SEATTLE --As the Eagles look to turn things around tonight against the Seattle Seahawks, three players will have extra motivation when they line up against their former team. Darryl Tapp was a second-round pick of the Seahawks in 2006 and spent four seasons in Seattle, notching 18.0 sacks over that time. But when the Seahawks hired Pete Carroll as head coach in the 2010 offseason, the team's roster underwent a significant turnover, including a trade that sent Tapp to the Eagles in exchange for defensive end Chris Clemons and a fourth-round pick.
"I'm a little bit salty," Tapp told PhiladelphiaEagles.com on Eagles Nightly. "When you get drafted by a team, you always envision yourself staying with that team. So it definitely hurt a little bit when they got rid of me, but I'm very happy to be here in Philadelphia."
Fullback Owen Schmitt was also let go by Carroll and the Seahawks before the 2010 offseason. He then joined the Eagles in Week 2 of the 2010 season after another former Seahawk, Leonard Weaver, suffered a season-ending injury.
"It was a bummer the way it happened but thankfully I got picked up here and have been able to continue my career," Schmitt said. "So that's a bit sensitive, but it's a business, that's the way it goes."
But despite how things ended for both of them, Schmitt and Tapp both have found memories of their time in Seattle. That is not the case for defensive end Jason Babin, who was a member of the Seahawks in 2007 and 2008 but only played in four total games.
"I think if someone was on a team for two years and they didn't play and they weren't upset about it, they should be embarrassed," Babin said. "Of course I'm (upset). I was there for two years and didn't play and they didn't talk to me and said that we don't want you. It was tough. It was a tough time for the Babin family.
"It's not easy going to a new place, not being wanted and treated badly. Have the head coach tell you, 'I didn't want you.' It was tough."
What all three former Seahawks can agree on is the vaunted 12th man of the Seahawks home crowd.
"The noise is real," said Babin, while Tapp called CenturyLink Field "the loudest stadium in the league by far."
But while Schmitt and the Eagles offense will have to deal with the noise, Tapp and Babin will have relative silence when the Seahawks are on offense. Babin plans to use that time to send a message to the franchise that once mistreated him.
"I'm just going to let them know I didn't forget," said Babin. "I've still got a chip on my shoulder. If you're a professional and an alpha male like we claim, that's what needs to be done."
