Steve Kelley / Times staff columnist
Safety is finally sound

ROD MAR / THE SEATTLE TIMES Terreal Bierria has been the surprise performer of Seahawks camp, winning the starting job at strong safety over rookie Michael Boulware.

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

CHENEY — It wasn't so much the shoulder that bothered Terreal Bierria every Sunday last season when he sat at home and watched his teammates play.

That pain was manageable. That pain, after his right-shoulder surgery, was part of the healing process.

But the other pain stabbed at him. It felt like mourning. Those were his friends on television flying around the field, smacking wide receivers, winning games and pushing inexorably toward a playoff berth.

They were doing what he believed he should be doing, and even though he was happy for their success, he was heartbroken that he couldn't be part of it.

When you're hurt, you're almost like a ghost in the locker room. Expediency overwhelms empathy.

Coaches don't have time for you. They have game plans to write and healthy players to teach.

It's a cruel business. Even your teammates treat you differently. It's almost unconscious.

You aren't taking the hits they're taking. Sure, they feel bad for you, but they know you aren't going to be able to help them on game day. They don't ignore you. They just don't treat you the same as they did when you were healthy.

"It was almost like I felt like since I was on IR (injured reserve), they didn't need me to come over to the training facility," Bierria said before the Hawks broke camp and headed for tonight's exhibition in San Diego. "I was like, 'Well, wow,' it really brought me down. It humbled me. That was my first time missing anything. It made me so hungry.

"The whole first half of the season was rough for me. It was like one long exhale. They were winning, and the fans were great. I was so happy for them, knowing the hard work was paying off. But not to be part of that really hurt. But now those days are done."

This summer, Bierria has been the surprise of camp. He is healthy again, and he has taken a starting safety position from rookie Michael Boulware, the team's second-round draft pick.

"Michael's been good. Terreal has been very good," coach Mike Holmgren said.

For Bierria, a player with first-round talent who slipped to the Seahawks in the fourth round of the 2002 draft, his rise justifies his hard work. In less than three weeks, he will start for the Seahawks in the opener in New Orleans.

He made all of the work — the tortured, monotonous hours of rehabilitation, the offseason days in the weight room, the sweat-soaked hot-yoga sessions in Kirkland — pay off.

"He never really had the chance to come out here and prove what he has," cornerback Ken Lucas said. "Now you're getting a chance to see what he can do out here. Even though he's a safety, he's probably one of the fastest guys in the secondary. That helps all of us."

Most players at his level believe they should start. Bierria played three years at Georgia and started 21 games. He thrived in the Southeastern Conference. The NFL was the natural next step.

Still, until you do it, no matter how much you believe you can do it, a nagging throb of a doubt remains.

"I feel it coming together now," he said. "Every practice. Every preseason game, I'm building up to the opening of the season and to the playoffs and further. It's just every day, building, learning more about the position, and just becoming better. That's what it's about."

In 2002, he played 14 games on special teams. He had five tackles against Minnesota and made the final block in Maurice Morris' 97-yard kick return against St. Louis. But in the third exhibition last season against Kansas City, a shoulder injury stole his second year.

The Hawks threw Bierria another hurdle in April, when they drafted Boulware and immediately projected him a starter. Some players might have taken that as an insult, might have sulked.

"I wasn't mad at all. I wasn't upset, no," he said. "In the head offices, they thought it was a decision that would benefit this team. Mike's going to be a great player and, I just think, if that's helping the Seattle Seahawks out, then it's helping me out and it's helping everybody out. That's a good thing."

Bierria didn't get mad. He got busy. He was so good at hot yoga, the instructor asked him to teach a class. He's been so good at safety, Holmgren is asking him to start.

"He's fighting back," safety Ken Hamlin said.

Now, for Bierria, it's all gain and no pain.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

E-mail this article

Print this article

Search archive

More Seahawks/NFL headlines...