Detroit – Days before, what until this week was the biggest game of his career, Kelly Herndon was dreaming about football.
No surprise there for the four-year NFL veteran who was about to play in his first conference championship game. But the Seattle Seahawks cornerback wasn’t sleep-thinking about his Seattle Seahawks or even the Carolina Panthers, his opponent in the title game. No, Herndon was dreaming about the Broncos.
Yes, Herndon was thinking about his former team so much, it was dominating his sleep time.
“It was so vivid,” Herndon said. “It was all Broncos. What I was dreaming about was me and the Seahawks playing the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl. That’s what I really wanted. It would have made this all so perfect. But it wasn’t meant to be. But, this is almost perfect, anyway.”
Herndon held on to his dreams until halftime of the Broncos’ 34-17 loss to the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship game, which was played before Seattle’s easy victory over Carolina. By the time Herndon had to start fully preparing for his game against the Panthers, Pittsburgh held a 24-3 lead at the half.
“At that point, I figured I had to go take care of my business or the whole dream would have been ruined,” Herndon said Monday while relaxing in his hotel room after Seattle’s first practice for Super Bowl XL in preparation for Sunday’s game against the Steelers.
“I’m glad it worked out for me. This whole move has worked out for me. It couldn’t have been better.”
Herndon signed with Seattle in March as a restricted free agent. Denver declined to match a five-year, $15 million contract with a $3.6 million signing bonus. Herndon was a valuable cornerback and started most of the 2004 season for the Broncos because of an injury to Lenny Walls.
In Seattle, Herndon has played often and started six games, most recently Nov. 27 in a 24-21 victory over the visiting New York Giants. He then missed four games because of a knee injury. However, he is expected to play an expanded role, mostly in nickel packages, against Pittsburgh.
Herndon has had the same impact in Seattle he did in Denver. He is known as a reliable player who competes on every play and is a sure tackler. Broncos coach Mike Shanahan has said Herndon’s value was his availability to compete on every play.
Herndon said the easiest transition for him was going from one quality team to another.
“I was used to winning in Denver,” Herndon said. “The only reason why I left there was because of the situation that was presented to me in Seattle. I enjoyed Denver and will always pull for that team. But I’m in a great situation here, too. So it’s perfect.”
Of course, as Herndon dreamed, it could have been even more perfect.
“If I was playing Denver, I’d even have a bigger smile,” Herndon said. “But I’m pretty happy, anyway.”
