Delivering With Speed Hawks’ Broussard Adds Spark On Kickoff Returns

Both quick and evasive, Steve Broussard appeared perfect for the job.

But an abundance of another important quality stifled any real zeal for returning kickoffs in the National Football League.

Common sense.

“In the past, I wasn’t too keen about it,” the Seattle Seahawks reserve running back and return specialist said. “You’ve got all those crazy guys flying down, trying to take out all their frustrations on me.”

He’s accurate in that evaluation, as kickoff coverage teams generally are loaded with backup linebackers with visions of “SportsCenter” hits dancing in their devious minds.

If they can dismember the return man, each guy gets to keep a part for a souvenir.

It’s like bowling in reverse, where all the pins come hurtling at the ball.

But here he is, averaging 24 yards per return and repeatedly giving the Seahawks good field position.

Sunday, in the Hawks’ 44-10 demolition of Oakland, Broussard took the opening kickoff 46 yards to midfield, setting up Seattle’s first score.

Twelve minutes later, he broke the second Raiders kickoff 54 yards up the right sideline to give the Hawks the ball inside the Oakland 39.

Those two crucial early plays established Seattle’s dominance for the entire game, coach Dennis Erickson said.

“We said that the special teams had to set the tone because we stunk it up last week (at Denver),” said Broussard, a Washington State product who played for Erickson in Pullman. “It was a big spark, a big plus.

“All in all, we played a good game on special teams; that’s 40 percent of the game and they set the momentum,” Broussard said. “When you get a good return over the 50, that puts their defense against the wall because they’ve got a short field to defend.”

It’s an important role, but not the one Broussard envisioned when being drafted in the first round in 1990 by the Atlanta Falcons.

Falcons coach Jerry Glanville touted Broussard as a “stand-up” player, meaning that every time he got the ball, fans would stand up to get a better look at what he would do.

But conflicts with Glanville and a series of injuries conspired to keep Broussard from reaching NFL stardom in four seasons in Atlanta and another in Cincinnati.

When Erickson landed the Seahawks job, he sought a reunion with Broussard.

“We knew he would be a force because of his speed,” Erickson said. “He never returned kickoffs, but I asked (special teams coach Dave Arnold) to get him in there because, with his speed and running ability, with the way he gets it up the football field, he’s a natural.”

Did it take some arm-bending?

“No, because he needed to make the team; it was either return kickoffs or go sell hamburgers,” Erickson joked. “No, really, he’ll do anything he can. He’s the biggest team guy I’ve been around. He’s really been a leader on this team and has made some very big plays for us.”

The former Los Angeles city sprint champ has also been a valuable backup to tailback Chris Warren, averaging 4.7 yards per carry.

But it’s been on special teams where he’s had the most impact.

“It’s just another opportunity I’ve got, and I’ve got to take advantage of any opportunity I get,” Broussard said. “I never really returned kicks at Atlanta or Cincinnati, but I’ve taken a liking to it now.”

It’s a job for an instinctive runner with a knack for finding the soft spot in the coverage.

“You kind of feel how they cover it,” Broussard said. “It might be a return right, but it will open to the left, and you have to use your eyes and get yards where you can.”

The returns were particularly successful against Oakland because “we game-planned them real well,” Broussard said. “And they kicked it right where we wanted it.”

Both long runbacks appeared to have the chance of ending up in the end zone.

“I’m always thinking I’m going to score, but I ran out of gas and the pursuit got me,” he said of his long jaunts.

As the Seahawks gear up for Sunday’s game in Kansas City, with a wild-card playoff berth at stake, Broussard recalled that he’s been part of a playoff race before.

“It was 1992 with Atlanta, and I broke my leg against Seattle in the last game of the season,” Broussard said, reaching behind him to tap lightly on the frame of his locker stall. “Knock on wood, we’ll get in and I’ll be healthy this time.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo