Busy Adams Even Plays Pass Defense

Seeing Sam Adams busting through the line and chasing a quarterback isn’t rare. That’s his job.

Seeing Adams, a 300-pound Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle, drop into pass coverage and knock down passes is rare.

It happened Sunday during the Seahawks’ 17-9 victory over the St. Louis Rams.

On a third-and-5 from the St. Louis’ 21, Rams quarterback Tony Banks dropped back against a Seahawks zone blitz. Cornerback Jeremy Lincoln charged toward the line. Adams dropped into coverage in the short zone.

“I saw the quarterback looking to the sidelines, so I bolted over there,” Adams said. “I figured the guy would catch the ball before I got there.”

Adams beat halfback Amp Lee to the ball. It appeared as though the poorly-thrown pass bounced off Adams’ rear.

“They told me it hit me there, but I thought the ball just went by me,” Adams said.

Adams also had four tackles, a sack and numerous quarterback pressures. His hope was to have a two- or three-sack day, but Banks released the ball a couple times just as Adams reached him.

Draining injury

One of the more disheartening sights in the Seahawks’ locker room was the slow and pained gait of receiver Mike Pritchard.

Pritchard is the Seahawks’ leading receiver this season, but caught only one pass Sunday and pulled himself out of the game because of a chronically painful problem with his right knee.

“I hurt it against San Diego and I keep aggravating it,” Pritchard said. “Finally, I guess I pushed it too far and I finally had to take myself out.”

“I had it drained a couple of times, but the fluid keeps coming back,” Pritchard said. “Now we’re going to have to take a careful look at it, find out what’s wrong, and try to get back as soon as possible.”

An MRI is scheduled for today.

Missing Pritchard caused serious problems in Seattle’s game plan. To save an extra player for the offensive line, the Seahawks had only five receivers on the active roster. Once Pritchard went down, they had only four.

A postcard from Ernie

University of Washington product Ernie Conwell caught a pair of passes for 25 yards as the starting tight end for the Rams.

“I grew up a big fan of the Seahawks. Steve Largent was my favorite player,” Conwell said. “I knew the folks back in Washington would be watching, so I was excited to play. But I wanted to help us win.”

Conwell is the team’s second-leading receiver, despite having caught just 16 passes.