Practice called off

After a sluggish practice Tuesday morning, Mike Holmgren did something “unprecedented” in his Seahawks coaching career.

He called off the practice scheduled for this morning.

“Sometimes their minds say one thing and their legs just can’t do it,” said Holmgren, who is entering his seventh season. “I’m going to give them (this morning) off and let them freshen up a little bit. That’s unprecedented so they didn’t know what to say – they thought I was kidding. Come back the next day and hit it.”

Holmgren said today’s afternoon session would probably be canceled if there are no problems with players meeting curfew Tuesday night.

The break from practice comes during a lengthy stretch between preseason games. Seattle defeated New Orleans on Friday and doesn’t play again until Monday, when Dallas visits Qwest Field. With the revised schedule, Seattle is down to four full-team practices before breaking camp Saturday.

“I think we were all in shock; I know I was in shock,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “I think (guard Steve Hutchinson) was actually crying he was so happy.”

Holmgren said he’s been pleased with the team’s work ethic and concentration during camp. He wants the players to get some rest, but they’ll still follow the normal meeting schedule today.

Jim Meehan