Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Mike Holmgren
On what differences does he see between this Seattle
team and the team from 2005:
"The 2005 team, we were a little more balanced. We
were running the ball very well. I think we wound up first in the
League in rushing in 2005. This year it has been less of that
certainly. We haven’t been as consistent as I would like. That is one
of the things, so we are not quite as balanced as we were then.
Defensively we have a whole flock of new guys playing. We have been
very good at times and then sometimes probably a little disappointing
on defense. All in all I like the effort of our guys. We have pretty
good team speed on defense, but a lot of new faces. Special teams we
have the same kicker. I would say the biggest difference is on
offense."
On the Redskins playing with only one safety and a lot
of man defense with their corners:
"I have tremendous respect for Gregg (Williams,
Assistant Head Coach- Defense) and the job he does as a coordinator
there. They have a good defensive football team. I think when we
played them before we saw all sorts of stuff. It seems to me during
this season in the film I’ve seen he adjusts to whoever he is playing.
They can play coverage, they can blitz, they can do it all, it is just
what he decides to do, so that will be the chess match in the game. I
suspect we are not going to see a heavy dose of any one thing. I am
kind of being prepared for having him change it up quite a bit."
On if there is less pressure in this playoff game than
there was in 2005:
"It was brought up, as you might imagine, by my press
guys here all week about not winning a playoff game in 20 years and
all that, and that kind of builds a little bit to be honest. We were
fortunate enough to win the game. We have won playoff games since
then. That is kind of a non-issue now. Now you can focus more on who
the opponent is and playing the best you can play. I think having the
home field in your first playoff game, I know Washington would feel
the same way, is very important to us, but you still have to go out
and play a good football game. We are well aware of how well
Washington is playing right now. We are the type of team where we have
to have our A game going, otherwise it doesn’t work too well for us."
On if he feels that they are not as tested as the
Redskins are in the regular season:
"I don’t worry about being tested too much during the
year. I’m tested every game regardless of our opponent. The goal is to
get to the Super Bowl. The first step of that is getting into the
playoffs. When the schedule comes out every year and I don’t think I’m
that much different in the League, you look at the schedule and you
get a little nervous about stuff. We have had to play three of our
last four games on the east coast, which for us is a tremendous thing.
Who could have guessed what Carolina, Baltimore and Atlanta would have
had the seasons that they had. They were all picked to be fairly high,
so you don’t know. You can’t really dwell on that. What you have to do
is take every game one at a time and try to win enough to get you into
the playoffs."
On if they are playing their best football:
"Well we lost last week to Atlanta, so that doesn’t
turn you on too much. I think we are capable of playing very well and
it all depends. We have to see. I know this, we have to play our best
football to win the football game."
On how is their offense different this year:
"We have had a slight shift in emphasis and it started
when Shaun Alexander (RB, #37) got hurt. Now, he is healthy again. His
wrist is still a little problematic, but he is healthy again. Now we
have the full arsenal so to speak, if we choose to do that. We have
good receivers. The quarterbacks are experienced enough to handle it.
It kind of boils down to how our offensive line is going to play,
which is no different than anybody else, so we will just see. I talk
about the chess match of the game, we will play. Sometimes the defense
gives you a little something and sometimes they take something away
and you have to adjust."
On what kind of difference has Patrick Kerney (DE,
#97) made in the defense:
"He gave us a legitimate sack guy. We haven’t been
poor in sacking the quarterback in years past, but it has usually been
by committee more than having one guy- I think Pat had 14 ½ sacks, or
14 sacks something like that. The other guys feed off of that. If an
offense has to pay a little bit more attention to one particular
player then maybe you have a little bit of chance of getting home some
place else. That is one thing. The second thing he has great energy
and then his teammates feed off of that. He is a wonderful young man
and I am glad we got him."
On Julian Peterson’s (OLB, #59) season:
"I think Julian has had a good year. I think a lot was
expected of him. He is such a fabulous athlete and kind of a unique
physical specimen in the fact that he can do some things and still
rush the passer. He is going to the Pro Bowl. Like our other good
players, those guys have to be at their best, absolutely at their
best, in the playoffs for you to win these playoff games."
On how much different is the Redskins offense when
Santana Moss (WR, #89) is playing well:
"He is a legitimate deep threat and an outstanding
receiver. I think he is important to their style of play right now
because you have to commit people to stop the run, because they like
to run and they have a great running back. Sometimes Santana gets in
those single - coverage situations and he usually can take advantage
of that, so we have to be careful of that."
On Todd Collins (QB, #15):
"It is one of those great stories. I hope he doesn’t
have a great game against us, but I think when you have a guy who has
come in at his age and gotten a chance to play and really has led his
team now into the playoffs. As a fan, I’m a coach, but as a football
fan I enjoy stories like that. It is a good story. He looks to be very
poised and very good also."
Seattle Seahawks Quarterback Matt Hasselback (#8)
On if the crowd and the vibe at Qwest Field helps
them:
"Yeah it does. I think it helps every home team. That
is nothing that is special to us. Our crowd, they are great. They take
a lot of pride in being fired up and being loud and we appreciate them
very much. It is a challenge for any offense going on the road and
trying to play in a loud stadium."
