Seattle analyzes hopefuls
Scrimmage focuses away from top players
SEATTLE – About 11,000 curious fans showed up at Qwest Field on Saturday morning, eager to get their first look at the 2008 Seattle Seahawks.
What they got was Seahawks Light.
Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was one of only a handful of starters who saw any action Saturday in the team’s annual intrasquad scrimmage, and he was only on the field for five plays.
Rather than get a good feel for how the offensive line is coming together, or how 11 returning starters might affect the defense, fans spent the 75-minute session getting to know guys like Justin Forsett, John Carlson and Logan Payne.
Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said that the purpose of the scrimmage was to evaluate some of the players fighting for roster spots. Rather than watch Hasselbeck throw passes to Bobby Engram, or spend another day watching Walter Jones dominate defensive linemen, Holmgren opted to let the youngsters and fringe veterans show their stuff.
“We wanted to get a good look at the guys who are competitively going at it for the depth positions,” Holmgren said.
The biggest play of the day was turned in by second-year wide receiver Jordan Kent, a speedster who caught a 52-yard pass from Charlie Frye on a fly pattern.
“I was just focusing on my technique,” Kent said of what he was thinking as the ball sailed in the air. “I was saying, ‘I’ve got this one,’ and it felt good to go out and make a play.”
Kent is battling three other Seahawks receivers for playing time behind Bobby Engram, Nate Burleson and Deion Branch. With Branch rehabilitating a knee injury, there is a real chance that someone among the group of Kent, Logan Payne, Ben Obomanu and Courtney Taylor could open the season as the Seahawks’ No. 3 receiver.
Taylor was sidelined by a hamstring injury Saturday, while the other three made the most of their opportunities.
Payne caught several passes early in practice, showing the fans why he has become one of Hasselbeck’s favorite targets at training camp. Obomanu caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Seneca Wallace. Not to be outdone, Kent streaked downfield for the longest catch of the day.
“All of us wanted to go out and show the coaches that we could make plays in a real, game-like environment,” Obomanu said. “It’s still not the real thing, but all of us wanted to go out and show what we could do in a live-action situation.”
The only other competition that was on display was at kicker. Veteran Olindo Mare and rookie Brandon Coutu matched each other kick for kick, including Coutu’s 56-yarder to end the scrimmage.
Through a week of training camp and one scrimmage, both kickers appear to be on level ground in the competition.