A different scent fills empty locker room

RENTON – Perception No. 2 out of the Seattle Seahawks locker room as they packed up their things for the off-season: This place reeks of optimism.

Perception No. 1 out of the Seahawks locker room: This place reeks of football shoes.

It’s stunning how many pairs of cleats these guys have. Seriously … maybe 15 to 20 pairs for each of the more than 50 guys in there.

So, Monday morning, they spent a good deal of time sorting through footwear, swapping jerseys and passing around helmets for their teammates’ signatures.

And the usual collection of card players convened for a few final hands.

As has been the case through the course of the season, these guys appear to enjoy spending time together.

“There’s a good chemistry,” said Brandon Mebane, veteran defensive tackle. “We play together, we play hard to support each other; we’ve got each others’ backs – on and off the field.”

The team’s 7-9 record was no better than last season’s, when they also claimed a quirky division title and then scored an upset playoff win over the Saints.

But it had such a different feel this time. Last year, veterans like Matt Hasselbeck, Lawyer Milloy and Lofa Tatupu were packing up for what would be the last time. The entire team, for that matter, was heading off into the unknown environment of labor discord.

And that team won only three of its final 10 regular-season games. This year’s bunch was 5-3 in the second half of a season in which they improved to ninth in yards per game (from 27th in 2010) and 7th in scoring defense (from 25th).

They went from minus-9 to plus-8 in the turnover ratio.

When you have a physical defense and you finish on an upswing, it makes the future seem more promising.

“The main thing, in the second half of the season, you could see the growth of the young guys,” running back Leon Washington said. “With me being one of the older guys, I could really see how the young guys were maturing and accepting their responsibilities and their roles.”

There will be new roles, of course, and new players. Key Seahawks Marshawn Lynch, Red Bryant and David Hawthorne will be free agents. Talk about shoes to fill.

But the front office has salary cap flexibility to sign their own or other free agents – and will have the 11th pick of the draft to bolster the team.

“We definitely feel we’re on the rise,” defensive end Anthony Hargrove said. “You look at our roster and it’s filled with guys in their early 20s who also are playing excellent football.”

As the injured-reserve list swelled with 16 Seahawks, backups repeatedly stepped up with the kind of competence that bodes well for future depth.

“What happened was we established a foundation of core guys and leaders that is going to carry this team to where it’s going,” Hargrove said. “The young guys are learning what it takes to be a pro, how to prepare, how to learn your strengths and weaknesses. Guys did that all year.”

But in addition to optimism, potential also creates expectations.

“There’s a lot of potential,” Washington said. “But you have to do something with it. If you work and do the things to sustain it, then it’s momentum that we can use going into next season.”

Hargrove played with the Saints during a Super Bowl season, and he said he can see some similar traits in Seattle.

“This is an organization that is being built to be successful for a long time, people are going to have to be worried about facing this team,” he said.

The Seahawks, he said, learned how to win ball games and finish strong.

He was reminded that there were several games this season when they did not hold on for the win, or made crucial mistakes while coming up just short.

“True, that’s a part of the experience,” Hargrove said. “Sometimes you learn how to win from the experience of losing.”

Ah, the scent of optimism.

Dave Boling: 253-597-8440 dave.boling@thenewstribune.com