Seahawks | Mike Holmgren exhales: Lofa Tatupu to return

Seahawks | Mike Holmgren exhales: Lofa Tatupu to return
The knee injury Tatupu suffered in Monday night's exhibition game in San Diego was nothing more serious than a bone bruise. Holmgren said Tatupu should be ready to play in the regular-season opener in Buffalo on Sept. 7.
By Danny O'Neil
Seattle Times staff reporter


RENTON — Was Mike Holmgren relieved to hear that linebacker Lofa Tatupu's knee was just bruised, not broken?

"Yeah," Holmgren said. "How about you?"

Anyone with a rooting interest in the Seahawks exhaled a sigh of relief Wednesday when the coach said that the knee injury Tatupu suffered in Monday night's exhibition game in San Diego was nothing more serious than a bone bruise. Holmgren said Tatupu should be ready to play in the regular-season opener in Buffalo on Sept. 7.

Tatupu was on the field when Wednesday's practice began while his teammates stretched, but he did not participate. He got treatment for the injury while the team worked out.

Tatupu made the Pro Bowl each of his three seasons in the league, and his status was the primary question after he left Monday's game because of a knee injury.

"He's very important to this football team," Holmgren said. "In preseason, they have to play and get ready to go, but you just kind of hold your breath all the time."

Holmgren said after the game that Tatupu didn't appear to have any ligament damage in his knee. Tests on Tuesday confirmed that diagnosis.

Tatupu probably won't play in Friday's final exhibition game against Oakland, but he may not be the only one. Holmgren said he will approach the lineup for this game as he has in recent years. Last year, a number of starters did not play in the final exhibition game, including Tatupu.

Back in a snap

Seattle's new long snapper actually isn't all that new to either the team or the league.

It's Jeff Robinson, who is 38 and played the final three regular-season games and two playoff games for the Seahawks last season. This will be his 15th year in the NFL, and he previously played with the Broncos, Rams and Cowboys.

"I was a little more prepared this year than last year to say the least," Robinson said.

His wife, Laura, is a registered dietitian and a physical therapist, and both work with their business, 5 Focus, a health and wellness center in South Lake Union. On Wednesday, he was out there practicing to be Seattle's long-snapper when the season opens.

Seattle released Tim Lindsey to make room for Robinson on the roster, but the player he's really replacing is Tyler Schmitt, the rookie the Seahawks drafted in the sixth round to be their long snapper this season. Schmitt has a back condition severe enough the Seahawks put him on injured reserve, making him ineligible to play the rest of the season.

"It's pretty bad," Holmgren said of Schmitt. "We found out about it and tried to treat it, and it was the doctor's opinion that it wouldn't get any better without a little bit of rest, a long rest."

Holmgren was asked about Schmitt's long-term prognosis in terms of football.

"I don't know," Holmgren said. "He's a young man, and he's got a back like mine."

Holmgren is 60.

QB or not QB

Charlie Frye did not practice Wednesday because of a knee injury he suffered in the second half of Monday's game. The injury, however, is not that serious, and Holmgren said Frye would be available if necessary in Friday's exhibition game against Oakland.

Starter Matt Hasselbeck did not practice, continuing to sit out with a tight back. He has not played in the past two exhibition games, and Holmgren said Seneca Wallace and fourth-string quarterback Dalton Bell are expected to play Friday against Oakland.

NOTE

• DT Craig Terrill was held out of practice though Holmgren did not specify the exact injury. He joked Terrill had a sore back after picking up an amplifier, a nod to Terrill's skills on the guitar.

The coach also said he told Terrill he lost all respect for him because he's now hanging out with the quarterbacks and wearing a red jersey to denote no contact.




http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawks/2008143330_hawk28.html

Seahawks: Good news on Tatupu's knee
Hawks' star linebacker just has bone bruise, won't miss opener
By CLARE FARNSWORTH
P-I REPORTER

RENTON -- That sound emanating from the shores of Lake Washington on Wednesday afternoon was not a return of the hydroplanes. It was huge sigh of relief from Mike Holmgren.

