While the jury is still out on recent first-round picks Chris Spencer and Marcus Tubbs, no one can find much fault in the Seattle Seahawks' recent decisions in Round 2 of the annual NFL draft.

Free safety Ken Hamlin, the 42nd overall pick in 2003, started 14 games as a rookie.

Strong safety Michael Boulware finished his rookie year as the starter after being selected 53rd overall in 2004.

And then there was middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu, who lasted 54 picks last April before coming to Seattle, having a Pro Bowl season and becoming as a serious candidate for rookie of the year.

So forget the pressure that's typically heaped on first-round picks; Seahawks fans might be expecting immediate contributions from the guy taken in Round 2.

Seahawks team president Tim Ruskell told a small gathering of reporters last week that some of the most important picks in the draft come "between (Nos.) 20 and 50," because there are plenty of quality starters available in that range that have fallen through the cracks. While most of the mock drafts focus mostly on the players expected to be selected among the top 32 picks, NFL teams like the Seahawks have found the second round to be just as important.

"I think people do a better job in the second round because the pressure's off," said Ruskell, who also hit a second-round jackpot while working for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and drafting running back Mike Alstott in 1996.

If Seattle's Hamlin, Boulware and Tatupu shared a common link, it's that none of them got much outside attention on their respective draft days. Hamlin was considered too young and immature to make much of an immediate impact. Boulware was an undersized, overachieving linebacker who didn't seem to have much chance of playing in the secondary. And Tatupu was being projected as -- at best -- a third- or fourth-round pick.

Yet Seattle's scouting staff viewed all three players as diamonds in the rough.

Boulware, a linebacker in college, took a few weeks to adjust to playing strong safety before supplanting Terreal Bierria as starter 11 games into his rookie season. He has started 21 consecutive games for the Seahawks.

Tatupu has shored up a middle linebacker position that has been a revolving door for as long as many Seattle fans can remember.

The Seahawks' defense could have room for another rookie starter this year, especially at the cornerback and safety positions. The release of cornerback Andre Dyson leaves Seattle thin at that position, while free safety is a concern because Hamlin is still trying to come back from serious head injuries he suffered in an off-the-field incident last October.

Some of the players being projected to go late in Round 2 -- Seattle owns the 63rd overall pick -- include Arizona State wide receiver Derek Hagan, Fresno State cornerback Richard Marshall and Louisville defensive end Elvis Dumervil. All three would fill potential areas of need, while tight end is another position that could be addressed because of the departure of free agent Ryan Hannam and the news that starter Jerramy Stevens underwent knee surgery and is expected to miss most of the offseason workouts.

Like last season, Seattle could try to trade up to get a player it really likes in Round 2, but the Seahawks might lack the ammunition to do it. Seattle already has dealt its picks in the third round (to acquire restricted free agent Nate Burleson) and the sixth round (for safety Mike Green), leaving just four picks after the second round.

Notes: Ruskell said Wednesday that the Seahawks have cut off contract talks with free agent cornerback Ty Law until after this weekend. "We told him we would not talk to him until after the draft, if that's necessary," Ruskell said. Seattle hosted Law, who played with the New York Jets last season, earlier this month. ... Ruskell said Wednesday that he would be comfortable entering the season with Marcus Trufant starting at cornerback on one side and either Jordan Babineaux or Kelly Herndon on the other. ... With Stevens sidelined, the only two healthy, experienced tight ends on the roster are veterans Itula Mili and Will Heller.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will throw out the first pitch before the Seattle Mariners season opener at Safeco Field Monday afternoon. The Mariners take on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim beginning at 2:05 p.m.

Also on hand will be Jordan Babineaux, Leroy Hill, Sean Locklear, Chris Spencer, Mack Strong, Lofa Tatupu, Marcus Trufant, Jerheme Urban and Seneca Wallace.

