GLENDALE, Ariz. — Nate Burleson was being a hypocrite.
That’s what it felt like, anyway, every time he started feeling sorry for himself last season.
“It takes a lot for me to get down,” the Seattle Seahawks receiver said last week. “You can’t cry over spilled milk; that’s what I say all the time. Whatever happens, there’s always positives and negatives.
“But definitely, last year there were times when I wasn’t smiling.”
Despite a $49 million contract and getting the opportunity to return to his hometown, Burleson’s first season with the Seahawks was more like spilled milk than milk chocolate frosting.
But beginning today, the 26-year-old graduate of Seattle’s O’Dea High School will get a second chance to make an impression on Seahawks fans. With D.J. Hackett sidelined by a high ankle sprain, Burleson will return to the starting lineup as Seattle’s split end.
“I definitely look at it as a chance to prove to the people who brought me here and the people who’ve supported me — the people who bought my football card and wore my jersey — that I can be the player they expected me to be,” Burleson said.
In his first season with the Seahawks, Burleson went from a $49 million man and likely starter to a rarely-used receiver on the Seattle bench. His contract — the seven-year, $49 million deal was never meant to be paid in full, and it was recently restructured to pay out a maximum of $14.5 million over four years — led to high expectations that were never met.
Burleson struggled to pick up the offensive system, suffered a thumb injury that affected his ability to catch the ball, and eventually lost his starting job after the team traded for New England Patriots holdout Deion Branch.
“It was tough,” Burleson said last week. “But more than anything, it was a great learning experience. I know that sounds corny, but …”
Burleson continues to try to look at the positives from last season, but the memories remain.
He caught just 18 passes in 2006, half of which came in the final five games. Through the first 10 weeks of the season he had eight receptions before being named the Seahawks’ return man on both punts and kickoffs. In the role of returner, Burleson thrived. He ranked 13th in the NFL in both kickoff and punt returns and was named as one of the Pro Bowl alternates to Chicago’s Devin Hester.
“It was definitely a way to get my confidence back,” Burleson said of becoming the Seahawks’ return man. “If I was sitting on the sideline all year, I would’ve been pitiful. “But just because I was able to go out there and play, I could smile. I knew I would go home at night and feel good knowing that I’d contributed.”
Burleson approached the 2007 offseason like a man possessed. He spent countless hours working with Branch and Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck at the team facility and looked ready to challenge Hackett for the starting split end job.
But Burleson’s comfort with the offense still wasn’t where the coaches had hoped, and Hackett eventually won out.
Now, with Hackett expected to be sidelined for anywhere from two weeks to two months, Burleson finally got the starting job.
“I have seen how hard he worked over the last six months to get to this point,” Hasselbeck said last week. “The player he is now, and the player he was when he came to us, it looks like two different guys on film.
“I think he’s playing with a lot more confidence. He knows what he’s doing. … I think that hard work has paid off.”
Burleson caught three passes in last Sunday’s opener, becoming a key target after Hackett went down in the first half. This week, Burleson is expected to be an even bigger part of the Seahawks’ offense.
“Now Hack’s hurt, so Nate has to step up,” offensive coordinator Gil Haskell said. “And I expect he will.”
So does Burleson, who’s motivated by the disappointment that was the 2006 season.
“You learn from those things,” he said. “But at the same time, I did make some plays (on special teams). Going into this year, it makes it that much more special that I’m healthy now. I’m out there flying around and having fun.
“I’m having a ball, man. I’m really looking forward to this year, not only for myself but also for the receiving corps. It’s going to be a good year.”
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