The Holmgren Years: A Retrospective: 2008

Its always funny how whats built up to be the last hurrah is never what people expected. Everyone expected the Seahawks to make another deep playoff run. The running game would be improved, the defense would cure its home/road woes, and another division title banner would be raised.

None of that happened.

I hate using injuries as a reason for lack of success. But the real reason the Seahawks limped to a 4-12 finish was injuries. When even remotely healthy, that wasn't a 4-12 team. Were they as good as we thought they would be? No. If they had stayed healthy would they have won the division? Probably.

Its hard to win when your entire receiving corps is injured. And believe me when I say "entire", in week 2, we were bemoaning the fact that Logan Payne was injured. Logan Payne.

They brought in Billie Mcmullen, Courtney Taylor, Michael Bumpus, Keary Colbert and Koren Robinson. They all showed why they weren't on a team to begin with, dropped passes, fumbles and poorly run routes.

The defensive completed their collapse that started last season. Well, that isn't exactly fair, they were a defense built to play with the lead, when it came upon them to finish a game, they were often worn down, or in the wrong position thanks to that hapless scheme. Its not fair that they were expected to play perfectly for much of the season, but they could've played better. I've wasted too much of my time griping about John Marshall's scheme, and I have chosen not to let him haunt me anymore.

There were some silver linings. Even with a bad back Hasslebeck showed exactly how damn good he can be. When given receivers signed off the street the week before, he still put the ball right where it had to be. Often times the receivers failed to make the play, in the Niners game, that led to the Patrick Willis interception return. Hasslebeck missed most of the season, and with a lack of mobility and reps with the bum receivers, he didn't look good.

The team finally learned to run on third and short. T.J. Duckett found himself a role, pounding the ball in short yardage situations. Unfortunately, third and shorts were rare because they were contingent on the Seahawks gaining 9 yards on the first two downs.

Holmgren showed off his wizardry once again, pulling a bunch of guys off the street and somehow coaching them up to compete with the Redskins, Patriots, Dolphins and Cardinals. I can't overstate how injury riddled this offense was. By the end of the season the entire offensive line was backup or guys just signed weeks earlier.

A lot of fans will praise the play of Seneca Wallace. But playing well against teams selling out to stop the run and playing conservative defenses to not give up the big play, isn't the sign of a quality NFL starting quarterback.

The unquestionably best game of the season was Holmgren's last home game, in a snowstorm, against the Jets. The defense played by far their best game of the season. The offense did just enough to pull off an impressive win against the desperate Jets.

I suppose it was poetic justice that Holmgren's last season went like this. For years he had powerful, veteran teams that didn't require the great teacher, to actually teach. This year took him full circle, back to his first coaching gig with an overmatched team, with inexperienced players. That game against the Jets was the last magic act by the offensive wizard, outdueling his greatest pupil. With that victory, the greatest coach in Seahawks history rode off into the sunset.

NBA offseason thoughts

There have been a couple big moves so far this offseason in the NBA, but they really aren't that big. They are big names, but the impact won't be big, at least not in a positive way.

Ron Artest brings a shutdown defender to the Lakers, already a good defensive squad(when they try). He allows Kobe to slack off even more on defense so that Kobe can save his energy for offense. However, I think this is a lateral move at best. Artest is not a disciplined offensive player and seems like a terrible fit for the triangle offense. He likes to take over at the end of the game, too much in fact, I don't think Kobe will tolerate it. The Lakers ditch the triangle at the end of games and defer to Kobe. You'd think that they would continue to bring in players to compliment Kobe. Instead they bring in a guy who holds the ball too long and embarks on wild forays into the lane. This won't end well.

Bringing in Shaq to defend Dwight Howard continues to send the Cavs on the complete opposite direction that they should be in. A slow, plodding, aging center who can't run the floor and can't defend the pick and roll(something Orlando loves to run) seems like a terrible idea.

The Magic don't need Vince Carter. The team is a finals caliber team when Jameer Nelson is healthy, a penetrating point guard, shooters and an athletic center to grab the rebound doesn't need a guy who takes games off and sole concern is scoring.

