RENTON — Olindo Mare has been in this situation before, only last time he was the young rookie watching from the sideline.
The year was 1996, when the New York Giants kept the rookie on their practice squad while Brad Daluiso did all the kicking.
This time around, Mare will be the Seattle Seahawks’ primary kicker while rookie Brandon Coutu waits in the wings. The Seahawks kept both kickers on their active roster, but Mare is expected to handle all the kickoffs, field goals and PATs.
“It’s a different situation,” Mare said. “We’re both obviously capable of playing. Brandon’s done well. It’s a unique situation because we both feel like we can play.”
The two kickers combined to hit 11 of 12 field goals in the preseason, with Mare’s 50-yarder marking the only miss. The Seahawks feel more comfortable with his experience, so Mare will be the kicker until further notice.
“They both kicked really well, and there was a spot on the roster to keep the young guy, so we kept two kickers,” special teams coach Bruce DeHaven said.
Mare doesn’t mind the situation, even though he could be one miss away from losing his job.
“Brandon will obviously play longer than I will — five years from now or 10 years from now,” he said. “I’m not going to try to kick harder because he’s here. I’m still going to go out and kick, whether he’s here or not.
“It actually might help. I know when I was (in New York), it always kept (Daluiso) on his toes because you’re always competing every day.”
Mare, 35, made 10 of 17 field goals during an injury-plagued 2007 season with the New Orleans Saints. He has since had surgery and proclaimed himself to have a clean bill of health heading into this regular season. Mare was more productive on kickoffs than Mare during the preseason, which helped solidify his spot as the team’s main kicker.
Quick starters: During the Seahawks’ five-year run as a playoff team, they have made a habit of coming out of the blocks in style.
In four of the past five regular seasons, Seattle has opened with a win. The only loss during that span came in 2005, when the Seahawks opened with a dud at Jacksonville but went on to win 15 of their next 17 games on the way to a Super Bowl XL appearance.
Number shuffle: Rookie linebacker David Hawthorne switched jersey numbers, from 44 to 59. Defensive end Baraka Atkins, who had been wearing No. 59, is now wearing 91.
Long snapper Jeff Robinson is wearing No. 49, which became available when linebacker Dallas Sartz was let go.
Quick slants: The players will be given today off, as is typical of a week during the regular season, then return to the practice field on Wednesday. At that time, the first injury report will come out. The official injury report, which lists the probability of players taking part in the game, comes out on Fridays. … Defensive tackle Rocky Bernard and defensive back Jordan Babineaux will not practice this week because they are serving one-game suspensions. Both players are expected back next Monday.
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