Burleson's got talent, without the baggage

A voice mail Seattle sportswriters didn't receive last week:

"Hey [fill in the blank], this is Ocho Uno. I just wanted to remind you to pay attention Sunday because I'm going to be carving up the Cincinnati Bengals' secondary.

"Look out, Ocho Uno is going to be all over the field, catching passes, punishing defensive backs, getting more face time on CBS than Katie Couric."

No, Ocho Uno doesn't play that game.

Nate Burleson, the Seahawks' No. 81, follows the advice his mother gave him a long time ago. He calls it, "The Three H's." Humility. Heart. Hunger.

So when Burleson caught the winning touchdown pass from Matt Hasselbeck in the shadows, in the corner of Qwest Field's north end zone, he didn't break into some choreographed routine. Didn't grab any props. Didn't make his travel plans for Canton.

Instead, he ran over to his wife, Atoya, who was standing in teammate Deion Branch's end-zone suite, handed her the football and blew her a kiss.

And as Burleson ran back to the bench, all No. 85 — the Cincinnati Bengals' voice-mailing, self-proclaimed Ocho Cinco (Chad Johnson) — could do was watch the muted celebration on the other side of the field.

Johnson sent all the self-promoting voice mails to Seattle sportswriters last week.

Burleson just caught the winning TD pass.

Johnson taped phone messages leading up to game day.

Burleson watched game tape.

"Before the game, somebody in the stands yelled to me, 'Forget Ocho Cinco, it's all about Ocho Uno.' " Burleson said after the Seahawks' 24-21 victory that felt like an escape. "I giggled. I thought that was really funny. But I got to play humble."

Before that last drive, Burleson was feeling almost too humble. He needed something good to happen to salvage his day. The last drive was redemptive.

Earlier in the game, he dropped two potential TD passes.

And the second drop, in the back of the end zone, got into Burleson's head like a recurring nightmare he wasn't sure he could escape.

"I got back to the sideline after that and I was, somewhat, low self-esteem, sitting there with my head down thinking, 'How'd I let that one go?' " Burleson said. "And when I dropped the post pattern I was like, 'Man, I could have scored on that.'

"I'm beating myself up about them and all my teammates are telling me, 'Hey man, you're going to make a big play. Even Walter Jones, before the last drive, he said to me, 'Hey, we're going to need you.' "

On that last drive, Jones was in the huddle, talking up Burleson to Hasselbeck.

"You never know," Jones said, "a guy like that [Burleson] can come right back and win a game for you."

With the Hawks down 21-17, Hasselbeck went to Burleson twice during the seven-play, 60-yard scoring drive. They connected on a 15-yard pass along the right sideline that moved the ball into Bengals territory. Then Hasselbeck lasered the 22-yard winner.

"All I was thinking was, 'Get in the end zone,' " Burleson said. "I dropped a couple balls and the coaches still gave me the opportunity to go out and make some plays."

Last season was supposed to be a perfect homecoming for Burleson, who went to O'Dea High School. He signed a big contract and came to town with big plans. But he was hurt most of the season, dropped passes and dropped deeper on the depth chart.

Now Burleson is healthy again. He's still dropping too many balls, but he caught six Sunday for 76 yards and has 10 receptions in three games this season. He caught only 18 passes last season.

"Nate is tremendously talented," coach Mike Holmgren said, "and will develop more consistency the more he plays."

Homecomings rarely work out as expected.

Burleson came into a new system last season. The geography might have looked familiar, but the playbook was as foreign as Farsi.

"This offense takes a little more getting used to than people realize," veteran receiver Bobby Engram said. "There's a lot of intricacy in the plays. I just think the more Nate's in this offense, the more comfortable he'll get. He's just off that learning curve. You see him getting it now."

Last season, Burleson said, was part of a process he had to endure.

Part of a professional athlete's growing pains.

"You have to go through the good and the bad," said Burleson, who is in his fifth NFL season. "I think I grew a lot, as a man, as a pro. Just knowing how to deal with certain things. I was playing with such a burden on my shoulders last year. I was thinking, 'Ah, man, hopefully I can get through this game without dropping a ball.'

"Those are the types of things you hate to think about as a receiver. I was just plagued by confidence issues and health issues. I'm playing with much more confidence this year."

Burleson needed that catch in the Sunday shadows to remind himself just how good he can be.

And in front of Ocho Cinco, Seattle's Ocho Uno finally got the homecoming he'd always expected.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com.