Seahawks will face tough defense in San Diego

SEATTLE – The Seattle Seahawks will move past the midway point of their exhibition season on Saturday night in San Diego.

Coach Mike Holmgren plans to play his starters for the first half and the first series of the second half. This will be the regulars’ largest dose of playing time in the exhibition season.

San Diego, 9-7 last season, has one of the league’s best defensive fronts.

“They’re the real deal,” Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said.

Chargers outside linebacker Shawne Merriman was the league’s defensive rookie of the year in 2005 when he had 10 sacks despite not starting until the seventh game of the season.

The Seahawks are 1-1 in exhibition games, and while Holmgren said he does see some value in winning these games, the real emphasis is not on the result.

“We’re looking at getting the roster right,” Holmgren said.

To that end, here are a couple of positions to keep an eye on tonight:

Left guard

Floyd Womack returned to practice this week after suffering a strained hamstring Aug. 9. After Womack resumed working with the first-string offensive line on Wednesday, Holmgren was asked what he could do to keep him healthy.

“You hold your breath and keep your fingers crossed, really,” Holmgren said. “When he plays, he plays well, but he’s had things bothering him.”

Womack suffered a toe injury in 2003. He was projected to start at right tackle last season, but hurt his arm in August and injured his leg when he returned in October and Sean Locklear started at right tackle all season.

Now the onus is on Womack to remain healthy.

“I believe he makes us better,” Holmgren said. “But he’s got to do it. He hasn’t shown that he’s resilient enough injury-wise.”

Running back

Leonard Weaver was nicknamed “The Bishop” when he was in college, and his singing voice might be the best on the team.

His range on the football field is improving, too. Weaver has been working out at tailback and at fullback, and his versatility must extend to the special teams, too.

“He has to be a vital member of our special teams,” Holmgren said. “Last year we wanted him to do that, and he struggled a little on special teams. He shouldn’t – he’s athletic enough, he’s strong enough. He should be a good special-teams player. He just hasn’t done it very much.

“This year the light has gone on, and he’s doing much better.”

Weaver was the backup fullback last season when the Seahawks carried five running backs on the roster.

Defensive tackle

This was a sore spot for Seattle in training camp last year. Cedric Woodard and Rashad Moore were coming off injuries, and while Chuck Darby and Marcus Tubbs were impressive as starters, there was concern about depth.

Now there are more options than questions. Darby, Craig Terrill and Rocky Bernard will play tonight, Tubbs and free-agent addition Russell Davis are coming back from injuries, and Chris Cooper has made a good impression during camp.

Cooper spent last season on the injured list because of a shoulder injury and was waived by San Francisco in February. He worked out for Seattle last spring, but when he left without a contract he figured that was the end of it.

“The workout wasn’t that good,” Cooper said. “Then I didn’t hear anything from them. I was like, ‘Great.’ “

The team invited him back to its first minicamp in May and signed him to a contract after watching him work for a few days. Now, he’s in camp at defensive tackle, trying to make the team at a position that is suddenly deep.