Work’s cut out for them

RENTON, Wash. – Seattle’s rookies reported for their first day of work Friday under a cloudless sky and their coach’s relentless optimism.

The forecast for playing time, however, is significantly more hazy this year.

“Our depth is so much better than a couple years ago,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “These guys are going to have to fight for their playing time.”

That reality stands in sharp contrast to the plug-and-play program Seattle followed in Carroll’s first two years in town when first-round picks were starters the first day on the job.

The path to playing time is not nearly so clear this year. Maybe first-round pick Bruce Irvin will force his way into the lineup, and perhaps linebacker Bobby Wagner is ready to step in immediately at middle linebacker, but neither of those is a foregone conclusion in Seattle. The Seahawks had a top-10 defense a year ago and lost only one starter in the offseason, middle linebacker David Hawthorne.

There are fewer openings on offense. Guard Robert Gallery is the only starter Seattle must replace on offense, and the Seahawks also added quarterback Matt Flynn to compete for the starting job, though rookie Russell Wilson – the team’s third-round pick – looked mighty accurate during his first practice.

For now, Seattle is trying to figure out where all these rookies fit into the bigger picture.

The practice included 10 draft choices, 10 undrafted rookies signed as free agents and 34 players invited for a three-day tryout. Among the latter group is rookie defensive lineman Renard Williams from Eastern Washington.