Tubbs Back on Road to Recovery?

Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said this week that the return time of defensive tackle Marcus Tubbs may be moved up, to the point that Tubbs could be back in time for the start of training camp. It is a key point. Since he was drafted in the first round by Seattle in 2004, Tubbs has alternated between great play and serious injury frustration.

With injuries to both knees in consecutive seasons, his return to prominence may never quite happen. But if Tubbs could become a solid backup, he could add some significant talent to a defensive front that already is relatively strong.

Tubbs had microfracture surgery on his left knee two years ago and then he blew out the right knee in a preseason game last season, ending that year prematurely. There was some question whether Tubbs would be able to resume his career. But after extensive rehab, Tubbs has been back on the field doing some agility and running drills, and while Holmgren initially said he didn’t expect Tubbs back until the beginning of the regular season, now he says Tubbs may be ready to begin training with the rest of the team in six weeks.

Full Story: Tubbs Back on Road to Recovery?

Tubbs Knows Hawks Offseason Conditioning All to Well

It already has been a long — and at times lonely — offseason for Marcus Tubbs.

Five days a week, five hours a day, the former first-round draft choice calls the training and weight rooms at the Seahawks’ headquarters “home” as he continues to rehab from the reconstructive surgery on his right knee that ended his 2007 season before it ever started.

That was his second major procedure in 15 months, since he had microfracture surgery on his left knee late in the 2006 season.

“It’s been real hard,” Tubbs said Monday. “I’m not going to lie to you, I think about it all the time. It’s been pretty much like a year and a half since I’ve really got to play, so it’s really hard.”

At least Tubbs will now have some company, as other players began their offseason conditioning programs Monday.

“When everybody got to leave and go home for the offseason, I was still here, still slaving away,” he said. “So it feels good to see the guys again and get some new energy around here.”

With free agency having all but run its course, the team is now turning its attention to the April 26-27 draft.

Among the players on the Seahawks’ wish list is a wide-bodied, run-stuffing defensive tackle. A player like, well, Marcus Tubbs.

The Seahawks thought they had scratched that perennial itch in 2004, when they selected Tubbs with the 23rd pick overall out of Texas. Big (318 pounds). Explosive. Active. Able to force double-team blocks.

On one of his first plays, during a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers, Tubbs drove Pro Bowl guard Marco Rivera into quarterback Brett Favre to force a sack.

But before that initial wow had fully subsided, a series of injuries slapped a whoa on his promising career. An ankle injury ended his rookie season. A calf injury interrupted his best season for three games in 2005 — when Tubbs had 5 1/2 sacks and the Seahawks went to the Super Bowl.

Those ailments seemed like hangnails, however, compared with what happened to Tubbs the past two seasons. He missed the final 11 games in 2006 because he needed the microfracture surgery on his left knee. After an arduous rehab, Tubbs torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the final preseason game last August.

“It hurts, because you feel like you’re letting people down,” Tubbs said. “You know you could help the team, the coaches know that you can help. But for one reason or another, you just can’t be out there.

“So it really hurts a lot.”

The pain is only intensified on game days, when Tubbs is a sideline spectator at Qwest Field and doesn’t even travel to the away games.

Can the Seahawks count on Tubbs being the same player they drafted? One major knee surgery is one thing, but one on each knee?

“You know, you want to write him off and say, ‘Nobody comes back from that,’ ” club president Tim Ruskell said. “But Marcus’ rehab has been nothing less than amazing. His attitude. He’s hit every marker. In some cases, he’s beaten markers, in terms of timelines.

“So I would not count him out. I would absolutely not count him out.”

Tubbs isn’t.

“Situations like this really test how mentally strong you are,” he said. “There are days I just don’t want to do it, because it seems like it’s never going to end and the season seems so far away.

“It tests you. But I’m mentally strong. I’m focused. There’s nothing that’s going to stop me from coming back.”

Tubbs’ Injury Brings New Meaning to Exhibition

Marcus Tubbs wanted to get up.

He tried to ignore the pain in his right knee and get to his feet and show that his season was not going to end before it even began.

The right knee is his good one, after all. At least it was. So Tubbs tried to get up. He got to one knee, stopped and rolled over on the ground, then tried again.

He got to his feet on his third attempt, and that’s when his right knee buckled. For a moment, so did the Seahawks defense.

The Seahawks beat the Raiders 19-14, but the game meant nothing. That first-quarter play meant everything. At least for Tubbs.

Full Story: Tubbs’ injury brings new meaning to exhibition - [Seattle Times]

Tubby Brings Sexy Back to Seahawks

Before anything else, a word about the nickname: Tubby.It’s a derivation of Marcus Tubbs’ surname, not a reference to his level of fitness.

Still, the fact he is leaner, fitter, stronger and more motivated than ever only adds to the Seattle Seahawks’ anticipation of Tubbs’ return to action.

A defensive tackle taken in the first round of the 2004 NFL draft, Tubbs missed most of last season with a knee injury that required microfracture surgery. After a long winter and spring of rehabbing, Tuesday was his first practice in full gear with the team.

Although he’s still seeing limited duty, Tubbs is making it obvious that nobody is happier about his presence at practice than he is.

As soon as he stepped on the field Wednesday, he started bouncing and dancing and tussling with teammates. At one point before workouts began, he jokingly acted as if he was about to tackle coach Ray Rhodes.

Full Story: http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/seahawks/story/134181.html - [The News Tribune]

Related: Marcus Tubbs: The Return - [Scout.com]

Tubbs takes big step in return to Hawks

All eyes should have been on Marcus Tubbs’ left knee at Seahawks training camp Tuesday morning when the wide-bodied defensive tackle practiced for the first time.

Leave it to the former first-round draft choice to come up with a diversionary tactic.

Gone were the dreadlocks that had been his signature look during an on-going rehab from having microfracture surgery in November; replaced by a Mohawk — ala Clubber Lang, the Mr. T character from the “Rocky” series.

“It was too much maintenance, so I just wanted to go with a different look,” Tubbs said, turning to display the tapered tuft on the back of his head. “I can’t say that I’m a big Clubber Lang fan, but I like the Mohawk.”

Full Story: Tubbs takes big step in return to Hawks - [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

Related: Seahawks DT Tubbs back on field in return from debated knee surgery - [Sporting News]

Tubbs Not Yet Ready to Perform

The list no Seahawk wants to be on has a rather harmless name: PUP.What it stands for is not so benign: Physically unable to perform.

And that’s where defensive tackle Marcus Tubbs finds himself on the day before training camp opens.

The bad news is that Tubbs, a former first-round draft choice who was expected to play a big role as a run-stopper, won’t be able to practice until he passes a physical.

The good news is that Tubbs is the only Seahawk on the list, at least as of Friday.

Full Story: Tubbs Not Yet Ready to Perform - [Seattle Times]

Marcus Tubbs: A Seahawk to Watch in ‘07

If Lofa Tatupu is the heart of the defense, then Marcus Tubbs must be the guts.  Take just one look at the Seahawks run defense and red zone defense in 2005 with Tubbs, then look at 2006 without him.  Or if you’re not a Seahawks fan, look at the difference Haloti Ngata made for the Ravens and Ray Lewis specifically.  Or look at the Bears playoff defense without their starting DTs.  If Tubbs can somehow stay healthy, his presence on the defense might be the most dramatic of any Seahawks player.

Full Story: Five Seahawks to Watch in 2007 - [Scout.com]