Preseason Game 3 Preview
By Dan Zinski
The Vikings are back at it tonight in Seattle against those nasty Seahawks. As we all know, the Vikes have owned the ‘Hawks the last couple of years. They beat them down at their place last year 31-13, in a game which featured Matt Hasselbeck having his knee taken out by E.J. Henderson, and Chester Taylor breaking off a 95-yard TD run. And they took them to the cleaners in the whole “poison pill” face-off – we got Steve Hutchinson, and they got Nate Burleson. Yeah, sweet revenge there Seattle. How’s that working out?
Hopefully, the joy will continue tonight in Qwest Field. Here are my things to watch for:
1. Tarvaris Jackson airing it out.
The Viking defense picked off Chad Pennington like he was Joey Harrington last game and ran them in for TDs – meaning T-Jack and the first-team offense didn’t get to take the field as much as Brad Childress would’ve liked. So, look for Brad and Darrell Bevell to make up for it by calling the QB’s number a lot. The starters are expected to play into the second half, so there should be plenty of work for everyone.
2. Adrian Peterson keeping it up.
AD flashed his mad skills last week against the Jets. It should be fun watching him take on those great Seattle linebackers.
3. Receivers stepping it up.
Last game wasn’t a good one for the receiving corps. Bobby Wade dropped a first down; Troy Williamson got shut out. Now we’re adding Robert Ferguson to the mix. A good game would help alleviate the serious doubts we are all experiencing about this area of our team.
4. Cedric Griffin figuring it out.
Cedric looked awful last game – he got owned at the line on a couple plays, plus his tackling was atrocious. I’m not suggesting that Charles Gordon and Marcus McCauley are pushing Cedric – I’m just saying, if he plays again like he did last week, there are going to be whispers.
5. Ray Edwards and Brian Robison pouring it on.
Edwards and Robison have given us hope that we may have a pass rush yet. Plus, Erasmus James is returning tonight. I don’t know how much Erasmus’s return really means to the team, though – both Edwards and Robison seem to have flown by him.
Kick-off is at 8pm. The game is being carried by KSTP locally.