The defense gives up a deep pass late in the game and the coach is too aggressive. But if the coach sits back in a prevent and the Chargers move quickly into the red zone, where they throw the winning 14-yard TD pass in the final seconds, then it’s a matter of the prevent preventing you from winning. Can’t you just hear it?

Along the same lines: The offense fails to convert a third-and-5 run and it’s another case of being too conservative. But if they try something more daring and it backfires, the coach is an idiot for abandoning what had been working. How easy is that?

Had they thrown a pick on third-and-5 or fumbled the ball trying some exotic end-around, you can bet I’d be sitting here pointing out the 11-yard gain on the previous third-and-5 run, or the 33-yard TD on the earlier third-and-8 run.

I’m not defending the way Seattle called its offense or defense late in the game. I’m just pointing out that those of us in the armchair QB business get to have it both ways, which is why it’s important to make every effort at fairness in dissecting these situations.

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Leaving Michael Boulware in the starting lineup makes some sense on this level: The next game means nothing in the standings. The Seahawks can consider taking him off the field when certain situations arise in meaningful games. In the meantime, they’ll want him to get some confidence and show improvement. He seemed to play pretty well Sunday until that final play. Benching him hurts his confidence. Winning games has to be the priority when the games matter. This game doesn’t matter the way the next one will, so why not give Boulware another chance? Maybe he picks off a pass

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Michael Boulware will remain the team’s starting strong safety despite what happened Sunday (allowing the decisive TD pass in the final minute against San Diego). Coach Mike Holmgren confirmed this today. Holmgren did indicate that takin Boulware out of the game should have been a consideration when the Chargers needed a touchdown to win the game. Boulware was in the game primarily for his run defense. Given that only a long TD pass was likely to beat the Hawks in that situation, the team could have replaced him with a better pass defender. Boulware has struggled against the deep ball

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With WR Darrell Jackson probably out Thursday night, Nate Burleson moves into the starting lineup opposite Deion Branch, coach Mike Holmgren said today. The obvious question would be: “Why not put D.J. Hackett in the starting lineup? After all, he has outplayed Burleson.”

Possible answers: Hackett has become very effective as the inside receiver in three-wide sets. As long as the Hawks are going to play with three or more receivers two-thirds of the time, Hackett will be out there plenty. Of course, Hackett has only been in there with the two-back, three-wide group. Burleson has been in

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Coach Mike Holmgren made some pretty interesting comments about the defense today. He all but asked coordinator John Marshall to take more chances in bringing pressure. Sometimes that’s all a coordinator needs: the backing of the head guy. That way, if the opponent hits on big play, hey, that was a chance the head coach was willing to take. I’m not saying that’s the case here. Remember, the top priority, as outlined by Holmgren, has been to stop allowing big plays. The tradeoff, naturally, is taking fewer of the chances that help you get pressure. Perhaps the pendulum is swinging back the other way now. Holmgren’s comments on the matter are below.

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For years the Seahawks have stuck to their same five offensive linemen almost no matter what (barring injuries). They seemed to do this even several years ago, when the line seemed like it need an infusion of new talent in a couple spots. The line played great last season, ending talk about the need for changes. Injuries have forced some shuffling this season.

Mike Holmgren has also altered his philosophy a little bit. As Holmgren implied yesterday, he envisions Rob Sims as a starter in the not-too-distant future. The team has already experienced lots of turnover at left guard, so Holmgren has decided it wouldn’t hurt to work Sims in there. By his thinking, the team will be better prepared if something happens to Floyd Womack, who has a long history of injuries. And if Sims outplays Womack in the short term, they’ll be in position to make the change outright.

Holmgren: “We like Rob Sims. We think he has a bright future. While ‘Chop’ is doing a good job in there, if you don’t plan for it and you just say ‘Listen, as the game kind of evolves, we’ll stick this player in,’ you forget. Or the emotions of the game kind of get you and you say, ‘No, we better not do that.’ So I said I don’t want to do that. I want him to play a little bit. You never know. With the injuries we’ve had in the offensive line, the experience of playing a guy can help him down the road. I hope we don’t have any more, but it just prepares him for the eventuality that he might play. So we did it. We might do it again, I don’t know that. We’ll have to decide that.”

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LG Floyd Womack will retake the starting job at left guard if he has a good week of practice, coach Mike Holmgren said today. Womack is back from a knee injury. The big question with him, as with Marcus Tubbs, is whether he can stay healthy. Womack lasted two starts this season before the knee injury put him on the sideline. This means the Chris Spencer/Rob Sims experiment is probably on hold for now.

SS Michael Boulware said he’s determined to work harder after losing his starting job following a rough stretch. “I feel like I’ve let my team down in some ways,” he said today. “I want to work harder and do what I can to help this team out now, and my role is definitely different, but I have to give 100 percent in some different areas.”

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