The Fall of the Dawgs

My mother went to UW, and in my grade school years, nothing was bigger than Husky football. The first season I truly remember was the 1991 season. One of the most dominating teams in the history of college football. The Rose Bowl was a shellacking, the defense was invincable, and the offense could run the ball like no other. I remember missing the Apple Cup on tv because we had to pick my mother up from classes.

I remember we were in the car when the Billy Joe Hobert story broke. I remember I was at my friend Adam's house when their almost three year long win streak was broken by Arizona. His dad sat by the radio at the kitchen table in complete disbelief, pounding the table and swearing.

I remember the Snow Bowl that year where Bledsoe solidified his draft status. I remember the Rose Bowl, and Michigan getting revenge.

Once Lambright took over, the teams were still good, but you can't quantify what those sanctions did(to check out the whole story on the atrocity of the sanctions, read Derek Johnson's book on the Don James years, it makes me sick just to think about it), the loss of scholarships killed the depth for the entire decade of the 90's. Keith gilbertson left for Cal and the offense didn't recover until Scott Linehan came along and the Huskies adopted a power running, vertical passing offense.

The 1997 team had national title level talent, but the team was riddled by injuries, and the depth showed. One must wonder what would've happened had Shehee played and Huard stayed healthy the whole game, or even most of the season.

Lambright never got along with Barbara "title IX" Hedges, and she canned him the first chance she got. Despite leading them through cataclysmic sanctions and a coaching change, Lambright was replaced by a coach Hedges thought was "cute".

The problem many Husky fans have with Neuheisel isn’t actually the lying, it’s not the deceit, or the NCAA violations, or his participation in betting pools. The real issue is that he took the very essence of Husky football, and destroyed it. The powerful running game, the intimidating defenses, the hard hitting linebackers, all gone. Why? A) He didn’t recruit quality linemen, B) He only recruited skill position players(Kind of like Willingham) and C) Running the ball was an afterthought. When you don’t stress running the ball, you aren’t able to stop the run. Thanks to two coaches, Willingham and Neuheisel, the Huskies don’t have linemen and are incredibly soft. The principles that the program was built on for 30 years were stripped away.

Granted, Neuheisel won the 2000 Rose Bowl, but whisperings are that the seniors that led that charge turned a deaf ear to Neuheisel and put the season on their back. For reasons previously explained, when Neuheisel was fired, he left Gilbertson, an average coach, great football guy and mediocre recruiter with very little in the form of recruits. Willingham, took on the same approach as Neuheisel, neglecting line play and going after the flashy players.

Now, the Huskies posted an 0-12 record last season. Some people blame it all on Willingham. Some on Neuheisel. All it really comes down to, is a President that didn't care about football, and an AD that was more concerned with the little sports than the program that brought in all the money for the sports that never turn profits. Now, with programs getting cut all over the place, I'm sure the big wigs at UW point to the economy, and don't stop to think what would happen if they hadn't set out to destroy exactly what made them all the money in the first place.

Thankfully, things have changed, the President is football crazy and the AD knows where his priorities lie. A good coach has come in and things are looking up.

It just makes me want to throw up how things got this way in the first place.

The Holmgren Years: A Retrospective: 2007

Alas, the last of the playoff teams. And it was much like the first playoff team of this decade. Dominating at home, awful on the road. The defense was shocking in its inconsistency and despite putting up some gaudy numbers, was an atrocity on the road. They couldn't run the ball either, causing Holmgren to abandon the power running game, spread things out, and pass the ball nearly every down. Hasslebeck was incredible this year, that cannot be emphasized enough. It was a fun year, high scoring, exciting games with a surprising ending.

The first game of the season marked the emergence of Patrick Kerney and a fast, aggressive defense. The problems in the secondary were solved by the new veteran safeties, and Marcus Trufant was emerging as a shutdown cornerback. The Seahawks beat up the Buccanears in a thoroughly enjoyable game.

The next week the Seahawks lost when they couldn't complete a handoff on what looked to be the game winning drive.

