Center of attention

Acquiring Jimmy Graham this season came with the realization that the Seattle Seahawks would need a new starting center for the first time since 2009.

Seattle traded Max Unger to New Orleans in exchange for Graham this offseason and the search for his replacement is one of the more heated battles of training camp.

Lemuel Jeanpierre and Drew Nowak have been splitting first-team reps on a daily basis for the majority of the first two weeks of camp.

“It’s still very competitive,” head coach Pete Carroll said. “Drew is a little bit ahead right now. (Jeanpierre) is ahead in all of the assignments and all that stuff. Drew looks really good physically. We’re just going to keep working it and see what happens.”

Jeanpierre had been Unger’s backup for the last four seasons and was re-signed to compete for the starting job. Nowak, a former defensive lineman, began taking snaps at center during OTAs and has taken a slight lead over Jeanpierre as the team prepares for the preseason opener on Friday.

“I just think we’re kind of creating as much competition as we can with it,” offensive line coach Tom Cable said. “(Nowak) has been in the first huddle a little more the last couple days, but that will even out.”

Jeanpierre was placed on injured reserve and released with an injury settlement after injuring his neck at the end of the preseason last year. He returned to the team midseason and started three games in place of Unger down the stretch. He’s played in 53 games for Seattle with 11 starts over the last four seasons.

Despite getting one of his first opportunities to start in his career, Jeanpierre has been instructing Nowak and rookie Kristjan Sokoli — another defensive line to offensive line convert — regularly during practices.

“I’m trying to help them out. I’m wanting to bring them along. I want them to be at my level of knowledge,” Jeanpierre said.

“If I compete and I win, whoever I compete against I want them to be at their best. That’s how you want it. If I win, when I win, it was at their best. It wasn’t a fluke.”

Nowak won the 2011 Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year award at Central Michigan as a defensive tackle and has played in just two games in his NFL career, both coming with the Jaguars in 2013.

Associated Press

Bailey steps in at SS

From injured, late-to-begin and forgotten at the start of training camp to the No. 1 strong safety inside the middle of the league’s top-ranked defense.

It’s been a decent week to be Dion Bailey.

Seattle’s 2014 undrafted free agent from USC moved past DeShawn Shead as the fill-in for holdout Kam Chancellor on Monday during the Seahawks’ ninth practice of training camp.

Chancellor continued to stay away. His 11-day-old holdout could now cost the team leader a maximum of $530,000 in fines, if the Seahawks choose to sanction him.

Bailey’s rise – and coach Pete Carroll gushing how no one can deny how productive he’s has been in the last few days – felt like an underline to the coach stating how the team is moving on without Chancellor. At least for now and in the foreseeable future, that is.

Bailey dived in front of backup tight end Anthony McCoy to make an impressive interception of Russell Wilson in the end zone during a red-zone scrimmage.

He may be on the first team for a while this month. That includes Friday night against Denver.

“I’ve got to take advantage of the situation,” he said on the edge of the Virginia Mason Athletic Center practice field, with the word “Faith” written on his eye black representing his spirituality over his left cheek.

He said the “greatest thing that’s helping me right now” is having played at linebacker at USC. That has him very comfortable and familiar in the run fits of Seattle’s gap defense, and with the traffic-cop aspects of playing safety and getting every teammate in the right spot from the center of the field just before the snap.

“Rolling down on the run is not a big deal to him. That’s why they had him do that,” Carroll said of his successors at USC playing Bailey at linebacker. “But his pass defense has really shown up, though. He’s done very well.”\

Tacoma News Tribune