Mike Holmgren talked for almost an hour in his final press conference as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.

He still has the urge to work in the NFL again, and said he would be surprised if he did not return to the league in some capacity, either as a general manager or head coach, or both.

Among the highlights during his 10-year tenure in Seattle, he says the Carolina game where Seattle won the NFC Championship and advanced to the Super Bowl was one of his most memorable moments.

"Had we won the Super Bowl, that would have been the highlight," Holmgren said. "But the experience of getting there and all of the hard work it took. I had the same feeling at that time as I had in my earlier Super Bowl experiences."

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KIRO radio is reporting that Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren may be headed for the broadcast booth.

Holmgren told KIRO Radio Tuesday he's been talking with NBC about a possible role on playoff games and maybe the Super Bowl.

This would seem like a natural transition for the personable Holmgren -- the best coach I've seen in handling press conferences and dealing with the media.

Listen to Holmgren's conversation here.

Mike Holmgren will have his final press conference as Seattle’s head coach this afternoon, and I’ll have a report after he talks. Here’s a few links to check out in the meantime.

Seattle Seahawks

Players clean out their lockers, and free agents like Leroy Hill discuss their future with changes looming.

Patrick Kerney and Julian Peterson discuss the differences between Jim Mora and Holmgren’s coaching styles.

John McGrath of the TNT says it’s time to wave goodbye to Holmgren and give Mora some slack in his new role as head coach.

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Seattle Seahawks players said their goodbye and packed their belongs on the team's final day at the practice facility in Renton.

Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren addressed the team for one last time this morning, and players also did the same. It was a mixed bag of emotions for several of the players, as some look forward to being back next year, while other head into uncertain futures with free agency looming.

One of Seattle's players sure to be active on the free agent market is Leroy Hill. With two linebackers in Lofa Tatupu and Julian Peterson signed to lucrative deals, it might be hard for the Seahawks to fend off the open market and keep Hill in the fold. However, Hill says he would like to come back, but is looking forward to testing the market.

Here's a list of Seattle free agents.

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Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren’s storied tenure as leader of the Seattle Seahawks came to a close on a bit of a down note with a 34-21 loss at Arizona. And so now the Jim Mora era kicks off.

First, I'd like to wish Frank good luck and thank him for all the help he's provided me these last couple years. If you haven't heard, Frank announced this morning that he took a buyout and his last day was Sunday. Frank, you've been an invaluable resource in my time covering pro sports in Seattle. We'll miss you and I wish you well in your future plans.

Holmgren will have one last meeting with his players today, and players will empty out their lockers. We will have player reactions to the end of the season and look forward to what should be a busy offseason for Seattle.

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Like so many others across the country in our embattled newspaper industry, I have elected to take a buyout from The News Tribune. Last night was my final day of work. After taking some time to acclimate to the NFL after covering the NBA for so many years, I had come to very much enjoy writing about football. Unfortunately, the economic climate both globally and in our particular industry prevents that from continuing. I only hope that both the Seahawks and newspapers return to the level of excellence to which you have become accustomed. I will be following it as assiduously as everyone else. Happy New Year.

Cardinals WR Steve Breaston
On going over 1,000 yards receiving:
"Personally it is a blessing. I know before this season my expectations were like 600 yards and 40 receptions. Everybody has gotten involved in the passing game this year and Kurt (Warner) did a great job of spreading the ball around. I am happy and even happier that we won the game."

On his feeling when Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie almost ran the interception in for a touchdown:
"My feeling was--I don't know--I was watching him and I was happy for him. He just said he lost it and I must being doing something right in my life for him to just lose the ball like that. I should have had it before that, I should have gone the extra yard. It worked out that I did get it. I guess I am just blessed."

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Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck
On how he feels physically after his injury:
“I’m not concerned at all. I’m not concerned one bit. I feel great. I’m on a timeline; a conservative timeline. But I feel like I’ll be ready to go - first mini-camp, even before then, opening of winter workouts, March 31st or whatever it is.”

On what Head Coach Mike Holmgren meant for his career:
“He turned the Green Bay franchise around. I was fortunate enough to get on board the train after they had gone to a couple of Super Bowls, and I was able to enjoy some of that success. And here in Seattle, he turned this franchise around. I got here in time for the hard times and was able to go through the journey of turning it around with him. I think that’s his legacy. I’m just really happy that I got to be a part of it.”

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Opening statement:
"I think we gave it a good go for a while and we got beat by some really fine players. (Larry) Fitzgerald is one of the best, plus he's a tremendous kid. I told Ken (Whisenhunt) and Russ (Grimm) and those guys after the game -- and I meant it -- they've worked really hard to get to this point and I wish them well in the playoffs. The Seahawks and the Cardinals are going to battle it out every year and we'll be back next year and hopefully have a few more of our guys. I was very proud of the way the players battled and it was a great effort -- we just ran out of guys. Kyle Williams, the only guy who really got hurt, had a concussion and they're going to take him to the hospital -- but I think it's a quick deal and I believe he'll be able to fly back with us."

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Here is a picture slideshow of Sunday's loss to Arizona.

The Seahawks are going to get the fourth pick in the upcoming draft.

The draft order is:

1) Detroit
2) St. Louis
3) Kansas City
4) Seattle
5) Cleveland
6) Cincinnati
7) Oakland
8) Jacksonville
9) Green Bay

Mike Holmgren was funny after the game. He said he has been getting a lump in his throat all week because everybody has been so kind, from opposing coaches to players to officials. Boling then asked him about his "special relationship with the officials," to which Holmgren replied, "OK, let's not get carried away."

He explained that he has pregame meetings with the officials to discuss things that might arise in the games (he was not specific about what they discussed) and then when something happened, he referenced that meeting and the officials acted as if they didn't remember.

Then when Kyle Williams went out with a concussion (he had to go to the hospital but should be able to fly home with the team) Na'Shan Goddard came in. He has been with the team two weeks, and Holmgren felt like the refs were singling him out and picking on him. "I need to get the question answered if you can get fined by the league after you retire," Holmgren joked.

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Neil Rackers put the Cardinals up by 34-21 with a little more than three minutes to play with another FG.

I am heading to the field, but it appears as if the Seahawks are going to lose Mike Holmgren's final game, dropping their record to 4-12 this season, the worst since 1992.

Kyle Williams was just carted off the field, by the way, his head in his hands. He looks distraught, understandably.

I'll be back up with postgame stuff in a bit, but needless to say this wasn't the way Holmgren wanted to go out, with penalties and turnovers costing his team dearly. Arizona inproved to 6-0 against the NFC West this year.

Two big plays -- the 29-yard gain by Steve Breaston and a 35-yard run by Edgerrin James -- set up a 23-yard field goal by Neil Rackers, giving Arizona a 31-21 lead.

James is now in 12th place on the all-time rushing list. Is he a Hall of Famer? Everybody ahead of him is or will be in.

Ken Whisenhunt has pulled Kurt Warner and has gone with Matt Leinart, whose first pass was for 29 yards to Steve Breaston, who beat Josh Wilson.

The Seahawks are hanging around, thanks to a three-yard TD pass from Seneca Wallace to Deion Branch that makes the score 28-21.

Wallace's QB draw failed on third down, and the Seahawks were forced to go for it on fourth. It looked like the fourth-down play was about to break down, but Wallace scrambled out of the pocket and Branch was alone in the back of the end zone.

The Cardinals just scored another touchdown, taking a 28-14 lead with a minute left in the third quarter.

On the touchdown, Kurt Warner hit Steve Breaston on a crossing pattern. Breaston then outmuscled Kelly Jennings on the tackle, shedding him and waltzing into the end zone untouched. It was Warner's fourth TD pass of the day.

All you can say about Larry Fitzgerald is, Wow. Marcus Trufant had great coverage on the Cardinals' wide receiver, and he still found a way to haul in a 38-yard pass for a TD, shielding Trufant perfectly and timing the catch just so. It gave Arizona a 21-14 lead.

Kurt Warner just set a franchise record with 29 TD passes this season, surpassing Neil Lomax and Charlie Jones.

To their credit, the Seahawks are not going away. Seneca Wallace drove the team down the field from his own 26, then whipped a 30-yard pass to Deion Branch in the right corner of the end zone for a score. Branch was actually covered very well by Roderick Hood, but Branch made a better catch. Seneca Wallace was clobbered by Gerald Hayes on the play and probably did not see the catch.

The score is tied at 14, and turnovers have been a key. The Seahawks have an interception and a fumble, and the Cardinals have a fumble and an interception. Two of the four turnovers have led to touchdowns.

The game is pretty even. Neither team is dominating the other, and they still seem to be feeling each other out. Penalties and turnovers have hurt the Seahawks, but they are staying in the game with a decent passing game by Wallace.

Of interest will be how long Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt keeps his starters in in the second half.

Mo Morris had the ball knocked out by Karlos Dansby, and Ralph Brown -- who had the first-quarter interception -- picked it up, giving the Cardinals the ball at the 12. Two plays later, Warner threw to Fitzgerald for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead.

After Mare missed the field goal, Kurt Warner promptly threw a 50-yard pass to Larry Fitzgerald, who beat Marcus Trufant deep. That set up Warner's 16-yard toss to former Seahawk Jerheme Urban, which tied the score at 7.

