CHENEY – The last time Grant Wistrom saw extensive action against Pro Bowl left tackle Walter Jones was Dec. 14, 2003, when the then-St. Louis Rams defensive end held his own with nine tackles and one sack.
This month, while taking part in his first full training camp as a Seattle Seahawk, Wistrom has gone head-to-head with Jones almost every morning and afternoon. And it’s beginning to wear on him.
“Walt doesn’t give you a lot to work on,” said Wistrom, who joined the Seahawks last season but missed most of camp with a foot injury. “That’s why he’s the best in the biz. You just go out there, do your thing every day, and hope at some point you can capitalize on it. But that doesn’t happen very often.”
During a typical training camp practice, Wistrom and Jones go head-to-head about a dozen times – in team settings and in one-on-one pass rush drills. That rarely happened during the 2004 regular season, when practices usually involved the No. 1 offense vs. the No. 2 defense, and vice versa. And the Seahawks’ 2004 training camp did not involve either Jones (contract impasse) or Wistrom.
So this year, the rivalry has blossomed.
“Anytime you’re going against the best players in the league, it’s got to make you better,” Wistrom said. “It’s definitely been a challenge. Hopefully I’m making him better too.”
Jones, who is attending his first training camp since 2001, believes Wistrom is the perfect practice opponent.
“It’s great going up against Grant,” he said Monday. “He is one guy who practices hard and gives everything he has every play. One thing is for sure, he doesn’t take a play off. That can only make you better.”
Matching up against Jones isn’t that much different than Wistrom’s training camps in St. Louis, where he often faced another Pro Bowl left tackle in Orlando Pace.
“I’ve gotten used to knowing that you’re not going to win every time, (that) you’re not going to win most of the time,” Wistrom said. “You have to go out there and keep plugging away, knowing that the competition you’ll face on Sundays probably isn’t as good as the competition you face at practice.”
A real longshot: Duke tight end Calen Powell got to realize his dream by going to Seahawks training camp, and now he’s trying desperately to stick around.
The Bellevue native and Lake Washington High School graduate has his work cut out for him in that Seattle has all three tight ends returning from last season – Itula Mili, Jerramy Stevens and Ryan Hannam.
“It’s a very talented group,” Powell said. “Really, what I just try to do is get better as a player. I’m just trying to do anything I can to help my own play. I hope the coaches see that because the coaches are the ones who pick who they want to play in the games.”
Powell is currently listed fourth on the unofficial depth chart. Mili has primarily been working with the first team, although he’s competing with Stevens for the starting job.
Hill out 10 days: Rookie linebacker LeRoy Hill, a third-round pick who was having a great camp, is expected to miss 10 days with a sprained right knee. He injured the knee during Sunday’s morning practice.
Hill was walking around with a brace on his right knee Monday.
Quick slants: Seahawks training camp saw its first scuffle Monday morning, when defensive tackle Chartric Darby and offensive lineman Andy King exchanged pleasantries during a pass-rush drill. Teammates broke up the fight after a few seconds, and no one was hurt. … Cornerback Andre Dyson took Monday’s practices off after taking part in the previous morning’s session. Dyson suffered a stinger while attempting to tackle 258-pound New Orleans fullback Mike Karney, a Kentwood High School product, in Friday’s preseason opener.
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