The Seattle Seahawks get a chance at a small measure of revenge Sunday afternoon when they travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers in a rematch of Super Bowl XL. Pittsburgh won that game 21-10, and is favored to do so again: -6 at WagerWeb.com.
The Seahawks players downplayed the revenge angle in practice all week, but Coach Mike Holmgren still hears about the it frequently from Seattle fans.
"That's a part of our history, the Seahawks history. And where it may be a rather infamous part, for the fan to believe whatever they believe after watching that football game, there's nothing I can say or do to take away the feelings after that game," Holmgren said.
"The people I have met, that have talked to me about that, the first thing is I usually say, 'Listen, we did the best we could, but we've got to move on ... And a lot of them say, 'Well, I can't move on.' "
In this game, Pittsburgh could be severely shorthanded. The Steelers will be without at least one Pro Bowl player - and maybe three.
Coach Mike Tomlin said four-time Pro Bowl receiver Hines Ward will miss his second consecutive game with a sprained knee. In addition, safety Troy Polamalu (torn rib cartilage) and nose tackle Casey Hampton (hamstring) are questionable, even though neither player practiced this week and are not expected to play. (Steelers Injury Report)"They have a 50-50 chance of playing," Tomlin said. "We need to be smart about it, though. It's only Week 4 and we don't want these [injuries] to be an ongoing problem."
On offense, Pittsburgh will try to get Willie Parker back on track. "Fast Willie" was held under 100 yards rushing for the first time this season, gaining just 37 yards on 19 carries in last week's loss to Arizona. Pittsburgh was held to a season-low 77 yards rushing. Parker had been the NFL's leading rusher through three games, averaging nearly 123 yards.
"You've got to get your face back," Parker said of getting the run game going again. "Last game we didn't do the little things. It was real frustrating for me, but I had to keep my cool because I am a team player and we all make mistakes."
Seattle allows an average of 103.8 yards per game rushing, but gave up 128 yards to Arizona's Edgerrin James in their only loss, 23-20 to the Cardinals on Sept. 16.
The Seahawks have found some balance, ranking third in the NFC by averaging 354.0 yards per game and giving up only 53 points - also third-best in the NFC.
On offense, Seattle running back Shaun Alexander appears closer to his 2005 NFL MVP form than his 2006 injury-plagued version. Alexander is ninth in the league in rushing (353 yards), but the Steelers haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher in 29 consecutive games. (Seahawks Injury Report)
"It doesn't really motivate me any more than any other game," Alexander said. The Seahawks are 31-6 when Alexander reaches 100 yards rushing, including 2-0 this season, so that is the key number to look for.
QB Matt Hasselbeck has been clutch for the Seahawks, completing 67 percent of his passes and 100-plus passer ratings on third downs (108.9), in the fourth quarter (108.7) and overall (100.1).
Pittsburgh has won eight straight home games against NFC opponents and has won its two home games this year by a combined 63-19.
The lowdown: I expect a Seattle cover here, if not outright victory, with Pittsburgh's injury situation.
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