Here are some impressions and opinions I?ve picked up about the game Sunday night? since this is an extra game beyond what most teams play, the starters won?t see much time. QB---Brooks will be in for no more than a couple of series so that the team can take an extended look at Andrew Walter. IMO, Tuiasosopo is officially relegated to #3, and will probably get no more than the last quarter and a half unless Walter fails miserably. RB---Jordon, Brooks and Moss are chained together for this one. Maybe they play for only a couple of series?. Jordon?s had some boo-boos, so maybe not even that much for him. Fargus goes most of the way to see what he can do with a game load? I?m not optimistic. Rod ?He Hate Me? Smart isn?t all that either. I see this as the weakest (by depth) part of the team this season. WR---Moss is probably going to get to play with Brooks only. Why take a chance with a guy who?s been hurting the last couple of years. Doug Gabriel will start the game as the #2 guy, and spend probably all but the first series or two opposite the teams resident malcontent, Jerry Porter. Gabriel is probably gone by half-time, and Porter doesn?t last much into the second half. Whitted and Morant most of the second half. However, they may try to get Porter some balls just to generate additional interest in him from other teams? rumor has it that the Falcons may have an interest, but I don?t see them paying the price Mr. Davis would want. Porter may find himself in the Marcus Allen position this season. TE---It seems like Courtney Anderson has been around for years, but he?s only a second year man. The position hasn?t had the same flair and importance in the passing game lately as in the past, but maybe he can provide resurgence in that. O-Line---We?re going to find out how much the newly (re)placed importance on run blocking looks this early. The players seem to be into the idea, but as always, execution will be key. A good indicator will be a count of the number of false starts. Holding I can accept? false starts are a sign of a lack of focus. Defense---Haven?t looked too deep yet this season. The linebacking corps seems improved, and the DB?s have speed. Another year of seasoning for Asomugha & Washington at the corners, and Schweigert and Gibson at the safety spots might bode well. I?ve also seen some reports of Michael Huff impressing enough to maybe move up to the starting role. The line is what it is, and the game of stopping the run is what it is. We?ll get a bit of a look tomorrow at what they can and can?t do. Once again, watch for penalties to tell at least part of the tale. ST?s. The story on kicking teams is as usual, Janikowski?s head. Either he?s in the game, or he isn?t. Not nearly enough touch-backs to suit me, and he should be automatic inside 40. If he doesn?t have consistency this season, look for the team to make a change after the season? he?s safe this year. Lechler is safe. Look for a couple of kicks from the ?extra? punter and place kicker, but not much to see here. Whew. That felt good. It must be football season.
The Raiders won, just as I predicted. Not that Pre-Season prognostication is anything to brag about... Seabass had one hell of a game!
Not that I wasn't expecting a win... Our backups seemed somewhat better than theirs. Imagine my surprise when Robert Gallery gets flagged for a false start right out of the gate. <sigh>. The rushing average is disapointing. The QB's will come around, and alot of it looked to be jitters and timing issues. I hope. Total offense was under 200 yards, but the defense gave up less than 50 more. Only five penalties against, and one of those roughing call's was questionable. My buddy had it in for Andrew Walters. He couldn't explain why, but he was just bagging on him. I suggested that since he was a tall guy, playing quaterback and wearing #16.... He made the Collins connection and said that he'd try to be fair from now on. Hey, it was a mean nothing game, so not much to take away from it except that Porter wasn't activated for the game. A message or a sign-post of what direction he's headed?
