Seahawks Talk About Victory

Postgame quotes from Mike Holmgren, Matt Hasselbeck, Shaun Alexander, Julian Peterson, Marcus Trufant, Leroy Hill, and Deion Branch.

Head Coach Mike Holmgren

RE: The Victory

“It was a great win for us. Early in the season when you’re playing a division opponent, it’s as big of a game as you can play. We haven’t played our best football on the road, so to come here and win a game, obviously the players are very happy. We played very hard and we wanted the win badly, so we’re very happy.”

RE: Defense

“They played a magnificent game. They held Gore to under 100 yards, I think, and that’s quite an accomplishment. We needed them to play that way because we were sputtering around a little bit on offense and they really came through for us. As long as you can do a good job stopping the run and make them throw the ball more, I think that plays to your advantage. Alex is probably a little more mobile than Trent is, but I have to give our guys credit. I think our defensive line and linebackers did a nice job rushing the pass and quite honestly we needed to be better at that, so that was good.”

RE: Peterson

“He was fired up. Julian and I both have history here and last year was hard. He felt he didn’t play his best. So he came in with a little bit of an attitude and played well. Make no mistake, they have great fans here, this is a great place and I think he’d tell you his time here was special. But, now, he’s in a different place.”

RE: Revenge from last season

“Absolutely I brought up the fact that they beat us twice, but the revenge thing…I’m getting too old for revenge. I was very disappointed in how we played last year. This is my home, where I was born and raised, taught and coached. So, I always want my teams to come here and play well. I don’t think we did that last year, so I was bummed. They’re a good football team with a good coach, but at the same time, we won the division the last few years, so I told them let’s go out there and play like I think we can play.”


RB Shaun Alexander

RE: The 49ers' defensive game plan

“They had a good one. They wanted to stop the run so they came out in a 4-3. It pretty much worked for them. Fortunately, we got some big plays from Deion (Branch), Julian (Peterson) and others. Guys like them stepped up big today.”

RE: Matt Hasselbeck’s growth

“He’s grown considerably. It shows in the ways he’s improved in managing the game and it shows in the amount of poise he has out there. He tries to be a perfectionist. I’m like that too. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why we’re good friends.”

RE: Importance of game to Mike Holmgren

“Everytime he comes here, it’s like a homecoming. It seems like everybody here knows him from his days with the 49ers. It’s a big win for Coach Holmgren.”

RE: Seneca Wallace

“This was the first time we’ve used all of his skill set. He’s so talented. Today you saw him running the ball, throwing the ball and catching the ball. He’s going to be one more threat in our arsenal.”

RE: Darrell Jackson

“He and I came here at the same time. When we got started, it seemed like we both knew that if we didn’t play well, the team wouldn’t do well. But now we have so many weapons, Nate (Burleson), Deion (Branch) and others. That’s an awful lot for defenses to contain.”


WR Deion Branch

RE: His reaction when Darrell Jackson left

“This is the NFL. It’s a big business. Things like that happen. I’ve been in the same position that he was in. I really didn’t think about it then. He was a great teammate but this is the NFL.”

RE: Working with Matt Hasselbeck

“We’ve been pretty good since training camp. There were a few nuances we had to work out in training camp. The only thing you don’t get in training camp is the real game and the coach getting the flow of calling real plays. We don’t have that opportunity but we challenge each other into practice. When we work against another defense, we really get an opportunity to match up against another defense and do certain things.”

RE: His 65-yard reception

“It was something we saw in film. We had the right coverage and we made the play. Coach (Holmgren) did a great job of trying to mix it up and giving them different looks. We got the right defense to make the play. It wouldn’t have worked if they had a different defense out there. There are so many things that have to happen. Everything happens so fast. If one of them makes a wrong move, it’s pretty much over.”


QB Matt Hasselbeck

RE: Revenge as a motivator after losing both games to San Francisco in 2006

“Last year was last year. Besides, I didn’t play in the game here last year. So, no, revenge wasn’t a big motivator. This being a divisional game was enough motivation. San Francisco put pressure on us by winning two divisional games early in the season. That made the game very important for us. We play them again in Seattle but we won’t be overconfident because they beat us there the last time we played.”

