Let's sprint through this briefest of quarters.

• On the eighth play of Seattle's first drive of the quarter, Pat Murray blew a block allowing Marques Harris into the backfield, who tackled TJ Duckett for a loss of one. Murray. Blown block. That's pretty novel. I mean, good pull block, stout pass block, we've seen that all preseason, but blown block? What's up with that, guy?

  Murray has been an unheralded star of the preseason. Watch #63, his future looks bright.

• Scruffy is indeed right, Jordan Kent nearly dropped a gimme touchdown pass. It would seem Kent heard footsteps, and despite being open, despite a savvy break towards the pass eliminating any chance a defender could reach him, Kent got nervous and nearly dropped it. Here's hoping the fact that he didn't drop it helps his confidence.
• Babs had another nice coverage, again playing zone, and again reading the quarterback and breaking on the pass.
• Murray had an excellent pull block on Justin Forsett's lone successful rush. What I liked best is, Murray pulling out wide left, adjusts his block in to stop a free defender. That decision making, breaking route and identifying the most pressing problem, squarely engaging that defender and allowing an otherwise broken play to still be successful, is pure gridiron.
• Jason Babin displayed a nice edge rush sacking Billy Volek. Does Seattle trade him or do they keep him as depth? His performance has certainly forced the question.
• Forsett had four rushes and five touches. On one, he fumbled. And just like that, the hype caught a ride on the first bread truck out of town. Ugh. Anyway, the kid fights for his job tomorrow. I think playing against a 3-4, and that scheme's strength and numbers in the second level, were a big part of Forsett's problems. Here's rooting he wins a spot.
• On the second play of Seattle's second drive, Courtney Taylor made a nice leaping grab on a badly overthrown pass by Seneca Wallace. Better yet, he, untackled, got up and ran for the first. Taylor needs more looks, but he's been impressive on the ones he's had.
• On the first play of San Diego's final drive of the game, Erik Robertson passes Howard Green into the backfield on a pull block. There's nothing atypical about that. But the run goes a bit awry, and though the telephoto lens may have betrayed me, the rusher looks to run very close to Green. Green is just so slow though. How can a tackle play one gap if he can't reach the ball carrier?

Finally, Rapid Fire:

• Kevin Hobbs played well. No way on the interference.
• Floyd Womack allowed the sack and then got beaten back again allowing pressure on Wallace's INT. He played well early and wore down.
  
• Payne chills out after the INT. Standing stupefied while the game plays out behind him. Of course, he didn't see it, but after so much damn hype I wonder if Payne is destined to be cut. When you're a scrapper, chillin' out on an INT return is not okay.
  
• I've lobbied for Obo and he's looked good at times, but the kid makes the short list of players who must have a good game tomorrow or risk unemployment.

• On the first play of the second half, Brandon Mebane finally broke through. Forcing and then splitting a double team; showing the kind of big bodied disruption that defined his rookie season. Mebane has been very quiet this preseason. I hope his newfound emphasis on pass rush isn't interfering with his indispensible run stuffing.
• 4^th and 5 on the Seattle 37. Chargers break 4 WR, Rb. Seattle is in a 4-2 Nickel. Jordan Babineaux, playing a short zone just inside the numbers, breaks on a pass targeting Kassim Osgood, getting good impact while swatting the ball and forcing an incomplete. This is where Babineaux shines, in the short zone, where his proclivity to watch the quarterback allows him to make quick adjustments and cover the right man. He must be played to this strength and away from man coverage.
• Next play, Mansfield Wrotto blows a block against a blitzing linebacker.

• It must be said, I've damn excited about Jordan Kent. After 3 games of sustained growth, there's just no way to explain away his impressive play. In consecutive plays, Kent displayed an improved ability to defeat coverage and play the ball.

  2^nd and 23 on the San Diego 49. Seahawks break 3 WR, TE, RB. Chargers in a Base 3-4. Kent breaks in on a Charlie Frye pass that errs dangerously close to coverage. That's an adjustment to a pass in flight. That's next level shit.

