JIM FASSEL:
Mike Holmgren's friend and college roommate.
From the Miami Herald…
After taking on Pittsburgh's ferocious, zone blitz as the Ravens' offensive coordinator, the former Giants coach is picking the Seahawks to win Super Bowl XL.
"We didn't play real well all season and realistically, we should have beaten them twice," Fassel said by telephone this week. "They didn't hammer us. We should have beaten them twice. I think Seattle's a pretty hard-nosed, athletic group of guys that will match up pretty well."
'They're no different than anybody else. You can run on them if you have a good scheme. But you'd better have a plan in that pass protection," he said. "They do give you a number of looks and if you look at it in its entirety, you say, `Oh, this is confusing.' So you have to go back and make it not confusing to your guys. And that's not hard. You can do that."
'I remember telling our guys this," Fassel said. '`They're going to have some things they hit us with when their timing is right and they've got us in the wrong protection. Just minimize it. Instead of a 10-yard sack, make it a three-yard sack. And for God's sake don't throw it up for grabs.''
Fassel said that Hasselbeck is underrated in terms of his composure. "He doesn't do stupid things with the ball," he said. "Mike's system is pretty sound. They'll throw the ball fairly quick. They don't drop back with a lot of looks. He'll have a plan that will be very basic and his priority will be the quarterback. I think he'll handle the 3-4 pretty well. I really do."