BLOCK ‘N’ ROLL : Seahawks’ John L. Williams Perfect Complement to Curt Warner

Playing second banana has become a way of life for the Seattle Seahawks’ John L. Williams, but he isn’t about to complain.

Teaming with Curt Warner in the Seattle backfield, Williams is half of one of the finest running back tandems in the NFL. Given that distinction, he sees no reason to resent the fact that Warner is the Seahawks’ featured runner.

“I just feel good to be part of something like that,” Williams said in a telephone interview. “We complement each other real well, and I’m very happy with that.”

Not so the Chargers, who will have to contend with the potent 1-2 punch Sunday in Seattle when they try to duplicate an early-season victory over the Seahawks in San Diego.

For Williams, the current situation is familiar. It was the same throughout his 4 seasons at the University of Florida. When he was a freshman in 1982, James Jones was the main man. When he was a sophomore, Lorenzo Hampton took over. When he was a junior and senior, Neal Anderson got most of the headlines.

“It wasn’t any problem,” Williams said. “All 4 of us were there when I was a freshman, and all of us played. I never lacked for playing time.”

All 4 runners had outstanding careers at Florida, and amazingly, all 4 became first-round draft choices. Jones was picked by the Detroit Lions in 1983, Hampton by the Miami Dolphins in 1985 and Williams by the Seahawks and Anderson by the Chicago Bears in 1986.

Williams won’t gloat about it, but being taken ahead of Anderson in the 1986 draft gave him a large amount of satisfaction. Anderson had to wait until the 27th and last pick of the first round.

“I think everybody thought Neal would go ahead of me,” Williams said. “I was surprised I went as high as I did. The Bears got themselves a steal.”

As it turned out, the Seahawks got just as big a steal. They needed a fullback type to team with Warner, and if anything, Williams has exceeded expectations.

Nobody appreciates Williams’ presence more than Warner, a Penn State product who is in his sixth pro season.

“John L. is an all-pro caliber running back,” Warner said. “He’s a very instinctive runner, he catches the ball real well, and he’s a very good blocker. He has taken a lot of pressure off me.”

Warner is only 27, but he already holds the Seahawks’ career rushing records of 5,595 yards and 47 touchdowns. He has been a 1,000-yard runner in each of his 3 full pro seasons and missed by just 15 yards last year when he was limited to 12 games by the player strike. He missed all but the first game of the 1984 season because of a knee injury.

Williams, 24, broke in with a 538-yard season in 1986 and gained an even 500 last year.

This isn’t just a pair of good runners, either. Both Warner and Williams excel at catching the ball out of the backfield. Warner has topped 40 receptions 3 times and Williams had 33 and 38 catches, respectively, in his first 2 seasons.

Their numbers in the first half of this season have been typical. Warner has rushed for 546 yards, second only to Eric Dickerson of the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC, and has caught 15 passes. Williams has rushed for 326 yards and caught 22 passes.

Their total of 872 yards for a pair of starting backs ties them tied for third in the league with Atlanta’s Gerald Riggs and John Settle. Roger Craig and Tom Rathman of San Francisco have 1,096, and Earl Ferrell and Stump Mitchell of Phoenix 966. (Dickerson, playing in a one-back offense, has 879 by himself for Indianapolis.)

Warner has been named AFC player of the year, NFL running back of the year, first team All-NFL and a three-time Pro Bowl starter, but he isn’t satisfied with his overall game.

“Blocking is not one of my strong points,” he said. “I try to get the guy out of my way, but it doesn’t come easy for me. The way John L. blocks for me, I’ve got to get better.”

Blocking was Williams’ forte during college and remains that. After starting his career as a tailback while Jones played fullback, he switched to fullback and blocked for Hampton and Anderson.

With Williams’ help, Anderson became Florida’s all-time leading ground-gainer, rushing for 3,234 yards. Between blocks, Williams did enough running of his own to gain 2,409 yards, third-best on the Gators’ list. He also holds a school career record of 92 receptions by a running back.

Still, Williams is such a perfectionist that he also wants to improve his blocking, as good as it already is.

“I’ve got to get my technique down,” he said. “In the NFL, you can’t just knock guys down. Blocking has always been a big part of my game. I’ll block for Curt all day, and it’s the same way with him.

“The defensive people are out to take my head off, so I have to protect myself. If you explode into them, it takes some of the pressure off their hit. It doesn’t intimidate them, but it lets them know you’re not going to let them run all over you.”

Williams sympathizes with Warner in that he realizes his running mate isn’t ideally suited physically to block linebackers and defensive ends. Both are 5-11, but at 205, Warner is 20 pounds lighter than Williams.

“Sometimes Curt forgets his blocking techniques,” Williams said. “But he tries to do the best he can, and he’s improving.”

Of his own all-around ability, Williams said modestly, “They’ve put me in a position to do a lot of things, and I’ve been able to take advantage of the opportunity.”

Williams’ pass-catching ranks second to his blocking in order of importance, but he made 1 reception last year Seahawk fans won’t soon forget. Giving a textbook demonstration of how to follow blocks, he turned a screen pass from quarterback Dave Krieg into a 75-yard scoring play against the Bears.

“It wasn’t a matter of running fast,” Williams said. “I fell down and faked a block, and by the time I got up and caught the ball, I could see I had a chance for a big gainer. Steve Largent made the block that sprang me, and there were two or three other blocks downfield. Finally I had one guy to beat, and I went the last 20 yards to paydirt.”

Inevitably, Williams was asked why he uses his middle initial. He noted that it nothing to do with John L. Sullivan, although he said he had heard of the heavyweight boxer of a century ago. And don’t try to call him John.

“It’s a funny story,” Williams said. “People would call my house (in Palatka, Fla.) and say, ‘Is John there?’ My mom would say, ‘John don’t live here.’ They’d call back and say, ‘Is this (the number)?’ She’d say, ‘Yes,’ and they’d ask for John again. Finally they’d say, ‘Is John L. there?’ and she’d say, ‘Oh yes, John L. is here. I’ll get him.’

“I use John L. because it’s on my birth certificate,” he explains. “I like it.”

Despite the efforts of Warner and Williams, the Seahawks have a disappointing 4-4 record at midseason. This is good enough for a first-place tie with the Denver Broncos in the AFC West, but Warner emphasized that the Seahawks aren’t deluding themselves.

“It’s time for us to get this thing together,” he said. “Some days we look like we never played the game.”

Charger Notes

The Chargers announced Friday they will place running back Curtis Adams (knee) and linebacker Chuck Faucette (neck) on the injured reserve list. The club will replace them on the active roster with running back Barry Redden and linebacker Ken Woodard. Woodard cleared waivers at 1 p.m., enabling the Chargers to re-sign him. . . . Charger Coach Al Saunders said defensive lineman Leslie O’Neal and linebacker David Brandon will likely comprise the team’s 2-man inactive list for Sunday’s game in Seattle.