KIRKLAND – When members of the Seattle Seahawks talk about the team’s recent offensive resurgence, they can’t help but give partial credit to the slow, fat guys up front.
But the praise comes with a disclaimer: those slow, fat guys aren’t really that slow after all.
While tackles Walter Jones and Chris Terry get most of the attention, part of the reason for Seattle’s offensive line success has been the unappreciated speed of the guys inside.
Steve Hutchinson, Robbie Tobeck and, yes, even Chris Gray aren’t as plodding as they might appear.
“Our screen game requires guards that can run,” said offensive line coach Tom Lovat, referring to the Seahawks’ extensive use of the screen pass. “We need those kinds of guys.”
Let’s not get carried away here; Joey Galloway these guys are not. The most important thing about the Seahawks’ guards and center is still their ability to fight off defensive linemen. But all three starters also possess that extra something that is a key factor in Seattle’s offense in that they can get out of the trenches when asked to.
“I think we have the best offensive line in the league because they’re so versatile,” backup quarterback Trent Dilfer said. “They do everything well. We screen the ball well, we run the ball well, we run it outside well, we throw the ball long well, we throw it short well.
“We’re not limited by anything because of our offensive line. They can be big when they need to be big, and fast when they need to be fast.”
Hutchinson, a former first-round draft pick, was known for his footwork coming out of the University of Michigan. But Tobeck and Gray, the grizzled veterans, have never been regarded as fleet of foot.
Yet both players are more athletic than they appear. The 298-pound Tobeck was a basketball star at Florida’s New Port Richie High School, where he claims to have averaged 21 points and 21 rebounds a game as a senior. Gray, now listed at 308 pounds, was a pretty athletic football player at Homewood High in Birmingham, Ala., which led to him being recruited by Auburn as a tight end.
“I think we’re all pretty good athletes who can move pretty good,” Gray said.
Gray looks the least athletic of the bunch. The doughy-faced country boy doesn’t exactly get mistaken for Koren Robinson when he’s out on the town.
But he continues to have success in a system that asks its linemen to display the ability to run, becoming the team’s lineman with the longest playing streak. Gray has started 70 consecutive games for the Seahawks, dating back to 1999, at three different positions along the offensive line.
“Every year you’re looking to replace Chris,” Lovat admitted. “He’s been on the bubble since ‘99, and he’s started more games than anyone else.”
Seattle’s interior has been together for all 12 games this year, while tackles Jones and Terry got rather late starts. Although Jones has been a starter since the season opener, he missed all of training camp and needed a few weeks to work himself into football shape. Terry was suspended by the league for the first four games of the season but has since joined the starting lineup without much drop off.
The unit has been intact for eight games now, and many are pointing to the guys up front as a reason for the team’s offensive boom in the past month.
“I think it starts with them,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “Whether it’s us or any team, you look at the big plays, and the pass protection is usually great.”
Coach Mike Holmgren is quick to pass out the praise as well.
“The last half dozen games or so we have had that group together,” he said. “Knock on wood, we have managed to avoid injury, and they have been able to play. That helps your offensive line, always.”
The Seahawks’ underrated offensive line might be getting its due in the Seattle locker room, but accolades outside of the area continue to elude the unit.
“I think a lot of other teams don’t take us seriously,” said Jones, the only member of the unit to ever appear in a Pro Bowl. “They come out with a good defense, and then we go out and dominate them. All we’re trying to do is get the respect of the league, and we’ve got to do that each week.”
Tobeck, a 10-year veteran who has seen his share of linemen, believes this year’s Seahawks line is much better than people think.
“I watch film during the week, and as we watch the defenses we’re going against, we see a lot of other offensive lines,” he said. “And I think we’re one of the top three or four lines in the league, if not one of the top two. I really believe that. I watch the film, and we lock people up better than other people.”
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