Metrodome fans make a ruckus for Vikings

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, December 7, 2003

MINNEAPOLIS – As the teams take the field at the Metrodome each home Sunday, the public address announcer welcomes those in attendance with a fitting introduction:

“The noisiest fans in the National Football League.”

If the Seattle Seahawks didn’t believe it before Sunday’s game, they do now.

The 63,968 fans at the Metrodome played a part in the Minnesota Vikings’ 34-7 win over the Seahawks. Seattle’s offense looked rattled all game, which may well have had a lot to do with the thundering sounds that accompanied nearly every snap.

The Seahawks were flagged for seven penalties, including four false starts.

“The crowd factored into that, that’s obvious,” Seahawks center Robbie Tobeck said. “We were having to change things because we couldn’t hear. But it’s something we worked on in practice, and we didn’t have a problem with the noise in practice.”

In preparation for the game, Seattle’s coaches had recorded crowd noise pumped into the team’s practice bubble last Friday. The conditions led to a sloppy practice at first, but eventually the offense settled down.

When playing in front of the real thing, Seattle had more troubles. They were particularly inept on a pair of possessions that started inside their own territory.

The Seahawks had back-to-back offensive penalties on a drive at the end of the first quarter, both of which seemed to be caused by the noise. Fullback Mack Strong was flagged for a false start, then the offense didn’t get the snap off in time and was called for a delay of game.

In the third quarter, Seattle was backed up inside its own 10 and had a pair of false starts over a span of three plays.

“It’s something we’ve got to be ready for,” Tobeck said. “We’re playing in a dome next week, and we’ve just got to be ready for it.”

The Seahawks travel to St. Louis next week for a game that could go a long way in determining the NFC West champion.

Warm welcome: Seahawks defensive tackle John Randle, a third-down specialist, made his first start in six weeks Sunday.

Randle was added to the starting lineup to commemorate his 11-year career in Minnesota, during which time he went to six Pro Bowls. Because he was a defensive starter, Randle got to run out of the tunnel during introductions. The Minnesota fans gave him a loud ovation.

“It was nice,” Randle said of the ovation, “a nice feeling.”

Randle had a pretty quiet day, recording just one tackle. He had two chances at Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper, but couldn’t chase him down for sacks.

Despite the emotion of the afternoon, Randle wasn’t saying much after the game.

“I wish we came out with a win,” he said, “but we lost it and I have to move on.”

Equal footing: Despite playing in perfect conditions, the placekickers for both teams had forgettable days.

Seattle’s Josh Brown missed both of his field goal attempts, which came from 49 yards or farther. He came up short on a 52-yard attempt and was wide right from 49.

Although the distances made Brown’s kicks difficult, he was down on himself for not converting.

“I felt great warming up, I felt fine coming into the game, I felt focused,” he said. “The first one I got under, and the last one I thought I hit very well but it was a little outside. If you’d told me I was going to have this day, I would have told you you were a liar.”

Minnesota’s Aaron Elling, who spent 2002 training camp with the Seahawks, had his share of problems as well. He hit two field goals, but missed from 40 yards and sent one of his kickoffs out of bounds.

Elling is 14-for-20 on field goal attempts this year, including three of seven from 40 yards and beyond.

Engram shines: If there was a bright spot for the Seahawks offense on Sunday, it was receiver Bobby Engram … albeit only for awhile.

Engram caught four passes for 93 yards before leaving the game with a concussion early in the second half.

Engram did most of his damage after the catch (62 yards) on the way to his highest receiving yardage total of the season.

The touchdown man: With his third-quarter touchdown, Shaun Alexander tied former Seahawk Chris Warren for third on the franchise’s career touchdown list.

Alexander now has 48 touchdowns, including 12 this season. Steve Largent leads all Seahawks with 101 career touchdowns, while Curt Warner is second at 62.

Quick slants: Two starters were among the Seahawks’ inactives. Linebacker Anthony Simmons (neck) and defensive end Brandon Mitchell (calf) did not make the trip due to injuries. D.D. Lewis replaced Simmons to make his third start of the season, while Lamar King stepped in for Mitchell for the second week in a row. … Lewis wasn’t the only backup linebacker to see extensive action for Seattle. Isaiah Kacyvenski and Orlando Huff were also in the game for long stretches of the second half while starters Chad Brown and Randall Godfrey, respectively, rested. Godfrey missed most of the second half with a bruised rib, while Brown sat out two series with a sore hand. … The game featured a reunion of sorts in that the primary return men all attended the University of Oregon together. Seattle’s Maurice Morris returned kickoffs and replaced Engram as the punt returned in the second half, while Minnesota used Onterrio Smith on kickoffs and Keenan Howry on punts. … Temperatures in Minnesota were 40 degrees, but it was a balmy 65 inside the dome.