Seahawks attempt to shake mental block vs. St. Louis

KIRKLAND, Wash. -- Matt Hasselbeck insists the Seattle Seahawks don't care what Torry Holt says, no matter how inflammatory the statements.

"I think Torry Holt is a great wide receiver. Beyond that, what he says doesn't matter too much to me," Hasselbeck said.

They might not care, but a little extra motivation never hurts, especially heading into a matchup with your chief rival in the NFC West.

In just four years, the Seahawks and St. Louis Rams have developed a rivalry that has involved major implications in the division race.

Last year, St. Louis took the rivalry another step, beating Seattle three times, including a 27-20 win in the first-round of the playoffs. Later during the postseason, Holt said, "we are mentally tougher than they are," while working as a television analyst.

Holt skirted the issue Wednesday in a conference call with Seattle reporters, as the Seahawks and Rams, both 2-2, prepared for Sunday's matchup in St. Louis.

"I was basically saying around that we do have a mental edge against that bunch because we were able to beat them three times in one year," Holt said. "It could have been Cincinnati; if we beat them three times in one year, you're going to feel you have some type of edge over a particular squad. That's what I was making reference to when I made that point."

Holt's statement isn't going unnoticed. The quote is being displayed in rotation with other announcements on a video board inside Seattle's locker room.

"You can't dwell on those things," Seahawks defensive end Grant Wistrom said. "We can't dwell on last week, let alone last year."

Last year, Seattle's Week 4 loss to the Rams at home had lingering effects that didn't shake free until late in the season.

The 3-0 Seahawks held a 27-10 fourth quarter lead, and hadn't lost at home since December of the 2002 season. St. Louis rallied for 17 points in the final 5:34, and won in overtime on a 52-yard touchdown pass from Marc Bulger to Shaun McDonald.

Seattle tumbled, losing six of its next nine games.

"It isn't so much what St. Louis is doing; it's us killing ourselves," Seattle tight end Jerramy Stevens said. "We feel like if we execute our game plan we should beat anybody in the league including St. Louis."