With Alexander ailing, Seahawks are soaring

By Chris Cluff  |   Friday, November 23, 2007  |  Comments( 0 )

Seattle Seahawks
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To say the Seattle Seahawks haven't missed a beat with Shaun Alexander out wouldn't be quite accurate. The more appropriate summation would be to say that the Seahawks have actually found their beat without Alexander.

His sprained left knee has been a thinly veiled blessing, and everyone is thanking coach Mike Holmgren for deciding to sit Alexander until he is healthy enough to practice.

In the meantime, the Seahawks have gone to a more pass-happy attack and used the hard-running Maurice Morris on the ground. The combination switch has worked wonders for an offense that had muddled along for the first half of the season.

Despite a sore oblique muscle and now bruised ribs, Matt Hasselbeck has taken the offense upon his shoulders the past three games and led the Seahawks to victories over San Francisco and Chicago, with an overtime loss to Cleveland three weeks ago. In those three games, Hasselbeck has completed 87 of 131 passes (66.4 percent), with six touchdowns and two interceptions. He now has 2,638 passing yards, 17 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a passer rating of 91.3, which would be the second best of his career. He is on pace for career highs in yards (4,221) and touchdowns (27).

He has done a lot of that without D.J. Hackett and Deion Branch, who both missed time with injuries. But Hasselbeck has all of his receivers now, and Hackett and Bobby Engram are playing very, very well.

Meanwhile, Morris has picked up the pace in the running game. He has rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown in each of the past two games as he has started for Alexander. He also adds an element in the passing game that Alexander did not.

After not reaching 30 points in any of the first six games, the Seahawks have hit that total in three of the last four games. It all started with a 33-6 home win over the depleted St. Louis Rams, whom the Seahawks face again this week in St. Louis. Healthier now, the Rams probably will put up a few more points, and the Seahawks have to hope Hasselbeck can continue his hot play despite not practicing this week so he can rest the ribs.

That's one of the disadvantages of throwing the ball 40-plus times a game: It gives the defense more opportunity to hurt the quarterback. But as long as Hasselbeck can keep winging it and Morris keeps running hard, the Seahawks' offense should keep it going.

Because, with Alexander resting on the sideline, the Seahawks have found their beat.
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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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