On the day that he watched Pro Bowl running back and NFL MVP Shaun Alexander sign an eight-year contract with the Seattle Seahawks, team president Tim Ruskell was in such a generous mood that he was already talking about Alexander's next deal.

"We've just signed one of the best running backs in the history of the National Football League, in essence, to a lifetime deal," Ruskell said Monday, "unless, of course, he plays until he's 40 years old. And then we'll have to do it again at reduced numbers."

All kidding aside, and before anyone can look into the next decade, the Seahawks are hoping that the running back will buck a recent trend and just make it past his next birthday without much falloff in production.

Alexander, who signed an eight-year contract that is worth a reported $62 million, will turn 29 in August. While college students look forward to turning 21 because it's the legal drinking age, many NFL running backs dread their 29th birthdays because it's considered the unofficial sinking age.

The numbers are pretty staggering. In a study of Hall of Fame running backs who played during the modern era (in or after the 1960s), there was concrete evidence of a steady dropoff at the age of 29. Hall of Fame running backs averaged 952.6 yards per season before their 29th birthday, as compared to 623.9 yards per season after it. Of those 17 running backs, only seven recorded a 1,000-yard season after turning 29. Just four of those - Tony Dorsett, Walter Payton, John Riggins and Barry Sanders - had multiple 1,000-yard seasons after the age of 29.

While numbers like 1,880 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns helped make Alexander the NFL's most valuable player last season, the number 29 is the one that, historically speaking, might send up a few red flags.

Not that Alexander is worried.

"I still don't think I've had my best year," said Alexander, who added that he was targeting 2,000 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns going into the 2005 season. "Hopefully that will be next year, and that means it's got to be unbelievable. Let's keep our No. 1 goal as winning the Super Bowl. If we get there, it will be my best season."

Ruskell and the Seahawks are not overly worried about a decline in performance, either. After signing Alexander to what is believed to be the biggest contract ever inked by an NFL running back, Ruskell said he expects to get a few more great years out of him.

"You know the old saying: The best determiner of the future is the past," Ruskell said. "Shaun's been amazingly productive and durable. Obviously, that was huge in our thinking. Here's a guy who has taken the shots that a running back takes on almost every play, and yet he's still not had a major injury.

"We all know the stats after 29 or after 30, and they're not good. But if you factor in his durability quotient, it makes the decision pretty easy."

"He doesn't take head-on shots," offensive coordinator Gil Haskell added. "He has excellent vision and he can avoid tacklers. He's done it his whole career."

Alexander has never missed a full game due to injury. But, much like a pitcher who can blow out his arm with too many 100-pitch outings, Alexander has taken quite a pounding in recent years. Over the past two seasons, he has carried the ball an NFL-high 723 times, making him the only back to log more than 700 attempts in that span.

Yet Alexander isn't too concerned about overuse ... or overage.

"I think in three years, four years, five years, six years, I'll still be plugging away," Alexander said. "I'm a really blessed man, and I haven't really taken any of those hits that leave you limping around. For me to be 28, most people tell me I still have a 26-year-old body. That all comes into play."

The Seahawks gave Alexander an $11-million, up-front signing bonus that, under the new rules that were set up while negotiations continued on a collective bargaining agreement, will be spread equally over the next four salary caps. The new rules also call for no more than a 30 percent increase in each year of the contract, thereby preventing teams from setting up over-inflated accelerations that are designed to help the club in the long run.

The deal also reportedly includes $15 million of guaranteed money in the first year, $11 million of which came from the signing bonus. Because the NFL salary cap numbers are still in limbo, it is unknown how much Seattle will have left under the cap after Alexander's deal is consumated.

Alexander was excited about the deal but said that he was planning to re-sign with the Seahawks all along.

"I think everybody knew that this is my city," said Alexander, who would have been eligible to negotiate with other teams whenever the league officially begins free agency - perhaps in the next day or two. "I wanted to play here. My goal when I first got here was to do stuff that Seattle has never seen before: get them to the Super Bowl and win.

