| 14 August 2009
While technically it has been "football season" for a few weeks now, everything feels just a little more real when you see your team step onto the field for the first time. We're less than 24 hours away, and we're starting to get some notes trickling out about the game. Besides the injuries, there are three things that a lot of us are looking forward to seeing tomorrow - Rookie 1, Rookie 2, and Rookie 3. Okay, there's plenty more, but the top three draft picks are all locks to make this team so what are we going to get out of them tomorrow?
Deon Butler
Butler is considered our fourth wide receiver by pretty much everyone so you're going to see plenty of this guy. I would expect most of our offensive starters to play one or two series tomorrow, but it is possible we'll see a little more of the offense than normal if the coaches want to get a good look at how Hasselbeck is operating in the new scheme. The first preseason game is typically pretty vanilla, so I wouldn't expect to see a whole lot of 4WR sets, but you never know.
Butler will likely come in and be our second split end and he might see some time in the slot. He'll be in for quite awhile though, at least a quarter and possible two. Look for Butler to also take a punt or two if the opportunity presents itself -- with his speed, you better believe they want to see if they can put him out there and get a little DeSean Jackson action out of him.
Max Unger
You're gonna see a boatload of Unger tomorrow. Mad Max will be starting at right guard for the bruised up Mansfield Wrotto, will likely slide in at center at one point, and could find himself at center tomorrow, too. Some of it will depend on whether or not they have Chris Spencer starting, of course. The bottom line is that we're going to get a good look at Unger tomorrow, and hopefully he can make the Chargers D-Line look like a bunch of boobs.
Aaron Curry
Curry is, quite surprisingly, going to see a ton of playtime -- HELL YEAH! The PI has the tale:
Mora said Curry would start at linebacker in the team's base defense, but sounded equally intrigued by the potential as a rusher off the edge. The Seahawks used former linebacker Julian Peterson in that role with mixed results in previous years, but Curry is a bigger linebacker at 248 pounds.
"We'll play him at right end some early in the game against some of their better players and see how he does," Mora said. "If there's one thing I'd look for, I'd say watch Aaron Curry and see how he rushes as an end. We're going to find out a little bit. I'm excited to see it."
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