Strong Has Endurance To Hang On And Become Starter

Mack Strong could see it coming.

First, the Seattle Seahawks decided to let Tracy Johnson go as a free agent and he signed with Tampa Bay. Then, Steve Smith retired because of an ailing back.

Those off-season developments, Strong decided correctly, made him coach Dennis Erickson’s starting fullback.

“I’m an opportunist,” Strong, 24, said Wednesday before a training-camp practice. “If I get the opportunity, I’m going to make the best of it.”

An undrafted free agent out of the University of Georgia, he made the Seahawks’ roster under coach Tom Flores as a rookie in 1994 and started two games in Erickson’s first year last season.

“Coming from where I started, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime for me,” he said.

With Pro Bowl running back Chris Warren the focal point of Seattle’s offense, Strong realizes his opportunities will be limited. Warren has produced 32.2 percent of the Seahawks’ offense since he became a starter in 1992.

“Basically, we’re a one-back team now,” Strong said. “I’d like to be out there 60 to 70 percent of the time, but I doubt that’s going to happen.”

Considered too slow to be a running back and too small to be a fullback in the NFL after his collegiate career, Strong is a perfect fit in Erickson’s spread-the-field offense.

He won’t get a lot of carries, but he figures to get a lot of chances to catch Rick Mirer and John Friesz passes.

“Chris Warren is definitely the backbone of this team,” Strong said. “He’s going to get a majority of the plays because he’s the franchise back.”

In Erickson’s offense, the fullback is called on to do a lot of receiving.

“You’ve got to catch the ball out of the backfield,” Strong said. “You’ve got to be able to run routes. Just as important, you’ve got to make something happen after the catch. I feel I have all those qualities.”