Erickson Alters His Course, Decides To Stick With Mirer

As Seattle Seahawks players ran wind sprints at their training facility Monday afternoon, Rick Mirer carried a football. John Friesz didn’t.

And that’s the way it’ll be on Sunday when the Kansas City Chiefs visit the Kingdome. At least to start with.

After reviewing videotape of Sunday’s 30-20 loss to Denver, coach Dennis Erickson has decided to keep Mirer as the starting quarterback and Friesz as the backup. Erickson pulled Mirer after an ineffective first half only to watch the Hawks’ offense sputter under Friesz in the final half.

“I don’t think it would have made any difference who was at quarterback,” Erickson said.

Erickson said all 11 offensive players share in the futility.

“It’s got to be solved other places as opposed to making a quarterback change. (Changing quarterbacks) is what people want to see, but that’s not going to make the difference in our football team,” Erickson said.

“I think that it has been overexaggerated. You’ve got to have people playing well besides (the quarterback). I think we all forget that. It’s a position that you need help.”

In particular, the quarterbacks could use some help from the line. For that matter, so could running back Chris Warren, held to 85 yards in two games.

“We’re having trouble developing continuity because of injuries,” Erickson said. “I thought we’d be much better personnel-wise and that hasn’t been the case. We’re not playing good there, but that’s not the only place, either.”

Juggling the offensive line isn’t viable, Erickson said. Starting guard Pete Kendall injured a knee ligament against Denver, but the injury won’t require surgery. He’s out 2-4 weeks.

“We have who we have and we don’t plan on bringing anybody in unless Pete’s out for a long time,” said Erickson, who pledged to pare down the playbook this week to make things easier on the entire offense.

Denver safety Steve Atwater was as baffled as Erickson by Seattle’s lack of productivity.

“They’ve got the players and they’ve got the scheme,” Atwater said. “We know they’re capable. I’m just glad they didn’t put it together against us.”

Seattle’s offense and defense have been slowed by seven turnovers.

“We only ran 50 plays (vs. Denver) and that’s not many,” Erickson said. “That’s a two-way street - you go three-and-out too many times and the other team is moving the football against you on the ground.”

Friesz honked

John Friesz was angry Monday. Not because Erickson selected Mirer as the starter. That’s something Friesz has grown accustomed to. He’s angry with the Hawks’ habit of being on the short end of the score.

“That loss was as tough as any I’ve had,” said Friesz, a seven-year NFL veteran. “I’ve had it. I’m just tired of losing. I won in high school (at Coeur d’Alene). I won in college (at Idaho). I understand it’s harder to win up here, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to stop the losing.”

Typically, Friesz handled Erickson’s decision with class.

“No. 1, I didn’t play one of my best games and there were a lot of factors involved throughout the second half - for Rick, too, in the first half,” Friesz said. “I really didn’t view it as Rick being benched to begin with.”

Notes

Linebacker Terry Wooden, who has missed the first two games with a hamstring injury, “is getting a lot closer. Hopefully, he can play,” Erickson said. “But there are no guarantees with a hamstring.” Defensive tackle Sam Adams suffered a mild ankle sprain but should be ready for Wednesday’s practice.

Erickson continues to study ways to get receiver Joey Galloway the ball more often. “He’s getting doubled a lot more this year,” Erickson said. “Everybody wants to go deep to him, but they (Broncos) were playing 12-13 yards off him and you can’t go deep.”

, DataTimes