A recap of the activities at Virginia Mason Athletic Center for Jan. 1, when the Seahawks held the second of two "Bonus Day" practices during their playoff bye week:
FOCUS ON: PRACTICE
Yes, we're talking practice, because the Seahawks rang in the New Year the same way they bid farewell to the old.
Because the Seahawks earned the NFC's No. 1 in the playoffs, they don't play this weekend. Instead, they'll wait and watch to see which team will come to CenturyLink Field for a divisional game on Jan. 10 – the winner of Saturday's game between the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers, or the Detroit Lions should they upset the Cowboys in Dallas on Sunday.
And if their bye-week practices are any indication, the Seahawks will be not only ready but prepared for any option. The spirited sessions were competitive, had good tempo and featured athletic plays on both sides of the ball.
"We're exactly where we want to be," quarterback Russell Wilson said Thursday. "To be going into the playoffs, and have a first-round bye and to be the No. 1 team in the NFC, that's what you want."
As for the quality of the practices, Wilson offered, "We were very, very smooth and good on offense, executing and tempo-wise. The defense looked good, too."
Ah, the defense, which led the NFL in fewest points allowed for the third consecutive season and in average yards allowed for the second season in a row.
| YOU DON'T SAY |
"It's hard for me to just sit there and watch the games as a fan. I play that quarterback position in my head."QB Russell Wilson on watching the wild-card playoffs games over the weekend |
"We were flying," All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman said of the way his unit practiced. "Guys had fresh legs. I think a couple of days off helped guys. Guys looked rested and fast. But that's the kind of guys we have. You get them out there on the field, they don't care what time of year it is. If it's spring, if it's summer, if it's the playoffs, if it's the regular season, they're going to go hard and it's going to be a fun practice.
"And that's what it was."
The Seahawks won't practice again until Monday, as coach Pete Carroll also is using this hard-earned bye week to give the players ample time to rest and recuperate after having their regular-season bye in Week 4.
"We understood the sense of urgency throughout the season that we would need this," Sherman said. "That's why we fought so hard in the last couple of games. You want to win them, regardless, but I think we recognized as a team what we needed to get to in order to get the rest that we needed. And we got it done, thankfully."
As for the intangibles, Wilson added, "We're high on confidence, like always. But we have to play great football, one game at a time."
Just not this weekend.
WHAT ABOUT KRIS RICHARD?
Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and assistant head coach/offensive line coach Tom Cable have been linked to head-coaching vacancies around the league. But Sherman wondered aloud why his position coach hasn't generated any interest.
| STAT DU JOUR: HOME IS WHERE THE PLAYOFF VICTORIES HAVE BEEN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Seahawks don't just win a lot of regular-season games on their home turf, they've also been a lot better in the postseason at home than on the road:
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"I would hope our coach would have gotten a little bit more mention," Sherman said of Richard, who played cornerback for the Seahawks from 2002-04 and is now in his fifth season coaching the team's secondary.
"He took kind of a ragtag bunch of DBs in 2011 and made them perennial All-Pros and Pro Bowlers, and you don't hear his name being mentioned as much for D-coordinator jobs and things like that. Which I think it should be. We obviously know what kind of coach he is and what he's done. But obviously everybody else doesn't."
In that 2011 season, since-departed Brandon Browner, who had been signed to a future contract in January after playing four seasons in the CFL, stepped in a third-option injury replacement at right cornerback during training camp and ended up playing in the Pro Bowl. Sherman, who was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft that spring, stepped in as a third-option injury replacement at midseason. Since then, no player in the league has more interceptions (24) and only one other has more passes defensed (68) than Sherman. Kam Chancellor, a fifth-round draft choice in 2010, stepped in as the starter at strong safety that season and last week was voted to his second consecutive Pro Bowl after being a second-team All-Pro selection last season. Late last season, Byron Maxwell, a sixth-round draft choice in 2011, stepped in as the starting corner opposite Sherman; and Jeremy Lane, a sixth-round pick in 2012, has become the nickel back this season. Then there's free safety Earl Thomas, a first-round draft choice in 2010 who has been voted to four consecutive Pro Bowls and likely will become an All-Pro selection for the third time in the past three seasons later this month.
"It's his attention to detail," Sherman said of what Richard brings to the mix. "And he does a great job managing, I guess, our personalities. We have a few different personalities, obviously, in that DB room and we have over the years.
"And Kris does a great job understanding who everyone is and not coaching everyone the same, understanding how people react to different things differently. But his attention to detail and the preparation of game planning is meticulous. … He goes over basically every scenario you can be put in in a game and he prepares us for that. You're rarely ever surprised going into a ball game by a formation or a play that they're going to run."
UP NEXT: A LONG WEEKEND OFF
The players will have Friday, Saturday and Sunday off before returning on Monday to begin preparing for their to-be-determined opponent in next Saturday's divisional playoff game at CenturyLink Field.
Seattle Seahawks team photographer Rod Mar continues his Eye On the Hawks series bringing you behind the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the St Louis Rams.
11:14 am, and left tackle Russell Okung sits in the locker room studying before the final regular season game against the visiting St. Louis Rams.
Out on the field, quarterback Russell Wilson gives directions to his receivers as they go through early warmups.
Receiver Paul Richardson sees the ball all the way into his hands as he runs routes with quarterback Russell Wilson.
Running back Christine Michael gets mentally focused before taking the field.
In the locker room, teammates and friends Richard Sherman and Doug Baldwin talk before hitting the field.
