Jones shoulders the load

Published 10:39 pm Sunday, September 14, 2008

SEATTLE — On an afternoon when the hobbled Seattle Seahawks’ offense needed some big shoulders on which to be carried, Julius Jones was willing and able.

The Seahawks’ 27-year-old running back carried the offensive load to the tune of 127 rushing yards, marking the highest total by a Seattle player since Dec. 2006.

“It felt great, but we got an L (loss), so that kind of taints it a little bit,” Jones said after San Francisco beat the Seahawks 33-30 in overtime Sunday. “But it felt good to get into a rhythm and have as many carries as I got.”

Originally slated to split time with Maurice Morris, Jones carried the ball 26 times while Morris sat out with a knee injury and the passing game tried to overcome the loss of six injured receivers. It matched Jones’s highest total of carries since 2006 and was the first time in 24 games that he had more than 20 rushing attempts.

“It shows what kind of back he is,” fullback Leonard Weaver said. “He stepped in when we needed him, and he did the job and did it well. The numbers speak for themselves.”

Jones was slated to start Sunday’s game even before Morris got hurt, as coach Mike Holmgren had planned to use a rotating-starter system. But Morris’s injury, which should keep him out at least one more game, means that Jones will continue to carry the load for now.

Welcome back: Defensive tackle Rocky Bernard and defensive back Jordan Babineaux returned from one-game suspensions Sunday, and both of them made quite a splash.

Bernard sacked quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan in the second quarter, while Babineaux was the key player in one of the game’s strangest plays.

Babineaux picked up a blocked Seattle punt and ran 24 yards for a Seahawks first down. The play set up a touchdown and helped atone for a big mistake.

Babineaux admitted that he missed an adjustment call in the blocking scheme out of punt formation, allowing San Francisco’s Manny Lawson to break through untouched and block Jon Ryan’s punt. The ball landed on the turf near Babineaux, who picked it up and ran past the first-down marker.

“Once (Lawson) blocked it, I tried to make up for my mistake,” Babineaux said. “It’s fortunate it didn’t hurt us in that situation. We came back and sustained the drive, and the offense went down and scored.”

Asked whether the mental mistake could have been the by product of his time away, Babineaux said: “Not at all. It’s a simple, simple, simple mistake. (The week-long suspension) had nothing to do with it. I don’t feel any rust.”

Welcome to Seattle: In their first game as Seahawks, Ryan and wide receiver Billy McMullen got fed some raspberries.

That is, they both got booed.

McMullen, who signed with the team Wednesday because of injuries at the receiver position, got a few catcalls after getting forced into action when teammates Logan Payne and Seneca Wallace went down with injuries. On at least two occasions, he seemed to be in the wrong spot when Matt Hasselbeck tried to throw to him.

Ryan’s boos were even louder. He heard it from the crowd after his first punt traveled just 39 yards, and the sound picked up again after his second punt was blocked.

“I didn’t do a lot today to get them on my side,” he said after Sunday’s game. “But hopefully, seven days from now it’s a different story.”

Ryan was playing in his first game since replacing Ryan Plackemeier as the team’s punter last Tuesday.

Don’t call him Dorothy: Seahawks defensive end Patrick Kerney seems to play better at home, and his new look is reminiscent of a famous character who just wants to go home.

Thanks to a specially-designed shoe from the sportswear company Under Armour, Kerney has been wearing shoes that sparkle in the sun. His lime-green shoes, which he started wearing on game days this season, have a chrome design that extends all the way across the sole.

That wasn’t the only new look for Kerney on Sunday. He started the game on the right side of the defensive line after playing almost exclusively on the left side for his first 17 games as a Seahawk.

“Last week, (the Buffalo Bills) shifted the protection to the left side,” he said after recording two sacks in the loss. “So we were just trying to give (the 49ers) a different look and to keep them guessing.”

Kerney eventually moved back to the left side and played most of Sunday’s game there. But he said he will continue to alternate sides to keep opposing offenses guessing.

Club cornerback: The injury-plagued Seahawks suffered a tough break last week when Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Trufant cracked a bone in his left hand. The good news was that Trufant was still able to play, albeit with a club-like cast protecting the hand.

“It wasn’t bad,” Trufant said of the cast that is protecting a broken bone near the knuckle at the base of his left index finger. “It was the little stuff, like trying to jam (receivers). But it was all right.”

The only time the cast was visibly constricting came when Trufant tried to pick up a first-quarter fumble. He initially controlled the ball between his cast and right hand, but it popped free when a San Francisco player hit him from behind.

Fortunately for the Seahawks, defensive tackle Craig Terrill scooped up the loose ball and ran it back nine yards for a touchdown.

“I thought it was a dead play,” Terrill said. “I thought they were fighting for it at the bottom of the pile. I just kind of came up to help out, and the ball popped right up in my hands. It was a pretty easy one.”

Running forever: One statistic that best illustrates why the 49ers upset Seattle on Sunday might be the one known as YAC. The unofficial totals for yards after catch (YAC) gave San Francisco a 114-31 advantage.

The more you can do: Not only did Michael Bumpus see considerable action on offense because of Seneca Wallace’s pre-game calf injury, he also became the Seahawks’ full-time punt returner.

In the wake of Nate Burleson’s season-ending knee injury, Bumpus, Wallace, and Samie Parker took turns returning punts in practice last week. When Parker was released Saturday, Bumpus figured he’d switch off with Wallace.

When Wallace limped off the field Sunday during warm-ups, it was all Bumpus, and he did it well, returning three punts for 46 yards, an impressive average of 15.3 yards per return.

“After warmups, I walked in and they just said ‘You’re up,’” Bumpus said. “That’s just how my short career has been so far.”

Bumpus was a punt returner all through high school and at Washington State University, where he holds the Cougars’ record for career punt return yards with 801.

The foot is louder: San Francisco placekicker Joe Nedney on quieting the crowd with his game-winning field goal in overtime: “There was nothing louder than 67,000 people dead silent.”

Quick slants: Sunday’s game marked just the second home loss for the Seahawks since the beginning of last season. Seattle is now 37-9 at Qwest Field since 2003. … Shortly after returning an interception for a touchdown, 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis came out of the game with a leg injury. But he only missed about 10 plays before returning. … Sunday’s loss marked just the second time the Seahawks have dropped their home opener at the stadium now known as Qwest Field. Seattle lost to Arizona in the first regular-season game played here, back in 2002. … After converting just one of their first eight third downs, the 49ers got four of their final six in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Herald Writer Todd Fredrickson contributed to this report