Same Old Song For Boomer And The Jets New York Latest Weakling Served Up To Seahawks

The last creampuff hits the table today.

Yes, during their win streak, the Seattle Seahawks have knocked over more tomato cans than a clumsy stock boy.

And after that string of lightweights - all of whom now stand 3-8 - the Hawks get to tee off against the New York Jets, arguably the NFL’s worst team at 2-9.

But for coach Dennis Erickson and this win-starved franchise, victories of any variety are gladly accepted - regardless of the caliber of competition.

“We’re just trying to get to .500,” Erickson said of his 5-6 Seahawks. “Three weeks ago, it was just survival, and it still is; that’s how we operate the best.

“To get to .500 would be a tremendous accomplishment compared to where we were (2-6) three weeks ago.”

Actually, the tremendous accomplishment would be to FINISH at .500. Because after the Jets, the Hawks face four opponents (Philadelphia, Denver, Oakland and Kansas City) with a combined record of 31-14.

Seeing the Jets come within just two points of Buffalo last week, though, Erickson isn’t about to predict a walk-over for the Hawks, who stand as seven-point favorites.

“Momentum lasts only as long as you win; every Sunday is new,” he said. “We feel good about how we’re playing, but if we don’t play well and start turning it over again, we’re going to get beat.”

A win would give the Hawks their longest winning streak since 1986 and provide something that has been rare around the Seahawks: confidence.

“By winning three straight games, you get a level of confidence that if you make a mistake or turn the ball over you think you can stop them on defense and get the ball back again,” Erickson said.

That certainly was the case last week against Washington as the Hawks forced five turnovers in a 27-20 win.

“Defensively, they’re playing better than they were earlier,” said Jets quarterback Boomer Esiason of the Seattle defense. “I think the new coaches are figuring them out, learning what they do well.”

Strong safety Robert Blackmon, hampered by a hamstring injury much of the season, snapped back to form last week, intercepting two passes and earning AFC defensive player of the week honors.

“Robert had his best game, without question,” Erickson said. “He’s starting to get healthy now and it’s a nice honor to win. He played like he needs to play every week.”

The Jets rank last in the NFL in offense, mustering only 258 yards per game.

But the prime concern of Jets coach Rich Kotite is finding a way for his defense, 28th in the league against the run, to stop Seattle’s Chris Warren - the AFC’s leading ground gainer.

Warren has rushed for more than 100 yards in four of his last five games and needs only 23 yards to crack the 1,000-yard mark for the fourth consecutive year.

“For Chris, this is probably the best situation he’s been in for years,” Erickson said. “There aren’t eight men in a box at the line trying to stop him, the way they used to, because of some of the other (offensive) things we’ve done. Last week was the best he’s run; it was remarkable, an All-Pro effort.”

Another source of continued improvement that has aided Warren is the offensive line.

“They’re not making the mental mistakes they were,” Erickson said. “They’ll miss a block physically, but they’re not letting anybody go loose because of assignment mistakes.

“That took a while because you look at that front and we had a left tackle and left guard who hadn’t played, a new center and a right guard that played only a year,” Erickson said. “They just hadn’t had time to play together.”

Now, Erickson is enjoying surprising depth up front, and last week juggled positions a little bit - moving guard Kevin Mawae to center and inserting Jeff Blackshear into the right guard spot - to give players some rest.

Although the Jets have been unable to slow the run, they have applied good pressure on opposing quarterbacks, primarily by turning loose rookie end Hugh Douglas.

Douglas, a first-round draft pick out of Central State of Ohio, leads the team with 10 sacks, while former Idaho standout Marvin Washington applies the heat from the other end spot.

Kotite fears that no one will be able to keep up with Hawks rookie receiver Joey Galloway, whom he calls a runaway favorite for rookie of the year.

But the Jets offer an interesting - and contrasting - counter to Galloway.

While the highly touted Galloway was the eighth player taken in the draft, Jets rookie receiver Wayne Chrebet simply walked across the street from Hofstra University and hooked on as a free agent.

He leads NFL’s rookie receivers with 44 catches - one more than Galloway. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Hawks vs. Jets The game: 1 p.m. in the Kingdome. Coaches: Seattle - Dennis Erickson, 5-6, first season. New York - Rich Kotite, 38-37, fifth season. The records: Seattle 5-6. Jets 2-9. The series: Seattle leads 8-3. Last week: The Hawks held on for a 27-20 win over Washington. The Jets failed on a two-point conversion with no time on the clock and fell 28-26 to Buffalo. The line: Seattle by 7. On the air Television: NBC with Charlie Jones and Randy Cross. Radio: KXLY (920 AM) with Steve Thomas and Steve Raible.