After a summer filled with bad injury news, the Seahawks coach finally got some of the good variety:

Lofa Tatupu merely has a bone bruise on his right knee and will be able to play in the team's Sept. 7 regular-season opener against the Bills in Buffalo.

"Yeah. How about you?" Holmgren said when asked if he was relieved that Tatupu is OK.

Levity was in order, because the team -- not to mention an entire region of football fans -- had been holding its breath since Tatupu went down in the second quarter of Monday night's nationally televised preseason game against the Chargers in San Diego and did not return to the field.

An MRI exam Tuesday confirmed what was announced after the game. The knee is fine, if not dandy.

Tatupu did not participate in the team's 85-minute practice Wednesday, and likely won't play Friday night in the preseason finale against the Oakland Raiders at Qwest Field.

But the team doesn't need Tatupu then. The three-time Pro Bowl player and leading tackler will be needed Sept. 7, and beyond.

"He's very important to this football team," Holmgren said. "In preseason, they have to play and get ready to go, but you kind of hold your breath all the time.

"Last week, there were some really good players that got hurt (around the league), and you just hope it doesn't happen to you."

There also were some lesser-known players that got hurt, including Tim Lindsey.

Just when it looked like the first-year snapper from West Virginia was going to take over for sixth-round draft choice Tyler Schmitt, Lindsey hurt his back against the Chargers.

Lindsey was released Wednesday and replaced by Jeff Robinson, a 38-year-old veteran of 15 NFL seasons who grew up in Spokane and also was signed in December to bring some stability to what had been a volatile position.

Special teams coach Bruce DeHaven had coaxed Robinson out of retirement. But Robinson said when he left after the season that he was really calling it a career.

"I say a lot of things," Robinson said with a smile after practice.

Since training camp was over, and the players had moved out of the dorms, Robinson said, "What the heck."

"It worked out pretty well that way, to be sure," Robinson said of coming in after two-a-days and dorm life ended. "I mean, I don't like training camp. I don't know anyone who does."

As was the case last year when the Seahawks called, he was helping his wife with their business -- 5focus, a wellness center on Lake Union -- and chasing their little girl around.

"I feel really good," he said. "It helps that my wife is a registered dietitian and a physical therapist. She's a big reason I've been able to play as long as I have and the big reason I feel as good as I do."

There was the expected rust in his first practice, but Robinson can still snap -- after all these years.

"What a gig he's got," Holmgren cracked. "He missed all of training camp, but he reminded me he's practiced as much as Chris Spencer (the starting center who just returned to practice after being out with a sore back).

"He's a funny guy. It's good to have him back. He's a good snapper."

The situation with Schmitt is not good. He has a back problem that the Seahawks were unaware of when they drafted him.

"I mean, it's pretty bad," Holmgren said.

Career-threatening bad?

"I don't know," said Holmgren, who is 60. "He's a young man, and he's got a back like mine. It's not good."

No, the good news was reserved for Tatupu and his sore knee.

FOCUS ON: QUARTERBACKS

Playing quarterback for the Seahawks in their preseason finale against the Oakland Raiders on Friday ...

Mike Holmgren? Going with the former USC quarterback turned Seahawks coach didn't seem as farfetched as it sounds Wednesday when the team was down to two options in practice: backup Seneca Wallace and No. 4 QB Dalton Bell.

Luckily, the situation is not that dire. The knee injury Charlie Frye suffered Monday night against the Chargers in San Diego is not serious. He did not practice, but could be available against the Raiders if needed.

So even with starter Matt Hasselbeck expected to sit out a third game to make sure his tight back is ready for the Sept. 7 regular-season opener against the Buffalo Bills, the team will have younger alternatives than Holmgren when the Raiders invade Qwest Field.

Holmgren chuckled when asked if he might be needed Friday night, and then offered, "No. We'll have Charlie for the Raiders, if we had to use him. But Seneca and Dalton Bell are prepared to play the game."

