KIRKLAND – Two weeks ago, Pete Hunter was sitting in front of a computer at his Dallas home, putting the finishing touches on a home loan for one of his clients.
Fast forward to Wednesday, and the 26-year old was making an appearance on national television, talking about his chances of playing in next weekend’s NFC Championship game.
The recent turn of events has Hunter feeling like he’s on top of the world right now. And, as it turns out, it hasn’t been such a bad thing for the Seattle Seahawks.
So far.
One week into the calling-all-cornerbacks experiment, the Seahawks are still alive in the postseason. Seattle has added four defensive backs since Week 16 of the NFL season, and yet the sky has yet to fall.
“I thought the (defensive) coaching staff did a great job of getting those kids ready to play,” head coach Mike Holmgren said Wednesday as his team prepared for this Sunday’s game at Chicago.
While Holmgren has been impressed by the play of his patchwork secondary, he wasn’t all that happy to hear about Hunter’s appearance on ESPN’s morning television show.
“I need to talk to him about that,” Holmgren said during his Wednesday press conference.
A little while later, Holmgren did just that. And so Hunter shied away from questions about his television appearance when approached by reporters Wednesday afternoon. The loan officer did say that his life has been quite different over the past 10 days.
“It’s changed a lot – a whole lot,” said Hunter, who signed a contract on Jan. 2 after cornerbacks Kelly Herndon and Jimmy Williams suffered season-ending injuries in the same game. “I’m not doing so much paperwork right now. I’m not in front of a computer.”
Hunter flew into town on New Years Day, with only a duffel bag filled with two pairs of sweatpants and a few T-shirts. He had a workout planned for the following morning, but he had no idea that he’d be offered a contract on the spot.
A friend express-mailed a formal suit that arrived Wednesday, just so Hunter would have something to wear on the team plane this weekend.
It’s been quite a whirlwind for Hunter, but as the veteran cornerback pointed out: “It’s a lot better than being back home.”
Injuries to Herndon, Williams and Marcus Trufant forced the Seahawks to do a lot of shuffling before Saturday’s game against Dallas. Rookie Kelly Jennings started for the second week in a row, while safety Jordan Babineaux changed positions and was immediately forced into the starting lineup. Hunter and new acquisition Rich Gardner added depth in the Seahawks’ five- and six-defensive back sets.
Amazingly, the secondary held its own against the Cowboys. Dallas quarterback Tony Romo rarely tested the Seahawks and threw for a modest total of 189 passing yards in Seattle’s 21-20 victory on Saturday.
“They did whatever they had to do, and I guess (testing the secondary) wasn’t it,” said free safety Ken Hamlin, who shifted toward go-to receiver Terrell Owens’ side of the field on several plays Saturday. “If they did decide to throw deep at any point in time, we were in position to make the play.”
Another strategy involved using the 200-pound Babineaux to jam Owens at the line of scrimmage. It’s a tactic the Seahawks might have to use again this Sunday when they face the Bears.
“There’s no other way to approach it now,” Babineaux said. “It’s in-your-face football now. It’s the playoffs, and guys are fighting to hold on and to play another week.”
Seattle’s makeshift secondary has passed one big test, but that doesn’t mean the Seahawks are in the clear.
“We’re still a banged-up secondary and lack experience back there,” Hamlin said. “People are still probably going to challenge us.
“But we feel like we’ll be prepared for that.”
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