Richard Sherman makes final adjustments before leaving the locker room with his fellow members of the Legion of Boom.
Quarterback Russell Wilson leaves the Seahawks locker room and walks by the large "12 flag" that adorns the hallway leading to the field.
Russell Wilson gathers the quarterbacks group before leaving the tunnel for pregame warmups.
Defensive captain Kam Chancellor gathers the defensive backs for their traditional huddle before taking the field as the fans slowly begin to filter into CenturyLink Field.
Blitz snags a couple of young fans to watch the pregame show before kickoff.
Safety Earl Thomas hits his knees in thanks and lets the roar of the 12's wash over him as he is introduced.
A legion of season ticket holders leads the pregame introductions as they run out of the tunnel carrying 12 flags and wearing Seahawks jerseys.
Flag runners leave the tunnel as the Seahawks take the field for the final game of the regular season.
Head coach Pete Carroll hugs Doug Baldwin as the entire team gathers on the Seahawks sideline before kickoff.
Fans in the Hawks Nest in the north end zone perform a patriotic card stunt during the singing of the national anthem.
Defensive tackle Tony McDaniel wasted no time showing the Rams who had the muscle as he celebrated after a tackle.
Linebacker K.J. Wright sets aside St. Louis running back Tre Mason with a hard shove after a short gain.
Running back Robert Turbin cuts back as receiver Kevin Norwood seals off his man with a good block on the outside.
Fullback and midseason acquisition Will Tukuafu says he loves every minute playing with the Seahawks, and shows it with a smile after gaining two-yards and a first down to keep a drive alive.
Linebacker Bobby Wagner was named to the Pro Bowl this week, and continued his fine play with 10 tackles against the Rams.
The Sea Gals entertain the crowd during the break between the first and second quarter.
Defensive lineman Jordan Hill closes in to sack Rams quarterback Shaun Hill for a 10-yard loss.
These 12s might have been drama majors in college, but nevertheless their theatrics and makeup allowed them to fit right in with the raucous crowd at CenturyLink Field.
St. Louis back Benny Cunningham finds nowhere to run as he is met by a wall of Seahawks defenders including Cliff Avril, Bobby Wagner, Kam Chancellor and K.J. Wright.
Kam Chancellor finishes off a tackle with the help of teammates Cliff Avril and Jordan Hill.
Quarterback Russell Wilson and members of the offense listen as assistant coach Tom Cable outlines strategy in the locker room at halftime.
They call this the football version "high pointing." Ascending to the peak point in order to make a reception. Despite admirable defense by the Rams Janoris Jenkins, receiver Paul Richardson outleaps him to make a 32-yard reception that set up Seattle's first score.
Seahawks kicker Steven Haushka shook off the misses in last week's game at Arizona to nail field goals of 42 and 45 yards in the win over St. Louis.
Three menacing young 12s had their game faces ready in the first row of the south end zone. The Bobby Wagner fan at right even is wearing his Ninja Turtles hat in honor of his favorite player.
Kevin Williams notches a sack against Shaun Hill in the third quarter, one of four sacks recorded by the Seahawks defense against the Rams.
Kevin Williams celebrates his sack with teammates Cliff Avril, Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright.
Jordan Hill joined the "Legion of Boom" with this deft interception of a pass the Rams quarterback Shaun Hill was trying to throw away. Using hands developed as a first baseman in baseball, Hill reached down to intercept the pass.
Jordan Hill (center) looks for return yardage after his interception and is flanked by teammates K.J. Wright and Michael Bennett. The play killed a St. Louis drive and was the first of three turnovers created by the Seattle defense.
Jordan Hill races off the field with the football after his interception.
Next series, next turnover. Linebacker Bobby Wagner doesn't let Rams tight end Lance Kendricks make a clean catch and knocks the ball into the air where teammate Bruce Irvin makes the interception.
Bruce Irvin works to tuck the ball away after plucking it out of midair after teammate Bobby Wagner knocked it loose.
Bruce Irvin races down the sideline untouched on his way to a 49-yard touchdown reception, giving Seattle a 20-6 lead in the fourth quarter and sealing the victory.
Bruce Irvin celebrates with fans in the Red Zone suites at the north end of the stadium after his 49-yard interception return for touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The Seahawks defense prides itself on preventing touchdowns. On this play Earl Thomas, right, delivers a karate chop to the arm of St. Louis running back Benny Cunningham at the half-yard line just short of the Rams scoring a TD. Thomas knocked the ball loose which then went out of the end zone, and by rule the Seahawks got the ball on a turnover and a touchback.
The ball comes loose at the half-yard line after Earl Thomas knocked the ball way from the Rams' Benny Cunningham.
As he did during pregame introductions, Earl Thomas hits his knees and gives thanks as the roar of the crowd rains down upon he and his teammates.
The Seahawks defense was not done, however, as Kevin Williams once again won his matchup and chased St. Louis quarterback Shaun Hill out of the pocket in order to avoid a sack.
Seattle's pressure resulted in another sack when linebacker O'Brien Schofield felled Rams quarterback Shaun Hill for a 12 yard loss late in the game.
On the Seahawks sideline, happy defensive backs coach Kris Richard reviewed plays with safety Kam Chancellor as the final minutes ticked away.
In the victorious Seahawks locker room, Bruce Irvin is congratulated by offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell.
Quarterback Russell Wilson, wearing a NFC West Division Champions hat, celebrates with teammates after the team achieved one of their primary goal of the regular season.
