Seahawks wary of 49ers
SEATTLE — San Francisco’s slow start isn’t what it appears, if you ask the Seattle Seahawks.
“Fool’s gold,” warned running back Shaun Alexander.
“They could easily be 2-0, without stretching it,” coach Mike Holmgren said.
Sounds like the Seahawks (2-0) are trying just as hard to guard against overconfidence Sunday against the 49ers (0-2) as they are hoping to extend last season’s 8-0 home record.
“They’re a good team,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “Both games were close last year. They both came down to the last minute, so we know they’re very talented on defense. We have proof on film.”
San Francisco took New Orleans to the wire last week in second-year quarterback Ken Dorsey’s first NFL start. And the 49ers could have done more to help themselves in an opening loss to Atlanta.
Two games, two defeats by a combined five points.
“Those kind of losses rip your heart out,” coach Dennis Erickson said. “We feel good about the improvement we’re making and how some of our young players are playing. But the bottom line is you have to win.”
Oddsmakers have installed the Seahawks as 11-point favorites, as much because of Seattle’s success at home last year as the questions about whether Dorsey can outduel Hasselbeck.
The Seahawks, though, were humbled offensively in last week’s 10-6 win at Tampa Bay. Hasselbeck was sacked four times and threw for only 147 yards and one touchdown. Alexander was held to 45 yards rushing.
“We are a better offensive team than we showed,” Holmgren said.
The Seahawks think they’ll rebound, because their problems came from difficulties picking up blitzing defenders and other split-second decisions that can be fixed in practice.
When given enough time, Hasselbeck has learned to pick defenses apart.
“From playing against him the last couple of years, he does a better job of scanning the field so he can make the right reads,” said 49ers linebacker Julian Peterson. “He didn’t get to the Pro Bowl last year for nothing.”
Dorsey, meanwhile, practiced as the starter again this week because Tim Rattay remains questionable with a separated shoulder. Dorsey looked polished against the Saints, going 18 of 32 for 205 yards passing.
He was sacked twice and intercepted once.
“From a comfort level, I feel a lot better just knowing what to expect when I’m starting,” Dorsey said. “The speed of the game can’t be compared to college, but that’s an adjustment that you have to make.”
The statistic everyone points to with Dorsey is his 38-2 record as a starter in college at Miami. He’s 0-1 in the pros, but Erickson thinks the kid’s fortunes will change soon.
“He did some really good things for not having played,” Erickson said. “He took us on a couple drives in the second half, and then a third drive with a chance to win it. He’ll get better and better.”
As with any young quarterback, the Seahawks will try to pressure Dorsey to force mistakes.
For the final three quarters in Tampa, the Seahawks took aim at another second-year quarterback in Chris Simms, who threw for 175 yards, but was sacked four times, lost a fumble and threw a game-deciding interception.
The pressure worked, so expect the same script by Seattle this week.
“It’s hard for anybody playing quarterback in this league,” cornerback Bobby Taylor said. “We know we have an aggressive defense. Hopefully, we can confuse the young guy a little.”
Seattle has won nine straight at home, including a win over St. Louis near the end of 2002. The place will be packed with 67,000 fans, but Holmgren knows it’s no automatic victory.
“It will help us, but it doesn’t guarantee anything,” he said. “The fact that we won all our games there last year, we have to get the same sort of intensity and movement and drive and bring it home.”