An official had a message for Seahawks coach Jim Mora early Sunday’s game.
“On three occasions I think the official came over and said, ‘Hey, you need to calm No. 59 down,’” Mora said.
But there was no calming Aaron Curry, not in his first game as a Seahawk. Curry, the No. 4 overall pick in April’s draft, finished with just four tackles, but could barely contain his emotions, especially early in the game. He never let those emotions get the better of him, however, as it was the Rams, not the Seahawks, piling up the first-half penalties.
“That’s me,” said Curry, who got into a few minor altercations early. “That’s my style of play. I play through passion, I play through enthusiasm, I play through the crowd. Any time you see me going crazy, that’s just me … If I go out there and let somebody bully me around, then I’m known as the small guy on the playground. When Lawrence Taylor was a rookie, he didn’t back down from anybody. Dick Butkus didn’t back down from anybody. So why should I have to back down from anybody?”
Second-round draft pick Max Unger also made his debut, starting at right guard. Third-round pick Deon Butler saw significant time at receiver, and had a big third-down catch at the St. Louis 2-yard line that set up the Seahawks first touchdown.
Line holds up
With left tackle Walter Jones and center Chris Spencer injured, there was concern about how the offensive line might perform. But minus a pair of starters, the line held its own. The Seahawks averaged 4.9 yards-per-carry in the run game, and Matt Hasselbeck was not sacked and was hit only once.
“We were kind of jumbled together, but we’ve been there pretty much for all of the preseason, so it felt good to go out here and have a good game,” said tackle Sean Locklear, who started on the left side in Jones’ place. “Thirty-something passing attempts, no sacks, one hit? Yeah, we can work on things, but that speaks for itself.”
Getting tricky
By his own estimation, Hasselbeck last lined up at receiver when he played Pop Warner football, but on Sunday, the Seahawks quarterback was out wide while backup Seneca Wallace lined up under center. Wallace took the snap and threw a backwards pass to Hasselbeck, who threw back to Wallace down the left side for a 24-yard gain.
“Probably the Norfolk-Medfield-Millis Vikings,” Hasselbeck said when asked when he last played receiver. “It took three towns to make up our team. … The play worked a lot better than I thought it would. I actually was very surprised that he called the play.”
Too many flags
Visiting teams are often prone to penalties at Qwest Field, and Sunday was no exception as the Rams were flagged 10 times for 85 yards.
“You can’t have the penalties,” St. Louis coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “That’s a discipline thing and that falls on the head coach. … I’ll work with the players, I know the players will work with me, and we’ll try to get that ironed out.
“It’s hard to win in this league without penalties and it’s doubly hard when you do have them,” he said.
St. Louis was penalized four times for false starts in the noisy stadium, a common problem for Seattle opponents. But the Rams also were also cited for unsportsmanlike penalties as well. Two were on offensive guard Richie Incognito, who received dead-ball personal fouls for hitting or shoving Seahawks after the whistle.
“I am disappointed in myself and disappointed that I let my teammates down,” said Incognito, who was briefly benched after the second personal foul.
Injury report
The Seahawks finished the game without two of their three starting linebackers, though Mora said neither injury appeared to be serious. Leroy Hill left midway through the first quarter with a groin injury, and Lofa Tatupu left late in the third quarter with a hamstring injury.
Sitting out
Wide receiver Deion Branch was inactive for the game with a hamstring injury suffered Monday in practice. Mora had previously said Branch would be a game-day decision.
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