KIRKLAND – An already nicked-up Seattle Seahawks secondary lost another key figure Monday when medical tests discovered that starting cornerback Kelly Herndon suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. The injury is expected to keep Herndon out for two or three weeks, coach Mike Holmgren said Monday.
Herndon injured his knee during Sunday’s win over the New York Giants. Andre Dyson, who opened the season as starter before being slowed by a hamstring injury, replaced Herndon in that game and is expected to continue starting in his place.
Seattle has other options at the position, with playmaker Jordan Babineaux and veteran Jimmy Williams available in reserve.
“We have a little depth in the secondary,” Holmgren said, “which is a good thing.”
The Seahawks will also be without wide receiver Darrell Jackson and linebacker Jamie Sharper again for Monday’s game at Philadelphia.
Holmgren said Jackson will begin working out this week and has been targeted for a Dec. 11 return following knee surgery last month.
Sharper is still recovering from a staph infection in his right knee that has sidelined him for three games. Holmgren said he did not know when Sharper will return, although the original prognosis had a target date of Dec. 18.
On the bright side, defensive tackle Marcus Tubbs is expected to return to action this week after missing three games with a calf injury.
Paying back the fans: The Seahawks have already retired the No. 12 jersey to honor their fans, and on Monday they gave them a game ball.
Holmgren brought the ball that Josh Brown kicked for the game-winning field goal to Monday’s press conference, saying that it would be presented to the so-called 12th Man.
Holmgren said that the Seahawks’ homefield advantage was “never more evident” than it was in the 24-21 win over the Giants, a game that saw New York get flagged for 11 false-start penalties.
“That was directly because of our crowd noise and the enthusiasm of the fans,” Holmgren said.
Rhodes still couched: As per doctors’ orders, defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes watched another game on television Sunday while linebackers coach John Marshall continued to make defensive calls. Rhodes has not attended a game since being hospitalized for the second time on Nov. 4.
The 56-year-old defensive coordinator originally suffered a stroke on Sept. 4 and has been limited in his duties this season. He has mostly worked behind the scenes over the past 3 weeks, neither attending practices nor games.
“We’re going to take this a week at a time,” Holmgren said. “The doctors said that the best thing for him to do would be to stay home (on game days). Sometime during the week, I’ll talk to the doctors again, we’ll talk to Ray, and we’ll decide.”
End of his run: Walter Jones gave up a sack Sunday for the first time in two years.
Jones got beat by the Giants’ Osi Umenyiora – twice, in fact – to end his run of 31 consecutive games without giving up a sack.
The Herald mistakenly reported that the last sack Jones had given up came against Washington’s Bruce Smith on Nov. 9, 2003. It actually happened two weeks later, on Nov. 23 of that year, against Baltimore’s Terrell Suggs.
Quick slants: Next Monday will mark the 18th time Holmgren will face one of his former assistants as head coach of the Seahawks. Holmgren is 8-9 all-time against his former assistants, with losses in each of his two meetings with Philadelphia’s Andy Reid. … As a reward for Sunday’s win, the Seahawks were given Monday off. “As I told them after the game, ‘I’m tired of looking at you, and I’m sure you’re tired of looking at me,’” Holmgren said. “It was like they won the lottery.” Tuesday is the weekly off-day, meaning the players will get back-to-back days off.
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