Holmgren Anxious to See Starters Play Better

Posted by Matt Loede on August 23rd, 2007 filed in News

With the longest dress rehearsal coming, Mike Holmgren stated that his starters will play about a half on Saturday night when the Hawks host the Minnesota Vikings at Qwest Field.  One thing that will be interesting to see is how long Holmgren allows QB Matt Hasselbeck to play in the preseason game, as the coach has been extra careful with not allowing his QB to get injured in a meaningless game.  The coach says that the QB will get snaps, as he knows the team needs to get on the same page prior to the season opener on September 9th.  Hasselback is still coming back after offseason left shoulder surgery.

“We have some things we have to work on,” Holmgren said. “You keep your fingers crossed. Everybody does. You have to get ready to play the game and you have to bang around a little bit and you just hope nothing bad happens.  Every day though … somebody gets nicked up and you just go, ‘Wow, there but for the grace of God …’ You just keep your fingers crossed.”  Last week the O-line didn’t play all that well in the teams debacle in Green Bay.  Look for the Hawks to put emphasis on trying to work their offense against a good Vikings run defense.

“For me, it’s always been the game everybody says, ‘Hey, we grow. We see where we are,’ ” running back Shaun Alexander said. “Whether it goes good or bad, that’s OK. If it goes bad at the beginning we have to learn how to push our way through and get to the second half. If it goes well at the beginning we have to learn how to turn the pressure on to keep on going. It’s just a game that marks where we are.”

Left tackle Walter Jones will sit, Sean Locklear will take his spot on the line.  Ray Willis will play at right tackle, Tom Ashworth, who allowed two sacks a week ago, will back back on the right side while Floyd Womack will play left tackle.  It’s this units job to play much better and show they are close to ready to go for the opener.  “I wouldn’t judge those guys by one game,” Holmgren said of last weeks outing.  “It was a preseason game. It’s done. Now let’s go forward.”