Crowd Noise, Nightmares and Big Play Shoes

Written by Mike Parker | 12 August 2009

With just a few days to go until the Seahawks hit the road for San Diego to face the Chargers for the 2009 preseason opener, Coach Mora is making sure to cover all the bases.

Both of yesterday's sessions was moved to the indoor practice field because of the slippery conditions outside. The coaching staff pumped in crowd noise to simulate an actual game environment. They also worked on helmet communications, which Mora said was beneficial for more than one player. Seahawks.com's Tony Ventrella has a detailed video report on the practice, complete with excerpts from interviews with Jim Mora and Greg Knapp.

"Matt and Seneca have never had Greg (Knapp) in their ear," Mora said. "You know, they've had Coach Holmgren in their ear for most of their careers, Seneca for his entire career, so it's just different. I think they need to get used to it before Saturday night, when it's 'whoa, who's that?' (Laugh). So we did a little of that today, and it worked out well."

Mora also said Aaron Curry is staying mentally sharp and handlling the learning curve exceptionally well. He says Curry is a fast learner and "gets it naturally," whereas some players take a lot longer to diagnose plays.

Jordan Babineaux also broke out his "big play shoes." You know this guy means business when those babies come out.

For more on Curry, the Seattle Times' Steve Kelley writes that the fourth-overall pick had nightmares about missing assignments and blowing coverages during the wait for his contract to be signed.

"I tried to relax, but I was stressing out about what I was missing and I worried about if I was going to get too far behind," Curry said after Tuesday's practice, his third day in camp. "I would have nightmares that I would be blitzing when I wasn't supposed to be blitzing. And that I was giving up touchdowns."

It sounds like Curry's able to sleep a little easier at night now, at least. I'd be sleeping soundly myself if I had just signed a piece of paper that guaranteed me $34 million. Saturday will give us a chance to see how well Curry's instincts translate to the real deal.

Football season is officially upon us, addicts. I feel my sanity slowing starting to return again, but I don't think I'm alone in saying the nightmare of 2008 is still very real until the 2009 Seahawks make a statement right out of the gates.

Comments (1)