Seahawks reload in hopes of defending NFC West title

CHENEY, Wash. -- Funny how a coach goes from genius to dummy and maybe back again, depending on his players and record.

Mike Holmgren looked positively brilliant as an assistant coach in San Francisco and a head coach in Green Bay when they took regular trips to the Super Bowl.

In his seventh season as the Seattle Seahawks' head coach, and with Matt Hasselbeck at quarterback, Holmgren still is trying to nudge this team past the first round of the playoffs.

"I don't think I'm dumber," he says. "I believe in what I'm doing."

His teams were 84-42 in Green Bay. They're 50-49 in Seattle.

Winning the franchise's first NFC West title last season and getting to the playoffs three times in six years are good things, but not up to the expectations Holmgren set.

Dropped passes, sudden collapses, freak injuries and utter futility against the St. Louis Rams conspired to derail a season that started out 3-0.

"I thought last year, and I believe it now, that we're close," Holmgren said. "If we correct certain things and not get hurt like we did last year, we're right there."

Hasselbeck is coming off his third straight season with more than 3,000 yards passing. Shaun Alexander rushed for more than 1,600 yards last year. They play behind one of the best offensive lines in the league, anchored on the left side by Pro Bowlers Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson.

Free agents and draft picks were signed to plug huge holes in a defense that ranked 26th last season. But after winning the NFC West at 9-7 last year, Seattle has some competition.

The Cardinals (6-10) have some new faces to go along with their new uniforms.

Quarterback Kurt Warner, who was the NFL MVP when he took the Rams to the Super Bowl five seasons ago, is new to the team along with first-round draft pick J.J. Arrington, who is expected to be the starting running back ahead of Marcel Shipp, who led the team in rushing in 2002 and 2003 but missed last year due to an injury.