~ SEATTLE SEAHAWKS Official Regular Season Thread ~
- Thread starter xpanther206
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It’s been a little more than six months since Nate Burleson’s left foot slipped out from under him as he made a cut in the Seattle Seahawks’ first regular-season game of the 2008 season at Buffalo.
The play resulted in a torn anterior cruciate ligament requiring season-ending surgery. Fast-forward to March, with only two weeks remaining before new Seattle head coach Jim Mora’s first minicamp, and Burleson is almost back to full speed, sprinting, running routes and lifting weights to strengthen the muscles around his left knee.
Burleson is grinding through daily workouts to get back to being the player he was before the injury. And the 27-year-old says he’s back to about 90 percent health in terms of his recovery.
Nate Burleson, whose injury in the opener last season gutted Seattle’s attack, is eager to start minicamp in two weeks.
“Some days I don’t feel it at all,” Burleson said. “It feels good. I didn’t think I would have days like this, this early in the process.”
He thinks he’ll come back from the injury even faster than before because of the emphasis in his rehabilitation on improving his leg strength. He points to Deion Branch and Joey Galloway as players who have bounced back after reconstructive knee surgeries. Galloway, who’s still going strong at 37 years old, recently signed with the New England Patriots.
“That’s in my mind to come back faster than I was before,” Burleson said. “Originally, when I heard that, it really didn’t make sense physiologically. But when I started to work out, you’re not just maintenance lifting.
“Most of the time you’re just trying to maintain where you are, and you’re just trying to stay healthy and keep in shape. But with the rehabilitation it’s more of a college workout. … So I probably am going to come back more explosive.”
As far as his participation at Seattle’s first minicamp in April, Burleson is not sure how much he will be allowed to do during the camp.
“I’m going to leave that up to the trainers and the coaches,” he said. “They’ve got a great understanding of what time of the year it is. I’m going to be there because I can learn the playbook. So I’ll definitely be there to take mental reps.”
The Seahawks will need Burleson at full speed as they try to jump start an offense that finished 28th in the league in total offense in 2008 and 29th in passing offense, the first time a Seahawks team has finished that low since 1992, a team that had a franchise-worst 2-14 record for Seattle.
Last season, Burleson was being counted on to carry a big load while Branch and Bobby Engram recovered from injuries. Then came that fateful out pattern against the Bills, ending Burleson’s season and altering the Seahawks’ campaign for the worse.
“He was our only playmaker,” said ex-Seahawks fullback Leonard Weaver. “I mean we had the young guys in there, but he was our playmaker at the time, and he was a guy we were depending on to step into that role. So when he went down, I think it affected us quite a bit because we didn’t have that go-to receiver, which made it tough on the run game.”
Burleson won’t be expected to carry the load by himself next fall. Seattle signed free agent T.J. Houshmandzadeh to bolster its passing game.
Burleson said he met with Houshmandzadeh for about an hour during his visit to Seattle, trying to persuade the Cincinnati receiver to join the Seahawks.
Burleson said he believes adding the talented possession receiver to a corps of receivers that already includes Branch, Burleson and tight end John Carlson makes Seattle one of the more explosive offenses in the league.
“He just played ball, never complained and proved to everybody in the country that he was one of the elite receivers in the league,” Burleson said of Houshmandzadeh. “So you know he’s not going to take a back seat to anybody.
“That’s going to drive us to make big plays. That’s just the competitive nature of us trying to be the best playmakers we can be.”
Burleson said a bigger key for Seattle’s playmakers will be what more they can do on the field to help improve the Seahawks’ inept output offensively.
“We’re not just going to be happy with an OK performance,” Burleson said. “If we can make a good block, then what other things can we do to help make a big play? If we catch a pass for 6 yards, how can we turn that into 10 yards? We just have to look at what we can do to make more big plays on the field.”
Burleson said he’s talked with new offensive coordinator Greg Knapp and receivers coach Robert Prince about what type of role they foresee him filling in Seattle’s new offense.
“As far as the output of the offense, the one thing I know is (Knapp is) going to utilize every player available from A to Z,” Burleson said. “We’re going to get playmakers the ball, and we’re going to allow our playmakers to do what we do best. It was a good meeting.”
However, the group of receivers will be without the services of Bobby Engram, a free agent who ended his seven-year tenure in Seattle when he recently signed with Kansas City.
“It’s tough, man,” Burleson said. “Because Bobby wasn’t just a guy in the locker room, somebody you pass and pat on the butt when you make a good play. He was someone that I learned from.
“I’ve been fortunate in this business to really soak up some knowledge from some really talented individuals. And Bobby was one of them, dating back to Randy Moss. It’s part of the business. But after seeing Minnesota trade Moss, nothing surprises me.”
After watching his team go through a disappointing 4-12 campaign from the sideline, Burleson said he believes the Seahawks can turn things around this season, and is eager to get started helping Seattle compete for a playoff spot in 2009.
