Sun Oct 5 19:27:11 2008

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Line of Scrimmage: Holmgren's Swan Song More Like a Swan Dive

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Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - In their nine years under head coach Mike Holmgren, the Seattle Seahawks have achieved things well beyond the realm of what the organization had previously experienced.

Perennial top-dog status in the NFC West. The franchise's first Super Bowl appearance. The emergence of Shaun Alexander as a league MVP and Matt Hasselbeck as a Pro Bowler.

Given their level of success over the past decade, it would have only been fitting if Holmgren - who previously announced he would step down at the end of the year - went out with a season that emphasized his status as the best head coach in team history.

Instead, it looks like the end could be a painful one for Holmgren.

On Sunday, the Seahawks dropped to 1-3 with a 44-6 loss at the New York Giants, looking terrible in a defeat that showed just how far this team has drifted from the NFC elite.

"That was what we call a good old-fashioned you-know-what," said Holmgren after the loss, the team's most decisive setback since an opening-week defeat to the Jets in 1997. "I believe we're a better football team than that, but give the Giants credit. They really took it to us today."

Seattle rarely plays well in the early time slot on the east coast, but there was hope that things were about to turn around for the Hawks after a mostly shaky September. They had routed the Rams (37-13) last time out, and were coming off their bye looking as healthy as the team had since the preseason.

Wideouts Deion Branch (knee) and Bobby Engram (shoulder) both made their first appearances of the year on Sunday, but didn't make much of a difference for Matt Hasselbeck and the sputtering offense.

Hasselbeck completed just 11-of-21 passes for 105 yards with an interception before being sidelined by a hyperextended knee in the second half. Under Hasselbeck and replacement Seneca Wallace, the Seahawks were just 1-of-11 on first downs and finished the day with 187 total yards.

"We were terrible on third downs, we didn't play well," said Hasselbeck, whose passer rating has been 53.9 or worse in the team's three defeats. "Our numbers were unbelievable the other way. You know there is a lot of football left to be played, but today was disappointing. I think we're a lot better than that."

Branch failed to make it to the finish line either, succumbing to a heel injury after catching three passes for 31 yards. Engram had eight grabs for 61 yards, but that stat-line was lost in the rout.

"We didn't perform nearly as well as we should," noted Engram. "I'm speaking in terms of consistency, making plays, and sticking to our assignments. We didn't make any big plays and we gave up too many of them...that is a recipe for disaster."

As poor as the offense was, the defense was worse.

The Giants churned up 254 of their whopping total of 523 yards on the ground, and Seattle didn't seem especially eager to tackle Brandon Jacobs (15 carries, 136 yards, 2 TD).

Eli Manning (19-of-25, 267 yards, 2 TD) wasn't fazed by Seattle's much- ballyhooed pass rush, suffering just one sack on a day in which David Carr was brought in to mop up...in the third quarter. Fittingly, on his only pass attempt, Carr threw a touchdown.

"[Defense is] one of the things we're going to have to take a hard look at to see if we can come up with some answers," said Holmgren, who has seen his team allow an average of 37 points in its three losses. "I believe we're capable and I don't think we've played our best football yet on that side of the ball.

"The Giants are a load, but we knew that, and we knew what we had to do. That big guy, their running back (Jacobs) really had a day, and so did their quarterback."

The silver lining for the Seahawks is that they're far from dead in the NFC West. Arizona leads the division at a vulnerable 3-2, and San Francisco (2-3) has a road win in Seattle to its credit but is a major work in progress. The Rams are 0-4 and on a collision course with a top three draft pick.

At the same time, the Hawks had better answer the bell soon if they wish to make a run at a sixth consecutive playoff berth.

Seattle still has three games against teams from the mighty NFC East, must go cross-country to Tampa Bay and Miami, has difficult trips to San Francisco and Arizona and will be tested in home tilts against Green Bay, New England and the Jets.

The Packers will come in next week as a hungry football team fresh off three straight losses.

The way the Seahawks have played during their first four games, is it realistic to expect them to win a majority of the above games? Is it realistic to expect they'll win any of them?

"Everyone has to fix it, coaches and players," noted Holmgren in the wake of Sunday's fiasco. "There are any number of statistical analyses of teams that have started this bad and still done OK, but those don't mean much unless you improve the product, and what you're doing on the field.

"That's our goal, and we'll get this one behind us rather quickly, I trust, and get on with Green Bay. You don't have any choice, because you have a really good football team coming in next week."