"... It wasn't about whether I was leaving or how soon I wanted to test the market. It was about how soon we could come under an agreement to get me here and to start getting the rest of the boys here. We're just doing what we said we were going to do from the beginning: coming together and building a Super Bowl championship team. And it starts today."

The Seahawks just hope the Super Bowls continue well into Alexander's mid-30s.

After four crazy days of comings and goings around the NFL, the Seattle Seahawks officially joined into the action Wednesday by agreeing to terms with one of their own.

Defensive tackle Rocky Bernard, who had a career-high 81/2 sacks last season, opted to re-sign with the Seahawks. Bernard will sign a three-year deal worth $13 million, including a $5.4 million signing bonus, according to an assistant for agent Gary Uberstine at Premier Sports Management in Henderson, Nev.

While Bernard's signing represents Seattle's first official move since re-signing running back Shaun Alexander two days before free agency began, the Seahawks haven't just been sitting back and watching. Seattle hosted free agent defensive tackle Russell Davis earlier this week and brought in New York Jets defensive end John Abraham for a visit Wednesday. The Jets are trying to trade Abraham, who had 101/2 sacks after being named the team's franchise player last season.

Also scheduled to visit Seattle this week, according to various reports, are free agent linebacker Julian Peterson and two local products - former Buffalo safety Lawyer Milloy and restricted free agent Nate Burleson, a wide receiver with the Minnesota Vikings.

Milloy is a Tacoma native and University of Washington product who was cut by the Bills last week in a salary cap-related move. Burleson, who played at Seattle's O'Dea High School and spent one year at UW before transferring to Nevada, had a career-high 68 receptions for 1,006 yards in 2004 but was hobbled by injuries last season.

The Vikings have been a big factor in Seattle's most important decision of the week. After Minnesota signed the Seahawks' transition player, guard Steve Hutchinson, Seattle had until Sunday to decide whether to match the seven-year, $49 million offer.

The Seahawks have lost two key free agents already: wide receiver Joe Jurevicius (to Cleveland) and safety Marquand Manuel (to Green Bay).

Seattle wrapped up one key piece of offseason business by re-signing Bernard. The 26-year-old was a key part of a defense that led the NFL in sacks last season, with 50.

Bernard, who will turn 27 next month, visited the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this week but opted to re-sign with the team that selected him in the fifth round of the 2002 draft.

The Seahawks also agreed to terms with wide receiver Peter Warrick, who took over punt return duties in the playoffs last season.

In a deal first reported by the NFL Network, the Seahawks have reached an agreement with Peterson on a deal is said to be for seven years and $54 million, with approximately $18.5 million in guaranteed money, including $10 million in 2006.

Peterson will join Lofa Tatupu and Leroy Hill to form one of the more dominant linebacker trios in the league. Peterson had 82 tackles, three sacks and five passes defensed in 2005, one year after surgery on a torn Achilles tendon.

The deal comes shortly after Seattle decided not to match the Vikings' $49 million, seven-year offer for All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson.

The NFL scouting combine can't end soon enough for Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren.

Three weeks after leading the Seahawks in their first Super Bowl, and after seven sometimes tumultuous seasons, Holmgren is worn out. This week he'll join his wife Kathy on a beach in Hawaii and figure out whether he wants to coach beyond 2006, the final year of his contract.

"Without sounding overly dramatic, I just need to get away," Holmgren said from the combine. "I haven't seen Kathy in a long time. It will be good just to get away and get your mind clear and then make some decisions. … I don't want this to be a distraction. I don't want it to be portrayed incorrectly."

Holmgren signed an eight-year contract when he came to the Seahawks in 1999. He turns 58 this summer. His youngest daughter finishes law school at the University of Washington later this year.

A grandfather now, Holmgren craves time with his family. He also badly wants to lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship. The team fell just short last season.

Holmgren is committed to one more year. Beyond that, he can't say for certain.

