KIRKLAND, Wash. (AP) -Gil Haskell was talking excitedly. He was smiling. Beaming, really.

The Seahawks' offensive coordinator looked like a kid who had just gotten his lost puppy back.

Actually, he has.

``Shaun is healthy. He's back,'' Haskell said Thursday about star running back Shaun Alexander entering Saturday's NFC wild-card playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Last season's NFL rushing leader missed six games with a cracked bone in his left foot. But he ran for 232 yards in his last two games, his most consistent production since returning Nov. 19. And the week before Christmas was the first time since September that he didn't sleep with a bone stimulation machine wired to his left foot.

``I feel a lot better,'' Alexander said. ``I've got my legs up under me.''

Yet just as Alexander is regaining his league MVP form of 2005, he may not even be the most valuable Seahawk against the Cowboys. Seattle's welcome back for Alexander on Saturday may be: ``Great! Now can you pass block?''

The Cowboys (9-7) have lost three of their last four games while allowing an average of 33 points per game. New Orleans, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Detroit have romped for an average of 425 yards, 281 passing against the Cowboys' besieged secondary.

``There are a lot of veterans on this team that are not happy with the way things are going,'' Dallas defensive back Aaron Glenn said.

Cowboys coach Bill Parcells let all know how he felt about his team's recent struggles.

``I'm not struggling with anything. You guys are the ones that are struggling,'' Parcells said to his questioners. ``I've got a game here to play and the sides are even here now. We're starting over. All you want to do is talk about history.

``If you want to talk about history, go down to the museum.''

But the Seahawks would rather think about Dallas' December this week. It's better than dwelling on Seattle's own secondary woes right now.

Publicly, the Seahawks are talking up the importance of Alexander's running allowing the recently skittish offense to control the ball Saturday and keep Seattle's makeshift defense off the field. The Seahawks this week signed three defensive backs who haven't played a down this season - a mortgage broker, a hunting guide and a gym rat.

The loan guy, Pete Hunter, will likely be the Seahawks' cornerback in nickel situations Saturday. In the base defense, rookie Kelly Jennings will start at right corner, as top cover man Marcus Trufant is out with a high ankle sprain. Former safety Jordan Babineaux will start at left corner for Kelly Herndon, who broke his ankle last week.

A heavy dose of Alexander banging against Dallas' big defensive front could also make Matt Hasselbeck's day less painful. The sprained right knee that cost the quarterback four games into November is fine. But his left hand, badly bruised or perhaps with a broken bone above the middle of the palm for the last month, is still bothering him.

Hasselbeck continues to wear a glove and wrap on the hand.

``You know what? It's bothering the (heck) out of him,'' Haskell said.

Holmgren - a big motivator through meetings and speeches - has been telling his players they can trump their problems on defense by simply outscoring Dallas.

The Seahawks and the rest of the league saw how the Saints, the NFC's second seed, spread out the Cowboys with four-wide receiver formations Dec. 10 - the last time the league viewed Dallas as an elite team. Drew Brees threw for 377 yards in a 42-17 win.

But Seattle is having trouble finding four healthy receivers. Leading catcher Darrell Jackson, who has a ligament injury in a toe of his left foot, will be a game-time decision to play. So will D.J. Hackett, who emerged after Bobby Engram was out for two months with a thyroid condition. Hackett sustained a right hip flexor in last week's win at Tampa Bay.

Nate Burleson, also Seattle's punt returner, practiced Thursday for the first time all week. Even though he is listed as probable with sore left ankle, Holmgren said Burleson's availability is also a game-time call.

``But that still is a strength of our team,'' Holmgren said. ``We have good wide receivers.''

That includes Deion Branch, the former Super Bowl MVP acquired from New England in September. And Engram, the team's leading receiver last season, is feeling as good as he's been since September.

The Seahawks also have tight end Jerramy Stevens, a favorite target of Hasselbeck's. Seattle may use the fast, 6-foot-7 Stevens to go after Dallas free safety Patrick Watkins in the middle of the field. Watkins, a rookie, was benched for seven games - and was inactive for two of those - before regaining his starting job Dec. 16.

Whether it's by air or by Alexander, the resurgent runner agrees that overwhelming the Cowboys with offense rather than relying on Seattle's defense is the way to advance into the second round.

That's because of that ``other'' factor - the one that hovers over anything and everything Cowboys.

``Whenever you are playing against Terrell Owens, you are going to have to score points,'' Alexander said. ``The whole 'Sharpie' thing? That happened here (in Seattle, in 2002). We are not naive to that. He's had great games against us his whole career.''

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