Say it ain’t Mo? I don’t think so

The Seahawks first preseason game offered up some intriguing plot lines. The most interesting focal point: Maurice Morris. Entering into his seventh season with the Seahawks, Morris has no intention of passively letting the coaching staff relegate him to a lesser role at running back.

By bringing in T.J. Duckett and Julius Jones in offseason moves to replace Shaun Alexander, Morris instantly became an afterthought. Friday night’s preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings gave everyone a big chunk of “who the heck is this guy” to chew on.

Morris rushed six times for 62 yards, his longest being a 21-yard run around the end in the second series for the Seahawks. Duckett and Jones’ numbers were not nearly as gaudy. Duckett had seven carries for nine yards – Jones was four with 15.

You should be feeling pretty good about the quarterback situation after last night, if you weren’t already content. Matt Hasselbeck was nearly perfect (7-8, 70 yards, 1 TD) and Seneca Wallace showed he continues to improve and thrive in this offense.

Wallace (15-20, 165 yards, 3 TDs) featured his arm, quickness in the backfield and grasp of Holmgren’s offense. He didn’t rely on his feet, officially rushing the ball twice for yards. If the odds catch up with the Seahawks and Hasselbeck goes down for a few games, the offense would be in capable hands with Wallace.

Receivers Ben Obomanu and Courtney Taylor were nowhere to be found in the stat book. So, we got no real answers to that position battle question. It was nice to see rookie fullback Owen Schmitt catch the ball out of the backfield twice for 35 yards, his longest a 23-yard pass play. Fullback Leonard Weaver also caught two passes for 10 yards.

A hard-hitting Seahawks defense forced five fumbles, coming away with four of them. Linebacker David Hawthorne forced two fumbles, defensive end Lawrence Jackson forced one as did defensive tackle Howard Green.

Backup guard Steve Vallos didn’t draw attention to himself, which is what you’re looking for. Vallos was filling at center and got the start last night because of injuries and sudden retirements. Starter Chris Spencer is injured and backup Chris Gray was forced into retirement after injuring his spinal cord the second day of training camp.