Seahawks | Heller raises bar in the red zone

Will Heller stands 6 feet 6, tied for tallest on the Seahawks roster and big enough to stand out even in a crowded end zone.

Matt Hasselbeck didn't overlook him on Monday night, finding him for a 1-yard touchdown pass to start Seattle's scoring in a 24-0 victory over San Francisco.

"I thought it was Tom Ashworth," Hasselbeck joked.

Nope. No mistaking Heller. He's the big guy with three touchdown catches this season. He hasn't single-handedly improved Seattle's red-zone scoring, but that's only because he uses two hands on every catch. The backup tight end is becoming a bigger factor in Seattle's offense than anyone expected, especially close to the goal line.

"Our tight end has always been a big part of our red-zone productivity," coach Mike Holmgren said.

True, but that was someone like Jerramy Stevens or Marcus Pollard. Men known for their hands.

Heller was brought in for his blocking, and now he's stepping into a larger role with Stevens gone, Itula Mili retired and Pollard slowed by a recent knee injury.

Instability at tight end is one reason Seattle struggled inside opponents' 20-yard line for the first half of the season. That's the red zone in pigskin dialect, and for Seattle's first eight games it was a virtual dead zone. Seattle converted 23 red-zone possessions into only 10 touchdowns in the first eight games. That ranked 23rd in the league after Week 9 and was the team's lowest percentage since Holmgren became coach.

That made Monday a big step forward. Seattle moved the ball inside San Francisco's 20-yard line four times and turned those opportunities into three touchdowns.

The Seahawks' airborne offense inflated their red-zone productivity, and it also opened up some running opportunities. Maurice Morris scored on a 6-yard draw in the second quarter. It was Seattle's first rushing touchdown since Sept. 16.

"The fact that we were throwing it around helped a couple of those plays," Holmgren said.

Holmgren said Seattle's red-zone offense is something he takes pride in, installing it in the game plan after fielding suggestions from his coaching staff in a Thursday-night think tank he holds each week.

"We have a little bit of a competition in there," Holmgren said. "I see the little kids in all of them at that particular point."

Two years ago the Seahawks scored 43 touchdowns on their 60 red-zone possessions, the best percentage in the NFL and the third consecutive season Seattle ranked in the top 10 in that category.

This season, the Seahawks have settled for field goals more than ever before under Holmgren.

Enter Heller, who caught four touchdown passes in his first four NFL seasons. He has caught three touchdowns in the past three games alone. He earned his civil engineering degree from Georgia Tech, and while he was brought in primarily for his blocking strength, he's building a reputation as a scoring threat.

"He has good hands and he's a tough guy," Holmgren said. "We just haven't used him too much in that role."

Not until now.

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