If (When?) No. 1 Quarterback Rick Mirer Takes A Beating, Seahawks Will Look To … Johnny On The Spot

The woman in the pink sun visor was kind-hearted, but not exactly a polished autograph seeker.

“What’s your name?” she said to the Seattle Seahawk wearing No. 17.

“John Friesz,” came the accommodating reply. “Can you sign please? Find yourself (in the Seahawks program) and sign please?”

“Sure.”

“You know if Rick (Mirer) gets hurt, you might be playing every game.”

“Yeah, it’s possible.”

Minutes before, the woman was in hot pursuit of Mirer’s penmanship. Presumably, she didn’t have to ask, “Who are you?”

Anonymity has benefits, but it usually equates to one thing in the NFL: You’re not starting. That applies to Friesz, as well. It’s a scenario that the former Coeur d’Alene High and Idaho Vandal standout accepts, but obviously would prefer to change.

He is behind Mirer, the second pick overall in the 1993 draft. Coach Dennis Erickson named Mirer the ‘96 starter at the end of the ‘95 season - not long after Friesz had engineered a late-season surge that nearly landed the Hawks in the playoffs.

For now, Friesz’s game plan is to hurry up and wait. If six years in the NFL have taught him nothing else, Friesz knows his chance will come.

“It happens every year,” Friesz said. “You don’t like to see the backup have to play - that means either the guy went down or he isn’t playing good - but it’s a reality that those things happen. So I just wait for my time and be there for everybody when they need me.”

He waits patiently because squawking likely would result in team turmoil. He doesn’t squawk because he’s not so sure he wouldn’t have done the same thing as Erickson if he was the coach.

He doesn’t squawk because, well, that isn’t Friesz’s style.

“How do I put this without … ,” he begins, careful not to sound like a whiner. “If Rick wasn’t as good a quarterback as he is, if it was a contract thing, if I was obviously head and shoulders above him, then it wouldn’t be OK. But Rick’s a very good quarterback.

“That makes it easier.

What makes it harder for an outside observer to understand are the numbers. Last year, Friesz had a higher efficiency rating (80.4 to Mirer’s 63.7), better touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio (6-3, 13-20) and better a yards-per-attempt average (6.63, 6.56).

Friesz started three games, winning one, but he played courageously and effectively in a loss to Arizona, despite a separated left shoulder. He also triggered a franchise-record comeback against Denver and a 44-10 bludgeoning of Oakland, perhaps the Hawks’ finest performance in years.

Mirer, too, had highlights. At midseason, he sparked Seattle’s offense to an average of 28 points per game during a 4-1 stretch. But sometimes he appeared befuddled by Erickson’s quick-strike offense, pitched 20 interceptions and hasn’t shown considerable progress since his co-rookie of the year ‘93 season.

Often that’s reason enough to lose a job in a bottom-line business like the NFL. But the Mirer-Friesz situation isn’t so cut and dried. Contracts, personalities and nurturing factor into Mirer’s being No. 1 and Friesz being No. 2.

When management chose to pick up the final two years of Mirer’s $15 contract, its intention wasn’t to have the highest paid backup in the league.

The general consensus is Erickson named Mirer the starter so he would feel more at ease, and therefore, more confident. Some believe the starter should have been determined during training camp.

Regardless, there is a complete consensus that the two quarterbacks refuse to allow controversy to seep into the picture.

“Whether the starter gets hurt or doesn’t play well, you want to have the best No. 2, too,” Mirer said. “He came in and made some plays and things worked out pretty good. There’s no hard feelings with that. I want us to go to the playoffs no matter what the situation is.

“We’re friends first, next we’re teammates. After that, we’re golfing buddies. It’s competitive out here (at training camp), but we’re all in it together.”

Echoed Friesz: “We goof around all the time, whether it’s golf, coffee, dinner.”

Friesz’s solid ‘95 season should entice coaches to switch quickly should Mirer struggle.

“They (the coaches) weren’t sure how things would work out when I was in there,” Friesz said. “I didn’t get a lot of reps in the preseason with the starters. But yeah, I’d like to think if he got slightly banged up, they wouldn’t hesitate to put me in there, even if it’s just to finish a series, as opposed to leaving him out there until something bad happens.”

But if something bad happens to Mirer, Friesz pledges to be ready.

“It’s hard to set goals when you’re a backup,” he said. “I guess just to win when I’m in there. Just win, baby.”

By doing that, he’ll make a lot of people happy - from pink-visored women to Erickson. And even Mirer.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Color Photos