Observations from Seahawks first regular season game, a 31-9 victory over the visiting San Francisco 49ers.
Offense:
- After throwing a bad interception on the first play of the game and being unable to convert on any third downs for most of the first half, Matt Hasselbeck threw a near touchdown pass to Mike Williams and then finished off the drive with a touchdown run that was reminiscent of the game in San Francisco last year when he injured his ribs. He popped up quickly this time though and found a good rhythm later, connecting on two more touchdown passes. A few of his throws were risky and ill timed, but overall it was a good performance by Hasselbeck.
- The receiving corp performed well enough considering their lack of experience. Deon Butler had a nice touchdown catch, as did Deon Branch. Hasselbeck seemed to gain trust for his receivers as the game wore on and hopefully this will continue as the season progresses. He spread the ball around nicely.
- With Tyler Polumbus starting at left tackle, the offensive line did a suprisingly good job protecting Hasselbeck—he was not sacked once in the game—but they were unable to create any holes big enough for the running backs to find. Granted, the 49ers have an excellent run defense but if the running game does not improve in Seattle it will be hard to win close games down the stretch. None of the running backs on the roster stood out in this game.
- At one point in the second quarter the 49ers had possesed the ball for 20 of 24 minutes and Seattle looked terrible. Thanks to the defense, and a questionable holding call on the 49ers’ Nate Clements, the Seahawks were finally able to convert a third-down and actually take a lead in the game. It seemed like all the lucky breaks went Seattle’s way in this suprisingly lopsided victory.
Defense:
- The defensive line held up well against Frank Gore and the 49ers’ offensive front for the entire game. Chris Clemons might just be a wonderful find for the Seahawks. He played excellently all game and caused all sorts of problems for Alex Smith.
- Marcus Trufant and Earl Thomas were standouts in a secondary that played very well. Thomas was all over the field on running and passing downs, making excellent tackles of Frank Gore and conributing on special teams as well. Trufant looked like the pro-bowler of old. He completely shut down whichever 49ers receiver he defended, not to mention returning an interception for a game-changing touchdown at the beginning of the third quarter. The secondary seems much better than last year and didn’t seem to miss Josh Wilson one bit.
- Aaron Curry still looks like a bit like a rookie. He made bad mental mistakes throughout the game, jumping into the nuetral zone for a penalty in the third. However, he often lined up in a defensive end position and did a good job of stuffing Gore on early downs. The linebackers played great overall and clearly the presence of Lofa Tatupu is important.
Other Observations:
- While the 49ers played terribly for most of the game, the Seahawks seemed like a team that had been playing together for years—especially on defense—instead of a group of unknown backups and youngsters.
- In the third quarter, one of the TV announcers said, “Crowd noise a major factor,” and clearly the 49ers were uncomfortable in their surroundings. Keep it up Qwest!
- Coach Carrol sure got his team pumped up. The ultimate motivator was at it again and the results were obvious. We have yet to see how this team will preform outside of the divison against better teams, but itt was an impressive start for the Seahawks and an important win, considering that basically everyone in the world had picked the 49ers to win.