"I want the club to feel good about whatever decision I make," he said. "That's fair. At the same time, I would ask them to honor whatever decision I make.

"Right now as I sit here, I don't know."

Holmgren's thoughts turned to his wife. Kathy Holmgren returned to Seattle one week ago tonight after an 18-day missionary trip to the Congo. The couple made it home from the airport at about 7:30 p.m. Kathy was exhausted. Holmgren left for the combine at 6 the next morning.

That didn't seem right.

"Kathy, she is way more important than any football game," Holmgren said. "And as you know, she suffers through this stuff (the emotional swings of coaching). I really try very hard in my job. There is no way I'm going to affect the people I love in a negative way."

Holmgren knows what happens when a successful NFL coach plays out the final year of his contract. He went through the experience in 1998 with the Green Bay Packers. It wasn't much fun. The uncertainty fed rumors that became a distraction.

During Super Bowl week in Detroit, Seahawks owner Paul Allen told The News Tribune he wanted to extend Holmgren's contract.

"I think Mike is a great coach," Allen said. "He certainly proved it once again with what happened this year, and I'm optimistic an extension can be worked out. I think once the season is over and we're past the Super Bowl, we'll have some more discussions about that."

Talks have been slow to develop. Holmgren needs to talk things over with his wife before he thinks about coaching into his 60s.

"We love Seattle and the Pacific Northwest," Holmgren said. "It's a hard one for people to even think that if you had the chance to extend your contract that you wouldn't. That one doesn't compute."

Holmgren often has stressed the importance of making decisions with a clear head, not right after a draining season that ended, in this case, with a frustrating loss to Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XL.

But if Holmgren stays only one more season, he said he can't envision coaching elsewhere in 2007.

"If I make a decision like that, it will not be a business decision for this franchise," he said. "It won't be to go coach another team. Absolutely it won't be that."

And yet part of him wants to dispel the notion that his four-year run as Seahawks general manager wasn't so much a failure as a missed opportunity. Some of Holmgren's comments during Super Bowl week seemed to suggest he might want to run an organization again.

"I think that's fair," Holmgren said. "That is fair. Right now people think I can't do that. Now my ego gets involved. But I would argue if anyone had a lot of time, did I make some mistakes? Absolutely. But I was fighting on numerous fronts."

Holmgren was the Seahawks' coach and GM during his first four seasons with the team. The team stripped him of the GM title after the Seahawks posted a 7-9 record in 2002. The team was previously 9-7 (2001), 6-10 (2000) and 9-7 (1999) under Holmgren.

While Holmgren acknowledged making mistakes as an executive, he also has blamed a toxic front-office culture for preventing the team from reaching its goals sooner. The addition of CEO Tod Leiweke in 2003 and president Tim Ruskell last year changed the dynamic.

The Seahawks have posted records of 10-6, 9-7 and 13-3 over the past three seasons.

"The feeling around the organization is real healthy, real good," Holmgren said.

Will it be good enough for Holmgren to stay around a few more years? A few days on the beach might help him decide.

"Who knows?" Holmgren said. "I might come back from Hawaii and say, 'OK, let's get talking now.' "

Maybe it's just some pre-free agency posturing, but it sounds like one team rumored to be very interested in signing Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander is not so big on the idea.

That team would be the Arizona Cardinals. They have plenty of room under the salary cap to do some things in free agency and were put into the mix for Alexander because of their cap space and their struggles with a running game last season.

Running backs Marcel Shipp and J.J. Arrington did not produce the way the Cardinals had hoped, and Alexander will be a free agent unless the Seahawks can reach an agreement with him before Friday. But comments from Arizona coach Dennis Green and Rod Graves, vice president of football operations, at the NFL combine indicate the Cardinals aren't too willing to make the big splash.

"A blockbuster deal in my opinion is one that eats up most of your cap space," Green said. "It means you get one player and one and done. And we're not going to do that. If you ask me if we're going to go after one of the incredible backs that might be available in a blockbuster deal, that probably will not happen."

