Tapp hopes to live up to his potential with Seahawks

Ask most professional athletes and they will swear that they never read newspapers, listen to sports talk radio or watch the sports highlight shows. They try to feign indifference and ambivalence to any possible negative criticism from fans and media and anyone else with an opinion.

Yet, for as much as those same athletes claim to not read, listen or watch the things about themselves, they seem to know exactly what’s being said.

Just ask Darryl Tapp.

A defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks, he knew exactly what was being said about him, his defensive cohorts and the Seahawks last season, and he took it personally.

“Definitely, they were talking about me, and talking about my teammates,” he said. “You have to take it personally, that’s your performance.”

More importantly Tapp understood why it was being said. That’s why he didn’t seem angry about it.

“We didn’t play to our bet abilities last year,” he said. “For whatever reason, we didn’t get the job done.”

Did he mean the team, the defense or the defensive line?

Well, take your pick. The Seahawks finished 4-12 last season. The defense ranked near the bottom of the NFC in several categories for much of the season. And the defensive line had a middling 34 sacks on the season – not horrible, but a little inflated considering they had eight sacks in the second game of the season. In the final nine games, the Seahawks had more than three sacks in only one game.

“Based on last year, it shows (the importance of pass rush) plays a lot on the defense,” Tapp said. “We were lacking a little bit in the pass rush area last year for a lot of reasons. You really saw how much one aspect of the defense really affected the other aspects.”

There were reasons for the lack of production. Patrick Kerney played in only seven games because of injury. Rookie Lawrence Jackson didn’t progress as fast as expected and even Tapp himself, though he tied for the team lead with tackle Brandon Mebane with 51/2 sacks, still didn’t quite meet expectations set by the coaches and by himself.

“Nobody really played up to their potential, including me, and we have to rebound this season,” Tapp said.

The idea of rebounding comes on different levels. The Seahawks brought in defensive end Cory Redding, cornerback Ken Lucas and drafted linebacker Aaron Curry to help the depth and talent level. But as far as on-field performance and game situation, it boils down to each individual improving themselves and handling their own responsibility. A year ago, players resorted to trying to do more than that and it backfired.

“Last year when things starting going bad, guys started to want to make plays any way possible,” Tapp said. “They started being nosy in somebody else’s gaps and not paying attention to their own and things broke down.”

That’s been a focus of change this season – do your job and trust that your teammates will do theirs.

For Tapp, his job is easy: Get to the quarterback – pressure him, harass him, hurry him and sack him if possible.

This season he’ll be doing it from both defensive end positions, but he’s seeing a few more snaps at the right end, which has its advantages.

“He doesn’t have a tight end to deal with a lot, it’s a little more upfield movement, and that certainly suits his skills,” Seahawks defensive line coach Dan Quinn said. “I think that’s one of the skills he has, is takeoff and upfield pressure.”

Tapp has shown a comfort level on the right side thus far in camp and has been a haranguing presence in a lot of the 12-on-12 drills, while also wreaking havoc on linemen during one-on-one drills. He brings a determination that he simply will not be blocked by one player and maybe not two.

“As a pass rusher, you have to have that mentality,” he said. “But I really I believe I can’t be blocked by one guy.”

Tapp has always been known as a high-motor guy with a seemingly endless reserve of energy.

“One of the things I like about Tapp so far in camp is the relentless nature that he’s bringing,” Quinn said.

But Tapp has always had that mentality since being taken in the second round of the 2006 draft out of Virginia Tech. He’s been a head-turner in each of his past three fall camps and exhibition seasons, but not so much in the season.

“I think someone made a comment yesterday that Tapp always looks good in training camp, and then sometimes disappears in the season,” head coach Jim Mora said. “I wouldn’t dispute that, but I think this year, it’ll be a different story. I think he’s reached a level of maturity now where he’s going to be able to carry over the things he does in training camp into the season.”

Tapp has undoubtedly heard those critics as well. Perhaps it’s why he seems to be so focused on changing people’s opinions and answering their criticisms.

Of course, that will require him to be on the field. Right now he’s stuck behind Kerney on the depth chart at right end. But Tapp will still see the field plenty.

“We’d like to use him specifically as a third-down pass rusher, and then as a spot guy on first and second down,” Mora said.

Tapp admitted “he had no idea” how he was going to be used. His only goal was to make it difficult for Quinn, Mora and defensive coordinator Gus Bradley to take him off the field.

“We have a great problem,” Tapp said. “We have tons of guys that can rush the passer and make plays. But I trust the coaches (are) going to find time for us.”

He’s set a goal of 10 sacks this season. There’s no significance to the number, it’s just a good round number.

“It’s not anything that needs to happen for us to win,” Tapp said. “It’s just a personal goal.”

Personal or not, it would undoubtedly help the Hawks win. It would certainly help end the stories and criticism about Tapp, the defense and the underachieving Seahawks.

“We used that as motivation this offseason,” he said. “Everything we did was focusing on turning that around. We’re playing with a huge chip on our shoulder. But it’s not just about proving it to everyone; it’s about proving it to ourselves.

Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483

ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com