Hawks practice-squad players share house, car and common goal

KIRKLAND — The doorstep to a dream looks pretty nondescript.

Just a house at the end of a cul-de-sac near the top of a suburban hill. There are five bedrooms, a couple of pizza boxes on the kitchen counter and a minivan in the driveway. It's a turquoise minivan, but more on that later.

The lease is month to month, a necessity because their job isn't guaranteed beyond this week for Logan Payne, Nu'u Tafisi and Steve Vallos. They are three of the eight members of Seahawks' practice squad. Each has a locker at team headquarters and a special designation on the roster, but come Sundays they're not on the sideline. They get tickets to sit in the stands.

A practice squad is an NFL team's sharpening stone. Their job: to prepare the starters for what they will see from the next opponent. Their goal: to develop into one of those guys who plays on Sundays.

"Oh man, I'm just hoping," Tafisi said. "Maybe one day in the future."

That's the dream. This is the doorstep.

No one grows up dreaming about the practice squad. This is a starting point. Players make a minimum of $4,700 per week. It's the opportunity that is priceless, learning from the men who make millions and getting a chance to impress the NFL executives who cut those checks.

"It has been the best football experience of my career," said Payne, an undrafted wide receiver out of Minnesota.

Payne goes up against a couple of first-round picks at cornerback every day in practice in Marcus Trufant and Kelly Jennings. Back in September, Payne got a superstar role, wearing No. 85 the week before Seattle played Cincinnati. That made him Ocho Cinco, aka Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson. Payne's instructions included a directive from coaches to deliver the post-play chatter Johnson is known for.

"Just be loud out there," Payne said. "Make a catch, let them know I made the catch."

Tafisi is a defensive lineman from California who wore No. 55 last week. That would be Terrell Suggs, Baltimore's pass-rushing outside linebacker.

Every NFL team has 53 spots on its regular roster and eight spots for players on the practice squad. The practice-squad players are part of the team's preparation and in turn they get a chance to develop into an NFL player.

"It's not just bodies," Seahawks president Tim Ruskell said. "When you have a really good practice squad of guys that are committed, want to get better, they push our people to get better. We've seen that this year. This is definitely the best group I've ever been associated with."

Farm system

Kyle Williams planned to go to Las Vegas.

The Seahawks let Williams go during training camp, and he went down to Arizona. With no immediate NFL suitors, he poked around employment opportunities with someone who worked in music management. Hootie & the Blowfish are among his clients. They had a show in Vegas. Williams had plans to go on a Tuesday.

"The Seahawks called on Sunday," he said.

He was added to the practice squad Oct. 2, moving into the house with Payne, Vallos and Tafisi until his wife and daughter moved up later in the season.

Things are fluid on the practice squad. Cornerback Kevin Hobbs found his way onto the active roster. Same with fullback David Kirtman. Vallos, Payne and Tafisi have spent the season on the practice squad.

Experience on the practice squad doesn't count toward an NFL pension. It can be a route to a professional career, though.

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck spent his first season in the NFL on the Packers' practice squad. So did Green Bay defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, patron saint of every practice squad after he notched 13 ½ sacks in 2001, his first season on the 53-man roster.

In college, the scout team is a proving ground. A place for the young bucks to show their chops with one big hit or a solid catch. The very last thing an NFL coach wants is some headstrong rookie trying to prove he belongs by taking a shot at a veteran. The Seahawks don't practice in pads this time of year, with the players instructed to stay on their feet.

"We have to find that fine line between giving them a good look and not having someone twist an ankle or something like that," Williams said.

The practice squad is a foothold in professional football for someone like Williams, who changed positions from tackle at USC to guard with the Seahawks. Tafisi suffered a knee injury in a college all-star game that foiled any chance of getting drafted. And it was a way for wide receiver Jordan Kent to gain seasoning. He was Seattle's sixth-round draft choice last April after playing only two years of college football at Oregon.

Payne had one of the most impressive training camps of any player for Seattle, but the Seahawks' depth at wide receiver thwarted any chance of making the regular roster. The practice squad gives him time and experience, a de facto development arm for the franchise.

House of Payne

Carrying a couple of 300-pound linemen was a lot to ask of that Hyundai.

Payne knew that back in training camp when he was driving a rental car around with Vallos and Williams, two tackles moving inside to guard.

"We had to get out at the same time so the car didn't tip over," Payne said.

Relief came from Joe Newton, a practice-squad tight end. Well, actually it was Newton's minivan. He got it from his parents back in college at Oregon State when his Audi blew up and drove it to training camp.

Newton got a new car while with the Seahawks. His practice-squad teammates got his old ride, which tops out at a little over 60 mph. This month, they hung a wreath on the grill for season's greetings.

They were in a hotel back then, living a few miles from training camp and searching newspapers and online listings for a more permanent setup.

"We were all doing the same thing," Payne said. "We were all looking for a place to live."

Payne's father works in real estate, and they found a five-bedroom house that had just been remodeled. It turned out to be the most cost-efficient alternative.

Payne bought a Christmas tree from Albertson's that is perched in the living room. The furniture came via a trade. Payne swaps his Seahawks game tickets for the furniture from Cort rental. Three beds, three dressers, a couple of desks and a living-room set. A recliner was purchased from punter Ryan Plackemeier. Then there's the nerve center of the house: a 60-inch flat-screen television purchased from Deion Branch after the set was deemed too big for his house.

An X-Box 360 is hooked up to the television, but these guys don't play video games. They play one game. Halo 3. Payne is ruthless, Williams prone to stomping his foot in anger and Tafisi is admittedly the worst.

A few weeks ago a friend of Williams in Carolina got them into a game against David Carr, a Panthers quarterback and former No. 1 overall pick. They'll play online, too. Lofa Tatupu has found his way into their game. Leroy Hill, too.

Even here, in the cyberspace of video-game competition, they rub elbows and knock heads with the veterans who've earned their place in the game.

They're players fresh out of college on the doorstep of a dream. Men with no homework, a little bit of money and the hope of working their way onto the field one Sunday.

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