Zorn knows history
DETROIT – Jim Zorn took the first snap in the first game in Seattle Seahawks history. He doesn’t remember the play – “Now there’s a great trivia question,” he said – but he does have a unique viewpoint of the franchise’s often star-crossed three decades.
“It was an exciting time in the early days with all the successes we had,” said Zorn, the former Seahawks quarterback and current quarterbacks coach who was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor in 1991. “Then it got frustrating in 1980 when we won only four games after going 9-7 and 9-7 and almost getting into the playoffs. We didn’t recover from that until 1983 when we went to the playoffs and in 1984 when we went to the AFC Championship. Then it got wild again.”
Zorn left the Seahawks after the 1984 season and finished his pro career with Tampa Bay in 1987. He coached at Boise State, Utah State and Minnesota before breaking into the pros with Seattle in 1997. He was with Detroit for three seasons before rejoining the Seahawks in 2001.
Even when he wasn’t wearing Seahawks colors, he kept close tabs on the organization.
During Seattle’s run to the Super Bowl, Zorn has received numerous phone calls from former teammates who are sharing in the team’s success.
“It means a lot because I’m in a position to coach someone who could be the best quarterback (Matt Hasselbeck) in the NFL right now,” said Zorn, who bikes 5 miles to Qwest Field for home games. “I get to be part of his life and have an impact on his game.
“Being a coach here now, it’s an extra special thing to be able to be firsthand with it.”
The complete package
Bill Laveroni has 35 years of high school, college and NFL coaching experience. The Seahawks offensive line coach has never seen anyone like left tackle Walter Jones.
“He’s the best lineman I’ve ever seen on tape or in person,” Laveroni said. “He’s a 6-5, 335-pound ballerina that can run right by you, right behind your back, and you wouldn’t hear him at all because he’s so light on his feet.
“He has tremendous balance, tremendous ability to change direction, quickness, tremendous strength in his hands and arms where he can pick up an NFL player and rag-doll them. I’ve seen him do that.”
Is that it?
“People should really watch a guy like him that has all the physical tools and yet he prepares himself in the mental part as well,” Laveroni said.
Pittsburgh Seahawks
Former Seahawks cornerback Willie Williams is the lone Steeler with Super Bowl experience. He was with Pittsburgh when it lost to Dallas in Super Bowl XXX.
He looks forward to facing his former team Sunday.
“It is kind of weird, but I’m happy for those guys,” said Williams, a Seahawk from 1997-2003. “I called up Bobby Engram (on Monday) and congratulated him. I can’t wait to see some of those guys.”
Asked what he might tell his teammates about Seattle’s offense, Williams said, “You can’t overlook these guys, especially Bobby. When I was there, a lot of guys said Bobby wasn’t fast, but he’s a great receiver.”
Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler ranks second on Seattle’s all-time tackles list with 813, behind Eugene Robinson’s 984.
Butler played for the Seahawks from 1978-87.
“I’ve been trying to get to the Super Bowl all these years both as a player and coach and I look across the field and see the team I played with for 10 years, a team I have fond memories of and some time invested in,” Butler said. “I’m happy for their fans that they’re at this point, but I hope they don’t win on Sunday.”
Hardly routine
Seattle tried to return to its normal schedule, which included a practice, but nothing’s normal this week.
“After (today’s) practice, it’ll be nice,” defensive end Grant Wistrom said. “We still have to go through all these (interviews) again (today), but it’s part of it.”