Wallace focus of minicamp
KIRKLAND, Wash. – The star of the final Seattle Seahawks minicamp of the year was not necessarily anointed because of his pinpoint throws or near-flawless decision-making but because of the constant berating he was getting from his head coach.
Backup quarterback Seneca Wallace endured plenty of Mike Holmgren’s ire during the eight-day minicamp that concluded Thursday morning at the team’s Eastside practice facility.
That’s a good thing.
“I don’t treat Seneca any different than I have any other quarterback,” Holmgren said. “There’s a little bit of a grace period there, where they’re learning.
“But once you get to the point where Seneca is now, and he understands what we’re doing, now I expect more from him. And if I don’t get exactly what I want there, then I will deal with the player directly.”
In past off-seasons, Wallace was the young up-and-comer with the fragile ego. Holmgren handled him with kid gloves, hoping not to break the latest potential-laden quarterback overloaded with playbook jargon.
This time around, Holmgren has so much confidence in Wallace’s ability to run the offense that he’s taken the gloves off.
When the offense was slow to come out of a huddle last week, Holmgren yelled at Wallace. When an offensive lineman jumped offsides, Holmgren told his backup quarterback that he needed to clean up the sloppiness.
Wallace said he sees the coach’s new handling of him as a sign of respect.
“At least he’s paying attention to me,” Wallace said. “If he’s not saying anything to you, that’s bad.”
Newcomers Julian Peterson and Nate Burleson left teammates and coaches drooling at the possibilities for 2006.
First-round pick Kelly Jennings made plenty of big plays but also showed that he could stand to learn a thing or two.
If there were concerns that came out of the camp, they stemmed from some position battles that were bit by the injury bug.
Tight end and cornerback are still question marks heading to training camp, while the team also needs a few more answers regarding the health of free safety Ken Hamlin. He’s been cleared for contact but won’t take his first big hit until training camp.
Overall, Holmgren said, the minicamp was a success.
“First of all, we have a very good football team, and they practiced very well for a couple weeks,” he said. “But it’s minicamp, and we didn’t have pads on. The key now, for this team, is to be safe for about a month, to stay in shape and to come in (to training camp) with a good attitude.”