“We understand that we have an opportunity of being very special in this league, and we’re going to really open up some eyes and bring some attention to the Northwest in the National Football League,” Burleson said. “So it’s not nervousness. It’s more excitement of what’s to come.”
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/sports/story/845831.html
The play resulted in a torn anterior cruciate ligament requiring season-ending surgery. Fast-forward to March, with only two weeks remaining before new Seattle head coach Jim Mora’s first minicamp, and Burleson is almost back to full speed, sprinting, running routes and lifting weights to strengthen the muscles around his left knee.
Burleson is grinding through daily workouts to get back to being the player he was before the injury. And the 27-year-old says he’s back to about 90 percent health in terms of his recovery.
Nate Burleson, whose injury in the opener last season gutted Seattle’s attack, is eager to start minicamp in two weeks.
“Some days I don’t feel it at all,” Burleson said. “It feels good. I didn’t think I would have days like this, this early in the process.”
He thinks he’ll come back from the injury even faster than before because of the emphasis in his rehabilitation on improving his leg strength. He points to Deion Branch and Joey Galloway as players who have bounced back after reconstructive knee surgeries. Galloway, who’s still going strong at 37 years old, recently signed with the New England Patriots.
“That’s in my mind to come back faster than I was before,” Burleson said. “Originally, when I heard that, it really didn’t make sense physiologically. But when I started to work out, you’re not just maintenance lifting.
“Most of the time you’re just trying to maintain where you are, and you’re just trying to stay healthy and keep in shape. But with the rehabilitation it’s more of a college workout. … So I probably am going to come back more explosive.”
As far as his participation at Seattle’s first minicamp in April, Burleson is not sure how much he will be allowed to do during the camp.
“I’m going to leave that up to the trainers and the coaches,” he said. “They’ve got a great understanding of what time of the year it is. I’m going to be there because I can learn the playbook. So I’ll definitely be there to take mental reps.”
The Seahawks will need Burleson at full speed as they try to jump start an offense that finished 28th in the league in total offense in 2008 and 29th in passing offense, the first time a Seahawks team has finished that low since 1992, a team that had a franchise-worst 2-14 record for Seattle.
Last season, Burleson was being counted on to carry a big load while Branch and Bobby Engram recovered from injuries. Then came that fateful out pattern against the Bills, ending Burleson’s season and altering the Seahawks’ campaign for the worse.
“He was our only playmaker,” said ex-Seahawks fullback Leonard Weaver. “I mean we had the young guys in there, but he was our playmaker at the time, and he was a guy we were depending on to step into that role. So when he went down, I think it affected us quite a bit because we didn’t have that go-to receiver, which made it tough on the run game.”
Burleson won’t be expected to carry the load by himself next fall. Seattle signed free agent T.J. Houshmandzadeh to bolster its passing game.
Burleson said he met with Houshmandzadeh for about an hour during his visit to Seattle, trying to persuade the Cincinnati receiver to join the Seahawks.
Burleson said he believes adding the talented possession receiver to a corps of receivers that already includes Branch, Burleson and tight end John Carlson makes Seattle one of the more explosive offenses in the league.
“He just played ball, never complained and proved to everybody in the country that he was one of the elite receivers in the league,” Burleson said of Houshmandzadeh. “So you know he’s not going to take a back seat to anybody.
“That’s going to drive us to make big plays. That’s just the competitive nature of us trying to be the best playmakers we can be.”
Burleson said a bigger key for Seattle’s playmakers will be what more they can do on the field to help improve the Seahawks’ inept output offensively.
“We’re not just going to be happy with an OK performance,” Burleson said. “If we can make a good block, then what other things can we do to help make a big play? If we catch a pass for 6 yards, how can we turn that into 10 yards? We just have to look at what we can do to make more big plays on the field.”
Burleson said he’s talked with new offensive coordinator Greg Knapp and receivers coach Robert Prince about what type of role they foresee him filling in Seattle’s new offense.
“As far as the output of the offense, the one thing I know is (Knapp is) going to utilize every player available from A to Z,” Burleson said. “We’re going to get playmakers the ball, and we’re going to allow our playmakers to do what we do best. It was a good meeting.”
However, the group of receivers will be without the services of Bobby Engram, a free agent who ended his seven-year tenure in Seattle when he recently signed with Kansas City.
“It’s tough, man,” Burleson said. “Because Bobby wasn’t just a guy in the locker room, somebody you pass and pat on the butt when you make a good play. He was someone that I learned from.
“I’ve been fortunate in this business to really soak up some knowledge from some really talented individuals. And Bobby was one of them, dating back to Randy Moss. It’s part of the business. But after seeing Minnesota trade Moss, nothing surprises me.”
After watching his team go through a disappointing 4-12 campaign from the sideline, Burleson said he believes the Seahawks can turn things around this season, and is eager to get started helping Seattle compete for a playoff spot in 2009.
“We understand that we have an opportunity of being very special in this league, and we’re going to really open up some eyes and bring some attention to the Northwest in the National Football League,” Burleson said. “So it’s not nervousness. It’s more excitement of what’s to come.”
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/sports/story/845831.html