RE: The defensive performance

“They played very well. They were able to contain Frank Gore, one of the most explosive running backs in the game. Getting so many sacks and a couple of interceptions from Marcus (Trufant) really helped us. It makes the offense’s job easier when the defense keeps coming up with big plays like ours did today. They seemed to have a lot of trouble with our pass rush.”

RE: The performance of Deion Branch

“He brings a lot of leadership to his position. He’s a great teammate, a great guy to have around. And he’s showing us that he’s quite a playmaker. He’s starting to put up some good numbers. There are reasons why he is here. Having him for a full training camp is paying off. He was new to the system last year.”

RE: Marcus Pollard’s touchdown

“You’ve got to give him credit. They tried to jam him at the line of scrimmage and he fought his way through it. He caught the ball and found his way into the end zone. That was huge.”

RE: One of the intangibles

“It won’t show up on the scoreboard but we were determined to pick up for each other when the opportunity presented itself. Coming into the game, some of the guys were saying to each other, ‘We’ve got your back.’ A good example of that occurred today when they blocked our punt and the defense stepped up to stop them on the subsequent drive.”


LB Leroy Hill

RE: How important was it to the defense to attack the offensive line? And how nice was it to succeed?

“It felt real good; obviously it felt good, no matter what team you’re playing. It was key, because this was a division opponent and we set a statement that we are a different team than last year.”

RE: Did you guys plan differently this week in order to shut down Frank Gore? (Also on the Alex Smith injury)

“It wasn’t a certain scheme change; it was the same thing we brought in last year. When Alex Smith went down it sort of changed the game plan a little bit.”

RE: When Alex Smith left the game, did you see a change?

“Definitely, it’s a different element, Smith can run with the ball so you can’t send that many guys at him because he’ll take off and hurt you that way. But with Dilfer he’s more of a pocket passer so we were able to blitz some more.”

RE: Did you see a change in the offensive lines play after Smith left the game with the injury?

“No, they are a very solid O-line, I hate to face them twice a year but we have to do it.”


LB Julian Peterson

RE: Seattle’s Defensive Play

“We’ve realized over the past year that we haven’t played well on the road. We’ve been starting off very sluggish. This week, both teams were 2-1, a division game. In the Arizona game, we didn’t come out and match their intensity. There was a big emphasis on this game just to make sure we came out on fire. I think we did a good job of doing that.”

RE: Defending against Frank Gore

“Every time they showed highlights, they showed Frank (Gore) versus Seattle. We wanted to make sure none of that happened this year. He’s running tough; he comes off the line with a lot of pop. We had to make sure everybody was up and fundamentally sound. He’s a good back, he got a good run for a 16-pop. Overall, we came out with a lot of intensity and we pretty much matched his today and overcame it.”

RE: Playing against the 49ers

“It felt great. They knew how much I wanted to win today. We really wanted to stick it to them. I’m glad my teammates helped me out so much. We have a lot of guys who play as a team. It’s a good feeling for everybody on the team.”


CB Marcus Trufant

RE: His two interceptions

“I can’t remember the last time I had two interceptions in a game. The last time probably was when I was at Pullman (Washington State). The pressure that the D-line put on really helped. The best coverage is a sack. We all feed off each other. When the D-line get a good push and the linebackers get good drops, it helps the secondary. We all feed off each other.”

RE: Julian Peterson’s performance

“He gets jacked-up playing here because he knows so many people. He had a pretty good day today, a couple of sacks, some good hits. He was very active out there.”

RE: Significance of victory

“This was an important divisional game. Winning on the road is something you’ve got to do if you want to be a playoff contender. We made a statement today, winning on the road.”

RE: Going up against Darrell Jackson

“It brought back a lot of good memories. He and I worked hard against each other in practice. He’s a very good player. You saw some of that today.”

RE: One of the keys to victory

“Stopping their run was very important to us. We wanted to make them one-dimensional, and I think we achieved that. Make no mistake, Frank Gore’s a very good runner. But if you shut him down, it’s tough for the 49ers to get untracked offensively. Besides that, they lost their starting quarterback today. That’s got to hurt.”