Doug Baldwin, Seahawks enjoy underdog role, even if it's invented

PHOENIX – Since late in the 2012 season, it’s unlikely any NFL team has had more kind words written and said about them as the Seattle Seahawks.

I’d defy anyone to find anything that truly disrespected them. They were a deserving Super Bowl champion last season and have a possible dynasty forming. Everyone knows that. But if anything has been said as a slight to the Seahawks, it’s probably a good bet they’ve heard it and remembered it.

Receiver Doug Baldwin’s rant outside the locker room after the NFC championship game gives a partial window into what motivates the Seahawks. Baldwin talked (passionately) about how he, the receivers and the team had been written off, especially when the team was 6-4 and in danger of missing the playoffs. He talked about how everyone wrote the Seahawks off when they were trailing the Packers 16-0 at halftime, and how could he even know such a thing?

On Monday, as the Seahawks prepared for the Super Bowl, he talked about how everyone said Seattle would miss receivers Golden Tate and Percy Harvin. He was calmer, but he obviously likes the role as underdog, even if it has been a long time since the Seahawks have really been true underdogs.

“We enjoy that," Baldwin said. "It adds some motivation, it adds some flair to it. We embrace it."

There’s nothing wrong with Baldwin or anyone else finding motivation through those means. Athletes have been using perceived slights as motivation for a long time. Michael Jordan practically made an art form out of it, even when it was universally accepted that he was the greatest athlete on the planet.

Baldwin wore a Seahawks hoodie during Monday’s Super Bowl media availability, but said underneath he had a shirt that said “Pededstrians With Attitude,” a nod to Cris Carter's criticism of the Seahawks’ less-than-famous receivers. Carter said that more than a year ago.

"Sometimes you have to defend your group," Baldwin said. "It's not necessarily trying to shout at other people, it's to let other people know there's solidarity in our group."

It's not all about the perceived slights, really. Baldwin said it's about the Seahawks playing together for each other.

"We harness some of that against-the-world mentality, but at the end of the day I'm not playing for the world," Baldwin said. "I'm playing for the teammates I have."

That gets to the heart of the Seahawks' motivation. They're a pretty close group. That is at least part of their success. It was tested when they were 6-4.

"We just reconnected and showed a real brotherhood," Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor said. "It’s a real brotherhood on our team. We’re really close, we definitely love one another, we play for one another. We just had to reconnect and reestablish, say it one more time and really commit to it."

The questions about the Seahawks' ability to make the playoffs were legitimate when they were 6-4. The Seahawks needed to finish very strong to have a shot to defend their title. They haven't lost since. But Baldwin said the questions about the team when they were on the verge of falling out of the playoff race didn't key the winning streak.

"It didn't factor in that much," Baldwin said, breaking into a slight grin. "It was just something to point out at the end of the day."

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab

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