The news out of Seattle Seahawks camp Tuesday was that there was no news.
That used to be typical of a Tuesday, which is the players’ off-day, but is a bit more noteworthy this season. The Seahawks had made fairly significant roster moves on each of the past two Tuesdays, leaving many of the remaining players wondering what might happen next.
“If we can make the team better, (we will) do the change,” Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said Monday. “And I told the team that, right from the beginning: ‘You made the football team, but now is not the time to sigh and sit back and say, I made the team. You must continue to perform, otherwise, there’s a chance we will bring somebody else in and we’ll make the change.’”
A lack of depth on the defensive line led the team to add veteran defensive end Rodney Bailey on Sept. 13. Veteran cornerback and return man Jimmy Williams was signed a week later.
Throw in wide receiver Peter Warrick, kickoff returner Josh Scobey and defensive end Alain Kashama, all of whom were added late last month, and the Seahawks have added five experienced veterans since returning from training camp at Eastern Washington University.
Team president Tim Ruskell has not been shy about being aggressive in terms of roster turnover.
“There are different styles of personnel people, and some teams are reluctant to do that,” Holmgren said. “And some coaches (look at it like): You get your guys, and they’re your guys, and don’t mess with this.
“… I’m not one of those guys.”
Ruskell said even before training camp that the roster makeup would be constantly evolving.
“You can never stop doing that,” he said in July. “You constantly are working that and stressing it to the players and stressing it to the scouts so that becomes part of a winning culture.”
Since Ruskell took over as team president in February, he has overhauled the roster. Just 29 of 53 players on the active roster, and 25 of the 44 who played in Sunday’s win over Arizona, were on the active roster at the end of last season.
But, as he’s shown the past couple of Tuesdays, Ruskell is never finished tinkering.
Take the most recent acquisition, for example. According to Holmgren, Ruskell had been looking at adding Williams to the roster for five weeks before an injury to Alex Bannister finally opened up a roster spot. The Seahawks added the 5-year veteran, who immediately paid dividends last Sunday when cornerbacks Andre Dyson (illness) and Kelly Herndon (stinger) had to come out of the game.
“Tim is a very thorough, hard-working personnel man, and he knows who’s available,” Holmgren said. “He will research that on a weekly basis, and we talk about it every week. And I’m OK with it.
“We talk about it before it’s done, but he is always going to be looking. And from a coach’s standpoint, that’s a great thing. I love the fact that he’s hustling. That’s the way it should be.”
Alexander player of the week? After rushing for 140 yards and four touchdowns in a 37-12 win over Arizona, Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander is expected to be named the NFC’s offensive player of the week. The league announcement is expected today.
Alexander has earned player-of-the-week honors four times in his NFL career. He currently ranks second in the NFL with 357 rushing yards.
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