[Clayton]: NFC West rivals closing gap on Seahawks

[evil disco man]

Seahawks determined to turn back challengers
By John Clayton
ESPN.com

KIRKLAND, Wash. -- Nothing is forever in the NFL, whose logo also translates into "Not For Long."

The Eagles went to four NFC title games until the NFC East attacked them with Bill Parcells, Joe Gibbs and Tom Coughlin. The Patriots won three Super Bowl rings, but Peyton Manning and the Colts slipped ahead of them. The Bears enter Year 2 of what might be a four-year reign in the NFC North.

In Seattle, Mike Holmgren is enjoying a three-year run atop the NFC West that included one trip to the Super Bowl. But there is no doubt the Seahawks can hear footsteps as big and as loud as a Sasquatch's.

The NFC West is coming alive. What was considered a joke of a division has been invigorated by smart personnel moves and some luck.

• The ***** challenged the Patriots for having the league's best offseason. They landed cornerback Nate Clements, linebackers Tully Banta-Cain and Patrick Willis, nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin and receivers Darrell Jackson and Ashley Lelie.

• The Cardinals had a little luck in having Matt Leinart fall to them in the 2006 draft, but they've tried to strengthen their blocking with Al Johnson and Levi Brown. They've also added the parts to eventually slide into a 3-4 defensive scheme.

• Scott Linehan of the Rams tried to fill out his offense with the additions of Randy McMichael, Drew Bennett, Brian Leonard and Dante Hall.

"It's great," Seahawks linebacker Julian Peterson said. "It's great for our division to have this competition. The Rams had control of this division at one point, then the Seahawks took control. Now, everybody is improving their roster. It makes us hungrier."

As the Seahawks conclude a weeklong minicamp, they don't sound like a team in fear of the future. Clearly, their run at the top may be coming to an end. Age is creeping into their offense. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, fullback Mack Strong, left tackle Walter Jones, right guard Chris Gray and tight end Marcus Pollard all are in their thirties. Halfback Shaun Alexander turns 30 this fall, a nasty little number for a running back.

Even Seattle's coach sees the light at the end of his Seahawks tunnel. Holmgren has two years left on his contract and most don't expect him to extend it when his deal runs out after the 2008 season.

The ***** and Cardinals may be closing the gap, but the Seahawks don't mind.

"They needed to," Alexander told reporters earlier this week when asked about the great offseasons of the Cardinals and *****. "When you win the division three years in a row, it says enough. I think it's going to be a challenge this year, but challenges are good. We've never been a team that wants to hope that someone else plays bad. We don't care what everybody is doing. We want to go out and just do what we do best, and that takes care of itself."

Last year, the Seahawks' offense slipped. Hasselbeck struggled with a left shoulder that required postseason surgery. Alexander went down as another "Madden Curse" victim after breaking his foot following his MVP season. Five years of continuity on the offensive line dissolved when Steve Hutchinson left for Minnesota after Seattle made the mistake of designating him a transition player. Receivers dropped passes and were inconsistent.

Holmgren believes health and better execution will fix the offense. Consequently, the Seahawks are having their best offseason for attendance at their headquarters. Hasselbeck came back ahead of schedule from his shoulder rehab to run the minicamp. Alexander spent the winter in Seattle training instead of going back to Alabama.

To counter the improvements within the NFC West, general manager Tim Ruskell gave $81 million of contract commitments to defensive end Patrick Kerney and safeties Deon Grant and Brian Russell. If that wasn't enough, the Seahawks brought in former Falcons coach Jim Mora to recharge a porous secondary.

The division may be catching up, but the Seahawks didn't stand still.

"We needed another guy who can come off the edge and wreak some havoc," Peterson said of the signing of Kerney. "Having Jim Mora back as a defensive back coach is also great. He'll have guys in proper alignments and give us in the front seven extra time to get some pressure on the quarterback. Coach Mora adds enthusiasm and gets the best out of his players."

Peterson remembers Mora from their days together in San Francisco, where Mora was the defensive coordinator. Mora was creative and imaginative. He built a young ***** defense from scratch after a massive salary-cap purge and made it formidable with young players. Peterson was his best athlete. Mora helped to develop Peterson into a Pro Bowl force and one of the better coverage linebackers in football.

Though the Seahawks are known for Holmgren's offense, they suddenly have weapons on defense. The front seven has three potential Pro Bowl players -- Kerney, Peterson and middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu. Grant and Russell were brought in to eliminate all the big plays allowed last year by safeties who didn't communicate well and bit on play fakes.

