Sid Hartman: Childress sees mix of progress, struggles

Vikings coach Brad Childress tried something different when the offense ran 10 consecutive passing plays at the opening of Friday's 34-17 preseason loss to Seattle at the Metrodome.

"I don't think I've ever scripted 10 plays in a row since Peewee football. I know we never did at Wisconsin or at the Philadelphia Eagles," Childress said.

No doubt Childress was preparing his team for the seven- and eight-man fronts they faced last year and will again this year as opponents try to stop running back Adrian Peterson.

"That's a big area of improvement that we need to see this year," Childress said. "We obviously do plenty of work on running the football here in training camp, and one of the things that our team needs to be better at is throwing the football, protecting Adrian and his growth.

"Obviously [we needed] to take a look at all those protections and route-running, and I don't need to see [Peterson] run a zone another time."

Speaking about Friday's loss, Childress said: "There were some things that were pleasant and some things that need work, but that's what it's all about. You just can point to the obvious and we've got things to come back and work on. The offense did some good things, but defensively we weren't doing much."

Jackson did well Childress was impressed with the performance of quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, who completed eight of 11 passes for 118 yards and one touchdown and earned a 137.7 quarterback rating during his short stay on the field.

Asked if any individuals stood out, Childress said: "Well, I've said all the way along that [defensive end] Otis Grigsby has had a good camp, and he continues to show up with that high motor that he has. ... You saw [wide receiver] Bernard Berrian make a couple of big plays. So those are the guys that probably jumped the most. I know this: We need to do a better job of holding on to the football and not treating it like it's a greased potato.

"We had the fumble that caused a touchdown for them. That cost seven points, and [tight end Jim] Kleinsasser had that false start which we ended up overcoming for a touchdown. But we can play more disciplined and certainly improve on that end, too."

Childress also said wide receiver Aundrae Allison had a couple of fine moments. The coach also had some good words for the special teams.

"I was pleased with where we're at ... [in] the return game and the coverage game as well," he said. "I thought they did some good things and great stuff for our young guys to teach from. We didn't have any first-teamers at all on any of our kick teams, because you want to look at those younger guys. So you kind of hold on and hope they do well, and they actually gave a pretty good accounting, but a lot of things to correct."

So far Childress has been conducting a rather easy camp with little full contact. You wonder if after Friday's performance there might be a little more hitting this week to get ready for Baltimore on Saturday.

With outfielder Michael Cuddyer hurt and reliever Juan Rincon released and now with Cleveland, the Twins' active roster doesn't include a single player from its 2002 roster.

Dominique Barber, the former Gophers free safety who was drafted by the Houston Texans, recorded six tackles in the team's first exhibition game, a 19-16 victory over Denver on Saturday. His older brother, former Gophers running back Marion Barber III, carried only four times for 24 yards in the Dallas Cowboys' 31-17 loss to San Diego on Saturday.

Ex-Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson is back for a second year with the Cowboys and completed eight of 15 passes for 89 yards and one interception against the Chargers. ... Michael Bennett, the ex-Vikings and Chiefs running back now with Tampa, rushed 19 times for 74 yards in his team's 17-6 victory over the Dolphins on Saturday.

Another ex-Gopher, kicker Rhys Lloyd, helped his chances to make the Carolina Panthers' roster Saturday by booting his first three kickoffs into the end zone in a 23-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. The Panthers had only four touchbacks last season, two of them by Lloyd after joining the team late in the season. ... Ex- Gophers defensive tackle Anthony Montgomery played for the Washington Redskins in their 17-14 victory over Buffalo on Saturday after breaking his hand during the minicamps.

The Gophers men's golf team will have its annual invitational tournament at Spring Hill Golf Club in Wayzata on Sept. 12-14, with teams from LSU, Arkansas, Indiana, Texas, Iowa and Iowa State competing. ... Gophers outfielder Matt Nohelty, who was named to the Big Ten All-Conference team and also was named a first-team Academic All-America, has definitely turned down the Twins, who drafted him in the 18th round. He will return for his senior year of baseball.