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Seahawks Go Another Day Without Power: 'The Darkness Brings Us Closer Together'

Power remained out at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center Thursday, but players say that won’t stop them from getting ready for this week’s game.

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For the second straight day, Seahawks players and coaches prepared for Sunday's game with limited power, provided by generators, at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.

Like hundreds of thousands of households around the Puget Sound region, Seahawks headquarters has been without power since Tuesday night's storm brought high winds to the region. So it's hardly business as usual for the Seahawks, but they also know they need to make the most out of the situation, because unusual circumstances or not, they have a big game against the first-place Cardinals coming up on Sunday.

"It's just a little bit colder in the indoor (practice facility)," quarterback Geno Smith said. "But for the most part the prep has been great. Guys without power at home, it's going to hinder some things, but guys have been doing a great job of studying, and it allows you to spend extra hours at the facility if you don't have power at home, we've got power here, so you can spend extra hours here just studying.

"We're not going to use it as an excuse," Smith said. "There's a lot of people without power, and we're just blessed to be able to come to work and still do our jobs."

The power at work Smith referenced is provided by generators, and is limited in scope. Players dressed for practice in a very dimly lit locker room, and there is no hot water in the building, meaning players have to choose between a cold shower at work or a warm one at home—that is if they're lucky enough to have power at home.

"It's cold showers," Smith said. "You've got to man up, take a cold shower. Then there's no sauna, some of the things we're accustomed to having, because there's no electricity. But for the most part, we've got everything we need, and we'll be ready on Sunday."

Safety Julian Love noted he's fortunate to have power at home, and said players who do have power have been helping out those who don't.

"I'm living OK right now," he said. "But some guys have been good about helping out teammates, coming over to each other's houses. Nobody wants to take cold showers. Some are, but not preferred."

A week ago, the Seahawks faced a bit of midweek adversity when starting center Connor Williams unexpectedly retired, a move that happened just a couple days after starting linebacker and leading tackler Tyrel Dodson was waived, with rookie Tyrice Knight taking over his starting job. The Seahawks responded those unusual circumstances by going on the road and beating the 49ers in dramatic fashion, and while this week is providing a different sort of adversity, the Seahawks hope they will once again come out better for it.

"I think it's been a weird week dealing with everything that's going on, but I think the darkness brings us closer together," veteran defensive lineman Jarran Reed said. "There's no hot water, no lights, we all see each other clearly now."

The Seahawks held their first practice of the week on Wednesday, November 20 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center as they prepare for an upcoming Week 12 matchup vs. the Arizona Cardinals.

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