Seahawks face special challenge

KIRKLAND, Wash. – While most of the Seattle Seahawks are working off the rust of a long off-season, special teams coach Bruce DeHaven spends a good part of his days on an adjacent field with his group of specialists.

Part of the process might be learning their names.

None of the four specialists working out at training camp was with the Seahawks last season. Long snapper Tyler Schmitt and place-kicker Brandon Coutu are rookies, while veteran place-kicker Olindo Mare and veteran punter/holder Reggie Hodges joined the Seahawks because they saw opportunities to compete for a roster spot.

It’s almost an entire new group – punter Ryan Plackemeier, who is about to begin his third season with the Seahawks, is sidelined by a torn pectoral muscle – from the one that DeHaven inherited during his first season in Seattle in 2007.

“Since free agency came along, that’s kind of the deal,” DeHaven said. “It’s kind of like coaching junior college. It’s not even like four-year college anymore. Every year or two, you almost have a complete turnaround in personnel.”

The Seahawks have had plenty of changeover on special teams over the years, but this season is a whole different animal. A shaky performance by the special teams in 2007, as well as the free-agent defections by kicker Josh Brown and linebackers Niko Koutouvides and Kevin Bentley, forced the team to overhaul the unit heading into 2008.

The biggest question is how the Seahawks will replace Brown. Coutu and Mare are in an open competition for the roster spot, and both have shown enough at camp that no clear-cut favorite has emerged.

“We’ve got two guys coming in here, and we like them both a lot, so this should be a good competition,” DeHaven said.

That the Seahawks are looking for a kicker is unfamiliar territory. Brown spent five seasons in Seattle and looked like the kicker of the present and future. But he surprised the team when he signed a five-year, $14.2 million deal with rival St. Louis in February.

“I was disappointed,” coach Mike Holmgren said this week when asked about Brown’s decision to leave. “I did get involved in (negotiations) a little bit, which I normally don’t do anymore. And I thought it was too bad. I don’t think the communication was really great all the way around.

“It surprised me. I believe he liked it here. People liked him. There wasn’t a great deal of money difference. And when that happens, it always surprises me.”

The Seahawks also brought in a new long snapper following the retirement of veteran Jeff Robinson, the University of Idaho and Ferris High product. He was one of three snappers used during a frustrating 2007 season that saw long snapping play a role in too many games.

Schmitt was considered one of the best collegiate long snappers to come out in a long time, and so the Seahawks made the unprecedented move of using a sixth-round pick to get him.

“You hear you’ve got a shot to get drafted, and you just try to be the best you can be,” Schmitt said. “It worked out well for me.”

DeHaven said that it’s far too early to make any blanket statements about Schmitt being the answer.

“Tyler’s a rookie,” DeHaven said. “He’s going to be a pretty good snapper, but he’s not where he needs to be yet. I wouldn’t say that he’s the answer to all our problems there.”

While Plackemeier has been sidelined, the only available punter has been Hodges. He’s also served as holder on place-kicks, which is another one of Plackemeier’s roles.

Because of the inconsistency of the snappers last season, Plackemeier struggled in 2007. The Seahawks would love to get him back on the practice field so he can start working on his consistency.

“This is an important time,” DeHaven said. “I think he’s getting closer to being able to do a little bit more all the time, but (missing practice time) doesn’t help.”

The Seahawks are also looking to fill holes on their coverage units, where special teams stars Koutouvides (Denver) and Bentley (Houston) have moved on. Seattle added ex-Seahawk D.D. Lewis in free agency, while young linebackers Lance Laury and Will Herring could see more action on special teams.

Turnover is nothing new for DeHaven, who has seen it all before.

“Hopefully, you can keep your specialists around for a while,” he said. “But (every year) there’s a lot of turnover because most of those guys are on the back end of the roster.”