The Bengals game was memorable, because it was such a battle. The Bengals hadn't self destructed yet and Houshmanzadeh had a huge game. This was really an outstanding game that I wish I had on tape.

They slaughtered the 49ers the next week. The 2007 meetings against the Niners were all about revenge, outscoring them 47-3 in the two meetings.

And then, things started to change. The Steelers trounced them 21-0 and the winless Saints came into Qwest and kicked their teeth in. The Saints are a tremendously well coached team and this was the first time I realized that the WCO under Holmgren was getting a little dated. Here's what I wrote at the time...

"I'm tired of the WCO. I've never been too big of a fan due to the fact that its more finesse and is based entirely on rhythm and timing. When they are thrown off rhythm they are screwed. Also, its the same signals and same checkdowns that they were doing three and four years ago.

Example 1: Sometime in the second half Sunday the Seahawks had a 3rd and 9. They lined up in their standard three wide set with one receiver to hasslebeck's left side. The Saints showed blitz, just as they had much of the game. Hasslebeck reads this, and checks down using the same hand signal that he did four years ago, which means, as it did then, for quick hook routes on the outside. The Saints know this, Hasslebeck takes three steps, has to pump fake cause no one is open and takes a sack.

Example 2: Fourth quarter, its third or fourth down, the seahawks are in a spread set with Weaver as the lone back. The Saints show a blitz that will hit all the inside gaps. Hasslebeck reads this and checks down to the hand off to the fullback that goes to the right side. The Saints showed this blitz to get to the check down, when the play is snapped they fall back and into the hole and Weaver is stuffed for a short gain. I knew this play was coming, and I have never studied film on the Seahawks. This is getting too predictable. Just like on fourth and short against a 3-4 defense the Seahawks will run a stretch play with the tackle pulling, the tight end blocking down and the fullback clearing the hole. Luckily for them, they don't encounter that situation enough for the opponent to catch on, yet.

Soon enough, they were 4-4 and I was losing hope on the season. The offense was looking old fashioned and the defense, for all of its bells and whistles and big hits, was getting its ass handed to them in road games.

Somewhere in all this Holmgren decided to start chucking the ball all over the place, some easy opponents stepped up on the schedule and the defense got its act together.

Five wins followed, some closer than necessary, some delightful blowouts, including an absolute annihilation of the Cardinals to lock up the division. The Seahawks stomped on the Cardinals throat early, overwhelmed them on defense, and gently informed them that the division was ours for at least one more year.

The Seahawks lost two out of their last three games, a lame duck performance against the Panthers(a game so boring I fell asleep) and a wacky, awful defensive performance against the Falcons. Sandwiched in between was a dominating victory over the Ravens in the first regular season game I had attended since the Rams playoff game in 2004.

Nonetheless, there was another playoff birth in store, and the inspired, red hot, physical Redskins sauntered in. This game shouldn't have been close, the Seahawks left a lot of points out there and the Redskins held a one point lead into the fourth quarter. Finally Hasslebeck pulled his head out of his ass, and Trufant sealed the deal with a dramatic, frenzy inducing interception return that holds its place on the list of great Seahawks moments.

Next up were the Packers, who I didn't consider legit, unlike the Bears the previous year. I hadn't seen the Packers play very much but counted on the Seahawks playoff experience to beat the new kids in green and their weathered qb.

Sure enough, it was 14-0 Seahawks in a snowstorm before anyone knew what happened.

Thats when all my complaints about the Seahawks came to fruition. I thought Green Bay might panic, I thought this would cause the Packers to force things offensively and continue to play out of place defensively. Instead they showed toughness I didn't know they had.

The Packers had a great game plan, their stretch running plays out of tight sets kept Kerney and the aggressive Seahawks defense from getting upfield. They stuck a tackle and a tight end on Kerney. They took advantage of the insane size advantage Greg Jennings had on Kelly Jennings. They took advantage of the fact that the Seahawks receivers, for all of their speed and quickness, couldn't handle physical coverage. Hasslebeck couldn't find open receivers, and when he did(Marcus Pollard) they promptly dropped the ball.

