Woody:Skins, Seahawks looking up

[TK]

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Skins, Seahawks looking up

Washington's goals include protection for quarterback Ramsey

BY PAUL WOODY

TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Sunday, November 9, 2003

SEAHAWKS AT SKINS

TODAY: 1 p.m. at FedEx Field ON THE AIR: TV - Fox, 1 p.m.; radio - WJMO (105.7), noon, WRNL (910), 12:45.

STEVE SPURRIERWashington Coach On Quarterback Patrick Ramsey

When last they met, almost a year ago to the day, neither the winning coach nor the losing coach left the stadium feeling a sense of satisfaction.

"We didn't do very well offensively," Washington coach Steve Spurrier said.

And his team won.

"That was a game where they made a lot of yards, but didn't score," Spurrier said. "They got down there and went for it on fourth down two or three times and didn't make any of them."

Actually, the Seahawks were 1 for 3 on fourth-down attempts.

"We scored the same number of points as we did against Dallas [last week], 14," Spurrier said. "Fourteen was a winner that day [against Seattle]. Fourteen usually is a loser."

Spurrier hopes to put more than 14 points on the scoreboard today when the Redskins serve as the host for Seattle. But he'll take just two points if it means winning the game.

The reason "14" was a winner that November day in Seattle last year was that the Seahawks, despite 324 yards in offense and an almost 10-minute advantage in time of possession, scored just three points.

"We played a horrible game last year against Washington," Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said. "I can't imagine we played a worse game, although I try to block some games from my memory bank.

"Give credit to the Redskins. They had a lot to do with that."

Maybe not as much as Holmgren is trying to give them, though.

"I'm pretty demanding in what I expect from the offensive team because I'm pretty involved in that, and we just didn't play well that day," Holmgren said.

Time passes. Things change. The Seahawks (6-2) won five of their final eight games last season and have won six of their first eight this season.

The Redskins (3-5) won three of their final eight games in 2002 and have won three of their first eight this season.

"Since that game, our team has gotten better and better," Holmgren said. "We finished last season on a pretty good note. We won our last three games. We established Matt Hasselbeck as our quarterback, which was a big step foundationally.

"This year, we've been fortunate to win some close games."

The Redskins barely have been close in the past three games this season. Their offense has been vulnerable to heavy blitzing. Quarterback Patrick Ramsey has been sacked 26 times this season and left last week's game against Dallas twice because of injuries.

When asked what he thought his team would need to do to defeat Seattle, Ramsey smiled and said, "I expect we'll have to beat the blitz."

Spurrier agrees. "I think Seattle will blitz us, although they haven't been a big blitz team."

The Seahawks have just 16 sacks this season.

"But we haven't handled blitzes that well, and until we prove we can handle it, that's what we'll see, I think," Spurrier said.

The constant pressure and pounding have taken their toll on Ramsey. He's not the same quarterback now that he was six weeks ago.

"He's not comfortable in the pocket," Spurrier said. "We need to give him more room to throw. There's no question.

"I watch these other quarterbacks around the league, and they stand there and there's nobody within 3 yards of them, and they can make their throws. Patrick hasn't been in that position all that much."

No question, Ramsey could use a bit of that today.

"It's no fun for anybody to lose," Spurrier said. "We're going to try to play better."

And if the Seahawks want to keep Holmgren happy, they need to play better today than they did a year ago.

Contact Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444 or pwoody@timesdispatch.com