A year ago, the Seahawks signed defensive tackles John Randle and Chad Eaton, middle linebacker Levon Kirkland and safety Marcus Robertson to plug holes in the leaky run defense. They trimmed 46 yards per game off their rushing defense and jumped from 28th to 15th in the league against the run.

	DT John Randle had 11 sacks, but the Seahawks still need more of a pass rush.

That worked well enough to produce a 9-7 record off an AFC West schedule, but kept the team a tiebreaker away from making the playoffs. Seattle's switch from the AFC to the NFC will create a new emphasis. Improve the pass rush and pass coverage.

"You do know a couple of things about this new division," defensive coordinator Steve Sidwell said. "There are receivers galore. The offenses of all of the teams are very potent. Plus, the receiver speed and size in this division is outstanding."

So, after focusing on the middle of the defense last season, coach-general manager Mike Holmgren's biggest chore this offseason is improving the Seahawks defense on the perimeter. The Seahawks gave up 217 yards on pass defense last year and had major problems at the cornerback position.

Shawn Springs, their best coverage cornerback, missed most of the season with hamstring problems and a steroid suspension. Ken Lucas, a rookie, and Ike Charlton, a second-year player, struggled with youth and at times were vulnerable to the big plays. Holmgren was forced to start nine-year veteran Willie Williams in 14 games when the strategy was to keep him around as the third cornerback.

That's why the Seahawks have been actively looking for another cornerback. Artell Hawkins of the Bengals visited Thursday. Jeff Burris, the former Colt, was scheduled for Friday.

Last year, the Seahawks finished 23rd against the pass, believe it or not an improvement of 30th place in 2000 when the Seahawks gave up the third most yards overall in the history of the league. They know their pass coverage has to get better or their rankings will drop along with their plans of being an NFC playoff team.

"Every team in football is always looking to upgrade the pass rush and coverage," Sidwell said. "Those two definitely go hand in hand. If your pass rush is good, you have more of a chance. Kenny Lucas did very well and is definitely going to be in the mix. He's a good looking young cornerback and at least two or three offensive coordinators approached me at the combine and asked about him.

"Ike is a guy with some real special qualities, but, with him, there has been a consistency factor over time. Willie is the guy every coach would love to have."

Still, expect the Seahawks to sign a veteran cornerback. If pass rush goes hand in hand, then the Seahawks have another problem. The team's long-time sack leader, Michael Sinclair, was released to free up cap room. Lamar King, the other defensive end, missed half the season because of a calf injury. Sinclair's 3½ sacks out of the defensive end position is all that the team had, and now that is gone.

With so little available in pass-rushing defensive ends, the Seahawks must get a defensive end in the draft. In the NFC West, if you can't pressure Kurt Warner, Jeff Garcia or Jake Plummer, your defense is in trouble.

Relying on one player to provide sacks from the outside isn't going to be easy. At least they have John Randle coming from defensive tackle following an 11-sack season that took him to the Pro Bowl. Outside linebacker Chad Brown will be asked to rush more from linebacker and defensive end. He had 8½ sacks last season.

"To me, one of the great success stories of last season was the Patriots defense," Sidwell said. "Those guys had a lot of quality defensive linemen, but a lot of them were a lot of them were lower-tiered free agents. They played a lot of them and kept them fresh."

The good news in the transition for the Seahawks is that they aren't an overly big defensive front and they are blessed with speed. Brown and Anthony Simmons have great speed at outside linebacker. Safety Reggie Tongue has great range. And, face it, the NFC West is more finesse than smash-mouth.

"I don't think it will too much difference for us going from the AFC West to the NFC West because the moves we made last year convert well into the new division," Sidwell said. "The teams in the NFC West still run the ball well, and if don't stop the running game, you don't get a chance to do anything else. We'll just have to adjust to the shifting that the Rams do with their offensive personnel."

Offensively, the Seahawks don't have to make a lot of changes. They just have to get better. In many ways, the Seahawks were too young last year to be consistent. Receiver Darrell Jackson was in his second year but emerged into a big-time player with 70 catches and 1,081. Koren Robinson improved each game as a rookie and should blossom into a better play-maker this year. Shaun Alexander, in his second year, almost made the Pro Bowl, rusing for 1,318 yards after replacing injured Ricky Watters.

Still, those combinations didn't produce enough points. In the new division alignments, making the playoffs will be tougher because there are only two wild-cards. The Seahawks are competing against a Rams team that is favored to win the NFC. The 49ers are coming off a 12-win season with a young team.

Re-signing Trent Dilfer gives the Seahawks a better chance of winning than Matt Hasselbeck, who needs more time to grow as a starter. To give Dilfer another important target, Holmgren needs to find a pass-catching tight end. Only 29 catches came from the tight end position.

High on the list of Seahawk possibilities are Shannon Sharpe and Freddie Jones. Plus, the draft offers one of the best group of young tight ends to come into the league in year.

To be successful in the new division, the Seahawks will need to score points. They feel confident that will happen.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.