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Paul Moyer never considered himself a special teams player. Rusty Tillman did.

Tillman was the Seahawks’ innovative and aggressive special teams coach when Moyer arrived as a rookie free agent in 1983 out of Arizona State. Even though he played well enough to earn the third safety spot behind starters Kenny Easley and John Harris, Tillman reminded Moyer that role also included helping out on special teams.

“I really thought my job was to be the third safety,” Moyer recalled. “But Rusty pulled me aside and said, ‘Hey, you know what, you need to play great special teams on top of that to be a part of this team.’

“That was before the last preseason game my rookie season, and I remember I had a pretty good game on special teams. That’s when Rusty said, “OK. That’s what we need from you.’ ”

Still, Moyer’s initial reluctance is understandable. Especially after he made plays on defense starting with his first regular-season game. Actually, his first three games when Moyer – in order – recovered a fumble against the Kansas City Chiefs that set up the Seahawks’ only touchdown; recovered a fumble the following week that stopped a New York Jets’ drive at the Seattle 6-yard line; and the week after that intercepted his first pass in the NFL and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown against the San Diego Chargers.

Special teams, however, also remained a big part of his resume. Although he never led the club in coverage tackles, Moyer was selected the special teams captain in 1987.

“I was a role player special teams guys, and I knew my role and was good at my role,” Moyer said. “I was usually the first guy down on kickoff coverage, but they didn’t put me in a role to make a lot of tackles.”

That fell to players like Don Dufek, Sam Merriman, John Kaiser, Eric Lane, David Hollis and Rufus Porter – who did lead the club in coverage tackles from 1983-89.

That’s also why Moyer is not on the ballot as a special teams players for the Seahawks’ 35th Anniversary team – which will be selected by readers of Seahawks.com. He is, however, eligible as a safety.

“By playing on special teams under Rusty, I grew to appreciate just how important that role was to the Seahawks’ success during those years,” Moyer said. “It became an honor to play special teams for the Seahawks.”

So who better to weigh in on the candidates for the kicker, punter, returners and coverage man? Moyer holds a unique distinction as the only person to play, coach and serve as a broadcaster for the Seahawks.

So here’s his input to help make educated selections from the special teams nominees:

Kickers

Efren Herrera: “Really, the only thing I remember about the Seahawks before I got here was Efren Herrera. And I remember him being a character, as much as anything. The Seahawks had crazy special teams in those early years, and he was kind of the flagship guy.”

Norm Johnson: “Norm was the first kicker that I thought was normal. I thought, ‘You could actually hang out with this guy.’ But he just had an incredible amount of talent. In 1983, my first year, he kicks a 47-yarder to put the game into overtime and then kicks another 40-some yarder to win it in overtime. That really catapulted us to get to the playoffs.”

John Kasay: “He was one of those little guys who would stand up to any player. The players always harassed kickers and John just wouldn’t put up with any of it. He was a fiery, strong-legged guy who had an incredible among of confidence in his ability. That’s what you want in a kicker – thick-skinned, tough, productive.”

Todd Peterson: “Todd was just the nicest guy in the world. He worked as hard as anybody and got the most out of his ability. He took pride in everything he did and was just an absolute joy to be around.”

Josh Brown: “He obviously had a lot of talent, probably one of the more-talented kickers in Seahawks history. It was disappointing to see him go (to the St. Louis Rams) because he built a good fan base here and made a lot of big kicks. He was a very-gifted kicker who should have stayed with the Seahawks longer than he did.”

Olindo Mare: “A bright spot the past two seasons, and obviously better than any of us thought he was going to be. He might actually be the most-talented kicker we’ve ever had. When you look at leg strength, accuracy and how he fits in with the team, he could go down as one of the great ones in the NFL.”

Punters

Herman Weaver: “I remember him having a really strong leg, and I remember Rusty Tillman and some of the other guys saying, ‘If the guy could put it in the middle of his foot every time, he’d be a Pro Bowl kicker.’ ”

Jeff West: “He was a guy who was more valuable to your team than somebody else. What I mean by that is he never kicked the ball over 40 yards but he kicked it with the highest hang time you could get. You couldn’t return a punt, and Rusty loved that.”

Rick Tuten: “He was the first kicker that actually had ‘guns’ (muscled biceps). Rick wanted to be a football player and he was a pretty good athlete. He lifted as hard as most of the players.”

Jeff Feagles: “He might go down as the greatest punter, outside of Ray Guy, in history. He played forever. He was a good athlete who is a good person.”

Jon Ryan: “He’s got the Ed Hochuli arms. Like Tuten, he’s got the ‘guns.’ And he’s got probably the strongest leg in Seahawks history. He’s just gotten better every year. He’s a Pro Bowl punter, and I think this is the year people are going to recognize that.”

