Hawks Notebook | Preseason trip abroad adds game to schedule

The Seahawks' export to China will result in an expansion of their exhibition schedule.

They will play five exhibition games next season, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Sunday as he answered questions before the start of Seattle's game in Chicago.

The Seahawks will play the Patriots on Aug. 2 in Seattle, then fly to Beijing the next day. The two teams will play in Beijing on Aug. 8 and return the next day. The Seahawks will then have about 10 days before their next exhibition game.

So why were the Seahawks selected to play in the league's first exhibition game ever played in China?

"One is the city of Seattle," Goodell said. "It's a great representative of the United States and has a great connection to China."

The second has to do with the franchise's rise in the NFL pecking order.

"This franchise has had great success last year," he said. "So far, so good this year."

Hear ye, hear ye

The Giants heard from the Seahawks crowd on Oct. 24, but Goodell said he had not heard anything from league observers about any audio additives at Qwest Field, which would indicate everything was kosher.

As far as Goodell's opinion on crowd noise, he's all for it, but he's also willing to look into technological advents that would limit the impact of noise on an offense's ability to communicate. Presumably, that would include radio communication between the quarterback and other players.

"The question we want to evaluate with our competition committee in the offseason will be at what point does it affect the quality of play?" Goodell said. "The big issue of us is making sure our players and coaches can perform at the highest possible level, and if they can't put their full offense in or they can't audible or they can't do some of the things they can do, at some point it becomes a negative on the quality of the product."

A good effort

The bye week might not come at a good time for receiver Deion Branch, who had his best game as a Seahawk with three catches for 57 yards. But his numbers hardly mattered to him.

"I think it was so-so," Branch said of his game. "We still left a lot of balls on the field. Forget about all the good pass plays that we had and all the good runs; focus on all the bad things we did and try to make those things a whole lot better."

Davis debuts

Russell Davis said getting back on the field was "like riding a bike."

The defensive tackle played his first regular-season game as a Seahawk on Sunday, and he was credited with four tackles and a sack for a 13-yard loss. Davis signed with Seattle as a free agent in the offseason.

"It was good to be out there and do a couple of things," said Davis, who had missed time with a foot injury. "I'd much rather have the win. ... I've been out of action for so long and practice is not the same thing as a game, and I was a little nervous going out there."

Tough sleddin'

Maurice Morris didn't exactly achieve the impact he'd hoped for in starting in place of Shaun Alexander at running back. He gained 35 yards on 11 carries, his longest dash going for 15 yards on a pitch play to the right.

The Seahawks' longest run of the game was quarterback Matt Hasselbeck's 19-yard scramble near the end of the first half to set up a field goal.

"It wasn't that tough," Morris said when asked how difficult it was to run against the Bears' defense. "We just didn't execute on offense as a group. They just played a lot better game than we did."

Big hurt

Seattle had not allowed a run longer than 14 yards in the first three games. But Chicago's Thomas Jones had a 29-yard run in the third quarter, and his backup, Cedric Benson, had a 19-yard run, also in the third quarter.

"They made some big plays, and we normally don't give up big plays," Seahawks linebacker Julian Peterson said.

Bears receiver Bernard Berrian caught a 40-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, which matched the longest reception given up by the Seahawks this season.

Seattle had not allowed a rushing touchdown this season, and the Bears had not scored a rushing touchdown, but Jones had two scoring runs this game.

Broadcast info

Good news for those without cable: KSTW (Ch. 11) will be the local broadcast carrier for the Seahawks' two ESPN Monday night games, on Nov. 6 and Nov. 27.

Also, KCPQ (Ch. 13) will be the local broadcast station for the NFL Network Thursday night game between the Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 14.

Notes

• All but two of the Seahawks' inactive players were injured, making the decisions as to whom to leave off the 45-man game roster easier for the coaching staff.

David Greene was the third quarterback and wide receiver D.J. Hackett could also have played. Both are healthy.

The injured players who were inactive were DB Jordan Babineaux, RB Shaun Alexander, DE Joe Tafoya, OT Floyd Womack, TE Jerramy Stevens and DT Marcus Tubbs.

• RB Josh Scobey and DE Grant Wistrom are the two newest Seahawks captains now that LS J.P. Darche (hip) is out for the season and LB Isaiah Kacyvenski has been released.