Time to talk ‘Chop’
Floyd “Pork Chop” Womack insists he harbors no festering frustrations over the seemingly endless string of injuries that have plagued him throughout his NFL career.
“It’s something I just can’t let get me down,” the Seattle Seahawks sixth-year offensive lineman said Wednesday morning, after taking part in team drills for the first time since straining his right hamstring two weeks ago. “There’s too much other stuff to worry about than the injuries.”
But one has to wonder how much the 6-foot-4, 333-pound Womack, a fourth-round draft choice out of Mississippi State back in 2001, can shoulder in the way of physical setbacks as he struggles to establish himself as a starter somewhere on Seattle’s offensive line.
In his first five seasons with the Seahawks, Womack has played in only 53 games, starting 22 of them at various positions up front.
Womack missed the last five games of the 2002 season with an ankle injury and lost his starting position at right tackle just two games into the 2003 season after suffering a toe injury that sidelined him for five weeks.
His most productive season came in 2004, when in played in all 16 games and started eight. But last year, during Seattle’s run to the Super Bowl, he missed five games with triceps and quad strains.
While Womack tries to play down his injury woes, they have certainly caught the attention of Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren, who seemed to question his big lineman’s durability while addressing the media at training camp earlier this week.
“You hold your breath and keep your fingers crossed, really,” Holmgren said on Tuesday, when Womack suited up but took part in only individual drills. “When he plays, he plays well. But he’s had things bother him. This was a hamstring pull. It’s not an unusual injury, it just happened.”
Womack even made light of his latest injury, saying, “Yeah, I’m pretty fast for my size, so I always get hamstrings.”
But this was the year Womack was penciled in as a starter at the left guard spot, which opened up during the off-season when All-Pro Steve Hutchinson moved on to the Minnesota Vikings.
Womack realizes he has missed some valuable camp time because of his latest injury.
“It was cool, it was cool. I was a little rusty, but it was good to get back out there,” he said of his return to practice, where he worked with the first-team offensive line. “I couldn’t wait to get back, ‘cuz it ain’t no fun being on the sidelines – being in the training room.
“You never want to lose time. Your goal is to stay in and get as much experience with the rest of the guys as you can. That’s my only problem.”
Holmgren agrees that Womack needs the practice reps.
“It’s important for him to stay healthy,” he said, “but that’s a wait-and-see thing all the way. I’m hopeful he can do this, because he wants to. He’s worked very hard to get a chance to start and play.
“I’m kind of rooting for him – aside from the fact that he makes us better, but he’s got to do it now. He hasn’t shown that he’s resilient enough injury-wise.”
Womack said his status for Saturday night’s preseason game against the Chargers in San Diego remains uncertain. But he vowed if he does get a chance to play, he will do so free of worry about the next injury that might be waiting.
“I just can’t go around every day thinking about injuries,” he said. “I’ve just got to go out and play, and if it happens, it happens.”
Notes
The Seahawks will break camp in Cheney following this morning’s scheduled 8:45 practice and return to their training facility in Kirkland, Wash., to continue preparations for their next two remaining preseason games and their regular-season opener on Sept. 10 in Detroit. … With Womack’s return to the offensive line, rookie guard Rob Sims was dropped back to the second team. … Backup center Chris Spencer continued to work with the No. 1 unit while starter Robbie Tobeck recovers from elbow surgery. … Wide receiver Bobby Engram rejoined the team after being excused to tend to a family matter back in South Carolina.