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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Hawks must stop blitz to stay pass-happy

From Wire and News Services The Spokesman-Review

The game plan seemed so simple, so black-and-white, that the initial question was why every team didn’t think of it sooner.

The Seattle Seahawks were going to throw the ball as often as possible, and they didn’t care who knew it.

But three weeks after coach Mike Holmgren made that pronouncement, the dilemmas are as plain as the winces that have appeared on Matt Hasselbeck’s face on recent Sundays.

The St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears haven’t been shy about blitzing the Seahawks the past two weeks, which has a lot to do with Seattle’s pass-first offense. Hasselbeck has been knocked around to the tune of 20 quarterback hits and seven sacks the past two games. He missed two days of practices last week while healing from bruised ribs, and he was so spent after Sunday’s win over St. Louis that his session with the media was delayed 10 minutes while he tossed his cookies in a stall inside the visiting locker room.

“It’s very important he not get hit that much,” Holmgren said Monday. “I was disappointed in that.

“Teams, if you allow them to, that’s what they like to do. So we’ve got to shore up that part of our game.”

Holmgren knows that his quarterback has to get better protection. Teams are still going to blitz against the pass-happy Seahawks, so Seattle has to find other ways to protect its offensive star.

“We have to do what we have to do; (defenses) have to do what they have to do. After two games of it, it’s no big secret anymore,” Holmgren said of the pass-first game plan. “But we have to be able to know (blitzes are) coming, in some form or fashion, and then deal with it if we’re going to be successful.”

After Sunday’s game, during which Hasselbeck got sacked five times and got hit 14 others, right tackle Sean Locklear was at a loss for explanation.

“They just kept running the same thing,” Locklear said. “They didn’t change the game plan. They were just bringing more than we could block.”

Protection will be imperative in this Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, who feature one of the most impressive blitz packages in all of football.

In three previous meetings with the Eagles, Hasselbeck has been sacked a total of 11 times. He got sacked a career-high seven times in a 2001 game against Philadelphia, which was Hasselbeck’s second game as the Seahawks’ starter.

Around the league

Redskins star S Sean Taylor was in critical condition in Palmetto Bay, Fla., after he was shot during what police are investigating as a possible armed robbery at his home. The 24-year-old player was in the intensive care unit following several hours of surgery, although doctors were encouraged late in the day when Taylor responded to simple commands. … Bears RB Cedric Benson will miss the remainder of the season with an injury to his lower left leg that will require surgery. … Recently ineffective Bills QB J.P. Losman was benched by coach Dick Jauron in favor of rookie Trent Edwards for Sunday’s game against Washington.