Seahawks offensive lineman Max Unger joined KJR’s Mitch Levy on the radio this week. Unger talked about the possibility of playing a lot in his rookie season.

“That’s all up in the air,” Unger said about possible playing time. “And I think that will kind of get sorted out a little bit more when training camp starts. But I followed the Seahawks pretty closely this last year, just like I knew about mostly all the injuries and stuff and how the team was pretty much plagued by them.

“I think it’s a completely different story when this team’s at full strength. So again, I think all that playing time stuff will be maybe sorted out when training camp ends and all the preseason games end and stuff.”

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While Eric is away on vacation, I'm going to use his blog for some shameless self-promotion. Over on our military blog, I wrote about the Special Olympics returning to McChord Air Force Base and Fort Lewis.

The grand marshal of the opening ceremonies should be a familiar name to Hawks fans.

ESPN.com posted its 2009 NFL power rankings today, and the Seattle Seahawks were 22nd overall. Matt Wiliamson of Scouts.inc had Seattle ranked highest at 11th overall, while NFC East blogger Matt Mosley ranked the Hawks lowest at 27th overall.

NFC West blogger Mike Sando ranked Seattle 20th overall. As usual, Sando does a nice job of breaking down the rankings, which you can check out here.

I know, it's early and how can you rank teams that won't play a meaningful game for another four months, right? Well, it's May and we'll take what we can get in terms of Seahawks news at this point.

Pittsburgh was ranked first overall, followed by New England, New York Giants, Philadelphia and Indianapolis.

I’m taking a little R&R this week with family here in the desert. So that, along with the down time for the league, means there will not be a lot of posts on the blog this week.

I will however check in periodically if there’s news, and I have a couple blog posts planned for this week. And you may see a Ryan Divish appearance this week as well if I can coax him to take a break from Mariners’ stuff. Here’s a few links I dug up this morning.

Peter King of Sports Illustrated addresses the possibility of Michael Vick reuniting with ex-Atlanta Falcons head coach Jim Mora, saying it has no legs.

Here’s an excerpt.

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I apologize for the lateness of this post, but here are some notes from Thursday’s OTA.

The main news coming out of Renton on Thursday was Seattle head coach Jim Mora chose not to talk about Michael Vick’s eventual release from home confinement and whether or not he should be reinstated in the NFL.

It seemed like a perfect opportunity for Mora to address the issue and get it behind him with Vick being in the forefront of the news, but now that he has not provided a firm statement that Vick is not in Seattle’s long-term plans, the story will continue to linger until he does so.

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I’ll have a report from the Seahwks organized team activities later on today.

Turn on the TV to catch up on what you missed in the sports world this week and you can’t avoid seeing something on Michael Vick.

As most of you already know, Vick was released from a Kansas Federal prison and returned home to Virginia on Wednesday where he will serve out the remainder of his 23-month term. He’s scheduled to finish his sentence on July 20, and will likely pursue reinstatement in the NFL in an attempt to pay off his many creditors.

And so the debate begins here and many other places on whether or not the league should allow the convicted felon the opportunity to play in the NFL again.

Our own Dave Boling weighed in today, saying that Vick should be allowed to play, but that it won’t happen in Seattle.

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ESPN’s Mike Sando is reporting the Seattle Seahawks have signed long snapper Bryan Pittman to apparently fill that position for the 2009 season.

Pittman served as the long snapper for the Houston Texans since 2003, before being suspended for four games last year after testing positive for a banned substance that is a violation of the NFL’s steroids policy.

At 6-foot-3, 265 pounds, Pittman attended Thomas Jefferson High in Federal Way and played at the University of Washington.

At 32 years old, Pittman is a younger replacement for 39-year-old Jeff Robinson, who came out of retirement to serve as the team’s long snapper last season. Kicker Olindo Mara raved about the job Robinson did last season, saying Robinson was one of the reasons for the good season he had in 2008.

Seattle released 2008 sixth round draft choice Tyler Schmitt last month, and did not sign rookie free agent Sean Griffin out of Michigan.

Ryan Senser, a rookie free agent out of Ohio, remains on the roster and will provide some competition for Griffin. Although at 6-3, 241 pounds, Senser is smaller than Pittman and at 24 years old has less NFL experience.

In other NFL news, league owners voted to award the 2013 Super Bowl to New Orleans. Having been to New Orleans a couple times over the years, it’s hard not to have a good time in the Big Easy.

Former Seattle Seahawk wide receiver Bobby Engram talked with KJR’s Dave “Softy” Mahler this morning about his time in Seattle and why he moved on to Kansas City.

Engram spoke by phone in Kansas City, where he’s working in the Chiefs’ offseason program.

Engram said it was time to move on, particularly after the offseason heading into the 2008 season when he asked for a new deal, but the Seahawks brass failed to renegotiate his contract.

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Gary Mihoces of USA Today pens an early season preview of the Seattle Seahawks.

Mihoces predicts that linebacker Aaron Curry will be a big boost for the Seahawks defensively.

