No guarantee for Seattle with Robinson back
KIRKLAND, Wash. – What the Philadelphia Eagles have is a predicament. Trying to overcome the loss of the NFC’s best receiver, Terrell Owens, is a gargantuan task.
The Seattle Seahawks have a different kind of problem on their hands, one that shouldn’t be troublesome but has tripped them up in the past.
The Seahawks aren’t losing a starting receiver, but gaining one.
Koren Robinson is back from a four-game NFL suspension, and the coaches are throwing him right in the mix as Seattle makes a push for the NFC West title.
The hard part is this: The Seahawks offense has actually found its stride without him. While the first 10 games of the season were plagued by dropped balls, nagging injuries and inconsistent play, the last four have seen the passing game come together.
Jerry Rice has found his niche while taking over Robinson’s starting spot at split end. Flanker Darrell Jackson has broken out for 27 receptions over the past four games. Bobby Engram has shaken off a tender left ankle and become a factor in the passing game.
Most notable of all, Seattle’s wide receivers haven’t dropped a pass since the Nov. 28 loss to Buffalo.
So the return of Robinson isn’t as essential as it once looked.
“There’s always a danger,” Engram said of adding another player to a jelling offense. “But the more weapons the better. We welcome K back. I know he’s been missing us, and we missed him.”
The last two times the Seahawks brought back starting receivers from prolonged absences, they had vastly different results.
Joey Galloway returned from an eight-game holdout in 1999, only to spoil the broth. Seattle was 6-2 without him, built their record to 8-2 as he worked his way back into the lineup, then lost six of their last seven games, including a playoff loss to Miami.
Galloway caught 22 passes and one touchdown in his eight games that year, countering the age-old argument about more being better.
Seattle found itself in a similar predicament two years ago, when a head injury suffered by Darrell Jackson forced him to miss three games. During Jackson’s absence, Robinson blossomed into the go-to receiver en route to what is still the best season of his four-year career.
But Jackson fit in well upon returning, catching 13 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns in his first two games back.
Whether Robinson can make as smooth a return is the big question.
Notes
Matt Hasselbeck went back to handing off at practice, but the Seahawks are confident their quarterback will play Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. Hasselbeck, who is nursing a sore right elbow, did not throw the ball for a second consecutive practice. Trent Dilfer ran the No. 1 offense while Hasselbeck watched most of practice. … Linebacker Chad Brown and receiver Darrell Jackson returned to practice and expect to play against Arizona.