A subdued Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren talked for about 30 minutes his press conference this afternoon.

After watching the film Holmgren again restated what we already know -- the Seahawks didn't play very well. Missed tackles and big plays defensively hurt Seattle, Holmgren said.

Also, Holmgren said the defense needs to get a better pass rush. Particularly guys in one-on-one situations need to get to the quarterback, he said. Holmgren also said Seattle needs to execute its blitz packages more effectively, with guys not running into each other or running through the same gap.

"I'm not losing faith in them," Holmgren said. "I'm a little ticked off we didn't play better. But you just keep going, you keep plugging away."

Offensively, Holmgren said the Seahawks strayed away from the game plan early because they got behind. He also said the Seahawks may have to rely on its running game more in the future, similar to the St. Louis game where they ran the ball effectively, to win games down the road. Holmgren may look to the blueprint of teams like Baltimore or Tennessee, relying on ball control and good defensive play to win games 17-13. However, in order to do that the defense has to play much better.

"We're going to do what we do," Holmgren said. "And continue to try and get them thinking properly. Get them believing in themselves again. I think the important thing is they know that I still have confidence in them, which I do. And they must have confidence in each other and their ability to get this thing done."

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We’ll have an update this afternoon on Matt Hasselbeck, Deion Branch and other injuries of note. What can you say about the game? Seattle looked awful in all phases – offense, defense and special teams.

But the play of the defense was particularly troublesome. Eli Manning had enough time to fill out his taxes and bake some cookies while picking apart Seattle’s secondary. Manning finished 19 of 25 for 267 yards and two touchdowns for a career-high passer rating of 136.6.

The Giants were even more effective on the ground, physically dominating what was supposed to be a good Seattle defense. New York churned out 254 rushing yards. Brandon Jacobs led the charge, finishing with 136 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns.

I wasn’t at the game on Sunday. However, from reading the quotes and watching some of the guys on the sidelines during the game, besides Julius Jones, Hasselbeck and Leroy Hill, it didn’t seem the players looked angry at the end of the game. And I didn’t get a sense of urgency from some of the players after reading the quote sheets afterwards.

You’d hate to think a sense of resignation has set in with the players, with Seattle now 1-3, including two lopsided losses on the road. So it will be interesting to see how a veteran coach like Mike Holmgren attempts to get things back on track in a season where most observers expected Seattle to be a team capable of going deep in the playoffs. Changes should be in order, particularly in the defensive secondary where Seattle repeatedly has been abused in the first four games.

Seattle Seahawks

Frank Hughes offers a recap of Seattle’s miserable performance in New York. It includes this nugget – the 523 total yards the Seahawks gave up was the most allowed by a Seattle defense since a game against Kansas City in November, 2002.

Dave Boling provides a blow-by-blow rundown of all Seattle’s shortcomings, and says 2-14 is a possibility if they continue to play like this.

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