Mihoces also breaks down each position for the Seahawks and has this to say in a capsule overview of Seattle's 2009 season.

No team was hit harder by injuries last season. After winning the NFC West title for four consecutive years, the Seahawks went 4-12 during Holmgren's final season. If Hasselbeck can stay healthy, that will be a start. But there are many lingering injury question marks. An 8-8 finish would be a return to respectability for a team in transition.

Pat Kirwan of NFL.com ranks the Seahawks 15th overall in his league power rankings, which I think is about right.

Create your own rankings here at NFL.com.

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Not much has changed to the field where Marcus Trufant first learned how to carry a football.

On Saturday Trufant returned to the place where he began to develop his skills as a football player, the Al Davies Boys and Girls Club in Tacoma.

The starting cornerback for Seattle hosted his annual Trufant Family Foundation celebration at the local community center on Hilltop. Along with his family, Trufant was joined by fellow Seahawks Deion Branch, Seneca Wallace, Courtney Taylor and Jordan Babineaux.

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Michael Lombardi of the National Football Post suggests that if he were the Seattle Seahawks general manager he would look to bolster the team's running back situation by reuniting Thomas Jones with younger brother Julius Jones in Seattle.

It's been well-documented that Thomas Jones is unhappy with his contract situation in New York.

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Alex Marvez of Fox Sports is reporting the 2009 salary cap is increasing by nearly $1 million to $128 million.

This should help Seattle, who is likely pushing close to that barrier after signing Leroy Hill to his six-year, $36 million deal, and could used some room in case they have to bring in players during the season to replenish injured players as they had to do last year.

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CBS Sports NFL columnist Clark Judge joins the legion of national football reporters who believe how successful the Seattle Seahawks will be in 2009 will be determined by the health of quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.

Judge believes the Hawks will be improved this season, but that Seattle will go as Hasselbeck goes. Take a look:

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The Seattle Seahawks are expected to signed Oklahoma State product center David Washington, a rookie free agent who participated in the team’s post-draft, minicamp in May.

According to GuthrieSportsPage.com, Washington said he will travel to Seattle and sign with the team this weekend. Listen to a conversation with Washington in this audio link.

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Here's a copy of the column running in the Thursday TNT regarding Mike Holmgren's KJR radio interview -- Dave Boling

After the emotional good-byes and the recap of 10 years of joys and disappointments, Mike Holmgren seemed ready to hang out the “Do Not Disturb” sign. Or maybe it was “Gone Fishin’.”
The Seattle Seahawks coach had promised his wife that he would take a year away from football.
He said he would evaluate his options after that, and be open to just about anything.
Sure, he had an itch to get back into the front-office side of things. He still felt the sting of having that taken away from him with the Seahawks, and he was certain he had learned from the experience and would be better the next time.

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Former Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren joined KJR’s Dave “Softy” Mahler this morning to talk about his renewed interest in returning to the NFL next year in 2010.

Holmgren said he’s in Salt Lake City babysitting his granddaughter Emma. Holmgren’s daughter Calla, a doctor who lives in Utah, joined his wife Kathy on a relief effort to work in refugee camps in Uganda.

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According to this report from the Washington Post, former Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren is ready to return to the NFL (hat tip to Field Gulls).

Per the report, Holmgren talked with former Seattle Times reporter Les Carpenter, now with the Washington Post, about returning to the league in some capacity.

Here's an excerpt.

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Former University of Washington wide receiver Reggie Williams, who was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars during the offseason, received two years probation for cocaine possession in a case in Houston in which a Taser was used to subdue him.

On Monday, Williams pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance. A judge sentenced the 25-year-old unrestricted free agent to deferred adjudication, plus fined Williams $200.

According to the report, Williams will face random drug testing in Harris County.

In his Monday Morning Quarterback column, Peter King of Sports Illustrated ranks the Seattle Seahawks 19th overall in his first power rankings.

I think it’s fair, but maybe a bit low. I would have put the Seahawks in the top 15, based on all of the offseason moves. But I think King is right about saying Seattle’s season will hinge on whether or not quarterback Matt Hasselbeck can stay healthy.

Here’s what kind had to say about the Seahawks.

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Gregg Bell of the Associated Press takes a look at the Seattle Seahawks current situation at left tackle. Pro Bowler Walter Jones still is rehabilitating from microfracture knee surgery, but the team expects him to be ready for training camp.

But what if Jones is not ready by training camp?

Bell takes a peak at the alternative if Jones is unable to return. Sean Locklear has been playing left tackle during the minicamps and Ray Willis has filled in for Locklear at right tackle. Here’s an excerpt.

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The Seattle Seahawks finished up the team’s three-day, OTA’s this morning with a conditioning drill that included all of the coaches participating, including head coach Jim Mora and offensive coordinator Greg Knapp.

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said it’s good to see the coaches supporting the players during conditioning drills by running with them, but noted that some are in better condition than others. You can listen to a snippet of that conversation in the video above.

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Maybe the Seattle Seahawks don't feel as comfortable with the return of Walter Jones as they have said publicly.

