Grant may have torn MCL

Published 10:05 pm Sunday, October 12, 2008

SEATTLE — The Seattle Seahawks’ 0-2 start came with an asterisk of sorts, seeing as though the injury-plagued team had help on the way.

As for the 1-4 start? Well, things aren’t so cut-and-dry right about now.

Coach Mike Holmgren said after Sunday’s 27-17 loss to Green Bay that there is no guarantee that quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will return to the lineup this weekend.

Safety Deon Grant said that the knee injury he suffered on the Packers’ first offensive snap — he later returned to the field and finished the game — could be a torn medial collateral ligament.

And wide receiver Deion Branch is still out indefinitely with a bruised heel.

“I’ve just got to take it one day at a time,” Branch said while walking around the Seahawks’ locker room Sunday afternoon. “I can’t make a mistake to try to combat another mistake.”

Grant, who hasn’t missed a game since spending his rookie season in 2000 on injured reserve, was remarkably frank about his knee injury after the loss. He said he heard something “pop” and added that the only reason he was able to go back into the game was because he was fitted for a brace.

Asked whether the fact that he finished the game was a good sign, Grant said: “(The injury) still might be a serious thing. I just don’t care anything about it. I played on, so it isn’t too serious.”

Grant suffered the injury on his first action of the game. He held his knee in agony before trainers arrived, helped him up and assisted him as he limped off the field.

“I heard a pop, so it must be an MCL,” Grant said. “Something happened with it. I didn’t get any tests. I just put a brace on and went back out there.”

Hasselbeck was not made available for comment after watching Sunday’s game from the sidelines, but his coach’s words made it sound as if the bone bruise in his right knee might be more serious than originally expected.

“I might have a better answer for you tomorrow,” Holmgren said Sunday afternoon when asked about the timetable for Hasselbeck’s expected return. “There are more tests that he needs to take, apparently. It’s hard to put a finger on it.”

Holmgren added that No. 2 quarterback Seneca Wallace could see more practice time this week after being hobbled by a calf injury. Depending on the results of Hasselbeck’s tests, it is conceivable that Wallace might have to make his first start of the season this Sunday.

Third-string quarterback Charlie Frye started against Green Bay on Sunday but had just 83 passing yards and two interceptions.

Robinson’s back: For the first time since 2004, wide receiver Koren Robinson played in a game as a member of the Seahawks.

The 28-year-old Robinson caught two passes in his return to the field after starting at split end.

“It was good,” said Robinson, who played his first four NFL seasons with the Seahawks and was re-signed last month. “But you want to win, and we weren’t able to accomplish that.”

While Robinson had a productive day, teammate Bobby Engram didn’t make much of an impact.

For only the second time in four-plus seasons, Engram played a game without catching a pass Sunday. The last time it happened was in Dec. 2006, when he returned from a 10-week absence due to a thyroid condition but did not catch a pass in a loss to San Francisco.

Although Engram has caught a pass in only one game this season — he missed the first four weeks because of a cracked bone in his shoulder _ the veteran still ranks second on the team in season receptions (eight).

Seeing stripes: The Seahawks took umbrage with a couple of calls in Sunday’s game, the most notable of which was a holding penalty that wipe out Julius Jones’s 51-yard run early in the third quarter.

Guard Mike Wahle was called for holding, even though Packers defensive tackle Johnny Jolly appeared to pull the Seahawks’ offensive lineman down as Jones ran through a nearby hole.

“It was a play in the game, they called it, it was unfortunate,” Wahle said. “I think that Green Bay, watching them on film, they do a good job of asking for it. If they don’t make the tackle, it’s always a hold.

“But the guy made the call, and you’ve got to live with it. I had my hands inside, but sometimes when things aren’t going well, those calls don’t go your way.”

The play not only cost Seattle a long run but also took away momentum. The Seahawks never really recovered, watching Green Bay score 17 unanswered points to pull away.

“We were just getting in a rhythm,” Seahawks center Chris Spencer said. “We come out, bust one for 51 yards, and you feed off a big play like that. If we would’ve sustained that, it could’ve been a different game.”

Spencer saw a replay of the apparent hold on the big screen. His assessment?

“Bad call,” he said after the game.

The other call came on a 1-yard touchdown dive by Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Officials originally ruled that Rodgers had been stopped short of the goal line, but after looking at replays, they decided that the quarterback’s knee never touched the ground before he reached the ball across the goal line.

“We heard a whistle, and we stopped, and then we saw the ball,” Seahawks linebacker Leroy Hill said. “But I can’t argue with the officials. If they called it a touchdown, it’s a touchdown.”

Hating No. 3: The Seahawks are not only struggling on third downs this year — they rank near the bottom of the league in converting third downs (30.2 percent) and allowed Green Bay’s offense to convert 10 of 18 Sunday — but also in third quarters.

Through five games, Seattle has been outscored 52-3 in the third quarter of games.

On Sunday, the Packers scored seven points in the third quarter and 17 unanswered points through the first 26 minutes of the second half.

Seattle has been outscored 72-30 after halftime this season.

No whitewash: The last two times the Seahawks played the Packers, snow covered the field by game ‘s end — once at Qwest Field, and once during a January playoff game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

The Packers’ 42-20 playoff win started out well for Seattle, who led 14-0 early in the first quarter, but quickly turned when the snow started coming down.

After Sunday’s loss, Seahawks fullback Leonard Weaver said: “I guess we can’t blame the snow. Today was an even-matched game, and they came out the team on top.”

Passing fancy: Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers became the fourth opposing quarterback in five games this season to post a passer rating above 100 against Seattle.

Rodgers completed 21 of 30 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns, good for a rating of 111.5.

Buffalo’s Trent Edwards (108.8), San Francisco’s J.T. O’Sullivan (106.4) and the New York Giants’ Eli Manning (148.2) already accomplished that feat against the Seahawks, whose quarterbacks have a combined rating of 57.0 this season.

Quick slants: Tight end John Carlson, who did not catch a pass in last weekend’s loss to the Giants, was back to being a focal point Sunday. Carlson led the team with four receptions and now has a team-high 16 on the season. … Frye threw his first two touchdown passes since Dec. 3, 2006, hitting Carlson and Keary Colbert for scores Sunday. … As expected, cornerback Josh Wilson started in place of Kelly Jennings on Sunday. Wilson had a solid game, while Jennings saw extensive playing time (about 25 snaps) as the third cornerback. … Running back Maurice Morris saw his first action since the opener, rushing for 16 yards on four carries. Morris had been out with a knee injury.