RENTON — Two veteran defensive ends looking for opportunities found them in Seattle, and as the Seahawks prepare to host a playoff game against New Orleans Saturday, it’s safe to say that Chris Clemons and Raheem Brock are making the most of their fresh starts.
Clemons, who came into th
e league in 2003 as an undrafted free agent and has played in Washington, Oakland and Philadelphia, was looking for a chance to be more than a role player. He wanted a chance to show what he could do in a starting role.
Brock, meanwhile, had an accomplished eight-year career in Indianapolis,
but after starting as an end he was moved to tackle later in his career, limiting his chances to do what he felt he does best — get after the quarterback.
Both have gotten their wish in Seattle, Clemons as a starting end and Brock as a reserve who both backs up Clemons and also plays with him in passing situations. With 20 sacks between them, they have combined to provide the Seahawks’ defense with something it was desperately missing a year ago.
“It means a lot,” Clemons said of his chance to start in Seattle. “I’ve gotten to the point in my career where it’s either up or down. I feel like I can only go one way given an opportunity. I’ve always been able to play the game, and I just never really got an opportunity until I got to Oakland to show what I could do.
“Being in Philly, everybody thought it was about the money, but I didn’t care about the money, I just wanted to play football, and I wasn’t really allowed to play the way I wanted to play. So when they traded me here, I told Coach (Andy) Reid thank you for giving me an opportunity, because that’s all I ever wanted was an opportunity to play.”
Clemons, who has a career-high 11 sacks, and Brock, who has nine — also a career high — have teamed up this season to provide a viable pass rush on a team that was one of the NFL’s worst a year ago when it came pressuring quarterbacks.
For a defense that had many flaws, none stood out on 2009 as much as the Seahawks’ inability to generate a pass rush. Seattle finished the year with 28 sacks, which ranked 26th in the NFL, and had only one sack its final four games. And when the Seahawks didn’t make a big signing in free agency or select a pass rusher in the early rounds of the draft, most figured they would struggle in that department again.
Instead, thanks in large part to Clemons and Brock, two players most casual Seahawks fans hadn’t heard of before this season, the Seahawks have 37 sacks in 2010, which ranks sixth in the NFC and 13th in the league. The Seahawks have two or more sacks in each of their seven wins, and are 7-4 overall when the defense records multiple sacks.
“They’ve been really good for us,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. “… They’ve had a very good year. I think this is Raheem’s best year ever and Clem’s best year ever too, in terms of production. They’ve been big factors.”
And it’s not that neither players didn’t have skill sets that made them desirable — players don’t last as long as Clemons and Brock have without doing something well — it’s just that nobody foresaw this kind of production out of players who seemed more like afterthoughts when they were acquired.
Brock was released by the Colts about a month after playing in the Colts’ Super Bowl loss to New Orleans, and after signing with Tennessee in August, he was cut before the start of the season. The Seahawks added him less than a week before their first game.
“It’s just the opportunity,” Brock said. “That’s one of the reasons why I left Indy, to get an opportunity like I have now to get after the quarterback like I have been playing end. It’s hard rushing from a tackle position trying to beat Dwight (Freeney) and Robert (Mathis) to the quarterback, so this is why I did it, this is why I left Indy. I’m just happy to be able to take advantage of it.”
Clemons meanwhile, was a little-known speed rusher who was part of the trade that sent Darryl Tapp to the Eagles. In what might have been one of the Seahawks’ shrewdest offseason moves, they not only got a fourth-round pick for Tapp, but also Clemons, who with 11 sacks has the most by a Seahawk since Patrick Kerney had 14.5 in 2007.
Their 20 sacks ranks among the highest totals for pass rushing duos in the league, though they did fall one short of Mathis and Freeney to lose a bet with the losers paying out to charity. Brock is hoping his former teammates will extend the bet to the postseason, but win or lose the bet, both Brock and Clemons are happy with the opportunity they’ve found in Seattle. And their teammates are happy with the team’s improved pass rush.
“They’ve done an amazing job, and it really lifts the team,” linebacker Lofa Tatupu said. “And they’ve got a competition between each other, they talk trash back and forth. It’ll be fun to see what Clem comes up with this week.”
The Seahawks will need Clemons and Brock to come up with good games this week to handle one of the league’s best offenses. The Saints have allowed only 26 sacks this year, the fifth lowest total in the league, and when the teams played in November, the Seahawks didn’t record a sack as Drew Brees passed for 382 yards and fourth touchdowns in a New Orleans victory.
“It’s a combination, they have a good line and when he feels pressure, he has the ability to get it out of his hand quickly,” defensive line coach Dan Quinn said.
The Seahawks, and Clemons and Brock in particular, plan on changing the Saints’ luck this weekend.
“We’ll definitely try to hit Brees as much as possible,” Brock said.
Hasselbeck practices
Matt Hasselbeck returned to practice Tuesday, and as expected he split reps at quarterback with Charlie Whitehurst, who started Sunday’s win over St. Louis with Hasselbeck slowed by a hip injury. Carroll was not available to the media Tuesday, so there is still no word on who will start Saturday.
Two placed on IR
Tight end Chris Baker (fracture hip) and G Chester Pitts (concussion) were both placed on injured reserve Tuesday. No move was announced as to who will fill the open roster spots. The Seahawks also made a couple of practice squad moves, placing RB Chris Henry on injured reserve and terminating the contract of LB Vuna Tuihalamaka. The open spots on the practice squad were filled by RB Andre Anderson and TE Nick Tow-Arnett.
Saints lose RB
Chris Ivory, who rushed for 99 yards on 23 carries against the Seahawks in November, was placed on injured reserve Tuesday with a foot injury. The Saints could also be without starting running back Pierre Thomas, who sat out last week’s game with an ankle injury.
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog
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