According to Alex Marvez of Fox Sports, recently released Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Levi Jones is set to visit Seattle this week.

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Brian McIntyre of NorthwestFootball.net provides contract details on Seattle Seahawks linebacker Leroy Hill's six-year, $38 million deal he signed with Seattle last week (hat tip to Seahawks Addicts).

Here's the yearly breakdown.

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The TNT’s Dave Boling caught up with Seahawks defensive tackle Red Bryant, who made his presence felt over the weekend by regularly showing up in the backfield. Bryant said after suffering through an injury-filled year in his rookie season he wants to live up to the expectations heaped upon him when team GM Tim Ruskell drafted him in 2008.

The Texas A & M product with the Southern drawl said teammate Brandon Mebane has taken him under his wing and introduced Bryant to some new eating habits.

Here’s Boling:
Given that the two weigh in at well over 600 pounds combined, they have a strange new passion.

“He’s got me eating sushi, now,” Bryant said.

Informed the two don’t particularly look like delicate sushi connoisseurs, Bryant almost shouted: “I know!”

“But I like it now … I love those California rolls … those are my favorite.”

Check out the story here.

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Here's a link to a column on Red Bryant out of minicamp. Coach Quinn is working on his technique, and he's probably still pretty raw, but everybody can see how naturally physical he is in the middle of the defensive line. For somebody who is so tough, he's an extremely genial and gentlemanly guy. I thought the funny part were his thoughts on his friendship with fellow defensive tackle Brandon Mebane. I was surprised when he said that one of the things they do together is go out and eat sushi. I'd hate to see the bill when those guys are finished.

The Seattle Seahawks wrapped up the post-draft, minicamp this afternoon. Provided above is a look-in on the offensive line working on drive blocking, part of the group’s individual workouts before they get together for team drills at the beginning of practice.

With the three-day, minicamp complete, Seattle head coach Jim Mora said the Seahawks will move into Organized Team Activities (OTA’s) starting with the veterans on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Mora said afterward the veterans will get a week off. The rookies will come back on May 17th and will stick around until a couple weeks before training camp.

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Here's the unedited column on Hawks' minicamp from Saturday -- Boling

RENTON _ The Seahawk veterans were dismissed to hit the showers and grab some lunch after Saturday morning’s rainy and cool minicamp practice.
But as the rookies and young players were kept afterward to get extra repetitions in unit drills, defensive linemen Darryl Tapp and Brandon Mebane stayed on the field to help with tips for their new teammates.
Tapp grabbed the jersey of free-agent rookie defensive end Michael Bennett and yanked it around, showing him a trick to employ against tackles.
“Hey, I’m a veteran on this team now, I’ve got to step up and be a leader,” Tapp said of his tutorial. “I was in their situation four years ago … I know what they’re going through.”

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Rain steadily drizzled on the practice field this morning as the Seattle Seahawks trudged through the second day of practice.

The coaches seemed to crank up the intensity a notch or to and do more coaching on the run as the younger players still try to adjust to the speed of the game and the playbook they're trying to memorize.

Rookie receiver Deon Butler continues to make plays during seven-on-seven and one-on-one drills.

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Here's some interesting scuttlebutt on the Leroy Hill contract negotiations from Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.

Florio says according to a league source, Seahawks GM Tim Ruskell did Leroy Hill a favor by offering him essentially the same six-year, $36 million deal with added, unreachable incentives that the team had previously offered and Hill turned down.

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For the first time since he’s been the head coach for the Seattle Seahawks, Jim Mora got a look at what for the most part the players who will likely make-up his roster heading into the 2009 season.

“Unless for some reason we add someone else later on, this is our group that we’ll choose from,” Mora said. “And it’s good to see them out here working together.”

The latest addition was linebacker Leroy Hill, who arrived in town just in time to sign his $38 million, six-year deal with the team and make the first practice of minicamp on Friday.

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The Seattle Seahawks released cornerback DeMichael Dizer and long snapper Tyler Schmitt this morning. Dizer tore his the ACL in his knee during training camp last season. Schmitt, drafted in the sixth round last year, had back issues and was put on the injured reserve list.

Schmitt was trying to make a comeback, but apparently the team felt they wanted to go in a different direction.

Here's he updated roster, which includes the free agent tryouts added today.

Also, linebacker Leroy Hill signed his contract today and is expected to participate in today's practice.

Some tidbits.

Ken Lucas will wear No. 29. Max Unger No. 60. Deon Butler No. 85. Courtney Greene is 37.

I'll have more later.

The Seattle Seahawks begin their voluntary, rookie minicamp today with a 1:15 p.m. practice. They’ll go twice on Saturday and finish the weekend off with a final practice on Sunday. None of the practices are open to the public, but we will have regular reports on all of them.

With the 80-man roster pretty much filled, it’s hard not to tip your cap to Seahawks GM Tim Ruskell for the job he did during this 4-month period.

Ruskell appears to have filled all of the team’s needs and minimized the damage by not losing key players in free agency.

Here’s a quick run down.

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