Football Gods Shine Down On Hawks Seattle Maneuvers To Get Two Players Who Are Likely To Fill Immediate Needs

Draft day obviously went well for the Seattle Seahawks. Even the dreaded Raiders cooperated.

Seattle took Shawn Springs with the third overall selection after Oakland passed on the Ohio State cornerback. Then the Hawks traded up into the sixth slot and nabbed 300-pound Florida State offensive tackle Walter Jones, whose sub 4.7-second 40-yard time made co-college scouting director Mike Allman do a double-take at his stopwatch.

By 9:45 a.m. Saturday, Seattle basically was done with the first-day, three-round talent grab. The final four rounds are today.

So Seahawks officials sat back, let the plaudits roll in, including heavy bluster from ESPN analyst Joe Theismann, and dropped calculated sound bites on lawmakers in Olympia.

“Things went exactly how we wanted them to go,” Coach Dennis Erickson said. “Obviously we were concerned when the Raiders were on the clock with that second pick.”

“Maybe the football gods were looking out for us,” said Randy Mueller, vice president of football operations. “We’ve had our share go against us, but this week has been pretty good.”

The Raiders, who took USC’s Darrell Russell, spoke of selecting Springs and tried to coax the Hawks into a trade. Seattle didn’t bite.

After choosing Springs, Seattle worked on positioning for Jones. The Hawks, who also had the 12th pick of the first round, and the Jets were talking swap when Tampa Bay snuck in and dealt with the Jets.

Enter the football gods. For some reason, Tampa dialed up the Hawks and … let Allman tell the story.

“It just fell into our laps,” he said. “Tampa offered us a better deal than the one we were going to propose to the Jets.” Which was Seattle’s No. 12, a third-round and another lower-round pick for the sixth slot. Seattle sent Tampa its first- and third-round choices.

It was that kind of morning - with one cloudy exception. The House of Representatives continues to haggle over whether to allow the public to vote on a new stadium, a prerequisite to Paul Allen pursuing his option to buy the team.

Though they don’t call the plays in Olympia, everybody from Erickson to NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue tried too, anyway. Tagliabue lobbied a couple of legislators by telephone on Saturday.

“If it doesn’t pass (through the House), that’s the end of Paul Allen and that puts us back to nowhere,” Tagliabue said via speaker phone. “I told one of the reps, from my perspective, it puts us back into a dark tunnel with no light at the end.”

Springs and Jones illuminate the coaching staff’s outlook. Seattle desired Springs from the moment it traded with Atlanta to move from No. 11 to No. 3 earlier this month. Seahawks coaches favorably compared Springs to Joey Galloway, Seattle’s speedy wide receiver who is also from Ohio State.

“The last thing I said to Joey was, ‘We’ll discuss rent when I get back,” Springs joked.

Springs didn’t have an interception as a junior last season, mainly because opponents rarely test him. The 6-foot, 195-pound Springs is talented and isn’t afraid to say so.

“Before the Rose Bowl, he tells Arizona State’s receiver (Keith Poole), ‘You’re going to catch one pass and that’s all you’re going to catch,”’ defensive coordinator Greg McMackin said. Poole caught one pass for 10 yards.

Springs is another new face on a changing defense. He’ll join free-agent signees Willie Williams (CB), Chad Brown (DE/LB) and Bennie Blades (safety).

“We’re already running an attacking defense,” McMackin said. “We’re just getting faster players so we can attack better.”

Jones played at a junior college before starring as a junior last year at Florida State. He shot up draft lists, particularly Seattle’s, when scouts witnessed his alarmingly quick 40-yard times and saw his rangy frame is capable of an additional 25 pounds.

He will move in at left guard, displacing James Atkins to the right side. Last year’s top pick, Pete Kendall, is at left guard.

Considering Seattle’s draft and free-agent moves, ESPN’s Theisman claimed Seattle as an “odds-on favorite” to compete for the AFC title.

“We’ve improved ourselves in a lot of areas,” Erickson said. “We’ve got to put it all together. And fit it all under the salary cap.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Photos (1 Color)

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: SHAWN SPRINGS FILE Position: Cornerback Size: 6 feet, 195 pounds College: Ohio State Notable: Entered draft after his junior year. Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last season. Led Buckeyes with five interceptions as sophomore, but teams didn’t throw his direction last season and he had none.