Underdog Seattle is the real thing

SEATTLE (AP) -- Few teams rampage through their schedule the way the Seahawks did this season, only to be confronted by so many doubters during the playoffs. With the way Seattle manhandled the Carolina Panthers in the NFC championship game, the critics should realize one thing: Mike Holmgren's team is for real.
Usually, it takes an offensive star at his peak, a fierce defense and a coaching staff with some experience for a team to take the NFL's biggest prize.
The Seahawks have all that.
Forget that they are 31/2 point underdogs, hardly surprising considering the AFC is the stronger conference and the Pittsburgh Steelers are on an amazing run all the way from a sixth seed to the Super Bowl. That, and the team from the Pacific Northwest somehow managed to stay out of the spotlight despite a 13-3 regular season and, now, a 10-0 home record.
But as the Steelers well know, their opponent in Detroit on Feb. 5 is very formidable.
"No one is going to give us anything," tight end Jerramy Stevens said after the 34-14 win over Carolina, a game Seattle so dominated that the Panthers couldn't even come up with any excuses for being routed. "We haven't done anything in the past."
But what they are doing in the present is what makes champions.
First, the Seahawks have the NFL Most Valuable Player, Shaun Alexander. After setting a league record with 28 touchdowns and topping the rushing charts, Alexander missed most of the second-round playoff win over Washington with a concussion. He returned to carry the ball 34 times for a club-record 132 yards and scored twice against Carolina.
Alexander is Seattle's offensive standby, much the same way Emmitt Smith was for Dallas and Terrell Davis was for Denver. There are flashier players around him, but he's the focal point.
"He's not the type of guy that just wallows or lays down," All-Pro fullback Mack Strong said of his backfield partner. "He comes out to compete ... and that's the reason he's the MVP. He comes out and put up MVP numbers."
Then there is a defense with a pass rush that can rattle anybody. Jake Delhomme had never struggled in a postseason game, but he was overwhelmed Sunday. Sacked only twice, Delhomme felt pressure on nearly every pass play. He was intercepted three times -- one more than in his previous six playoff appearances -- and, while the oft-maligned Seahawks secondary played well, it was the work up front that made the difference.
"Seattle is a very admirable team," said All-Pro receiver Steve Smith, who was shut down in the title game after sensational performances in first two weeks of the playoffs. "They're very experienced. Everything that team did today was superb."
Preparation was the key
The Seahawks were prepared for everything Carolina could offer, from Delhomme-to-Smith to Julius Peppers and a dangerous defensive line to the ballhawking of cornerback Ken Lucas, a former teammate. Credit Holmgren and his staff for that.
Holmgren struggled early in his tenure in Seattle after winning one Super Bowl in Green Bay and losing another. But the ups and downs with the Seahawks, including losing some of his front-office control, never steered him in the wrong direction.
Nor did tight playoff losses the last two years, first at the Packers in overtime, then at home to St. Louis. Holmgren weeded out some problem players after the 2004 season, and felt far more comfortable with the roster this season.
Still, you have to get everyone to perform, and he's done a wonderful job of it.
"A couple of things happen," Holmgren explained. "You have players who won't buy in or never buy in, or you have guys with problems. Each had their own issues and, really, sometimes a player needs a new place to play.
"Five or six left and the five or six we brought in have been tremendous. They responded around our leaders ... who have been here four to five years. Chemistry in our locker room allowed us to win a couple games this year we would've lost last year."
There's only one game left, the big one, and the Seahawks no longer are living outside the spotlight.
They should handle the Super Bowl glare just fine.