ShareThisBy DAVE BOLING
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Way back when these guys suited up in the peewee leagues, before they got wrapped up in sophisticated schemes and complex game plans, their coaches preached a few fundamental truths.
To win the game, you have to block and tackle.
Very simple.
Win the line of scrimmage and you win the game.
When you fire out and get the other guy on his heels, you win the game.
And if you can't do that, you still might be able to pull out a game or two if you bring more emotion than the other team.
The Seattle Seahawks' 20-14 loss to the formerly feeble San Francisco 49ers on Sunday was the result of these basic shortcomings. It wasn't the scheme or the talent.
If you're going to be a team of arm-tacklers and matador-blockers _ as the Seahawks were Sunday _ you better bring some fire to the park.
But by the time the Seahawks finally were convinced they were in a game, it was too late to pull it out.
The symptoms are recurrent, and appeared in the first game of the season, and led to earlier defeats against Chicago and Kansas City and Minnesota.
Although they still have the lead in the NFC West, the Hawks have the look of a team with a lot of talent that's been pacing itself. Playing good enough to win in most cases. Waiting to gel when everybody's healthy and the games get real meaningful down the stretch.
If that's the case _ even subconsciously _ the danger is that the fire can be tough to just rekindle on demand.
Coach Mike Holmgren lectures every week on the importance of understanding the problems of being the defending NFC champions. Everybody wants to knock you off.
"They played great and we played flat," said running back Shaun Alexander, back on the field after being sidelined for seven weeks with a broken foot. "You can't do that in the NFL. It doesn't matter who you have on your team. You come out flat, you're going to get beat."
When asked of the problems, Holmgren cited some of the injuries and manpower issues as disruptive influences on the offensive continuity.
That's valid, with Seneca Wallace at quarterback instead of Matt Hasselbeck, and a piecemeal line still somewhat out of sync.
But that should have nothing to do with the defense, which is at full strength. San Francisco's Frank Gore had a career day of 212 yards rushing against Seattle. One time he simply ran over cornerback Kelly Herndon and then juked safety Jordan Babineaux on his way to a 51-yard gain.
Where's the defensive front? Where're the linebackers who are supposed to be scraping off into the hole? That's just bad defense.
"We're disappointed," linebacker Julian Peterson said. "We feel like we're the better team, but they jumped on us pretty fast and executed when they had to. Even though we made a ball game of it, we put ourselves in a hole right off the top."
Down 20-0, the Seahawks seemed to remember why they were out there in the second half, outscoring the 49ers 14-0. And in a rather bizarre volleying of turnovers and mistakes in the game's last few minutes, the Hawks still had a solid chance of pulling out a win.
But it shouldn't have come down to that. Had they shown up for the opening kickoff with the same energy and intent they had after halftime, they'd have won this easily.
"When you come out and start slow and you don't execute, you're beating yourself," defensive tackle Chuck Darby said. "It's the NFL; you don't get excuses. If we played the way we could play, it all would have been different."
Alexander claimed the loss was "positive for the team because we learned a very valuable lesson" about what happens when a team fails to show up emotionally.
"Last year when we did it, we came back and won the game," he said. "Lessons are always good to learn. I'd rather learn it now than a month from now when it's really important."
Of course, they should have learned it in Week One when they barely squeaked past the Lions on the road.
"If we go out and display what we did today," receiver Deion Branch said. "Who knows what will happen?"
I know.
You know.
Holmgren knows.
Play like this and the Seahawks can lose to anybody in the league. The lesson isn't all that complicated.
