Evidently, it's legal in the NFL to hire big, strong people to play on the lines, and big, fast people to go catch the ball.

The Seahawks don't have nearly as many of those guys as Dallas, which was so vastly superior to Seattle that at times early in this 34-9 Thanksgiving Day massacre it looked like college guys playing against high school kids.

Coach Mike Holmgren, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and just about every other Seahawks player in the locker room commented something to the effect of: "Those guys are really good."

It's the sort of thing opponents used to say about Seattle.

No more. The Seahawks were never in this game as the Cowboys' first 30 plays resulted in 17 first downs and 24 points. They put this out of reach before most people got the whipped cream squirted on their pumpkin pie.

The Seahawks have had some undeniable mitigating factors as they stumbled into Dallas with a 2-9 record. But what we saw Thursday went way beyond injury absences and the lack of remaining team goals.

This was a thorough manhandling, a vivid display of just how far the Seahawks have fallen from being an elite team in the league.

On one hand, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck had nice zip on the ball and a much better rhythm in the offense after missing five games because of injuries. He had two rusty performances, but Thursday's effort (22 of 38 passing, 287 yards) offered sufficient evidence that he is returning to form.

A late interception, when he tried to force a pass into double coverage, doomed his passer rating, but he generated a lot of yards (if not points) despite being sacked seven times.

And rookie tight end John Carlson, with six catches for 106 yards, continues to grow as an offensive threat.

But this bunch of Seahawks was otherwise seriously outmanned by the Cowboys.

Even left tackle Walter Jones, the Seahawks' rock and their most consistently excellent player for more than a decade, was beaten twice for sacks. It was by a great player, DeMarcus Ware, and Jones wouldn't ever admit to an injury if he had one, but this still was unusual.

The issues of the defense had to be more troubling. Against the huge offensive line of the Cowboys, the Hawks got very little pressure on quarterback Tony Romo, and did even less to cover the Dallas receivers.

Cornerback Marcus Trufant came up with an interception in the third quarter, but for most of the game, Dallas receivers roamed free in the Seattle secondary.

On the Cowboys' third touchdown of the first half, for instance, Romo settled back unruffled, with the only pressure being his need to finally make a decision on which open receiver to throw to.

Another even more obvious example came when the Seahawks tried to blitz Romo, and Cowboy receiver Roy Williams (6-3, 220) just ran past Seahawks cornerback Josh Wilson (5-9, 192) to pull in a 38-yard completion.

And no one on the defense, apparently, was able to cover Cowboys tight end Jason Witten (nine catches for 115 yards).

Seattle didn't play particularly smart, either.

On one touchdown in the second half, Romo only had to flip the ball to Terrell Owens because the Seahawks' scheme somehow matched linebacker Julian Peterson against Owens, one of the game's top play-makers. If Peterson was supposed to have help . . . it wasn't there, and that's just giving away a touchdown.

It didn't really matter, actually, because the Cowboys - so much more physical, so much more talented - looked as if they could have won by any margin they wanted. And it didn't matter that the Seahawks didn't have injured players such as Nate Burleson, Chris Spencer, Rob Sims . . . they wouldn't have made a difference.

This Seahawks' defense is built on quickness, but it's not quick enough to be this small. And the offensive and defensive lines spent a lot of time getting shoved around.

What you saw on Thanksgiving is a Seahawks team that is easily a big draft or two - and some crucial free-agent acquisitions - away from being competitive with a team like the Cowboys.

Dave Boling: 253-597-8440

dave.boling@thenewstribune.com