Rhodes still the same

Published 9:00 pm Monday, July 31, 2006

CHENEY – While John Marshall has settled into his role as defensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks, Ray Rhodes hasn’t made such a smooth adjustment into his new career as a docile assistant.

Rhodes, who suffered a stroke last September and has since given up his duties as defensive coordinator, remains on the team as a special projects assistant. But he’s not having much luck letting go of his high-stress personality.

“Same Ray,” Marshall said Monday. “Thank God (the stroke) didn’t change him.”

Rhodes is working the same schedule as Seattle’s other coaches during training camp, but head coach Mike Holmgren said he’ll cut back on the 55-year-old assistant’s hours when the team goes back to the west side of the state.

“He’ll try and fudge a little bit, but he’s feeling pretty good,” Holmgren said. “He won’t work out as late. On the field, you watch him, he takes notes. He keeps his distance a little bit. He’ll probably continue doing what he finished up doing last year.”

Marshall said that the diction of who is coordinator doesn’t mean much, adding that the entire defensive staff makes most decisions together.

“Yeah, I happen to be in a position where you could probably say I have the final say,” Marshall said. “But it really never comes down to that. And when Ray was (coordinator), it never really came down to that.”

Because Marshall handled Rhodes’s duties last year – without the official title – Holmgren doesn’t expect much of a change in how things are run on the 2006 defense.

“(Marshall is) going into his second year as our coordinator,” Holmgren said. “Ray is there, obviously, but Ray is also very respectful of John’s position, and they get along great and they work well together.

“The difference you’ll see is because of different personnel we have. Now (linebacker) Julian Peterson might allow us to do some different things, as an example. As far as philosophically, what John likes to do and how he likes to call things, it’ll be pretty much like last year.”

Hammer don’t hit ‘em: On the first day the Seahawks donned pads, the most anticipated collision never took place.

Safety Ken Hamlin, who was taking part in his first full-contact drills since suffering severe head injuries last October, never had the opportunity to hit anyone Sunday morning.

“The only people making a big deal about (putting on) the pads is you all (in the media),” Hamlin said after the morning practice. “I’m out here going through the regular practice like we’re going through. I normally don’t take big hits from my teammates anyway. So that’s not going to change.”

Hamlin, who still hasn’t talked about the events of the October incident because the investigation is ongoing, did say Sunday that he is appreciative of the opportunity to play football again.

“I think about that every day,” he said.

Hamlin did have an impact on the practice, just missing a pair of interceptions within two minutes of each other.

But the more important answer will come when he actually collides with someone.

“It’d be like a guy coming off a bad knee injury: the first hit and how he responds to things,” Holmgren said. “My feeling is he’ll be just fine, but I’ve got to admit we’re waiting for that first big collision.”

Offense shines: The morning practice had a bit more energy than previous practices, with the offense outshining the defense for most of the 21/2-hour session.

Quarterback Seneca Wallace was particularly impressive during a red-zone drill, following up a touchdown scramble with three consecutive touchdown passes.

Tight end Mike Gomez and wide receiver Nate Burleson also shined during the practice. Burleson has established himself as a favorite target of Matt Hasselbeck while Darrell Jackson continues to rehabilitate from offseason knee surgery.

Quick slants: Tight end Itula Mili strained his back warming up for the morning practice and did not participate the rest of the day. … The Seahawks released offensive lineman Lance Reynolds and replaced him with Taylor Schmidt, a versatile rookie offensive lineman from San Diego State. … Offensive lineman Ray Willis, who sat out Sunday with a hamstring injury, returned to practice Monday.