RENTON, Wash. - Veteran Olindo Mare will be the Seattle Seahawks' kicker for Sunday's season opener in Buffalo.

Mare spent 10 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. That meant 10 trips to Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., to play the division rival Bills.

That is a large reason why Seattle is going with Mare in Buffalo.

"Olindo has got a little stronger leg, a little more experience. He's been around Buffalo for a number of years," Seahawks special teams coach Bruce DeHaven said after practice Monday.

Mare said Western New York's well-known, brutal winters aren't the only times the wind is a factor at a Bills game. He said kickers need to account for winds even in warm, late-summer games because the stadium is open at the corners of one end zone. Also, the rural area surrounding the stadium is wide open to gales off nearby Lake Erie.

"It's always been windy when I've been there, because nothing's blocking it," Mare said. "I've played there when it's hot and windy and snowy and windy, like a blizzard. You try to not change your mechanics, but you have to consider it."

Consider it done, when Mare is kicking at Buffalo, anyway. He is 12-for-13 on field goals and 18-for-18 on extra points in eight career games there, dating to 1997 when he was a rookie with Miami.

The Seahawks aren't likely to carry two kickers all season. They also value Mare for his kickoffs, which often soar deep into the end zone for touchbacks. That's something that rarely happened with Josh Brown, who left for St. Louis in the offseason as a free agent.

And Seattle needs to clear two roster places next Monday, when suspended starting defensive tackle Rocky Bernard and nickel back Jordan Babineaux become eligible to return. The league suspended Bernard last weekend for one game for violating its personal-conduct policy. Babineaux was also suspended for one game for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy.

BURLESON RECONSIDERS: The Seahawks haven't said who will return punts Sunday. But after spending training camp hoping the team would keep him as their punt returner, Nate Burleson is now resigned to being only a wide receiver. That's because he is the only healthy, proven veteran one on the roster.

Deion Branch may try to practice later this week, seven months after reconstructive knee surgery. Bobby Engram may be out into October with a broken shoulder. And Ben Obomanu went on injured reserve last weekend with a broken clavicle.

"I appreciated being utilized back there. It gave me my confidence back," Burleson said of returning punts last season, while using the past tense as if it won't happen again anytime soon. "It'd definitely be tough, first game, with all the injuries we have, to juggle both."

DeHaven said much the same thing.

"It'd be awful difficult," to use Burleson as the punt returner, the coach said. "He's our No. 1 receiver right now. To stick him back on punt return, you'd have to take a big gulp."