Coach Mike Holmgren said the issue is that there is a weakness in Hasselbeck's leg, which is related to the disk. That was the diagnosis when Hasselbeck went and saw a specialist in Los Angeles. He flew on Sunday night and was seen on Monday.

"Now we know where we're headed as far as treatment, and it's tied in with the disk situation," Holmgren said. "They put him on a series of rehab tests, and as soon as he can pass those as far as strength in his leg, then we can get him back on the field. My hope is that we will have him available for the game after this one."

That would be at San Francisco on Sept. Oct. 26 [Need to keep up with the changing months here. My apologies, Danny O.].

Holmgren said the hope is that Seneca Wallace will be able to return to practice this week after reinjuring his calf muscle last week. If Wallace is unable to practice, Charlie Frye would start a second consecutive game if Wallace is unable to play.

"If he can practice all week, he will start the football game," Holmgren said. "If he can not, then we'll go with Charlie again."

Holmgren was puzzled last week why Hasselbeck was not recovering from a knee injury. Turns out it was actually a weakness in his leg caused by his back injury that affected him.

"It's creating a weakness in his leg, more than pain," Holmgren said. "That's what is preventing him from playing. As soon as we can get that strength back in there, and that's tied in more actually with his back more than his knee right now."

Hasselbeck suffered a back injury during the exhibition game in Minnesota. Hasselbeck said earlier that he actually aggravated his back in practice before the game at Minnesota. Holmgren said he was not aware of any incident prior involving Hasselbeck's back except during the first quarter of the Minnesota game when Hasselbeck threw a touchdown pass to Jordan Kent and then reached for his back.

Hasselbeck did not play in the remaining three exhibition games. At some point during that month, tests on his back revealed a bulging disk, but Hasselbeck said after the season-opening game in Buffalo that doctors had told him the bulging disk was unrelated to the spasms he experienced in his back.

Holmgren said Monday the bulging disk is affecting Hasselbeck's sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in the body and located in the lower back.

"It's affecting the nerve certainly," Holmgren said. "You get a bulging disk in your back and that's what happens. It's pressing against the nerve and they have to quiet it down. There are injections that take place to shrink the disk all that kind of stuff you guys have heard about before. And they're doing those things, trying to relieve the pressure on the nerve."

Holmgren was asked to clarify how the back injury was affected by the injury Hasselbeck suffered to his right knee when he was knocked down in the first quarter. Hasselbeck hyper-extended the knee on that hit.

"If you hurt something, a knee, anything, a foot, and all of a sudden you start to favor that and you don't even know you're doing it, it can create other things that happen with you," Holmgren said. "Whether that in fact happened, I don't know. It doesn't really matter. The fact is right now, they're dealing with his back more than his knee."

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will have more tests taken on his knee on Monday so there may be more news forthcoming about his status. He was too sore to even warm-up. "The doctors said he could not play today," Holmgren said.

As for next week, Holmgren said he expects Seneca Wallace would be available to play.

"I think Seneca will improve day-to-day," Holmgren said.

Wallace was the backup quarterback, but had he been forced into the game because of an injury to Frye, Holmgren said Wallace was physically able to run only about half a dozen plays from the Seahawks' playbook.

Seattle had 2 yards of total offense in the third quarter. Two yards total. The Packers converted three of five third-down plays in the third quarter, the Seahawks were 0-for-3.

Seahawks hit a Wahle: Seattle looked to be off and running when Julius Jones ran through the line untouched and gained 51 yards on Seattle's second offensive play of the half.

That run was called back because of a holding penalty against Mike Wahle, who had a hand full of Johnny Jolly's jersey.

Not half bad: The Seahawks have 83 yards of total offense and 10 points, capitalizing on a turnover from the defense to score their only touchdown of the half. Green Bay will get the ball to begin the second half.

Packers tie game: Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers was ruled down at the 1 on second-and-goal, but a replay review showed that his knee had not touched down and it was ruled a touchdown. So instead of facing third-and-goal at the 1, the Packers got a touchdown and tied the game on the ensuing extra-point attempt.

Josh Brown booed three time zones away: A highlight of Josh Brown's game-winning field goal in Washington was shown on the big screen at Qwest Field during the 2-minute warning. The crowd booed.

Seattle has thrown several blitzes at Aaron Rodgers during this possession, and defensive end Patrick Kerney had one stout shot on Rodgers after he released a pass, but Green Bay drove into Seattle's red zone.

The Packers face third-and-9 at the Seattle 11 on the first play after the 2-minute warning. Rodgers completed a pass to Greg Jennings, who was hit out of bounds, but gained enough for the first down.

Carlson, touchdown: No sooner did this blog publish a joke about rookie tight end John Carlson evaporating from the playbook, and he hauls in the first touchdown catch of his career.

It was a heck of a playcall, a play-action fake by Charlie Frye, who then rolled out as if it were a bootleg. Packers linebacker Brady Poppinga was right there, closing in on Frye and he lobbed a pass to a wide open John Carlson who dove into the end zone despite a pretty stiff hit from cornerback Charles Woodson. Safety Aaron Rouse was also at the goal line.

Maurice Morris played running back that possession so it appears the Seahawks have gone back to the backfield-by-committee approach.

Hail Mare: Mare kicked a 50-yard field goal to tie the game. He has made all 10 field goals he attempted this season. His 50-yarder is his longest second-longest of the season. He made a 51-yard kick against San Francisco in Week 2.

Three possessions, no passes intended for tight end John Carlson. Is he wearing a number in the 70s or something and is not longer an eligible receiver. Nope. Just checked. He's still got No. 89, but he hasn't been involved in the offense.

1st quarter summary: Seattle's first two possessions produced a total of 10 yards. The Seahawks third possession reached the Packer 37 at the end of the period. The Seahawks gained 30 yards on the first five plays. Three of those were runs by Julius Jones.

