Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Minnesota 23 at Seattle 48 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Minnesota Vikings: WR Randy Moss played hard. He did the little things well like blocking and finishing his routes, but he dropped too many passes including 3 in the end zone. Keep an eye on the developing story regarding a possible suspension of Moss by the NFL for substance abuse violations. Moss was placed in the league's Substance Abuse Program last season when he failed a test for marijuana. He was tested again last week after the traffic incident when a small amount of marijuana was reportedly found in his car. If he tests positive this time, he could face a four game suspension. This is developing as I type this so it may already be resolved by the time you read. If not, definitely keep an eye on it and make plans accordingly. QB Daunte Culpepper played better than his stats show. His throws were accurate and he chose his running opportunities wisely, but his receivers dropped too many balls. Of his 2 interceptions, one was a Hail Mary. RB Michael Bennett chewed up the yardage between the 20s and Moe Williams entered the game with the goal line offense to vulture 2 touchdowns. They are a strong combo. Seattle Seahawks: RB Shaun Alexander set a NFL record scoring 5 touchdowns in the first half. However, he looked like a different player in the 2nd half struggling like he did for the first 3 games of the season. QB Trent Dilfer did not take advantage of the Viking's weak secondary. TE Jerramy Stevens appears to have beaten out Itula Mili for the starting spot. At 6' 7" - 265 with athleticism, he's an exciting player. Seattle won the game thanks to being +3 in turnovers. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Minnesota Vikings This was a strange game. It was a close game until the end of the second quarter when Seattle scored 3 touchdowns in just over a minute. The Seahawks led at the half 45-10. The second half was owned by the Vikings who moved the ball down the field time and time again only to stall in the red zone. The biggest stat of the game was Minnesota's 4 turnovers to Seattle's 1. QB: Daunte Culpepper completed 29 of 53 passes for 273 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs, and was sacked 3 times. He also contributed with his feet, rushing for 61 yards and a TD on 10 carries. Culpepper played better than these numbers show. He was poised in the pocket and ran well when the opportunity presented itself. His first interception was just a bad throw, but the second was an end of the game Hail Mary mishap. Culpepper was much more accurate with his passes this week, but unfortunately his receivers dropped several balls. RB: Michael Bennett carried the ball 15 times for 91 yards and had 4 catches for 44 yards. He showed his speed getting around the corner several times breaking good runs. He didn't get in the end zone, but he helped the team into the red zone often. In goal line situations, Moe Williams took over. Moe Williams carried the ball 6 times for 19 yards and 2 TDs while making 7 catches for 77 yards. Williams serves two functions in the offense. He is the short yardage and goal line specialist; running over people which compliments Bennett's quick outside running. He also is the target of swing passes; blasting through the smaller cornerbacks in the flat. Williams had several Mike Alstott type runs. WR: Randy Moss was good and bad in this game. The good was how hard he worked. He made several crushing blocks that broke long runs and he ran his routes hard, not taking plays off. The bad was he only caught 6 of the countless passes thrown his way for a total of 50 yards. He dropped 3 passes in the end zone that he might normally catch. Two of them were long circus type catches, but the third hit him right in the hands. Instead of Moss not having his head in the game like people accuse him of, he looked more like he was trying too hard. Keep an eye on the developing story regarding a possible suspension of Moss by the NFL for substance abuse violations. Moss was placed in the league's Substance Abuse Program last season when he failed a test for marijuana. He was tested again last week after the traffic incident when a small amount of marijuana was reportedly found in his car. If he tests positive this time, he could face a four game suspension. This is developing as I type this so it may already be resolved by the time you read. If not, definitely keep an eye on it and make plans accordingly. Derrick Alexander didn't answer the bell to his promotion to the #2 WR. He caught only 4 passes for 24 yards while dropping several passes including 2 in the end zone. D'Wayne Bates was not the target very often catching 3 passes for 27 yards. TE: Byron Chamberlain was not thrown to very often, but did catch 3 passes for 29 yards. He didn't appear to be showing any signs of the injury, they just didn't look his way. Pass Defense: After the 38 yard pass to Bobby Engram on the first drive of the game, the Vikings pass defense didn't allow deep passes. 80 of the 222 yards given up were on a well timed screen pass to Shaun Alexander which caught the Vikings in a full blitz. On the whole, the coverage was good, although there wasn't much pressure applied to Dilfer. Rushing Defense: In the first half, there was no rushing defense. Shaun Alexander racked up 5 touchdowns on 97 yards rushing by halftime. The second half was a different game, they shut down the rushing attack of the Seahawks. Defensive End Kenny Mixon led the unit with 6 solo tackles and 2 assists. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Seattle Seahawks This wild game was close until the end of the second quarter when Seattle scored 3 touchdowns in just over a minute. The first was an 80 yard screen pass to Shaun Alexander. Then, the Vikings fumbled on the next two kickoff returns which were both caused by big hits from Tim Terry and both resulted in easy touchdowns for Alexander. The Seahawks led at the half 45-10. It was the Seahawks that couldn't move the ball in the second half. The biggest stat of the game was Minnesota's 4 turnovers to Seattle's 1. QB: Trent Dilfer completed 13 of 28 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown. Dilfer avoided turning the ball over, but did throw a couple of passes that could have been picked off. He did get the first down on a 4th and inches QB sneak during the first drive of the game which set up Shaun Alexander's first TD. This was a poor performance against a Viking secondary that looked to be an excellent match up for Dilfer. RB: Shaun Alexander broke the NFL record for TDs in a half with 5 to start the game. Seattle's line opened huge holes for Alexander to run through and he powered through them breaking arm tackle after arm tackle. The second half looked just like Alexander's first 3 games. He got stuffed at the line and didn't look good at all. Luckily his first half damage was big enough that the Vikings didn't have enough time to recover. He finished with 139 yards on 24 carries and 3 catches for 92 yards and 5 touchdowns. WR: Darrell Jackson caught 4 passes for 47 yards. Jackson and Robinson are the two downfield targets that get all the looks. Shaun Alexander stole the show and Dilfer missed on a few passes that kept Jackson from having a big day. Koren Robinson caught 5 passes for 35 yards and, like Jackson, was kept out of the end zone. He was the target of many more passes, but he dropped a couple and Dilfer missed a few. He is an explosive runner after the catch. TE: Jerramy Stevens was thrown to a couple of times but only connected on one pass for 10 yards. He is a huge target and appears to have beaten out Itula Mili. Itula Mili was thrown to but did not catch a pass. The emergence of Stevens has bumped Mili out of the playable TE category. Pass Defense: The Seahawk passing defense wasn't as good as the numbers look. The Viking receivers dropped a bunch of passes that should have been caught. Safety Reggie Tongue had both interceptions and Defensive Tackle Rocky Bernard had 2 sacks to go along with his 6 solo tackles and 3 assists. Culpepper was pressured, but when he was flushed from the pocket, he was able to run for big yardage. The focus was to double and triple team Randy Moss which they did a fairly good job with. Rushing Defense: The Seahawk rushing defense wasn't that great either. They gave up 192 rushing yards on 33 attempts for an average of 5.8 yards a carry. Linebacker Marcus Bell led the team with 13 solo tackles and 1 assist while fellow linebacker Chad Brown had 8 solo tackles and 3 assists. The line wasn't getting the penetration needed to stop the run. Fist contact was usually made by a linebacker on the wrong side of the line of scrimmage.