Seahawks
Notebook: Erickson's visit back is bittersweet

By José Miguel Romero
Seattle Times staff reporter

PAUL SAKUMA / AP San Francisco 49ers coach Dennis Erickson will miss not seeing his late father Pinky at Sunday's game in Seattle. To "play this game without him being there will be hard," Erickson said.

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KIRKLAND — Dennis Erickson's return to the Puget Sound is always emotional because of the family and friends in his native Everett and the greater Seattle area.

This Sunday, however, the San Francisco 49ers coach returns with a heavy heart.

Erickson's father, Robert "Pink" Erickson, died this past April. Pink Erickson, who was often called Pinky, was 79 years old.

The elder Erickson grew up in Marysville and went on to coach football at Ferndale, Everett and Cascade high schools before joining the University of Montana staff in 1967.

Pinky Erickson's last coaching job was as a volunteer tight-ends coach at Idaho, where he got to work with Dennis, who was the Vandals' head coach in the early 1980s.

"My dad was such a huge influence on my life, and to come up there and play this game without him being there will be hard," Dennis said. "He's always with me. It's been hard on my mom. We were so close and football was such a big part of our lives together."

Even when Dennis Erickson became the 49ers' coach, he would call his father on Saturdays to talk about the college games or on Mondays after 49ers games. Erickson said he misses being able to do that.

Erickson said he does plan to spend a little time with his mother and sisters after Sunday's game. A former Seahawks coach, Erickson said his return visits are not as big a deal as far as football goes.

"I just have to focus on us (the 49ers) and us getting better as time goes on. That's the most important thing," he said.

A day for Heaven
 
You might recall that last year at this time, Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander had just become a father for the first time. His daughter, Heaven, was born on Sept. 21, a Sunday on which the Seahawks were hosting the St. Louis Rams.

Alexander missed the first quarter while his wife, Valerie, was giving birth. On Tuesday, the Alexanders had a small get-together and will celebrate Heaven's birthday this Saturday with a party.

"We woke up, fed her, sang Happy Birthday to her, prayed for her. ... It was really neat," Alexander said.

Alexander had teammate Bobby Engram and his wife and children over to the family home Tuesday, and Heaven opened some presents.

No worries at tight end

The numbers — a combined two catches for 31 yards — don't say much about the kind of contribution expected from the Seahawks' two tight ends: Jerramy Stevens and Itula Mili.

But it is early, coach Mike Holmgren said, and fans can eventually expect to see more production out of the tight ends. The Seahawks, Holmgren explained, ran the ball quite a bit against New Orleans, and didn't complete a high number of passes at Tampa Bay last week.

"Let's see how we are at midseason," Holmgren said. "Let's get a few games under our belts. But the tight end, I'm very happy with the way the tight ends are playing. Jerramy is hanging in there good, and Mili is being very unselfish. They'll be a factor at some point."

Mili is a self-described late bloomer. He's had his best games after the midway point of the past two seasons.

"I expect to peak at the end of the season," Mili said. "If it has to start with just one catch, then it starts there."

Healthy Hawks

Besides linebacker Chad Brown, who will be out this week while he continues to recover from a broken left fibula, the Seahawks have only one other injury.

Jerramy Stevens has a sore right knee and was limited to the morning pre-practice workout yesterday, but he is listed as probable to play Sunday.

Notes

• Seahawks P Tom Rouen was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. He averaged 47.5 yards on 10 punts at Tampa Bay, and his 44-yard net average was the second highest in franchise history for a minimum of 10 punts in a game. Four punts were inside the 20-yard line.

• The Seahawks announced details of the team's Blue Ribbon Partners program yesterday. It will allow four charities and community organizations to raise money by selling programs at home games, and team owner Paul Allen's foundation will match the amount for every program sold ($3 each) up to $25,000 per partner.

• Only a few hundred tickets remain for Sunday's game, and the local TV blackout is expected to be lifted this afternoon because the game is a virtual sellout.

• Long snapper J.P. Darche was excused from practice yesterday.

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com