NFL: Carlson named as starter

"First and foremost I'm excited," said the Notre Dame product. "In many ways it's a dream of mine to get to this level. And now I'm here it's my job to prove that I deserve to be here. But I'm excited to have the opportunity."

A second-round draft choice in this year's draft, Carlson appears to be just what Seattle anticipated - an athletic tight end that can stretch the defense down the middle of the field whose physical enough to handle the blocking workload at the line of scrimmage.

"We have three good tight ends," Holmgren said. "I told John (Carlson) to get his mind right, and to get the coaches thinking along a certain line, that we're going to throw him into the frying pan.

"He's another one that has embraced the idea and done very well and has earned the position. Now, we're going to see, like I said, a couple of young mistakes on occasion. But we think he can handle this."

Carlson said his father, John Sr., and Godfather Mike Wendel plan to make the trip from Minnesota to Buffalo to see the game. Carlson knows he'll have to get geared up enough emotionally to play the game, yet remain calm enough to carry out his assigned duties under pressure.

"You need to have a balance between being focused on your responsibilities, but also enjoying the moment and being prepared emotionally for the moment," Carlson said. "Football is such an emotional game and you really have to get yourself up to play it.

"As a tight end you always want to make plays. You want to make plays in the passing game. And you want to make blocks to spring long runs. Hopefully I get that opportunity."

DeHaven back in old stomping grounds

Longtime special teams coach Bruce DeHaven will have a homecoming of sorts on Sunday. DeHaven served as special teams coach for Buffalo from 1987 to 1999, making four memorable trips with the Bills to the Super Bowl.

"It was a magical time," he said. "It will be interesting because I haven't been back there in a long time. But in terms of anything football-wise, it's just another game to me."

While in Buffalo DeHaven also coached who he believes is the best special teams player ever to play the game, Steve Tasker.

A seven-time Pro Bowler who also was voted MVP of the Pro Bowl, DeHaven said Tasker was special because his versatility allowed him to make game-changing plays that ultimately affected the outcome in Buffalo's favor. DeHaven says he has a highlight video of some of Tasker's game-changing moments that he shows to his players during min-camps as examples of what a great special teams player can do.

"If they ever want to put a special teams player in the Hall of Fame, I can't imagine they would want to put someone ahead of him if they ever did that," DeHaven said. "He could do it all. He could block punts. He could return. He could cover. And he could block for other guys who were returning."

Notes

Wide receiver Deion Branch suited up for the second straight day and participated in individual drills before returning to the locker room while the Seahawks went through team drills. ... Right tackle Sean Locklear did not practice again on Thursday because of a strained left knee and likely will not play on Sunday. Ray Willis stepped in for Locklear and said he'll be ready to deal with an aggressive Bills' defensive front. "I think they have really good defensive ends as far as being relentless, good guys in pursuit and good pass rushers," Willis said "This is going to be a good test for me because you've got to go four quarters with these guys. They're going to be relentless in everything they do."