Seahawks Get Better, But Not By Very Much

The Seahawks’ optimist looks at Sunday’s 35-14 loss to Denver and says it wasn’t as bad as the 41-3 thrashing administered by the Jets last week. Seattle’s making small, but tangible gains.

The Seattle pessimist says that, with the exception of 16 glorious seconds, the Seahawks have been outscored 76-3 in two games. Seattle crammed two touchdowns into a 16-second span late in the first half against Denver.

Yikes!

Seattle players are experiencing both perspectives.

“The Broncos are a little better team than the Jets,” said linebacker Chad Brown, the $24 million free agent who made numerous big plays in the first half. “If we can take away something, it’s that we played a good half of football. That’s not much to brag about, but you’ve got to start somewhere.”

“We played a lot better,” tight end Christian Fauria said. “The fans were into it, but then we played flat in the second half. We have to play our best game to stay with good teams.”

“I hope nobody panics,” quarterback Warren Moon said. “We’re not that far away. The scoreboard may look that way, but we’re not that far away.”

In fact, encouraging words came from Denver’s John Elway.

“They’re a little snakebit right now,” Elway said. “Every big play has a flag on it, so we caught them at the right time. Eventually, it will come around for them.”

Different back, same result

Down 28-14 early in the fourth quarter, Seattle had a chance to climb back into contention. The Seahawks had good field position and a favorable down-and-distance situation. It was second-and-two at Denver’s 39.

Chris Warren tried the left side and gained a couple of feet. Again Warren tried the left side and gained perhaps another foot. On fourth down, Lamar Smith ran the same direction and was knocked down short of the first down.

“Lamar had a pretty good feel for running inside,” Coach Dennis Erickson said. “I’m the one that made the decision.”

No pain, no gain

Cornerback Willie Williams had a cramp in his hamstring and end Phillip Daniels sprained his knee. Erickson said neither injury is believed to be serious.

Receiver Brian Blades, who had suffered dislocated fingers on both hands prior to the game, played sparingly and caught one pass for seven yards.

, DataTimes