Seahawks in the Super Bowl, part two: (r)ode to joy
The beginning of the end for Holmgren and the Seahawks
Holmgren had the Hawks back in the playoffs the following season too. The 2007 team was still led by Matt Hasselbeck and Alexander, although Maurice Morris took an even bigger role than before. The running back tandem combined for over 1,300 yards and helped the Seahawks regain the NFC West title. Unfortunately, they met the same fate as the year before.
Seattle crushed Washington in the wild card round 35-14. The defense played a huge role as first Marcus Trufant returned a Todd Collins pass for 78 yards and six points, then Jordan Babineaux joined the pick six party with a 57-yard interception of his own. The following week saw the tables turned as the Packers roared back from a 14-0 deficit to win 42-20. The Seahawks couldn’t get anything going on the ground as they rushed for just 28 yards. Meanwhile, Ryan Grant trampled Seattle with 201 yards on 27 carries. Ironic that a loss to his former team was the beginning of the end for Holmgren.
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2008 saw Seattle tumble from 10-6 and the division crown to a dismal 4-12 record. Shaun Alexander was gone, as the Seahawks had extracted virtually every yard possible out of him. Matt Hasselbeck missed nine games as he suffered from knee and back injuries. He was just a shadow of himself when he could take the field as the injuries robbed him of his strength. With the defense in decline as well, Seattle fell to 25th in offense and defense. Holmgren took the blame and his walking papers
2009 wasn’t much better. Hasselbeck played much better as he was relatively healthy, but he still wasn’t close to his Pro Bowl form. Even if he had been it likely wouldn’t have mattered. Seattle still hadn’t found a lead back to take charge, and the defense was still undermanned. For the second year in a row, the Seahawks ranked 25th in both offense and defense. The less said about the one year Jim Mora “era”, the better. If there was anything good about it, it was that the Seahawks organization realized it needed a radical change in culture. And boy, did they ever get it.