Seahawks conclude ‘great camp’

After hearing the final whistle and the final pep talk from Coach Mike Holmgren, the Seattle Seahawks engaged in a time-honored conclusion to training camp at Eastern Washington University.

Most players ran off the field, led by reserve quarterback Seneca Wallace, who sprinted like he was in an Olympic 100-meter qualifying heat. Or perhaps he was double-parked in a loading zone.

“The engines were already running up there,” Holmgren grinned. “I did tell them, ‘I’ll be driving a silver car _ could be an SUV or a sedan _ and I’ll be going the speed limit (back to Seattle). Anyone passes me and it’s going to cost them a thousand bucks.’ So they wanted to know when I was leaving. I said, ‘No, just look for a silver car.’

“And the truth of the matter is I’m flying, but don’t tell them that.”

Flying with favorable impressions.

“We had a great camp,” he said. “The guys worked hard and once again the university was great to us. Now we have to go home and continue on and get ready to play New Orleans in a couple weeks.”

Holmgren said camp standouts included cornerback Ken Lucas, safety Ken Hamlin, linebacker Tracy White, receiver Darrell Jackson, tight end Jerramy Stevens and the fleet-footed Wallace.

“Certainly some guys on the field from day one you could just tell they worked their tails off all off-season,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “The guy that sticks out the most is Jerramy Stevens. He had a phenomenal camp and it’s raised the level of Itula Mili’s play. He’s had a great camp, too.”

Defensive players, of course, had differing opinions.

“Ken Lucas had a great camp,” linebacker Anthony Simmons said. “He’s shown really good coverage skills and he’s making nice breaks on the ball.”

After a few seconds of additional consideration, the open-minded Simmons added, “Seneca has made tremendous leaps. Just watching him, he looks a lot more poised in the pocket and he’s going through his reads a lot better than last year.”

Asked if there was anything he’ll miss about camp, Hasselbeck said, “Probably whippin’ up on Trent (Dilfer) in video games.”

Dilfer wasn’t available for rebuttal Wednesday. He was busy jogging off the field.

San Diego itinerary

With a few exceptions at certain positions, Holmgren plans on playing starters for the first half and perhaps the opening series of the third quarter against San Diego on Friday. Trent Dilfer will make his preseason debut, likely in the third quarter.

Niko Koutvouvides will start at middle linebacker. Isaiah Kacyvenski will start at outside linebacker, but Tracy White will see ample work. The two are vying to replace Chad Brown, who is out for eight weeks with a fractured left fibula.

Offensive linemen Jerry Wunsch (ankle) and Chris Terry (shoulder) won’t play.

Seattle will have a walk-through this morning before flying to San Diego.

Notes

The weather remained rainy, windy and chilly, which explains why there were only 38 spectators along the fence watching the last practice. Another 35 or so were stationed near the gates where the players exit the field… . Offensive tackle Walter Jones concluded his third straight Cheney-less summer. “I haven’t heard from Walt,” Holmgren said. “I think last year he came in the Monday before the first game. I was hoping he’d come in a week earlier than that, get a little extra work in and get his legs ready, but we’ll see.”