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Seattle not ready to cede power yet

Seattle not ready to cede power yet

By Matt Sekeres, Globe and Mail

From Monday's Globe and Mail

December 9, 2007 at 10:22 PM EST

Before the NFL season, there was talk that the NFC West division was ready for an overhaul. On paper, there were four strong teams loaded with good quarterbacks and running backs, and the betting was that one would unseat the aging Seattle Seahawks.

The division had a team with cachet, the San Francisco 49ers, and a sleeping giant, the St. Louis Rams – both young teams seemed poised for a playoff run and perhaps a Super Bowl shot. And the other divisional rival, the Arizona Cardinals, was just one year removed from Sports Illustrated's declaration of a desert uprising.

Four months later, and it's the same old, same old.

The Seahawks won their fifth consecutive game and captured their fourth divisional title in a row Sunday with an easy 42-21 defeat of the Cardinals. Seattle has three regular-season games remaining, but is already assured a home date in the NFL playoffs.

“We're not a big-market franchise, and really, the [New England] Patriots weren't either until they all of a sudden started winning,” said all-star linebacker Julian Peterson, who moved to the Seahawks from the 49ers two years ago. “We were the guys who were supposed to be second or third in our division behind mighty San Fran with all their free agents. You see, all that is paper stuff. You see what really unfolded.”

In 32 NFL seasons, the Seahawks have won six divisional titles, but five have been under current head coach Mike Holmgren, who surpassed Chuck Knox Sunday as the franchise leader in victories, 81. Seattle had its only other success back in the early 1980s.

The lean stretch is over. This once downtrodden franchise has evolved from its beginnings as an NFL afterthought in an NFL outpost. Now, it has as many divisional championships in a row as the Indianapolis Colts, and only New England has more, five.

On Sunday, the blue-and-green clad disciples braved freezing weather and a morning dusting of snow to fill spectacular Qwest Field for the 44th consecutive sellout. Taima, the augur hawk that swoops down into the stadium, leading the players from the tunnel, and the raising of the 12th man flag by a VIP – it was native son and Deadliest Catch crab-boat captain Sig Hansen – have become Seattle traditions, whipping the fans into the loudest gathering in the NFL. Or so the Seahawks claim.

The crowd specializes in distracting opposing offences, which average three false-start penalties a game in Seattle, most in the league by far. When the Seahawks' defence takes the field, few among the 68,000 sit, and many stand for the entire game, a phenomenon that is more common in the U.S. college ranks where fuelled-up students make up most of the ticket buyers.

Seattle has won every NFC West title since the Rams' glory days with quarterback Kurt Warner, who was on hand with the Cardinals to take a beating: five sacks and five interceptions. Seattle improved to 9-4, Arizona fell to 6-7 and the rest of the division just plain stinks – again.“We're not a big-market franchise, and really, the [New England] Patriots weren't either until they all of a sudden started winning,” said all-star linebacker Julian Peterson, who moved to the Seahawks from the 49ers two years ago. “We were the guys who were supposed to be second or third in our division behind mighty San Fran with all their free agents. You see, all that is paper stuff. You see what really unfolded.”

In 32 NFL seasons, the Seahawks have won six divisional titles, but five have been under current head coach Mike Holmgren, who surpassed Chuck Knox Sunday as the franchise leader in victories, 81. Seattle had its only other success back in the early 1980s.

The lean stretch is over. This once downtrodden franchise has evolved from its beginnings as an NFL afterthought in an NFL outpost. Now, it has as many divisional championships in a row as the Indianapolis Colts, and only New England has more, five.

On Sunday, the blue-and-green clad disciples braved freezing weather and a morning dusting of snow to fill spectacular Qwest Field for the 44th consecutive sellout. Taima, the augur hawk that swoops down into the stadium, leading the players from the tunnel, and the raising of the 12th man flag by a VIP – it was native son and Deadliest Catch crab-boat captain Sig Hansen – have become Seattle traditions, whipping the fans into the loudest gathering in the NFL. Or so the Seahawks claim.

The crowd specializes in distracting opposing offences, which average three false-start penalties a game in Seattle, most in the league by far. When the Seahawks' defence takes the field, few among the 68,000 sit, and many stand for the entire game, a phenomenon that is more common in the U.S. college ranks where fuelled-up students make up most of the ticket buyers.

Seattle has won every NFC West title since the Rams' glory days with quarterback Kurt Warner, who was on hand with the Cardinals to take a beating: five sacks and five interceptions. Seattle improved to 9-4, Arizona fell to 6-7 and the rest of the division just plain stinks – again.

Nobody else but Seattle is north of .500, and while Arizona still has wild-card hopes, it is only because the entire conference is weak, as the 14th week of the regular season proved. While the second-place Cardinals gave up the first 24 points, the third-place 49ers were being blasted for four touchdowns at home against the Minnesota Vikings. The Rams had already lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, who had four wins entering their game.

Heading into action Sunday, the NFC West had a cumulative record of 20-28, tied for the worst mark among the NFL's eight divisions. The Seahawks were 7-2 against the conference and 4-1 against the division, while the three other team were 9-19 against the NFC.

These records belie preseason predictions of a revival in the West. The quarterback-running back combinations – Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson in St. Louis, Alex Smith and Frank Gore in San Francisco, Warner and Edgerrin James in Arizona and Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander in Seattle – were as good as in any division, and that duped the experts.

Only nine of 16 prognosticators on ESPN.com picked Seattle to win the division before the season. Four had the Rams, and three chose the 49ers. Compare that with other divisions, where there was unanimity: All 16 picked New Orleans to win the NFC South, even though the Saints didn't have nearly the playoff pedigree of the Seahawks.

“I thought the other teams in the division, like the Rams and San Francisco, would have better records by now,” said Warren Moon, the former Seattle and CFL quarterback who now works on the Seahawks' radio broadcast. “I thought it would be a little more competitive … and it says that [the Seahawks] have really shown that they can be consistent and that there is a history of consistency in this organization.”

Nobody else but Seattle is north of .500, and while Arizona still has wild-card hopes, it is only because the entire conference is weak, as the 14th week of the regular season proved. While the second-place Cardinals gave up the first 24 points, the third-place 49ers were being blasted for four touchdowns at home against the Minnesota Vikings. The Rams had already lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, who had four wins entering their game.

Heading into action Sunday, the NFC West had a cumulative record of 20-28, tied for the worst mark among the NFL's eight divisions. The Seahawks were 7-2 against the conference and 4-1 against the division, while the three other team were 9-19 against the NFC.

These records belie preseason predictions of a revival in the West. The quarterback-running back combinations – Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson in St. Louis, Alex Smith and Frank Gore in San Francisco, Warner and Edgerrin James in Arizona and Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander in Seattle – were as good as in any division, and that duped the experts.

Only nine of 16 prognosticators on ESPN.com picked Seattle to win the division before the season. Four had the Rams, and three chose the 49ers. Compare that with other divisions, where there was unanimity: All 16 picked New Orleans to win the NFC South, even though the Saints didn't have nearly the playoff pedigree of the Seahawks.

“I thought the other teams in the division, like the Rams and San Francisco, would have better records by now,” said Warren Moon, the former Seattle and CFL quarterback who now works on the Seahawks' radio broadcast. “I thought it would be a little more competitive … and it says that [the Seahawks] have really shown that they can be consistent and that there is a history of consistency in this organization.”