Seahawks prepare for noise

KIRKLAND, Wash. – Three of the defensive starters will be making their official Seattle Seahawks debut on Sunday afternoon, and they all have a similar request.

Bring the noise.

Defensive end Patrick Kerney and safeties Deon Grant and Brian Russell are looking forward to the thought of not being able to hear each other at Qwest Field.

“You want that atmosphere as a defensive player,” said Grant, who spent last season with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“The louder, the better it is. You don’t want anyone to be able to hear the quarterback.”

The noise at Qwest Field can work both ways, of course.

While fans are screaming their throats raw in an effort to rattle the offense, they also make it difficult for Seattle’s defense to communicate.

In an effort to prepare the defensive players for the elements, the coaching staff had artificial crowd noise pumped in through speakers at the Wednesday and Thursday practices this week.

“It’s a problem, just like it is for the offense when we’re on the road,” coach Mike Holmgren said after Friday’s practice.

“Noise, when you have to communicate, is a problem. So we have to have an answer for it. The defense always has a challenge that way.”

Kerney, who has played at Qwest Field as a member of the Atlanta Falcons but rarely had to worry about the deafening noise, said the speakers were a good indicator of what to expect Sunday.

“It helps a lot,” he said. “You get used to looking for hand signals and operating without hearing.”

In addition to the three starters who weren’t on the team last year, the Seahawks’ defense could add two second-year players to the lineup.

Cornerback Kelly Jennings started two games late last season, while defensive end Darryl Tapp is expected to make his first NFL start Sunday.

Third QB a mystery

Who’s No. 3? It’s a scenario that Holmgren does not even want to entertain.

If Matt Hasselbeck gets hurt, and backup Seneca Wallace has to come out of the game for any reason, who would be the Seahawks’ quarterback?

“I haven’t decided yet,” Holmgren said earlier this week.

“Probably whoever’s closest to me on the sideline: ‘Go in.’ “

Safety Brian Russell, who played quarterback at Penn and San Diego State before switching to the defensive side of the ball as a junior, has the most experience at the position.

But he knows next to nothing about the Seahawks’ offensive system.

The same can be said for middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu, rookie linebacker Will Herring and long snapper Derek Rackley, who all played quarterback in high school.

Among the players familiar with the offense, the only guy who’s played quarterback at any level is rookie receiver Courtney Taylor.

He was a three-year starter at Carrollton High School before being converted to receiver at Auburn.