Without Mistakes, Hawks Have Shot

We tend to over-analyze these things.

We inquire, for instance, about the extensive use of the four-wide-receiver formation.

We ask about play-calling decisions, and about the performance of certain players.

All too frequently, we neglect to explore the real reason for many wins - motivation.

And with our skimpy information, we develop elaborate theories of why a football game turned out the way it did.

Sometimes, though, a player or coach perfectly capsulates all the elements of the game into one sentence, one statement of uncommon insight and acute perception.

After Seattle’s 32-13 win over San Diego in the Kingdome on Sunday, that prescient analysis came from Seahawks tight end Christian Fauria, who explained the win with a theory as brilliant as it was brief:

“Nobody really screwed up.”

Which has been unusual, indeed, for the Seahawks, a team upon which somebody screws up with regularity.

Seeing as how the Seahawks have now won only 10 of their last 46 AFC West games, it’s probably not good timing to suggest that Sunday’s victory came against a team almost helplessly crippled by injuries.

Usually, against San Diego, they have to play against Junior Seau; Sunday, they played against Junior Varsity.

And without quarterback Stan Humphries, the Chargers suffered from extremely low offensive amperage.

There were other conflicting elements, as well.

Yes, the Seahawks got the win by using a fairly radical passing offense, but their quarterback got hammered repeatedly in the process and the attack sputtered on occasion.

But if there were one segment of this game that was remarkable - other than nobody screwing up - it was the performance of the Seahawks’ defense.

A secondary that had only two interceptions all season came up with four on Sunday, and a defensive front that has been, historically, dominated by the Chargers, controlled the line of scrimmage.

Two players were able to pinpoint different well-springs - one external, one internal - for the motivation that helped them excel.

For cornerback Carlton Gray, motivation came in the daily newspapers last week.

And he’s still steamed about it.

“Basically, our coaches tried to ridicule us after the Kansas City game,” Gray said. “None of us felt like it was warranted, they went to the press and called us out individually, name by name, and it (ticked) a lot of guys off.”

Seahawks coaches last week said that positions in the secondary would be more open for competition, since it appeared that the unit could play better than it had.

“We’re fifth in the NFL in pass defense, but after what they consider a bad game, our jobs are thrown on the line,” Gray said. “Anybody with any kind of pride is going to try to bounce back and try to prove them wrong.”

So, then, the tactic worked?

“I don’t think it had anything to do with it,” Gray said. “We all have goals and aspirations to be great players in this league, that’s what drives me more anything else.”

Hawk head coach Dennis Erickson touted the secondary after the game, praising the interceptions by Darryl Williams (two) Jay Bellamy and Robert Blackmon, and a crucial fumble-recovery return by Gray.

“They made some big plays there,” Erickson said. “You know they were talked about a little bit last week because they didn’t play as well against Kansas City. They rose to the occasion (against San Diego) and made some big plays … they played like they’re capable of playing.”

Although the chiding seemed to motivate the secondary, Gray said hard feelings remain.

“Of course. We’re supposed to be sticking together and we didn’t feel it was like that. Whatever was said was said. By playing well, maybe we gained a week of them staying off our back.”

Defensive end Michael Sinclair, meanwhile, looked to game films for motivation.

Sinclair went back and studied the season-opening loss to San Diego (29-7) and saw a lot not to like.

But nothing was wrong with the Seahawks defensive line on Sunday. Sinclair and tackles Cortez Kennedy and Sam Adams were devastating, as the Hawks got four sacks and limited the Chargers to 69 yards rushing.

“It was a matter of us playing more aggressively,” said Adams. “I felt I had a good game, but you can always do better; I still have a long way to go as a player.”