Engram ready to catch passes

RENTON, Wash. – Frustrated at times, impatient at others, Bobby Engram finally got his mind and body on the same page this week.

“I just listen to my body and go with what I feel,” the Seattle Seahawks’ leading receiver said Wednesday as he prepares to make his regular-season debut. “It’s telling me I’m ready to go.”

Engram has been back at practice this week after missing the first three games with a cracked bone in his shoulder. While time will tell whether he is ready to be a full-time contributor on game days, the 35-year old receiver in his 10th year out of Penn State said he fully expects to play Sunday against the New York Giants.

“I feel good,” Engram said. “It feels good to be back. I’m a football player. This is what I like to do – play football.”

The Seahawks are just as happy to have Engram back as he is to be there. He caught a franchise-record 94 passes in 2007 and should give a boost to a receiving corps that has been ravaged by injuries.

“He has kind of been the soul of this team the last couple years and very productive for us,” head coach Mike Holmgren said. “I think as far as offensive football goes, the quarterback (Matt Hasselbeck) really has a lot of confidence in Bobby and knows where he’s going to be. He’s very dependable.”

Hasselbeck has not been shy about his feelings for Engram over the years, saying that the dependable veteran is his favorite target. The duo has hooked up 322 times over the years – the most of any Seahawks quarterback-receiver combination that didn’t include Steve Largent – so Hasselbeck is understandably relieved to see Engram on the practice field.

“It is still early, but each day is nice to get him out there and get a rhythm going,” the quarterback said. “We practice for a reason. He is a great player, and we have a lot of experience together, (but) it’s still nice to practice at full speed.”

For one of the newest Seahawks, the return of Engram served as a reunion of sorts.

Wide receiver Koren Robinson, who was re-signed by the team 16 days ago after spending his first four NFL seasons in Seattle, was part of a trio of receivers that called themselves the Three Amigos. That threesome included Robinson, Engram and former Seahawk Darrell Jackson, so now two-thirds of the group is back together.

“It brings back reflections of old times – the good times, not the bad ones,” Robinson said of playing with Engram again. “He’s a good friend, a good person to have in your corner. It’s good to be back by his side.

“We still miss Darrell, but it is what it is. We wish (Jackson) the best, and now it’s up to me, Bobby and some other receivers to get something going out there.”

Even players that have spent only limited time with Engram could see his effect on the team.

“He’s definitely an on-the-field coach out there for all the receivers,” said Keary Colbert, who was acquired on the same day that Robinson was. “He’s been here a long time, and he knows the offense in and out.”

Engram’s impact in a game, and especially in Sunday’s game, is still subject to debate. His time away showed obvious signs of rust earlier this week, but the 13-year veteran was starting to look more like himself again during practice.

Engram and veteran Deion Branch are expected to make their debuts this weekend, but Holmgren is holding back his enthusiasm until he sees them on the field.

“This is their first game back,” Holmgren said. “To think it’s going to be Star Wars out there, that’s probably not the way it works.

“Bless their hearts, they’re coming back, they’ve been hurt, and it’s nice to have them back. But … it will take them awhile to get in form.”

Holmgren did admit that he plans to “get (Engram) the ball. He’s going to get his touches.”

After too long of a wait, Engram is looking forward to the opportunities. He watched his team struggle for too long without him, and now Engram believes the time is right for a return to action.

“(Patience) was the hard part,” he said. “Your ego wants you to get back out there and help the team win, but I wasn’t ready and that would have been selfish to come out there and put myself in harm’s way. That wouldn’t have been smart.

“It was a little tough, but it helped me exercise my patience.”