Brandon Coutu News

Seahawks kicker Olindo Mare is congratulated by Ray Willis after his 25-yard field goal against the 49ers early in the fourth broke a franchise record for consecutive field goals.

The Atlanta Falcons are looking at alternatives for slumping kicker Jason Elam .

's career with the Bucs was much like his wayward field-goal attempts - long enough and no good.

After watching Nugent miss two more field goals in Sunday's 16-13 loss,coach Raheem Morris said the teamhas invited free agent kickers to work out forthe team.

Over on the P-I's sports blog, Jim Mora makes it sound like Seahawk kicker Olindo Mare could be on his way out .

Seneca Wallace could remember only his mistakes on Sunday: not connecting with open tight end John Carlson down the middle on numerous occasions, his careless interception deep after escaping his own end zone, and the fourth-down pass that fell to the turf, ending Seattle's hopes.

Special teams were something of a mixed bag for the Seahawks last year. On one hand, they were strong in the return game, ranking second in the NFL on kickoff-return average - the pessimist could point out that the 4-12 Seahawks had lots of practice - and 12th in punt-return average.

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Great, Jim Mora's '09 Roster Shows Emphasis on DL and Confidence in Babineaux The announcement of the Seahawks final 53-man roster Saturday brought three significant surprises that made it abundantly clear that this is no longer a Mike Holmgren team.

Seahawks-NFL YAHOO! Seahawks / NFL Seahawks kicker Brandon Coutu misses a 50-yard field goal against Kansas City on Saturday.

Mark Mulligan / The Herald Seattle wide receiver Ben Obomanu celebrates his second-quarter touchdown during the Seahawks' preseason game against the Oakland Raiders Thursday night in Seattle.

If Thursday's game decided the final few roster spots for Seattle, coach Jim Mora wasn't telling who.

Cornerback Marcus Trufant will miss the first six games for Seahawks. And veteran safety Brian Russell is gone, amid reports Seattle is about to sign Lawyer Milloy.

Olindo Mare was a Seahawk for a second consecutive preseason, even though younger, drafted kicker Brandon Coutu was also on the roster again.

Yes, Aaron Curry is ready for the real season. Seattle's prized fourth overall draft pick took advantage of being the only starter on the field Thursday night.

First impressions might be important, but Seattle's final exhibition game will have more lasting significance for players hoping to win one of the Seahawks' final spots on the roster.

Starters are unlikely to play much in Thursday night's preseason finale between the Raiders and Seahawks.

The Seahawks have to get down to the final, 53-man roster by Saturday. As always, it wona TMt be easy as several players are straddling the line on whether or not they will make the roster.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando The Seahawks made a low-profile move to comply with the 75-man limit, releasing receiver Michael Bumpus .

Usually there's two things you can take out of a team bringing a second kicker to the roster.

It was far from perfect and certainly wasn't what the Seahawks planned, but it worked.