Seahawks Notebook: Julius Jones ready for first start
Thursday, September 11, 2008 9:10 PM PDT
By Tim Booth
The Associated Press
Printable version
E-mail this articleRENTON, Wash. — Julius Jones will be the featured running back for the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday against San Francisco with co-starter Maurice Morris out for a few weeks with a sprained knee.
Jones wants to know what all the fuss is about.
“I’ve been starting in this league since I first came into it. Everyone is acting like it’s a big deal for me to start and it’s not,” Jones said Thursday. “I’m just excited to play in the stadium, excited to play another game.”
Jones and Morris entered the season expected to share carries and share starting duties, at least at the beginning. That plan was altered last Sunday when Morris injured his right knee against Buffalo, leaving Jones and short-yardage back T.J. Duckett to handle the load for at least the next two games.
Jones struggled in the opener, as did the entire Seahawks’ running game. Jones had 13 carries for 45 yards and caught a pair of passes out of the backfield.
“He has not had a lot of opportunities during the preseason but when he did, he did very well,” offensive coordinator Gil Haskell said. “I expect him to have a very good game and he will have the chance to have a very good game.”
Jones started all 16 games last season with Dallas, but split time with Marion Barber in the Cowboys’ backfield. One advantage for Haskell is not having to change his play calling for either Morris or Jones as the pair are fairly interchangeable. Haskell was sometimes handcuffed in the past between the plays Morris could run and the plays the now-departed Shaun Alexander could run.
“They run exactly the same plays ... you didn’t worry about who was in the game, you just ran it,” Haskell said. “So we’re in good shape that way. When (Morris) gets healthy it will be a real plus.”
Another injury?
Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Trufant was limited in practice on Thursday after appearing to injure his left hand breaking up a pass during a drill. Trufant was looked at by trainers, but there were no additional details. Lofa Tatupu and Deion Branch were listed as being limited in practice as well.
Stopping Gore
Two years ago, the Seahawks could not get a handle on San Francisco running back Frank Gore. In two Seahawks-49ers games in the 2006 season — both Seattle losses — Gore rushed for 212 yards in the first meeting and 144 the second time around.
Last year, that all changed. Gore was held to 79 yards rushing in San Francisco in a 23-3 Seattle win, and had only 72 yards in a 24-0 Seahawks’ shutout in Seattle.
“It was emphasizing that everyone has to team tackle Frank,” Seahawks linebacker Julian Peterson said. “Frank is an extraordinary back, powerful, well-balanced, he’s pretty much the motor for their offense. We bring a lot of guys putting (helmets) on him and getting him flustered, it’ll have more of a positive impact on the game.”
Seattle defensive coordinator John Marshall said Gore is still being used to run the ball under new San Francisco offensive coordinator Mike Martz, but is trying some different things catching the ball out of the backfield.
Gore had 14 carries for 96 yards and a touchdown, and a team-high four catches for 55 yards last week against Arizona.
“We played well against him. We would like to think that we prepared differently and it was advantageous to us,” Marshall said of last season’s success. “But to say you get anybody figured out, I wouldn’t go that far.”
Quick hits
Seattle signed RB Yvenson Bernard to the practice squad, and the team released defensive tackle Kevin Brown. Bernard was a star at Oregon State before being signed as an undrafted free agent by St. Louis. ... RG Rob Sims had surgery on his torn left pectoral muscle on Thursday. The team said the surgery was successful and normal rehabilitation time is four to six months. ... Always the comedian, QB Matt Hasselbeck on the possibility of Seneca Wallace seeing time at receiver, “I told Seneca, too, if he needs me to play wide receiver a little bit and he wants to throw it, I’ll do that.”
Past Month's Most Commented Stories