It’s A Favre Cry From Bucs Seahawks Defense Doesn’t Mistake Green Bay For Tampa

Coming off its best effort of the season, the Seahawks defense now faces its biggest challenge of the season.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are one thing, the Green Bay Packers are something else. It’s not even a case of oranges and apples, because the Packers’ diversified offense is fruit salad.

Instead of Trent Dilfer and his 36.0 quarterback rating, the Packers have Brett Favre, the NFL’s top-rated passer (113.6) who has thrown a league-high 12 touchdown passes.

Rather than Reggie Brooks, who was held to 65 yards on 26 carries by the Seahawks in their 17-13 victory at Tampa on Sunday, the Packers have Edgar Bennett, who is averaging 4.7 yards per carry.

The Packers don’t have Alvin Harper, who let a Buc-breaking third-down pass sail through his ands late in the fourth quarter against the Seahawks; they have Robert Brooks, who is averaging 16.2 yards per catch with three touchdowns.

One last point of comparison: The winless Bucs have scored 45 points, the Packers a league-leading 136.

The Packers and Bucs do have one thing in common. They both lost Sunday. The Packers (3-1) were bumped from the ranks of the unbeaten by the Minnesota Vikings.

The Seahawks (1-3) rose to the challenge against the Bucs a challenge offered by the coaching staff to not vacate gaps of responsibility looking to make plays.

“We have to take our game to another level this week,” defensive end Michael Sinclair said. “I consider the Packers to be the best team in the National Football League, despite the loss.”

Still, the Seahawks did against the Bucs what must be done against the Packers. Without the 40-yard run by John Lynch on a fake punt, the Bucs rushed for 71 yards on 32 carries. On seven running plays from inside the Seahawks’ 20-yard line, the Bucs gained 13 yards.

It wasn’t by accident. It was by design. Defensive coordinator Greg McMackin had his linebackers play a yard or two closer to the line of scrimmage, which allowed them to plug their gaps more aggressively and force the Bucs to come off their double-team blocks of the Seahawks defensive tackles more quickly.

Linebackers Michael Barber (10), Dean Wells (8) and Winston Moss (8) responded by making 40 percent of the tackles.

“We just had every gap covered and kept attacking it,” McMackin said. “It’s the way we want to play defense. It’s the way we have to play every week.”

For the first time this season, the Seahawks defense did not allow a play of more than 25 yards.

Injury update

Defensive end Antonio Edwards will return this week after sitting out Sunday’s game with a sore right knee.

But linebacker Terry Wooden remains questionable with the hamstring problem that as sidelined him for the first four games.

Kickoff returner Steve Broussard got a hip pointer and tore cartilage in his rib cage against the Bucs, but is expected to play against the Packers.

Guard Pete Kendall, out the past two games with a sprained knee ligament, could return to practice by the end of the week and coach Dennis Erickson said there is an “extremely good chance” he could play in next week’s game at Miami.

Packers appeal

Only 5,800 tickets remain for Sunday’s game, so it could be televised in the Seattle viewing area if the tickets are sold or the station guarantees a sellout by Thursday’s 1 p.m. blackout deadline.