Seahawks
Hawks' receivers can't get a grip

By Greg Bishop
Seattle Times staff reporter

ROD MAR / THE SEATTLE TIMES Maurice Morris can't hang on to a pass by Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck in the third quarter yesterday. Seattle, which lost to St. Louis, punted on the possession.

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For the first time since last season, it's safe to say the Seahawks' pass catchers really dropped the ball.

Both literally and figuratively.

They thought they were done with this annoyance. Done with the questions and the headlines. Done with the bobbles and bad bounces. Ready to assert themselves among the best corps in the NFL.

Then, well, this annoyance: at least four dropped passes by three different receivers in a 33-27 overtime loss to the St. Louis Rams yesterday. At least two drops by Koren Robinson (or three, depending on who's counting). At least 40 yards of offense and three potential first downs lost. Along with a division game.

"They're good, man," Rams receiver Torry Holt said. "But once again, it goes back to the mistakes. They had some drops. They're some of the up-and-coming guys. Really. But Koren has some things he needs to work on."

It was Holt who criticized the Seahawks' receiving trio — Robinson, Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram — on national television near the end of last season. He said they couldn't become elite receivers until they eliminated the dropped passes.

To his credit, Jackson has, and he was last year's worst offender. He leads the Seahawks with 24 catches for 336 yards on the season. Engram dropped his first pass yesterday. Then there's Robinson, owner of seven of the Seahawks' 10 unofficial drops this season.

"I don't know what to tell you," Robinson said, fiddling with his maroon tie. "I have to get better, man, that's all. We've got to get better."

Robinson made a point before this season of minimizing the Seahawks' drops last year. He said the media made too much of it. He said the problems would be corrected.
 
Asked yesterday if the issue had indeed returned, Robinson shook his head.

"I'm just trying to make a play," he said. "That's all. I'm not thinking about it like that. I'm turning my head or whatever. I'm just trying to make a play. Too fast. Too quick. Ain't nothing, man."

Think of the day Robinson would have had if he held on to every ball. He still caught five passes for 59 yards, while Jackson snagged five passes for 91 more.

Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck even went so far as to throw to Robinson on the sideline, trying to spark a rhythm. The best medicine for a case of the dropsies, Hasselbeck said, is more passes, more chances to make a catch.

But how many can the Seahawks afford to drop?

"Miscues in general will hurt you, but drops will definitely hurt," said Rams receiver Dane Looker, a Puyallup native. "I know in our corps, we think dropping the ball is something you just can't do. I have to live with it all week if I drop a ball."

But Seahawks warn pundits not to label too early. This isn't the loss that spirals a season out of control, said linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski.

"We're not going to let that happen," Kacyvenski said. "We're too mature. We've worked too hard to let one game turn our season. We're not fragile little kids. It's one loss. That's it."