RENTON – When his back tightened in the game against Atlanta on Sunday, Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant immediately feared it was the same kind of injury that cost him six games last season.
But less than a week later, he’s back on the field and expected to be at full speed when the Hawks meet the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Florida on Sunday.
“It was one of the first things that came through my mind,” Trufant said Friday, after his first full practice of the week. “But there were not a lot of the same kinds of feelings. After the doctor looked at it, I was pretty confident that I’d be back.”
Trufant called the injury “kind of a fluky thing.” He said that getting it twisted the wrong way caused spasms to tighten his back.
Trufant’s injury left the Hawks playing little-used reserve Kennard Cox against the talented receiving corps of the Falcons.
His health will be critical again this week, as Buccaneers rookie Mike Williams averages 15.2 yards per reception and has eight touchdown catches.
“I see a lot of aggressive young receivers who can make a lot of plays,” Trufant said of the Bucs. “They’ve got a quarterback (Josh Freeman) who can run around and make things happen, so we’re going to have to cover the whole field, cover the whole time, and can’t be looking in the backfield. We have to stay on our keys because they make a lot of big plays after the play kind of breaks down.”
ELSEWHERE
• After being pulled in the second half against Atlanta, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has had what coach Pete Carroll considers “a very good week.”
Hasselbeck has committed 13 turnovers in the past four games, including three in the third period against the Falcons.
“He came out (this week) with his attitude just right,” Carroll said. “Just like a pro. He put stuff behind him and was very focused, upbeat, and very much looking forward to having a really good game. He was great all week long.”
• Carroll noted that although it’s late in the season, the team’s health actually is on an upswing.
“This is as healthy as we’ve been in a long time, so we’re fortunate this late in the year to have our guys available to us,” he said.
With defensive lineman Junior Siavii on the injured-reserve list, Carroll said that Kentwan Balmer and Jay Richardson will see more time in the rotation up front. Siavii’s injury was initially called a stinger.
“He has an issue with his spinal cord,” Carroll said. “He’s not in any danger at all in that regard, he just needs time.”
• As he prepares to face Tampa Bay, Carroll is impressed by second-year quarterback Freeman. “He’s a leader and he’s tough and he runs.”
On the other side, “we expect them to come after us in every way,” Carroll said. “They’ve been very aggressive and blitzing like crazy.”
As for traveling on Christmas day, Carroll had nothing special planned.
“We try to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible and we’ll have a little dinner when we get there (Saturday) night.”
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