Seahawks Insider
where there is no offseason

Eric D. Williams took over the Seahawks beat and Seahawks Insider blog in December. Williams has covered the Seahawks, Sonics and high school sports for The News Tribune since joining the paper in 2006. Eric lives in Tacoma with his wife and two children.

Tacoma News Tribune columnist Dave Boling also contributes to the Seahawks Insider blog.

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Seahawks Insider
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008
Posted by Frank Hughes @ 01:26:49 pm

There was a great deal of stuff to cover from Mike Holmgren's press conferenc today, including the news that right tackle Sean Locklear is not likely to play Sunday against Buffalo.

As he tends to do, Holmgren danced around the issue and said that Ray Willis will get most of the work this week. He said if it was the Super Bowl that Locklear would play, but he thinks they should smart about it and not push him too quickly.

Deion Branch will practice today, but he is not likely to play either. Holmgren said the next hurdle is getting Branch comfortable with what he has to do on the job given the severity of the knee injury. I got the sense that Holmgren did not know a timeline until Branch himself got the chance to see how he feels actually running routes.

[More:]

Lofa Tatupu will not go full bore in practice but he will play and Holmgren expects him to have a great game. Tatupu, by the way, was named a defensive captain, along with Deon Grant. Matt Hasselbeck and Walter Jones were offensive captains. Lance Laury and DD Lewis were special teams captains.

Mo Morris will start at running back. Holmgren said he is not sure how he is going to handle juggling Mo and Julius Jones, whether Jones gets the start next week or not. He will sit on that one and see how it plays out. As far as technical stuff, Holmgren said you might be see more split backfield and less I-formation in the running game, but otherwise you won't see too much different.

Chris Spencer will start at center. Holmgren said his biggest concern is Spencer's conditioning, but he thinks his line calls are up to snuff (he didn't use that term, I just wanted to write it).

He said he is not sure who will return punts and kickoffs. It is something that scares him, especially with Justin Forsett, because of the fumble Forsett had in the last preseason game. Holmgren said he may have put too much pressure on Forsett in that game, but at the same time you want to see how players react in those situations. He said other candidates for those jobs are Marcus Trufant, Nate Burleson, Mo Morris, Seneca Wallace and Josh Wilson.

John Carlson will start at tight end and Lawrence Jackson will start at defensive end. Holmgren said both players are very talented but he fully expects them to make their fair share of youthful mistakes. He likes Carlson because he feels he can stretch the field from that position, though he said Jeb Putzier can do the same thing. That is what we have seen in practice thus far.

Regarding the difficulties the Seahawks have faced on the road on the East Coast in the past, he said they are making one change. They used to have a curfew at 11, which he said was not completely fair because it was 8 o'clock Seattle time. So he said they will set something up like a game room or a movie or something else to keep the players occupied and set the curfew back. When I asked what the new curfew is, Holmgren said, "It's later."

Holmgren said he feels the Seahawks are one of the teams that has a realistic chance at the Super Bowl. He said that some teams proclaim that but are not realistic. But he said he thinks it has been realistic for the past four or five years with the Seahawks, and that there is an argument over the past two years that they have been only a few plays away from the championship game.

Holmgren said Hasselbeck is fine and that while you would hope that he would get more snaps, he has been in the league long enough to make limited preseason play workable.

Regarding Rocky Bernard, he is not even allowed on the premises of the practice facility this week. Jordan Babineaux is. Holmgren said he didn't think the punishment fit the crime with Rocky. He said that the league is moving to a zero-tolerance level, which is not a bad thing, but there are extenuating circumstances in everybody's story, and Holmgren said he felt that Rocky's story was not on the same par as some of the other guys who got suspensions. He did not elaborate why. It would have been nice to have more documentation beyond the original police report so the general public could know the details of what the extenuating circumstances are, but short of getting Rocky or the victim to detail what happened, we'll probably never know. And even then the stories would have a bias.

Holmgren said that he personally has some work to put in in terms of calling the game because the running game is so different. Now, he doesn't have to worry about what players can or cannot do (a Shaun Alexander reference) but he does have to worry about different formations and combinations of players and so he has to get used to that aspect.

There is a chance I left some stuff out, but I think that pretty much covers it all. Practice starts in a few minutes, I'll blog after that, particularly regarding how Branch looked.

Categories: Mike Holmgren press conferences 19 comments

COMMENTS:

PDXCOP80 @ 13:39 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
Wow, lots of great info. Too bad on Locklear. It sounds like Tatupu isn't full strength. Hope he can heal up soon. Glad Mo Morris is getting the start. I have felt all along he was in the shadows of 37 too long. Time to put up or shut up now Mo.
hambone08 @ 13:52 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
Great stuff Franks, thanks!
badicalturboradness @ 14:15 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
How Rocky got suspended and Marshawn Lynch did not, I'll never understand.
NickLicatasucks @ 14:32 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
After Sunday's game Marshaun is going to wish he got suspended.

Its nice that Rocky will be back for the 49er game though. I know Alex Smith and he will shake hands after that game. Maybe during the game if JT O'Sullivan gets hurt. As we know- 49er quarterbacks haven't had success playing entire games against the Seahawks of late.

Great stuff Frank.
antediluvian @ 14:34 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
I too, cannot understand how Marshawn Lynch got a completely free pass on a hit and run that injured a person.

chucko24 @ 14:36 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
keep the info on Branch coming (for fantasy purposes of course:)

Also, How is Courtney Taylor gonna do? Seems double coverage will be on Burlson as hes the only veteran so that should leave the other wr's in single coverage..

