Seahawks intrigue

  • Scott M. Johnson / Herald Writer
  • Friday, April 23, 2004 9:00pm
  • Sports

KIRKLAND – Eli Manning’s destination is still unset and no one knows if Maurice Clarett will even play football this year.

The drama that built during the week leading up to today’s NFL draft could be hard to live up to.

But fans of the Seattle Seahawks can count on some intrigue today, as their team never seems to go in the expected direction.

Sure, there are some obvious needs. Anyone with access to a roster might pencil in defensive tackle as the obvious position for a team that has lost three of them over the past two months.

But which defensive tackle?

There are five with first-round talent, and three others that could conceivably get chosen at No. 23. There could also be a big-time wide receiver available, which might be too tempting to pass up.

Or the Seahawks could address the middle linebacker position, seeing as how starter Randall Godfrey is now in San Diego and both players currently on the roster at that position are recovering from surgeries.

The truth is, nobody knows.

“It’s too difficult to predict when you’re at 23, rather than 11 like last year,” vice president of player personnel Ted Thompson said last week.

In the seven days since he made that statement, Thompson has discussed a number of possibilities with his scouts, Seahawks coaches, team president Bob Whitsitt and general manager Bob Ferguson.

They have covered just about every scenario imaginable. And then, of course, a scenario they didn’t expect will probably unfold.

There is no way to predict with any certainty what will happen with the first 22 picks today. Even the No. 1 overall pick is shrouded in uncertainty since Manning’s family told the San Diego Chargers he’d rather play somewhere else. The Chargers could take Manning anyway, opt for Iowa tackle Robert Gallery or trade the pick away.

No matter what happens in the picks ahead of Seattle, the Seahawks are likely to keep the so-called experts guessing. Rarely have they stuck with conventional wisdom on draft day.

Holmgren’s first draft saw the team trade down twice before selecting a defensive end – even though starters Phillip Daniels and Michael Sinclair were both in their prime and under contract for one more year.

His next draft included the selection of running back Shaun Alexander at No. 19 overall, raising eyebrows around the league because the Seahawks already had Ricky Watters.

One year later, in 2001, the Seahawks entered the draft with two first-round picks and all sorts of needs on the defensive side of the football. But they opted to take wide receiver Koren Robinson and guard Steve Hutchinson – both offensive players – in Round 1.

The 2002 draft saw Seattle pass on tight end Daniel Graham at No. 20, then trade down eight spots to take often-troubled local product Jerramy Stevens of the University of Washington. No one expected the Seahawks to take Stevens that high and, given his police-blotter past, it was somewhat surprising that Seattle had him on its draft board at all.

And then last year, when everyone assumed the Seahawks would take a sturdy defensive tackle, they went for cornerback Marcus Trufant.

Defensive tackle looks like the position of need again, but Seattle doesn’t typically draft for need. The scouts and coaches put together a draft board in the week leading up to the draft, then they typically take the highest-rated player on the board – regardless of position.

The talent-over-need philosophy landed Trufant last year, and that ended up looking like the right call.

Does that mean the Seahawks could add a wide receiver to their trio of Darrell Jackson, Koren Robinson and Bobby Engram? Will they be enticed if a quarterback like Ben Roethlisberger or Philip Rivers is still around?

Both scenarios seem unlikely, but this team has surprised us before.

So feel free to pencil in that defensive tackle at No. 23 on your mock draft, but keep your eraser handy.

Seahawks to return to Cheney for next three years: The Seattle Seahawks will hold preseason training camp at Eastern Washington University for the next three years, the school and team said Friday.

The team has trained at Eastern Washington for the past seven summers, and from 1976 to 1985.

“We are very pleased to have the Seahawks coming back to Eastern,” said Dr. Stephen M. Jordan, school president. “We are glad to be able to provide the kind of athletic, information technology and support facilities that a National Football League team needs for a quality summer camp.”

This year, training camp begins Aug. 2 and will run three to four weeks.

Practices are open to the public at no charge. However, crowds have been sparser at Cheney, located 15 miles west of Spokane, than at many other NFL training camps around the nation.

“We’re excited to return and continue this wonderful partnership with Eastern Washington University,” said Bob Ferguson, Seahawks general manager. “The facilities are first class and the school’s cooperation is outstanding.”

The Seahawks will pay Eastern Washington approximately $330,000 each year in exchange for use of practice fields maintained to NFL levels, training and equipment rooms, classrooms, dormitory housing for the team and staff, meal service and other benefits.

The arrival of the Seahawks in the middle of the hot, dry summer months brings a spark of economic activity to this college town of about 10,000 people.

Cheney was the team’s original training camp site when it joined the NFL in 1976. Seattle moved its camp to Kirkland from 1986 to 1996.

Like other teams, the Seahawks prefer a remote training camp to build camaraderie and reduce distractions as they prepare for the season. Distractions are few in Cheney, which has four bars, one rodeo grounds, a wildlife refuge and several grain elevators.

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