By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer
KIRKLAND – The man who could start at free safety for the Seattle Seahawks this weekend has more than 100 career professional starts and nearly 500 career tackles. He’s a two-time all-league performer who also has postseason experience.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Maurice Kelly.
Who?
South of the border – the U.S.-Canadian border, that is – Kelly’s isn’t exactly a household name. But during his six seasons in the Canadian Football League, Kelly was considered one of the best defensive players in the game.
“He was a big-time player,” said Seahawks long snapper J.P. Darche, a native Canadian who spent one season in the CFL while Kelly was there. “Everyone in the league knew about him. He played like he does now: a huge hitter.”
Kelly’s first NFL start, which might happen this weekend unless free safety Marcus Robertson recovers from a hamstring injury, has been a long time in the making.
After a career at East Tennessee State University, Kelly played for four CFL teams over six seasons. In 1997, he was named all-CFL, and two years later he was an Eastern Division all-star.
But Kelly, a 29-year-old South Carolina native, said he sees his greatest achievement as getting a chance to play in the U.S.
“That was my No. 1 goal, was to make it to the NFL,” said Kelly, a product of East Tennessee State University. “It was all fine and dandy when I was up in Canada, and I made the most of the opportunity. I just never had the opportunity in the NFL. That’s every kid’s dream growing up in America and playing football. It wasn’t to be the man in Canada, it was to be the man in the NFL. That’s just the way things worked out for me, and I just made the most of my opportunity.”
Kelly hooked on with Seattle in the summer of 2000 after a Seahawks scout got a hold of one his game tapes through a friend of a friend. The team brought him in for a tryout, liked what it saw, and eventually gave him the opportunity to make the final roster. Kelly beat out Warner Herndon for the fourth and final safety position after displaying a knack for delivering big hits.
“Just me being in the NFL is an accomplishment,” Kelly said this week. “That’s a feat in itself.”
Kelly has been primarily a special teamer during his Seattle career thus far. Even when starter Jay Bellamy left via free agency, the team quickly found a veteran replacement in Robertson.
Despite Kelly’s limited NFL experience, defensive coordinator Steve Sidwell seems comfortable with the possibility of starting him against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
“Like everybody we have on our defensive team, we expect that he’ll go in and play well and will contribute to us winning,” Sidwell said. “It’s not like this is his first sniff of organized ball.”
Smith returns: While his game against the Seahawks will be the primary focus of Miami running back Lamar Smith this weekend, he might have other thoughts on his mind.
Sunday marks the first time Smith will return to Seattle for a game since the 1994 traffic accident that left former Seahawks teammate Mike Frier paralyzed. Smith eventually did jail time for vehicular assault, but rarely talks to the media about the incident.
“Ninety-four, that is history and I have to get on with my life,” Smith said this week. “I am looking forward to going back to Seattle and seeing my friends and some guys I’ve played with.”
Smith spent four years with the Seahawks, primarily as a backup to Chris Warren. He signed with the New Orleans Saints in 1998, then joined the Dolphins last season and rushed for a career-high 1,139 yards.
Frier lives in Atlanta now, and has generally tried to stay out of the limelight. But in a January interview with Bill Plaschke, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times and The Sporting News, Frier said he hasn’t kept in contact with Smith.
“We weren’t friends before the accident; there is no reason to be friends now,” said Frier, 32, who won a civil suit that entitles him to as much as half of Smith’s earnings. “But he’s lived up to his part of the agreement, so I hold no grudges. I wish him luck. And I wish he could get on with his life.”
Quick slants: About 11,000 tickets still remain for Sunday’s game, meaning television coverage will be blacked out locally. … Miami coach Dave Wannstedt has won just twice in 13 meetings with Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren. … Wide receiver Derrick Mayes, a 27-year-old who played with Seattle last season, is expected to officially announce his retirement today.
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