Through Three Pre-Season Games

[jshawaii22]

I'm actually impressed so far with a few things -- We probably won't see starters against Oakland, so here is my take going on to the season.

#1) Our offensive line doesn't seem to be 'offensive'.. like we were the last couple of years. Pocic has learned that guard position quite well this off-season. He probably should keep the job going into the season. Here's my take. All the starters are at least 315 lbs or more and many of the D-Lines have gone the other way to 250 and lighter d-ends for 'speed' against the passing offenses that are prevalent. Going against the grain... If this works and Carson stays healthy, this could be fun. (I didn't include Penny -- not convinced)

#2) Russell in the pocket... wow -- yeah it's all of 3 quarters so far, but I see Pete's vision of the run-first and play action offense coming together this year.

#3) Special Teams -- punting and kicking could be the best in the NFL. Catch the damn ball, kid... I guess we're not going to see Lockett back anymore.

#4) is Jaron really our #2 receiver behind Lockett? Hmmm.... I'd like to see the TE's become more involved in the middle of the field. That kid from Hawaii, Ursua, is exactly what I watched for years out here for UH, playing mostly in the slot...awesome...if he can play against the #1's , it frees up Lockett to stay outside, where he's safer. Russell's going to miss DB for awhile. Could be our Achilles heel this year.

#5) On D, our linebackers are 2 deep and Kendricks looks like a beast against the run, except a step slow in coverage, so we'll see how that goes.

#6) Looks like our pass rush will be far more dependent on blitzes then ever before. Poona could be the man until Reed comes back.

#7) The projected starting D-Backs were on the field tonight and they looked OK, but didn't play against SD's all pro QB, so it's hard to tell.

Many of the 'pro's' are picking the Hawks to fall back this year. I don't see it, but health of the starters, as always, will be critical, especially on the D-Line until Reed comes back. (did anyone else think it was odd that Reed was the 'starting' DT, like the suspension never happened?)

[obiken]

Wow J 22, what a treatise, I’m going to hate to cut any of these running backs even a Homer look good tonight. No question a lot of it’s on our improved offense of line, but still all the running backs look great tonight.

[RiverDog]

Russell played very well, much like he did against the Vikings. I'd give him a solid B or B+ as he did miss some open receivers. He still has some work to do with getting a good handle on the abilities of his receiving corps. I really liked how he managed the read option.

Like JS said, the offensive line is looking great! Carson and Penny had some nice creases to work with, and Russell finally has some time to operate from the pocket. And yes, Pocic might not be a bust after all, but he might be the odd man out when Iupati returns. But nevertheless, it's nice to know that we have some depth on the OL. Joey Hunt looked pretty good as well.

And speaking of not being a bust, Penny looked lots better. He actually broke a few tackles showed some great balance on a few plays. He's still going to be playing 2nd fiddle to Carson, but I feel a lot better about him now than I did at this time last week.

Jason Meyers has looked good all season. He did miss what turned out to be a practice attempt from 50+ and an extra point attempt, but I feel better about our kicking than I have at any time since Hauschka left.

Geno Smith looked lots better. I didn't get a chance to see Lynch as I didn't see a lot of the 2nd half, at least not yet. And Poona Ford is playing well, got some good penetration on a few plays. Nice to see Bobby, KJ, and Kendricks all playing as a unit. It should be the best backer combination in the league, so long as Kendricks can play his "get out of jail free" card.

[Hawktawk]

Backs looked great, even Prosise. Penney will show why the team spent such a high pick on him this year. He made yards on a couple of DOA plays and will be devastating as a receiver. I love how Russ is stepping up when he gets dead red pressure in his face instead of spinning out the back as in years past. He really gashed pressure with his legs as well as his arm rushing for 33 yards in a half and 15 yards got wiped out by the blindside block call(Is a blocker supposed to now play patty cake with a defender that is steaming down on the qb without his head on a swivel? WTF). The offense looks ready to me and will only get better as guys get healthy. If they can hold their own the first few weeks this might be a special team.

[c_hawkbob]

Very happy with dress rehearsal last night. Russ is on his game, O-line is dominant and our linebackers are off the chain! Let's light this candle already!

Yeah I know, ps game four and cuts and all ... alas, I guess we must.

[NineR]

Niners looked sharp. I see us competing in a 3 way race for the NFC West. Jimmy G is getting it together and D looks fierce.

You guys lack a decent pass rush

[RiverDog]

Niners looked sharp. I see us competing in a 3 way race for the NFC West. Jimmy G is getting it together and D looks fierce.

