SEATTLE _ The past two weeks have treated Boone Stutz kind of like a loose football.
He got kicked out of Atlanta after the Falcons’ last game eight days ago, and his career as the Seattle Seahawks’ long snapper got off to the worst imaginable start Sunday.
After replacing veteran Derek Rackley on Seattle’s roster last Wednesday, Stutz made a horrific debut at Qwest Field on Sunday. His first snap, out of punt formation, skipped in front of Seahawks punter Ryan Plackemeier and was eventually returned for a New Orleans touchdown.
That set the tone for Sunday’s game, which the Saints went on to win 28-17.
“I was brought in here to do a job,” Stutz said afterward, “and I got in there and didn’t do it. I came up a little short.
“Practice (last week) was fine, pre-game warmups were fine, and the rest of the game was fine. But I had a hiccup in there.”
Plackemeier felt bad for his new teammate after the debut.
“It’s tough because he’s been great all week,” Plackemeier said. “I still have confidence in him.”
Stutz refused to blame nerves for the mistake, saying that he played in plenty of NFL stadiums as a rookie with the Falcons last season. Rather than make excuses, the 24-year-old Texas A&M product expressed regret Sunday night.
“It’s hard because they got seven points out of it,” Stutz said, referring to the recovery and 5-yard return by New Orleans defensive back Pierre Thomas for the first points of the game. “It was a bad way to start the game. But all the guys (on the Seahawks’ sideline) were supportive.”
Strong in the house: Fullback Mack Strong, who retired last week because of a neck injury, raised the 12th Man flag before Sunday’s game.
Strong’s replacement, Leonard Weaver, had a good game catching the ball and broke off a 37 -yard run in the fourth quarter. Weaver ended up as the Seahawks’ leading rusher, with 40 yards on just three carries. He added four receptions.
Engram shines: One of the few bright spots for the Seahawks was wide receiver Bobby Engram, whose nine receptions matched the highest total of his seven-year career in Seattle. Engram’s 120 receiving yards were the most he’s had since coming over from Chicago in 2000.
Engram made his first start at flanker since the 2005 Super Bowl year. Deion Branch sprained his foot last week, opening the door for Engram to return to the starting lineup.
Alexander still struggling: Since going over the 100-yard mark in two of the Seahawks’ first three games, running back Shaun Alexander has rushed for just 138 total yards on 50 carries in the past three.
Against Pittsburgh and New Orleans in back-to-back weeks, Alexander has 60 yards on just 25 carries.
Fans were openly booing him at times during his 14-carry, 35-yard performance Sunday.
“When you raise the bar and you’re not coming through,” he said, “people are going to respond.”
Asked to explain the reason for his offense’s struggles, Alexander said: “I don’t really get into excuses.”
Offensive woes: The Seahawks didn’t score until there was 2:16 left in the second quarter Sunday.
Before that touchdown, Seattle had gone nearly six quarters without scoring — a span of 102 minutes and 23 seconds. The Seahawks hadn’t scored a touchdown in 115 minutes and 23 seconds, dating back to the third quarter of the Sept. 30 game against San Francisco.
Seattle lost 21-0 to Pittsburgh on Oct. 7.
The last time the Seahawks lost back-to-back games by double-digit points was in the first two weeks of the 2002 season, when Oakland and Arizona beat them by a combined 25 points.
The 32-point spread over the past two weeks is Seattle’s biggest deficit in back-to-back games since Oakland and Philadelphia beat the Seahawks by a combined 45 points in Sept. 2001.
Get off the field: The Seahawks entered the game ranked 23rd in the NFL in opponent’s third-down conversion rate (43.8 percent). That percentage will go up after the Saints converted 7 of 14 third downs on Sunday.
New Orleans went through one stretch in which it converted five of six third downs, leading the way to three consecutive touchdown drives.
Big numbers for Hasselbeck: Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck had his first 300-yard game in more than two years. He completed 26 of 43 passes for 362 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
The 362 yards tied the fourth-highest total of his nine-year career. His career high is 449 yards, against San Diego in 2002, and his last 300-yard game was on October 9, 2005, when he threw for 316 yards against St. Louis.
The Seahawks are 7-6 in games in which Hasselbeck has thrown for more than 300 yards.
Obomanu steps up: With Deion Branch and D.J. Hackett out with injuries, Ben Obomanu moved into the wide receiver rotation for Seattle and had a nice game. The second-year player out of Auburn University had four receptions for 72 yards and his first NFL touchdown, a 17-yard catch in the second quarter.
“Of course, you never think you played well when you end up losing the game, but I think I contributed a little bit, made some plays, and helped the offense out,” said Obomanu, who entered the game with two career receptions.
“I am pretty optimistic about what the future holds, that I continue to get better this week and help us do better next week.”
Bush breakout: New Orleans running back Reggie Bush had his first good game of the season. After running for only 147 yards in the Saints’ first four games combined, he had 97 yards Sunday on 19 carries.
“I’m feeling pretty comfortable,” Bush said after the game. “Today our offensive line did a terrific job. The holes, they were huge. They did a great job, and a lot of the credit really goes to them.”
Quick slants: The Saints entered Sunday’s game with one sack on the season. They had five against the Seahawks. … When the Saints blocked a field-goal attempt in the first half, it marked the first time Seahawks kicker Josh Brown had missed in 10 attempts this season. … Seattle has scored just seven first-half points this season.
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