Upon his arrival in Seattle, coach Pete Carroll listed one goal above all others for the Seahawks: To gain control of the NFC West division.
With an 11-3 record, San Francisco has clinched the division for 2011. But their meeting Saturday at CenturyLink remains crucial to Seattle’s postseason hopes.
And to a great deal more.
Don’t let anybody kid you, this has turned into a rivalry between two young teams on the rise, coached by a pair of very competitive men. This is not just another game.
“They have clinched (the division) this year, and there’s nothing we can do about that now because we dug ourselves a big hole at the beginning,” said Seahawks linebacker Leroy Hill. “Our playoff hopes are still alive, so we’ve still got a lot to play for. (And) beating these guys would let them know we’re definitely still here. That would be a big statement.”
San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh and Carroll have a history from when Harbaugh was at Stanford and Carroll was at USC.
In his first season, Harbaugh has taken Mike Singletary’s 6-10 Niners of 2010 and already improved their win total by five, with two weeks remaining. In the process, they unseated the Hawks atop the division.
He’s done it with an approach similar to Carroll’s – stressing the rushing game, defense and turnover creation. Because both teams are young, it leads to the assumption that this could turn into an annual grudge match for divisional dominance.
“You know they’re going to be there and we’re going to be here,” running back/returner Leon Washington said. “They’re going to be good for a while because they’ve got good players and a good coach, so we’re looking forward to the challenge of it.”
The 49ers broke open a close game in the final minutes of the season opener at San Francisco, claiming a 33-17 win.
Since then, formerly inconsistent 49ers quarterback Alex Smith has put together a passer rating above 90 and the Niners’ defense has forced a league-high 35 turnovers. Most remarkable, their defense has not allowed a single rushing touchdown in 14 games.
The Seahawks, though, have won five of their last six games, and have risen in all statistical rankings in the process – particularly surging to a plus-8 in turnovers with a league-leading 18 in the past five weeks.
With Marshawn Lynch leading the league in rushing since Week 9, the Hawks appear positioned to go strength vs. strength against the Niners.
“They’re obviously doing something right,” guard Robert Gallery said of the Niners. “So it’s a challenge for us because we pride ourselves on running the ball. You always love going against somebody that is the best in some category, to go head-to-head. We’re not going to shy away from it.”
The Seahawks will feature at least six different starters from the lineup that opened against the Niners, as the injured-reserve list has swollen to 15 players. But, somehow, the quality of play has risen.
Now they want to prove it against San Francisco.
“Obviously, they’re one of the best teams in the NFL,” Washington said. “But we’re a different team than we were in Week 1. This is a chance to go out and put forth the kind of effort we’ve shown for the last half of a season. We can’t do anything about the division, that’s long gone. We still want to own it, but they got it for a year and we’ll have to try to get it back next year.”
Seahawks fullback Mike Robinson played for the 49ers for four seasons before being released last year. So he admits meeting San Francisco carries a personal element.
“Pride? Yeah, there’s a whole lot of pride at stake,” he said. “They’re a great defensive and a great team. We’re not the same team we were the first week of the season.”
The playoff picture is a factor, he said. And divisional supremacy is an obvious goal.
But this game is also about something more basic.
“If we want to be the type of team we want to be here for a long time, and to take the next step as a team and as an organization, we have to win games like this on Saturday,” Robinson said. “It doesn’t matter who the opponent is, that they clinched the division. Pete has done a great job of getting the philosophy out there that it’s not about who we’re playing ... it’s all about us.”
Dave Boling: 253-597-8440
dave.boling@thenewstribune.com
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