Rams find bright spot in Seahawks traitor

ST. LOUIS -- A happy homecoming is probably not in the cards Sunday for St. Louis Rams kicker Josh Brown.

His old team, the Seattle Seahawks, definitely has not gotten over his decision to work for one of the NFC West rivals.

"I kind of know what reaction he's going to get," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. "He was a very popular guy and he broke a lot of hearts when he left. I'll leave it at that."

Then Holmgren kept talking, describing his surprise when Brown elected to leave for a five-year, $14.2-million contract with the Rams. Brown's deal is the largest in NFL history for a kicker, earned off 80 percent career accuracy and a franchise-record five straight 100-point seasons.

Holmgren believed Brown, who joined a team he beat twice with last-minute field goals in 2006, was all set to re-sign with the Seahawks.

"I thought we had worked out an understanding, and before I knew it he was gone," Holmgren said. "Every player has reasons for doing that, and heck, I'm not going to judge."

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, more humorously, suggested Brown might need his helmet even on the sidelines.

"You guys have our old friend Josh Brown," Hasselbeck told St. Louis media. "They'll boo him and throw things at him, and they'll probably make him cry."

Fair enough for Brown, who keeps in touch with his old teammates and wishes them well.

"I know it's going to get loud, it's going to get rowdy and people are going to have a lot of choice words for me," he said. "It's going to be strange, it's going to be emotional. That was my home."

Brown refused to apologize for his decision to take his leg to the Midwest, saying it was just a business decision and hoped for a 50-50 mix of boos and cheers. He said the fact the Seahawks are 0-2, just like the Rams, might make it a little easier to walk onto Quest Field.

Early-season results also empower Brown, the best weapon thus far for the punchless Rams, who have one touchdown. Brown is 3-for-3 on field goals and hit a pair of 54-yarders in last week's 41-13 loss to the Giants, giving him 17 kicks of 50 yards or longer during his career.

One of the field goals came after his own coach iced him. Brown was getting ready near the two-minute warning before the first when he detected commotion on the sideline. It turns out Linehan didn't want to give the Giants the benefit of an extra timeout before the half.

"He has an exorbitant amount of confidence in me," Brown said with a laugh. "That was just one of those funny things where I can hear them yelling at me and I'm like, 'Are they yelling at me, cheering me on or what?'

"It is what it is, we made the field goal, so it really doesn't matter now."

Kickers often are not considered full-fledged football players by their teammates, which doesn't stop Brown either. He would not apologize for critical remarks after Sunday's collapse, saying he was just stating the obvious.

"This is not Pee Wee football," he said. "Don't jump offsides, don't get stupid penalties. We are never going to be able to move forward if we keep tripping over our own shoelaces.

"Players make those kinds of mistakes, they need to be called out, absolutely, and that's not to be negative."

Brown has no concerns that he'll have few allies on Sunday, having snubbed the Seahawks and then spoken his mind about the Rams' troubles.

"Facts are facts," he said. "I'm here to do a job and I'm hear to lead if leading is what needs to be done, but I can only do that by playing."