Seahawks Notebook | Quite an upgrade at tight end

The Seahawks signed Marcus Pollard the very day in March that Jerramy Stevens was arrested in Arizona for driving under the influence.

They had never met, though. Not until Sunday when they exchanged greetings after a game in which Pollard led the Seahawks in receptions and Stevens didn't catch much more than boos.

"He seems like a very pleasant young man," Pollard said. "I heard some good things about him."

Depends on whom you talk to. Stevens, now a Buccaneer, was found guilty Friday in Arizona of driving under the influence. He missed two days of practice to attend the trial and was able to play Sunday even though he might face discipline from the league down the road.

Pollard caught five passes in his Seahawks' debut, gained 43 yards and afterward laughed at the idea he felt pressure to produce in his first game for Seattle.

"Pressure is when you do something you're not supposed to be doing," he said. "Like if somebody asked me to do open-heart surgery, then that's nerve-racking, that's pressure ... This is what I've been doing for 12 years now."

Meanwhile, Stevens sat facing his locker after the game, his back to reporters. A team spokesman said he would not be answering questions.

For once, the Seahawks didn't have to answer for Stevens' play on the field or his mistakes off it.

A glimpse of 2005

For Shaun Alexander, there were glimpses. The 22-yard run broken up the middle. The touchdown run, his 97th rushing touchdown, two shy of retired Lions running back Barry Sanders, who's eighth on the NFL career list. The 105 yards on 27 carries.

"We can be very, very dangerous in the ground game," Alexander said.

Alexander didn't seem all that excited afterward, especially given how his 2006 season changed dramatically in the Seahawks' opener against Detroit. He injured his foot in that game, was limited in the next two and then missed six weeks. Alexander never returned to his 2005, most valuable player of the NFL, form.

Sunday, there were reasons to believe Alexander was back, especially against a defense like the Buccaneers. But there were also reasons for concern. Alexander fumbled (he recovered it). He also dropped a pass after struggling in that department during the preseason. At times, he appeared tentative and slow.

"We need that running game," Hasselbeck said, "and he is the guy who gets the ball."

Branched out

Seahawks wide receiver Deion Branch figured to be Hasselbeck's prime target this season.

In the end, he might be. But not Sunday. Branch was held without a catch for the first time in 66 games in which he has been on the active roster for his team.

"In our system right now, Deion should touch the ball more than any of the other receivers," Holmgren said. "We've done this with teams as well. You come in and you say 'OK, we're not going to let him touch the ball quite as much,' and clearly they had that as part of the plan."

Whistle while you work

The strangest play of the game happened in the third quarter when the Buccaneers lined up to punt. The ball was snapped to punter Josh Bidwell, who stopped after catching the ball and was surrounded by Seahawks. Players from both teams' special-team units were racing down the field, only to look back and see that the ball had not been kicked.

Officials first ruled that the Seahawks were to get the ball where Bidwell caught it, near the Tampa Bay 35-yard line. Then they conferred and changed the call, referee Larry Nemmers announcing that a loud whistle had come from the stands behind the Seattle bench and that Bidwell stopped because he heard that noise.

"That one shocked me. It's loud in there," Holmgren said.

"It really hurt us," Holmgren said about the amended call, "but had it been my punter in a stadium away, I would hope that if that happened, I would hope that they [officials] would handle it that way."

NOTES

• The Seahawks lost wide receiver D.J. Hackett on their second drive when he injured his right ankle after a 7-yard catch. Television replays showed Tampa Bay cornerback Brian Kelly making the tackle on the play and rolling up Hackett's ankle. Holmgren wouldn't elaborate on the injury other than to say that more will be known today.

• Alexander and Mack Strong combined to catch five passes for 33 yards. Backup running back Maurice Morris grabbed a 34-yard touchdown pass. Strong said the Seahawks are emphasizing more passes to the running backs this season, especially if Hasselbeck's primary receivers are covered.

• The Seahawks announced that 68,044 tickets were distributed for the game, making the crowd the largest for a home opener in team history. It was also the 10th-largest crowd ever for Qwest Field.

• Darryl Tapp got the start at right defensive end, ending the talk as to whom would start, he or Bryce Fisher. Tapp had four total tackles and half a sack in the first start of his two-year pro career.