Leonard Weaver made four receptions in Sunday’s win over the Seattle Seahawks, including a couple that showed off his reach and athletic ability.
All that probably garnered a collective yawn from the Seahawks’ offensive coaches, who have been watching the 25-year-old fullback do stuff like that for most of his three-year NFL career.
What really stood out about the play of Seattle’s new starting fullback was what he did when someone else was handling the ball.
At long last, Weaver is starting to look like the blocker that the Seahawks need him to be.
“He has gotten better each game, and (in Sunday’s 30-23 win over Chicago) he had a very fine game blocking,” coach Mike Holmgren said.
For Weaver, it’s been a long, hard fight to try to replace two-time Pro Bowler Mack Strong, who announced his retirement earlier this season following a spinal injury. Always a solid receiver and runner, Weaver has had to work hard to become the kind of blocker that would make Strong proud.
“I’m feeling very confident right now,” Weaver said. “It’s something I’ve been working on every day: pass (protection) and run blocking. And it’s definitely started to pay off.”
Weaver’s most visible block of the Chicago game was the kind of hit sometimes known as a “pancake.” After halfback Maurice Morris took a handoff and started to the right, the 240-pound Weaver drilled Bears safety Brandon McGowan so hard that the 5-foot-11, 207-pound defender landed on his back.
Asked what kind of response that play would get while watching it with other Seahawks running backs in the film room Wednesday, Weaver said: “I think there are going to be a lot of oohs and aahs.”
Holmgren challenged Weaver to improve on his blocking during the preseason, at one point going as far as to publicly threaten his roster spot. Weaver continued to struggle in that part of his game but made the team anyway.
After Strong was diagnosed with a herniated disc in his spinal chord in early October, Weaver was thrust into the starting role. He had to learn on the fly, including from a fourth-down play in the last St. Louis game where he blew his blocking assignment and drew a spirited sidelined lecture from Holmgren.
“When I don’t do my job, it’s his job to correct it,” Weaver said after the Oct. 21 game. “I don’t take it personal. I take it as a father telling his son: ‘Hey, you messed up; do your job.’ That’s coach Holmgren, that’s what he does, and I don’t mind when he does it.”
Holmgren said that Weaver had to work on all aspects of his blocking, from keeping his head up to using his hips properly.
“There’s a lot to being a good blocker,” Holmgren said. “I like what’s happening with him. He’s done a nice job and worked very hard at it.”
Weaver played tight end at NCAA Division II powerhouse Carson-Newman, and his receiving and running skills were apparent shortly after he signed with the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2005. But Weaver’s development as a blocker has taken more time than originally expected.
“We needed another fullback, and so we asked him to switch positions,” Holmgren recalled of Weaver’s first season with the team. “I think he’s more of a natural halfback. But he’s a bigger man, and so he’s had to learn how to (block).
“It’s kind of the dirty job, and he’s done a good job of it.”
Quick slants: The Seahawks had their weekly day off on Tuesday and return to the practice field today, Thursday morning and Friday morning. … Holmgren said earlier this week that running back Shaun Alexander probably won’t play in Sunday’s game at St. Louis if he doesn’t practice today.
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