Olindo Mare just missed what is usually a chip shot for him, a 42-yarder that prevented the Seahawks from taking a 10-0 lead. Mare was pressured as somebody came off the left edge and nearly blocked the kick, but he appeared to get it off cleanly. He may have rushed to avoid the block.

The New England Patriots had only three penalties against them accepted today, giving them 57 for the season. That is an NFL record, which was set by last year's Seahawks, who had 59.

After their fumble recovery, the Seahawks pieced together a 12-play, 64-yard drive that culminated with a one-yard T.J. Duckett plunge for a TD and a 7-0 lead.

I could be entirely wrong, but a couple replays seemed to show that the Cardinals defense is not trying very hard. It looks to me like they are going through the motions on some occasions, dancing with their blockers. We'll see if Whisenhunt lays into them or not.

Even though the Seahawks did not blitz, Darryl Tapp got to Kurt Warner on the Cardinals' second offensive play. Josh Wilson recovered -- and the refs messed up one of his fumble recoveries again. He was not touched, and yet they called him down, nullifying a return of about 20 yards.

Seneca Wallace had thrown 184 pass attempts without an interception. No. 185 was picked off by Ralph Brown, ending Seattle's opening drive.

Olindo Mare just kicked a 60-yarder in warmups. He is easily clearing 50. He was a few yards short on his first 60-yarder but then cleared the second one by a lot. Though as Boling pointed out, it started out very low and may have had trouble getting over the line.

There was an interesting story in the Arizona Republic this morning talking about why the Cardinals have been so bad for so long. Included was an anecdote that I had never heard: In 1925, when the Cardinals were based in Chicago, they were controversially awarded a championship over the Pottsville (Pa.) Maroons. Pottsville apparently placed a hex on the Cardinals organization that will last until they give back the trophy. To whom I have no idea, since there can't be many descendents of the Maroons, but the story grabbed my attention nonetheless.

Seahawks

QB Matt Hasselbeck (third QB)
QB Jeff Rowe
K Brandon Coutu
S Jamar Adams
LB Leroy Hill
LB D.D. Lewis
DT Red Bryant
DE Brandon Miller

Arizona

QB Brian St. Pierre (third QB)
S Matt Ware
DE Travis LaBoy
T Elliot Vallejo
T Brandon Keith
WR Anquan Boldin
DE Kenny Iwebema
DT Gabe Watson

The Seattle Seahawks will continue to evaluate their roster and attempt to help answer questions for next year in their final game of the year at Arizona.

A win against the Cardinals would go a long way to sending a message to the Cardinals that their rule over the NFC West will be temporary, and not extend into next season.

Seattle can play the injury card for its struggles this season. However, even with the injuries the Seahawks still have some problems to fix heading in the offeseason, both up front and in the secondary on defense, and with the offensive line and at receiver on offense. How Seattle addresses those issues during the offseason will affect how soon they can return to a playoff-caliber team.

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I have been in travel hell all day, and won't get to Arizona for another four or five hours, depending on the flights out of San Francisco.

In the meantime, I thought I'd forward this link, which says the Cardinals are playing to get back their rhythm rather than resting players' for next week's home playoff game.

With only a few days left in Seattle's 2008 season we take a sneak peak at the 2009 NFL draft and what players the Seahawks might be looking at selecting with their top 10 pick.

For today’s story on the draft I talked to Rob Rang, a senior analyst with nfldraftscout.com. As you know, Rang has a wealth of information on the draft, and we’ll be checking in with him periodically throughout the draft process. I want to say thanks to Rob for taking the time to talk about some of the top picks in this year’s draft.

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Bobby Engram would not disclose exactly how the team came to the decision to buy Holmgren a Harley, but he said they basically wanted to give him something that was a lasting memory. "What do you get for the guy who seems to have everything?" Engram said.

He said they chose Mike Wahle to ride it in because it had to be someebody who wasn't practicing, who had motorcycle riding experience and who was big enough to hold it up. Wahle apparently was the right choice.

Engram said the gift is a commentary on what Holmgren has meant for the organization and individual players. Engram said he has learned a great deal from Holmgren, not just about football but about life. And more than anything, the fact that the team still has this attitude during a 4-11 season speaks volumes about Holmgren as a coach and as a person.

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It was quite the memorable sendoff for Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren. At the end of practice, wide receiver Bobby Engram stood up in front of the team to give a speech for the departing coach. After a few words, the back door of the field came open and Mike Wahle came riding in on a souped-up Harley, a 2009 Screaming Eagle with all the bells and whistles.

Holmgren took a lap around the field, then took pictures on the bike with each unit on the team, the coaching staff, as well as the front office staff and some of his personal staff.

"I had no idea," Holmgren said. "They told me Bobby Engram wanted to talk to the team at the end of practice. I thought it was going to be a pep talk. I didn't know it was going to be this. This is really something. The players and coaches all chipped in, and I know how much those things cost. It is really nice. It is a nice Christmas present."

Engram is in a team meeting right now, and we should get the chance to talk to him when he gets out. But right now we are waiting for that meeting to be over.

As far as practice, Holmgren was teaching and advising until the end. At one point toward the end of practice, he stopped a play in the middle of it to offer instruction. The Icebox was freezing, as Holmgren mentioned afterward, but he said he was pleased with how the players prepared this week for their final game against Arizona.

We are going to speak to Bobby now and I'll finish blogging when I get back from that.

In his last mid-week press conference as Seattle's coach, Mike Holmgren was given the Horrigan Award, which he won last year from the Pro Football Writers Association for his contributions to the media. In short, the guy has been great to work with from a media perspective, and he was recognized as such last year -- something that he always joked was long overdue.

A great deal of the news conference was in reference to what he will miss, what he won't miss and his future. Most of the stuff was predictable in terms of being in the locker room and his relationships with players and coaches. He said he would spend about 10 days to a week in Seattle closing down his affairs here, and then will head to Phoenix for a good long time. He is going to spend the summer at their "little cabin" in California. He has not finalized travel plans but he and Kathy plan on doing some traveling.

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ESPN's Jim Caple, a former reporter here in Seattle, writes a long piece on the misery of being a sports fan in Seattle this season through the eyes of one of Seattle's most dedicated fans, Lorin Sandretzky.

It's worth a read, particularly if you want to travel down memory lane and revisit all of the agony sports fans experienced in the Emerald City in 2008.

We interviewed Jim Mora today regarding Arizona's offense and the success they had against the Seahawks in their last game, but it also was an opportunity to ask him about Mike Holmgren and the dynamic the two have endured this season.

"I just thought Sunday was so befitting," Mora said. "It was just tremendously touching just to see the affection that hte peiople of Seattle have for him, and really the NFL world. As a younger coach -- I guess I am not younger any more -- you look at that and say that is rare. He is a rare man, and what lessons have I learned and can I learn and how do I need to reflect on the great things he has done to get himself to this place? That is basically what I have tried to do my entire career; I have been surrounded by great coaches and great administrators, and I try to take something from all of them. I have been extremely fortunate the last two years to be around Mike, and see the respect that that has garnered in the NFL community, the Seattle community and nationally."

What have you picked up?

"Not that I want to get into right now. Can you wait a couple weeks? He is just a wonderful person. I have been very blessed to be here with him."

Mora went on to say that Sunday reminded him of Joe Montana's jersey retirement ceremony in San Francisco, when Jerry Rice came back from the knee injury to play on Monday night.

The Seahawks' second-year cornerback was named the league's defensive player of the week.

"It is an honor all the time, especially going against a player like Brett Favre," Wilson said after today's practice. "But we still got another game to play. All the awards are great, but we still got another game to play."

Jim Mora said today was the first day that his teammates had seen Wilson since Sunday, so they gave it to him pretty good at practice today.

"They are just coaching, and they are going to make comments to make sure that I am not getting too much of a big head by any success," Wilson said. "Use your wildest imagination to figure out what they said."

With the Seahawks' 13-3 upset of the New York Jets, Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren was nominated for coach of the week.

Other coaches nominated were New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin and Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher.

By virtue of his two-interception, one-sack day against the New York Jets, Seattle cornerback Josh Wilson has been nominated for defensive player of the week (an award that Lofa Tatupu said immediately after the game that Wilson should win.)

Here is Wilson's competition, courtesy of the NFL:

Cincinnati’s LEON HALL made two tackles and three interceptions returning them for a combined 87 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown return in the Bengals’ 14-0 win against the Cleveland Browns.

Tennessee’s JASON JONES had 3.5 sacks, forced three fumbles and recorded five tackles in the Titans’ 31-14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Baltimore’s ED REED notched two interceptions and added a tackle in the Ravens’ 33-24 win over the Dallas Cowboys on NFL Network’s Saturday Night Football.

Washington’s JASON TAYLOR had two sacks and caused a forced fumble that set-up the Redskins’ only touchdown in their 10-3 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Seattle’s JOSH WILSON contributed five tackles including a sack and three defensed passes including two interceptions to Seattle’s defensive effort as the Seahawks defeated the New York Jets 13-3.

THe NFL announced today that Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis has been fined $10k for throwing that snow boulder into the sdands at Sunday's game. Ellis said, "It was all in fun."

Here is a link to a story in the New York Daily News that says the Jets have talked to defensive end Shaun Ellis about hucking the snow boulder into the stands.

