Will Seahawks rock alternative lime?

RENTON – Wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh believes he can make anything look good.

But guys like offensive lineman Mansfield Wrotto and defensive tackle Craig Terrill might have trouble pulling it off.

Speculation persists that the team might wear an alternative, lime-green jersey during the regular season.

The fluorescent green is part of the team’s official color palette, along with the silver helmets and pants from the team’s inception in 1976.

The Seahawks media guide for the 2009 season also is adorned with the bright green color.

So the green jersey, along with the team’s throwback uniforms – which the Seahawks have not worn since 2001 – remains an option this season.

A report surfaced in April that the team would debut green jerseys during the regular season, but was later chalked up as an April Fools’ Day joke.

Currently, the green alternative jerseys can be purchased at the Seahawks pro shop.

The Seahawks remain tight-lipped on whether they will debut the green jerseys during the regular season, with a team spokesperson stating that the Seahawks have not announced plans for a third jersey, but it remains an option.

For his part, Houshmandzadeh, who has been wearing fluorescent green receiver gloves and black shoes accented with the same color during training camp, has no problem with the green jerseys.

“If you’ve got style, you can rock anything,” Houshmandzadeh said.

“And I think I’ve got style, so I’m going to be just fine.”

Further, he believes the alternative jerseys would be a good option during the season.

“You can rock the green, you just have to accessorize with it, right? And you’ll be all right,” Houshmandzadeh said. “Like myself, I would be all right with it. Nate (Burleson) would be all right. After that I’m not really sure.

“Some linemen think their sweet, so they’ll come out and accessorize with it. But other lineman, they just put their clothes on how it’s given to them, and they’ll be the ones you guys can talk about.”

Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437

eric.williams@thenewstribune.com

SEAHAWKS training CAMP

Homecoming for Houshmandzadeh

The Seahawks’ first preseason game will be a homecoming of sorts for T.J. Houshmandzadeh, as Seattle travels to San Diego to take on the Chargers. Los Angeles is Houshmandzadeh’s hometown.

So how many tickets does the Seattle receiver have lined up?

“I’ve got a lot of ticket requests, but I haven’t returned any calls,” Houshmandzadeh joked.

Seattle’s newest receiver is unsure how much he’ll play in his first preseason game as a Seahawk. Head coach Jim Mora said the staff will put together a plan today on how much each player will play Saturday.

No matter the plan, Houshmandzadeh said he’ll be ready to go.

“I’ll play as long as they want me to play, really,” Houshmandzadeh said. “It’s funny, going into the preseason game you don’t want to play a lot. But then once you begin to play, you don’t want to come out. But we haven’t talked about it, so I’m eager to find out when they’ll let us know how much we’re playing and when we’re coming out.”

Expect some cut blocking on Saturday

Offensive line coach Mike Solari emphasized the importance of cut blocking on the back side of running plays for the success of Seattle’s new zone-blocking scheme, which focuses on a one-cut downhill running style and blocking to an area of a field instead of to a man. Solari said cut blocking is important for opening up cutback lanes for the team’s running backs and helps spring big plays.

Solari also said even guys like Walter Jones, when he’s ready to return to the field, will be expected to execute cut blocks on a regular basis.

“The big runs in the NFL are when you cut off that backside,” Solari said.

Injury update

Mansfield Wrotto (unspecified), Patrick Kerney (calf), Walter Jones (back), Marcus Trufant (back), Cory Withrow (leg) and Grey Ruegamer (elbow) all sat out of practice Wednesday. Lofa Tatupu, Deon Grant, Will Herring, Josh Wilson and Chris Spencer all returned to practice.

Quotable

“This is like Camp Grind-them-out here. But it will just be fun just to kind of go against somebody else after going against each other for two weeks. You’re going against, on my side of the ball, probably one of the best defenses in the league, and one of the best teams period. So it will be a challenge.” – Houshmandzadeh on facing the Chargers on Saturday.

Eric D. Williams, The News Tribune