This was a very good Packers team. They were more balanced, more hungry and more physical than the Seahawks. I watched Patrick Kerney get erased, I watched Rocky Bernard quit, and I watched Kelly Jennings prove exactly why everyone thought he was a waste of a first round pick in the first place. Amist a furious snowstorm in Green Bay, the last contender of the Holmgren Era was buried.

Idle Musings

I think the Dodgers record should silence all the people who claimed that Joe Torre only won in New York because of the talent. Then again, people who believe in that don't really understand baseball in the first place.

I do not understand the fans of the Mariners who want them to turn into Pirates West. These are the fans that always root for the backup quarterback and always believe that whatever is next is the next best thing. Despite the fact that the Mariners are fielding an .500 team, Mariners fans want them to clean house, trade Bedard, Washburn, Beltre, Betancourt, Lopez, virtually everyone. In a situation where you are trying to build from the ground up, you keep the young guys, trade a quality veteran for some prospects, and have a couple of older guys to bring leadership to the team. Bedard, however injury prone, is young. The Mariners gave too much up to get him, but you can't do anything about that right now. He has great stuff and is a surgeon on the mound. Why trade him? His value isn't tremendously high, and it just leaves another hole in your rotation.

Washburn is a guy I would like to see traded. He's officially morphed into "crafty lefthander" status and his effort is contingent on team success. A playoff contender would love to bring him in to solidifer their rotation, and his mechanical and philosophical adjustments(going more off speed and relying less on fastball) have only increased his value. However, he's older, and taking the spot on the rotation of some younger arms, his value will never be higher, trade him.

Lets say the Mariners keep Bedard, Felix keeps improving, Murrow rounds into a solid 7 inning guy, Vargas continues to pitch well, and Roland Smith finally gets healthy. That is one hell of a rotation, not a single weak link, young, live arms, good left/right balance, the kind of rotation that could get you deep in the playoffs.

I'll admit I was wrong about Griffey, his presence has been invaluable and he's finally coming around to hit. The Mariners, in recent years, have excused their lack of plate discipline by claiming they are just "aggressive". Griffey is patient, he works the count, he gets walks and gets the pitchers pitch count up. The Mariners aren't hitting the ball very well, but they are slowly playing the game the right way. The minor leagues have some horses down there as well. The future is bright. For once.

The Holmgren Years: A Retrospective: 2006

My naivete got the best of me this season. I figured the ultra motivated Seahawks would steamroll the NFC. However, I forgot the golden rule of success. When people win, they want to get paid, and losing teams want to fill their teams with "winners". Thanks to the Seahawks bungling, the Vikings signed a disgruntled Steve Hutchinson. A move the Seahawks are still recovering from. Andre Dyson left, Marquand Manuel got a much deserved pay day, and Shaun Alexander got paid. Robbie Tobeck was a year older and Chris Spencer was about to redefine the term "A man without a position" as he was about to start hopping from center to guard with frequency.

I had high expectations. But in the preseason, Chris Spencer was getting knocked backward, Mack Strong was just a little slower clearing out the holes and Shaun Alexander no longer was running for a contract. Marcus Tubbs was hurt, and Chuck Darby, a great rotation guy, was thrown into a starters role. I was unconcerned.

Until opening day. The Lions, fired up under their new coach, used the standard blitz happy, line crowding game plan that every team used to foil Holmgren. The Seahawks stunk, but won 9-6.

Things got better the next week, but the offense still was struggling. The Seahawks traded a first rounder for Deion Branch, unveiled a wide open offense because old number 37 broke his foot and annihilated, utterly annihilated the Giants the next week.

And then, everything changed. The Chicago Bears murdered the Seahawks. They became the first team to expose the Seahawks safeties, and overwhelmed the Seahawks offensive line. They also exposed a weakness in the middle of the Seahawks run defense that run oriented teams would exploit for the entire season. The image of the Seahawks as Super Bowl contenders came crashing down. They'd never look the same.

The next week, they won a wild game against the Rams, in the first of their annual "Flat start, Unbelievable Finish" games in St. Louis.

