| 28 August 2010
The Seahawks take their show on the road for the first time this year, and while the game is in primetime against one of the three toughest teams they'll play this year, it should still help us see how the new regime gets these guys ready to go on the road. That's one thing to watch, but probably the least important -- after all, this is still preseason. So, what does matter tonight?
- Protect Matt Hasselbeck. Yeah, you didn't need me to point this out, but it is still pretty crucial. That means Manny Wrotto has to play well, Mike Gibson has to do the same, and Jeremy Bates needs to find a way to protect Matt, a task that was too difficult for Mora/Knapp in 2009. Expect a lot of bootlegs to the right side away from Jared Allen.
- Get the running game going. This may very well be the toughest run defense we face this year. The Packers will be top 5, too. What does that mean? Nothing! If you can't run against good teams, you're not going to be a good team. We need to establish the running game and get those kinks worked out. Our backside blocking was much improved last week, but the linemen still need to create holes, which they were pretty poor at last week.
- Lofa Tatupu. It cannot be understated how important a healthy, back-to-form Lofa Tatupu is for this team. I feel that this could be his last year to re-establish himself as a solid starter, and that depends almost entirely on his health. Tatupu will start and play most of the game today (along with all the other starters). I pray that he can again quarterback the defense and hopefully take the pressure off Aaron Curry, thus freeing him up to not stink.
- Golden Tate. He hasn't shown up yet in the preseason. I can think of two reasons for that: 1) Bates doesn't want to tip his hand on how he's actually planning to use the unorthodox receiver (thus far, he's been a pretty poor route runner, remember, but I think Bates has other plans for him while he gets that part of his game down); 2) He is just not running routes well enough to be targeted by the QB. As you can see, one is a little more rose-colored-glasses than the next.
- Kevin Vickerson vs. Colin Cole. The last remaining battle for a starting position should come pretty close to a resolution today. Can Cole hold Vickerson off, or will the new guy steal the job from the previous-career-backup / one-year-average starter? Tonight's game will go a long way towards determining that.
- Pass rush, pass rush, pass rush. As in, can we get one? Last week was terrible.
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