Charlie Frye completed two passes in the first quarter, both to Koren Robinson. Robinson's 18-yard reception was Seattle's longest play of the first period.

Two Packer possessions: And the Seahawks have yet to blitz. Or if they have, I haven't seen it. The only time Aaron Rodgers has been tackled was on a quarterback sneak for a first down.

Two Seahawk possessions: Four running plays, and no first downs. Now, Mike Holmgren is known for that fullback draw on third-and-long. Usually, it's third-and-18, though. Maybe third-and-14. On the second possession, however, Holmgren turned to it on third-and-9, handing the ball to Leonard Weaver. Take that as a pretty good indication of how this game is going to be called by Seattle. Very, very tight.

Grant returned during Seattle's second defensive possession.

Grant's return questionable: His injury was announced in the press box as a left knee injury. His return is questionable. He did not remove his helmet when initially evaluated and he even went so far as trying to job on the knee, but he headed to the locker room with 10:33 left in the first quarter.

Deon Grant injured: Seahawks safety Deon Grant suffered an injury to his left knee while making the tackle on Green Bay's first play from scrimmage. Grant stopped Korey Hall, who caught a pass from Aaron Rodgers for an 8-yard gain.

Grant suffered an injury to his left knee and was helped off the field. He was replaced by Jordan Babineaux.

First Seahawks' possession: When is an incompletion on third-and-5 good news? When the alternative was most likely an interception return for a touchdown. Green Bay's Charles Woodson jumped an out route intended for Bobby Engram, but Charlie Frye's pass was too high and went incomplete.

Brian Russell, who played quarterback up until his junior season at San Diego State, would be the team's emergency quarterback if Frye and Wallace were unavailable.

This is the first game Hasselbeck missed since 2006 when he sat out four games because of a sprained knee.

Deion Branch is warming up, testing his bruised heel. He was listed as questionable for the game. Warming up doesn't mean he's playing, but he is going to at least see how it feels.

Jordan Kent is also warming up, which gives an idea of just how fluid the situation at wide receiver is. Coach Mike Holmgren said Friday he expected Bobby Engram and Koren Robinson would start at receiver.

Charlie Frye is the only quarterback currently on the field for the Seahawks. Again, don't read too much into that as there's two hours until game time, but there has been no sign of Matt Hasselbeck yet.

A final note comes courtesy of ESPN's John Clayton, who reported the Seahawks brought Bruce Gradkowski in for a tryout following the injury news about Hasselbeck.

Video removed to comply with NFL restrictions that video footage from league properties must come down after 24 hours.

Seneca Wallace was on the field for practice in a limited capacity. Holmgren said it's unlikely Wallace would be available to start.

In other news, Holmgren indicated that Bobby Engram and Koren Robinson are likely to start at wide receiver.

Practice report

Also, cornerback Josh Wilson was not fined for his second-quarter hit on Domenik Hixon, which knocked the Giants receiver out of the game with a concussion.

You can click here for a biography and a nifty little drawing of Doug on the staff page at Football Outsiders. Again, a tip of the cap to Doug -- to borrow a phrase from the baseball clubhouse:

40-something

By Doug Farrar

So when you give up a forty-burger to the reigning Super Bowl champs, putting up quite possibly the worst defeat of the Holmgren era and fielding a defense that couldn't bust a wet paper towel, what do you do for an encore? Well, if you're the Seattle Seahawks, you face the Green Bay Packers -- the last team to put up a forty-burger on you, and the team that lost the NFC Championship to those reigning Super Bowl Champs.

Seattle's 44-6 loss to the Giants left the team in shock, but there's little time to mourn. At 1-3, the Seahawks are now fighting for hope in Mike Holmgren's final year. Let's take a look at what the matchups dictate.

As we did last week, we'll be using Football Outsiders' DVOA statistic, which is explained in the glossary to your right. This week, opponent adjustment strength is set at 50 percent, and will keep rising as the season goes forward. To complement DVOA, we're still using DAVE (DVOA Adjusted for Variation Early), which is now 27 percent preseason projection and 73 percent this year's DVOA.

Here are this week's numbers:
 

]]> http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/seahawks/2008/10/10/inside_the_numb_4.html http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/seahawks/2008/10/10/inside_the_numb_4.html Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:15:29 -0800 This is José. I just thought I would give this entry a catchy title. It is true, the Seahawks special teams coach did play that instrument as a younger man.

DeHaven was asked about the Seahawks' return game, and whether he's getting what he wants out of Michael Bumpus and Josh Wilson.

He chose not to comment in great deal on it, or offer evaluations of individuals, which suggested his dissatisfaction with that part of the Seahawks' game.

"We're not doing well enough," DeHaven said. "We need to be better. We've improved game to game but still not enough."

Bumpus is averaging 9.4 yards per punt return, 14th in the league. Wilson is 24th in kickoff returns with a 23-yard average.

The Seahawks did sign Charlie Frye some help, bringing in Travis Lulay, who attended training camp with the team in 2006. Lulay is living in Bozeman, Mont., and he was out at a steakhouse in Manhattan, Mont., which might be among the most misleading town names in the country given that this Manhattan has only a couple thousand people.

But Lulay took scout-team repetitions, meaning Frye didn't have to throw all the passes in practice as he did on Wednesday.

Seneca Wallace and Deion Branch were the other Seahawks who did not practice. Linebacker Leroy Hill was back for the entire practice and Koren Robinson also completed the practice. That means Robinson is a step closer to playing this week. He practiced fully on Wednesday last week, but he sat out the next two workouts because of a sore knee. The fact that Robinson practiced without limitation is a positive sign in the sense that he may be ready to go.