Branch filling the shoes of Hawks' top receiver

SAN FRANCISCO — The writing wasn't on the wall, it was on Darrell Jackson's shoes.

"I want D.B. money."

Jackson scribbled those words across the tops of his sneakers last year and then wore them against Arizona immediately after the Seahawks signed Deion Branch.

Now, Branch has stepped into Jackson's shoes, taking over his spot at flanker and while the pair didn't go toe-to-toe Sunday, it was possible to measure them head-to-head.

Branch caught seven passes, Jackson three. Branch racked up 117 yards receiving in the first half while San Francisco gained 87 yards as a team. Branch caught a 65-yard pass to set up the Seahawks' first touchdown while the 49ers offense crossed midfield only three times.

This is what the Seahawks envisioned when they traded for Branch. This is why they felt OK trading Jackson for the fourth-round choice last April that netted an offensive lineman who has yet to dress for a game. And this was an afternoon that showed why the Seahawks' decision to acquire Branch and ax Jackson won't be one that ends up listed along with franchise mistakes that includes losing a Pro Bowl guard for nothing in free agency.

"There's a bunch of reasons why he's here on our team," Matt Hasselbeck said of Branch.

Branch is a player with fingers so sticky he made a one-handed catch in the first quarter and feet so fleet he turned San Francisco's $80 million cornerback into toast as he beat cornerback Nate Clements for a 65-yard gain.

Branch is versatile. The kind of guy who answered questions after the 23-3 victory Sunday while knotting his tie and explaining the secret to his 20 receptions over the past three games.

"Practice," Branch said.

Somewhere Allen Iverson winced. Practice? Yes, we're talking about practice.

That was something Branch didn't get enough of last season, arriving in the middle of the second week, activated for the third week and trying to play catchup. That's not the kind of hurry-up offense anyone wants to run.

"I understood the situation," Branch said.

No training camp last year. No excuses this year and instead of talking about an improved rapport, Hasselbeck and Branch have been showing one.

"Practice," Branch said. "That's where the game is won."

Practice is something Jackson wasn't much for by his final season with the Seahawks when he was recovering from a knee injury and spent as much time watching workouts as participating in them.

He was hurt and he also was harboring a belief the team owed him money, and so this summer the Seahawks traded a productive receiver to a team they play twice a year for a second-day draft choice used to select Mansfield Wrotto.

The Seahawks won the stare down, but lost a productive pair of hands. That's life in the NFL. A reality Branch saw from the other side a year ago when New England wouldn't give him a contract.

"It's the NFL, man," Branch said. "It's a big business. Stuff like that happens."

A franchise is shaped by how it responds to those types of decisions. The Seahawks were willing to give Branch a paycheck the Patriots wouldn't, and New England ended up with safety Brandon Meriweather, chosen with the Seahawks' first-round pick. Meriweather has seven tackles in three games this season, and the Seahawks have a receiver who is grabbing hold of seemingly every opportunity in Seattle's offense.

And all those questions after Branch failed to catch a pass in the season opener have been answered over the past three games when Branch showed the form that made him a Super Bowl MVP.

"He's come in and he's started getting that production," Hasselbeck said. "I'm glad he's with us."

Branch is stepping into the shoes Jackson filled for so many years as Hasselbeck's favorite receiver. But you could read that change one year ago when Jackson was wearing those shoes with Branch's initials, saying he wanted the same kind of cash and that is part of why Jackson was on the other sideline Sunday.

Danny O'Neil: 206-464-2364 or doneil@seattletimes.com