Seahawks Return To Husky Stadium

KIRKLAND, Wash. (AP) _ The memories of playing in Husky Stadium are flooding back for the Seahawks on the eve of returning there. <br/><br/>And we do mean ``flooding.'' <br/><br/>Upon being asked

Tuesday, August 7th 2007, 9:32 pm

By: News On 6

KIRKLAND, Wash. (AP) _ The memories of playing in Husky Stadium are flooding back for the Seahawks on the eve of returning there.

And we do mean ``flooding.''

Upon being asked for their memories of playing at the University of Washington's home in 2000-01 while Qwest Field was being built, longtime Seahawks Chris Gray, Mack Strong, Walter Jones and Bobby Engram all had one quick answer:

Rain.

``My memory of that place? Driving rain,'' said Gray, the longtime guard who will be with the rest of his teammates at Husky Stadium on Wednesday for the second and final public practice of training camp.

``I remember the rain would come in sideways,'' off Lake Washington, said Jones, the left tackle who was four years removed from Florida State when Seattle moved out of the demolished Kingdome and into a temporary home at UW.

Perhaps the most extreme case was a Dec. 16, 2000, monsoon in which the Seahawks beat Oakland 27-24. Then-Raiders coach Jon Gruden remarked later that the miserable day was ``like having wet sand thrown in your face for three hours.''

A week later, in that season's finale against Buffalo, rain cascaded down the Husky Stadium steps as if Niagara Falls had followed the Bills to the Northwest.

``It rained like on every game,'' marveled Engram, who joined Seattle in 2001 after playing five seasons in Chicago _ which isn't exactly Bermuda during football season, either.

``I just said, 'This is Seattle.'''

Tyrone Willingham is hoping for something other than rain Wednesday.

Washington's coach, who was in his final two years leading Stanford when the Seahawks last entered Husky Stadium, will have his entire Huskies team in the stands. He said he wanted his players to appreciate and hopefully internalize the efficiency of coach Mike Holmgren's fast-paced practices with the Seahawks. Willingham canceled the Huskies' normal morning walkthrough to clear the field for the Seahawks.

``Tyrone and the Washington people have been very, very cooperative,'' Holmgren said.

On the field, Willingham and his staff will be mingling with the Seahawks coaches as Seattle goes through a normal training camp practice of individual position drills and situational scrimmages between the starting offense and defense. The Huskies will then take the field for their normally scheduled afternoon practice.

The Seahawks' return to UW came about after the team decided to have training camp at its headquarters in suburban Seattle this year, following 10 summers at Eastern Washington University in Cheney. The Seahawks' home in Kirkland is nestled between the small campus of Northwest University and a hillside neighborhood and lacks adequate parking or room around the practice fields for fans to attend camp.

So the Seahawks are bringing one of their practices to the public, at Husky Stadium. Next season, when the Seahawks move into their sprawling, new facility in Renton, almost all of camp will again be open to the public.

Not every Seahawks memory of Husky Stadium is of rain. There were some wins, too. They went 9-7 during their two seasons without a playoff berth while renting at UW.

But most memories are bad. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck still recalls _ with a wince _ the Seahawks' first game there, Sept. 23, 2001, which was also his first as Seattle's starter. The Philadelphia Eagles blitzed him mercilessly, sacked him seven times and left him dazed in a 27-3 loss.

``Not a lot of good memories, really. We had some wins there,'' Holmgren said. ``I think it is difficult, not only for the Seahawks but for any team, to be the renter. ... And at the time we were going through some growing pains here. There were a lot of changes.

``It was sure nice to move into our own place.''

The veterans' other memory of their time at UW is one of the Seahawks' highest points in their transitional home: Nov. 11, 2001, Shaun Alexander ran for a team-record 266 yards and three touchdowns. That was also against the hated Raiders.

Strong paved Alexander's way to most of those yards during that rare Seahawks fun at Husky Stadium.

``That was probably the only good memory I have of that place,'' Strong said, chuckling.

Notes: Holmgren said rookie Brandon Mebane, a rookie third-round pick from California drafted as a run-stopping defensive tackle, has surprised him with his pass-rushing ability. ``He should help us this year,'' Holmgren said. ... OLB LeRoy Hill remained out with a hamstring injury. ... Holmgren said DT Marcus Tubbs, currently on the physically unable to perform list following microfracture surgery on his left knee, is on track to return for the Aug. 25 exhibition game against Minnesota.