Right now, it’s Pollard or bust at tight end

By Chris Cluff  |   Thursday, May 31, 2007  |  Comments( 3 )

Seattle Seahawks
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When the Seahawks lost out on tight end Daniel Graham in free agency, they missed their best chance to upgrade a key position in Mike Holmgren's West Coast offense. After Graham signed with the Denver Broncos, the Seahawks ended up settling for a veteran stopgap to step into the position that had been manned the past several years by Itula Mili and Jerramy Stevens.

Seattle chose not to draft a tight end and says it's happy to have 35-year-old Marcus Pollard as its new starter at the spot, but the Seahawks sure seem to be putting all of their eggs in one thread-bare basket. Other than Pollard, they have blocking specialist Will Heller and unproven youngsters Bennie Joppru and Leonard Stephens. By far, it seems to be the weakest unit on the team and begs the question: If the Seahawks can get a solid No. 2 tight end before training camp begins, will they do it?

Recent reports out of Green Bay indicate that the Packers are dissatisfied with Bubba Franks, who has been their starting tight end since he was drafted in the first round in 2000. Two other tight ends, Donald Lee and Tory Humphrey, are pushing Franks for the starting job, and Franks reportedly could be released before camp begins. Considering his experience in the West Coast offense under Mike Sherman, Franks would seem to be worthy of a look by Seattle.

Otherwise, the tight-end cupboard is pretty bare. After the Broncos signed Graham, Stephen Alexander looked like he might be trade bait. But the Broncos said they intend to keep him, and then his spot seemingly became assured when second-year tight end Tony Scheffler broke his foot in the team's May minicamp.

The Seahawks surely will take a look at any tight ends put on waivers between now and the start of the season, but until then they seem satisfied with their aged starter and his unknown backups.

Earlier this year, Seattle president Tim Ruskell told reporters that he was concerned about Pollard's age, too, until he watched tape of him from last season.

"The guy still has his quickness, he's still a tenacious blocker and he still has good hands," Ruskell said. "It defies the age, and he's not been an injury guy during his career. So we felt good about it."

Offensive coordinator Gil Haskell recently echoed those sentiments to a Seattle reporter.

"He [Pollard] has played 10 years, I know that, but he did not play in college, and what that meant was that he wasn't beat up," Haskell said. "We do a physical, and 5 is when you are in really good shape, and he is a 5 after 10 years. He doesn't have a knee, he doesn't have a shoulder, he doesn't have this, he doesn't have that. He didn't get the heck kicked out of him for four years and then go to the pros, so that is a plus for us, and I think he is a very gifted receiver."

After 10 seasons in Indianapolis, Pollard signed with Detroit in 2005 and played well for coach Steve Mariucci, with 46 catches for 516 yards and three touchdowns. But he did not fit the offense installed by Mike Martz under new coach Rod Marinelli last year, and Pollard finished with just 12 receptions.

"When you watch Detroit or when you watch the Rams when [Martz] was there, their tight ends were 260 or 270 pounds ..." Haskell pointed out. "Those two guys became blockers so the three receivers could run down the field.

"Marcus was not that kind of a guy for Detroit when Mike got there. Marcus is a receiver that is very gifted. I know he doesn't drop footballs, which is a good thing for us. I think his blocking will be good, too, because they did block in Indianapolis when they were running the ball."

Even if Pollard does work out -- i.e., stay healthy and perform in Seattle's offense, which works best when the tight end is involved -- he is only a one-year solution and the Seahawks will need to be on the lookout for a younger starter no later than next offseason.

Weekly Seattle Seahawks coverage, courtesy of RealFootball365.com
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About Chris Cluff

Chris Cluff spent 10 years as an editor and sportswriter for The Seattle Times. He was a key figure in the newspaper's coverage of the Seahawks, particularly during their Super Bowl run in 2005. He also has written two books on the Seahawks: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Heart-Pounding, ...
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