| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2010 7:00 pm |
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Sports 
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No hushing Houshmandzadeh The Seahawks wide receiver has no problem speaking his mind RENTON — T.J. Houshmandzadeh doesn’t see what all the fuss is about.Sure he acted up a couple of times during the Seahawks’ loss to Dallas last weekend, but the receiver insists this is just who he is. Besides, Houshmandzadeh points out, he used to be worse. “I’ve come a long way man, I’m telling you,” Houshmandzadeh said. “I used to be so short-tempered. You can call my coaches from Junior College, I was out of control. Call [former Oregon State coach] Dennis Erickson at Arizona State and ask him how I was in college. Ask him how I was in practice. Go call Marvin Lewis and ask him how I was in practice. I’ve been so chill here. I used to be way worse in Cincinnati, way worse in college. I’ve come a long way, so that’s why I’m shocked by the reaction.” Still, Houshmandzadeh admits that the way he handled himself during last weekend’s loss may not be the ideal approach. After an incomplete pass in the first quarter led to a field goal attempt instead of a first down, he had an animated conversation with Matt Hasselbeck on the sideline. That was after he gestured where he wanted the ball to be thrown while he was still on the field. In the third quarter, he was fired up again on the sideline after the team failed to convert a third down. Houshmandzadeh said even his daughters asked him what was wrong after the game. “I’ve done it my whole career,” he said. “Not saying it’s acceptable or it’s OK, but I’ve done that and they’ve seen it. It’s just emotion. I love playing, I do not like to lose and that’s just how I express myself. Why would I be happy about punting the ball and walk to the sideline with a smile on my face? Why would I want that? I just outwardly expressed how I felt at that time, that’s it.” If the Seahawks were 5-2 instead of 2-5, a receiver acting up would hardly be big news, but coming off back-to-back blowout losses, Houshmandzadeh has been a big story this week whether he thinks he should be or not. Both he and Matt Hasselbeck say there are no problems between the two regardless of how the sideline conversations may look. “That’s just T.J.,” Hasselbeck said. “That conversation was about a pass that we had, but it wasn’t like he was mad at me or I was mad at him, it’s just kind of his demeanor. We’ve got an Xbox room right in there where everyone plays Xbox, and he yells at that TV far more than he was yelling on the sideline. ... There’s no issue there between he and I at all, but we’ve got to complete more passes. That’s a big issue.” Just to be safe, Houshmandzadeh said he talked with Hasselbeck this week to make sure the quarterback knew there were no hard feelings. The two may not always be on the same page on passing plays, but they both say their differences end there. Hasselbeck even nominated Houshmandzadeh this week to be Seattle’s players union representative. “I had to go talk to Matt just to make sure, like ‘Bro, if I got a problem with you I’m going to tell you,’” Houshmandzadeh said. “That’s just how I am. I don’t send subliminal messages. If I’ve got a problem with Matt I’m going to tell Matt, and I didn’t have a problem with Matt at the time.” Sure there are times Houshmandzadeh might come across as selfish. “I like myself, I really do,” he said. “And I feel like I’m always open. And there’s times that I’m not open, but I’m supposed to feel like I’m open.” But he’s also a player who, despite his status as a Pro Bowler making big money, regularly takes practice reps with the scout team. He’s a player who takes time to dispense advice to young receivers and defensive backs. Houshmandzadeh also shouldered the blame for this season’s loss to Chicago because of his second-half fumble that lead to a Bears touchdown, and he’s blunt when asked to assess his performance this season. “My season? Oh, terrible,” he said. “Individually that’s what it boils down to. People lie, numbers don’t, and as of right now I’m not doing anything. For whatever reason — you can print whatever you want why it’s the case — but I don’t know why it is like that, but you can’t do nothing about it now. It’s over with as far as the first seven games. All you can do is try to do better.” Like him or not. Just don’t expect Houshmandzadeh to change anytime soon. Healthier Hawks Seahawks coach Jim Mora couldn’t help but smile after practice Friday. Minus the three players on injured reserve, everyone on the team was able to participate fully in practice. “We had every Seattle Seahawk practice today, and I can tell you that it’s probably been over a year since that has happened,” Mora said. “So it is kind of a milestone day. Now what we need to do is turn that into productivity on Sunday.” Among those in action Friday was tackle Sean Locklear, who has missed the last five games with a high ankle sprain. He had been limited to individual drill earlier in the week, but will most likely be available against the Lions Sunday. Mora said he didn’t know yet if Locklear would be able to start, but the more likely scenario seems to be that Damion McIntosh will start and that Locklear will serve as the backup tackle. Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog |
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