FInally, Dont tell me that we are going to try and drop Forsett through wavers. He will get snapped up id say 70% probability of that. You agree?
madpunter88 @ 14:49 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
Lots of good information and there is much to be excited about going into this season. I particularly like the reference to not having to game plan for what certain players can and cannot do.

No one expects a whole lot out of the passing game with Hasselbeck coming back from injury and such new receivers. But I am very excited to see how the running game performs. I think this could be a big week on the ground.
Kerney @ 14:51 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
Marcus Trufant returning punts? Scary, scary idea...
tmcclurkan @ 14:52 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
Chucko: let me take a stab:
First, Branch is not worth a fantasy start this week, even on the off-chance he plays. He is too rusty. If that is an option you are considering, your fantasy team is in trouble.
Second, I like Forsett as much as everyone else seems to. But I am not convinced he would get picked up. First of all, someone would have to sign him to their active roster, and given that there are some good RBs out there who didn't get picked up (admittedly they are vets who would cost more), I don't think many teams are likely to give a roster spot to Justin. He had one terrific and one pretty good preseason game, but also had a fumble on a punt return and didn't set the world on fire at RB in the last game. I am 85% confident he would clear waivers and be signable to our PS.
shams @ 15:08 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
"Finally, Dont tell me that we are going to try and drop Forsett through wavers. He will get snapped up id say 70% probability of that. You agree?"

chucko24, to my knowledge Billy Watson is the only one who still feels certain Forsett will be waived. I think his position on the team is safe, but what do I know.
mach1na @ 15:12 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
RE: Tru returning puts a scary idea

Tru has great speed and can handle the ball competently, he had some very good interceptions he returned at length for TDs.

If you mean scary idea in the sense there is greater potential for injury to our franchise player, then yes, I agree its scary.
marcyun @ 15:18 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
Great report. Thanks Frank.
pdway @ 15:22 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
We're a pretty banged up team, and when you add Rocky and Locklear (less worried about Babineaux) to the not playing list for this week, we're down quite a few starters.

Very curious to see how our defense looks, I know, I know pre-season is fairly meaningless, but they've been unimpressive in what i've seen.

Nice to see both our #1 and #2 picks cracking the starting line-up for opening day -- that doesn't always happen, esp when you pick as late as we do.
JoeHawk51 @ 15:26 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
Good stuff Frank. I agree with the points about Marshawn Lynch getting off scott free. It was not just the infraction, but the lack of cooperation with the police. Bad call by the NFL on this one.

I want to see if we start by using the pass to set up the run or the run to set up the pass. Somebody get out thier time machine and set it for Sunday PLEASE!
BobbyK @ 18:25 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
If anyone wants to make any money in Vegas, the Bills are 1 point favorites in this game. The Bills will not win, let alone cover the (small) spread.
Heifitz @ 18:48 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
Has anyone else noticed the similarity between Marshawn Lynch and the Geico caveman?

http://search.espn.go.com/lynch-marshaun/

Maybe it's just me....
UnofficialVoice @ 20:23 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
Comment by badicalturboradness @ 14:15 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 How Rocky got suspended and Marshawn Lynch did not, I'll never understand.

The story on Marshawn Lynch is that he got off with a traffic violation at the legal level. Had he been hit with a felony, or even a misdemenor it would have been classified as a violation of the League's behavioral policy.

Because Rocky Bernard plead out to a domestic violence charge, he was considered as having violated that policy. Had he gotten the charges dropped or gone to trial and been found "not guilty" then there would have been no penalty from the NFL.

Tatupu is another case. I can only assume that his long record of high character has worked in his benefit and Goodell gave him the benefit of the doubt. To my knowledge, he has never been in trouble before - even in college.
mister andersen @ 22:19 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
Thanks for all the great info.

I think it's time to start using Seneca....Frye did just fine, albeit preseason. I'd love to see him out there at WR and returning a few punts.
STTBM @ 12:50 - Thursday, September 4th, 2008
There is no way Holmgren will use his 9 million dollar a year CB to return punts...that would be idiotic. It will be Morris, Wilson, Burleson, or Forsett. My money is on Morris or Wilson. Wilson would be a lock, except he is now the nickel back since Babs is serving a suspension. Holmgren hates using a punt returner he doesnt trust, and Forsett needs a little more practice.

I am really glad to see Holmgren standing firm and starting Mo despite obvious pressure from Ruskell to start Jones. As good as Jones looked in preseason, Morris looked even better, and did everything he was asked to do. He won the starting job, at least for this week. Im really excited to see our new line, backs, and scheme in regular season action.

And I am also excited to see Kent, Taylor, and Payne get real playing time. Though I am sure there will be rough patches, I am certain Kent and Taylor will make some big plays on Sunday. I predict 3,700 yards passing for Hass and 30 TD's, and I think our team will rush for more than 2,000 yards rushing. Thats right--Mo has an outside shot at 1,000 yards, Jones will get 600+ yards, and Duckett and Schmitt and Weaver will combine for at least 400 yards and 12 TD's.

I know, optimistic aint I?! I still think we go 12-4, losing to either the Pats or Cowturds, losing to either the Giants or Packers, and of course dropping one to Arizona as always. And I think Philly might beat us too...it wont matter. Were gonna win the Super Bowl. And my fondest wish is that we beat BOTH the Pats and Cowturds...I dont care if we go 10-6, just so long as we beat those fools and win the big one...

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