Then, the Vikings blew them out and knocked out Hasslebeck.

The Chiefs ran over them in a game not even as remotely close as the score. It was a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown and a cornerback falling down on a deep ball away from losing by 20 points.

They beat the Raiders, in a game with no offense whatsoever.

Unbelievably, with players dropping left and right, they won four of their next five games. Although you got the feeling they were just treading water, playing sound defense, and winning games at the end. Seneca Wallace was servicable, but limited, and Josh Brown won game after game.

Hasslebeck returned, and a tailspin began. They blew a game in Arizona and got shelled for the second time against San Francisco, a physical team tailor made to beat the Seahawks.

On Christmas Eve they lost a heartbreaker to a very very good San Diego team when Michael Boulware was beat on a deep ball. This was my first time watching Shawn Merriman play. It wasn't surprising when it came out later he was on steroids. The man could've been a boxer, his hands were that quick.

Thanks to the fact that the rest of the division sucked, the Seahawks wrapped up the division by beating Tampa Bay. However, two members of the secondary were hurt, Babineux and Jennings(I think). Leading to the Seahawks pulling guys off the street to START against the Cowboys.

Going into the playoffs, I knew the Seahawks weren't very good. But I subscribed to the notion that worse teams had made it deep and into the Super Bowl(85 Patriots anyone?). If they were going to win, it was going to be on coaching and guts.

Sure enough, in an utterly unbelievable game famous for Romo's botched snap. The Seahawks won by a single point.

Next up the Bears. During the Bears game, I destroyed a remote, and threw an empty water bottle so hard that it bounced off the wall, flew across the room and struck my friend in the head. Holmgren put together a game plan so beautiful it should be studied in coaching clinics everywhere. Shaun Alexander played his last great game as a Seahawk(He played two great games this year, his foray through the snow for 200 yards against Green Bay being the other). The defense, after a shaky start, held tough for the remainder of the game. The Seahawks did what few teams could do, and thats run right at the Bears. They harassed Rex Grossman, and held the ball in overtime with a chance to win.

I will forever believe that Hasslebeck choked in this game. He had one terrible interception, and was gunshy toward the end. This wouldn't be a concern if Rocky Bernard had held onto an interception with a clear path to the end zone.

They lost because the safeties finally got burned in overtime when the Seahawks elected to go on a balls out blitz on a third and long(when your front four is getting pressure, don't blitz!!!).

You were crazy if you thought Robbie Gould was going to miss that kick.

The season was a disappointment, but considering all the injuries, it was a testament to this teams toughness. The defense had its struggles, but was tough and tightened up as the season went on. Holmgren further proved he could compete even when he was working with guys off the street. This team gets forgotten because it was sandwiched between the offensive superpowers of 2005 and 2007, and winning ugly isn't sexy. But its still winning.

The Holmgren Years: A Retrospective: 2005

As a Seattle professional sports fan, we aren't often exposed to greatness. We had Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr in his prime and Steve Largent. But as far as great teams go, they are few and far between. Even in the year of our only professional championship, the Sonics went 45-37. The 1996 Sonics were an immensely talented bunch, but lacked the cohesion to be considered great, even with 60+ wins. The 2001 Mariners were record setting, and watching them on a day to day basis was a marvel. 116 wins, tied for the greatest regular season ever. But they weren't built for the playoffs, and a certain amount of playoff success is needed to be considered great.

The 2005 Seahawks were a great team.

I chronicled 2004 and explained how it nearly killed me. The effect of this was an apathetic approach to the season. Their offseason moves, so key, so beautifully constructed, were ignored by myself and others. It was just another 9-7 year, another early playoff exit. I didn't notice how Shawn Springs was gone, how Chris Terry was shown the door, how Anthony Simmons was given his walking papers, how Koren Robinson was finally let go. I scoffed at the signing of Joe Jurevicius and ignored the signing of Lofa Tatupu. I switched schools and found myself far away from the Seahawks.

