Seattle linebacker K.J. Wright admits the Seahawks were fortunate to make it to Phoenix. Photo by Al Thompson

PHOENIX: If a football coach wants to give his team the best possible example of how not to start a game, he only needs to pop on the tape of the first quarter from last year’s Super Bowl.

The Seattle Seahawks pasted the Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos 43-8, a game that was over almost before it started.

The Broncos started their first offensive series, the first series of the game, from inside their own 10-yard line. Denver center Manny Ramírez and Manning botched the first snap from scrimmage; the ball sailed past Manning and towards the end zone.

Seahawks went up 2-0 on a safety when Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno was tackled in end zone by Cliff Avril.
That took all of 12 seconds to unfold and it went downhill from there.

The Seahawks stretched their lead to 22-0 at the half and the Broncos never recovered.

Neither team wants anything like that to start the game on offense, neither do the fans.

Players on both teams acknowledged it was important to get off on the right foot.

As obvious and simple as it may seem, a team’s strategy, its course of action, is determined in most cases from how the team starts the game.

New England guard Ryan Wendell says the Patriots have a healthy respect for the Seahawks ability to rally. Photo by Al Thompson

“Having a good start is pretty self-evident,” Patriots guard/center Ryan Wendell during a media session this week. “Nobody wants to get behind. It’s nobody’s game plan. Hopefully after watching that game (Denver-Seattle SB) we’ve learned some lessons. We are definitely trying to get off to a fast start, trying to play from ahead. Being ahead allows you to do more things you want to do, and limits the other team from doing things it wants to do.”

Even if the Patriots jump out to a lead early, Wendell pointed out that the Seahawks have proven they can be down in a game but never out.

“Seattle is a very patient team both on offense and defense,” the six-year veteran said. “Their game plan is not going to change. They are not going to panic if they get down. I think we saw that last week in the NFC Championship game.”

Seattle linebacker K.J. Wright, a four-year veteran, agreed that it is in a team’s best interest to get off to a fast start, but added the team must have the confidence to believe that if things go wrong, you can fight back.

“You have to have a good start,” Wright said. “If you saw last week, we had a bad start and almost lost. We were almost supposed to be home right now. From that stand point, you have to set the tempo. Set the tempo early, let the other team know who you are, and let them know you’ve come to play.”

The Seahawks staged one of the greatest comebacks in NFL playoff history against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC title game two weekends ago. Down 16-0 at one point, Seattle stormed back and won 28-22 in overtime.
Wright was asked how describe the impact that game had on the team.

“It was inspiring,” Wright said. “No matter how bad things are, your back could be against the wall, things not going your way, but if you keep fighting, keep believing, good things will eventually happen.
“It’s important to have a good start but at the end of the day, it all comes down to how you finish…finishing wins and loses ball games. You can’t win the game in the first quarter or second quarter. You have to play four quarters of good football and play until there is no more time left.”