When I started watching, the game clock was at about 9:28 in the 1st quarter, so I ended up missing most of the work of the starting units. So, I can only comment on what I saw ... and I saw far more positives than negatives overall ...
Some Positives ...
Chris Carson -- I loved what I saw from Chris Carson. He ran with a whole lot of toughness/aggressiveness. He hit the hole quick -- not a ton of wasted motion dancing around. I absolutely loved that 10 yard burst that he had -- exactly what you want to see. If he were somehow forced to start, I'd be quite comfortable with that.
Offensive Line as a whole -- for the most part, that unit played really well I thought. It sounds like there were some issues against the #1's of San Diego, but as a whole, they kept all of Seattle's QB's jerseys clean. They looked good in both pass protection and were regularly blasting holes for the RB's. That was probably one of my biggest overall positive takeaways from this game IMO.
Trevone Boykin – Outside of that last throw that he threw that got intercepted (and he even admitted that was a mistake) … I thought Boykin looked really good. He looked decisive, stood strong in the pocket, made accurate throws, and scrambled at appropriate times when he couldn’t find an open receiver. At this moment in time (barring any roster additions), I’d say he’s the backup QB. No question about it because I was underwhelmed by Davis.
Ethan Pocic -- WOW! What an asset. He certainly has that "dirtbag" mentality that you love to see. Really physical and I personally loved seeing him consistently getting to the 2nd level and putting guys on the ground. Love his versatility. It's going to be hard to keep him out of the starting lineup.
Kasen Williams -- Had a very good night overall. That long catch down the sideline was extremely impressive. I'd agree with those who are saying that he's going to be hard to keep off the 53 man roster.
David Moore -- I thought Moore very quietly had a good game as well. He ran what looked like some fairly crisp routes, looked quick, and had a couple of nice catches. Good start for the rookie.
Seattle's Front 7 -- As a whole looked dominant most of the night. I don't know if that was more of a function of just how good and deep Seattle's D truly is ... or how inept San Diego's 2nd and 3rd Offensive Line unit was. There were so many plays that were being made that I was saying to myself, “WHO THE HECK IS THAT GUY?!? Lots of plays being made by guys who have zero shot at making this team.
Some Negatives …
Injuries -- Seattle got out of this game pretty unscathed for the most part. I never like seeing rookies like Amara Darboh get hurt (report on him was a bruised sternum), as they need all the reps they can get. Hopefully his issue isn’t all that serious and won’t cost him a lot of time. Paul Richardson is the more concerning one, as I’m honestly wondering if his future on this team isn’t now really in jeopardy. Sometimes your greatest asset is your availability … and for whatever reason if you can’t stay on the field, the team will eventually move on without you. He has been injured off and on throughout his career, so I’m wondering (if this lingers) if this might not be it for him.
Mike Tyson – He got burned on a long completion late in the game. That’s never a good sign (especially given the level of competition he’s going up against).
Alex Collins – I was not all that impressed with Collins tonight in all honesty. I thought he ran high at times and wasn’t nearly as physical as Chris Carson. He also dropped a pass to him out in the flat. Overall, I thought his overall performance was “MEH” at best. IMO, Carson definitely has the edge over him in the RB competition. At this moment in time, I’d give Carson the edge to takes his roster spot.
) and maintained that throughout the game. Everybody looked like they were fighting for a spot on the roster.
