Feeling sacked out

KIRKLAND, Wash. – When the pass-rush-starved Seattle Seahawks opened their wallets and dumped $14 million in the lap of Grant Wistrom last March, the outcry was fierce and widespread.

How, people asked, could the Seahawks give that big a signing bonus to a player who had never been to a Pro Bowl?

Now that Wistrom has been sidelined by a knee injury, the proof has unfolded on the field. It looks as if Wistrom should not have received a $14 million signing bonus.

Based on the way Seattle has performed in his absence, $20 million would have been more appropriate.

In the wake of the Seahawks’ performance last week against a young Carolina Panthers offensive line, Wistrom’s worth has escalated. The Seahawks had no sacks last Sunday and rarely provided a pass rush. It was an all-too-familiar memory of the pre-Wistrom days.

“Things have a domino effect,” Seattle linebacker Anthony Simmons said. “…Grant’s kind of a wild man. He’s got a great passion for the game, and he’s always fired up no matter who we’re playing. That rubs off on those other guys. When you lose him, you definitely lose something special.”

While last Sunday’s win over Carolina saw the Seahawks held without a sack for the first time this season, the performance wasn’t as frightening as it may have seemed.

Seattle coach Mike Holmgren was quick to point out that the Panthers spent much of Sunday afternoon in a maximum protection scheme designed to use multiple pass blockers, with two or three receivers running routes. That left Seahawks such as left end Chike Okeafor often doing battle with two or three blockers at once.

“There were times when they were blocking seven, and we were only rushing three,” Okeafor said. “If they want to do those little dink-and-dunk passes, then we’ll cover the dink-and-dunk.

“… There are ways to get out of sacks for an offense. We’re not going to take that like we went out there and played like (garbage), because we know that’s not true.”

Wistrom is expected to be out two to four more weeks because of a knee injury, but the Seahawks aren’t shutting things down while they await his return. They’ll probably let linebacker Chad Brown do more pass-rushing this week, while the San Francisco 49ers aren’t likely to do as much maximum protection because tight end Eric Johnson is such a big part of the passing offense.

There are reasons to expect the pass rush to return this week, even without Wistrom. But in a perfect world, the Seahawks would like to have their $14 million man back.

“Any time you lose a player of his caliber, somebody has to step up,” Seattle defensive line coach Dwaine Board said. “Teams kind of game plan you like they have one guy to worry about, and that’s easier for them.”

In Seattle’s first game without Wistrom – two weeks ago at Arizona – the Seahawks appeared as if they had moved on seamlessly. Linebacker Tracy White sacked Cardinals quarterback Josh McCown on the first snap of the game, and Antonio Cochran got McCown three plays later while filling in at Wistrom’s left end position.

But since that series, opposing quarterbacks have thrown 70 passes and been sacked once. That came from Okeafor, who ranks fifth in the NFC with 5 1/2 sacks this season, who brought down McCown in the second half of the Arizona game.

Okeafor was held without a sack Sunday, marking the first time in five games he failed to bring down an opposing quarterback.

“I’m not going to get a sack every week,” he said. “That’s the first time in a while. I’m not perfect, and I’m not Jesus.”

Okeafor said that he has not seen any difference in terms of how teams have attacked him the last two weeks, but the loss of Wistrom seems to have had an effect on the defensive line in general.

Cochran has been less effective from the outside than he was playing inside in nickel packages. He started 23 games at defensive end over the past two seasons but totaled just four sacks. This year, while playing a limited role inside, Cochran already has two sacks.

“Cochran has come in and done a fine job,” Holmgren said. “Antonio is a good player. Do we miss Wistrom? Yeah, we do. He’s good. He brings energy. He brings pass rush.”

Wistrom will return sometime this month. In the meantime, the defense hopes to hold its own without the $14 million man.

“We’ll get things rolling as we get more guys back,” Okeafor said. “We’ll get more in a groove. We just need to keep the (positive attitude) up and just keep working. That’s all we can do.”