Hawk Notes: Alexander isn't sweating getting less work at camp

CHENEY — To be clear, Shaun Alexander is healthy and not dealing with any nagging injuries.

Which is exactly the way coach Mike Holmgren wants to keep it. That's why Alexander is being held out of most team drills so far in camp, getting most of his work in practice in individual and positional work.

"You all know me. This is normal to me," Alexander said. "It wouldn't matter if I got 100 reps or 1,000 reps, I'm not really happy until we get to the season."

Alexander isn't worried about fewer carries in training camp.

"I'm a visual learner," he said. "I've always learned by studying film or watching someone else do it. I don't have to take a lot of reps to understand the flow of something.

"One rep or 1,000, it all feels the same until the games start."

Holmgren said he has seen plenty from his Pro Bowl running back.

"He's going to play in the games ... and get hit around a little bit, but I don't have to see him do a lot of things," Holmgren said. "With running backs in particular, he needs to get banged around a little bit, but we're going to keep him fresh for the season."

Art with meaning

Middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu has some new body art, noticeable because the tattoo runs the length of his left forearm.

Not that Tatupu needs the added attention. He's clearly reached fan-favorite status in just his second season, judging by the number of Tatupu jerseys on fans watching practice in Cheney.

"The middle part [of the tattoo] is a design from my parents' wedding back in the day," Tatupu said, "and then the outside is something me and the tattoo artist came up with, something I liked."

Tatupu got the tattoo in San Diego during the offseason. The design of the middle part comes from a traditional cloth his mother received at her wedding.

Happy homecoming

Nate Burleson is coming home to play in his first game as a Seahawk at Qwest Field, and the Seattle native is excited.

"It's the first time I actually get to put the jersey on in full," Burleson said. "Look at the crowd, feel the energy, even though it is preseason."

The wide receiver also gets to be on the home sideline for the first time — he was on the visitor's side when Nevada played Washington State in Seattle, and also as a Minnesota Viking in exhibition games.

Cornerback compliment

Holmgren, on first-round pick Kelly Jennings' on-field intelligence: "His retention and how he handles meetings and what we're doing on the field is good. So I think that's a strength of his."

Save those stubs

Ticket stubs from Saturday's exhibition game against the Dallas Cowboys can be redeemed for two-for-one admissions and two-for-one food entrees at the Boeing Greater Seattle Classic golf event at TPC at Snoqualmie Ridge on Monday and Friday.

Notes

• The Seahawks announced less than 1,000 tickets remain for the Dallas game.

• The team released TE Mike Gomez, who was injured, and signed G Jason Murphy, a rookie from Virginia Tech who had been in the San Diego Chargers' camp. Murphy is 6-foot-2, 304 pounds.

• Cowboys coach Bill Parcells says "there would be a pretty good chance" that Tony Romo will start at quarterback Saturday against the Seahawks. "I need to find out what this guy can do," Parcells said of Dallas' backup. "It's not like [Drew] Bledsoe, 34 years old, needs to play a quarter Saturday night to make sure that he's ready for the season."

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