Holmgren Deserves Credit for Helping Seahawks Survive Super Bowl/Madden Jinx

The coach of the year candidates have been named and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren isn't one of them. However, he should be.

Yes, other coaches had better records with less talent and the Seahawks were eventually eliminated from Super Bowl contention by the Bears. But, no other team had to overcome two jinxes in order to just make the playoffs.

There are two superstitions in the NFL. Superstition number one is, if your team loses the Super Bowl, you will have a lousy season the following year. Superstition number two is, if a player is on the cover of the Madden Football game, he will have a lousy year.

Going into the season, the Seahawks faced both head on. They lost to the Steelers in Super Bowl XL and 2005 League MVP Shaun Alexander, their starting half back, was on the cover of Madden 2007.

And, the jinxes hit hard and quick. By week three, Alexander was on the sidelines with a broken foot. In Week 7, against the Minnesota Vikings, starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck got hurt too. Most sports writers at that point were giving Seattle no chance of making the playoffs and, I have to admit, I was one of those.

In total, the Seahawks played three games without both Hasselbeck and Alexander. Yet, with a backup quarterback and running back, they managed to win two of those games. That was the difference in what could have been a losing year for the Seahawks. And, credit for pulling the team through that adversity should be given solely to Holmgren. Being able to win when your best players are hurt requires motivation and preparation. Holmgren is a coach who has been to three Super Bowls and is among the best in the business. Very few others could have pulled that off.

I think the thing that ended up hurting Holmgren's candidacy was how they limped into the playoff race, losing three of their last four games. But, that round one win over Dallas should have given the team a little more credibility as well as the Bears needing to go to overtime to eventually end their season. Maybe if Holmgren would have won the Super Bowl, the NFL might have taken notice of what he accomplished.