  3^rd and 2 on the San Diego 28. Seahawks again break 3 WR, TE, RB. Chargers in a Base 3-4. Frye is pressured by Carlos Polk, rolls right, finds Kent streaking on a drag route, throws a low but accurate strike that Kent grabs and falls backwards with for the first. Here's the fun part: On the replay, we see Kent's entire route. Off the snap, Kent easily fights off Quentin Jammer, gaining initial separation. The drag slices through San Diego's 4 linebackers and moments after beating Jammer, inside man Matt Wilhelm violently chips Kent. Kent, knocked up onto one foot, instantly recovers. Wilhelm's hit allows Jammer back into the play, but Kent simply outruns the former 4.42 40 first rounder, squares his shoulders towards Frye, grabs the pass and converts the first. It's not just that Kent has played well over multiple games, it's that he's making strides every game. The regular season is another big jump, but it's time we recognize the chance we may be seeing a superstar developing before our eyes.

• That was madness, but my favorite play of the quarter is undoubtedly Frye's stiff-arm on Polk to get separation and safely throw the ball away. It was a good quarter for Frye, not as flashy as the first, but more consistently competent. Hmm...

"Perhaps all pleasure is only relief." --William S. Burroughs

Fitting a junkie'd understand the simple joy of no longer feeling sick, sad and hollow.

I don't even know what sleeper means anymore. The guy autodraft ignores? Or the one where your buddy wonderin' where Shaun Alexander went never heard of? And is the best fantasy option the one who will score the most points or the one who is more valuable than their projected draft slot? Anyway, I'm tired and curmudgeonly. Don't mind me. How about then we look at Seattle's best and best sleeper with an eye to value over projected round. I can do that.

Seattle's "Best" Fantasy Option: Matt Hasselbeck

Projected Round in a 12 team league: Y! 6-7, ESPN 5

Value: 7-9

I like Hasselbeck, but his stock suffers because of the depth of talent at QB. Though an improved running attack and improved offensive line will help his actual performance, those two factors should also ensure Seattle avoids abandoning the running game. He's not likely to push 4,000 yards again, nor is he likely to improve upon the 28 touchdowns he threw last season. With players like McNabb, Rivers, Cutler and Schaub falling into the mid to late rounds, it's probably not worth it to reach for Hasselbeck.

Seattle's Best Fantasy "Sleeper": Julius Jones

Projected Round: Y! 6, ESPN 4

Value: 3-4

Jones takes a knock in league's that emphasize touchdowns over all other stats. It's hard to be sure Jones will get most of the looks in the red zone. Mike Holmgren is a traditionalist, and with a back like TJ Duckett in the mix, Jones might cede carries within the 10. Jones gets a boost in points per receptions leagues. Holmgren is enamored with his newfound ability to pass to his backs, and after last year's intimate look at his play card, we know he's wanted to "just call" screen passes.

Either way, despite some recent hype and ubiquitous "sleeper" status, Jones is a safe value in almost every league. Seattle's combination of strong D and a good projected record means the Hawks will find themselves protecting a lot of leads. Remember the golden rule: Winning teams produce good fantasy rushers.

The return of Jordan Babineaux led to the exit of Lofa Tatupu.

• Third play of San Diego's final drive of the half. 3^rd and 3 on the San Diego 48. Chargers break 3 WR, SB, shotgun. Seattle in a nickel D. From the slot, Vincent Jackson runs a drag pattern. Jordan Babineaux initiates contact, falls off laggard Jackson, and enters a trailing position. Rivers finds Jackson open, Jackson catches the pass, turns upfield, and is met by Tatupu screaming back into play and Babineaux still holding the veil. The collision, combined with Jackson's forward momentum, toss Tatupu down knee first into the turf. His knee isn't twisted sideways, and though his foot catches, the final position isn't unnatural. Just painful and sudden. I think a bad bruise looks about right.
  

