RENTON — When the Seattle Seahawks unveil their 2008 team this Sunday in Buffalo, the new-look lineup could include eight new starters.
The most notable two are rookies.
Coach Mike Holmgren confirmed Wednesday that first-round draft pick Lawrence Jackson is likely to start at defensive end, while second-round pick John Carlson is the probable starter at tight end.
“There’s a lot on their shoulders,” Holmgren said during his Wednesday press conference. “As good as they are, and as smart as they are and all that stuff, there will be times when something will happen and you’ll go: ‘Why did that happen?’ And it was because we’re playing with young people.”
Jackson beat out third-year player Darryl Tapp, who was on the other side of the starting coin last season. As a second-year player, Tapp took veteran Bryce Fisher’s starting job and eventually was a factor in Fisher getting traded to Tennessee.
This time, it’s Tapp who is on the outside looking in.
“(Jackson) came in, he’s a very talented guy, a No. 1 draft choice, and he didn’t do anything to make us say: ‘Hey, we don’t feel good about this,’” Holmgren said. “He did everything right, so he’s going to start. But Tapp’s going to play a lot.”
Said Jackson: “I felt like, when they drafted me, I was brought here to play football — whether it was my rookie year, my fifth year, my fourth year.”
Among the other new starters are running back Maurice Morris. Holmgren said that his starting role is not a weekly thing, but part of a rotation with veteran Julius Jones.
“In all likelihood,” he said, “Julius will start next week and then Mo will start. I don’t know how we’re going to do that yet, but it will be like that.”
Three of the new starters — wide receiver Courtney Taylor, right tackle Ray Willis and defensive tackle Craig Terrill — are filling in for injured or suspended players.
Taylor is holding the spot down until Deion Branch or Bobby Engram return from injuries, while Willis’ right tackle spot could go back to injured Sean Locklear in Week 2. Holmgren said that Locklear is unlikely to play Sunday because of a minor knee injury that has sidelined him since the Aug. 16 preseason game against Chicago.
“He’s coming along fine, but it’d be tight,” the Seahawks’ head coach said, “depending on the game. If we were playing in the Super Bowl, I think Locklear would suit up and have a shot at playing. I’m not sure we’d be doing the right thing by pushing him into action (Sunday).”
Terrill is filling in for Rocky Bernard, who will serve a one-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on personal conduct.
“I back up Rocky and usually get as many reps as him anyway, so it’s really not that different,” Terrill said.
Fullback Leonard Weaver is in his second year as a starter, but he was a reserve when the 2007 season started. The same goes for wide receiver Nate Burleson.
The eighth new starter is left guard Mike Wahle, who came from Carolina in free agency.
Only four starters — quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, left tackle Walter Jones, linebacker Lofa Tatupu and cornerback Marcus Trufant — remain from the starting lineup in the season opener of the Super Bowl season in 2005.
Tatupu returns: Tatupu was back on the practice field Wednesday afternoon, albeit on a limited basis.
The three-time Pro Bowler has been sidelined by a knee bruise since Aug. 25.
Asked how he’s feeling, Tatupu said: “I plead the Fifth.”
He had the same answer when asked whether he would be available for Sunday’s opener.
But Holmgren said he expects Tatupu to play.
“I expect him to play great,” Holmgren said.
Dual duty? The Seahawks have often flirted with the idea of using backup quarterback Seneca Wallace as a receiver. Due to a number of factors, this could be the year that it happens.
The receiving corps is likely to be without starters Bobby Engram and Deion Branch this Sunday, leaving just four healthy wideouts on the roster. And, unlike past seasons, the Seahawks have an experienced No. 3 quarterback in Charlie Frye who could play if Wallace and Hasselbeck were to get hurt.
“He’ll do kind of what he does,” Holmgren said when the question about Wallace was posed to him Wednesday. “We’re always ready to stick him in in an emergency.
“But it’s important that the young guys get as much work as possible because, other than Nate (Burleson), we don’t have a lot of experience at that position.”
Return questions: One thing Holmgren has yet to settle is who will return punts.
The most likely candidate is rookie running back Justin Forsett, but he muffed a punt in the preseason finale.
Holmgren said the other possibilities include Burleson, Wallace and starting cornerback Marcus Trufant.
Both Burleson and Trufant said they are willing to fill the role in a pinch, but they also understand that it’s unlikely the team would use starters as return men.
“I’m just a change-of-pace guy,” Trufant said. “I just do it to stay fresh. I did it in college, I understand that it’s an important role, and I’ll always be ready.”
Quick slants: The Seahawks named six captains on Wednesday. Hasselbeck, Tatupu and safety Deon Grant will repeat their 2007 captaincies, while left tackle Walter Jones resumes the role he had in 2006. Special teams captains Lance Laury and D.D. Lewis are filling that role for the first time. … The only three players held out of Wednesday’s practice were Locklear (knee), Engram (shoulder) and defensive end Baraka Atkins (back). All three could sit out Sunday’s game. Branch returned to practice on a limited basis and has a remote chance of playing in Sunday’s opener at Buffalo.
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