The Myth of Heart and Soul

In my ongoing quest for answers as to why the Seahawks are playing so poorly, I keep coming across the notion that the team "lacks heart." This amuses me; the idea that teams win games because they "want it more." This works pretty well in "Rocky" and Disney movies were the audience needs to have hope that the underdog can pull it off in the end, but it doesn't apply in real life.

The notion that these grown men go out in front of hundreds of thousands of people every Sunday and don't play to win is an insult to them. They're playing not only for the win, but for their jobs. If they're taking plays off and it's obvious to us, don't you think it'd be obvious to the coaches, too? To the G.M.? In a year when one coach is on his way out and another is coming in, bringing the inevitable changes, does it make sense that anyone out there would be slacking?

I believe people reach this "lacks heart" conclusion because, in their mind, it's easier to fix. If all Seattle needs to do to win is want to win, then okay! Go want it, guys! 10-0 in the last ten games of the season! Playoffs! Yea!

It's absurd. The harsh reality is that the Seahawks are losing because they're playing teams that are better than us. It's that simple. Aside from perhaps San Francisco, there's not a single game we should have won. Did Tampa Bay have more heart than the Seahawks? Did the Bills? The Giants? No. They had more talent! They had a better game plan. They had better execution. These are the things that factor into wins, along with a good deal of luck. Not heart. If the Seahawks want to win again, they need to do more than wait for the Wizard of Oz to grant them courage or for Tinker Bell to help them believe in themselves again. They need to field talented players (and yes, Ruskell, sometimes talented players don't behave well off-field; it's okay, because your job is to bring wins to Seattle, not Boy Scout Jamborees) and they need to find ways to exploit that talent. This means altering the gameplan for the players you have, not the players you wish you had.

Holmgren, bless his heart, is a great coach when he's got the right players in his system. We don't have that. We won't for the rest of the year. And sadly, Holmgren either won't acknowledge that fact or can't acknowledge it. Because of that, I didn't see this ship righting itself anytime soon. Rather, I hold out hope that Mora has a better understanding of what Ruskell is doing, and will actually coach his players to the system that Ruskell envisions. Considering the performance of our secondary this year, I have my reservations, but I have to find hope where I can.