You guys lack a decent pass rush

So besides the Niners, who else are you saying is in the hunt for the division title? You have to separate yourself from our Rams troll if you want your opinion to be acknowledge.

But you're right, our Achilles heal looks like it will be our pass rush. But we haven't had Ziggy in there yet, either, and we'll likely make some sort of a move before the season starts. Plus we'll get Reed back in Week 7.

[jshawaii22]

Backs looked great, even Prosise. Penney will show why the team spent such a high pick on him this year. He made yards on a couple of DOA plays and will be devastating as a receiver. I love how Russ is stepping up when he gets dead red pressure in his face instead of spinning out the back as in years past. He really gashed pressure with his legs as well as his arm rushing for 33 yards in a half and 15 yards got wiped out by the blindside block call(Is a blocker supposed to now play patty cake with a defender that is steaming down on the qb without his head on a swivel? WTF). The offense looks ready to me and will only get better as guys get healthy. If they can hold their own the first few weeks this might be a special team.

The "Blindside" block that is now a mandatory 15 yards... the announcer said the key is you have to be going backwards toward your own goal for it to be called, but, interesting that we saw both the bad (our 15 yard on the scramble which was textbook "blindside") and the good ( one of our TE's doing a basketball move to block the defensive player without using hands, his arms were up in the air... like a BB player would) - that's how they're teaching it this year. Anything to keep the injuries down is OK by me. We'll get used to it.

[NineR]

So besides the Niners, who else are you saying is in the hunt for the division title? You have to separate yourself from our Rams troll if you want your opinion to be acknowledge.

Can't count out the Rams as much as I would like to. They may have regressed some. The NFC west plays what looks like a real tough schedule and a team could possibly be 8-8, or 9-7 and win

[RiverDog]

So besides the Niners, who else are you saying is in the hunt for the division title? You have to separate yourself from our Rams troll if you want your opinion to be acknowledge.

Can't count out the Rams as much as I would like to. They may have regressed some. The NFC west plays what looks like a real tough schedule and a team could possibly be 8-8, or 9-7 and win

Agreed about the Rams. If I'm a Rams fan, I'm not at all comfortable with Gurley's situation, and without a running attack, Goff looks very ordinary. Plus they lost a number of key players to free agency. The Super Bowl loser curse returns. I don't see them making the playoffs.

Not many first year head coach/first year QB combinations have done much in their inaugural season, so I don't expect the Cards to compete. The Niners are a bit of a mystery as Garapolo is unproven and doesn't have a huge arsenal at his command, and generally teams that tank a season with a 4-12 record make the playoffs the following year. I suspect that they're a year away from being a legitimate threat.

We went 10-6 last season, and I don't see any reason to think that we'll experience more than a game or two drop off if at all. I realize that I'm a bit of a homer, but I'd give us the edge to win the division.

[jshawaii22]

Looking at the bookies in Vegas and NJ had the Rams consistently #1 and no lower then #4. Seahawks around #10-12 -- SF 15-18 and Arizona waiting another year.

[NorthHawk]

I'm actually impressed so far with a few things -- We probably won't see starters against Oakland, so here is my take going on to the season.

#1) Our offensive line doesn't seem to be 'offensive'.. like we were the last couple of years. Pocic has learned that guard position quite well this off-season. He probably should keep the job going into the season. Here's my take. All the starters are at least 315 lbs or more and many of the D-Lines have gone the other way to 250 and lighter d-ends for 'speed' against the passing offenses that are prevalent. Going against the grain... If this works and Carson stays healthy, this could be fun. (I didn't include Penny -- not convinced)

#2) Russell in the pocket... wow -- yeah it's all of 3 quarters so far, but I see Pete's vision of the run-first and play action offense coming together this year.

#3) Special Teams -- punting and kicking could be the best in the NFL. Catch the damn ball, kid... I guess we're not going to see Lockett back anymore.

#4) is Jaron really our #2 receiver behind Lockett? Hmmm.... I'd like to see the TE's become more involved in the middle of the field. That kid from Hawaii, Ursua, is exactly what I watched for years out here for UH, playing mostly in the slot...awesome...if he can play against the #1's , it frees up Lockett to stay outside, where he's safer. Russell's going to miss DB for awhile. Could be our Achilles heel this year.

#5) On D, our linebackers are 2 deep and Kendricks looks like a beast against the run, except a step slow in coverage, so we'll see how that goes.

#6) Looks like our pass rush will be far more dependent on blitzes then ever before. Poona could be the man until Reed comes back.

#7) The projected starting D-Backs were on the field tonight and they looked OK, but didn't play against SD's all pro QB, so it's hard to tell.

