Hawks learning from the mistakes of the past

The question was like a punch in the gut, and forced Mike Holmgren to gag — perhaps playfully — on his bottle of water.

Had he ever been in a situation where one of his teams had the chance to clinch the division and a playoff spot so early in the season?

"Stop! I appreciate the question, but let's not go there. Can we not go there?" the Seahawks coach asked. "Stuff like that makes me nervous. ... Yes, this is the earliest, obviously, but gosh, we have a lot of football left and let's just take it a step at a time, if it's OK."

Now 8-2 for the second time in the Holmgren era, the Seahawks can lock up the NFC West title with a win Sunday against the New York Giants and a St. Louis Rams loss. The Rams are 4-6 and trail the Seahawks by four games with six to play, and a loss would drop them to five back. And the Seahawks own the division tie-breaker with two wins over the Rams, so Seattle would take the division even if the teams both finished at 9-7.

As unlikely as the Seahawks losing five of their last six and limping into the postseason at 9-7 seems, it has already happened once in Holmgren's tenure.

In 1999, Holmgren's first year, the Seahawks saw an 8-2 start disintegrate into a 9-7 campaign after which the Seahawks backed into the playoffs. Their confidence drained, Seattle fell to the Miami Dolphins 20-17 at the Kingdome in a wild-card game.

"I still look back and think, 'Why didn't we win that game?' " said Todd Peterson, the Seahawks kicker in 1999 and now an Atlanta Falcon. "Confidence is everything in this game. Emotion is a big deal. One guy is down, the guy next to him is pressing. All of a sudden, team isn't really team."

The remaining schedule after the 8-2 start in 1999 was rough. The AFC West was a tough division even though the Seahawks won it, as Kansas City finished 9-7 and only lost the division because of the Seahawks' win over it in the second-to-last game of the regular season. San Diego and Oakland were 8-8.

The downward spiral started with the Tampa Bay game at the Kingdome. The Buccaneers forced six Seattle turnovers, five on thrown interceptions by quarterback Jon Kitna in a 16-3 win.

"Our defense was playing great, and our offense was doing just enough to win games," Kitna recalled. "I don't know if we realized the magnitude of being 8-2. I wish I would have been more cognizant of what was going on."

Kitna wished he would have been aware of the bigger picture, as in looking ahead to the playoffs and the importance of getting a first-round bye and hosting games.

"I didn't realize then, but I realize now that you can never complain about a win in this league," said Kitna, who is now the Cincinnati Bengals' backup.

Other distractions that year included the 10-week holdout by wide receiver Joey Galloway over a contract dispute. Galloway returned during the team's 8-2 start, but it struggled to get him back into the flow on offense.

"If I kind of knew then what I know now, I would have handled that just a little bit differently," Holmgren said. "We were playing well — I mean, we were 8-2 — but he was going to be the guy to get us there, and it really disrupted things just a little bit. It wasn't Joey's fault, it was just we were doing fine and that kind of goofed that up. I didn't know the players enough to know how they'd react to certain situations."

Holmgren was also learning about the dual role of general manager and head coach, 1999 being his first year in Seattle. He has since given up the GM title.

But 2005 seems different. There are no contract holdouts. The Holmgren system has been in place for an experienced offense for several years now. While no one knew what to expect from the defense, it has been key to the 8-2 start, as new players have made big impacts. And the schedule seems much more favorable over the final six games, even though the Giants will pose a formidable challenge on Sunday and the undefeated Indianapolis Colts come to town Dec. 24.

The Seahawks face three struggling teams — the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans — on the road. And the 2-8 San Francisco 49ers are still on the schedule.

The current team has been to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. And it is winning without key players who are injured — most notably wide receiver Darrell Jackson, who should return soon; safety Ken Hamlin; and most recently linebacker Jamie Sharper.

"There was a sense of apprehension by everybody, because for the most part, a lot of the guys we had here hadn't been used to winning," said fullback Mack Strong, one of four current Seahawks on the 1999 team. "As far as believing we could get it done, not a whole lot of people bought into that, and those are some of the ingredients that we have on this team now."

Christian Fauria, the starting tight end in 1999, has since won two Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots.

"You need to be mentally tough as well as physically tough," Fauria said. "It's easy let your guard down. The teams that go to the championship win in November and December.

"Eight-and-two doesn't get you anything."

But even the buzz around town for this year's Seahawks is different than in 1999. Holmgren might not want to put a hex on his team by talking so much about the future, but others are talking playoffs and beyond.

"I really feel like people are a lot more excited, a lot more in tune," Strong said. "They realize how precious it is to be in this position where we are right now. They feel like ... this is our year to get it done."

Holmgren notices the difference in fans' reaction.

"They were kind of waiting to see what I would do ... which is fair," he said. "It took us a while to regain their trust, so to speak. And so now, the buzz, I think it may be even a little more real right now."

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com