this could be another series where Derek Fisher and friends get toasted.

The Magic run their offense similar to how they ran it with Shaq in the mid 90's. One big man on the block, shooters lined up on the perimeter, and(when Nelson is healthy) a point guard that can penetrate and create. I'm not dogging Skip To My Lou Alston here, but he's not a playmaker.

I think Phil Jackson will find a way to break the Magic. I think his team will be able to stay focused long enough to put the Magic away. I think Van Gundy's way of overcoaching will come back to bite him, and I never trust teams that rely on the three point shot. However, f

f the Magic somehow steal one of the first two games, its an entirely different series. This Lakers team is nothing like the Lakers of earlier this decade. Those teams would sleepwalk, but would awaken with enough desperation and confidence to eventually win. Those Lakers teams could close games, I haven't seen it from these guys. They don't strike me as champions, they strike me as an uber talented squad with no character and no toughness, their big guns are too inconsistent, Odom and Gasol are completely inpredictable, they don't look like they enjoy playing basketball.

With all that said, I still can't see the Magic winning it all, or even pushing this to seven games, the talent and coaching disparity is simply too large.

Lakers in five.

The Holmgren Years: A Retrospective: 2002

The season started with high expectations. New uniforms, new stadium, a new starting quarterback in Trent Dilfer. In the first preseason game against the Colts, the WCO never fired with more precision. It was 10-0 immediately. Then Dilfer was injured, and things went downhill from there.

Hasslebeck came in and started, and the Hawks got thumped by a damn good Raiders team in week 1. Dilfer came back, inexplicably, for week 2 against the Cards. The stadium was open and everyone was optimistic that things would really get going. Dilfer threw or 352 yards, but the achilles heal of the Seahawks reared its ugly head.

We didn't realize in 2001 that Eaton, Randle and Kirkland were in the absolute twilight of their career. And we weren't that concerned when Kirkland was cut for being too overweight, we had plenty of young linebackers, and Isiah Kacyvenski was a hard worker.

Come 2002, Eaton is done, he can't play anymore, but his mouth keeps yapping, which is funny because he was an utter joke. John Randle just flat out wore down. They couldn't keep the line off Kacyvenski, who was having enough trouble on his own(his gap discipline was awful). With Chad Brown plagued by injuries, the pass rush didn't exist. Rocky Bernard started fast and peetered out(A standard for him) and years of shaky mid round drafting on the defensive line left them with Antonio Cochran as a full time starter. Ken Lucas aside, the secondary was old, Springs was always hurt, Marcus Robertson and Reggie Tongue were corpses, and Doug Evans, wow, Doug Evans, I forgot about him. The run defense was the worst in the NFL, giving up over 200 yards rushing a whopping five times.

The Seahawks stumbled to a 1-5 start, Dilfer popped an achilles. Then things started to change. Hasslebeck came in and led them to an ugly win over the Cowboys, and the offense started to move, even if the points didn't come yet. Soon, Hasslebeck and the offense exploded, eclipsing 500 yards of offense three times in the second half of the season and winning their last three games. That stretch, where the offense was utterly unstoppable(including a rare road win over the playoff bound Falcons), led directly to the string of five playoff appearances in a row. They were utterly on fire, and it led directly to 2003, where the real fun would begin.

The Holmgren Years: A Retrospective: 2001

I liked this team. After the catastrophic defensive performance during the 2000 season Holmgren went out, opened the wallet and brought in some defensive help. In came John Randle to provide an interior pass rush, and Chad Eaton to eat up blockers, and big Levon Kirkland, to stuff the run. Chad Brown woke up, and started playing like Chad Brown again. Reggie Tongue had one of his two good years in a Seahawks uniform and Anthony Simmons started to blossom.

Statistically, this defense wasn't great, they still bent a little too much, and every now and then gave up too many rushing yards. But they were better, and tougher. Their 3rd and 1 run defense was inpenetrable and only gave up more than 30 points once.

This season also marks the beginning of the Matt Hasslebeck era. Early on, he was terrible, but was welcome relief from the days of Jon Kitna(Out routes and corner routes were now part of the passing game. His first two starts were hideous including the atrocious affair against the Eagles where the Seahawks managed 21 yards passing. It wasn't entirely his fault, the Eagles defense spent much of the game virtually unblocked.

