Seahawks Don’t Look Back Players Say Cheney, Ewu Look Just Fine In Rear-View Mirror

Don’t expect chicken sales to skyrocket in Seattle now that the Seahawks have broken training camp and returned home.

Thirty days of training camp tired Seahawks players on a lot of things. The isolation of Eastern Washington University wore on them. Lack of evening entertainment grew monotonous. One of the biggest complaints was the sight of chicken, an expected entree at most meals.

Players even took to calling team chef George Sybrant “Chicken George.”

“Way too much chicken,” cornerback Willie Williams said. “But you can’t do anything about it. You’ve got to eat. But I’m going to have my wife cook me a Sunday-type dinner.”

Seahawks coach Dennis Erickson didn’t arrange training camp at Cheney for the purpose of pleasing players’ palates or filling their recreation time. The goal was to have 30 days of hard work and bring together a team that has opened the past two seasons slowly. And that mission was accomplished, Erickson said.

Though the time was productive, players were happy that camp ended Wednesday as they returned to their training facility on the West Side in Kirkland.

“When we first got here, I was real happy,” tight end Christian Fauria said. “I thought this was great. It was great to get out of Kirkland. But I’ll tell you what, it’s been wearing on me big time.”

If the Seahawks return next summer, many players will come bearing mattresses. Dorm beds weren’t created to accommodate tall, 240- to 320-pound athletes.

“Next year, I’m going to have to go out and rent a bed because I can’t do that again,” said Chad Brown, the Seahawks’ $4 milliona-year linebacker. “I want to sleep in a regular-size bed, not a dorm bed. That’s ridiculous.”

For Erickson, one of the beauties of having camp in Cheney is that it was tough for his players to get into trouble. There is little to do in the small town.

“There’s no movie theaters, and if you don’t have a car, you are stuck around campus doing nothing,” strong safety Bennie Blades said. “You can play pool. That was it. That can only last two or three weeks and you start to get on each other’s nerves.”

Sundays were off days for players, so those with cars tried to find activity. Sometimes, though, the nicest places around the area proved to do more harm than good.

“Last week, a group of us rented a boat on a Sunday and went out to Lake Coeur d’Alene,” Fauria said. “That was fun. We were out in the sun all day. It was a great time, but we were totally drained. We were shot for the Monday practice. We had no legs. It was 102 degrees. And we didn’t do anything but sit on a boat.”

“I don’t think I’ll miss anything about Cheney,” Williams said. “It did allow me to get to know the guys and allowed me to get closer to the guys I didn’t know. I think that’s good.”

All Erickson wanted was for the Seahawks to leave town as a team.