Many of the 'pro's' are picking the Hawks to fall back this year. I don't see it, but health of the starters, as always, will be critical, especially on the D-Line until Reed comes back. (did anyone else think it was odd that Reed was the 'starting' DT, like the suspension never happened?)

They might keep all 5 RBs this year, but one will probably go. Prosise just can’t stay healthy, but he flashes
with some real ability so if they have to cut 1, it might be him.

Geno jumped way ahead of Lynch in my books, and our LBs look real solid with maybe Griffin and/or BBK being
out of luck. The make up of the DL will be a hard call as there is a big falloff from the starters and the final cuts
will be difficult.

The OL is solid for the starters and Pocic has been surprisingly solid. I don’t expect Iupati or Fluker to play
16 games, so we need good backups at Guard.

WR is difficult to judge because there is a lot of potential in a bunch of players. I expect Ursua to be one of those
who make the team, but I’m disappointed that Jennings hasn’t had much of an opportunity to show what he has.
Jazz might be a surprise keep as well. I hope we can stash one of these guys on the PS.

ST has been a lot better, and because of that some players might be surprises in either staying or going.
They’ve really increased the depth this year, so in a way it’s a good sign that some good players will be cut.

I also expect us to make some type of trade or pick up some good DL that were cut before the season starts.
It might or might not be Clowney, but I was watching a bit of the Pats/Panthers game and the announcers were
discussing Deatrich Wise as being on the bubble. He might be a target, or his competitor one, but other teams
will be having likewise decisions with their personnel, as well. With so many young DL drafted high this past
draft, there should be some good DL that are pushed out but can still play.

[trents]

Geno certainly looked better than he did during his previous outing but with the running game as good as it was last night he didn't have to put the ball in the air much and not under pressure. Mostly, he just managed the game better and handed the ball off. We'll probably see Geno and Lynch each play a full half next week.

[RiverDog]

Geno certainly looked better than he did during his previous outing but with the running game as good as it was last night he didn't have to put the ball in the air much and not under pressure. Mostly, he just managed the game better and handed the ball off. We'll probably see Geno and Lynch each play a full half next week.

The other thing is that we played all of our starters throughout the first half and most of San Diego's sat. But I do think that Geno took a big leap forward in his battle for the backup job.

I think they've already said that Russell isn't playing this week.

[govandals]

Overall, I felt it was a solid game. With the exception of Geno Smith, I don't think any of the "bubble" players stepped up enough to claim a job this week.
Nice to see Prosise have some effective carries. Really a shame he's so fragile, I think a Carson/Prosise duo would be far greater than a Carson/Penny duo.
Pass rush from the DE's is just not there.
Still lots to be answered Thursday against Oakland.

[jshawaii22]

The good news, if you're a positive thinker, is that neither of our projected starting DE's have played a snap in the preseason and both are due back soon.

[RiverDog]

Overall, I felt it was a solid game. With the exception of Geno Smith, I don't think any of the "bubble" players stepped up enough to claim a job this week.

Nice to see Prosise have some effective carries. Really a shame he's so fragile, I think a Carson/Prosise duo would be far greater than a Carson/Penny duo.

Pass rush from the DE's is just not there.

Still lots to be answered Thursday against Oakland.

We have to keep in mind that the Chargers sat most of their starters on both offense and defense. They have yet to win a game in the preseason, so it's pretty obvious that they have a preservation strategy for the preseason more than do other teams.

If Prosise was healthy, I could see rating him above Penny. He seems to be a little more elusive in traffic and runs through more arm tackles, and he's a proven receiver. But he can't stay on the field, so I see him as being one of the easier decisions to let go.

As JS pointed out, we haven't seen our projected starting DE's yet.

[Anthony]

Niners looked sharp. I see us competing in a 3 way race for the NFC West. Jimmy G is getting it together and D looks fierce.

You guys lack a decent pass rush

Hmm getting it together okay I guess completing 57% of your passes, in preseason is getting it together. At least he is on the field....for now.

[RiverDog]

Niners looked sharp. I see us competing in a 3 way race for the NFC West. Jimmy G is getting it together and D looks fierce.

You guys lack a decent pass rush

Hmm getting it together okay I guess completing 57% of your passes, in preseason is getting it together. At least he is on the field....for now.

I think he was referring to the Niners last preseason game where Garoppolo went 14-20, 1 TD 0 INT with a QB rating of 116 and by all accounts looked sharp.

[obiken]

Get over the fact that if Jimmy G stays upright the Niners will win at least 9 games.