Edgerrin James of the Indianapolis Colts is another running back who could command big dollars.

The Cardinals' primary need is on the offensive line. They still express confidence in Arrington, a former second-round pick from California who did not improve as his rookie season went along. They need a running game to complement a very good passing attack.

Graves said the team has not expressed interest in Alexander or James, who are both still under contract. He indicated that the Cardinals would rather go after more affordable players who have the built-in drive to succeed, such as two defensive ends who have signed with Arizona in recent years, Bertrand Berry and former Seahawk Chike Okeafor.

"We certainly haven't expressed any interest and won't until March 3," Graves said. "But we feel we are poised from a cap standpoint to be aggressive in free agency, and we have identified guys we will go after."

The Seahawks will have the 31st pick in the NFL draft April 29-30. Some needs will be filled by free agents, but this is how the Seahawks stack up this offseason.

Highest priority: Free safety, running back, outside linebacker, cornerback.

The Seahawks could lose players at these positions. The future of free safety Ken Hamlin is up in the air because of head injuries suffered last fall, and fill-in Marquand Manuel, though expected to be kept, could become a free agent. The team can't go into next season with unproven Etric Pruitt as the only free safety on the roster. Running back becomes critical if the Seahawks don't re-sign Shaun Alexander and/or Maurice Morris. At linebacker, the team will need some depth if Jamie Sharper is a salary-cap casualty and Kevin Bentley is not re-signed. Same goes for cornerback, where injuries took their toll on the consistency of the pass defense, which was the most underachieving area on defense in 2005.

Medium priority: Guard, wide receiver, fullback, defensive tackle, defensive end, punter.

Left guard Steve Hutchinson has been given the transition tag but could still leave if the Seahawks don't match a big offer for him. Right guard Chris Gray is nearing the end of his career, though he has been durable, and Floyd Womack has to be ready to assume more of a role. If the Seahawks lose Joe Jurevicius to free agency, they'll lose some big numbers, size and plenty of intangibles at receiver. And Peter Warrick might go elsewhere. Fullback Mack Strong's career is in its twilight. He is an impending free agent but likely will be back. Defensive tackle Rocky Bernard might be lost to free agency after his productive year in 2005. The team always seems to be looking for a pass-rush specialist, perhaps a lighter and faster rush end. Punter Tom Rouen could be replaced by a more affordable player.

Low priority: Offensive tackle, center, quarterback, middle linebacker, kicker, tight end.

While the Seahawks might look for a good backup for Lofa Tatupu at middle linebacker, they have depth at the other positions. Kicker Josh Brown, a restricted free agent, has earned at least the low-end tender of close to $700,000 that would keep him in Seattle next season. Although the cornerbacks struggled at times in 2005, this is a fairly young and still experienced group. Among tight ends, the Seahawks could lose Ryan Hannam in free agency, Itula Mili barely played last season and Jerramy Stevens struggled mightily in the Super Bowl, so the team could look for a tight end in the draft.

Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren has told the competition committee that he intends to step down from the committee.

Two prominent committee members, Atlanta Falcons general manager Rich McKay and Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian, said Holmgren’s decision had nothing to do with his criticism of the officiating this year.

Holmgren said he erred in November when he released information from an NFL memo that officials made two incorrect calls in the Seahawks’ game against the New York Giants. After the Super Bowl, Holmgren again questioned several calls in the 21-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The NFC champion Seattle Seahawks have designated all-pro guard Steve Hutchinson as the team's transition player after the sides were unable to reach a long-term contract.

Hutchinson will receive a one-year contract worth, 6.39 million dollars.

He can receive offers from other teams once the free agency period begins on March 3, 2006, but Seattle has the right of first refusal on any offers.

The 6-5, 315-pound Florida native has started 68 career games at left guard and earned his third-straight trip to the Pro Bowl this season.