Warrick catching on with Seahawks

No one can outrun time, so receiver/return specialist Peter Warrick would settle for turning the clock back. No, not to last season when his knee ached and he assumed a minor role as the Seattle Seahawks mounted their run to the Super Bowl.

Warrick wants to go retro to his college days, when he changed games with shifty moves after receptions and electrifying punt returns, the flashy player that the Cincinnati Bengals made the fourth overall pick of the 2000 draft.

Warrick’s knee has healed and his comfort level in the Seahawks system is off the charts compared to last year when he signed 10 days before the season opener. He feels primed for a big season.

“I think that everybody is about to see a Florida State ‘P.W.’,” Warrick said after a training camp practice at Eastern Washington University in Cheney. And what’s that? “That’s what I used to do at Florida State,” he said.

He didn’t do it often enough at Cincinnati in five seasons, though he had two seasons with at least 70 catches and two others with more than 50. He averaged nearly 10 yards per punt return and took two back for touchdowns, but the Bengals failed to qualify for the playoffs and Warrick’s overall impact wasn’t what the team had envisioned.

Warrick was injured virtually all of 2005 training camp. Sensing that his future with the Bengals might be in jeopardy, he reportedly went to management and requested his release if they didn’t believe he factored into the team’s plans. Cincinnati cut him the following day.

He was unemployed for one day before joining Seattle, but his late arrival, sore knee and unfamiliarity with the offense led to sporadic playing time, even when receiver Darrell Jackson was lost for 10 games with a knee injury.

Warrick finished the regular season with 11 catches for 180 yards and six punt returns for 29 yards.

“I really wasn’t healthy, I really didn’t go through training camp in Cincinnati so it was kind of hard,” Warrick said. “Then coming here I don’t know the system, I don’t know what to expect, I don’t know what’s going on. I never actually got an opportunity. Now this year I have a chance to get in where I fit in.”

Warrick’s knee is full strength and he’s learned an offense that he says is “way harder” than Cincinnati’s.

“To me he has (shown some of his pre-injury form), now he still has to do it in the games,” head coach Mike Holmgren said. “He will say, ‘No, I’m fine, I was fine last year,’ but if you ask anybody – he’s always had great hands – but he’s running better and he understands what we’re doing now.

“For a wide receiver if there’s any doubt as to what you’re doing, then you add on a little bit of a leg injury, it’s pretty hard to play the position.”

Warrick looks forward to playing both positions – receiver and punt returner.

“I just go out and do what I do and let my talent speak for itself whenever I get an opportunity to make it happen,” he said.

Versatile linebacker

Julian Peterson, Seattle’s marquee off-season acquisition, is already showing his versatility. He’s adept in pass coverage, usually covering tight ends or running backs, and he had success rushing the passer during his six seasons in San Francisco.

So what’s his position?

“The best way to do that is to call him a linebacker,” Holmgren said. “In our scheme, sometimes he’ll be strong (side), sometimes he’ll be weak. Leroy Hill will sometimes wind up strong. Julian is an outside linebacker.”

In Monday’s afternoon practice, unsuspecting tight end Mike Gomez was near the goal line after running out a 50-yard pass play when a hustling Peterson came up from behind and snatched the football away.

Peterson often filled the stat sheet in San Francisco with 21.5 sacks, five interceptions, 34 passes defensed, seven forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries in six seasons. He made 248 combined tackles in the 2002 and 2003 seasons. The two-time Pro Bowler missed most of the 2004 season with a torn Achilles’ tendon and his statistics declined slightly last year.

Notes

Safety Michael Boulware (knee) remained on a schedule of limited participation. Tight end Itula Mili rested after straining a back muscle in warm-ups. Offensive tackle Ray Willis (hamstring) returned to practice after a one-day absence. … Taco Wallace had a string of fine catches Monday morning, topped by his one-handed stab of a Seneca Wallace pass. However, the play probably wouldn’t have progressed that far because linebacker Lofa Tatupu would have sacked the quarterback in a game situation. … The first full-pads practice of camp featured more contact, but little in the way of tackling. “We did not scrimmage, but there was a lot of banging,” Holmgren said. “I don’t want a lot of people on the ground.” … Seahawks radio broadcaster Warren Moon, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend, has been at practice the last few days and addressed the team Sunday afternoon. … Seattle signed free agent offensive lineman Taylor Schmidt, a San Diego State product, and released reserve center Lance Reynolds.