Even This Victory Worth Celebrating

When the team you cover trails the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13-3 in the fourth quarter, you can start writing the obit.

You wonder where it can go from there and how could it get worse with Green Bay, Miami and Kansas City next on the docket. You wonder if the team can lobby to establish a Division I-AA in the NFL, a place where they can be more competitive - maybe giving a few less scholarships or something.

You wonder if the Seahawks are going to sign Shawn Kemp as a receiver or if quarterback Rick Mirer will finally start throwing passes that normal-height guys can catch.

You wonder if 0-16 is a possibility.

You wonder how a staff of proven offensive wizards can coach an offense that accounts for only 47 points in one quarter short of four full games.

You wonder how a team of grown men can practice since the middle of July and still not understand that you don’t move until the ball is snapped.

You wonder if the only thing about the Seahawks that separates them from Tampa Bay is that they don’t wear such stupid-colored pants.

You wonder how you couldn’t have predicted such a disaster, because the day had the feeling of the apocalypse, with thunder showers and lightning all morning.

But something changes in the fourth quarter: Rick Mirer becomes Joe Montana (12-for-16 in last two drives), the offensive line turns into the old Washington Hogs, and Brian Blades (eight fourth-quarter catches) turns into, well, Brian Blades, again.

And amid the draining, will-sapping 87-percent humidity, the Seahawks somehow marshal forces and put together two impressive scoring drives in the final 9:20 to win 17-13.

Seahawks tackle James Atkins offered what might be the best explanation for the turnaround: “I think today we growed up a little bit.”

The temptation is to discount the win, to print the “W” in lower case. Yes, it came against a sorrowful 0-4 club. (ital)Everybody(unital) beats Tampa Bay, so the Seahawks should, too, right?

But to avoid a 15-yard penalty for piling on, we’re going to steer clear of the sarcasm about the strength of the opponent - hey, the invasion of Grenada was chalked up as a victory for the U.S. - and declare this victory glorious.

For one, that’s because it beats the heck out of what could have happened here.

And two, yes, I also think the Seahawks might have growed up a little bit Sunday.

“No matter what anybody says, I’m sure there had to be some ‘here-we-go-again’ thoughts going through people’s minds,” Seahawks cornerback Carlton Gray said.

After all, Mirer had been dreadful, completing only eight of 21 passes for 91 yards and an interception, running back Chris Warren had gained only 38 rushing yards, and the Hawks were about to join a small circle of teams in contention for honors as worst in the NFL.

But after the Bucs went up 13-3, Hawks defensive end Michael Sinclair witnessed something new.

“Everybody was up off the bench, cheering the offense on,” Sinclair said. “That was a good thing because it hasn’t been like that around here in the past.”