Seahawks Off To 3-0 Start After 34-0 Win Over 49ers

By TIM KORTEAP Sports Writer(AP) – Start with eager youngsters who love to hit opposing receivers and ball carriers. Add a few aggressive veterans who fly to the ball. Hire a topflight coordinator to coach them. What do you get? The Seattle Seahawks on defense. The Seahawks shut out San Francisco 34-0 Sunday, the first time the 49ers failed to score since a 7-0 loss to Atlanta at Candlestick Park on Oct. 9, 1977, breaking the team’s NFL record spanning 420 regular season and 36 playoff games. “At halftime, we came in and talked about it,” defensive tackle Cedric Woodard said. “We had a chance to stop them, and they hadn’t been shut out since the ’70s. It sure was nice to be in that position. It was even better to go out and do it.” Matt Hasselbeck threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns, and Shaun Alexander scored three TDs to provide the offense for Seattle (3-0). But the defense, which has allowed only 13 points in its first three games, simply shut down the 49ers (0-3). Second-year quarterback Ken Dorsey was 19-of-32 for 153 yards with two interceptions. San Francisco had only 48 yards rushing and converted two of 13 third-down attempts. Seattle swiped two fumbles, with the four takeaways leading to 10 easy points. Behind them is defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes, who tells his players to run to the ball and force turnovers. “They don’t know what they don’t know,” coach Mike Holmgren said. “They are just flying around, doing what they are told to do.” The offense looked better after sputtering last week at Tampa Bay. Hasselbeck was 21-of-30, throwing a 3-yard TD pass to Alexander in the first quarter and adding a 1-yard TD pass in the third to Itula Mili. Too bad the Seahawks can’t play again next weekend. Seattle has a bye before St. Louis visits Oct. 10. “I am most pleased that it was really a total team win, about as good as you can get,” Holmgren said. That’s not how things looked for San Francisco. The 49ers were missing receiver Brandon Lloyd (groin) and tackle Kwame Harris (ankle). Center Jeremy Newberry had knee surgery last week. But coach Dennis Erickson wasn’t offering excuses. “We didn’t play well against a good football team,” he said. “We turned it over early in the game, got ourselves in a hole. We were lucky to finish the game. We just didn’t play very well.” When the 49ers threatened in the fourth, Ken Hamlin made an interception in the end zone. San Francisco then drove to the Seattle 32 but Chike Okeafor sacked Dorsey to force another fumble and Rashad Moore covered the loose ball. The Seahawks also got big defensive performances from end Grant Wistrom, linebacker Anthony Simmons, cornerbacks Ken Lucas and Marcus Trufant, tackle Rocky Bernard and many others. “It doesn’t matter who gets the game ball,” Moore said. “It was a day where you feel you’re left out if you’re not the guy making plays.” After wins on two long trips to New Orleans and Tampa Bay, the Seahawks kept rolling at home. They went 8-0 last season in Seattle and have won 10 straight at home going back to 2002. “We’re hot right now,” Wistrom said. “We just have to continue to stay hungry and go out and try to prove something every week.”