Hawk Friesz Is Not `Flashy Guy' And, At Qb, No Flash In The Pan

TEMPE, Ariz. - Directing the Seahawk offense today will be a fly-fisherman from Idaho who is as Northwest as a Douglas fir, who grew up fishing and hunting and who says his last real job was working in a sawmill.

Ask John Friesz to describe himself and he uses the term "even-keeled" and adds, "I'm not a flashy guy."

Ask others about him and they use words like "leader" and "composure."

Those qualities, plus six years of NFL experience, may be precisely what the Seahawks need to stop the flood of mistakes and turnovers and get their offense back on track today against Buddy Ryan's blitz-crazy Arizona Cardinals.

"I don't get overly excited if things are going great or really in the dumps if you have a bad drive or screw up a play," said the goateed Friesz, who replaces Rick Mirer today as the Seahawks' starting quarterback.

Larry Schwenke, former offensive coordinator at Coeur d'Alene High School, said, "John was always cool and calm." He described Friesz as a "silent leader" but apparently he got more vocal at Idaho, where he set 24 school, 18 Big Sky and five Division I-AA records and led the Vandals to a career record of 27-5.

"John's a guy's guy," said John L. Smith, Friesz's coach at Idaho who now is at Utah State. "That's why other guys would listen to him - he wasn't a prima donna. He was right down in the dirt with them. . . . He hung out with the offensive linemen and had a calm confidence in the huddle. He also was a leader off the field. If all of a sudden someone was going to go do something stupid, John would just say, `Hey, we don't need that,' and that was the end of it."

Friesz's experience and height (6 feet 4) may help him avoid turnovers and fumbles against Arizona. But if the blocking is poor, Friesz will be an open target because he lacks Mirer's mobility.

Friesz enjoys Stephen King novels and today's game has a chilling setting. It was at Sun Devil Stadium in 1992 that Friesz suffered two torn ligaments in his left knee during an exhibition game. He was sidelined for the year, and when he returned, Stan Humphries was entrenched as the Charger starter.

Friesz went to Washington last season but started only four games before the rebuilding NFC East team opted to give the playing time to rookies Heath Shuler and Gus Frerotte.

Signing with Seattle gave him the opportunity to return to his Northwest roots and play for the coach who recruited him to Idaho, Dennis Erickson.

The quarterback, whose father works the night shift at a sawmill outside Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, worked in a sawmill during a couple of college summers and considers it his "last real job."

"I don't really even consider this a job," he said standing in the Hawk locker room.

"I have great respect for what my dad does today. It's truly working for a living."

Friesz is comfortable away from football with either a golf club (9 handicap) or a fishing pole in his hand.

He prefers fly fishing because of the strategy involved.

"Fly fishing is a little more cerebral," he said. He likens the fish to a football defense and said, "You have to figure out the best way to attack."

His mother, Mary Jo, and her husband, Mel, each had two children from previous marriages. They then had John and his younger sister, Lori, who went to North Idaho Community College on a basketball scholarship.

Friesz and his wife, Julie, who met his rookie season in 1990, are expecting their first child in December.

Today's game between teams with 2-5 records could be a close one that tests Friesz's poise and experience.

He is happy for the chance to prove himself.

"There's nothing like being a quarterback in the NFL on Sunday," he said. "There's only 30 people in the world doing what 90 percent of the male population would like to do."

Today, Friesz is one of them.