RENTON — The moment that welcomed Steve Vallos to the NFL came hard and fast.
Despite seeing plenty of action during the preseason, Vallos had never seen anything quite like Terry “Tank” Johnson. Early in Vallos’ first start of the regular season, the Dallas Cowboys’ 305-pound defensive tackle showed a quick counter step on a sprint-protection call and left Vallos flat on his face.
“I got a hand on him,” Vallos said this week, “but he was gone.”
That was Thanksgiving Day, and the Seattle Seahawks center’s job has not gotten a whole lot easier.
Through three NFL starts, Vallos has already had to go mano-a-mano with Johnson and four Pro Bowlers who combine to weigh more than 1,200 pounds. The 24-year-old Vallos stepped in for injured center Chris Spencer late last month and has lined up against nose tackles in 3-4 schemes in two of his three NFL starts.
And on Sunday, Vallos might face his most challenging obstacle of all: 349-pound New York Jets nose tackle Kris Jenkins, a three-time Pro Bowler who is having one of the best seasons of his career.
It just doesn’t get any easier for the 312-pound Vallos.
“Having experience facing guys like that helps,” the Wake Forest product said this week. “We don’t have anyone that size (on the Seahawks’ defense).”
Vallos, who played tackle in college, never saw anyone near the size of the defensive tackles he’s faced in this, his second NFL season. The biggest defensive end he faced at Wake Forest, Vallos said, was listed at about 315 pounds.
His first few tasks at the NFL level read like a murderer’s row:
n Dallas nose tackle Jay Ratliff, 302 pounds and recently named a starter in the 2009 Pro Bowl;
n The Cowboys’ Johnson, Ratliff’s 305-pound backup;
n New England defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, who tips the scales at 325 pounds and started in the most recent Pro Bowl;
n New England defensive end Richard Seymour, a 6-foot-6, 310-pound, five-time Pro Bowler who spent a part of the Dec. 7 game shifting inside to line up across from Vallos after Wilfork got hurt;
n St. Louis defensive tackle La’Roi Glover, a six-time Pro Bowler who plays in a 4-3 scheme.
The biggest break Vallos has had this season, in terms of matchups, came when New England’s Wilfork left the Dec. 7 game with a shoulder injury in the first quarter.
“So that helped,” Vallos said with a grin.
Things don’t get any easier. Jenkins is a Pro Bowl starter who has been to Hawaii three other times while playing for the Carolina Panthers. He’s the biggest, and possibly the best, player Vallos has faced yet.
“He’s one of the dominant nose tackles in the NFL because of his unbelievable size and strength,” Seahawks offensive line coach Mike Solari said of Jenkins. “He’s a very physical nose tackle. It’s going to be challenge for us, but we’re looking forward to it. Steve’s worked hard, and it’s a good thing for Steve that this is the third team we’ve faced in that 3-4 front.”
Vallos struggled with the 3-4 scheme after a short week leading up to the Thanksgiving game in Dallas, but Solari said that he has continued to improve each week.
“Steve’s done a great job,” guard Floyd Womack said. “He’s made the calls without hesitation. Him knowing his job makes it easier on the rest of the line.”
Said offensive coordinator Gil Haskell: “You’ve got to give (Vallos) credit. The center has to know as much as the quarterback. He’s done a good job of learning it.”
Vallos is one of five backups slated to start on the Seahawks’ offensive line Sunday against the Jets. Injuries have already landed four starting linemen on injured reserve — five, if one includes veteran Chris Gray, who had been a starter for 10 seasons but got hurt during training camp when he was supposed to work as a backup — and now tackle Sean Locklear is wearing a boot on his left foot after dislocating his toe last Sunday.
While Womack has started 44 games at four different positions during his eight-year career, the other four linemen expected to start Sunday’s game have a combined 13 starts.
“It’s a challenge to get all five to play as one,” Solari said. “That’s the hardest thing because they’ve never played as a unit. Each week seems to change, and that’s hard.”
With three starts under his belt, Vallos qualifies as the third-most experienced member of this week’s starting line. But he still doesn’t feel like he’s got it all down yet.
“Every day I learn something new,” Vallos said.
The big question over the final two weeks is whether Vallos has learned enough to warrant an open competition with the oft-injured, underachieving Spencer this summer.
“The great opportunity with him — and with Manny (Wrotto) and Kyle (Williams) — is the opportunity to evaluate them in a game,” Solari said. “It’s the best way to evaluate people and also the best way to see how they function under fire.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