He got hurt, as well as Ricky Watters, and Dilfer and Shaun Alexander came in and righted the ship.

Shaun Alexander, in one of the "I was there" games, rushed for 266 yards against the powerful Raiders in an absolutely "Must win" game. Hasslebeck played perfectly, managing the game and not trying to do too much.

The Seahawks were 6-2 at home, using the poor weather to their advantage to unleash their physical running attack. This was the first year of the Steve Hutchinson/Walter Jones tandem on the left side of the line, and it showed.

With Hasslebeck plagued with injuries, Dilfer finished the season in style with two wins over the Chargers and Chiefs. The Chargers game memorable for being the game where the door reopened to the playoffs when the Bills beat the Jets that morning. Despite beating the Chiefs, the Jets beat the Raiders and the Seahawks missed the playoffs. That wasn't the most painful moment of the season though.

Holmgren's infamous "four point field goal" while down 24-20 to the Dolphins with just over two minutes left and facing a 4th and 4 caused everyone in attendance's head to explode.

The Seahawks played unbelievably at New York against the Giants and held a lead and had the Giants pinned inside their own 10 late in the fourth quarter. Unbelievably, the Giants converted third down after third down as they marched down the field. They were inside the ten when Anthony Simmons dropped a sure interception that would've iced the game. As things go, the next play, Kerry Collins, Ike Hilliard, touchdown. That game ruined my Christmas.

This team could've made some noise if they'd got into the playoffs, but thats the case without a lot of Seahawks teams, a lot of "ifs".

The Holmgren Years: A Retrospective: 2000

This season was brutal. It was the year Jon Kitna completely lost his confidence. It was the year the defense officially went from experienced, to ancient, and it was the first year playing in Husky Stadium. The terrible weather(two non rainy games all season) and horrific traffic issue caused for non existant crowds.

Any buzz from the playoff season the year before was ruined with Jon Kitna's five INT stinkbomb in week 1 at Miami. They actually played three good games in a row after that, losing to the Rams at the last second and beating the Saints(playoff bound) and the equally atrocious Chargers. They took a 2-2 record into Kansas City for a Monday Night game, had a 17-7 fourth quarter lead, blew it, and embarked on a five game losing streak.

The season wasn't all bad, it was Shaun Alexander's rookie year and he ripped off a few big runs to wet everyones appetite. Ricky Watters was a gamer, and busted his ass every play of every game despite dealing with a shaky offensive line. Darrell Jackson was also a rookie and was third on the team in receptions, showing great promise despite occasional dropsies.

They managed to shock the Raiders despite being behind 11 in the fourth quarter and enduring monsoon like weather and were on pace at finishing a respectable 7-9 before getting scalded by the Bills on the last night of the season.

The real story was the defense. 30th in large allowed, gave up nearly 5 yards a carry, gave up 200 yards rushing multiple times, 499+ three times. Sinclair was finished, Tez was finished. Lamar King sucked. George Kounce couldn't move. The secondary gave up nearly 4000 yards passing. This defense was the worst I'd seen in Seahawks history. An absolute swinging gate with a defensive line as resistant as a wet paper towel.

Doug Flutie managed a perfect quarterback rating against them in a rainstorm.

Next up: 2001: A much better, tougher, and quite often, forgotten team.

The Holmgren Years: A Retrospective: 1999

So, by no particular schedule, I've decided to look back on the greatest era of Seahawks football. It is without doubt in my mind that these great years are coming to an end, and a slew of mediocre seasons are about to arrive. So, without further adieu, for the sentimentalists in us all, I'll offer my fans perspective on the seasons of Mike Holmgren. First up, 1999.

Hiring Mike Holmgren was at that point the highlight of my life as a Seahawks fan. He was a great coach, and everyone knew it. He took the down and out Packers, a wild gunslinger quarterback, and turned them into a superpower that went 3 years without ever losing a home game, went to two Super Bowls in a row, and were a miracle play from another deep playoff run(Owens! Owens! Owens!). The Seahawks had talent and everyone assumed, the playoff dry spell would end.

It didn't start well. On the first offensive play of the season, in front of a sold out crowd in the Kingdome against a Lions team that everyone left for dead after the sudden retirement of Barry Sanders, Holmgren tried a flea flicker, which resulted in a sack. The Lions were up 25-7 before anyone knew what happened and a late comeback attempt failed and they lost 28-20, Kitna was hurt, and Glenn Foley was to start the next week.

