|
NFL: Seahawks win preseason opener
By The Associated Press
Saturday, August 9, 2008 12:17 PM PDT
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.
Backup QB Seneca Wallace also was impressive, completing 15 of 20 passes for 165 yards and three touchdowns.
Steelers 16, Eagles 10
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh backup QB Charlie Batch left the game midway through the second quarter with a broken right collarbone in the Steelers’ 16-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the first preseason game for both teams Friday night.
Ben Roethlisberger completed both passes he threw, a pair of 19-yarders, the second to Santonio Holmes for the game’s first score to cap a brisk, eight-play, 80-yard drive.
Donovan McNabb and the Eagles also looked crisp, and McNabb played far more than Roethlisberger. The Eagles scored a touchdown and a field goal on their first two drives, during which McNabb completed 10 of 13 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown, but were shut out the rest of the night.
The Steelers’ two biggest questions coming into the game were answered. With Alan Faneca gone, the offensive line protected Roethlisberger and opened large holes for Mendenhall and Willie Parker, who was coming off a broken leg that ended his 2007 season
Raiders 18, 49ers 6
OAKLAND, Calif. — Michael Bush made the most of his first game of any kind in nearly two years.
Bush scored on a 5-yard touchdown run in his first game since breaking his leg in college more than 23 months ago, leading the Oakland Raiders to an 18-6 exhibition victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Friday night.
While Bush was the offensive star for the Raiders, the 49ers didn’t get much from any of their three quarterbacks competing for the starting job in the exhibition opener.
J.T. O’Sullivan, who got the start, turned the ball over twice in four drives. Alex Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft, led the Niners to a field goal late in then first half but was unable to generate a first down on his other two drives. Shaun Hill threw an interception on his first drive.
Oakland quarterback JaMarcus Russell also struggled in his first exhibition game after missing the entire preseason as a rookie in a contract dispute. Russell, who played in just four games as a rookie, was not sharp, finishing 2-for-5 for 15 yards in two drives.
The Raiders had much more success running the ball, gaining 248 yards on the ground. Rookie Darren McFadden, the fourth overall pick in the draft, ran for 48 yards on 12 attempts in his debut.
Pennington joins Dolphins
Chad Pennington, cut by the New York Jets after they signed Brett Favre, signed with the Miami Dolphins on Friday.
The 32-year-old Pennington, expected to be the starting quarterback for Miami, agreed to the deal Friday worth $11.5 million over two years, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the move hasn’t been officially announced.
Bill Parcells, now the Dolphins’ vice president of football operations, drafted Pennington with the 18th overall pick in 2000 when he was the Jets’ general manager.
The Dolphins, coming off a 1-15 season, will open the season against the Jets in Miami, giving Pennington an immediate chance to face his former team.
Westbrook gets new contract
PITTSBURGH — Brian Westbrook and the Philadelphia Eagles agreed to a new contract on Friday, hours before the team opened its preseason schedule against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Terms of the deal were not announced and the Eagles did not immediately make Westbrook available for comment.
The two-time Pro Bowl running back had said that he wanted to restructure his contract because he felt underpaid. Westbrook made it clear he wanted to be compensated like one of the best running backs in the NFL. |