In case you missed Holmgren's quote yesterday regarding all the snowballs, here is what he said: “First of all, the people at our stadium don’t see snow that much, so it had to be a tremendous novelty, you know? So I know if my grandkids were up there, and there was a snowball sitting right there—and they’re good kids, they’re not mean kids—it’d be pretty hard for them not to throw it. No one got hurt, which is a good thing, and the best thing we can do probably, is [work on] our preparation in getting the snow out of the stadium if it should ever happen again. That’s a big deal. We had to deal with all that in Green Bay all the time. All the time. Cleaning the stadium before the game started. I’m glad no one got hurt, and I don’t think anyone’s trying to hurt anybody, it’s just Christmas, and there’s snowballs, so here we go.”

Two thoughts: These were not grandkids up there throwing snowballs, they are adults. And, it's a difficult position for Holmgren to be in because he certainly doesn't want to criticize a 12th Man who has been so supportive over the years, but I have to think he didn't appreciate nearly getting hit in the noggin on several occasions.

Here is a column Dave Boling wrote for today's paper criticizing the snowball throwers.

One man's opinion: I was on the field at the time, and I certainly didn't get the feeling that the snowballs were "all in fun," as many have suggested. There was definitely a hint of meanness in the actions. For those on the sidelines, you had to keep one eye on the field and one on the stands to make sure you weren't plunked in the head. And believe me, when an ice ball comes from the upper deck from a couple hundred feet above and hits the ground with a heavy thud or hits somebody in the head -- as I saw one hit the line judge -- it is not "in fun." The line judge went down on one knee and looked like he was close to being knocked out. This was not a friendly little scrap between teenagers with fluffy snow. There was definitely a sense of anarchy. Take that for what it's worth.

Here is a link to a video of Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis tossing a snow boulder into the stands at Qwest Field. I did not see it happen because I was following Mike Holmgren around the stadium, but I have to assume it was in response to all the snowballs aimed at Jets players as they heading into the tunnel following the game.

Mike Holmgren was sporting a cold following yesterday's big day. The question sitting there is that yesterday was so emotional, and there was such a sense of closure, that it seems difficult to come back in today and get ready for the Cardinals.

Holmgren said that there was closure with the home crowd and with Qwest, but he still didn't have closure with his players. That will come next Monday, after the team comes back from Phoenix, and he said he's sure it will get very emotional.

The players had today off, will practice on Tuesday (their regular day off) and Wednesday and then have Thursday (Christmas) off.

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Check out a photo slideshow from today's game by clicking here.

(On New York’s difficulty scoring…) Without watching the film, my gut feeling is, from an offensive standpoint, it had a little to do with everything. So in fairness, to answer that, I need to watch the film. Three points, obviously, is not good enough, and there are a lot of reasons for that.

(On [unclear] the first 10 plays or pass attempts…) I didn’t know it was nine out of the first 10. But thinking back, just like last week, really, we got a good start. We obviously scored more points last week, but it was a good start today. I felt comfortable. Never really felt uncomfortable. We were just never able to get it going. Once again, three points. I don’t care how well you’re moving it between the two goal lines, but the bottom line is getting it into the end zone. So we moved the ball. We did some things well. But ulitmately it’s about scoring points. That’s what we didn’t do well.

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(On whether he considered that this might be his last home game at Qwest Field as well as Coach’s…) “I didn’t really have a feeling one way or the other, but I’m realistic in the fact that it might be. So, I didn’t want to let it pass me by without taking some time to take it all in. I did that the whole entire day, from the time I woke up, all the way to the stadium, until now.”

(On whether he wants to come back to the Seahawks next season…) “Yeah, I’ve been saying that all along. I want to retire here. But the business side has to dictate that. That will only be determined in the near future.”

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(Opening… ) That was something. That was the first time in my life that I enjoyed having snowballs thrown at me. The players did an outstanding job today, they really did. What it goes to show you is that if you are thinking properly, and you try hard enough, and you play together, you have a chance in every game you play. You might not win it, because the other team is that much more talented than you are. And the Jets are a good football team, and they will finish very well this season. But today, in this atmosphere, with the weather the way it was I couldn’t be more proud of the football team. It was the best present they could give me for Christmas. It was good.

(On whether he was hit by any snowballs ….) No direct hits. I had my security people take a couple of shots. That’s what they are paid to do, though. In fact, I got bumped in the back by one of our police officers, and I said, “what are you doing”, and he said, “I just took a hit for you.” [laughter]

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This is an unedited version of my story that will appear in tomorrow's News Tribune:

By Frank Hughes

There was a confluence of theatrics at Qwest Field on Sunday afternoon that transcended a mere football game.
From the irregular snowfall that ensconced the stadium in a white veneer to the final home game of Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren to the poetry of that exclamation point coming against his one-time protégé, New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre, the 13-3 outcome in favor of the Seahawks seemed almost an afterthought.
Yes, it was the excuse for an estimated 50,000 faithful to congregate in wintry conditions usually reserved for Holmgren’s first stop as an NFL head coach, Wisconsin.

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First off, I'll update you on what happened before everybody got to the locker room. Not sure what you could see on TV, but the stands became a sort of raucous mess with everybody hucking snowballs from the stands onto the field.

Literally, everybody was looking around to make sure they weren't hit in the head with a snowball, some of which were rather sizable and some of which were hurled from the upper deck. Paul Allen came down to the field at the end, and his security guards were lined up behind him warding off snowballs.

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I am heading down to the field to catch Mike Holmgren's postgame celebrations. The Seahawks currently lead, 10-3, with 3:18 left, and appear to be en route to winning.

I'll be back up with postgame stuff in a while.

The Jets lined up and kicked a 45-yard field goal, though it was waved off because of delay of game. Jay Feely made the punt rather easily, though, but Jets coach Eric Mangino elected to punt instead. If the Jets lose this game by a close score, that certainly has to be asked.

Seattle just strung together a nice long drive (13 plays, 74 yards), which ended with a 31-yard field goal by Olindo Mare, who is 23-25 on the year.

Mo Morris looks good, hitting the holes quick and hard and giving the Jets fits. He has 103 yards. Julius Jones -- whose brother Thomas plays for New York -- has not gotten in the game.

Getting great field position to start the drive, the Seahawks finished it off with a two-yard touchdown pass from Seneca Wallace to tight end John Carlson, who reached up over David Harris for the score.

The TD prompted a bunch of snowballs to be thrown throughout the stadium. I hope folks are careful because that could get ugly.

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The Jets drove the length of the field, but the Seahawks stopped them at the 2, forcing Jay Feely to kick a 20-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

A few other things: Mike Holmgren came out of the tunnel for an introduction by himself, and all his players greeted him after he trotted out a little bit. Spry, for the Big Fella. His wife, Kathy, raised the 12th man flag, though she gave only a few little waves, not the hyped-up antics usually seen atop the stadium.

Also, we had a moment of silence in the press box for Mike Kahn, the Seahawks.com writer who passed away from cancer on Wednesday. Mike was my predecessor at the News Tribune and covered the Sonics for about 15 years before I started in 97. His funeral service is today in Cincinnati.

For those of you not in Seattle, it has begun snowing again here at the stadium -- and I assume outside the stadium, as well. There is a light dusting on the field as players warm up and it doesn't look like it will abate any time soon.

Here's a shot of the field just before game time. The snow's coming down pretty steady now, but the field's clear.

Here's the inactive list.

Seattle

QB Jeff Rowe
K Brandon Coutu
S Jordan Babineaux
S Jamar Adams
LB Leroy Hill
LB D.D. Lewis
DT Red Bryant

QB Matt Hasselbeck will serve as 3rd QB

Lineup changes
Kyle Williams will start for Sean Locklear

Will Herring will start at LB for D.D. Lewis

Jets
K Mike Nugent
CB Drew Coleman
S J.R. Reed
CB David Barrett
DB James Ihedigbo
LB Cody Spencer
WR Chansi Stuckey

QB Brett Ratliff will serve as the 3rd QB

Good morning everybody. We are here at snowy Qwest Field, where the snow has been cleared but large piles ring the entire field. The Hawk's Nest is not yet clear and they just throwing it over the side right now. The first question that comes to mind is how all the snow is going to restrict Mike Holmgren getting to the fans to thank them for his time here. He may have to do some waving instead of hand-shaking and slapping.

Getting down here was actually not that bad. The side streets have not yet been cleared but I-5 had enough clear lanes that you could make it down here reasonably well.

We have not gotten inactives yet but I'll post them when they are available.

I hate to get philosophical on you this early in the morning, but I think the question is an appropriate one heading into Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren’s last home game at Qwest Field, so wake up that right side of your brain.

He’s passionate. Tough minded. Innovative. Stern. Inspiring. Gentle. Stubborn. A winner. Pick your own adjective to describe Holmgren and what he’s meant to the Seahawks during his decade-long tenure in Seattle. Head to Qwest Field and drink in the atmosphere that will surely be electric, even on this frosty Sunday.

Yes, the Seahawks are 3-11. But on a Sunday afternoon game in snowy conditions against Brett Favre and the New York Jets forget the records, the pending offseason moves, the draft and just enjoy the moment.

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The Seattle Seahawks announced today that they have placed offensive tackle Sean Locklear on the injured reserve and signed safety Jamar Adams from the practice squad to the active roster.

Locklear dislocated his left big toe on the last play of the St. Louis game a week ago.

Seattle now has 14 players on the injured reserve, including all five projected starting linemen for this season.

The Seahawks have issued the following press release, urging fans attending the game to plan ahead and consider alternative transportation options in getting to the game. Here's the press release:

Please be advised that Sunday's game versus the New York Jets will be played as scheduled at 1 pm at Qwest Field. With the recent winter storm and more snow expected this Sunday, the Seahawks want to make sure that fans have a safe and enjoyable trip to Qwest Field. The Seahawks strongly urge you to take advantage of the following transportation options:

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Seattle Seahawks players honored departing head coach Mike Holmgren with an award usually reserved for players.

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck presented Holmgren with the Steve Largent award after practice.

Holmgren is the first non-player to be presented with the award since its inception in 1989. The players vote on the award each year, presented to the player that best exemplifies the spirit, dedication and integrity of the Seahawks.

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I made it to the practice facility today and will file a report from practice this afternoon. The rumor mill continues to churn on where Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren will land once he finished this season and take a year off to spend time with family.

The latest rumor to gain some steam has Holmgren possibly taking a GM position with Washington and joining former Seahawks coach Jim Zorn, now the head coach in Washington.

Washington post reporter Jason La Confora explores the possibilities of a Holmgren-Zorn partnership in Washington.

Here’s an excerpt.

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As I said in an earlier post I didn't make it down to Renton today because of the snow, so here’s the Seahawks injury report for today courtesy of the Seahawks PR staff.

Sean Locklear (dislocated toe), Matt Hasselbeck (back), Leroy Hill (neck) and Jordan Babineaux (concussion) did not participate in practice today.

D.D. Lewis (chin) and Koren Robinson (knee) were limited participants in practice.

And here’s the Jets injury report.

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The afternoon report. I apologize for the lateness of this. I've been dealing with some logistical issues this morning with the snow. I will not be at practice today, but I'll try to cobble something together this afternoon. Dave Boling is in Renton today, so I'll talk to him and get an injury report for something later this afternoon. Thanks for your patience.

With Seattle’s entire starting offensive line from earlier this season on the shelf, green offensive lineman Kyle Williams will get his first test this weekend, starting his first game as a pro at left tackle.

Williams gets an opportunity since Sean Locklear dislocated his left toe against St. Louis and is unlikely to play on Sunday, and starting left tackle Walter Jones is out for the season after having knee surgery.

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We talked to New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre for about 20 minutes this morning, and the veteran quarterback talked frankly about his relationship with Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren and how he felt about his former coach leaving the game.

“There’s two ways to look at it, the first being he’s too competitive to go out like this,” Favre said. “Or, I could see Mike taking a step away and not having to worry about the everyday dealings with football. Which one he will take I have no idea. I think quite honestly he deserves the right to do whatever he wants to do.”

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Some links to start your morning.

Seattle Seahawks

He’s the reason there’s still football in Seattle, and his wealth and commitment to the organization has helped keep the team competitive. Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen tops the NFL’s billionaire club, worth a reported $16 billion, and tops Forbes list of the most influential owners in the league.

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Seneca Wallace was on The Monty Show on Sporting News Radio today. Wallace voiced his opinion on what he has gone through in Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren's final season, and his desire to eventually become starter in the NFL. Here's a transcript of the conversation, courtesy of The Monty Show.

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Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle Walter Jones made his eighth straight Pro-Bowl this season, and ninth overall as the NFL announced the Pro Bowl selections this afternoon.

Jones was the lone Seattle player selected to the team. With the selection Jones passes Cortez Kennedy with the most Pro Bowl Selections in Seahawks history.

Julian Peterson and Leonard Weaver were selected as alternates, and could go to Hawaii if other players at their position cannot play in the game because of injury.

Peterson had made the Pro Bowl his last two season with Seattle, and four overall, while Leonard serves as an alternate for the first time in his career.

Arizona was rewarded for its breakout season with five players named to the team, including quarterback Kurt Warner and receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald.

Dallas receiver Terrell Owens was left off the team. North Thurstan high product Mike Sellers made the team as a fullback.

Two football icons meet again for perhaps the last time on football field on Sunday, with the New York Jets traveling to Seattle to face Mike Holmgren’s Seahawks. The reunion adds to what certainly will be an emotional day for Holmgren, his final time as the head coach of Seattle coaching at Qwest Field.

For Favre, we thought last year’s Giants game at Green Bay would be his last, but as it turned out we were wrong. Favre has had a good season in New York, but it hasn’t been all roses, as William Rhoden of the New York Times writes about here.

Holmgren, it appears, was faced with a similar situation Favre dealt with in Green Bay during the offseason. According to an interview with KJR’s Mitch Levy last week, Holgren had second thoughts about coming back and coaching after he told Seahawks management that this would be his final year, particularly with the way things are coming to the close, with Seattle at 3-11.

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Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren just finished up his Monday afternoon press conference. During a bulk of the time he talked about coaching his last game at Qwest Field, a place he helped get done as part of the rebuilding process when he took the Seattle job.

I'll get to that in a minute, but I want to update you on the news first.

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We're having an informal discussion talking everything Seahawks right now. Click here to join in.

So is the glass half full or half empty? It depends on your perspective. Those choosing the former should come away feeling better about the Seahawks after a 23-20, come-from-behind win against the St. Louis Rams. Yes, the Rams are one of the worst teams in the league and ultimately playing for draft position at this stage of the season.

However, Seattle’s win showed that they are still competing every week, even though they don’t have a chance to make the postseason. That’s a good sign, because it means the players have enough pride in what they do to not go out and just lay an egg on game day. Now, you could point to the first half and say the Seahawks were not playing with much urgency, and you’d be right. But after some strong words from Seneca Wallace and head coach Mike Holmgren, Seattle turned things around in the second half.

The win will drop the Seahawks’ draft position for 2009, but a win also helps begin the rebuilding process for next year, particularly emotionally in terms of confidence and cohesiveness. And seeing players like Deion Branch, Seneca Wallace, John Carlson and Josh Wilson perform well bodes well for 2009.

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(On injury to Derek Stanley)
“Just to give you an injury update on Derek Stanley, he has a knee injury and he will have a MRI tomorrow. I think it is a significant injury, but we hope it is not, but he will have a MRI tomorrow.”

(On the game)
“If nothing else this team is going to learn quickly in the future that when you have a chance to put a team away early in the game, that these turnovers are going to come back and get you sooner or later. Derek’s (Stanley) turnover led to seven points, then (TE) Joe Klopfenstein took seven off the board when it should have been 24-0 at halftime. When you let a team like that hang around and they come out and get the ball in the second half and they get a couple of field goals, then they are back into the game. You have a chance to really take care of it in the first half and you don’t do it, if nothing else hopefully this team will learn that that is the most important thing in the game.”

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(On getting a win)
“I’m glad we got the win. I’m so happy to get that little horse off our back. It means so much when these guys are fighting so hard. I know you hear it week in and week out, but it’s the honest truth guys are working very hard and we finally broke through. You can just see we joy inside the locker room, it’s unreal.”

(On getting a win for Coach Mike Holmgren)
“He doesn’t deserve to go out like this. But the best thing we can do for him is to win these last two games and end his career that way. I know it’s not the way he wanted to, but that’s the best thing we could do for him, win these next couple of games.”

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(On the differences in the second half and the first half)
“I think we just came out flat in the first half. They did some things defensively that kind of caught us off-guard a little bit. We just had to adjust. I don’t think we came out ready to play early in the game. (Seahawks Head Coach) Mike (Holmgren) got on us a little bit at halftime and we came out and played one heck of a second half.”

(On Head Coach Mike Holmgren’s comments about him getting emotional)
“I got really emotional toward the end. I just had my mom on my mind. My mom passed about two years ago. Without her and God and her being an inspiration in my life. We came up with some big plays down there at the end of the game and it was just a huge win. I was just proud for everybody, because we were battling and coming up short all season long.”

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This is an unedited version of my game story that will appear in tomorrow's News Tribune:

ST. LOUIS – Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren stepped to the podium at his news conference following the Seahawks’ 23-20 victory over the St. Louis Rams Sunday afternoon, tried to think of what to say and came up with … nothing.
“I don’t know what to say,” Holmgren quipped, smiling sheepishly. “It’s been a long time.”
Indeed, because Olindo Mare hit a 27-yard field goal as time expired, this was the first time in seven weeks that Holmgren could emerge from the locker room to discuss a victory, the six straight defeats confirming that his final season as the Seahawks’ coach was going to be an abject failure.

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(On the game)
“I don’t know what to say, its been so long. I thought it was a great effort by the guys in the second half. I thought we played a poor football game in the first half. So I challenged them a little at half time and I think they responded beautifully. They are very happy, they should be, they worked very hard. In this league a win is a win. I am very happy with the players.”

(On the second half)
“We struggled on our pass protection in the first half. We made some adjustments at half time. I threw the ball a little quicker in the second half. We ran the ball a little bit more. We were not a able to spend much time dropping back and throwing the ball, we just couldn’t. They did a nice job of blitzing us.”

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Needless to say, this locker room was far more inviting than the previous six. Holmgren opened his postgame news conference by saying, "I don't know what to say, it's been so long."

Brian Russell said that he has been a part of bigger, more important victories but none have felt as good as this because of how much hard work this team has put in and not reaped the rewards.

Seneca Wallace said he got very emotional after the game because he felt his Mom, who died two years ago, was looking down on him and helped him make some of the big plays at the end. Of his rant at halftime, he said he was just frustrated that he felt like everybody was not playing hard, and so he let them have it with the hope that they would increase their effort and focus.

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Olindo Mare kicked a 27-yarder as time expired, giving the Seahawks a 23-20 win.

Sean Locklear is injured on the play. He still is on the field. I'll get updates from the locker room.

I was thinking overtime. But the Rams went three and out. Seattle could win this thing in regulation.

This is being challenged, but Duckett just got across the goal line with 2:47 left to tie the game at 20. It actually looked like he didn't get in and the official on the far side called the TD, but right now the Seahawks will have tied the score.

Their defense needs to get a stop to send this into OT.

The Rams put together a long, time-consuming drive, which allowed the Slave to the Businessman to kick a 47-yard field goal to put St. Louis ahead, 20-13, with 11:04 left in the game.

Seattle's Olindo Mare just kicked a 50-yard field goal to pull the Seahawks to within 17-13, making a game of this.

It looks now like Seattle cares about the outcome and the Rams thought the Seahawks were going to fold it up and go home. The defense needs to get another stop here.

Old Ed forgot his mike was on again, and just told the stadium, "I'm going to get this thing taped next week and see if that helps."

The Seahawks just put together a nice drive to kick off the second half, though they were unable to get into the end zone. Olindo Mare kicked a 28-yard field goal to pull Seattle to within 17-10. Now we'll see how the defense plays in the second half. I have to think they got an earful at halftime.

I have to say, it appears that the defense is just going through the motions against the Rams, who hold a 17-7 halftime lead. It has created two turnovers, which is keeping Seattle in the game, but not too many players look interested in tackling Steven Jackson, who already has 81 yards rushing.

The offensive line looks like everybody thought it would look last week against New England, with the Rams getting constant pressure on Seneca Wallace. He has been sacked a few times and his status for the second half is uncertain after he got walloped at the end of the half -- though he did walk off under his own powers and was screaming on the sidelines afterward. He yelled something as he walked past Mike Holmgren, though Holmgren did not appear to flinch so it was probably not directed at him.

There are so few people in here and it is so quiet that you can actually hear when Deon Grant is calling out coverages before the ball is snapped. A sad state of affairs for two struggling teams.

Referee Ed Hochuli didn't realize his microphone was on and just announced to the entire stadium that he pulled his groin muscle and can't move very well the rest of the game.

Seneca Wallace fumbled for the second consecutive game when he was sacked, which set up a 36-yard field goal by Josh Brown that gave St. Louis a 17-7 lead.

On the sack, Julius Jones failed to pick up a blitzing Oshiomogho Atogwe, who then hit Wallace, who fumbled. It was recovered by Will Witherspoon.

Now, Josh Wilson just fumbled the kickoff return and the Rams recovered.

On what seemed like the longest drive in NFL history, the Rams took a 14-7 lead when Steven Jackson exploded for six yards up the middle to score St. Louis's second touchdown.

The drive was 18 plays and went for 97 yards. It lasted eight minutes and 36 seconds. The one play that was impressive was a version of Miami's Wildcat, where the ball was snapped directly to Jackson, who handed off to Dane Looker, who hit quarterback Marc Bulger for an 11-yard pass. It was Bulger's third career reception.

The Rams converted three third downs and one fourth down on that drive -- which I know frustrates the hell out of Mike Holmgren.

Safety Jordan Babineaux redeemed himself for partially giving up the earlier TD pass, picking up a fumble by Derek Stanley and returning it for a TD to tie the score at 7.

It appeared that Darryl Tapp caused the fumble on the end around, a play on which Stanley injured his knee and currently is being looked at. It's the type of play that has been far too infrequent for this defense this season, but was sorely needed at this point in this game. They could not afford to go down 14-0 or 10-0.

Trainers continued working on Grant's neck, but he is back on the field with the Rams getting back the ball. He is a tough dude.

The Seahawks lost the coin toss and promptly allowed the Rams to march down the field and score on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Marc Bulger to Torry Holt. Rams lead 7-0.

The scoring pass was a straightforward fly pattern, with Holt going right past Josh Wilson on the left sideline. Jordan Babineaux was slow coming over to help. He was in the game because Deon Grant was on the sideline being worked on after colliding with Steven Jackson. Grant still is being looked at, either for a neck issue or a concussion, I'd guess. I'll keep an eye on the sideline to see what his status is.

Good morning everybody. It is very windy and dreary here along the banks of the Mississippi -- which doesn't matter because we are inside the Edward Jones Dome. We might be the ONLY people inside the Dome today to watch this game between two 2-11 teams. Nonetheless, we'll bring you the action throughout.

Today's inactives for Seattle are:

Brandon Coutu
Matt Hasselbeck (third quarterback)
Leroy Hill
Na'Shan Goddard
Walter Jones
Red Bryant
Jordan Kent
Brandon Miller

Rams

Brock Berlin (3rd quarterback)
Travis Minor
Quincy Butler
Larry Grant
Cory Withrow
Roy Schuening
Anthony Davis
Eric Moore

This is what the season comes down to for Seahawks' fans: Playing against another opponent experiencing a bad season in the 2-11 Rams, do you want to see the Seahawks continue their losing ways to gain better draft position? Or would you like to see Seattle win and establish some consistency and momentum heading into next season?

At 2-11, Seattle remains in the hunt for a top-5 pick come April. However, a loss against St. Louis would go a long way in further solidifying the Seahawks’ position near the top of the lottery.

Seattle’s needs are plentiful. They could use help in several different areas, including offensive line, receiver, defensive line and the secondary. The Seahawks are bound to get a high-impact player with their first pick, but maybe it would be wise to trade the pick to stock up on picks for later in the draft. Either way, team president Tm Ruskell and coach-in-waiting Jim Mora will have their hands full once the offseason begins in January.

Here’s a look at how Seattle has drafted over the last three years.

So are you rooting for a win today, or more of the same? As always, let us know in the comments section.

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I am flying to St. Louis this morning, but before I left I wanted to post a link to a story that a friend of mine, Kevin Pelton, wrote regarding microfracture surgeries in the NFL, which now pertains to the Seahawks because that is what Walter Jones had on Tuesday.

I met Kevin when he was helping run supersonics.com, and he and David Locke used to bond over their stat-crunching. He does a pretty fine job of transferring his knowledge of the microfracture surgery in the NBA to the NFL, which Dr. Mike Holmgren endearingly referred to on Friday as "a little microfracture surgery."

Kevin also attached a complete list of the players who have had the surgeries and the results.

Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren updated reporters on Walter Jones' knee, saying the Seahawks offensive tackle had microfracture surgery on his left knee on Thursday and should be available for training camp.

"They just did not feel that there was any way that it was going to get any better," Holmgren said. "And he could not do what he needed to do to to play."

Holmgren said Jones doesn't remember the specific play he got injured, but clearly against Dallas it showed.

Jones becomes the fifth lineman to go on the injured reserve, joining Chris Gray, Rob Sims, Mike Wahle and Chris Spencer.

For those of you looking for a definition of microfracture knee surgery, you find more information on the surgery here.

Basically, doctors pick tiny holes into the bone of the knee which allows a regeneration of the cartilage. Recovery from the surgery widely varies depending on how extensive the surgery is. However, Holmgren said Jones surgery was not on a weight-bearing surface, and he expects Jones, 34, to have a full recovery and be ready to go when training camp comes around in July.

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I just got a computer replacement after my hard drive fried and I unfortunately lost everything.

In any case, Mike Holmgren went on KIRO this morning and revealed that Walter Jones had knee surgery, which will keep him out the remainder of the season, something I hinted at in this morning's story about Walter and whether the Seahawks need to take a tackle in the upcoming draft.

Holmgren told KIRO Radio Friday that Jones should recover in time for training camp.

Holmgren also says quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and linebacker Leroy Hill will miss Sunday's game at St. Louis.

Hasselbeck has been unable to practice because of a bulging disk in his back. He's already missed six games this season.

Quarterback Seneca Wallace will start against the Rams.

Hill will miss the game with a pinched nerve in his neck.

The TNT’s Frank Hughes poses an interesting question in today’s story on Seattle offensive tackle Walter Jones, who has been a stalwart at left offensive tackle for the Seahawks during his 12-year career.

However, after giving up two sacks to DeMarcus Ware during the Thanksgiving Day game in Dallas, some are wondering if Jones has any gas left in the tank, and perhaps it’s time to draft his replacement in this year’s draft.

For his part, Jones says he still can play, and probably even more important, wants to still go out and compete on Sunday. Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren agrees, saying that Jones can still compete at a high level.

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Frank attended practice this afternoon but his computer blew up, so he probably will not be posting for awhile. Here's the injury report from practice today.

Seattle

Did not practice today

Leroy Hill (neck), Walter Jones (Knee), Koren Robinson (knee), Matt Hasselbeck (back), Josh Wilson (concussion).

Limited participation
Red Bryant (ankle)

Full participation
Manfield Wrotto (ankle)
C.J. Wallace (hamstring)

St. Louis

Did not practice today
CB Fakhir Brown (ankle), K Josh Brown (groin), Torry Holt (rest), Richie Incognito (ankle), Gary Stills (knee).

Limited participation
DT La'Roi Glover (knee), DE Leonard Little (hamstring).

According to this post by PFT, the New England Patriots are on pace to set the NFL record for fewest penalties in season, which was set by last year's Seahawks team, which had 59. So far, the Patriots have only 44 penalties that have been accepted by other teams.

The Seahawks are still pretty good; they have only 58 penalties with three games left to play. The Rams have 81.

First, the newsy injury stuff:

Leroy Hill seems to be getter better faster than anybody and there is a chance he could play against the Rams.

Matt Hasselbeck and Walter Jones are the same, neither will practice today, and both are listed as questionable. It sure didn't sound to me like they were going to play, but very little about the injury stuff this year has been exact.

Josh Wilson, who had a concussion in Sunday's game, will not practice today but will be ready to play against the Rams.

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Mike Holmgren revealed in his weekly Wednesday press conference that defensive end Patrick Kerney tore his labrum a second time and the surgery he had was more extensive than they thought it would be.

Holmgren said he will have extensive rehab and will miss training camp again next season.

He had the shoulder scoped initially, Holmgren said, and they didn't think the injury was that bad. When they went in again this week, they found the tore labrum and had to do, as Holmgren said, "a little bit more."

Makes you wonder what his future is? Two torn labrums. Soon to be 32 years old. Makes a ton cash.

St. Louis Rams Torry Holt talked to Seattle-area reporters via conference call this morning. Holt had a pretty carefree attitude, which is what happens when you're team is 2-11 with three games left in the season.

He said he was surprised that the Seahawks and the Rams, once the heavyweights of the NFC West, now find themselves battling for lottery position with twin, 2-11 records.

Holt said the main thing that has hurt the Rams is his team has not developed any continuity within the organization, from top to bottom, which has led to the team's inconsistent play.

He believes that head coach Jim Haslett has done enough this season to be considered for the gig next year.

And Holt also used some salty language in expressing his respect for Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren, saying he likes Holmgren because he's so competitive, and he's a winner. Holt said Holmgren also reminds him of former St. Louis coach Mike Martz.

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Here is a release from the team:

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Patrick Kerney and guard Mike Wahle have undergone successful shoulder surgeries performed yesterday, the team announced this morning. The team also signed center Donovan Raiola to the practice squad, replacing guard Pat Murray, who signed to the Denver Broncos 53-man active roster yesterday.

Kerney underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder and is expected to be sidelined until training camp in 2009.

Wahle underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder and recovery time is expected to last eight to 12 weeks.

Both surgeries were performed by team doctors Ed Khalfayan and Mike McAdam at the Seattle Surgery Center.

Remember a few years ago, when the Seahawks were supposed to play a preseason game in China as part of the NFL's attempt to promote the sport internationally? The game was canceled because logistics had not yet come together. Well, those plans are postponed permanently, according to PFT, per the Sports Business Journal.

I know this makes many in the Seahawks' front office happy. I think they viewed it as being more of a pawn in the league's attempt at global saturation, and while the experience would have been cool it does nothing logistically but hurt the team because of the arduous travel.

We hit the superfecta on Monday, meeting with Mike Holmgren for his weekly postgame press conference, then hooking up with Walter Jones, Lofa Tatupu and Matt Hasselbeck in the locker room after. Holmgren was the least interesting so I will save him for last.

Hasselbeck said he is hoping to play again. He said he was more hopeful than realistic that he could play last week, but the team's medical staff told him that Wednesday he was probably not healthy enough to play. He said he did not know specifics of what is going on, but they basically said that a disc takes longer to heal and this one does not have the time to heal during a football season -- particularly with the types of hits he took in the Dallas game.

This was interesting: Matt said there has been a discussion of him shutting it down for the rest of the year, and if he did that he would be fully healthy by Valentines Day. So I asked him if he plays again, does that mean he will be healthy by the Ides of March. He said it was too difficult to predict, particularly since he does not know what kind of hits he will take between now and then. But he has ruled out surgery.

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Here is a really well-done slideshow of the game put together by our multimedia department. If you get the chance, make sure you look at picture No. 10, of Julian Peterson about the avalanche Matt Cassel. It's a nice shot.

(On his fine performance today…) “No matter how many catches you have—or don’t have, I guess—there’s always something to learn from the game. That’s why we watch film every week.”
(On whether he’s had more success than he expected at the beginning of the season…) “Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect. No matter what happened, it would’ve been a surprise, and in some ways, a shock to me.”

(On how it feels to have the most catches for a tight end in a season…) “It’s just kind of a function of our situation. Obviously, when you have so many receivers hurt, and I was the only guy that’s stayed healthy for quite a while on the receiving corps, the numbers are going to happen.”

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(On whether he was the intended receiver on the Seahawks’ last offensive play… ) I wish he had had the time to throw it. It didn’t work out. We had just spoken right before, they had lined up in the same defense, they gave us what we wanted, but we just couldn’t block it up.

(On having a great day against his own team, but end up losing…) The biggest thing is that I would rather take one catch and win the game, then to have 4 catches and all of the other stuff that went on in the game. It’s a sad thing for me with these guys fighting so hard, each and every day at practice, and then for us to go out and pretty much win the game for 3 quarters, and then we lose the game in the end. You almost would rather lose by three touchdowns than to lose that way.

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(On his play today… ) It felt good. Everybody played well. The offense; we did what we are capable of doing. We had some guys out, and some guys stepped in and played well. I think it was one of our best outings so far this year on the offensive side of the ball. Like I said, everybody played well. I felt like there was a couple of times out there, that I probably could have done a little bit more to help us out. It has been one of the years, and unfortunately we came up a little short today.

(On the last offensive play…) They just made a good play. They actually came out with that defense three times in the game. I called time out twice. It’s tough, because we don’t have an answer for it. We go up there and try to make something up and try to protect, and they just made a good play down there in the stretch. Mo tried to make a block, but [Meriweather] made a good play. I tried to hold on to the ball, but unfortunately I fumbled the ball.

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(Opening… ) The easy thing to write I suppose, or to say, is that we lost another close ball game. That is what has happened the last few times we have been at home, with an ending like that, where we have turned the ball over when we had the ball and we had to go down and score. I personally feel, that this game is a lot different than that, this particular game today. Without singling out any one person, I think the players played a good football game against a good team. But, we fell short. In some ways it is the same, but I think today was quite different in a lot of ways. I was proud of how they played.

(On the play of Seneca Wallace…) Seneca is the obvious. Quarterback is usually the obvious, and I think played well. He played within himself, he made special plays, I think. He threw 3 touchdown passes, no interceptions. It is the type of game you would like to have a quarterback play.

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Mike Holmgren seemed very different in this postgame news conference than in the past ones, when he seemed resigned to the fact that he did not have the horsepower to stay with opponents.

Today, he seemed almost melancholy that they lost this game. More than one guy said they would almost rather lose like they did in Dallas than lose this heartbreaker because having it in your hands and then letting it slip away is more difficult to take emotionally. Holmgren made a very odd remark about the guys playing well but he was not going to be specific about anyone. Usually that remark is made when a team doesn't play well. He didn't elaborate, but he clearly is not very happy that the defense can't get off the field on third downs in crucial situations. He said there will have to be some changes made there next year because that has been the team's downfall all year. That is the first time I have heard him say that is the team's downfall rather than injuries or a lack of pass rush, but he clearly is frustrated.

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THe Patriots just put together a 16-play drive that included three third-down conversions. New England scored on a 1-yard dive by Sammy Morris and then converted the two-point conversion with a pass from Matt Cassel to Wes Welker. Welker by the way has 12 catches for 134 yards. The Patriots hold a 24-21 lead with just over two minutes to go.

I am heading down to the field but will be back up with postgame in a while.

New England did not fold after Seattle's big plays and Branch's TD. On the strength of a 33-yard pass to Randy Moss that beat Josh Wilson, New England then kicked a 27-yard field goal to pull to within 21-16 with 12:19 left in the game. If nothing else, this is a good, competitive, fun game to watch.

Deion Branch made a huge 63-yard gain, which set up his second TD of the game, a one-handed four-yard fade pattern to the corner, beating Ellis Hobbs. The Seahawks have taken a 21-13 lead.

On the 63-yard play, Bill Belichick challenged that it was a catch. It was, after which Branch faked out Junior Seau, who looked every bit a 19-year veteran on the play. Branch then cut all the way across the field, got a couple big blocks, ran out of gas, deked a few more guys and finally was brought down at the 9.

If there was a game for Branch to play well, it was against his former team, which traded him to Seattle in 2006 after he did not get the contract he wanted.

The Patriots put together an 11-play drive but the defense held, forcing the Patriots to kick a 42-yard field goal to trim Seattle's lead to 14-13. The Seahawks continue to blitz, coming six times on that drive in eight pass attempts and getting some decent pressure on Matt Cassel.

I overheard (or was eavesdropping) on the NFL official in the press box just now and he is saying that the Seahawks actually recovered that fumble at the end of the half and should have been awarded the ball and been given at least one play with 11 seconds left.

The Seahawks look incredibly good given their injury situation, with a makeshift line and a backup quarterback. They have gotten good play from the interior of the line, Seneca Wallace looks good -- and healthy -- and the offense is clicking pretty well, enabling the Seahawks to take a 14-10 halftime lead over New England.

The defense, meanwhile, has done a pretty good job of containing the Patriots, limiting them to only 145 yards in the first half, including 98 by Matt Cassel. As promised, the defense has blitzed Cassel the majority of the time, and though it has only gotten to him once for a sack, he has not been able to find many of his receivers getting loose.

Seattle's running game looks productive, with 92 yards coming on the ground in the first half. Incidentally, T.J. Duckett came in off the bench to get carries in the second quarter rather than Julius Jones. Jones got very few carries in practice this week.

Ellis Hobbs' 55-yard kickoff return gave New England a very short field, which they converted into a TD when Matt Cassel hit Benjamin Watson for a two-yard TD pass to cur the lead to 14-10. A pass interference penalty on Marcus Trufant in the end zone set up the scoring pass. Trufant's PI on Randy Moss was a little questionable, I guess, he had his hand on Moss' shoulder but Moss also had a hand on Trufant.

Wow, the Seahawks look tremendous right now. Their offense is clicking. Their defense is holding up. They unexpectedly look very good against New England, staking themselves to a 14-3 after Seneca Wallace threw his second TD pass of the day, this one to tight end John Carlson. Carlson, the team's leading receiver, now has four catches for 50 yards.

And as Scott "Short Bus" Johnson pointed out, Mansfield Wrotto has never been on the field when the Seahawks have not put together a scoring drive.

The Patriots' nosetackle is out of the game with a shoulder injury he suffered on Seattle's first drive of the game.

It appears as if with Wilfork out they went to a 4-3 defense, but they are shifting around a lot.

The Patriots just cut the lead to 7-3 after Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 50-yard field goal. The defense actually held, but Craig Terrill was called for defensive holding that kept alive the drive. On the replay, it did not appear there was a hold, but Terrill's man went to the ground.

Oh, and the Seahawks blitzed on five of the six passes during the drive.

The Seahawks just put together a very impressive opening drive, culminating in a 14-yard TD pass from Seneca Wallace to Deion Branch, the former Patriots' first TD this season. It was a 13-play drive in which the offensive line looked very good, getting a good push, giving Wallace good protection. Seattle holds a 7-0 lead.

The Seahawks blitzed in three out of New England's first five plays, including a safety blitz on the third down pass where Jabar Gaffney was the intended receiver. On one play, they rushed only three, dropping Craig Terrill into coverage.

Seattle

K Brandon Coutu
S C.J. Wallace
LB Leroy Hill
T Na'Shan Goddard
T Walter Jones
DT Red Bryant
DE Brandon Miller
QB Matt Hasselbeck (will serve as the 3rd QB)

Sean Locklear will start at left tackle
Masfield Wrotto will start at right guard
Ray Willis will start at right tackle
D.D. Lewis will start for Leroy Hill

You might need this when Seattle’s game against the New England kicks off at 1:15 this afternoon.

The offensive line should look very different, particularly if left tackle Walter Jones does not play today, which is a distinct possibility.

If Jones can’t go, Sean Locklear will be the only player on the line that was a starter at the beginning of the season. Expect Locklear to play left tackle, Floyd “Pork Chop” Womack at left guard, Steve Vallos at center, Mansfield Wrotto at right guard and Ray Willis at right tackle.

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I am writing my Sunday story on whether or not the Seahawks will get any selections to the Pro Bowl. Mike Holmgren said earlier this week that if anybody deserves it, he thinks Marcus Trufant and Walter Jones do. I spoke with both Lofa Tatupu and Julian Peterson, and both said they did not think they played up to their standards and that they weren't deserving of the honor -- though Julian said he would not turn it down if he was bestowed a spot in the game.

In this miserable season, do any Seahawks warrant Pro Bowl selections? Walter Jones should probably get it based on reputation alone, the two sacks he gave up on Thanksgiving Day notwithstanding. Trufant's interceptions are down, but some of that is a function of opposing QBs throwing away from him and at Kelly Jennings and Josh Wilson. Of course, he also is a member of the worst secondary in the NFL, at least statistically. Holmgren also brought up Olindo Mare, who is 19-for-21 in field goal attempts, with one of the misses coming from beyond 50 yards.

Would you send anyone to Hawaii?

The United States Marine Corps Reserve will have representatives at
Qwest Field to collect toys for the Toys for Tots program before the New England Patriots game on Sunday, November 7. This will be the 32nd year the team has participated in the toy drive.

Volunteers will be collecting new, unwrapped toys or donations at various gate locations throughout the stadium. There will also be a collection booth inside Touchdown City, which opens at 10 a.m.

Donated toys will be distributed as Christmas gifts to needy children in the Seattle community.

I know this is the second Caddyshack reference in a month, but Wahle was wearing a pair of white shorts that looked exactly like the hat in the golf shop, where Rodney Dangerfield says, "Nice hat, you get a free bowl of soup with that hat?" When I brought it up to Wahle that his shorts had the same pattern, he asked when the interview would be over.

But we digress (if you can actually do that when it is your first item in a post).

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As Darrin posted for me earlier, Matt Hasselbeck has been listed as doubtful for Sunday's game against the Patriots. Mike Holmgren, usually very upbeat on Fridays, seemed about as down in the dumps as I have seen him -- which is saying a lot given this season.

It sounded to me like Matt is having some residual affects from the beating he took in Dallas last week and his back has acted up again. Holmgren said he does not have the exact same symptoms as before, with the weakness in the leg, but enough of the same that his availability is now in doubt.

Also, it sure sounds like Walter Jones is not going to play. The offensive line this week has been, from left to right, Sean Locklear, Pork Chop, Vallos, Mansfield Wrotto and Ray Willis. We spoke with Wrotto in the locker room and he certainly sounded excited to get getting his first career start. He also said he was the backup center for this game because Steve McKinney is not familiar enough with the offense -- though he was taking snaps with the second unit. Officially, Holmgren is saying that Walter is a game-time decision, but Wrotto made it sound as if he was in. So it looks like Tim Ruskell may get that chance to evaluate Locklear on the left side after all.

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Just got a call from Frank, who's in the Seahawks lockerroom up in Renton at the Seahawks facility. He said quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who has not practiced Thursday or today, is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game vs. the New England Patriots.

Hasselbeck is still experiencing residual soreness from the Dallas game played on Thanksgiving. Should he not be able to play, Seneca Wallace would start for the Seahawks.

Also, left tackle Walter Jones (knee) is a game-time decision. Jones has not practiced this week.

This is the team's release:

The Seattle Seahawks have placed guard Mike Wahle on injured reserve and signed center Steve McKinney to the active roster, the team announced this morning. Wahle is the third starting offensive lineman to land on injured reserve this season, and sixth opening day starter to land on the list. The team also signed defensive tackle Kevin Brown to the practice squad.

Wahle, signed this past offseason, started all 10 games played this season before suffering a shoulder injury vs. Arizona (11/16).

McKinney comes to Seattle after spending four years in Indianapolis (1998-2001), six years in Houston (2002-07) and training camp with Miami this year. He has played in 143 games with 133 starts at both center and guard. He was originally a fourth-round draft choice (93rd overall) by Indianapolis in the 1998 NFL Draft.

My man Curtis Crabtree at KJR compiled some stats regarding the team's pressure situation in the Dallas game -- since that is the game that the players complained about a lack of pressure, and subsequently backed off at the urging of ... somebody.

Re-watching the game film, Curtis determined that when the Seahawks had only a four-man rush, Tony Romo was 11-for-13 for 167 yards and three touchdowns, compiling a perfect 158.3 passer rating.

When they blitzed, Romo was 11-for-21 for 158 yards and one interception, with a 57.2 passer rating.

According to Curtis, when Seattle rushed seven guys, Romo was 0-1. When they brought six, he was 3-6 for 52 yards and an interception. And when they rushed five, Romo was 8-14 for 106 yards.

Not until Dallas' 21st offensive play did Seattle bring more than four men rushing, and when they started bringing a blitz consistently they were down 21-3.

Deon Grant may have backed off his statements immediately after the game, but he wasn't wrong.

Mike Holmgren said he wanted to keep things light and the players to have fun. That mission is accomplished. It was a jovial, spirited practice that ended with a two-minute drill, the first defense against the second offense. The defense started out dominating, knocking down four straight passes, but on the fourth Holmgren called a pass interference call, much to the defense's dismay, and it allowed the offense to go down the field and score. There was not tackling, so it's not a true drill, but it was fun nonetheless.

Sounders star Freddy Ljungberg attended the practice as well, with a coterie of people in tow or fawning over him. He was wearing a sweet jacket with a fur-lined hood, which reminded me of a jacket that Kenny Anderson wore on the team bus one day -- up to the point that he took it off because Gary Payton's heckling was so relentless.

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Lost in the shuffle of the back and forth between safety Deon Grant and the Seahawks coaching staff over the defensive pressure situation is the fact the Seahawks will face another big receiver in Randy Moss this week. Even without Tom Brady, Moss is putting up pretty good numbers, as is his counterpart Wes Welker.

Cornerback Marcus Trufant said the team is ready. They should be after facing big, physical receivers in Terrell Owens, Roy Williams from Dallas and Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin of Arizona.

Trufant said Seattle will try to mix it up again this week, showing several different looks against Moss. He talks about that task in this audio clip.

