The Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks, who meet Sunday (ESPN, 8:30 p.m. ET) are two teams in trouble at 0-3. But guess which team has more problems? I'll give you one hint -- the one with Randy Moss.

Moss' arrest and subsequent fine are yet another distraction for the Vikings, coming after Daunte Culpepper's sideline outburst directed at Moss. Even though Moss was released from jail and will play Sunday, we won't know what kind of effect his situation will have on the Vikings until they play the game.

Aside from Moss' off-the-field problems, head coach Mike Tice inherited a team with volatile personalities, players not afraid to show emotion. In some cases, the emotion can be good. But not for the Vikings.

Theismann's keys

MINNESOTA VIKINGS Offense -- Careful Culpepper: Culpepper must protect the football. The Vikings have offensive firepower, with Moss, Derrick Alexander and D'Wayne Bates. But the question is whether or not Culpepper can play a steady, solid football game. The offensive line needs to give him protection so he can make good reads downfield. Defense -- Stop Alexander: Lamar Smith ran all over the Vikings' defense last week. They can't allow Shaun Alexander to have an equally productive day. At the same time, the Vikings' pass defense has been weak. The secondary is new, with Tyrone Carter and Corey Chavous at the corners and rookie Willie Offord at safety. Still, stopping the run and forcing Trent Dilfer to beat them is the Vikings' best bet. If Dilfer beats them, the Vikings are a bad defensive team. That is not a reflection on Dilfer; the Vikings just have to stop the run to win this season. Otherwise, Culpepper and Moss will spend a lot of time sitting next to each other on the bench. They need to be on the field. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS Offense -- Run, run, run: Alexander needs touches and a big day on the ground to give the Seattle offense more options in the passing game. Dilfer will have success throwing the ball if the Seattle offensive line can control the line of scrimmage and start opening up holes for Alexander. Defense -- Keep after Culpepper: To go with Culpepper's turnovers, the Vikings have allowed 11 sacks, second-most in the NFL. Seattle's defense has to put pressure on Culpepper and not allow him to get comfortable. The Seahawks have to make Culpepper's turnover problem continue.

When I hear Culpepper say the situation between him and Moss is no big deal, I believe him because I know he and Moss are like brothers who get ticked off at one another once in a while. Both players want to win and have been frustrated about how they have performed during the first three weeks.

On the field, Minnesota's problem is simple -- turnovers. The Vikings have the NFL's worst turnover ratio at minus-7, and Culpepper has been the main culprit. If Culpepper protected the football in the first three games, the Vikings would be 1-2 at worst, and maybe even 2-1. In his last 17 starts, he has thrown 20 interceptions and fumbled 23 times. No team can win football games with so many turnovers from the quarterback position.

When I played for coaches Joe Gibbs and Joe Walton in Washington, they told me I was the last line of defense. When the last line of defense continuously turns the ball over, what else is there?

Fortunately for Minnesota, I believe Culpepper's problems are correctable. He has to be more conscious about taking care of the football. The interceptions are not as much of a problem as the fumbles. He has to protect the ball in the pocket. Culpepper has to be decisive about when to scramble. But defenders will try to strip the ball from him, especially in traffic. If he has to take a sack, he should do it -- but hold onto the football.

His turnovers could be the result of trying to force the ball to Moss. In fact, the whole concept of a "Randy ratio" (getting Moss 40 percent of the offensive touches) is a joke. Tice wanted to get Moss more touches -- whether they came on pass routes or on reverses. But sometimes a coach can paint himself into a corner if he says he wants to get the ball to a player "X" amount of times. While I admire Tice's intentions, the game should dictate how many touches he gets.

The Vikings and the Seahawks are a study in contrasts. While the Vikings defense can't stop anyone through the air (30th-rated pass defense), Seattle can't stop anyone on the ground (32nd against the run). While the Vikings offense wants to give the ball away, the Seahawks offense can't move the football.

Seattle is not quite as easy to figure out. The Seahawks are the biggest mystery in the NFL. Offense is supposed to be coach Mike Holmgren's hallmark. But the Seahawks offense has serious problems. Although I don't think Holmgren's job is in trouble because he controls too much of the organization, he needs better production.

Now in his fourth season in Seattle, Holmgren has experienced instability at quarterback. Jon Kitna and Matt Hasselbeck were disappointments as starters, and Trent Dilfer was unable to play for much of last season. Dilfer is healthy now. But if the offensive trend continues into next year, than he will be in trouble.

One of the first questions I have for Holmgren is, "What's up?" From a personnel standpoint, the Seahawks offense should be good enough to win. Shaun Alexander is one of the NFL's most versatile running backs, but he has been unable to gain more than 37 yards in each of their first three games. At receiver, Darrell Jackson came on strong last season as a second-year player, and Koren Robinson has promise. Itula Mili is a solid touchdown who has Seattle's only offensive touchdown.

Last week the Seahawks didn't commit a turnover in their 9-6 loss to the Giants; they just didn't execute. Apparently, the Seahawks have been unable to control the line of scrimmage. But it's not like they are playing a young, inexperienced line. Although Pro Bowl tackle Walter Jones' holdout and absence from the first two games may have had some effect, center Robbie Tobeck and guards Chris Gray and Steve Hutchinson started all 16 games a year ago.

As tempting as it may be to throw against Minnesota, it's vitally important that the Seahawks establish a running game. Running the ball has to do with controlling the line of scrimmage, something the line is not doing.

Defensively, the Seahawks are last in the NFL against the run. They miss the injured John Randle and Levon Kirkland, who is now in Philadelphia. It's important for a team to be strong up the middle -- safety, linebacker, defensive tackle, center, quarterback, running back. If a team is weak in those areas, it will be tough to either run the football or stop the run.

While the Seahawks are an enigma, there is no mystery about who will be watching Sunday night -- Moss.

Former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann is an NFL analyst on ESPN Sunday Night Football.