Curt Singer Dons Seahawk Uniform For Third Time

Offensive tackle Curt Singer is making his third appearance as a Seattle Seahawk. He was signed yesterday as insurance because of the questionable status of starter Ron Mattes, who has a pulled muscle in his abdomen.

``I might be here a week and I might be here 10 years,'' Singer said.

A four-year veteran, Singer was summoned from Kirkland, where he has lived since being released by the New York Jets earlier this month. He didn't even have time yesterday to consult a playbook before joining the team in practice.

``I came in, got dressed real fast and went out to practice,'' he said. ``I was kind of surprised to hear from them in midweek. I was going elk hunting tomorrow for a week or 10 days.''

Ronnie Lee is scheduled to start in place of Mattes, who has not practiced all week, against Cincinnati.

Singer played with the Seahawks in 1986, spent 1987 on injured reserve and was signed again in 1988. He also played for Washington, Detroit and the Jets.

Setting the tempo

-- Cincinnati's no-huddle offense, which created such a flap in a 1988 playoff game with Seattle, has become a routine part of the Bengals' repertoire.

``We used it about 70 percent of the time the last two weeks,'' quarterback Boomer Esiason said.

The Bengals didn't use it in their opener against the New York Jets, he said, because Jets Coach Bruce Coslett, a former Cincinnati assistant, ``is too familiar with it.''

Esiason said the no-huddle offense ``really doesn't save any time. We just try to keep the defense in the same alignment, without being able to substitute.''

The hurry-up offense is difficult to learn but the Bengals know it so well they make few mistakes.

``We like to stay in an up-tempo mode,'' Esiason said. ``We do more things, put more pressure on the defense. Very seldom does it become frayed.''

``There is nothing illegal about the no-huddle,'' Seahawk Coach Chuck Knox said. ``But if you're trying to deceive the defensive team, that could be construed as unsportsmanlike conduct. You have to give the defense a chance to match up personnel-wise.

``When you're playing 11 against 11, there's no problem. What's not fair is substituting and running a play before the defense has a chance to match up.''

Six-game road trip

-- The Bengals will remain in Seattle after Monday's game and practice at Renton Stadium. Coach Sam Wyche elected to stay on the West Coast because the Bengals play next Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams in Anaheim.

Cincinnati will be on the road for its next five games because the Oct. 14 home game with Houston collides with a possible World Series date for the Cincinnati Reds.

``I think the league understands they've handed us less than a square deal,'' Wyche said.

``The scheduling people in the NFL haven't been very kind to us,'' Esiason said.

If the Bengals survive the rigors of the road, they will be in good shape. They will play six of their last eight games at home.

Ickey still out

-- Fullback Ickey Woods, a sensation as a rookie in 1988, apparently is close to returning to the Bengals' lineup after suffering a severe knee injury.

``Ickey has been practicing for two weeks and he looks ready to go,'' Wyche said. ``We're still trying to find our running game.''

Cincinnati led the NFL in rushing the past two years but ranks 17th after three games. The absence of Woods, eligible to return in three weeks, and the loss of guard Max Montoya to the Los Angeles Raiders through Plan B has hurt, Wyche said.

Esiason said two opponents have put eight men on the line of scrimmage to stop the run, a ploy that opened up Cincinnati's long passing game.

Bengal fast break

-- Despite his team's 3-0 record, Esiason said he doesn't believe the Bengals have played well.

``I don't think anyone is walking around beating on their chests,'' he said. ``The New England game (41-7) might have looked easy, but they practically gave the game to us.''

Still, the Bengals lead the NFL in scoring with a 29-point average, nearly 10 points a game more than the league average.

``We're ready for another Super Bowl year,'' Esiason said. ``Our offense is to football what the Los Angeles Lakers are to basketball. It's fast-break.''

Esiason ranks himself as a big-play quarterback, as opposed to a ``move the chains'' type.

``I like going downfield,'' he said, ``and we have the speed on the outside.''

Seattle's Dave Krieg, Esiason said, ``is a guy who moves the chains. He's one of the smartest quarterbacks in the NFL, if not the smartest. When he gets into his rhythm, he's tremendous.''

Krumrie's back

-- Almost everyone who watched Bengal nose tackle Tim Krumrie suffer a broken leg in Super Bowl XXIII against the 49ers thought the former All-Pro's career was finished. The break was almost as nasty as that suffered several years ago by quarterback Joe Theismann of Washington.

After a difficult rehabilitation, Krumrie is back in the starting lineup and, according to defensive coach Chuck Studley, is playing almost as well as ever.

Notes

-- Injured linebacker Dave Wyman, eligible to return next week, is ``coming along fine,'' Knox said, but it isn't known when he will resume practicing.

-- Middle linebacker Darren Comeaux, who has a strained calf muscle, did not practice yesterday.