On Redskins players saying that Qwest Field is louder
than any dome they have played in:
"Our fans should take that as a compliment. Our fans
take a lot of pride in it. When I first got here in 2001 people talked
about the kingdom and the twelfth man. I had no idea what they were
talking about because at the time we were playing at Husky Stadium.
The day before the University of Washington would be playing there and
they would have a sell out- 75,000 people- and then the next day we
would be playing the Dallas Cowboys and there are 20,000 people there
and 12,000 of them are rooting for the Cowboys. It was not how it was
when I first got here but we moved into Qwest Field, our new stadium.
Eventually we started turning things around here. We started winning
games. We brought in Todd Leiweke (CEO, Vulcan Sports and
Entertainment) and he was in charge of fan development and stuff like
that. He brought the raising of the twelfth man flag. He kind of
brought the twelfth man back and ever since whatever year it was here
when we went undefeated at home, our crowd had a lot to do with that."
On how much have they had to rely on their running
game more so than in the past:
"The last two weeks we have really run the ball well.
We had our highest output, I think, of the year last week and the week
before we played Baltimore, who has the number one or number two run
defense in the League and we ran the ball really well against them. We
are getting to be balanced. We are working hard on our passing game.
We are working hard on our running game. Whatever Mike Holmgren
(Seattle Head Coach) decides to call up, that is what we have to do,
whatever that is."
On the Redskins feeling like the key is to stop him
and not the running game:
"Tell them they need to focus on the running game
please. I think we are a little bit different than we have been in the
past, but we don’t want to be. We want to be a really good running
football team. That is something we want to do. There came a point
this year, because of injury and because we had not had success
running the ball, where Mike (Holmgren, Seattle Head Coach) said let’s
just open it up. Let’s get a little bit more aggressive in the passing
game. Let’s really put the onus on the offensive line. Those guys
responded well. In time our running game has come around. I don’t know
what the numbers are, but I feel like we’re pretty balanced. I feel
like that balance is back but again you never really know which team
is going to show up."
On if Shaun Alexander (RB, #37) is not himself
physically right now:
"It has been a tough year for injuries with certain
people, him being one of them. He broke a bone in his hand I think the
first game of the season, or close to that. It is always tough. Shaun
and myself went through that last
year where you are playing through injuries and it is
tough. Each week he gets better. Each week his cast gets smaller. I
don’t even know if he wears one anymore. His health has come along at
the right time, which is playoff time. Hopefully the entire team, we
can all hit our stride and play our best football."
On if the Seahawks are playing their best football
right now and the Redskins playing their best football right now:
"I don’t know how much stock we put into last week,
but we didn’t play well against Carolina. For whatever reason we have
never really played well on east coast games. I think we are playing
great. In terms of getting better, I think there is a really good
feeling in our locker room and our organization and everyone feels
good about it. I would agree with you, I don’t think there is a team
that is hotter right now, or that is playing better than the
Washington Redskins. They are on fire. They are the team that nobody
wants to play. They are the team that everyone is wanting to pick for
the Super Bowl right now and it is understandable. They are playing
really good football. They have made a shift in their defensive
philosophy. They are just saying hey, we are not necessarily going to
try to trick you, we are just better than you. We are more physical
than you. We are going to play harder and smarter. They have really
done a nice job doing that. I’m not sure what has gone on the
offensive side of the ball, but they are putting points on the board.
This is going to be a very, very tough game. I don’t know if we have
played a game that is as tough as this one is going to be. This is
going to be a challenge for every single guy- offense, defense,
everybody to get this thing done because there is a lot of talent on
that team and they are using it all. They are playing really well."
On does he wish that they were a little better tested
before the playoffs because of the teams they play:
"You can only beat the teams you get to play. Back in
’05 everyone said the exact same thing, but we beat every team in the
NFC that year too. We will see. It is one of the things that we get
out here because all the quarterbacks in our division got hurt and
teams didn’t have good records.We didn’t play our best football at
times and our schedule was not the toughest schedule in the League,
but all of that is kind of out of the window. There is a pre-season,
there is a regular season and now we are in the post-season. It is a
fresh start. If the Redskins are favored in this game I wouldn’t be
surprised. I think they deserve it and they have earned it. How they
played this regular season on a tough schedule and tough
circumstances. We are just going to go out an do what we always do and
give it our best and see what happens."
On if he feels like they are as good as they were two
years ago:
"In certain areas we are better, in certain areas we
are worse. We might have been more talented in places or maybe rolling
a little bit more, or kind of in the zone a little bit more. I have to
be honest, that game against the Redskins was a big game. There was a
lot of pressure on us on that game. I don’t think the Seahawks as an
organization had won a playoff game since 1984 or something like that
and it was the same kind of thing. If you guys don’t win this game
against the Redskins you are a failure, you’re bums, the only reason
you are doing well is because you division is weak, yadda, yadda,
yadda, all the things people were saying. We were kind of a young
team. We had never really been in many playoff games. We had never won
a playoff game, so that was an important thing. This time around I
think it is a little different. I think at least the guys there were
here then. We know what to expect about a playoff atmosphere. We know
what it takes to get it done- the level of focus that needs to be
there, the attention to detail, eliminating distractions, all of the
things that come with a playoff football game and so what maybe we
lost in talent or production in certain positions or whatever I think,
looking for positives, we have gained that in experience and knowing
what it takes to end up in Tempe this year. I think there are still
some positives on our team."