Quarterback Jeff Garcia noticed something in the 49ers film room that struck him about the Seattle Seahawks.
"They're playing much better defensively," Garcia said Wednesday.
"It's not like they have any superstars on that side of the ball. It's
been just a great team effort."
No superstars? Well, at this pace, the Seahawks (3-1) could produce some Pro Bowlers this season from their revamped defensive unit.
Coach Mike Holmgren's offseason overhaul of his defense has helped spark the
Seahawks' hot start heading into Sunday's home game against the 49ers (2-3).
Holmgren turned to the 49ers for help in his defensive realignment, luring away
defensive end Chike Okeafor during free agency and Okeafor's position coach,
Dwaine Board. But Holmgren didn't get all he wanted, having been denied permission
to speak with 49ers defensive coordinator Jim Mora about accepting a similar
position with the Seahawks. NFL Tickets
"It's flattering when anyone wants you. I had opportunities," said
Mora, who drew interest from the Seahawks, Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers
this winter during his candidacy to become the 49ers coach. "I was more
flattered that (49ers coach) Dennis Erickson wanted me to stay."
Said Holmgren: "It's tough to get the good ones away from their teams.
I totally understood that when I talked to (49ers general manager) Terry Donahue
about Jim. But, I had interviewed a couple of guys and frankly, Ray Rhodes was
not available. He was with Denver. Then, he became available, and as soon as
he did, I really stopped the interview process at that point because I offered
the job to Ray."
Rhodes, a 49ers assistant from 1981-91 who returned as defensive coordinator
for the 1994 Super Bowl-winning season, had coached on Holmgren's Green Bay
Packers staff in 1992-93. Rhodes has worked wonders with a Seahawks defense
that ranked 28th in the league last year. NFL Tickets
"We needed to get our defense going. We had not statistically had very
good defensive years since I have been (here) and I'm not blaming anybody,"
said Holmgren, who succeeded Erickson as Seahawks coach in 1999. "There
are a lot of things that go into that, but clearly we needed to get stronger
over there.
"With me and Ray, we know each other so well. It just freed me up again.
I don't mess with the defense too much. I might tell him to blitz more, but
I'm very confident the defense is in good hands and he'll get the maximum out
of our players."
The defense's fresh look includes two rookies in the secondary -- first-round
draft pick Marcus Trufant at left cornerback and second-round draft pick Ken
Hamlin at free safety. Trufant has started in place of Shawn Springs, who's
been out with a broken shoulder blade and is listed as doubtful to return Sunday.
Beside the addition of Okeafor -- two sacks, one interception as the starting
right end -- the Seahawks also brought in free agent linebacker Randall Godfrey,
an eight-year veteran. NFL Tickets
Elsewhere on the defense are a few returnees who at one time in their careers
may have been classified as stars -- defensive tackles John Randle and Norman
Hand, and linebacker Chad Brown.
The Seahawks defense lost some of its momentum Sunday, however, in a 35-13 loss
at Green Bay.
Said Holmgren: "They took it to us pretty good. We have a young defense
in some respects. We have a lot of new players on defense compared to last year.
They'll bounce back and I expect our defense to be pretty good this year."