Tobeck aids Spencer’s transition

Published 9:00 pm Friday, August 5, 2005

CHENEY – After the lights, cameras and reporter’s notebooks are put away, and the $2,000 suit has carefully been stowed in the closet, first-round NFL draft picks go through an annual rite of passage that is as humbling as a Ben Stiller movie.

Meet the teammates.

With trepidation, rookies enter their new locker room wondering when they’ll get the cold shoulder or a helping hand.

When Seattle Seahawks center Chris Spencer arrived to minicamps this summer with all the ballyhoo of a first-round draft pick, the reaction he feared most was that of Robbie Tobeck.

Tobeck was, after all, the Seahawks’ starting center.

“As a first rounder, you don’t know how a guy’s going to take that,” Spencer said. “Is he going to be a tough guy? Or a mean guy? Or one of those guys who will help you out? You don’t know.”

Tobeck proved to be the latter, assisting Spencer even though he knew that the 23-year old was being groomed to eventually replace him as the Seahawks’ starting center. Tobeck, a 12-year NFL veteran, has taken the rookie under his wing over the past three months, and Spencer appreciates it.

“When I first met him, I told him I was here to learn a lot from him,” Spencer said. “I hoped he could be one of those guys I could ask questions and help myself get better. Whatever question I had, he answered it.”

The only questions Tobeck won’t answer are the media inquiries about Spencer. Typically jovial and open with reporters, Tobeck has already addressed the Seahawks’ decision to draft a center and no longer wants to talk about the subject.

But when it comes to being there for Spencer, Tobeck has been like an older, wiser sibling.

“Robbie knows that Chris is our center for the future; Chris knows that too,” said Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren, who doesn’t expect Spencer to challenge Tobeck for the starting job until 2006. “Robbie is a pro, and he also knows that if he continues to play the way he is playing, then he is going to be our center this year.

“He will help Chris. Robbie is that type of guy.”

It’s not the first time that Tobeck has taken a young player under his wing. Pro Bowl guard Steve Hutchinson credits the 35-year-old with helping develop him into the player he is today.

“There are things coaches can teach you about what you’re supposed to do on a certain play, but then there are things that guys who have been around the league eight, nine years have to teach you,” said Hutchinson, a first-round pick in the 2001 draft. “They can teach you the intangibles. I think that’s where Robbie can help.

“As a rookie, you learn how to handle yourself when you’re going on a road trip. Do you start getting nervous the night before? How do you get ready for a game? I could sit here for a half hour and go on about what he’s taught me.”

Tobeck already started giving Spencer tips during two offseason minicamps, and he’s continued to tutor the rookie this week. While Tobeck is expected to remain the starter throughout 2005, his starting job will eventually be handed over to Spencer.

“It’s definitely going to help me as a player,” Spencer said of having Tobeck to mentor him. “He’s been in the system for a while, and he knows the techniques. It would be one thing if you’re a powerful guy and can knock people off the ball. But if you don’t have technique, you won’t be in this league very long.”

Not all veteran-rookie relationships go so smoothly. When the Seahawks drafted punter Craig Jarrett in the sixth round of the 2002 draft, incumbent Jeff Feagles made sure the rookie didn’t cost him a job. Feagles, then a 15-year NFL veteran, barely even spoke to Jarrett. By the end of camp, Jarrett got cut and Feagles began another season as the Seahawks’ punter.

Holmgren said he got similar treatment from the veterans after getting drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1970.

“When I was a rookie quarterback, those guys wouldn’t talk to me for awhile,” he said. “Robbie has played long enough; he has had a pretty good run. He is playing at a good level. I have talked to him about his value to the team. There is no reason for him not to help Chris.”

Where there could have been tension, Spencer and Tobeck have found a way to work well together.

“(Spencer) is fortunate to have Robbie here for the last two years of Robbie’s contract,” Hutchinson said. “(Tobeck) is the textbook professional. He comes to work every day and puts in his time.

“He may not be the most talented guy, or a guy who goes to the Pro Bowl every year, but he comes to work and does his job. That’s the way the business should be.”