Sputtering offense needs to get going earlier

By Chris Cluff  |   Thursday, September 20, 2007  |  Comments( 0 )

Seattle Seahawks
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The Seattle Seahawks' offense is certainly taking its time to get warmed up this season. It's kind of like Grandpa's old jalopy; it sputters and coughs in the first half and then finally gets going sometime in the second. It was enough to get the Seahawks where they were going in the first game, but they sputtered again at the end of the second game.

It's far from the Ferrari-style offense they ran two years ago, when the Seahawks led the league in scoring and were No. 2 in total yards as Shaun Alexander led the NFL in rushing and set an all-time record for touchdowns.

Last year, the Ferrari broke down, and while they're still trying to get it fixed, it's running like Gramps' old beater.

The Seahawks have sputtered for most of the first half against both Tampa Bay and Arizona. They are averaging just 149 yards in the first half - 41.5 rushing and 107.5 passing. And they have put up only 17 points.

Because the defense played so well in the opener, the offense had time to come back and score enough points to pull out a 20-3 victory.

Against the Cardinals, though, the offense's slow start resulted in a 17-0 deficit. The defense managed to hold Arizona's offense long enough for the offense to give Seattle a 20-17 lead, but then Matt Hasselbeck and Alexander combined to give the game away as the Seahawks were driving toward the winning points in the final two minutes.

If the Seahawks are going to win the division for the fourth straight year, they are going to have to get the bugs out of the engine. Coach Mike Holmgren thinks they will because they have before.

"We take a great deal of pride in starting the game fast, if possible -- scoring on our first drive and things like that," he said. "We've started slow in the past, then you get your rhythm and you feel better about things. I'm not too concerned right now."

It starts with getting Alexander going. He has 175 rushing yards this season, averaging 3.9 yards per carry. But in the first half of the first two games, he has run for just 49 yards on 22 carries (2.2 per attempt).

Beyond that, the Seahawks just need to get in gear and play with the tempo that has been so successful for them the past few years.

"I think it [tempo] was a little more problematic last year when we had all those changes up front," coach Mike Holmgren said of having to insert second-year center Chris Spencer and rookie left guard Rob Sims in 2006.

"The coordination of something like that also involves the center and the calls. That's part of the tempo. I think last year we were out of sync just a little bit that way, understandably. You know, we have new guys in there -- young guys -- it's not going to be quite the same."

After punting on their first five possessions in Arizona last Sunday, the Seahawks put together four straight scoring drives and were on their way to a fifth when Hasselbeck and Alexander turned the ball over. So the offense might already have found a rhythm.

"We'll get to the point, if we haven't gotten there already this season, where I'll be happy with the tempo," Holmgren said. "We're getting close with that."
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About Chris Cluff

Chris Cluff spent 10 years as an editor and sportswriter for The Seattle Times. He was a key figure in the newspaper's coverage of the Seahawks, particularly during their Super Bowl run in 2005. He also has written two books on the Seahawks: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Heart-Pounding, ...
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