Kick returner

Al Hunter: “I have no clue (because Hunter was with the team before Moyer).” So we went to running backs coach Sherman Smith, who also was the team’s original running back: “ ‘Young Hunt.’ That’s what we used to call him. He was a good runner and returner. He had quick feet, and big feet.”

Bobby Joe Edmonds: “Bobby Joe was the first real return specialist for the Seahawks. He was drafted to be a return guy. We had great special teams in the 80s and he was one of the few players people knew about because of his ability to return kicks.”

Chris Warren: “He was Mr. Easy. Everything came easy to him. He didn’t really want to be a return guy; he just knew he had to do it to make it in the backfield. He was such a big guy that not a lot of people wanted to tackle him.”

Steve Broussard: “He was a lot like Bobby Joe – a smaller, quicker guy who could really return kicks. But injuries cut his potentially good career short.”

Charlie Rogers: “Charlie was one in a long line of return specialists, and drafted to be a returner. I think the hope was always, ‘Oh, we’re going to find another Bobby Joe Edmonds.’ And we just couldn’t find one.”

Maurice Morris: “He could have been a better returner, if he just focused on returning. But Maurice wanted to play running back. To be a great returner, you’ve got to love it; you’ve got to say, ‘This is what I want to do and this is my passion behind it.’ But Maurice was talented.”

Nate Burleson: “One of the fastest returners the Seahawks have had, but also one who wanted to play (wide receiver). If he could get out in the open, he was gone.”   

Josh Wilson: “Probably the toughest returner we’ve had. Just a bull in a China shop at times, but elusive, hard to tackle, keeps the legs moving.”

Punt returners

Paul Johns: “I’m the reason his career ended. The guy who tackled him when he got injured was my guy. He claimed I saved his life, because if they didn’t find (the spinal condition that forced Johns to retire) who knows what would have happened. But Paul wanted to be a great returner, and had the speed to do it.”

Bobby Joe Edmonds: “No different than as a kickoff returner. He really understood how to set up a wall. We used to do a lot of what you call ‘peel back’ returns, where we’d set a return up and then peel back around and set up a wall to the side. Bobby Joe was great at setting those walls up. He really understood the return game.”

Joey Galloway: “He was fast, wasn’t he? He could have been the best returner, period. He was very electric. Every time he touched the ball he had a chance to take it to the house. He liked being a punt returner; I just don’t think the organization felt that was the best use of his abilities.”

Charlie Rogers: “Just like on kickoff returners, they were trying to find that punt returner. He was a pretty good returner, but we were always looking to upgrade.”

Bobby Engram: “Bobby was just consistent. It was always, ‘Bobby, you’re not going to be the punt returner this year.’ Then, by midseason, it was, ‘OK, Bobby, you’re the punt returner again.’ He was the go-to guy.”

Nate Burleson: “Not a natural returner, but the reason you had him back there was because if you could get him in the open he could take it all way for a touchdown.”

Coverage men

Don Dufek: “Donnie was Mr. Special Teams for us at the beginning. He made a living winning games on special teams and Don was, well, he was slow, he wasn’t very big, but it was always the example of, ‘Why is the slowest skill-position guy on our team always the first one down on a kickoff?’ It just showed what desire could do.”

Eric Lane: “Like Don Dufek, but with a little more talent and a little more speed. Never was really going to be a starter. But we had some great special teams guys who really understood how to get down on coverage, the importance of special teams. Eric was one of them. He was the quiet leader of the special teams in the 80s.”

Fredd Young: “I’m going to go out on a limb and say he was the first great special teams player for the Seahawks. He was a Pro Bowl special teamer who could impact the game from special teams, either blocking a punt, or knocking a guy out, or changing the tempo. I remember because of Fredd it was, ‘Let’s set the tempo on special teams.’ ”

Rufus Porter: “Rufus got more out of his ability than Fredd. Rufus was a high-energy guy who went 100 miles an hour and had some ability. He was a Pro Bowl special teams guy who did it on desire.”

Jay Bellamy: “Another free agent, which is kind of the theme here. There’s something about their desire to play special teams. Jay just knew how to play football. He had a sense for the game. He had a nose for the football.”

Alex Bannister: “He knew that the only way he was going to make the team was to play special teams. No one thought he was going to be a great special teamer and out of nowhere he’s a Pro Bowler. It shows what heart and desire does.”

Isaiah Kacyvenski: “He was the dumbest smart special teams player in NFL history. I joke, of course. But you’re usually not very smart when you’re willing to go throw your body into a wall as fast as you can. He had the size and the desire.”

Niko Koutouvides: “Some guys set the tempo and the expectations, and then someone says, ‘Ah, if I do that I can be successful in this league.’ That was Niko. He saw that from Isaiah. And he had the talent, heart and desire to be a great special teamer.”

Help? After Moyer’s input, it might be even more difficult to make those special teams selections.