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Seahawks pull away from Buccaneers

Sep 10, 2007 - 2:31 AM SEATTLE (Ticker) - It took awhile but Shaun Alexander finally displayed some of his old form.

Alexander rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries following an injury-plagued 2006 season as the Seattle Seahawks overcame a sluggish start to post a 20-6 victory Sunday over the banged-up Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"I'll have to watch the film," Alexander said. "I don't know who I was getting tackled by. They just have a good defense, so anytime you play against them and you get 100 yards, it's a good feeling."

Alexander, who was limited to only 10 games last season after breaking his foot, looked rusty early, but the Seahawks (1-0) got their offense going in the second half.

"I thought he ran hard today, and I like it when that happens," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said of Alexander. "He came to camp prepared to have a good year and in very good shape, I thought. If he could have a year close to his 2005 year, I think we'll probably have a pretty good year as a team."

Matt Hasselbeck also overcome a slow start to complete 17-of-24 passes for 224 yards and a score.

"They (Buccaneers) threw some new looks at us, and we handled some of them OK and we didn't handle others very well," Hasselbeck said. "We were a little sloppy."

The Seahawks grabbed a 10-6 halftime lead on Alexander's 1-yard TD run with with 58 seconds left in the second period, then controlled the second half.

After Josh Brown's 46-yard field goal made it 13-6 less than a minute into the final period, Seattle got an offensive boost from an unlikely source.

With 8:01 remaining. Hasselbeck tossed a 34-yard touchdown pass to Maurice Morris, who scored only his second career TD and first since 2003. In his first five seasons with the Seahawks, Morris had only 32 receptions.

"We were trying to get the ball to (wide receiver Bobby) Engram and they doubled him and we had tight man-to-man coverage," Hasselbeck added. "We gave it a shot (to Morris)."

Tampa Bay quarterback Jeff Garcia missed two series in the third quarter after getting hit in the head, and Buccaneers (0-1) running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams did not return after bruising his ribs with 10 minutes left in the third quarter.

"I just got my bell rung," said Garcia, who played well in his first start for Tampa Bay, completing 19-of-27 passes for 201 yards. "It's just one of those things where I took a shot to the head. That, with the combination of bouncing off the ground - it didn't create a real positive effect."

"Losing your starting quarterback and your starting tailback - guys you're counting on to win a 10-6 game - is tough," Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden added.

With Garcia completing eight of his first nine passes, Tampa Bay dominated in the first quarter, outgaining Seattle, 134-26, and twice reaching the red zone. But the Buccaneers could only manage a 6-0 on a pair of field goals by Matt Bryant.

"We overcame some adversity today," Holmgren said. "I thought we finished the game strong. I felt we got better as the game went along."

After the first quarter, the Buccaneers managed only 150 yards. Williams rushed for 60 yards on 12 carries before being forced to the bench.

"Our defense came to play today," Holmgren said. "They are still getting to know one another. We have some new people in there. I thought we were real physical, and I liked that part."