Bruised knee sends Tatupu to sideline in second quarter

Bruised knee sends Tatupu to sideline in second quarter
Injury to star linebacker not seen as serious; Frye also hobbled
By CLARE FARNSWORTH
P-I REPORTER

SAN DIEGO -- It was a typical Lofa Tatupu game: a team-high six tackles, including one for a loss.

But then this Monday evening took an atypical turn for the Seahawks' Pro Bowl middle linebacker. Rather than making plays at Qualcomm Stadium against the San Diego Chargers in their nationally televised preseason game, Tatupu was heading to the locker room in the second quarter with what was called a bruised knee.

The Seahawks lost the game, 18-17, but losing Tatupu would have been worse. Much worse.

Tatupu declined to be interviewed after the game while sitting in front of his locker, which contained a pair of crutches. But he did offer, "I'll be all right."

Coach Mike Holmgren seemed to agree. He said Tatupu and quarterback Charlie Frye will have MRI exams Tuesday, but added that there is no ligament damage for either player.

"Neither one of them, we think, is serious," Holmgren said.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: The game provided a number of firsts for the Seahawks.

Wide receiver Courtney Taylor caught his first passes of the preseason and finished with three receptions for 24 yards.

But Holmgren wasn't satisfied, saying, "I would have liked him to touch the ball more."

That's because Taylor is the likely starter at flanker in the Sept. 7 regular-season opener against the Buffalo Bills because leading receiver Bobby Engram is out and flanker Deion Branch also might not be ready. Engram has a cracked bone in his right shoulder, and Branch is recovering from reconstructive surgery on his left knee.

Wide receiver Ben Obomanu also had his first preseason catch, a 5-yarder.

Pro Bowl defensive end Patrick Kerney and punter Ryan Plackemeier, meanwhile, saw their first action of the preseason.

Kerney, who'd been sidelined with a strained calf, had three tackles. Plackemeier, who had been sidelined with a torn pectoral, averaged 52.7 yards on three punts -- including a 60-yarder.

Last week, the Seahawks had two punts blocked when Reggie Hodges was subbing.

"The big focus this week was getting the punts off," Plackemeier said. "I wanted to make the punt team an asset again and not a liability."

FORMATION FOOLERY: The Seahawks showed a few new wrinkles.

One is an old formation, where they show two-tight-end personnel in the huddle, but then give a four-receiver look at the line by having tight ends John Carlson and either Will Heller or Jeb Putzier slotted and the wide receivers split.

Another came in the nickel pass-rush line, where Kerney lined up at right end with Julian Peterson on the left side. Kerney is the left end in the base defense.

They also had Nate Burleson, the starting split end, lined up in the slot on occasion.

"Maybe moving me around a little bit will open up the offense and free up some of these young guys on the outside," said Burleson, the "old" guy at 27.

GOLDEN SALUTE: After scoring on a 68-yard pass play in the first quarter, Burleson struck a pose in the end zone.

What was that all about?

"That was a little Usain Bolt from the Olympics," Burleson said of the world record-setting sprinter from Jamaica. "That was a tribute there. We've got to let them know we see them out here in America.

"The Olympics is over. It's football season."

STEPPING UP: T.J. Duckett ran for a team-high 46 yards on six carries for a 7.7-yard average. It didn't hurt that he had a trio of 12-yarders during the fourth quarter.

Jordan Kent caught four more passes and now has nine, including his second TD reception.

Maurice Morris gained 31 yards on five carries.

D.D. Lewis had five tackles after stepping in for Tatupu.

Defensive end Jason Babin had another sack, his second of the preseason.

STEPPING DOWN: Rookie Justin Forsett ran for only nine yards on four carries, after his 261 all-purpose yard performance last week.

Rookie middle linebacker David Hawthorne was not credited with a tackle.

HAWK TALK: In addition to quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, 12 other players were listed as out before the game: kicker Brandon Coutu, snapper Tyler Schmitt, centers Chris Spencer and Nick Jones, offensive tackles Sean Locklear, Will Robinson and Samuel Gutekunst, defensive linemen Red Bryant, Chris Cooper and Larry Tripplett and Branch and Engram. ...

The Seahawks must make five roster moves Tuesday to reach the league-mandated limit of 75 players. The cut to 53 must be made Saturday. ... The players are off Tuesday before returning Wednesday to begin their limited preparation for Friday night's preseason finale against the Oakland Raiders at Qwest Field.





http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/football/376490_hbok26.html

Early indications are that the MRI results from yesterday reveal no ligament damage and just reveal a bruise on the knee, I was reading that we should know more today, here is the blog post that I found the info on:



Lofa's knee
Coach Mike Holmgren will address Lofa Tatupu's knee injury after practice this afternoon.

But the unofficial word is that the MRI that was done Tuesday showed nothing more than what was announced, and obvious, after the game Monday night -- it's bruised, and it's sore.


http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/football/archives/147222.asp