Three exhibition games — and three big opportunities for numerous Seahawks to perform for a coveted final roster spot — have come and gone. The next important date is the first roster cuts, which will be made Tuesday.
The Seahawks lost in exhibition play Saturday night at San Diego, 31-20, and a couple of positions on the team are in flux because of injuries to starting tight end Itula Mili and key backup Mike Green, a safety.
No update on the status of those injuries was given Sunday, but there should be today after coach Mike Holmgren gets a full report from team doctors. Mili injured his knee and Green his left foot in the first half of the game.
There is tough competition for roster spots at tight end, wide receiver, fullback and third quarterback. After three games, it looks as if Josh Scobey and Peter Warrick are going to be the kickoff returner and punt returner, respectively, as coach Mike Holmgren had hoped.
Now that training camp has ended, the Seahawks will practice at team headquarters in Kirkland this week and then play their final exhibition game Thursday night against Oakland at Qwest Field.
Fourteen of the 89 Seahawks on the current active roster will be released by Tuesday as the team trims to 75 players for a few days, then the final cut to the 53-man roster limit will be made by Sept. 2, two days after the last exhibition contest against Oakland. The following is a look at how the roster is shaping up, position by position.
OFFENSE
Quarterback
On the team: Matt Hasselbeck, Seneca Wallace
On the bubble: David Greene, Gibran Hamdan
On the outside looking in: Travis Lulay
Comment: Lulay, through no fault of his own, hasn't gotten any snaps in games and was very limited in camp.
Running back
On the team: Shaun Alexander, FB Mack Strong, Maurice Morris
On the bubble: Leonard Weaver, FB David Kirtman, Josh Scobey
On the outside looking in: FB Ran Carthon, FB Jimmy Dixon, Marquis Weeks
Comment: A couple of backs might be released Tuesday so that the team can take longer looks at those who are still in competition for spots.
Wide receiver
On the team: Darrell Jackson, Bobby Engram, Nate Burleson, Peter Warrick, D.J. Hackett
On the bubble: Maurice Mann, Ben Obomanu, C.J. Jones, Taco Wallace.
On the outside looking in: Keenan Howry, Tony Brown, Justin Surrency, Skyler Fulton.
Comment: The best chance for any of the guys on the bubble is that the Seahawks will keep six receivers. But there is so much talent at this position that many receivers not automatically on the team could make it to the next round of cuts.
Tight end
On the team: Jerramy Stevens, Itula Mili
On the bubble: Will Heller, Matt Murphy
On the outside looking in: Keith Willis
Comment: Heller and Murphy figure to be the final two competing for the third tight-end spot.
Offensive line
On the team: Walter Jones, Robbie Tobeck, Chris Gray, Sean Locklear, Floyd Womack, Tom Ashworth, Rob Sims, Chris Spencer, Ray Willis
On the bubble: Pat Ross
On the outside looking in: Jason Murphy, Taylor Schmidt, William Henry, Jeff Bolton
Comment: Schmidt and Bolton didn't even play in the first exhibition game, and the Seahawks don't figure to keep more than nine offensive linemen on the final roster. Any of those players beyond the top nine might survive the first cut but unlikely the second.
Specialists
On the team: K Josh Brown, LS J.P. Darche
On the bubble: P Ryan Plackemeier, P Gabe Lindstrom
Comment: The coaching staff could keep Lindstrom a little while longer to push Plackemeier in what has been a fairly close competition to be the Seahawks' punter.
DEFENSE
Defensive line
On the team: DT Chuck Darby, DE Bryce Fisher, DE Grant Wistrom, DE Darryl Tapp, DT Rocky Bernard, DT Marcus Tubbs, DT Craig Terrill, DT Russell Davis
On the bubble: DT-DE Chris Cooper, DE Joe Tafoya, DE Kemp Rasmussen
On the outside looking in: DT Alex Guerrero, DE John Syptak, DE Robert Pollard
Comment: The three longshots are caught in a numbers game. They've had good camps and Guerrero has made a couple of plays in the games, but there is just too much experience, talent and versatility ahead of them.