Perhaps the most controversial move came on the second day of the draft when Ruskell traded disgruntled wide receiver Jackson to the *****. Holmgren didn't like moving one of his best receivers to a division rival. Ruskell felt he had no choice. Jackson had been whining about his contract since he signed it more than three years ago. Though Jackson performed well on the field, he declined to be a regular on the practice field.

Instead of cutting Jackson for no value, Ruskell grabbed a fourth-round choice in the trade, even though the deal may end up helping the *****. Of course, Jackson's departure clears the way for Deion Branch to be the team's lead receiver. Branch understands what it means to be the hunted. He was part of two Patriots Super Bowl runs.

"We have to stay focused on what we are doing," Branch said. "We won the division for the past three years, but some got us picked last in the division. We realize all of our division games are going to be tough. We lost twice to San Francisco last year and Arizona beat us once. We were able to beat St. Louis twice. It's a tough division. We've got to stay healthy, and if we stay healthy, we'll be OK."

The footsteps may sound like Bigfoot's, but the Seahawks don't mind. They aren't ready to concede the NFC West yet.

[laram0]

Seahawks determined to turn back challengers
By John Clayton
ESPN.com

KIRKLAND, Wash. -- Nothing is forever in the NFL, whose logo also translates into "Not For Long."

The NFC West is coming alive.

• Scott Linehan of the Rams tried to fill out his offense with the additions of Randy McMichael, Drew Bennett, Brian Leonard and Dante Hall.

The ***** and Cardinals may be closing the gap, but the Seahawks don't mind.

"They needed to," Alexander told reporters earlier this week when asked about the great offseasons of the Cardinals and *****. "When you win the division three years in a row, it says enough. I think it's going to be a challenge this year, but challenges are good.

The footsteps may sound like Bigfoot's, but the Seahawks don't mind. They aren't ready to concede the NFC West yet.

Don't you love it.

Linehan "tried" to fill out the Rams offense? :x
Wake up John Clayton!

The Whiners and Tardinals may be closing the gap?
Aren't there 4 teams in the NFC West? St. Louis Rams?
Wake up John Clayton!

So the thunderous footsteps the Seasquawks are hearing are from the Whiners and the Tardinals??
That's okay The ST.LOUIS RAMS don't mind being the silent assassins. Wake up John Clayton!

It's ALIVE the NFC WEST is ALIVE!!!
That's about the only thing sleepy John Clayton got right!

[bruce4life]

and the niners and cardinals are the only ones closing the gap, r u joking me????

[itsguud]

Its not only clayton saying this I've seena number of reporters/experts, whatever they call themselves, say that the Cards and whiners will be ahead of the Rams and giving the Seahawks a run for the division next season. I believe that those teams are going to jump up a number of positions but I still think that we will come out ahead of them.
I also think the Seahawks are headed for a couple of really bad years themselves. They kind of look now like the Rams had from 03-06.

I guess thats what happens when you talk as many ex-Rams as you can you end up being the same team, but in the later and lesser years.

[smizzhfx]

Out of sight, out of mind, under the radar, silent assassins, etc.
Call it what you want, this is right where we want to be.
Let our play on the field speak for itself when we're lighting up our division rivals! :l

[BlueTalon]

Its not only clayton saying this I've seena number of reporters/experts, whatever they call themselves, say that the Cards and whiners will be ahead of the Rams and giving the Seahawks a run for the division next season.

The Cards have been the chic pick for the last half decade. It hasn't translated into anything meaningful yet, so the sportswriters can say whatever they want -- I'll believe it when I see it.

[Nick]

The Cards have been the chic pick for the last half decade. It hasn't translated into anything meaningful yet, so the sportswriters can say whatever they want -- I'll believe it when I see it.

Exactly. For the last 2-3 years at least, a lot of people have been trying to play Nostradamus and pick the Cardinals to surprise everyone in the NFC West and either win the division or become a wild card team. And the Cards continue to show why they're the Cards. People can keep picking them until they're blue in the face, but frankly I'm going to have to see it with my own eyes before I put any thought behind them actually fielding a winner, no matter how good they look on paper.

That being said, if Whisenhunt can get that offensive line to play efficiently, they certainly have the skill position weapons to field a productive offense. Of course, the defense could be another thing entirely, especially if Whiz wants to use more of the 3-4 than he's letting on.