Mili regains strength from intestinal disorder
KIRKLAND, Wash. – A funny thing happened to Seattle Seahawks tight end Itula Mili near the end of a practice earlier this week.
Mili was running around with the scout team Wednesday when he noticed a strange sensation that he hadn’t felt in a while.
He wasn’t winded.
“On the scout team, you do a lot of running,” he said Friday. “I was breathing really hard, but I felt like I was pushing more than I had been.”
For the first time since being hospitalized with an intestinal disorder on Sept. 9, Mili feels ready to contribute on the field. Coach Mike Holmgren has not decided whether this will be the week that Mili makes his season debut, but he feels better knowing he has three healthy tight ends.
“We have been playing with two tight ends, which I haven’t been real comfortable with,” Holmgren said. “But we’ve gotten through it before.”
Jerramy Stevens has had a solid season as the starter, ranking fourth on the team with 15 pass receptions. Ryan Hannam has also contributed, with six catches, and has emerged as the team’s best blocking tight end.
So Holmgren isn’t exactly desperate to get Mili back on the field.
“We just have to see how we do it,” Holmgren said of who will play Sunday night against the Houston Texans. “There are special teams considerations.”
Surprisingly, Mili was actually lobbying for things to remain the same.
“They’re doing well,” he said of Stevens and Hannam, “so they should keep playing. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Mili, 32, has been the Seahawks’ starting tight end for most of the past three seasons, catching 112 passes in that span. His 46 receptions in 2003 are the most by a Seahawks tight end.
Mili was battling Stevens for the starting position again this summer, and was even listed first on the depth chart heading into the opener, but never made it onto the playing field. He started feeling sharp pains in his midsection the week before the Sept. 11 opener and eventually had to be hospitalized.
“It was one of the most painful things,” said Mili, who has been inactive for each of Seattle’s first five games this season. “I can’t imagine anything being more painful. I lost a lot of strength.”
Playing the waiting game
While national exposure is one of the benefits of playing on ESPN’s Sunday Night Football, impatience might be the biggest detriment.
The 5:30 p.m. start time is sure to leave a few body clocks out of skew.
“You prepare all week for a Sunday, so the earlier on Sunday it comes, the better you are,” said Seahawks linebacker D.D. Lewis, whose team hosts the Texans on Sunday night. “When you’re in the Pacific time zone, and 1 o’clock rolls around, you’re like, ‘Oh, man, I’ve got a lot of energy right now.’ You definitely get impatient.”
Notes
Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is eight attempts away from tying Jim Zorn’s franchise record for consecutive passes without an interception (153). … Offensive lineman Wayne Hunter is expected to return to practice next week. Hunter has missed the entire season with knee and hamstring injuries. … Seattle is 16-3 at home since Week 16 of the 2002 season. … Wide receiver D.J. Hackett (hip) and offensive lineman Floyd Womack (quadriceps) were back at practice, but coach Mike Holmgren had not made a decision on their roles for Sunday’s game against Houston. Peter Warrick could start ahead of Hackett after practicing with the No. 1 offense all week. Womack is less likely to dress for the game, although his participation in practice was a good sign.