Seahawks 34, Vikings 17

Good thing this was only a preseason game…it would’ve been a disaster if it had been for real.  The first-line defense looked downright awful.  Maybe Seattle’s offense was just really well-tuned?  Matt Hasselbeck and the Seahawks looked like they were ready for the season to start.  Every up-the-middle running play seemed to gain fifteen yards.  Of course Pat Williams was not in there…let’s hope big Pat’s elbow doesn’t hinder him, because it’s clear that, without him, this becomes a pedestrian run defense.

Tarvaris Jackson was of course the center of attention and he put up decent numbers:  8-11/118 yards/1 TD.  He looked very good on roll-outs.  Perhaps Brad Childress and Darrell Bevell will move him around more instead of trying to turn him into a pure pocket passer which might not be the best use of his skills.  Bernard Berrian got some action too, nearly scoring a touchdown (he tripped and touched the sideline before he could get in).  The one deep ball to Berrian was overthrown but it seemed his progress had been hindered by the defensive back.  Bobby Wade and Sidney Rice caught some balls too, and Wade showed he still has great after-the-catch moves.  Visanthe Shiancoe made one catch and then promptly fumbled.  It’s good for Visanthe that Garrett Mills is hurt, because I think Mills would be breathing down his neck by now if he weren’t.

I managed to stay with this game until almost halftime…long enough to see Heath Farwell go down with what looked like a pretty bad knee injury.  He will have an MRI today – I expect it will be a torn ACL or something of that ilk, obviously meaning a premature end to his season.  This is a bad blow to our linebacker depth and especially our special teams, Farwell being the team’s best guy on kick and punt coverage.  But it does afford an opportunity for some other guys to step up, like E.J. Henderson‘s brother Erin who is at best a long-shot to make the team.  The other significant injury was to Drew Radovich, the back-up tackle, who hurt his shoulder.  Radovich is apparently a particular favorite of the coaches because of his superb technique.  Unfortunately he is probably not big and strong enough to make it in the NFL as a tackle.

I have no idea what went down in the second half because I didn’t watch it.  The excruciating pain of preseason football became too much for me, and I had to take a couple Tylenol and go to bed.  The next game is Saturday the 16th against Baltimore.

Quick Notes:

• Jared Allen smoked Walter Jones a couple of times but didn’t get a sack.
• Adrian Peterson got on the field but didn’t touch the ball once.  Chilly clearly wanted to work on the pass offense.
• John David Booty went 9-18 for 82 yards, 0 TDs and 1 INT.
• The Vikings turned the ball over five times, 4 fumbles and 1 pick.
• Maurice Hicks looked spry, running for 32 yards on 7 carries and showing some nice cut-back ability.  He is basically Mewelde Moore without the attitude.
• The allegedly improved Vikings pass rush failed to record a single sack.
• Brooks Bollinger was 1-2 for 8 yards and fumbled once.
• Former Gopher Thomas Tapeh made a triumphant return to the Dome by scoring a TD on a pass from Tarvaris Jackson.