Cardinals’ Berry will try to keep up with the Jones

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, November 2, 2005

KIRKLAND – The last time Bertrand Berry lined up against Seattle Seahawks left tackle Walter Jones, he felt like he’d been on the wrong end of a one-sided prize fight.

“I just remember I didn’t have too much success against him,” Arizona’s Pro Bowl defensive end said Wednesday of the Sept. 25 game between the Seahawks and Cardinals. “He’s the best tackle in the NFL right now. He is a tremendous challenge – for myself, and for any other defensive end that has to go up against him.”

Berry, whose seven sacks are the second-highest total in the NFC this season, didn’t get a single sack in that game and was credited with just four tackles. The Cardinals are hoping things will be different this Sunday, when they host the Seahawks in a rematch.

But that doesn’t mean Berry is necessarily excited about the rematch.

“Bertrand Berry is a great competitor,” Arizona head coach Dennis Green said during his Wednesday conference call with Seattle media. “… He will go meet any challenge. (But) there is nobody that says, ‘Hey, I sure am glad I get to go play against Walter Jones this week.’ It just doesn’t work that way.”

Jones isn’t resting on his laurels despite his domination in the last meeting. Seattle’s Pro Bowl left tackle knows he’s facing one of the top pass rushers in the game.

“He came out and played me tough, and he’s going to come out this time and try to play me tough,” Jones said. “You look forward to the challenge. He’s a great pass rusher, and you’ve got to go out there and compete. That’s what he’s going to do, and that’s what I’ve got to do.”

Berry might not be eager to face Jones, but he’s prepared himself for the challenge.

“In order to have any success, you have to bring your A-plus game,” Berry said. “Hopefully I can bring more of my A-plus game, not what I brought last time.”

Hamlin update: Holmgren said Wednesday that he has not talked to doctors about the long-term playing future of injured safety Ken Hamlin.

But Holmgren confirmed that the team plans to honor the remainder of Hamlin’s contract this season, even though the league does not require it to pay players who have been placed on the reserve/non-football injury list.

“It was our feeling that Ken was very much a victim in this thing,” Holmgren said of an Oct. 17 incident at Pioneer Square that left Hamlin with a fractured skull and bruising and a blood clot on his brain. “He wasn’t skydiving … and his parachute didn’t open. He was a victim in this thing, and the absolute right thing to do in our opinion was to pay him.”

Hamlin was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list on Tuesday, meaning he is not eligible to play again this season. According to the NFL Players Association, Hamlin’s salary this season is $380,000, all of which he will receive.

“As situations would come up in the future, it’s clearly the club’s prerogative to look at each individual instance and make that decision,” Holmgren said. “But my feeling is we did the absolute right thing as far as he was concerned.”

Team doctors are currently studying what goes into the long-term rehabilitation for a fractured skull.

Good-bye to bye woes? As a former history teacher, Holmgren knows the value of learning from the past.

That was part of the incentive that led him to give his players last week off, as the coach toyed with how to end a drought that has seen the Seahawks lose six consecutive games coming off the bye week.

“We’ve tried every other schedule,” said Holmgren, who is 0-6 off bye weeks with Seattle and 2-11 going back to his days as head coach of the Green Bay Packers. “I got all my schedules out from years past, and we tried every wrinkle and every little thing we do.”

That the Seahawks went into a bye week on a high note was typical, as they’re now 7-0 in that situation during Holmgren’s tenure. He likes that record, but isn’t so fond of the 0-6 post-bye mark.

“It bothers me that that record is what it is,” he said Wednesday. “But, like I said with any sort of streak, even a winning streak of some kind: this particular game Sunday is that game at that time with this team. What’s gone on in the past has very little to do with what will happen on Sunday.”

The dwindling screen: The screen pass, which was once a staple of Holmgren’s offense, has been a non-factor this year.

Seattle has attempted just six screen passes all season, completing four for a total of 24 yards.

The Seahawks struggled on screen passes last season, especially during a stretch in November and early December that saw them go 1-for-5 for just three yards, with three dropped passes.

Defenses “look at Shaun, and they’re on him,” offensive coordinator Gil Haskell said, referring to the attention Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander gets every game. “But we’re OK. We’ll still use it. It’s a good play.”

Quick slants: Seahawks wide receiver Bobby Engram returned to practice Wednesday, wearing a red jersey to signify no contact. … Linebacker D.D. Lewis missed practice again Wednesday while nursing a sore right knee. He is listed as questionable, meaning there is a 50-50 chance he’ll be available for Sunday’s game. If Lewis can’t play, rookie Leroy Hill would probably start in his place. … While a power blackout left the team’s Kirkland facility mostly in the dark late Wednesday afternoon, a generator allowed coaches to continue preparations for the Arizona game.