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

Seahawks’ season off the wall

By Scott M. Johnson Everett Herald

RENTON, Wash. – The hallway that leads from the Seattle Seahawks’ practice field to the spacious locker room at their new facility includes a wall that’s meant to serve as a reminder of greatness.

The area is supposed to be filled with framed photographic collages from each of the Seahawks’ victories, just like a similar setup at the team’s old offices in Kirkland.

The only collage on the lonely wall these days is dated Sept. 21, 2008, the day of the Seahawks’ last – and only – victory.

“We’re used to putting a lot of those up on the wall,” defensive tackle Craig Terrill said this week, more than a month after the team’s last win. “To see one from so early in the year, and to just have one, that wears on you.

“That will get you ready to go every day. To see that on the way to practice, that’s motivation every day.”

The new practice facility was meant to serve as a new era in Seahawks football. But that, the upcoming semi-retirement of head coach Mike Holmgren and a 1-5 start that has left players and coaches scratching their heads have served as fodder for more of a final chapter than any new beginnings.

If the 2008 Seahawks don’t get things turned around in a hurry, the end of an era will be upon them like an oncoming train.

No one inside the team’s facility is willing to close the book on the recent run of success.

Four consecutive division titles and five straight trips to the postseason mark one of the finest runs in franchise history and an era that none of the Seahawks wants to see come to an end.

But a roster of aging superstars, an outgoing coach and a subpar record mean that the franchise could be on the verge of starting anew.

Left tackle Walter Jones, perhaps the greatest player in the franchise’s history, is 34 years old and nearing the end of his career. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is 33 and dealing with back problems. Leading receiver Bobby Engram is upset with the lack of a contract extension and is likely to move on after this season.

Then there’s Holmgren, who plans to step away from the NFL after this season but appears likely to eventually return as a head coach or general manager somewhere else.

Despite it all, the Seahawks are unwilling to put their successful run in the past.

“Do I feel the era is coming to an end? Hell, no,” said safety Deon Grant, whose biggest motivation for signing with the team in March 2007 was its recent run of success. “I would never think that.”

“If you’re asking whether the window for this organization is closing, I would say no,” defensive back Jordan Babineaux added. “Guys in this locker room are too competitive to think like that. Our record might say that we’re 1-5, but we’re not going to play like a 1-5 team.”

Hasselbeck remains sidelined

Another day without Matt Hasselbeck means the Seahawks’ chances of having their starting quarterback on the field for Sunday’s game got slimmer.

Hasselbeck did not participate in Thursday’s practice session and has not practiced since the beginning of this month. He continues to rehabilitate a back injury, and the team is holding out hope that he’ll play Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

Seneca Wallace continued to run the first-team offense and will start against the 49ers if Hasselbeck can’t play.