An Everyday Joe Who’s Anything but Routine

Seattle Seahawk wide receiver Joe Jurevicius won’t be a story this Super Bowl week, and that’s a good story in itself.

You’re not supposed to notice guys like Jurevicius. At least not until it’s third and long.

But when Jurevicius went to the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers three years ago he endured intense personal anguish in the midst of America’s most-scrutinized sports event. Five days before the Buccaneers beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC championship, Jurevicius’ son was born prematurely, a month before the due date.

Baby Michael William Jurevicius also had sialidosis, a rare, inherited disease that affects the body’s ability to break down fats and carbohydrates. Joe Jurevicius spent more time waiting in the hospital’s intensive care unit than practicing with his teammates in the week before the NFC championship. But he still came through with a memorable 71-yard reception that set up a Tampa Bay touchdown.

His son’s condition weighed on Jurevicius’ mind throughout the Super Bowl buildup. In a week that featured a contest with NFL stars pushing their soup can-grabbing mothers in shopping carts through made-up grocery store aisles and an ex-coach pitching erectile dysfunction products, it wasn’t the best setting for dignified, thoughtful discourse. Somehow, Jurevicius and the media maintained a delicate, respectful dance around the issue, with the receiver offering little public comment other than calling his son a “fighter” and an “inspiration” and reporters not pressing too hard on the subject.

In the game, Jurevicius had four receptions for 78 yards to help the Buccaneers beat the Raiders. His son died two months later.

As the Seahawks closed in on this Super Bowl, Jurevicius said he and his wife, Meagan, were hoping to get there under normal circumstances. This time they’d be able to enjoy it together with the newest member of the family, 1-year-old Caroline.

“Obviously there were a couple of things that were a little bit different than the normal person had to deal with,” Jurevicius said. “But it’s the Super Bowl.

“I like to look at it as, back then, I had a little bit of a lucky charm named Michael that was with me, helped me get my first Super Bowl ring. That ring’s for him. Now I’ve got a daughter. If I can get this one, then that ring’s going to her.”

After coming through in such trying circumstances, you know Jurevicius will be the last one to let the hoopla of the Super Bowl get to him. If he has a single greatest attribute as a receiver it’s his ability to concentrate. Remember that incredible play in the 2003 “Monday Night Football” season opener when Jurevicius tipped a pass to himself in the end zone? He planned it that way, from the moment he realized Brad Johnson’s throw was behind him.

His body didn’t keep up its end of the deal, however, with injuries limiting him to 15 games in the two seasons after the Super Bowl. So he was available last off-season, and he turned into one of Seattle’s best acquisitions.

And when Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram were injured, Jurevicius became Seattle’s top receiver by default. When they both sat out the St. Louis game, Jurevicius produced these numbers: nine receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown. Engram missed two more games and Jackson missed eight more, but the Seahawks won all of them thanks in part to Jurevicius.

“Unfortunately we lost D. Jax and Bobby pretty early, and he got the opportunity,” Seattle tight end Jerramy Stevens said. “He’s a veteran and he knows what it takes to get it done. He went in there and made some huge catches all year. Just a solid, solid player.”

“He’s a pro and he worked hard,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “And I give him a lot of credit. We asked him to do a lot. He came through when we needed him.”

Jurevicius had 55 receptions for 694 yards and 10 touchdowns during the regular season. It helped that Seahawk Coach Mike Holmgren runs basically the same West Coast offense that Jon Gruden used in Tampa Bay. And Jurevicius wouldn’t say so outright, because he wouldn’t want to knock previous teammates, but Hasselbeck is the best quarterback he has had on his team. That’s why things went so well in their first season together.

“I think a lot of it’s veteran leadership,” Jurevicius said. “Our veteran savvy, I guess. Knowing where to be and what we’re going to do. It’s a tribute to [Hasselbeck] to have another receiver come in and play most of the season with guys that he’s not used to playing with and being as successful as he is.”

For a guy with so many syllables in his name, Jurevicius is pretty basic. Run routes. Get physical with defenders after he has the ball. Focus.

“I’ve got a sense of pride every time I put on a jersey and ‘Jurevicius’ is on the back,” he said. “You realize when you put your jersey on there’s a lot of pride in the family name. For me, it’s all about being a proud person, being proud, doing things the right way. That’s kind of how I do my job.”

Soon the hype will be on us full bore, and Jurevicius will get lost amid the Holmgren, Jerome Bettis and Bill Cowher stories. Super Bowl week is overwhelming, and even Jurevicius caught a wave of it in the euphoria of the locker room after Seattle’s NFC championship victory over the Carolina Panthers.

“There’s no more special thing than to be part of a city, part of a football team that’s going to the Super Bowl,” Jurevicius said.

He knows full well there is something better. Which might have been what he had in mind when he excused himself from the small crowd of reporters, saying, “I have to go be with my family.”

*

J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com. To read more by Adande go to latimes.com/adandeblog.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Jurevicius statistics

A look at Joe Jurevicius’ eight-year career in the NFL:

*--* Year Team G GS Rec Yards Avg Lg TD 20+ 40+ FD 1998 N.Y. Giants 14 1 9 146 16.2 59 0 2 1 6 1999 N.Y. Giants 16 1 18 318 17.7 71 1 3 2 12 2000 N.Y. Giants 14 3 24 272 11.3 43 1 2 1 17 2001 N.Y. Giants 14 9 51 706 13.8 46 3 10 1 36 2002 Tampa Bay 15 3 37 423 11.4 26 4 4 0 24 2003 Tampa Bay 5 2 12 118 9.8 22 2 1 0 9 2004 Tampa Bay 10 3 27 333 12.3 42 2 5 1 15 2005 Seattle 16 11 55 694 12.6 52 10 9 1 39 TOTAL 104 33 233 3,010 12.9 71 23 36 7 158

*--*

FD-Catches for first downs. Source: NFL