Top receiver at camp
KIRKLAND, Wash. – When Deion Branch called Mike Holmgren last week to tell the Seahawks coach why he was missing another chance to build much-needed rapport with quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, the first thing Holmgren told his leading receiver was: “Hey, this better be good.”
It was.
This time, Branch was delayed because of his wedding, planned long before he arrived in Seattle last September. His arrival then was delayed because of a contract holdout and then trade from the New England Patriots.
“Crazy. First day off my honeymoon, getting back in, they measure my fat,” said the 5-foot-9, 193-pound Branch, who claims he ran about a mile a day on a treadmill while on St. Lucia.
Branch is taking Darrell Jackson’s place as Hasselbeck’s primary target this season. Jackson, who shared a unique, unspoken understanding on the field with Hasselbeck, has been traded to San Francisco largely because the Seahawks are expecting huge production from Branch.
Hasselbeck said last week that one of the reasons he worked so fiendishly to return earlier than the team expected following surgery in January on his non-throwing shoulder was so he could begin to bond with Branch.
Hasselbeck brought Branch back on task immediately Monday. When Hasselbeck first saw Branch before practice, the quarterback told him in jest: “Thanks for not being here. We had a great week without you.”
On the first play of team drills, he threw a dart that Branch snared for a completion on a short out route, as if to symbolize that the quarterback wants to accelerate the chemistry.
“Oh, yeah, exactly. I know how important it is for me, not being here last year at this time,” Branch said.
After arriving last September at the price of $39 million over six years plus Seattle’s first-round choice in April’s draft, Branch caught 53 passes with four touchdowns in 14 regular-season games as part of a crowded receiving corps – and with a quarterback that for the first time in Branch’s career wasn’t Tom Brady.
“My main thing is just to be here, getting the work in that we need. It’s a whole lot, once you build that chemistry with your quarterback,” Branch said.