Seahawks simply crush Vikings

MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Vikings spent plenty of money to upgrade their defense in the off-season, giving defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier all kinds of flavors with which to work.

They kept things simple in their preseason debut on Friday night, and Matt Hasselbeck and Seattle 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.

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.

Hasselbeck was nearly perfect while taking snaps from new center Steve Vallos, who stepped in after starter Chris Spencer was injured and backup Chris Gray abruptly retired.

Hasselbeck 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.

Backup QB Seneca Wallace also was impressive, completing 15 of 20 passes for 165 yards and three touchdowns.

Seahawks rookie offensive tackle William Robinson went to the locker room in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury.