Seahawks Camp Carroll: Day 14

Published on August 10, 2011 by Seahawks.Com News (Feed)     

A recap of the activities at Seahawks training camp on Wednesday:

FOCUS ON

The opener. The players had a short walk-thru this morning in the indoor practice facility at Virginia Mason Athletic Center before the team flew to San Diego for its nationally televised preseason opener against the Chargers.

This kickoff weekend will be a ready-or-not adventure for all NFL teams after the 136-day lockout, but the clock is running even faster for the Seahawks because they play on Thursday night.

“The first thing we’re looking for is seeing us play hard,” coach Pete Carroll said. “I want to see the guys run around and hit and get back to football with as many guys as we’re going to play. We’re going to try and play everybody that travels with us.

“The hope here is that we see a team that’s ready to play football and go out and run around the field and make this first step.”

Ready, but prepared? Or at least prepared well enough after the lockout cancelled the spring minicamps and OTA sessions.

“We have no idea what’s going to happen,” Carroll said. “Fortunately, it’s preseason. So we have a chance to figure it out. That’s most important right now.”

POSITION WATCH

Quarterback. Just-signed Tarvaris Jackson will start against the Chargers, Carroll said. Backup Charlie Whitehurst also will play against his former team. But rookie free agent Josh Portis should see extensive playing time.

“He’s going to start in this game and play a little bit and get going, just so we can start the process,” Carroll said of Jackson, who practiced with the Seahawks for the first time last Thursday. “I don’t want to wait a whole other cycle to get the process started. He’ll get out there for just a handful of plays.”

ROOKIE WATCH

Kris Durham. The coaches had big plans in the opener for the big receiver from Georgia. But the 6-foot-6 Durham, a fourth-round draft choice, won’t play because of what Carroll called a strain of his hamstring.

“That’s really disappointing because Kris would have played 50 plays in this game,” Carroll said. “He’s had a great start to camp and we’re just going to have to wait on him.”

UP NEXT

The players will be off Friday before returning to practice on Saturday. The 1:30 session is open to the public, as are the practices on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. You can register here to attend.

YOU DON’T SAY

“If you ask him, he wants to do everything. But it’s not his decision. We’re cheerleading for him to get out there every chance he gets, and he loves it. So he’ll be part of the punt return team and the kickoff return team, for sure.” – Carroll, when asked if Leon Washington will continue to return punts as well as kickoffs after showing he’s ready to take on a larger role as a running back

Seahawks.com Blog | Camp Carroll: Day 14 «.

Tags: Chargers, Charlie Whitehurst, coach pete carroll, Draft Choice, Former Team, Free Agent, Handful, Josh Portis, Kickoff Weekend, Kris, Last Thursday, Lockout, nfl teams, Ota, Playing Time, Seahawks, Tarvaris Jackson, Thursday Night, training camp, Virginia Mason