MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings spent plenty of money to upgrade their defense in the offseason, giving defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier all kinds of flavors to work with.
They kept things simple in their preseason debut on Friday night, and Matt Hasselbeck and the Seattle Seahawks had no problem with that.
Hasselbeck was 7-of-8 for 70 yards and a touchdown and the Seahawks racked up 187 total yards in three series against the Vikings’ defensive starters in a 34-17 preseason victory.
“It was a great way to start, especially against them,” Hasselbeck said. “They’ve got a great defense and they’re strong up front. We’ve had some trouble starting out well on the road in the past, but I thought this was a great start and a lot to be happy about.”
After trading for sack champ Jared Allen and adding safety Madieu Williams from Cincinnati, defense figured to be the least of the Vikings’ worries going into the season.
Coach Brad Childress sat Williams after he had some pregame neck spasms and gave Pro Bowl defensive tackle Pat Williams the night off, and the Seahawks scored 17 points and averaged 9.4 yards per play against the rest of the No. 1 defense.
“We were pretty much in zone defense, very vanilla,” Childress said.
Maurice Morris got the start at running back ahead of Julius Jones and rushed for 62 yards on six carries in the first three drives against what was the league’s top-ranked run defense last season.
“I saw plenty of good things to teach from,” Childress said.
And Hasselbeck was nearly perfect while taking snaps from brand new center Steve Vallos, who stepped in after starter Chris Spencer was injured and backup Chris Gray abruptly retired.
“Considering he wasn’t a center until three weeks ago, I’d say he did fine,” Holmgren said. “I’m very proud of the job he did.”
Vallos spent all last season on the practice squad and was a tackle in college, but Allen and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kevin Williams only got a whiff of Hasselbeck on Friday night. He threw an 18-yard TD pass to Jordan Kent to cap the opening drive and led the Seahawks to a field goal in his only other series of the night.
“That’s what the preseason is for, to work these kinks out,” Allen said. “There are things we need to improve on and this will be a good measuring stick.”
Backup QB Seneca Wallace also was impressive, completing 15 of 20 passes for 165 yards and three touchdowns.
“Our first unit, early on, we moved the ball pretty well and kind of mistake-free there,” Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said. “That’s one of the things you look for in an early preseason game. And I like the way we ran the ball.”
Hasselbeck’s success was expected from a 10-year veteran coming off a Pro Bowl season.
There are many more questions surrounding Tarvaris Jackson, the third-year pro who is entering his second season as Minnesota’s starting quarterback after an erratic debut.
He showed fine command of the offense in his three series of the preseason opener, completing 8 of 11 passes for 118 yards and a score.
With Adrian Peterson being used only as a decoy, the Vikings called passes on the first 11 plays Jackson was under center. He threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to new fullback Thomas Tapeh and hooked up with new receiver Bernard Berrian twice for 43 yards.
“We feel very comfortable with our running game, but we wanted to get our pass game a fresh start,” Jackson said. “I feel good. I feel real comfortable.”
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