Washington Notes: Sellers' return home is a costly proposition

ASHBURN, Va. — Mike Sellers looked forward to returning home for a playoff game Saturday. At least until he found out how many tickets he had to get.

The North Thurston High School and Walla Walla Community College graduate has already purchased 35 tickets at $90 a pop. And requests are pouring in. This put a damper on his homecoming.

"That is my entire playoff check," Sellers said.

Washington's playoff push has coincided with Sellers' most productive season in the NFL. He entered this, his eighth season, with six career touchdowns, then scored seven from the H-back position during the regular season. One came against the Seahawks.

Growing up, Sellers was one of the best running backs in the state. He was not, however, a Seahawks fan.

"They weren't winning," Sellers said. "They was just another team in the league. Now, they're the bomb. I can't take nothing away from them. But back then, they were nothing. And they had those hideous uniforms, too."

Cool hands

Speaking of H-backs, the Seahawks will have their hands full with Chris Cooley, who also doubles at tight end. Sellers said that H-backs in Washington's offense have to know multiple positions because they're always moved around. He also called Cooley a "brainiac" so the position suits him perfectly.

The Seahawks have struggled defending the tight end at times this season, and Cooley caught 71 passes for 774 yards this season. He only had two catches in Washington's playoff game last week, though.

"His role hasn't changed," Washington coach Joe Gibbs said. "He's an important part of what we do. The last week or two we haven't been very successful on offense. He's a big part of what we do, and he's in every pass play, and we'd like to get him the ball as much as we can."

Notes

• Reporters baited Washington quarterback Mark Brunell with possible bulletin-board questions this week. He did not bite, saying that the first time the teams met didn't matter and that the bye will help and not hurt the Seahawks. He also reserved judgment on whether Washington's tougher schedule would be a factor. "That remains to be seen," Brunell said. "I do know for us we're battle tested."

• Defensive back Ryan Clark, on the team's mentality going on the road: "It's fun, man. You have people like Marcus [Washington] egging the crowd on. Getting hyped. It's great to go into somebody else's house and take what's theirs. That's big. We have a lot of underdog guys on our team. We relish in that and thrive in that."