NEWS » Pagenaud.Im always optimistic. Theres

RENTON, Wash. -- For the first time since Russell Wilson assumed the starting quarterback job in 2012, the Seattle Seahawks dont have a veteran on the roster to serve as his backup.Undrafted rookie free agent Trevone Boykin and 2015 undrafted free agent Jake Heaps are the only other two quarterbacks on the roster. The shared NFL experience between the two amounts to precisely one preseason game and one passing attempt, both coming from Heaps last year with the New York Jets.General manager John Schneider said he believes Boykin would have been drafted between the third and fifth rounds of the NFL draft if not for an arrest prior to the Alamo Bowl in December. Instead, Boykin went undrafted and signed with Seattle in May.He can do the same things that we try to do with (Russell Wilson), head coach Pete Carroll said. So now it is just a long journey to get him right in a lot of areas. He has got the makeup, it appears, and I am really excited about him.Boykin has taken the majority of second-team reps throughout training camp with Heaps working with the third team. Carroll has touted Boykins similarities to Wilson as an intriguing opportunity for the team. Boykin as a backup would give Seattle the luxury of not having to alter its offense should something happen to Wilson.While Carroll said he can picture moving forward without a veteran option, Schneider said the Seahawks will keep looking at what players may be available.I like all our players, Im just never really one of those guys thats like, `Yeah, we got this. We got this. You know what I mean? Schneider said. Petes job is to instill confidence in people and he does a great job. Its one of his best attributes, making everybody feel great about themselves and instilling confidence in their abilities. My job is to be forward-thinking and our staff ... to be ready for whats coming next if it doesnt work out.Boykin said he is now comfortable taking snaps from center after working out of the shotgun for the majority of his tenure at TCU. He also feels his understanding of the playbook is coming along well.Im getting it all down, Boykin said. The hardest thing for me right now is just calling protections. But as far as concepts and saying the plays in the huddle Ive gotten 10 times better than I was when I first started.Carroll has been bullish about the performances of Boykin and Heaps through a week of training camp.(Boykin) is always able to make things happen and in a very similar fashion as Russell did, Carroll said. Were very confident that he has a chance to help us. Let me tell you though, you didnt ask about him, but Jake Heaps is lighting it up, he is having a great camp, so that is a very good position for us obviously right now.---AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL coverage on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFLHerman Edwards Jersey . -- Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis was charged Thursday with driving while intoxicated, a day after he was suspended for an NFL substance-abuse policy violation. Wilbert Montgomery Youth Jersey . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. http://www.eaglesrookiestore.com/Eagles-Seth-Joyner-Jersey/ . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. Randall Cunningham Womens Jersey . - Chris Tierney snapped a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period as the London Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action on Wednesday. Reggie White Jersey .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans.TORONTO -- Scott Dixon used a fast final lap to snatch the pole away from Helio Castroneves at the buzzer in qualifying Saturday for Indy Toronto.Dixon turned a lap of 59.9073 seconds to win the pole for the race Sunday. It was his 24th career pole and first since Mid-Ohio last year. Castroneves wound up second with a lap of 59.9425 on the temporary street course at Exhibition Place.Whenever you can start on the pole, especially on the street courses, its a big help, said Dixon, who squeezed in his final lap.I was just trying to get the most out of it, man. Each lap just kept getting a bit better. Its not what we planned on, we just planned to do three laps. We luckily had a little bit more gas in the car to do a fourth. Worked out nicely for a change.The pole moved Dixon ahead of Johnny Rutherford for 12th on the career poles list. Dixon is one pole victory behind Toronto native Paul Tracy.Castroneves thought he had the pole until Dixons final lap flier.What can I say? he asked before praising Dixon and his Chip Ganassi Racing team. Ganassi is not a rookie team. Theyre champions. They know what theyre doing. Good job by Scott.IndyCar Series points leader Simon Pagenaud qualified third and Will Power was fourth as Team Penske took the three spots behind Dixon.Sebastien Bourdais qualified fifth while Toronto native James Hinchcliffe was sixth to earn his best career start in his home race.Its really tough to win races from outside the top 10 in this series, especially at a track like this, Hinchcliffe said. Theres good opportunities for some passes here. The guys in front of us have pretty solid pace, were going to have to find a little bit in ourselves over the course of the evening and warmup. (But) definitely were in as good a position here this weekend as weve ever been here.Hinchcliffe was the highest qualifying Honda driver as Chevrolet teams took the top five spots.It was a rough qualifying session for the quartet from Andretti Autosport. Carlos Munoz qualified a team-best 15th, Ryan Hunter-Reay was 18th, Alexander Rossi was 19th and Marco Andretti waas 22nd -- last in the field.ddddddddddddhat were missing is overall grip and compliance. Thats so important on a track like this, Hunter-Reay said. Were not even on the same planet as the front runners when it comes to grip. Were fighting the car. Really swatting at flies.Rossi called the qualifying effort abysmal and noted how challenging it will be for the Andretti drivers to salvage the weekend.As a team we have to work on it, because we shouldnt be here, said Hunter-Reay. Its really unfortunate. Its not fun at the moment.Rahal added, I (went for it) and we hit the fence. The car is still ill-handling. I told the guys it was going to take a magic lap to advance, I knew it. Our basic balance, all weekend, weve been killing the rear tires, cant put power down at all. . I went for it and the sucker went straight and we just tagged the wall.Conor Daly qualified a career-best seventh and just missed advancing into the final round of six.Everyone is so good in this series, he said. Its just cool to be in that group and kind of fighting for those positions.Josef Newgarden, the defending race winner, was eighth. He led all but 18 laps a week ago to win at Iowa, where he moved to second in the IndyCar standings behind Pagenaud.Im always optimistic. Theres always something that can happen in the race, he said. This is our best session, qualifying is the highest weve been this weekend. You hate to say eighth is the best weve been this weekend, but Ive always got faith we can figure it out. Thats what happens when you get to racetracks, you try to solve the puzzle.Were going to have to figure it out, man, were the defending champs. Well see what we can do.IndyCar on Saturday morning altered the course so that the wall in Turn 8 was changed to the configuration used in previous years. The change provides an additional six feet on the inside of the track, and concrete patches in Turns 1 and 9 were worked on to provide more consistent grip. ' ' '