CHENEY – Don’t expect the Seattle Seahawks to get any more evenings off this training camp.
Thursday morning, the day after being given a meeting-free night and an extra hour of curfew, the Seahawks had their worst practice of camp. Things got so bad that coach Mike Holmgren continually stopped practice to give the team tongue lashings, and he eventually cut the session short to make the players run sprints.
“They were trying really hard, but we were not practicing very smart,” a more subdued Holmgren said afterward. “That one’s a tough one for me to swallow. I can put up with a mistake here and there and a physical error, but we didn’t do that drill very well and they just had to know I didn’t like it.”
Things started to deteriorate during an 11-on-11, two-minute drill midway through practice. A screen pass on the opening play was stuffed for a five-yard loss. After a completion over the middle, the offense failed to get set and had to burn a timeout. A livid Holmgren chewed the team out and started the drill over.
The next try was just as sloppy, causing the coach to call the No. 1 offense off the field.
Quarterback Seneca Wallace and the No. 2 offense moved the ball about 15 yards before a few players got tangled up at the end of a running play. As the players slowly tried to unlock, Holmgren exploded again, angry that they were wasting valuable seconds.
Two plays later, another episode of third-down confusion led to another timeout. A frustrated Holmgren ended the drill right there.
A few minutes later, Holmgren called the team together at midfield for a short talk. The performance didn’t get much better after that session, so he quickly ordered all the players to one sideline for a series of sprints.
The players had to run two laps across the field, a total of 200 yards, with time limits based on position. Most players had 42 seconds to complete the task, while the linemen had 45 seconds to finish the sprints. When the three groups finished, each had to do it again.
“It was one of those days at camp,” offensive lineman Chris Gray said. “We usually have one or two (practices) like that – with a little surprise there at the end.”
Man from Milton honored: Former quarterback Dave Krieg will become the eighth member of the Seahawks’ Ring of Honor on Sept. 26.
Krieg, 45, played for six teams over six NFL seasons but said he will always feel like a Seahawk.
“I played 12 years there, and that’s where I got my start,” said Krieg, who played for the Seahawks from 1980-91 after attending tiny Milton (Wisc.) College. “I did a lot of growing up in Seattle. I made a lot of good friends there. That’s the team I’m closest to.”
Krieg still holds franchise records in career passing yards (26,132), career touchdown passes (195) and most games with at least 300 yards passing (11). He officially retired from football in 2000, two years after playing his final game.
Hawks sign quarterback: Lacking healthy arms, the Seahawks signed rookie quarterback Bryson Spinner on Thursday morning and had him out on the field for practice.
The University of Richmond product held his own, completing four of five passes in his first session.
“I’m picking up things as they come, trying to get adjusted to the new system,” Spinner said.
Back injuries to Trent Dilfer and Brock Huard had left the Seahawks with only two healthy quarterbacks: Matt Hasselbeck and Seneca Wallace. Spinner gives the team another arm so that the two healthy returnees don’t get worn down.
Huard’s back injury is believed to be more serious, although there is no timetable for his return. Dilfer had an MRI on his back Thursday to find out the severity of his injury. Neither is expected to play in Monday’s preseason opener at Green Bay.
Holmgren said he has not decided whether Spinner will play Monday.
Ice tip: Hasselbeck is following the advice of a couple high-profile athletes in an effort to avoid future arm troubles.
After recent conversations with former NFL quarterback Warren Moon and Seattle Mariners pitcher Jamie Moyer, Hasselbeck has started icing his throwing arm after each practice.
“I took their advice, and it’s actually helped a lot in this camp,” Hasselbeck said.
Hasselbeck met Moyer at a Seattle sports banquet. Asked if the left-hander gave him any advice on how to throw a changeup, Hasselbeck offered: “They’re all changeups right now.”
Quick slants: Tackle Chris Terry (shoulder), running back Clarence Farmer (knee) and defensive end Chike Okeafor (routine rest) took Thursday’s practices off. … Guard Steve Hutchinson, cornerback Bobby Taylor and linebacker Chad Brown used Thursday afternoon for a routine day of rest. Brown, who had foot surgery in 2002, had taken part in the first 16 practices of training camp. … Wayne Hunter was back after missing the first 10 days of camp with a wrist injury. He passed his physical and saw action at right tackle with the No. 2 offense Thursday afternoon. “It was frustrating because linemen were going down, and I knew my chance was there to help the team,” Hunter said.
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