Scouting Report: Seahawks at Falcons

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Interim Head Coach Emmitt Thomas has just one chance left this season to get his first win as a professional head coach. But that doesn't mean he's writing the "win one for me" speech for Sunday's game between the Falcons and Seahawks.

The 64-year-old is a veteran player and coach and knows a win Sunday for the 3-12 Falcons means plenty without adding his personal touch.

"Not for me -- for themselves and the organization," said Thomas when asked about his pregame speech. "Yes, I would like to have a win and we’re going to prepare hard this week and go out and try to get a win Sunday."

The Seattle Seahawks (10-5) clinched the NFC West and secured a home playoff game earlier in the season. They, of course, would rather not go into the postseason with a loss. The Falcons have no hope of postseason play and will make changes in the front office after the season. That's one reason why Thomas expects his team to play hard in Week 17.

"They're writing a little mini-resume right now to the staff that's coming in or the front office," he said. "The guys we saw on (the scout team) that we thought could play, we're going to give them an opportunity to play."

With that, let's talk about the game...

ON THE GROUND: When it comes to schemes and expectations for Sunday's game, a lot depends on Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren and his decisions on resting players for the playoffs.

Of course that may not include the running game where the Seahawks have had uncharacteristic struggles this season.

"We're going to play the game like it does have meaning to us. Unless there's a specific injury situation I'm not going to sit anybody down," Holmgren said Wednesday. "We're going to play the game and, as the game unfolds, I may do something... Hopefully we can continue to have a little bit better feeling about our running game because we've been struggling with that all year long."

Seattle ranks 22nd in the NFL in rushing and Shaun Alexander, who was dominant at times last season, has just 685 yards on the ground.

Alexander's backup, Maurice Morris, has 127 carries (52 less than Alexander) for 537 yards. Both have three rushing touchdowns.

That is unusual for a Holmgren-coached team, and Seattle figures to try to get something established against the Falcons' 25th-ranked run defense.

On the Falcons side, Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood hope to combine for a third-straight 100-yard game. Norwood is averaging 6.3 yards per carry and is second on the team with 569 rushing yards. Dunn leads the way with 216 carries for 648 yards and three touchdowns.

They will go against an aggressive Seahawks defense that allows just more than 101 yards per game on the ground. The group is led by Pro Bowl linebacker Lofa Tatupu (81 solo tackles, three fumble recoveries, four interceptions). Seattle also has one of the more athletic outside linebackers in the game in Julian Peterson and boasts veteran Deon Grant at safety.

The offensive line and running backs will head into the game with the same devotion as last week.

“I think you have to approach it -- as Emmitt has told everybody -- as another chance to build your resume," center Todd McClure said. " I think after it’s all over it will be a sigh of relief knowing that we’ll get to start over fresh next year and kind of put this all behind us, remember the feeling we’ve had this year and build on it and move on next year.”

THROUGH THE AIR: With the run game struggling, the Seahawks offense started relying more on the arm of Matt Hassellbeck more in recent weeks. The results have been positive. Hassellbeck already has the franchise record for passes attempted and completed in a season and is just 22 yards away from setting the team's yardage record. He has 27 touchdown passes and a 91.5 passer rating.

The Falcons secondary will likely be tested early and often by the quarterback and his receiving corps, which features three pass-catchers with 40 or more catches (Bobby Engram, Deion Branch and Nate Burleson).

The passing game in Seattle relies heavily on timing, putting pressure on the Falcons pass rush which has 21 sacks on the season.

The Seahawks also posses a tenacious pass defense, starting with a defensive line led by former Falcon Patrick Kerney. Kerney returns to the Georgia Dome with a league-high 14.5 sacks. He also has five forced fumbles and an interception.

“He’s always been a guy that’s given it everything he’s got." McClure said. "It’s good to see guys you came in with and that you played with having success so I’m glad for him -- just as long as he doesn’t have (success) this week.”

Players call sacks and interceptions "impact plays," and the Seahawks have been one of the best teams in the league in the category. Seattle has 20 total interceptions, led by Marcus Trufant's seven picks. The defense is also tied for third in the league with 43 sacks.

Fortunately, the Falcons and quarterback Chris Redman have been taking advantage of the quick pass in recent weeks.

“I think what’s happening is they’re giving him more, quicker throws," Thomas said when asked about Redman. "It looks like when you put him in the shotgun he can see the development and get it out quicker. It looks like his arm is getting stronger. He threw the ball extremely well last week. He’s thrown the ball extremely well in practice. Hopefully he’ll have a good day Sunday.”

Redman finished last week's game 28-of-42 for 315 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

“We’re not going to take it lightly at all," Redman said. "We’re going to go out there and play really hard. We owe it to the fans here. We owe it to ourselves to go out there and play to the best of our abilities and finish the season off right. Obviously it hasn’t turned out the way we wanted it to turn out but we’re never going to give up."

SPECIALTIES: Seahawks kicker Josh Brown hasn't attempted a field goal of less than 19 yards this season -- a testament to offensive efficiency. He's perfect inside of 40 yards, however.

Atlanta will face a middle-of-the road kickoff return unit on special teams as Seattle ranks 17th in return average. The team is tied for second, however, with two returns for scores this season.

Burelson is one of the best in the game on punt returns and leads a solid unit. The Seahawks are tied for the league high in returns of 20 or more yards.

SHUFFLING THE CARDS: Thomas rested many players this week in preparation for the final game of the season. He also said that younger players like Jason Snelling, Laurent Robinson and Daren Stone will get more playing time.

Perhaps the most serious injury, however, is to one of the team's younger contributors.

David Irons strained a hamstring in Wednesday's practice and moved slowly around the team's indoor practice facility in sweats Thursday afternoon.

"The only guy we're really worried about is Irons," Thomas said after practice. "The rest of them we're just resting them for precaution. Irons is the only guy we're really worried about. We don't know if he'll be available for us Sunday."

If Irons can't play, look for even more playing time from first-year man Brent Grimes, who led the team with 10 solo tackles last week.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Some stats to consider as the Falcons host the Seahawks.

NUMBERS, NOTES AND COLORS: Some digits, thoughts and colors to get you ready for the Seahawks game...

• The Falcons will wear red jerseys in the season finale.
• Seattle leads the regular season series between these teams 8-2 and has won the last four games.
• The average margin of defeat in the last three games in the series is 3.7 points.
• Click here for some more on the "connections" in Sunday's game.
• Holmgren has had only six coaching jobs in his career -- four have been in the NFL (two as head coach).
• With 27 more receiving yards, Roddy White will move post the third-best receiving season in team history.
• White is currently third in the NFC in receiving yards.
• Seattle will travel more than 2,500 miles to play in Sunday's game at the Georgia Dome.