The season opened in predictable fashion. In the searing heat of Jacksonville, the Seahawks were battered, outplayed and outmuscled by the brute force of the Jaguars. Hasslebeck was awful, and his protection was worse. The Seahawks went down 26-14, on an old Seahawks message board, I wrote a post bemoaning the start of another "same old Seahawks season". The next week they limped by Atlanta, it was ugly. They destroyed the Cardinals the next week, ordinary work I figured.

The next week, the Seahawks started to show something. In D.C, for much of the game, the Redskins beat them up. The Seahawks were down by two touchdowns, and then, things started to come together. Alexander busted a huge run. They scored soon after. They got the ball back, and scored again. The Redskins threw an interception deep in their territory. I went ballistic, finally a road win against a good team, finally!!! And then Josh Brown hit the upright.

After the Redskins scored in OT, I was crushed. They were 2-2, with a game at the Rams coming up, where they hadn't won since 1997. This game was the entire season. I knew it, I think everyone knew it.

The Seahawks went out and kicked ass, even after the Rams took the kick back for a touchdown. The offense was a machine, getting huge chunks of yardage. But the defense slipped late, and a 37-24 lead was cut to 37-31, and the Rams had forced the Seahawks to punt deep in their own territory. I think I had resorted to uttering, "Oh god please no, not two games in a row, no, not again, please!" When J.P. Darche forced Shaun McDonald(poetic justice) to fumble on the punt return.

The Seahawks would win their next ten games.

The offensive line was incredible. An ode to the old days of man blocking, spitting in the face of the zone blocking revolution. Walter Jones, Steve Hutchinson, Robbie Tobeck and Chris Gray had been playing next to each other for five years, and they played like it. Shawn Locklear performed far better than anyone would've thought.

This was the one year where Shaun Alexander ran hard as well, it being a contract year and all.

Hasslebeck was golden, by far his best year.

The defense wasn't dominating, but it was good and surprisingly physical. Marcus Tubbs played the whole year, Tatupu was great, and the patched up secondary, with Kevin Dyson and Marquand Manuel filling in, was always solid.

People like to point to an easy schedule with this team. But a schedule is a schedule, they can't do anything about that. They beat the Cowboys, they beat the Giants, they slaughtered the Eagles, they went undefeated in the division. It was a season where everything came together, thats why it was so utterly shocking that they didn't win the Super Bowl. Rarely does a game like the Jay Feely game happen(one of the finest football games ever played before the missed field goals, trust me, an incredible old school brawl). Or the Cowboy game, where they were beaten down for 55 minutes before scoring 10 points in the last two minutes.

This team could finish, and in the NFL, where parity runs rampant, the ability to close out games is what separates the great teams from the good teams.

After Shaun McDonalds fumble, the Seahawks ran for three first downs to seal the game.

Against the Cowboys, an 88 yard drive in the driving rain tied the game and led to the Babineux pick.

Against the Cardinals in Arizona, a punishing drive for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter but the icing on a 33-19 win.

Against the Rams in Seattle, St. Louis had cut it to 24-16 before another run based drive clinched the game and the division.

Against Tennessee, a 24-14 deficit was quickly turned into a 28-24 win.

The playoffs rolled around, and I'll admit to being extremely nervous about the Redskins game. One thing you always know about NFC East teams, is that they play physical football, and the high pressure, blitz happy defensive style had always given the Seahawks fits. If they could just beat the Skins, I thought, they would go to the Super Bowl.

The Seahawks won, in a driving rainstorm despite letting a myriad of errors and Shaun Alexander being knocked unconscious. Mack Strongs run was the icing on the cake.

I wasn't concerned about losing to the Panthers at all. I knew the Seahawks would be able to run the ball, and move it at will. I thought they'd put together a good plan to neutralize Steve Smith. They did all those things. In the finest 60 minutes of football the Seahawks have ever played, they destroyed the Panthers 34-14.

I'm not going to talk about the Super Bowl. Other than to say I was utterly positive the Seahawks were the better team. Unfortunately, they weren't good enough to play poorly and survive shaky officiating, and an injury to Marquand Manuel(whose replacement was victimized on every Pittsburg touchdown).

I can't imagine anything worse in sports than losing a Super Bowl.