All the pieces seem to be coming together under Mike Holmgren, but the defense will have to make do without its mastermind

The Seahawks' many individual standouts, such as Adams, haven't yet added up to a cohesive defensive unit.  John W. Mcdonough

Short of winning the Super Bowl, whatever success the Seahawks enjoy under new boss Mike Holmgren this season will be shadowed by the question, What if ... ?

What if Fritz Shurmur, one of the most innovative defensive coordinators of his time, had not developed liver cancer and been forced to take a leave of absence in May? What fiendish torments might he have drawn up to stymie Seattle opponents? Shurmur has been undergoing chemotherapy at home in Green Bay. "He's very weak; it's tough right now," Holmgren, the Seahawks' executive vice president of football operations, general manager and coach, said early in training camp. After resigning as the Packers' coach last January, Holmgren had brought Shurmur with him to Seattle.

With a maniacal, gap-toothed grin that for years has haunted offensive coordinators, Shurmur had relished the chance to work with Seattle's star-studded defense. Linemen Michael Sinclair, Cortez Kennedy and Sam Adams; linebackers Chad Brown and Darrin Smith; and defensive backs Shawn Springs and Darryl Williams have been to the Pro Bowl or are on the cusp of going. So how did this defense, which scored a league-record 10 touchdowns last season, rank 27th in the NFL? "Maybe it was because after we'd score a touchdown, we'd have to go right back on the field," Springs says jokingly. "We were tired."

The Seahawks defense did, in fact, spend more time on the field than any other defense in the league. So while they ranked second in sacks and takeaways, they were also 29th in first downs allowed. An offense that converted a league-low 28% of its third-down opportunities was partly to blame for the extended duty, but inconsistent play and injuries along the defensive line also plagued Seattle. No wonder Holmgren used his first-round draft pick on a defensive lineman, end Lamar King of Saginaw Valley (Mich.) State, who is expected to see action off the bench.

Coaching, or lack thereof, might also have contributed to the spotty defensive play. Brown, who signed with Seattle as a free agent in February 1997, had to bite his lip for the past two seasons to conceal his frustration with Dennis Erickson's laissez-faire approach to details and discipline. "I came from a winning organization," says Brown, a former Steelers standout, "so I found the way things were done here -- or weren't done -- surprising, to say the least."

Goodbye, laissez-faire. Hello, Holmgren, who never met a detail he didn't want to micromanage. Nowadays Seattle players must keep their jerseys tucked in while on the practice field. They are not allowed to wear tank tops to the training table at dinner. Before the team's first scrimmage, Holmgren instituted a warmup regimen, because, he says, when the players are left to their own devices everyone starts tossing a football around and, before you know it, "you've got 56 footballs in the air." And that's how people get hurt.

Is Holmgren coming on a little strong with all the rules? Yes. Do the Seahawks welcome his occasionally heavy hand? "Absolutely," says guard Brian Habib, who endured a similar experience four years ago in Denver. "It was Mike Shanahan's first year, and he put in a ton of new rules -- a lot of them the same ones we're getting here. They both learned from the same guy [Bill Walsh], and they've both won Super Bowls."

The absence of Shurmur left Holmgren with an unusually young defensive staff. To remedy that, he coaxed out of retirement old friends Dick Roach and Bob Zeman, both 62, who will, in part, act as sounding boards for Holmgren. Linebackers coach Jim Lind, 51, became the de facto defensive coordinator. Just because Shurmur isn't around, don't expect vanilla schemes. Before having his cancer diagnosed, he drew up the defenses he intended to install in camp. Lind, a disciple of Shurmur's at Green Bay, will carry them out. The Mad Scientist's legacy thrives.

Just ask Brown, whose head was spinning after a week of training camp. "I've got about 10 different jobs right now," he said. Because of his versatility -- Brown has the strength to play inside and the speed to play outside -- he moves around more than most players. It hasn't helped that he's working under his sixth linebackers coach in five years. "I'd love to play just one position and be really good at it," he said.

Remember how Shurmur used Packers strong safety LeRoy Butler to visit mayhem on opposing offenses, blitzing him from every conceivable angle? Think he might have had some fun with Brown? But Shurmur or no Shurmur, this is the year Seattle finally begins to play to the measure of its considerable talent.

-- Austin Murphy

Fast Facts

1998 RECORD: 8-8 (3rd in AFC West)
     NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 22/24/23; defense 21/27/27

1999 SCHEDULE STRENGTH (rank): 15
     Opponents' 1998 winning percentage: .500; Games against playoff teams: 5

Player to Watch

The talented Seahawks will go as far as their unproven, third-year quarterback Jon Kitna will take them. That's fine with Mike Holmgren, who likes what he has seen of the Tacoma, Wash., native. After spending the first 11 games of last season as third-string quarterback for then coach Dennis Erickson, Kitna started Seattle's final five games, winning three. In his second pro start, a 20-18 victory over the Oilers last November, Kitna completed 24 of 39 passes for 298 yards and two touchdowns, winning AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. While Kitna's arm isn't as live as Brett Favre's, Holmgren calls Kitna a natural. "Intelligence, courage, maneuverability, leadership -- in all those areas he gets A-pluses," says the new coach.

Other Info

1999 Team Schedule
Team Depth Chart