RENTON – Lawyer Milloy bided his time, and his patience has been rewarded.
When the 14-year veteran first joined the Seattle Seahawks in September, Milloy saw only a handful of plays defensively, spending most of his time toiling on special teams for the first time in his career.
But coach Jim Mora and defensive coordinator Gus Bradley steadily increased the 36-year-old safety’s workload on defense to the point that Milloy played in more than half of the defensive snaps for Seattle last week against San Francisco.
“Lawyer has got a large presence around here,” Mora said this week. “He’s had a lot of success in this league, and I think that the players have a lot of respect for him and what he’s accomplished.
“For a guy his age, his work ethic is tremendous, and I’m sure that’s one of the reasons that he’s stayed in the league as long as he has, and has had the success that he’s had.”
Bradley said Milloy provides a more physical presence for Seattle when he’s on the field.
“You’re starting to see flashes of him show up in the game where he’s making plays,” Bradley said. “And I think just his physical nature. ... That’s what he brings to the team, and that type of mentality.”
Milloy said he’s grateful for the chance to prove he can contribute.
“Anytime you’re out there and are given an opportunity to produce and be a real part of the squad, that’s all that you can ask for,” Milloy said. “It’s hard to not be on the field and see the team struggle, knowing that you’re capable of at least helping them in some way.
“I’m not saying I’m the savior or whatever. But I’ve got some good ball left in me. And every time I get out there, I try to show that. I felt helpless the first three-quarters of the year. But I tried to keep a good attitude, and I got through it.”
Milloy did not see much time early on because of the improved play of safety Jordan Babineaux. However, with the Seahawks facing more passing teams recently, Bradley has employed six defensive backs more frequently against spread passing teams like Minnesota, Arizona and San Francisco. And what keeps Milloy on the field in those situations is his ability to help against the run game and adjust on the fly.
Fellow safety Deon Grant said Milloy’s experience helps the defense play faster.
“You look at all of the good defenses, they have a lot of veterans that have been together for a while, those are the ones that are winning,” Grant said. “So it’s always a plus.”
Milloy will face a decision to make at the end of this season. He signed a one-year deal with Seattle, but he believes he can still contribute to a team after this season, and wouldn’t mind staying with the Seahawks and being close to home.
But, with his career winding down, winning also is important, so Milloy faces some tough choices during the offseason.
“I want to be somewhere where I can win,” Milloy said. “I feel like Jim (Mora) is building a winner. It might not look like that right now, but he’s bringing in guys like myself and having some of the tougher guys here.
“I think he’ll weed out some of the weaklings or whatever, which always happens when you have a new coach. It’s a process. They have a vision. If he feels like I’m a part of that direction he wants to go, then we’ll talk.”
Extra points
Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck returned to practice on Thursday after sitting out Wednesday drills to rest his sore shoulder. Hasselbeck was a full participant in practice, and expects to play on Sunday. And he’d like to avoid the media attention his injuries have amplified this season. Hasselbeck missed two games earlier this year after fracturing his ribs. “Really, just the ribs, that was kind of a tough one,” he said. “But I’ve had worse. It’s just part of the game. It’s part of the job. Unfortunately, just because I play quarterback, I feel like we’ve got to talk about it all the time. I wish we could just stop talking about it, because everybody on our team is hurting right now, and I got to talk about mine. It’s really annoying.” ... Linebacker D.D. Lewis (knee) was limited in practice. Center Chris Spencer (thumb) and DE Cory Redding (concussion) fully participated.
Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437
Eric.williams@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks/
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