Trav's Thoughts

We're a house divided today as the 49ers visit Seattle. But on the bright side, we both get to watch on the 42" Plasma.

SF forces a 3 and out on the first Seahawks possession, and gets the ball at their own 43 after an average punt.

The 49ers have to use an early time out, and then an illegal formation penalty negates a 25 yard pass play. They come up short on the 3rd down play. And SF bungles a chance to down the punt at the 1 yard line. Instead it's a touch back and Seattle takes the ball at the 20.

Uhm...I should advise that this recap is likely to be biased in favor of SF. Sorry Pam!

Want an ice cream sammich?



Oh no! Seattle may just have lost another receiver on a low hit. WR Logan Payne made a leaping catch over the middle. The SF defender went low and put his helmet right on Payne's knee while he was defenseless.

I hate that kind of play. I don't know what was in the defender's mind, but there's no need to go for his legs in that situation. I know you can make that tackle around the waist.

This just in...Seattle back up QB Seneca Wallace is out of the game. I don't know what happened, but evidently he was injured in warmp ups.

GAH! SF gets a great punt block, but Seattle recovers the block and is able to run for a first down. Geez.

Seattle takes advantage and gets a tough run from RB Julius Jones, 27 yards for the TD.

Dangit.

I mean, YAY for Pam!

Now SF is self-destructing with false start penalties, putting the 49ers in a hole at 1st and 20 from their own 18 yard line.

The Seahawks are flagged for taunting, which results in a first down. But then the 49ers fumble and Seattle recovers and runs the ball back for a TD.

So first the 49ers block a punt, but the great play gets turned into a bad one as Seattle recovers the block and runs it for a first down. Then SF catches a break on a taunting penalty, only to fumble on the next play and give up another TD, when without the penalty they would have punted.

Sheesh.

I will say that it's about time Seattle LB Julian Peterson is called on his stupid "look at me" antics. Pam agrees with me on that one.

DB Allen Rossum gets a 44 yard return on the ensuing kick off. So let's see if SF can make anything of the good field position.

Here's a quick update. New England QB Matt Cassel is 4 of 5 for 61 yards so far in his NFL debut as a starting QB, in relief of injured Tom Brady.

In comparison, Jets QB Brett Favre is 3 of 7 for 40 yards.

The Patriots lead the Jets 3-0.

SF has been able to get organized and drive down to the Seahawk 10 yard line, mostly behind RB Frank Gore on the ground and with short passes in the flat. But the drive stalls and SF settles for a field goal.

The 49ers force Seattle to punt, and then get a big pass play from O'Sullivan to WR Bryant Johnson for 25 yards followed by another big play to WR Isaac Bruce for 27.

Now O'Sullivan is in rhythm as he hits WR Arnaz Battle over the middle for 14 more yards into the red zone. But O'Sullivan comes up a little gimpy on the next play, and the 49ers are penalized for holding to put them in a 1st and 20 situation.

Seattle gets flagged for pass interference just outside the endzone and now it's first and goal at the 3 yard line for SF. The 49ers are unable to run the ball inside the 5, and O'Sullivan is sacked on 3rd down. SF settles for the field goal and it's 14-6.

Rats.

Seattle gets a 54 yard kick off return from Josh Wilson to set the offense up just outside the 40. And Hasselbeck goes deep to WR Billy McMullen for 30 yards, but he fumbles and the 49ers recover.

Wooooooooooooooooo!

But O'Sullivan is forced to scramble for 4 yards on first down. And then the Seahawks get a sack on 2nd down. This offensive line needs to get it together. Seattle has sacked O'Sullivan 4 times already in the first half.

No harm done on the fumble as the 49ers have to punt.

SF is getting no pressure at all on Hasselbeck. Even with the depleted receiver corps, if you give him that much time he's bound to complete some passes. Still, the secondary does the job in coverage and the Seattle drive stalls. Olindo Mare hits the 41 yard field goal for a 17-6 lead.

Wooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! O'Sullivan to Bruce for 63 yards! Bruce split the defensive backs on the post route and Marcus Trufant had to chase the 35 year old former Ram down from behind. It's first and goal from the 9 yard line.

SF begins to self destruct again with an illegal formation penalty on 1st down. O'Sullivan misses WR Josh Morgan in the endzone. Then he throws an interception to Deon Grant, but that pick is negated by a pass interference penalty which makes it 1st and goal from the 1 yard line.

And SF cashes in, O'Sullivan to Johnson on a quick slant. It's 17-13.

DOH! SF sends the kickoff out of bounds, so Seattle gets the ball on the 40 with a minute and a half to play in the 1st half. Hasselbeck quickly drives the Seahawks into field goal range at the SF 28.

Now the former force out rule comes into play. McMullen catches a ball on the sideline and the defender rides him out of bounds before he can get his feet down. Last year, the official could have ruled that he would have come down in bounds. That rule has been changed, so the receiver actually has to get his feet in bounds regardless of contact. So that goes as an incomplete pass.

Mare comes in and kicks a field goal as time runs out, and the halftime score is 20-13.

Around the league at halftime:

Tampa Bay is in control, 17-3 against Atlanta. Atlanta rookie QB Matt Ryan had a great game last week in his NFL debut, but this week he has struggled, completing only 3 of 15 passes for 36 yards and 2 interceptions. The Falcons have also fumbled once. Brian Griese got the start for the Bucs, and he has gone 12 of 22 for 89 yards and a TD. TB RB Warrick Dunn has a rushing TD.

Arizona QB Kurt Warner is 11 of 13 for 247 yards and 2 TDs against a struggling Miami defense. WR Larry Fiztgerald has caught 4 balls for 102 yards. WR Anquan Boldin has 2 receptions for 82 yards, both for TDs. Miami is getting nothing from QB Chad Pennington and nothing from the running game. Arizona leads 17-0.

Denver leads San Diego 24-17 in a bit of a shoot out. SD QB Philip Rivers is 9 of 12 for 133 yards and a TD, but has thrown an interception. The Broncos have held RB LaDainian Thompson to just 13 yards on 6 carries. Meanwhile, Denver QB Jay Cutler is 20 of 27 for 215 yards and 2 TDs. RB Selvin Young has rushed 5 times for 54 yards, one of which was a 49 yard scamper. 11th year pro RB Michael Pittman has a rushing TD for Denver. The Broncos got a late TD pass from Cutler to WR Brandon Marshall to extend the lead to 31-17. Marshall has 10 catches for 120 yards in the first half.

New England and the Jets are in a 6-3 field goal kicking contest. Matt Cassel has played reasonably well, 9 of 13 for 96 yards. He hasn't thrown a TD, but he also hasn't thrown an interception. The Patriots are not running the ball well at all. Jets QB Brett Favre is only 9 of 14 for 101 yards. He also has not TDs or interceptions. The Jets are running the ball slightly better than NE. But neither team has found the endzone.