Somehow, Seahawks O-line gets even thinner

Published on December 19, 2008 by Seahawk Fanatic     

Add Sean Locklear to the long list of Seattle Seahawks

offensive lineman headed to the injured list.
Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said during his Monday press

conference that X-rays and a magnetic resonance imaging

(MRI) test on offensive tackle Sean Locklear confirmed he

has a dislocated left big toe.

Locklear probably will not practice this week, Holmgren

said, but the team is hopeful that he can play after receiving

treatment. The Seahawks will likely determine if Locklear can

play against the New York Jets on Saturday, the eve of the game.

“While it’s a very painful injury there didn’t seem to be a lot

 of extra damage,” Holmgren said. “It will be a challenge for

him to get ready to play, though.”

Holmgren said Locklear’s toe is swollen and he’s had some bleeding.

Locklear joins Chris Gray, Rob Sims, Mike Wahle and Walter Jones

on the list of injured linemen who have either missed games or never

made it to the field for Seattle this season. Locklear also missed

the first two games of the season

with a sprained knee.

With Locklear out, Holmgren said the easiest way to replace him is

 to put Kyle Williams, recently activated from the practice squad

to the active roster, at left tackle so the Seahawks maintain

continuity at the other line positions. However, don’t be surprised

 to see Floyd “Pork Chop” Womack move from left guard to left tackle,

 Steve Vallos move from center to left guard, and recently signed

center Steve McKinney to get his first significant playing time.

Holmgren said he’ll unveil the starting five linemen during Wednesday’s

 practice.

The Seahawks also officially put Walter Jones on the injured reserve

list on Monday. Holmgren said Locklear played OK in his audition at left

 tackle with Jones out. However, the Seattle coach reiterated that he

believes the left tackle position should remain in Jones’ hands until

the 12-year veteran says he can’t play anymore. Jones is expected to be

 ready for training camp after microfracture surgery on his left knee

ended his season. Jones is the 13th player added to Seattle’s injured

reserve list.

“No one is going to play left tackle until Walter Jones decides

he doesn’t

 want to play anymore,” Holmgren said. “That’s the bottom line on

that deal.”

Holmgren joked during Monday’s press conference that he was answering

questions about situations he would not be around to deal with

next season

because he’s going to be “on a beach somewhere.”

Don’t expect to see Matt Hasselbeck throw a pass this week, either.

Holmgren

 said Hasselbeck, out with a bulging disk, is getting better, but

will remain

 the emergency quarterback this week. Although even with a makeshift line,

Holmgren said if Hasselbeck were healthy that he would play.

Seattle’s backup line was a concern for quarterback Seneca Wallace during

Sunday’s come-from-behind win over the Rams. Wallace was on his

back often,

as St. Louis blitzed nine of Wallace’s first 11 pass plays in the

opening half,

sacking him twice and hitting Wallace six times, including a

forced fumble that

led to a 36-yard Josh Brown field goal.

The poor protection led the usually reserved Wallace to vent his

temper on his

teammates as they left the field, igniting a fire that seemed to

motivate the

Seahawks to their first victory in seven weeks.

Holmgren said that he lambasted players during his halftime speech

and told

them the toughest guy in the room was Wallace because he was getting

the heck

beat out of him and no one else seemed to care.

“When a ‘quiet’ guy is emotional and says what he says, people have

a tendency

to listen,” Holmgren said. “Not only hear, but listen.”

Seattle’s offensive line protected Wallace much better in the second half,

giving him time to make downfield plays.

Extra points

The Seahawks signed quarterback Jeff Rowe, a fifth round

pick by Cincinnati in

2007 out of Nevada, from the Bengals’ practice squad Seattle’s

active roster. Rowe,

6-foot-5 and 221 pounds, fills the spot vacated when Jones was

placed on injured

reserve. “My feeling is, instead of waiting and then signing a

fourth arm or the

next quarterback at training camp and filling that up, they

looked over the practice

 squads and our scouts liked this young guy,” Holmgren said

about the signing. …

Holmgren said linebacker Leroy Hill is gaining strength in his

right shoulder after

leaving the Thanksgiving Day game against Dallas with a stinger,

but likely will not

play Sunday against the Jets.

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