Night Special For Hawks On The Special-Team Bubble Final Exhibition At Cincinnati Could Be Make Or Break For 10

Special teams might be considered a third of the game, but it means everything to 10 players fighting for the final five spots with the Seattle Seahawks.

That’s why Seattle’s special teams coach, Dave Arnold, had no trouble finding volunteers or keeping players attentive in meetings this week.

Tackling a return man inside the 20 or busting a wedge in the exhibition finale at 4:30 p.m. today in Cincinnati could be the difference between wearing a Seahawks uniform and unemployment for these 10.

Though the players who make the squad through special teams might be roster spots 49 through 53, their names generally aren’t among the eight inactives on Sunday.

“There’s always that group of guys who are backups on special teams, but you have a hard time deactivating them because they do such a great job covering kicks,” Arnold said.

From almost out of nowhere, second-year safety C.J. Richardson, who played for coach Dennis Erickson at the University of Miami, moved himself in great position to make the roster because of his frenzied play on special teams. Tim Hauck, a veteran safety of eight seasons, locked up a job earlier this camp for the same reason.

If Richardson continues to excel, the Seahawks likely will carry 10 defensive backs and six linebackers into the regular season. Linebackers Glen Young and Eric Unverzagt don’t plan to be outdone because it’s their jobs as the seventh and eighth linebackers that would go to make way for Richardson.

“Carl is not afraid to throw his body around and that’s part of the deal when you become a good coverage guy,” Arnold said. “You’ve got to understand that you have to do it at full speed. Some guys come down the field and then all of a sudden hesitate. That’s when a guy gets by you or you get blocked.”

This is Richardson’s second try with the Seahawks. He was versatile enough to play either safety or cornerback last year, but what his former college coaches didn’t know was that he wasn’t completely healthy.

“A year ago, he was struggling to make the football team,” Arnold said. “He had a problem with his arm, but nobody knew. He’s not a vocal kid, so he’s not going to tell you if he had a problem. He broke the arm when he played for us in college. This year, he came back in a lot better shape, and he’s more determined.”

In many ways, Richardson hopes to follow the lead of backup strong safety Jay Bellamy, who joined the Seahawks in 1994 as an undrafted free agent from Temple. Bellamy showed promise on special teams, and then last year blossomed into a Pro Bowl caliber special-teams player. His 34 special-teams tackles shattered the club record last season.

Bellamy, Hauck, linebacker James Logan, tight end Ronnie Williams and wide receivers James McKnight and Ronnie Harris are considered the most skilled special-teams players. Despite their abilities, the coverage teams for the Seahawks were considered a weakness last year.

“Injuries have a great effect on it,” Arnold said. “For two or three weeks last year, we led the entire league in kickoff coverage. We had a pretty cohesive group. Then we lost T.J. Cunningham, Reggie Brown and some others with injuries. You take a couple of pieces out of the puzzle, it’s not going to be cohesive.”

Tackling was horrible on the coverage teams in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton in July, but since then things have improved. The Seahawks are allowing 20.3 yards on kickoff returns and 7.4 yards on punts, all respectable numbers.

The season-ending shoulder injury to linebacker Jason Kyle was considered a setback on the coverage teams, but his role could be filled by Richardson, Hauck, Young and others.

The coaches must determine whether linebackers are better to keep on special teams than defensive backs, who are 20 to 30 pounds lighter.

“You want a nice combination, but the bottom line is that you want speed,” Arnold said. “You want guys who can run. Look at Timmy Hauck (who is 5-foot-11, 187 pounds). He’s a safety, but he breaks all the stereotypes. All he does is make plays and he’s done it for eight years.”

Arnold must also watch closely how Frank Beede and Greg Bloedorn handle punt snaps, but it might not matter. A couple days ago, the coaches convinced a reluctant Kevin Mawae, the starting center and field goal snapper, to try it. Though he hates deep-snapping and feels underpaid already playing at a $412,500 salary, Mawae might do the deep-snapping this season, saving a roster spot.

“Kevin’s not only our ace in the hole, he’s going to be the ace,” Arnold said. “Kevin’s good at it.”

Notes

Not expected to play today are wide receiver Brian Blades, tight end Carlester Crumpler, fullback Oscar Gray and free safety Eric Stokes. … Except for the offensive line, the starters will play only a quarter.

Bengals searching for offense

Cincinnati quarterback Jeff Blake has been inconsistent and failed to get the Bengals in the end zone in the first half of a 37-13 victory last week over Minnesota.

With Blake in the game, the offense produced only three field goals.

“We didn’t do real well in the red zone,” coach Bruce Coslet said. “We had to settle for field goals. On the second two (possessions), we should have had touchdowns, but we had breakdowns. When you get there, you’ve got to score touchdowns.”

Overall, Blake is 13 of 28 for 140 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in the preseason. The numbers aren’t very good, but Blake’s not concerned.

“I’m not frustrated,” he said. “The main keys on offense are no turnovers, time of possession and third-down conversions, and I’m not worried about that (passing numbers).”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.