New Seahawk Branch tempting coach to play him Sunday

"You like everything. What's not to like?" Holmgren said. "He's just what you want."

A sheepish Branch would not admit he's been lobbying to play Sunday. He said if Holmgren doesn't deem him ready, he will focus on debuting Sept. 24 against the New York Giants.

Holmgren knows better.

"Oh, he's lobbying for it, certainly. He's that type of young man," Holmgren said.

Then the coach added, with a wry smile, "I appreciate the fact that he said it's my call."

If Branch does play Sunday, it likely would come at the expense of D.J. Hackett. The 2005 surprise is currently the fourth receiver.

"I mean, I could stick him out there and run a couple plays with him, I'm sure," Holmgren said of Branch. "But then you have to weigh the advantage of that over someone who has practiced a lot with us who would probably sit down if Deion was up."