Seahawks Gave Fans A Good Idea There’s Fun Ahead

The Seattle Seahawks engaged in more than 2,000 offensive and defensive plays this season.

They covered the usual range of brilliant to boneheaded, inspiring to wretched.

And maybe it’s reaching too far for the sake of symbolism to pluck one from the pack and suggest it stands as an icon for the season.

But let’s do it anyway.

The Hawks had just eked out a bland win over the New York Giants to stand a shaky 3-6. And it’s now the second quarter in Jacksonville on Nov. 12.

The Seahawks have the ball on their own 14. Treacherous territory.

It’s not a place where slow-developing, steep-downside plays like reverses are expected.

Probably why Dennis Erickson called it.

Rookie receiver Joey Galloway - part gazelle, part scared bunny, all sizzle - takes the handoff and races to his right.

Road block.

What happened next came in flashes. A juke, a fake, a levitation, a molecular reconfiguration, a double axel, a block by Chris Warren, a triple Salchow.

A touchdown.

Who could have diagrammed this play? A hyper-kinetic kid with a new Etch-a-Sketch. A palsied drunk with a Bic on a bouncy bus.

It may have been the flashiest individual effort in the NFL this season.

It was more than that for the Seahawks, though, as it signaled a definite change in direction, a reversal of fortune.

Because, although the 8-8 final record was skewed upward by a schedule that included every bowser this side of the Westminster Kennel Club, something important happened.

Ennui was replaced by excitement. What had been funereal was now fun.

Above all else, in 1995, the Seahawks became interesting.

Credit that to Erickson, a peppery sort who hides antacid rolls in his pockets but can’t veil his severe distaste for defeat.

“I don’t take losses well and I never will,” Erickson said of his first season with the Hawks. “But you have to learn to put them into perspective and you can’t dwell on wins or losses because it’s such a long season.

“When we were 2-6, I’d have said, ‘hey, I’d take 8-8,’ but it’s still hard to take any loss.”

Particularly the 26-3 season-ending debacle at Kansas City.

“The thing that’s so frustrating about that game is it took a little glitter off what’s happened in the last part of the season,” he said.

Erickson’s expectations for the Seahawks were voiced early and often. In not particularly subtle terms.

Starting guard Jeff Blackshear, for instance, held out during training camp. He didn’t get back into the lineup until the 14th game.

Think any starters will hold out next season?

And safety Robert Blackmon was benched at midseason for playing below his capability.

After that, Blackmon came back with such vigor he received Pro Bowl votes.

A cattle prod could not have been more effective.

Erickson stressed this: Every Sunday is an evaluation period. A 3-hour job review.

As it stands, specific needs are many: improving dreadful coverage units, buttressing defensive personnel, somehow encouraging steadier quarterback play.

In a more general sense, two developments must occur.

1) Erickson must somehow coax a consistency of effort from the team.

Inexplicably, at times, the Hawks would stumble into important games devoid of measurable emotion.

Against the New York Jets, for instance, all the Seahawks had to do was defeat the worst team in football for a win that would have, ultimately, earned them a playoff berth.

But they not only played “down” to the Jets, they played below them in a shameful 16-10 defeat. 2) The Hawks have to sign the current players who are entering free agency.

Pro Bowl running back Chris Warren will likely be stamped with a franchise tag and receive a salary reflective of his value.

But Brian Blades, Blackmon, Carlton Gray, Ray Roberts, Rick Tuten and Dean Wells are other starters or key players whom Erickson feels must be retained.

“We’re not going out to kill the free-agent market because I don’t believe that’s how you build a solid foundation for a football team,” Erickson said. “What we need to do is sign the free agents who are on our team.

“We want some continuity,” he said. “Stability and character are real keys, and trying to keep these guys here is what’s going to get us over the hump.”

At least they’ve reached the hump. Which represents progress.

Erickson got three wins against AFC West teams in his first season, while his predecessor, Tom Flores, took three years to get four such victories.

And the feeling here is that, although next year’s schedule is more demanding, the Seahawks will be even more of a factor in the division next time around.

“I’m encouraged because we’ll have a solid part of our team back,” Erickson said. “And we’ll go into that first game knowing what we’re doing, knowing the system, knowing what to expect.”

And, most importantly, knowing how to win.

, DataTimes