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The Seahawks practiced for a little over an hour today. Leroy Hill (Neck), Walter Jones (knee), Koren Robinson (knee) and Mike Wahle (shoulder) all sat out of practice.

Players who participated on a limited basis include Matt Hasselbeck (back), Red Bryant (ankle) and C.J. Wallace (hamstring).

With Hill possibly out for New England, D.D. Lewis worked with the first unit and could get his second start of the season.

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We wrote after the loss in Dallas that there was some questioning by the players' of the decision to not pressure Tony Romo earlier.

Today, we spoke with safety Deon Grant, who made the majority of the statements, and defensive coordinator John Marshall, presumably at whom the statements were aimed, and not surprisingly Grant has backed off the finger-pointing.

Grant said his comments were taken out of context. "When I say pressure, pressure means a guy in the quarterback's face," Grant said. "I don't talk about blitzes. Blitzes never came out of my mouth. It is pressure. Even if you are in the game on the front line, you have to make sure all the lanes is covered when that quarterback steps up in the hole you have a tackle or a D end looping around in the face. That is the key, you have to keep a guy in the quarterbacks' face. That is pressure. Pressure is not always blitzing. That's what some people think. Pittsburgh, that is the real definition of pressure. They got four turnovers and they barely blitzed. But they got pressure on the quarterback with them four guys they had and three guys they had rushing."

When asked if he was concerned about how his comments were portrayed in the media, he said yes: "I never mentioned John Marshall's name. Then I read the paper and see -- well, I didn't read the paper but I read the quotes -- and saw that that was what I was meaning about John. I didn't have a problem with what he called. Me and John have a great relationship. I tell the guys all the time: Forget what the call is, we have to go out here and execute individual plays."

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Whether the Seahawks back-channeled this through Hugh Millen or Hugh took it upon himself to quell the rampant Jim Mora-to-Washington rumors is not clear. But Hugh has basically said that there is 0 (ZERO) percent chance that his former roommate becomes the next Huskies coach -- and Hugh would know better than anyone whose last name is not Mora.

And really, if you are Mora, why would it even be a consideration? Think about it: Now that Seattle has gone 2-10 and could be on the way to 3-13, the only place for Mora to go is up. The same could be said for Washington, but at least there is something left in the cupboard with the Seahawks. The cupboards are bare at UW. In fact, there may not be any cupboards. They have to be put up with the remodel.

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With the team signing Na'Shan Goddard, it did not address the team's backup center need. Mike Holmgren said during his press conference that Manny Wrotto is the backup center for now. A follow-up question was not asked about whether Wrotto snapping to Hasselbeck was a concern.

Holmgren said the Plaxico Burress situation offers him the chance to address his players -- again -- about doing the right thing. One thing he said that is pretty sobering is that he said a few years ago the coaches had to start collecting guns from players during training camp. He said that even though athletes might be targets, they should have the sense to not put themselves in the situation where they might have to defend themselves.

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As Frank anticipated, the Seattle Seahawks put center Chris Spencer on the injured reserve, and signed offensive tackle Na'Shan Goddard. The signing of Goddard is curious because he's a tackle, so it appears Steve Vallos will remain the starter at center and Mansfield Wrotto will continue as the backup.

The Seahawks also added offensive guard Erik Robertson out of Cal to the practice squad.

Seattle-area reporters had a chance to talk with New England head coach Bill Belichick this morning. Known for sometimes grumpy nature and intense attention to detail, Belichick said he’s not always that way.

“(I’m) Pretty loose,” quipped Belichick, when asked if he’s remains the stiff head football coach when he leaves the team’s practice facility.

Belechick then went on to give some examples of his exploits away from the football field, including hanging around with aging rockers Bon Jovi, summer parties in Nantucket and palling around with Florida head coach Billy Donovan during the NCAA tournament.

You can read about the relaxed side of Belichick here.

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The Seahawks today signed Na'Shan Goddard, an offensive lineman who was on the New York Giants' practice squad.

Here is a very brief bio of Goddard, who also played for the New York Jets at one time.

Presumably, the Seahawks are going to announce they will place Chris Spencer on IR today, which Mike Holmgren intimated on Monday. Spencer's back has been acting up and it does not appear that it is going to improve any time soon. We'll get more information at Holmgren's noon press conference.

Here is the release from New England:

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots placed cornerback Jason Webster on the reserve/injured list today. Webster will miss the remainder of the 2008 season with an ankle injury.

Webster, 31, is a veteran of nine NFL seasons with the San Francisco 49ers (2000-03), Atlanta Falcons (2004-06), Buffalo Bills (2007) and Patriots (2008). He was signed by the Patriots as a free agent on March 3, 2008, and was released by New England on Aug. 26 before being re-signed by the Patriots on Nov. 5.

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Some links to start your morning.

Seattle Seahawks

Two more Seattle players, center Chris Spencer and guard Mike Wahle, are likely headed for the injured reserve, Frank Hughes reports. Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren said the team will bring in a group of free agents to select from to back up Steve Vallos at center.

The Seahawks will continue to play to win, and already are playing several of their young players, reports Scott Johnson of the Everett Herald. Running back T.J. Duckett may see more time so he can be evaluated.

More Johnson: He talks to draft guru Rob Rang about the prospects who could be available for the Seahawks in next year’s draft.

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I don't know if this is like the game of telephone, where something is passed on from one person to the next, the context of the message gets changed and the misinformation picks up steam; or whether there is legitimacy to any of it, but the Jim Mora-to-Washington rumors simply will not die.

I was just taking a look at Bob Condotta's blog over at the Times, and he posted an item that says Mora's Wikipedia entry was briefly updated -- then changed -- saying Mora would be announced as UW's coach on Dec. 3. It is an eight-year deal, the item said, before being taken off the site. Here is a link to Bob's post.

I myself have gotten a flurry of emails informing me that Mora would be announced in the next 24 hours; that Paul Allen and Scott Woodward have sat down to discuss the issue; that Mora is definitely going to be the Huskies' next coach and it will be announced any moment. There has been no indication from Renton that anything has changed from Mora's initial -- and only -- statement on the topic, saying he is not a candidate for the position. Yet the rumors will continue in earnest until UW hires a head coach -- whether that is Mora or somebody else.

Here was Holmgren's response to some of the defensive players criticizing the schemes in the loss to Dallas:

“I did not address it with the players because I didn’t know," Holmgren said. "I didn’t know about it. A couple things happened: after you lose a game—an emotional game, and you guys know this—sometimes players say things that they believe, but it’s not necessarily true all the time. In their frame of reference, they think it’s going to work that way, but it doesn’t. The simple fact of the matter is, this season, we have not taken the ball away very much, and that’s a frustration for our defense. And we have not gotten pressure on the quarterback…and that’s been a frustration. So, automatically, if you lose a tough game [you say], ‘Well, we should’ve done this.’ Or, ‘Heck, Coach Holmgren should’ve called more runs.’ Whatever it is. Whatever we did in the game, it didn’t work. So we should’ve done something else. I think you got to be careful with that stuff. When we have blitzed this season, I could show you ten plays where we went after them hard, and they threw the ball downfield for a long touchdown play. So, it’s a frustration more than anything else. The players care, though, which I like. They really do care. And in their mind, if they think a way is better, I think you have to listen to them a little bit. I believe that. If Matt Hasselbeck were to come to me and say, ‘You know what? I think if we try these couple things…’ I would absolutely listen to him. Absolutely listen to him. And then, if I didn’t think that that was the way to go, then I would tell him, and these are the reasons why. But we’ll try this. I think we’ll do some of that, probably…on defense. But you know how it is, I mean, heck, things get said. How much of it is real? I think after they see the film, which they now have seen, they might look at it a little differently.”

Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said in his Monday news conference that center Chris Spencer very well could be placed on injured reserve. Holmgren said they were going to wait a few days to make sure, but he certainly sounded as if they knew what was wrong with his back -- disc problem -- and that he likely is not going to be able to come back.

Same could be true for Mike Wahle. Holmgren said last week that Wahle should be able to play against the Patriots. But today he said that his shoulder is not responding the way they think it should, and if that too is going to be a long-term thing they are likely to place him on IR as well. It sounds like the Spencer decision is more immediate though since they don't have anyone besides Manny Wrotto to back him up.

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Mike Holmgren is having his regular Monday press conference at 2:15.

Here is a link to a piece I wrote today, in which I basically said it might be a good idea to set aside fair or unfair and start playing the younger players so that Tim Ruskell could get a better evaluation of what he has before he heads into the draft and free agency.

And with the New England Patriots coming to town, I'll pose a question that can carry us until Holmgren meets with the media: It is becoming increasingly clear that the Patriots are not going to be able to afford Matt Cassel, who in Tom Brady's absence has proven to be a very good quarterback, Sunday's performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers notwithstanding. Before that, though, he had back-to-back 400-yard performances and has won player of the week honors. The question is this: If you could get Cassel in free agency at the expense of Matt Hasselbeck, would you do it?

There are obviously many things to consider here, but the first of them is the ages of the players. Hasselbeck is 33. Cassel is 26. Hasselbeck has a bad back. Cassel hasn't had any problems yet. If the organization is starting over -- it has not said it is, just to be clear -- would it be better off starting over with a guy Jim Mora and Company can develop? Or would it be better off having Hasselbeck, who knows the offense so well, carry the team while a draftee serves as Hasselbeck's understudy until he is ready?