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In what Minneapolis Star Tribune beat man Kevin Seifert suggests might have been a motivational tool, head coach Mike Tice hinted on Saturday that Moe Williams could enter the season as the team's No. 2 running back behind either Michael Bennett or Mewelde Moore.

In that case, the loser of the Bennett-Moore competition for the starting job would serve as the No. 3 running back.

"Every time we ask Moe to do something, he doesn't do it OK," Tice said. "He does it great. I think we want to see Moe get some more carries in just a regular offensive scheme. ... Moe could end up being that second guy."

Fortunately, this doesn't seem to be most likely scenario.

As Seifert noted in a weblog entry posted Saturday, it was a noticeable departure from everything Tice had indicated up until that moment: That Bennett or Moore would start, the other would be the backup and Williams would be saved for third-down/short yardage.

I'll further note that Tice spent considerable time and energy this offseason making it clear that Bennett was the man most likely to nail down the featured role this fall. In fact, it started back in March -- even before Onterrio Smith's "Original Whizzinator" incident. That's when Tice first told Seifert he was already leaning towards Bennett.

"He had a great preseason last year before getting hurt," the coach explained. "I thought he was ready to take it the next level. ..."

Tice also said at the time that he was "praying" that Bennett stays healthy to at least give him a fair chance to win the job. Which brings us to the "health issue."

As the Vikings Update staff recently suggested, "Bennett finds himself at a crossroads thanks to injuries and faith shown in him by Tice. It's time for Bennett to justify the love."

True that. ... And with Smith serving a one-year suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy -- and with coaches unsure about Moore's ability to handle a full-time role, Bennett will get every opportunity to make good on that faith, which seems to be shared by the entire staff.

"His health has been good, he's in great shape and he's been very confident in our practices," offensive coordinator Steve Loney said of Bennett last Monday. "I think he's going to be in position to have a good year."

According to St. Paul Pioneer Press staff writer Don Seeholzer, Tice took that a step further by once again singling out Bennett as a player to watch this summer.

"He's had another exceptional offseason," Tice said. "I anticipate that he could have the biggest year of his career."

As Seeholzer suggested, that would make life after Randy Moss much easier for the Vikings, who plan to emphasize the running game after the March 2 trade that sent their star receiver to Oakland. That plan is more likely to come to fruition if Bennett regains the Pro Bowl form he demonstrated in 2002 while rushing for 1,296 rushing yards and a 5.1-yard average.

All the concern, of course, lies in the fact that Bennett has played just one full 16-game schedule in his first four NFL seasons. Coaches, however, contend his injury-prone reputation is somewhat undeserved.

"When you get a broken foot, that's a broken foot," Loney said of Bennett's problems in 2003. "It's not like it's a toughness issue. He's had a little bad luck."

Bennett, of course, is well aware of the injury rap and to his credit, has worked hard in an effort to move past it. As part of that effort, Bennett, who failed rush for 100 yards in a game last season, shook up his training regimen with consultation from former Viking Robert Smith and is in great shape.

Also working in his favor is the fact that his injuries haven't cost him any speed. He clocked in 9.91 seconds and 10.0 seconds in 100-meter track races this spring.

"The 9.91 would have been a fifth-place finish in the last Olympics in Athens, Greece," running backs coach Dean Dalton said. "He's smoking."

And that world-class speed would provide a legitimate home run threat to the post-Moss offense, and the ground game could be bolstered by the return of tight end Jim Kleinsasser and right tackle Mike Rosenthal, who suffered season-ending injuries during the first two weeks of the 2004 season.

Expectations are high.

"He's better now than he has ever been," Dalton said. "And he has matured."

Daunte Culpepper, after seeing Bennett in spring development camps, agreed with that assessment. "It's the best he has looked since he has been here," Culpepper said.

So. ... We have a healthy, happy Bennett heading into camp all but locked in as the starter -- just like he was in each of the last two summers. Right up until that unexpected injury news put the kibosh on a full season in the featured role.

But as Seeholzer reminded readers this week, heading into the final year of his contract, this could be Bennett's last chance to re-establish himself as a feature running back.

He can't afford to come up short and he knows it. ...

Meanwhile, Tice's motivational comments notwithstanding, I still fully expect Moore, who lost points with the coaching staff by taking six weeks to return from a high ankle sprain, to serve as the primary backup to Bennett with Williams handling his usual third-down and short-yardage roles.

As for the rest of the pack. ... Star Tribune staffer Mark Craig recently speculated that rookie Ciatrick Fason, is likely to become the No. 3 man behind Bennett and Moore and ahead of Butchie Wallace.

The Vikings traded the 120th pick and the 154th overall pick in the fifth round to move up eight spots to select Fason, who they had rated as a second-round pick. It's the third consecutive year they've selected a running back in the fourth round, following Smith (2003) and Moore (2004). ...

It's also worth noting the Vikings are interested in Jesse Chatman, who was released by San Diego last Tuesday.

Working in a relief role -- with LaDainian Tomlinson slowed by a sore groin, Chatman was the Chargers' second-leading rusher last season. He gained 392 yards on 65 carries (6.0-yard average) with three touchdowns, but was waived after failing a team physical.

Carolina and Baltimore are also said to be interested in Chatman. ...

And finally. ...

According to Pro Football Weekly, a Vikings source scoffed at reports that the team had contacted free-agent Eddie George about joining the team. The Vikes simply aren't interested in bringing in a running back closer to the end of his career than his prime.