By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer
KIRKLAND – Limb by limb, the Seattle Seahawks’ secondary is slowly rounding into shape. But whether the team will have another healthy cornerback or two this weekend is still up in the air.
Ike Charlton and Shawn Springs sat out Tuesday’s practice to rest injuries, but coach Mike Holmgren said he hopes to have both of them back at some point this week. Willie Williams is at least a week away from returning to the team, even though he took part in drills Tuesday while wearing a soft cast on his broken forearm.
For the time being, Ken Lucas and Paul Miranda remain in the starting lineup.
“We’ll just wind up playing who can play,” defensive coordinator Steve Sidwell said as the team prepares to host the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. “It’s not that big a deal. You just go with what you got, and they’ll do the job. Let’s just see how it shakes down.”
Although Lucas and Miranda performed well in their starting debuts 10 days ago at Cleveland, the Seahawks would love to add some depth. If Springs is healthy enough to return from a slight hamstring tear that he suffered in an Aug. 11 preseason game, he would join Lucas in the starting lineup. Charlton, who had his knee scoped two weeks ago, could start or be the No. 3 cornerback.
Holmgren said he expects Charlton to practice today, but was not as specific in regards to Springs.
“We went through the storm, and now everything’s coming back together,” said Lucas, a rookie out of the University of Mississippi. “We went through the hard times, but when everybody comes back it will make our secondary a whole lot better. I just feel good about how much depth we have back there.
” … I feel like we have one of the better overall secondaries in the league. We’re just not getting the notoriety right now because we’re very young, but as the season goes on, people will start to notice us.”
The healing unit could get so much deeper that Miranda could go from a starter to the fifth cornerback within a matter of days. Curtis Fuller, who was the team’s No. 3 cornerback in nickel situations against Cleveland, should return to his position as backup strong safety as soon as this week.
Even if Lucas and Miranda are the starters again Sunday, no one seems overly concerned. With them on the field for the opener, Cleveland was held to 239 total yards – the lowest total against a Seattle defense since Nov. 28, 1999, when Tampa Bay had 156 yards in a 16-3 win over the Seahawks. The last time Seattle gave up less than 250 total yards in a victory was the 1998 season opener (174, by Philadelphia).
“They did a good job,” Sidwell said of the Seahawks’ young cornerbacks. “The times that (Cleveland) tried to get them, they answered the bell. They tried Miranda once deep and he defended the pass. They tried Ken Lucas a number of times, and he did a very fine job also.”
Whether it’s Springs, Charlton, Lucas or Miranda in the starting lineup, the Seahawks secondary promises to get the job done Sunday.
“Things don’t change,” strong safety Reggie Tongue said. “We still have to cover, and we still have to play. The guys coming back will help us, but no matter who’s in there, they’ll do the job.”
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