They really should've been 0-2, they were down 13-0 entering the fourth quarter(should've been 20-0 if Curtis Enis hadn't fumbled going in for a touchdown), couldn't protect the quarterback and looked dead. Suddenly Holmgren switched to the shotgun and two big plays later the Seahawks won 14-13 and didn't look back for two months.

Holmgren showed off his ability to work with crap(in this case Jon Kitna) and still win. The Seahawks went through a stretch of starting on fire, building a big lead, then sitting on the ball. His game plans dazzled teams despite the fact that his passing game was severely limited. Kitna's arm was weak and didn't have the required zip on his out routes. Aside from fade routes on the outside, the Seahawks largely worked the seam and the middle of the field. Passes any quarterback can throw(similar to Mike Martz's offense).

The defense did what they did best, force turnovers, 5 against Pittsburg, 4 against Buffalo and 7 against Green Bay, all blowout wins. They bent, but didn't break.

Of course, to anyone who knows football(not me at the age of 14), the Seahawks couldn't run and relied on turnovers on defense. All this spelled disaster come the cold weather months.

After an 8-2 start, the Seahawks were slaughtered by Tampa Bay, well, not slaughtered, despite five Jon Kitna interceptions, it was still a competitive game until a late Tampa Bay touchdown, and would have been close till the final minute had Joey Galloway not dropped a touchdown in the first quarter. The wheels came off, defenses figured out Kitna, whose confidence was shattered, and a tailspin ensued, including an absolutely awful, heart wrenching miserable loss at Denver. The Seahawks were down 30-20 late in the game, cut it down to 30-27, recovered an onside kick, drove down the field and Sean Dawkins dropped a wide open touchdown pass that would've won the game. The pain didn't stop there, the Seahawks tied the game, won the toss(I think), and drove into Denver territory where Jon Kitna missed a WIDE OPEN Joey Galloway down the seam by about six inches. The next play consisted of a sack, fumble, and a touchdown. Game over. That was utterly crushing.

They recovered to beat Kansas City soundly in what was probably their best game of the season to go 9-6 and only needed a win against the disappointing Jets to win the division. They lost 19-9 thanks to some ill timed Jon Kitna passes and needed the Raiders to come back from 17 down twice to win the division in what was one of the wildest games I've ever seen, ever.

The playoff loss to Miami was only memorable for being Marino's last stand and the last game in the thunderous Kingdome. The Seahawks had a 17-13 lead and the Dolphins at their own 10 yard line facing a 3rd and 17. Of course the Seahawks played a soft cover 3 or 4, don't remember which, with a 20 yard cushion and the Dolphins picked it up, drove down, and won the game. Heart wrenching, but as in 2004, probably a merciful end to the season. I remember walking out of the Kingdome that day, thankful at least, to have finally experienced a playoff game.

The Lebron Problem

I know, I know, he just dropped 49 on the Magic last night, where's the problem?

Remember when Lebron was in high school and ESPN put on his games to further the quantifiable hype of the arrival of King James? I watched those games, and I watched him closely early in his career and I always felt the comparisons were all wrong. The NBA is searching for the next Jordan, but there will never be another Jordan. The Cavs and the NBA want him to be a scorer when all along he should have been trying to be the next Magic Johnson.

I'm always raving about his court vision, his ability to make every pass, to see openings before they even appear, he has all the traits of a great passer and ball distributor. He's unselfish to a fault. He could be the next Magic Johnson.

This isn't all his fault, in fact, its Cleveland's fault. Lebron is built for this age of basketball, an absolute horse who can run the floor and has the perfect skill set for this era. However, Cleveland has built him a 90's team. A standard team with a lumbering center, average, unskilled power forwards and a plethora of iffy, unreliable guards.

Their offensive system sucks, it involves a pick and roll with Lebron, a two man game with Z and Lebron, and Lebron posting up. They slow the game down, use the shot clock, play the half court game, compressing the defense and sabatoging Lebron's talents.

Imagine him on the Knicks, with Dantoni's spread offense, giving Lebron space to create and score, put him in Steve Nash's role with his constantly improving jumpshot. Wouldn't that be positively lethal?

Get Lebron out in space, leading the charge on the fast break, get him a couple of long, athletic forwards that can run with him, make him the point, make it his show, don't confine him, let him play.