Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Receiver corps lacking

Hawks go with untested early

By Scott M. Johnson Everett Herald

The last time Nate Burleson inherited the title of No. 1 receiver, he was stepping into shoes so large that he could have gotten lost inside the canvas.

The year was 2005, Burleson’s third in the NFL, and Minnesota Vikings teammate and Pro Bowler Randy Moss had just been traded to the Oakland Raiders. That left Burleson as the go-to guy, out to prove that his 1,000-yard season the previous year was no fluke.

Suffice to say, Burleson was no Randy Moss.

After catching 68 passes for 1,006 yards in Moss’s shadow in 2004, Burleson saw his numbers dip to 30 and 328, respectively, as the Vikings’ go-to guy in 2005. A torn posterior cruciate ligament suffered in Week 2 cost Burleson four games, and he finished the season at less than 100 percent.

“I guess the critics could say I couldn’t handle the pressure,” he said, “but my PCL couldn’t handle the (pass) routes.”

Now entering his third season with the Seattle Seahawks, Burleson is healthy and stepping into the role of No. 1 receiver again.

Teammates Bobby Engram and Deion Branch have been hobbled by injuries – Engram is probably out until next month, while Branch has a remote possibility of returning to the practice field this week – and so the 27-year-old Burleson is Seattle’s best option in the passing game.

This time, Burleson said, is nothing like 2005.

“It’s not really similar because we kind of do things by committee out here,” he said. “With Deion and Bobby healthy, and myself on the field at the same time, you’re going to have everybody making plays. In Minnesota, it was just Moss; everybody else would kind of feed on the leftovers when it came to plays.

“With Bobby being down, and Deion being down, I just want to do my best to lead these young guys.”

The other three healthy receivers on Seattle’s roster have a combined five NFL receptions, all of which came from Courtney Taylor during his rookie year last season. Jordan Kent and Logan Payne have yet to catch a regular-season pass, while backup quarterback Seneca Wallace is an injury away from playing some receiver.

Burleson, with 195 career receptions, is the only proven wideout the Seahawks have. After struggling to pick up the Seahawks’ offense in 2006, he broke out with 50 receptions and a team-high nine receiving touchdowns last season.

But he did most of his work in the shadows of others – namely Engram, who set a franchise record with 94 receptions in 2007. This time around, Burleson may well be the man whom defensive coordinators target each week.

“I don’t think there’s more pressure,” Burleson said. “I’m going into my sixth year, so I feel like a pretty strong veteran.

“Pressure (is something) you put on the shoulders of guys who are a little hesitant about what they’ve done. I know I’ve got enough talent that I can make plays, so I’m just going to relax and play ball.”

Burleson will remain at the split end position, which he played last season, while Taylor is likely to step into Branch’s starting spot at flanker. Payne should see time in the slot, and Kent – the Seahawks’ biggest playmaker of the preseason – could play some split end while Burleson slides inside. Ben Obomanu, who was the second-most experienced receiver at training camp, suffered a season-ending clavicle injury in the preseason finale.

Making matters worse, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck spent most of training camp rehabilitating a sore back, thereby missing valuable practice time with his young receiving corps.

“For the most part, I feel good about these guys,” Hasselbeck said on Monday, when he returned to the practice field and pronounced himself ready for Sunday’s regular-season opener at Buffalo. “All this time that I’ve been hurt, I’ve been watching film, watching how they run their routes. I think we’ll be OK.”

The one receiver whom Hasselbeck knows very well is Burleson, Seattle’s de facto No. 1.

It’s a title Burleson would just as soon go without.

“I don’t play the numbers game,” he said, “because the title of No. 1 receiver is only going to last so long and will only mean so much.

“You can call me the No. 1, but then when Deion and Bobby get back, then what am I? I’ll just be another part of the receiving corps. I just look at it as: I’m the guy with the most experience and the guy who has shown the most consistency in this league.”