Salk: What I Saw on Saturday Night

by Mike Salk

Brock will have some extended thoughts on the game shortly, but I’ll offer a couple of quick ones to whet your appetite.

DEFENSE

-I continue to be impressed with Brandon Mebane and Colin Cole (pictured) inside. Loved their pressure on the first sack of the game. Now, let’s see that on a more consistent basis. They don’t need to be Pro-Bowlers in this defense, but they better be consistent. I think they can do that.

-I think this team defense could excel in short yardage situations when they move Cory Redding inside to help. Loved his stop on 3rd and short late in the second quarter.

-I’ve been told Lofa Tatupu is a phenomenal tackler and a standout middle linebacker. So far, I haven’t seen it. I’d like to (in the regular season).

-We have barely talked about Patrick Kerney this entire pre-season and it might be time to do that. Other than the sack (which showed off his speed in space), I haven’t really noticed him. I’ve also been told that his conditioning allows him to shine on the second half – I hope that’s true.

-The secondary will be better if/when Marcus Trufant returns, but I haven’t had a problem with Ken Lucas and Josh Wilson. Are they stars? No. But they seem to be solid and that’s what I want from my cornerbacks. If Trufant can return, this team should be three-deep at a position where depth is vital in dealing with the multiple receiver sets.

-I continue to be impressed with Darryl Tapp. I just like him.

-I also like Aaron Curry, but he seems to be more effective the closer he is to the line of scrimmage. Maybe Wyman can explain?

OFFENSE

–Deion Branch didn’t do anything to get himself cut, but he didn’t shine either. I watched him in his prime in New England and I know he can be a valuable asset. But I can’t tell if he wasn’t open often or if Matt Hasselbeck just doesn’t look at him often. Any thoughts?

-Speaking of Hasselbeck, that guy can run a 2-minute offense, huh? Wow. He seems to be in complete command going down the field. Great to see he is comfortable enough in this offense to do that.

-The timing between Hasselbeck and TJ Houshmandzadeh seems to be improving. TJ looked awesome. Really awesome.

-Huge improvement this week for Sean Locklear. He was nearly invisible at left tackle – that’s a good thing! In fact, pretty good protection by the first team O-line (which seems to include rookie Max Unger at RG).

-Lots of talk about John Carlson after this one and for good reason. 5 catches for 68 yards and a touchdown stands out. But I also liked his blocking in the running game. Seems like a guy making the leap.

-How many big passing plays came off play action? Seemed like all of them! That’s the benefit of a commitment to the running game early. I thought Julius Jones ran well. He doesn’t need to be flashy, just effective. And he has hung on to the ball!

SPECIAL TEAMS

-Do we have to talk about the kicking in this game? Ich.

–Jon Ryan can flat-out punt.