• Charlie Frye makes his blocking look bad. Stepping into defenders or not stepping into the pocket; after making some poor decisions under pressure against Chicago, Frye seemed committed to throwing the ball at the first site of a free defender against San Diego. His thirteen yard scramble should have been a sack. Not just in the sense that Jyles Tucker should have completed the tackle, but that Frye's knee was inches from the turf. It's not the kind of play that's repeatable.

  His accuracy isn't repeatable either. Especially on deep patterns, where he's sometimes pinpoint and sometimes in the stands.

  But it'd be a lie to say he didn't play well on Monday, and barring something sucky and unforeseen, that's how he'll end 2008. The implications for Seattle are interesting. Had Frye played like he had against Chicago, Seattle would again be in the market for a quarterback. It's a bit overdue that Seattle drafts a developmental quarterback to refine while Matt Hasselbeck plays out his career. Without another game situation, it's impossible to know if Frye has truly turned the corner and is becoming a good or even serviceable quarterback, or, my guess, that last Monday was an aberration wrought by two cautious contenders.

• On the second play of the second quarter, on a run to the right B gap, Seattle's Ray Willis flexed back against Igor Olshansky before showing off his immense upper-body strength, shoving Olshanky back, into the pile and onto the turf. Willis is a hell of a strong right tackle, much stronger than Sean Locklear, and matched against a stout 3-4 end, it's little wonder he looked his best, but the fact that Willis was forced to recover after being backed up, and only delivered the knockout block after Maurice Morris had passed him, is further indication that Willis just isn't getting off the line quick enough and if pressed into regular duty a likely liability against speed rushing left defensive ends.

• After repeated viewings, I'm still not sure what happened that allowed Vincent Jackson to break free and catch a 59 yard Philip Rivers bomb.

  It's 2^nd and 19 on the Chargers 32. The Chargers break in a 3 WR (2 left, 1 right), offset I (right). Seattle is in a base 4-3. By the looks of it, Seattle is running a Cover 2. Deon Grant is playing over Jackson on the left. At the snap, the 3 wide receivers run straight upfield. On the right, Marcus Trufant and Brian Russell are playing just off Chris Chambers. On the left, Kelly Jennings is playing tight against, I believe, Legedu Naanee. Leroy Hill passes Jackson off deep, but there's no one there, as Grant is a in a soft shell left, somewhat near Jennings and Naanee. Now, I don't know if Russell mistakenly doubled Chambers, leaving his deep shell derelict or if Grant locked in on Naanee and somehow missed Jackson. Grant was closest and easily able to run down Jackson from behind, but the answer to whom allowed such an ugly, easy completion is a mystery.

The first quarter epitomized whatever's the antonym of "smashmouth football". Perhaps "don't-blitz-our-franchise-quarterback-recovering-from-an-ACL-tear-and-we-won't-further-shatter-your-third-string-quarterback's-rock-candy-like-confidence football". Seattle went four wide on five plays and San Diego never once responded with an overload blitz, a corner blitz or a safety blitz. Frye was rarely pressured, didn't panic, looked serviceable and probably secured an undeserving spot on the roster. A diabolical trick by Norv Turner? You wily bastard.

• If you saw the game on the ESPN, you no doubt saw Frye's touchdown pass to Nate Burleson a half dozen times. It was a nice touch pass. Eric Weddle did the scrappy overachiever thing - winding up, sinking his shoulder pads before ineffectually bouncing off Burleson - gifting Seattle an additional ~20 yards. But it was Courtney Taylor's heads-up downfield block I was most impressed with. The timing was ruthless and had Taylor broken stride or not immediately sought and engaged Quentin Jammer, the block impossible. And it was the Godawful play action mocked by Frye and Maurice Morris I was most disgusted by. Morris never ran anywhere near Frye, instead immediately popping into a block on the right side, leaving Frye faking the ball to his imaginary buddy. The two were at it again on the last play of the half, Morris never near Frye yet Frye still play faking to air.

