Seahawks see positives to Kirkland

KIRKLAND, Wash. – The Seattle Seahawks wrapped up another June minicamp on Thursday morning, which has come to mean that it’s time to take a few weeks off, pack up some things and head all the way over to … well, back to Kirkland.

Unlike the past 10 seasons, during which the Seahawks have headed across the mountains to Cheney, training camp will reconvene on this side of the state sometime in late July. The team originally made plans to hold training camp in Kirkland when the NFL announced the Seahawks would play an August preseason game against the New England Patriots in China, and Seattle decided not to go back to Cheney even after that game was later canceled.

“It’ll be nice to change it up a little bit,” defensive tackle Rocky Bernard said of holding training camp in Kirkland.

Like many of his teammates, Bernard has mixed feelings about the change. He said he likes the convenience of Kirkland, but that he’ll miss the weather on the east side of the state.

“We had a lot of good years over there,” said Bernard, a Texas native. “I didn’t mind it. It kind of reminded me of Texas because of the heat.”

Kicker Josh Brown, who grew up in Oklahoma, had similar feelings. He said that the heat made it easier to lose weight and stay loose, but added that the people behind the scenes had to move a lot of equipment for just a few weeks every year.

“That’s hard on everybody,” he said. “It’ll be nice to have a camp like we just had.”

The concluded minicamp was not nearly as intense as a typical training camp, but the Seahawks felt like they got a lot done.

In addition to getting a longer look at some of the rookies and new players, the Seahawks challenged the veterans by adding a few wrinkles to the playbook on either side of the ball.

“I think it is healthy to stimulate the veterans that we have and get them thinking a little bit so it is not just business as usual,” coach Mike Holmgren said. “If it is the same-old-same-old, sometimes they are just going through the motions, and I didn’t want them to do that.”

Among the players who stood out were rookies like cornerback Josh Wilson and undrafted receiver Joe Fernandez, as well as several veterans who could see expanded roles like receiver Nate Burleson and cornerback Kelly Jennings.