Linebacker
On the team: Lofa Tatupu, Leroy Hill, D.D. Lewis, Kevin Bentley, Julian Peterson, Niko Koutouvides
On the bubble: Isaiah Kacyvenski, Cornelius Wortham
On the outside looking in: Lance Laury, Evan Benjamin
Comment: Laury and Benjamin have done some good things, and one of them might survive the first cut. Kacyvenski is the front-runner for what should be the seventh and final roster spot.
Safety
On the team: Ken Hamlin, Michael Boulware, Mike Green
On the bubble: Shaunard Harts, Oliver Celestin, Etric Pruitt
On the outside looking in: Brandon Haw
Comment: Harts, Celestin and Pruitt are all proven special-teams players. If anyone of this group is released Tuesday, it figures to be Haw.
Cornerback
On the team: Marcus Trufant, Kelly Jennings, Kelly Herndon, Jordan Babineaux
On the bubble: Jimmy Williams
On the outside looking in: Reggie Austin, Lance Frazier, Kevin Hobbs, Gerard Ross
Comment: Austin played well in the second exhibition game. He could make it to the next round of cuts.
Groundbreakers
The Seahawks could help the NFL in its first venture into China. The News Tribune of Tacoma reported the NFL will have Seattle and New England play an exhibition in Beijing in 2007.
José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com
Saturday night's summary
CHARGERS 31, SEAHAWKS 20
|
|
|
| Seattle |
14 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
— |
20 |
| San Diego |
14 |
3 |
0 |
14 |
— |
31 |
First Quarter
Sea — Bernard fumble recovery in end zone (J.Brown kick), 14:48.
Sea — Alexander 9 run (J.Brown kick), 11:14.
SD — Turner 38 run (Kaeding kick), 9:36.
SD — Turner 1 run (Kaeding kick), :23.
Second Quarter
SD — FG Kaeding 27, 7:16.
Third Quarter
Sea — FG J.Brown 40, 12:32.
Sea — FG J.Brown 28, 3:51.
Fourth Quarter
SD — Perkins 12 run (Kaeding kick), 11:14.
SD — Krause 33 pass from Feeley (Kaeding kick), 3:09.
A — 51,878.
|
|
Rushes-yards |
|
23-96 |
45-171 |
|
|
Kickoff Returns |
|
6-92 |
5-95 |
|
|
Interceptions Ret. |
|
1-12 |
1-2 |
|
|
Comp-Att-Int |
|
14-31-1 |
13-22-1 |
|
|
Sacked-Yards Lost |
|
3-21 |
2-12 |
|
|
Penalties-Yards |
|
2-42 |
3-28 |
|
|
Time of Possession |
|
23:35 |
36:25 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Seattle, Morris 13-67, Alexander 6-25, Greene 2-3, Weaver 1-2, S.Wallace 1-(minus 1). San Diego, Perkins 20-83, Turner 8-53, Sumlin 1-17, Pinnock 4-14, Neal 2-5, Gross 4-2, Rivers 3-2, Feeley 1-(minus 1), Croom 2 (minus 4).
Passing — Seattle, Hasselbeck 9-17-1-61, S.Wallace 5-12-0-61, Greene 0-2-0-0. San Diego, Rivers 6-11-0-89, Whitehurst 3-7-1-19, Feeley 4-4-0-54.
Receiving — Seattle, Burleson 5-60, Mili 3-11, Heller 2-31, Mann 2-16, Morris 2-4. San Diego, Perkins 3-17, Krause 2-62, Croom 2-0, Turner 1-24, Ortiz 1-21, Floyd 1-15, Bryant 1-10, Osgood 1-8, Gates 1-5.
Missed FG — Seattle, J.Brown 54 (WL).
E-mail article
Print view
E-mail article
Print view
Back to top