• Speaking of Taylor, it was cool to see him overpower Jammer on a quick slant: Overpowering the press, overpowering Jammer for inside position and overpowering Jammer after the catch, dragging Jammer for eight and the first. I think Taylor has the kind of functional power we haven't seen in a Seahawks receiver since...?
• Darren Sproles made the most of some gaping holes and like Reggie Bush worked quick cuts to Seattle's embarrassment, but, again, for a Seahawks squad in love with the run blitz, Seattle's linebacker corps looked allergic to the offensive line, consistently engaging lead blockers in the second level and too often attempting to take on a shifty running back in space. In the ultimate copycat league, two days after the defending World Champions lost their best player for the season, methinks someone cried "poison!" before kickoff and both teams scattered.
• The quarter featured a couple nice pull blocks by Rob Sims. Pull blocks always seem to play against a 3-4, perhaps because offensive linemen are often free off the line. Nevertheless, pull blocking is the next step for Sims and his ability to get into space and square his assignment were encouraging.

• On San Diego's fourth play of their first drive, Leroy Hill badly blew coverage against Chris Chambers. Chambers, aligned in the slot, dropped the pass letting Hill off the hook. Hill, playing on the right offensive side, mindlessly moved out and towards the sideline on Chambers quick slant in, giving Chambers a free release and open space between him and Deon Grant. Grant, entering the frame only after Chambers had flubbed the pass, looked in Hill's direction and shook his head.

  This gaffe is notable only because sometime between 2006, when many saw Leroy Hill as a clumsy, easily confused pass defender, and the 2008 offseason, with many now seeing Hill as an intimidating, play making pass defender, Hill has become an often competent, sometimes flashy and sometimes flaky pass defender. In the red zone, you want to be able to come out in your base defense, even when a team goes three wide, but a linebacker allowing an uncontested slant rout from the slot is exactly the type of mistake that makes coordinators default into nickel. Without the drop, the pass had an excellent chance of ending in the end zone.

• On the first play of Seattle's final drive, Maurice Morris made many small cuts and broke a tackle by Weddle on a rush that exemplifies new look Morris. Shiftiness in the open field? A bulked up ability to break tackles? I'm excited to see this new running back in the regular season.

• On the 13^th and 14^th plays of Seattle's penultimate drive of the quarter, Frye was up to his normal hijinks, pairing bad passes and looking every bit the backup.

  The first came on a sailed pass on an I-don't-know-what pattern by Taylor. Taylor wasn't remotely close, and though the ball managed to sail harmlessly incomplete, assuming Frye wasn't intending to toss the ball nowhere (he wasn't pressured), the dead duck dove closer to Jammer than Taylor and were it more accurate had all the makings of an interception.

  The second came on a pass Frye jammed into Logan Payne's inside shoulder though Payne was running out. The telegraphed pass, paired with Payne's relative slowness, became and easy pass defense for Clinton Hart. Nothing worth burying a guy for, but it was a display of the kind of easy badness professional players can't afford.

• Let's end with something positive.

  It's 3^rd and 1 on the San Diego 34. Mike Holmgren shows his modernity, employing the fan conceived, WR, 2 TE, Owen Schmitt, Leonard Weaver I-formation. San Diego responds with a Base 3-4. The play is a run behind right guard, with Mike Wahle pulling right and lead blocking for Weaver. The sink for Seattle is Schmitt successfully filling for Wahle, eliminating backside pursuit.

  He does.

  Schmitt, in that oh so lovable fashion, batters hard charging inside linebacker Derek Smith, sealing the hole as well as any lineman could hope and leaving Smith slowed and shaking his head.

Wunderkind long snapper, Tyler Schmitt, is lost for the season with a back injury. A small, but meaningful blow to a Seahawks special teams unit that could be great and could be grating.

In other news, Seattle played it cute getting down to 75. Smartly retaining good talent in Will Herring and William Robinson by placing Herring on the reserve list and Robinson on IR. Robinson has potential, if he can fill out. That left only Joel Filani and Omare Lowe to be outright cut.

That's the word out of Seahawks Insider.

I didn't see the injury and have no insight into the severity. The team will conduct an MRI tomorrow. It's not hard to expect the worst, but we shall see.