Fill-ins to play major role for Seahawks

KIRKLAND — During the Seattle Seahawks’ forgettable Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers took the field without two offensive starters but still found a way to move the chains and get into the end zone.

This Sunday, the Seahawks will try to pull off a similar feat.

Fullback Mack Strong announced his retirement Monday after suffering a neck injury in the Steelers game. Leading receiver Deion Branch is wearing a boot on his sprained right foot and probably won’t be back until after the Oct. 28 bye.

That leaves Leonard Weaver as the starting fullback, most likely for the rest of the season, and could open the door for Ben Obomanu to make his first start at wide receiver.

The names are familiar to Seahawks fans who don’t wait until the regular season to start paying attention. The duo led Seattle in the two major offensive categories during the preseason — Weaver in rushing, and Obomanu in receiving.

Now, thanks to some untimely injuries, they’re major factors in Seattle’s regular season.

Weaver is the more important of the two because he’s already been named the starter and is likely to remain there the rest of the season. He filled in for Strong for the final three quarters of Sunday’s game, serving mostly as a blocking back.

Weaver struggled with the blocking part of the game during the preseason, so much so that he eventually had his potential roster spot threatened by coach Mike Holmgren. Weaver made the team and has steadily improved, although he did get beat for a sack in the loss to Pittsburgh.

“I’m very pleased on his progress,” Holmgren said on Monday. “It’s funny how this business is at times. In the preseason, I was disappointed in how he was going. Since we started playing (regular-season) games, he has just gotten better and better, to the point now that I have a lot of confidence in him.

“He was playing more anyway, so now he’s got to play a lot.”

After Sunday’s game, and before the severity of Strong’s injury was known, Weaver said that he would be ready no matter what his role was.

“I’m a backup, and that’s what I’m here to do,” he said of filling in for Strong on Sunday. “If the starter goes down, I have to step in.”

Someone will also have to step in at receiver, although Holmgren wasn’t getting too specific Monday. He did mention the possibility of using veteran Bobby Engram as a starter, but the team prefers him in the role of slot receiver.

“We’ve had to move him into a starting position before in years past,” Holmgren said. “I just want to make sure we’re doing the right thing there.”

With D.J. Hackett still at least a week away from returning from an ankle injury, it’s possible that Obomanu could step into the starting lineup Sunday against New Orleans.

Obomanu had a team-high eight receptions in the preseason, despite missing the final game with a pulled hamstring. Earlier this season, Holmgren said that he has faith in Obomanu.

“We were counting on him,” Holmgren said on Sept. 28, after Obomanu returned from the hamstring injury. “He had a good camp and a good preseason. I was hopeful he could play early, but then he got hurt. So it’s good to have him back.”

Obomanu saw extended playing time in place of Branch on Sunday, catching two passes for 38 yards. They were the first two regular-season receptions of his career, as the second-year player from Auburn spent almost the entire 2006 season on the practice squad.

Along with Obomanu, Engram and starting split end Nate Burleson, the Seahawks have other options to fill out the rotation. Rookie Courtney Taylor has played in two games this season, while backup quarterback Seneca Wallace has seen action at wide receiver in each of the past two weeks.

On Monday, Holmgren said that he has confidence in backup receivers’ ability to fill Branch’s shoes..

“We’re going to try awful hard,” Holmgren said. “(Branch) was doing well. He was catching the ball, and (defenses) had to account for him when they played us.

“I have confidence. … It’s just a young guy getting a chance to show, and that’s what I’m hoping. You lose a lot of experience though, I’m not going to downplay it.”

Holmgren also has high hopes for Weaver _ as does the man that Weaver will replace.

“I have the utmost confidence in Leonard Weaver,” Strong said on Monday. “I think he’s going to make people forget about Mack Strong around here. He’s going to have that type of impact. He has that type of ability and that type of talent.”

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