Seahawks boot Vikings

  • By Scott M. Johnson / Herald Writer
  • Thursday, September 2, 2004 9:00pm
  • Sports

SEATTLE – It’s nice to know that the Seattle Seahawks can count on Maurice Morris. But they hope they won’t have to anytime soon.

It’s comforting when Trent Dilfer shows that he can carry a team, but the Seahawks don’t want to rely on him, either.

With all due respect to Mr. Morris and Mr. Dilfer, let’s all be grateful their days in the spotlight are all behind us.

The Seahawks closed out their preseason schedule in unremarkable fashion Thursday night, beating the Minnesota Vikings 23-21 at Qwest Field. The finish was rather exciting, with Josh Brown nailing a 28-yard field goal as time expired, but otherwise the game was pretty ho-hum.

The Seahawks and Vikings rested a combined 15 starters in a game that was so vanilla that television viewers may well have missed the days when they could watch Olympic equestrian.

“I started to get a little chilly after a while,” said linebacker Anthony Simmons, who was on the field for only one play before watching from the sideline. “But it was a good opportunity for the young guys to get some playing time. It’s good not to be in the action, just to let your body rest up for the first (regular season) game.”

The final preseason game had a little bit of good (Dilfer’s passing, Morris’ running and Grant Wistrom’s energy), a dose of bad (Seattle’s tackling, pass coverage and early red zone offense) and even some ugly (18 combined penalties, not including five others that were declined).

Fortunately for those in attendance, they won’t have to relive the experience on videotape today. That will be up to Seattle’s coaches, whose job it is to trim 24 players by Sunday. One goal of Thursday’s game was to evaluate players fighting for starting jobs and roster spots. The more important objective was to keep everyone healthy, which is why offensive stars like Matt Hasselbeck, Shaun Alexander and Darrell Jackson did not play and Simmons saw only brief action.

A group of lesser-known players made the most of their opportunities.

Outside linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski seemed to help himself in the battle for Chad Brown’s starting job, making four tackles.

Wide receivers Jason Willis (six receptions, one touchdown), Antoine Burns (five, one touchdown), Jerheme Urban (four) and Taco Wallace (three) all played well while getting extended auditions for the fifth receiver spot. Rookie D.J. Hackett got into the action with an acrobatic 30-yard reception late in the third quarter, then dropped a ball a few minutes later.

Morris gained 52 yards on 10 carries while starting in place of Alexander, and Dilfer completed 17 of 20 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns filling in for Hasselbeck.

Most of those guys will be delegated to the bench when the regular season starts next weekend, yet there were a precious few bright moments from the Seahawks’ usual suspects.

Wistrom looked pretty good in his Seahawks debut, making a tackle for loss on Minnesota’s opening drive before joining the rest of the starters on the sideline.

On a play when free safety Ken Hamlin had gone to the sideline with a minor injury, starting strong safety Terreal Bierria did a pretty fair impression with a ball-jarring hit on Minnesota receiver Keenan Howry.

There were also moments of concern, like when rookie safety Michael Boulware, Kacyvenski and Hamlin missed tackles on Vikings running back Mewelde Moore en route to a 38-yard gain on a screen pass. One play later, Minnesota tight end Jermaine Wiggins found a huge cushion between Hamlin and linebacker Tracy White to catch a 22-yard touchdown pass.

Minnesota tight ends got past White on two other occasions, although one of them resulted in an overthrow. White, who finished with a team-high seven tackles, is battling Kacyvenski for the starting spot at strongside linebacker.

But more than anything, the Seahawks were relieved with the performance, mainly because it meant the end of the preseason. The next time they take the field for a game – at New Orleans in nine days – it will be for real.

“Now it’s about more crossing the I’s and dotting the T’s,” said Jackson, a wide receiver who obviously didn’t do well in cursive classes. “We don’t have anymore time to make mistakes. The mistakes have to be left behind in the preseason games.”

Hawk notes: Second-year fullback Chris Davis was carted off in the second half with an injured right knee. No prognosis was expected until today or Saturday. Davis missed the final 15 weeks of 2003 after undergoing surgery on his left knee. … At middle linebacker, the Seahawks still have no clear-cut starter. Orlando Huff opened the game there, but did not make much of an impression on a single series of action. Rookie Niko Koutouvides and second-year player Solomon Bates made more plays Thursday, further clouding the decision. … Mill Creek gymnast Brett McClure was one of three Olympians to raise the 12th Man flag before the game. McClure, a part of the United States’ silver medal-winning team, was joined by swimming sisters Tara and Dana Kirk of Bremerton. University of Washington crew assistants Michael Callahan and Emil Kossev also attended the ceremony.

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