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The memory was still fresh in his mind, and it was made even
fresher when he saw Joey Galloway, his old Ohio State teammate,
at the Seahawks' practice complex. In Shawn Springs's early
workouts as a Buckeye, wideouts Terry Glenn, now with the New
England Patriots, and Galloway had blown past the young
defensive back with such ease that he wondered whether he was
really cut out for college football. Now, as a rookie with
Seattle, Springs was experiencing some painful flashbacks.
On the first morning of minicamp in April, Springs was beaten
twice, first by James McKnight, then by Mike Pritchard, neither
of whom is exactly Jerry Rice — nor, for that matter, Joey
Galloway. "Got to teach those kids something, right, Pritch?"
coach Dennis Erickson yelled from the sideline after Pritchard
curled in front of the No. 3 pick in the '97 draft. "We made him
miss a couple of times," says Galloway. "He'll be good once he
learns."
Springs is a fast learner. Later in that morning session he
intercepted a pass; in the afternoon he broke up another pass.
Then he stayed late to field punts.
Springs, who will start at cornerback, is not the only
first-rounder expected to help the Seahawks. Florida
State's Walter Jones, the sixth selection in the draft,
is taking over at left offensive tackle. Both Springs and
Jones have worked with the first team since day one of
minicamp — Erickson does not have time to break in his
young stars slowly. After a 7-9 record last season, he is
counting on Springs and Jones to come through immediately.
"I thought we were going to be pretty good last year," says
Erickson. "We just didn't play like we needed to. I do think
we're better, but I am trying to be a little more guarded about
my enthusiasm."
Erickson has reason to be hopeful. His team scored big in the
off-season, signing Pro Bowl linebacker Chad Brown, a free agent
from the Pittsburgh Steelers, for $24 million over six years.
And strong safety Bennie Blades has joined his brother Brian in
Seattle after nine years in Detroit. Bennie signed a three-year,
$3.3 million contract, $3,300 of which went directly to a
teammate. That was the price fourth-year running back Lamar
Smith demanded to surrender his jersey number, 36, to Blades,
who had worn the number since his college days in Miami.
With Willie Williams, a free-agent signee from the Steelers, at
right corner and either Phillip Daniels or Antonio Edwards at
right end, Seattle will have five new starters on defense. Left
end Michael Sinclair, whose 13 sacks last season earned him a
trip to the Pro Bowl, says, "Is our defense better? Yes. Can we
win some games with this defense? Yes. Do we have a chance to
win the AFC West? Yes. Not to take anything away from the guys
we had, but we're already much better than we were last year."
The story on defense is the players who arrived; the story on
offense is one player who left. Seattle traded Rick Mirer, who
started at quarterback for most of the past four years, to
Chicago for a first-round draft pick. The new quarterback is
30-year-old John Friesz, who has been more solid than
spectacular in his two years in Seattle. Warren Moon, a 13-year
NFL veteran, should provide stability and experience as Friesz's
backup.
With all these new faces in Seattle, Erickson is faced with the
task of unifying his team. After 11 years in Kirkland, just
outside Seattle, the Seahawks have moved their training camp to
Cheney, near Spokane, five hours from Seattle. Kirkland's
proximity to home presented too many distractions. "We'll be in
a real training camp now," says running back Chris Warren. "I
think we need that." The players have already demonstrated their
dedication. As many as 50 of them, by far the most in recent
years, showed up for optional workouts.
The Seahawks' schedule also holds promise. They open at home
against the lowly New York Jets and play four of their first six
games in the Kingdome. Four of last season's playoff teams have
been replaced on Seattle's slate by the four teams with the
worst records in the league last year (the Jets, Saints, Falcons
and Ravens).
The Seahawks have not had a winning season since 1990 and
haven't made the playoffs since 1988. "We have to prove we're a
good team," says offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski, who has
been with Seattle since 1992. "All this 'Well, we're way ahead.
Well, we're much better' — that's all talk until we prove we can
be a good team. We haven't done that around here in a long
time."
— by Dana Gelin
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