Seahawks to Start Huard Over Kitna

Seattle Seahawk Coach Mike Holmgren has benched quarterback Jon Kitna in favor of Brock Huard for Sunday’s game at Carolina.

“I place high demands on the offense, and our passing game hasn’t been what we’d like,” Holmgren said Wednesday. “That’s never one person. But clearly the quarterback is the focus, so we’re going to try to get something going with Brock.

“I like Brock, and I’ve always liked his ability. He hasn’t gotten a chance to play, so now we’ll see.”

Huard, a second-year player from the University of Washington, will make his first NFL start. His only appearance of the season came in the opening 23-0 loss to Miami.

“It caught me off guard,” Kitna said, adding he was “as surprised as [you] can be with anything in this business. It’s something that I just have to deal with and roll with.”

Said Huard: “Do I feel any different? Not really. I’m just coming out here and doing my job. It’s a few more responsibilities and a few more reps. I’ve just got to get ready to play on Sunday.”

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Despite wanting to play in his hometown, Denver Bronco running back Terrell Davis was resigned to sitting out practice this week and missing Sunday’s game in San Diego.

Unable to shake his foot and ankle injuries, Davis has reluctantly agreed to several days--maybe even several weeks--of rest.

Although Davis will make the trip to California, he will do so as a spectator.

“You always want to play in front of your home crowd, and San Diego was always a game that I enjoyed going back to,” Davis said. “I’ll miss it this year, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

Davis sprained his left ankle and foot in the season opener, missed the next two games and then played sparingly in the next two games.