Hawks have challenger in NFC West
KIRKLAND, Wash. – Refreshed from a bye week that included seven full days off, the Seattle Seahawks returned to work Monday in an unfamiliar position.
Second place in the NFC West.
Thanks to the St. Louis Rams’ 23-20 win over Green Bay, Seattle finds itself a half game back in the division standings after spending Sunday idle.
“We’re fully aware that they’re in first place in the division and we’re in second,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said when the Seahawks returned to practice Monday. “We get a chance to change that on Sunday.”
The Seahawks (3-1) and Rams (4-1) will square off in St. Louis this weekend in the first big divisional showdown of the 2006 season. October is too early to start stressing the importance of games, but the Seahawks can go into this one without needing a pep talk.
“It’s a division game,” safety Jordan Babineaux said. “There’s not much more that needs to be said.”
The last time the Seahawks did not hold at least a piece of first place in the NFC West was after Week 1 of the 2005 season, when San Francisco was the lone unbeaten team in the division.
The NFC West became a one-team race shortly thereafter, with the Seahawks moving into a three-way tie the following week and eventually holding sole possession of first place for the final 11 weeks of the regular season.
Many of the players in Seattle’s locker room expect more of a challenge this year.
“It’s going to be like it was before,” defensive tackle Rocky Bernard said of the close NFC West races that preceded the 2005 season. “The Rams are playing well right now, and even San Francisco is playing well. So it’s going to go down right to the end.”
Before the Seahawks can start focusing on the end of the season, they’ll have to look back nine days and figure out what went wrong in their last game. The 37-6 loss at Chicago exposed some chinks in the Seahawks’ armor.
Yet coach Mike Holmgren gave them the entire bye week off, hoping it would heal some injuries and help the players get refocused.
“It was great having the time off, giving us a chance to get our legs back and go on this 12-game – maybe 16-game – run for the championship,” wide receiver Darrell Jackson said. “We were a little banged up, and it gave us a chance to rest and recuperate.”
The Seahawks held more of a conventional practice than usual for a Monday afternoon, during which time injured players like Babineaux (concussion), defensive tackle Marcus Tubbs (knee surgery) and tight end Jerramy Stevens (knee surgery) returned from injuries.
“They are healthier,” Holmgren said. “(Floyd) Womack, (Shaun) Alexander and (Joe) Tafoya are the only ones that are still a little iffy. Other than that, we have most of our guys back.”