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Rookies lead disruptive defense

NOTEBOOK: First-round pick Curry, seventh-rounder Reed pile up big plays for Seattle

RYAN DIVISH; The News Tribune | • Published October 12, 2009

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The only similarity between them is their NFL experience coming into this season, which was none.

One is a lottery pick with a multimillion-dollar contract who had a starting spot basically waiting for him. The other is a seventh-round selection who seemed like a long shot to be make the team, let alone see the field.

One is a physical freak of nature, 254 pounds of chiseled granite and ridiculous muscle that can propel him to run faster than people half his size. The other looks more like a truck driver, whose 251 pounds are displaced more like Joe Sixpack, making him not the least bit imposing.

But on Sunday, linebacker Aaron Curry and defensive end Nick Reed were the same in a sense – they were disruptive forces and key contributors for the Seahawks’ defense in Seattle’s 41-0 win over Jacksonville.

Of course, that was expected of Curry when the Seahawks selected him fourth overall in this year’s draft.

And so far he hasn’t disappointed. Sure, there have been ups and downs, missed tackles and NFL fines, but Curry has been solid.

“Honestly, I never felt like a rookie,” he said. “I felt I was in a position to impact every game.”

On Sunday, he made plenty of impact.

Curry had 10 total tackles, a quarterback hurry, defensed a pass and forced a fumble. But the stats don’t really show how well he played. He was a menace to the Jaguars on almost every play.

“We just felt like we needed to play with more energy and more of a sense of urgency to get to the quarterback,” Curry said. “One of our goals was to get a certain amount of hits on the quarterback.”

Curry certainly added to that tally. But while he played a fantastic game, he was outshone by his less-heralded rookie teammate.

With Patrick Kerney out, Reed saw his reps increase and made the most of them, registering three tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack, along with two quarterback hurries.

His shining play came early in the fourth quarter. With Jacksonville threatening to score, defensive linemen Brandon Mebane and Lawrence Jackson converged on Jags quarterback David Garrard. Just as Jackson was about to deliver another sack on Garrard, he batted the ball loose. The ball hit the Qwest Field turf and bounced up to a charging Reed.

Normally, linemen are taught to just fall on the ball in that situation, but Reed scooped it up and started to run.

“Usually, that’s kind of the guy I am,” Reed said. “But that just felt right.”

With nothing but the north end zone of Qwest Field in front of him, Reed began sprinting toward the first touchdown of his football career at any level.

“I kept checking back,” Reed said of looking over his shoulder as he ran. “I should’ve looked up at the Jumbotron – rookie mistake. But I had plenty of room because of the blocking behind me.”

After 73 yards of rumbling, Reed finally reached the end zone. No celebration or dancing.

“I’m not much of a dancer,” he said.

He just needed a rest.

“The last 20 yards started to drag on a little bit,” he said. “I started to get a little bit tired. I’m glad somebody came and subbed me out for the kickoff on the next play.”

Curry couldn’t help but be a little jealous of his fellow rookie.

“That’s a defensive player’s dream to get a return that long,” Curry said. “Nick just has a knack of getting the ball whether it’s through a sack, a forced fumble or a fumble recovery. I was happy to see him get in the end zone.”

Injury update

Head coach Jim Mora said offensive tackle Brandon Frye suffered a neck/shoulder injury in the first half and will be re-evaluated today. Kyle Williams, Frye’s replacement at left tackle, suffered a knee sprain on a field goal play but played through the pain because Seattle had only five active linemen, with Mansfield Wrotto not available after spraining his ankle.

Mora said the team had no contingency plan other than moving tight end John Owens to tackle if another lineman went down.

Safety C.J. Wallace pulled a hamstring, and cornerback Travis Fisher pulled a hamstring or groin, Mora said.

Receiver Nate Burleson suffered a rib injury in the first half but said he’s OK.

“I probably landed on them in the first quarter, knocked the breath out of me,” he said.

Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483

ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com

Staff writer Eric D. Williams contributed to this report