1. Seattle is a very difficult place to play, but the San Francisco 49ers' performance in that town was unacceptable: Not surprisingly, the 49ers proved very difficult to run against. So the Seattle Seahawks opened it up with more spread formations and went to the air. They spread the ball around very effectively, and the 49ers' secondary could not keep up with the Seahawks' targets. The 49ers might have been even worse on offense, especially in the running game. They were dominated by Seattle's run defense. Amazingly, San Francisco was the less physical football team on both sides of the ball. If the 49ers are going to win the NFC West, they had better put this performance behind them in a hurry. Maybe they have been reading too many preseason predictions.
2. The Oakland Raiders' offensive line is a nightmare: All day in Nashville, the Raiders' front five appeared slow and outmanned. As it was in 2009, this will be a problem this season. It is the No. 1 reason why I just can't see Oakland approaching respectability this year. Jared Veldheer is not going to work out as a starting center in this league. The guy is 6-foot-8 and just can't get low enough to play that position after snapping the ball. Big nose tackle types are going to push him all over the field.
3. QB Carson Palmer faced a New England Patriots defense that has struggled to rush the passer and is very inexperienced at cornerback. That said, the Patriots dominated the Cincinnati Bengals. On paper, it seems that Palmer had a very productive day, but that wasn't the case when it mattered most. That production came during garbage time. New England was exceptional at taking away Cincinnati's inside running game -- the bread and butter of the offense -- and Palmer & Co. could not capitalize when it mattered. Palmer was effective with play-action and Chad Ochocinco did make quite a few plays. Obviously the defense and special teams didn't help the Bengals' cause, either. The Patriots' offense is going to do what it did to the Bengals to a lot of defenses this year. But Palmer is the one with all the pressure on his shoulders, and on Sunday he wasn't up to the challenge.
4. The Philadelphia Eagles were hit hard by injuries in their loss to the Green Bay Packers: Kevin Kolb, Leonard Weaver, Stewart Bradley and Jamaal Jackson all sustained injuries. Kolb not only had a poor first half, but he also suffered a concussion. His status is a great concern, but the loss of Jackson is massive as well. Philadelphia went the majority of the preseason without its starting center and the offensive line suffered quite a bit. Still, the line didn't play badly after Jackson left the game. Kolb's replacement, Michael Vick, showed that he is much more explosive athletically than he was last season. He moved the team. The Packers' defense tired quickly trying to corral Vick, who also threw the ball well. After Bradley's 2009 injury, the Eagles had a revolving door at linebacker throughout the season. Omar Gaither was the replacement, but he is best off at outside linebacker. The defense did play better as the game went along. Things are about to get really interesting for the Eagles.
5. The Minnesota Vikings' offense really misses WR Sidney Rice: Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe played a great game, but once the Saints really keyed on him, Brett Favre had very few other options. Percy Harvin is an extremely promising young player, but he and Favre were rarely on the same page. In 2009, Rice was a great safety blanket for Favre. The quarterback could put the ball up for grabs at times and his long, lanky wideout would come down with it. This group hasn't worked much together during the preseason -- maybe Favre should have made his mind up sooner about his comeback plans. Compounding matters, the line isn't strong in protection and Favre can't elude the rush like usual because of his ankle injury. In the loss Sept. 9 against the New Orleans Saints, the Vikings' wideouts caught only four balls for a measly 4.7 yards per attempt. But that Adrian Peterson guy sure looks good. For some inexplicable reason, Brad Childress drifted away from him down the stretch in Minnesota's loss.
6. My game balls for the Saints' victory over the Vikings go to the best set of guards in the league: New Orleans' tandem of RG Jahri Evans and LG Carl Nicks are pile-movers who consistently took great angles to their foes and moved them backward. That is commonplace for Nicks and Evans; I think Evans is the best guard in the league. RB Pierre Thomas didn't dance and ran very efficiently, but the bulk of his yardage came right up the middle against a premier set of Vikings defensive tackles. Thomas was the Saints' finisher. What is amazing is that these two offensive linemen are still quite young and might only be getting better.
insane
