Seahawks say right things

RENTON, Wash. – Jim Mora says his team still believes it can make the postseason.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh doesn’t expect the Seahawks to lose again this season.

Are they crazy? Or at least a little delusional?

Quite possibly, but that’s a good thing.

What else do you want to hear out of the Seahawks and their coach? Confidence, even if it’s a little over the top, is what professional athletes and top-level coaches should exude, even in tough times.

“I’d rather hear that than, ‘Oh God, what are we going to do? How are we going to win?’ ” Mora said of Houshmandzadeh’s prediction. “You can call it false enthusiasm, false confidence, but it’s certainly the mindset you want your team to have.”

OK, since you’ve given us permission: That’s false confidence.

But again, what else are they supposed to say? Does anyone want to hear Matt Hasselbeck announce that the Seahawks have no hope? That at 3-6 their playoff dreams are officially buried? What good would that do?

Now if the person evaluating talent in the offseason is delusional or full of false enthusiasm or false confidence, that’s absolutely a problem. Decisions need to be made with clear eyes and a level head when it comes to the future of the Seahawks, but what’s wrong with a little over-the-top confidence in the middle of a season?

So let the Seahawks stay positive. Let them believe they can win out, even with a game at 8-1 Minnesota up next on the schedule. Professional athletes get to where they are not only because they’re physically gifted, but because they are supremely confident in their abilities.

“I don’t think we’ll lose another game if we come with this type of effort and just eliminate the little mistakes that we had, I don’t think we’ll lose again,” Houshmandzadeh said after Sunday’s loss. “I don’t see nobody on our schedule that can beat us in my eyes. Not if we play the way we should play. I really like what we’ve got going.”

Um… can’t say I agree with that. But who cares?

For those who want to criticize Mora for his positive demeanor, I ask you this? What would you rather he do? He saw his team, despite a loss, play a lot better against Arizona than it had a month earlier. He already fired one of his “get it right or people will get fired” bullets after the Dallas loss, and a coach can only do that so many times before players tune it out. Would anyone want to hear a head coach or player saying he has given up on the season with seven games still remaining?

What if Mora had come to the podium after Sunday’s loss, white flag in hand and said: Well guys, I hate to say it, but we’re finished. Done. The Cardinals are just too far ahead. We’ve got no shot. We’re just not a very good football team. So I guess the plan from here is to just play out the final seven games, see what happens and hope we can win a few so we don’t finish 4-12 again.

What if a player said: Shoot, we stink. I just can’t wait until January so I can head to the Bahamas.

What if Houshmandzadeh had pulled out a schedule, pointed to the remaining road games and declared: Ain’t no way we’re winning at Minnesota and Green Bay.

Who would want to hear that, whether they were really thinking it or not?