Wallace has been nursing a tight groin, but was forced to enter the game against the Chargers when Frye went out in the fourth quarter. Bell has yet to play in the preseason.




http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/football/376812_hawk28.html

Whew, finally good news for Seahawks
FRANK HUGHES; frank.hughes@thenewstribune.com
Published: August 28th, 2008 01:00 AM

RENTON – It has been quite some time since the injury-riddled Seattle Seahawks received good news regarding players’ health.

But they finally were able to get some relief when they learned this week that the knee injuries suffered by middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu and quarterback Charlie Frye on Monday night were not serious.

Tatupu will miss Friday’s exhibition season finale against the Oakland Raiders but should be available for the season opener against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 7.

Frye could play against Oakland if he needed to, but Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren is likely to hold him out and let Seneca Wallace and Dalton Bell run the offense. Starter Matt Hasselbeck continues to nurse a sore back and will not play.

The Frye news was welcome, but the Tatupu report was paramount to the Seahawks’ hopes for this season. He is a three-time Pro Bowl player and the anchor of the defense, making him nearly impossible to replace.

Both players received magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans Tuesday, a day after suffering injuries in the 18-17 exhibition loss to San Diego. Tests revealed nothing beyond bruises, though both players sat out practice Wednesday, the only one the team is having this week.

“Lofa is very important to this football team,” Holmgren said. “In preseason, they have to get ready and they have to go, but you kind of hold your breath the entire time. Last week there were some very good players who were hurt (around the league), and you just hold your breath and hope it doesn’t happen to (your team).”

Meanwhile, the Seahawks signed 38-year-old snapper Jeff Robinson and released Tim Lindsey.

Of more concern is the long-term future of Tyler Schmitt, the team’s sixth-round draft pick who was supposed to solidify a position that created much dismay last season.

Schmitt was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, and Holmgren revealed Wednesday the 22-year-old’s career may be in jeopardy.

“He is a young man and he has a back like mine,” said the 60-year-old Holmgren. “It’s not good.”

Holmgren said the team did not know about Schmitt’s back condition before they drafted him out of San Diego State and gave him a four-year contract.

“We wouldn’t have (drafted him) had we known,” Holmgren said. “At the (scouting) combine, they do a pretty thorough physical … and we do interviews. There wasn’t any indication there was a problem there. We found out about it and tried to treat it and it was the doctor’s opinion it wouldn’t get better.”

Robinson was brought out of retirement last season after neither Derek Rackley nor Boone Stutz could sufficiently do the job.

The team had hoped to make Schmitt its long-term answer, but the job has reverted to Robinson, a native Washingtonian who still lives in the area.

“What a gig he’s got,” Holmgren cracked. “The baby sitting thing is over. He said it crushed him to miss all of training camp. And then he reminded me that he practiced as much as (center) Chris Spencer. He’s a funny guy.”

Spencer, who has missed all of training camp with a sore back, actually worked with the first team in practice Wednesday – though he fell down twice making routine blocks – and Holmgren said he will see his first action of the exhibition season against the Raiders.

Defensive tackle Red Bryant also will play against the Raiders, and Holmgren hopes Bryant returns the form he had early in camp before he tore cartilage in his knee and needed surgery.

“He is a big, strong guy but he is a little bit behind,” Holmgren said of Bryant.

Meanwhile, rookie kicker Brandon Coutu, who missed Monday’s game with a sore groin, returned to practice. He missed a 45-yard field goal into a stiff wind coming off Lake Washington, but so did veteran Olindo Mare.

Extra points

Defensive tackle Craig Terrill (back), offensive lineman Samuel Gutekunst, receivers Deion Branch and Bobby Engram and defensive lineman Chris Cooper also missed practice. …

The team must trim its roster to 53 by Saturday afternoon. Eight players who clear waivers can be placed on the practice squad.




http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/seahawks/story/463155.html

I AM GLAD THAT TATUPU WILL BE OK, I ORIGINALLY FEARED THAT THIS INJURY WAS MUCH WORSE BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THINGS WILL BE OK.