Hawks' Ashworth not blocking responsibility

KIRKLAND — The commercial makes the joke easy.

Tom Ashworth played a part in the VISA ad a few years back while with the Patriots. He was a metaphor for "zero liability for fraudulent charges" actually, and yet the man who once personified a credit card's five layers of protection looked every bit a liability at left tackle during the Seahawks' defeat Saturday in Green Bay.

That joke seems not only unkind but inappropriate when contrasted to Ashworth as he stands in the hallway at the Seahawks headquarters looking all kinds of glum and making himself 100 percent accountable.

"It was tough because I didn't play well," Ashworth said. "And obviously every time you go out there you want to perform. When you don't, you let your teammates down. You let yourself down."

Not much of a follow-up question for that kind of candor.

Want Ashworth to play better than he did Saturday? Well, he wants that, too, and he went back to practice Monday with that intention.

"You've got to work harder," Ashworth said. "Expect more. You always expect a lot for yourself and you've just got to work and prepare harder for next time."

No one felt worse than Ashworth about the pair of sacks he gave up Saturday. Well, no one other than perhaps Seneca Wallace, who spent too much of the evening on his back.

"The walls collapsed on him a couple of times," coach Mike Holmgren said.

Ashworth wasn't alone in responsibility. Leonard Weaver got bowled over by linebacker A.J. Hawk on one play and whiffed on safety Atari Bigby on another. Marquis Weeks failed to pick up Bigby on another blitz.

The Seahawks were missing their two starting tackles in Walter Jones and Sean Locklear, and gave up seven sacks in a game that offered some reminiscence to the protection problems suffered last season.

The Seahawks allowed 49 sacks last season, tied for sixth-most in the league and a 22-sack increase from the previous season. Only Detroit and Oakland allowed a greater increase in sacks.

Ashworth had his moments in the erosion of the Seahawks' passing pocket Saturday and those moments stood out all the more because of who he replaced. Ashworth started at left tackle in place of Jones. Defensive end Cullen Jenkins beat Ashworth with a spin move. Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila ran around him on another play, clobbering Wallace from behind to force a fumble.

"Tommy had a tough night," Holmgren said.

No one was disputing that. It tends to happen when Ashworth moves from right tackle over to the left side. Ashworth replaced Jones for a few plays in the opener in Detroit last season and gave up a sack his first snap. He played much better in the six games he started at right tackle.

"He's better on our right side because we put our tight end over there more than the left," Holmgren said.

Locklear returned to practice Monday after sitting out last week because of tendinitis in his knee. Locklear played left tackle with Jones still out because of a sore shoulder. Ray Willis worked with the first unit at right tackle, ahead of Ashworth at that position.

That keeps Ashworth from being isolated against a speedy pass rusher with room to operate. It also puts him next to the tight end on most plays.

He played tight end at Colorado until his senior year, when he moved to tackle. Undrafted into the NFL, he played four seasons with the Patriots and started in New England's Super Bowl victory over Carolina. He came to the Seahawks as a free agent in 2006.

"He's a good guy," Holmgren said. "And in his role on our football team, he does a good job."

That role might remain on the right side of things going forward.

NOTES

• Fifteen percent of purchases at Tully's Coffee today will be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, part of kicker Josh Brown's partnership. Tully's also is selling a drink called "The Kicker," a caramel macchiato with hazelnut and toasted marshmallow. Fifty cents of those drinks will go to the foundation.

• Holmgren gave an assessment of third-string quarterback David Greene after his three-interception night. "His accuracy is a big thing," he said. "He runs the team decently. He's a hard worker. He moves well enough. It's just the balls fly on him on occasion."

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