It's nice to win a game, don't you think?!

Ah, but it's pre-season and it really doesn't matter what the final score is. The important thing, and this is SO important, is that the Hasselbeck-led offense was able to put together a drive. I hope that puts some of the Hasselbeck-doubters at ease. Holmgren told us through the media that Matt made progress in the last week of training camp. I think Matt clearly demonstrated that in tonight's game.

Pat, I know you're Robinson's man and I do like Koren, especially with the fight after the catch (which is awesome this year!) but I've got to stick with Jackson as my favorite! Maybe it's the potential for a touchdown on a long pass to Jackson, maybe it's his sure hands, (maybe it's the fact that I got his locker room nameplate from training camp last year!) but I get excited when the pass goes to Darrell! I'm really fired up about our receiving corps this season, and I can't wait to see more of Stevens too!

Shaun Alexander once again had some big plays, at one time bursting through for a 15+ yard gain. (I had the video feed from the Chiefs. If you've ever seen a Chiefs broadcast, you know how one-sided they admittedly are. They didn't give many details on a good play by the Hawks, including Shaun's run so I'm not sure how many yards he actually got but it was a great effort on his part.) We also got to see a lot of running back Phillips this evening.

I am VERY pleased with the performance of our entire defense! Chad Brown was everywhere. Willie Williams puts so much effort into his play. He's a little guy who just keeps coming! Bell and Lucas had nice plays today. Kacyvenski got a sack and Curtis Fuller ended up with two interceptions! Gotta love it!

Special teams was more solid tonight than in the earlier two games. James Williams ran a kick-off out past the 50 yard line! Our kicking game was good today with Lindell on the field. Bannister's presence was made known on a punt by Kansas City. We're getting there!!

One of the things that worked well for us in this game was the slant. The KC announcers, who are experts in the field of making excuses, told us every time(!) it worked how difficult the slant is to defend. I had to laugh! The slant was working, but the thing I don't quite understand about the mechanics of it all is that it seems a bit risky to me. It appeared to me that there were 4 defenders around the receiver every time we ran the slant. A couple of times the QB was threading the needle. OK gurus, it's hard to defend because the pass is thrown so quickly? 'cause it seems to me that a slant would be relatively easy to pick off if the pass isn't thrown perfectly. Anyone want to offer some insight?

Jerome Woods of the Chiefs was injured in the first half by what appears to be a fractured ankle and/or broken leg. (I haven't heard anything definitive at the time of this writing.) We knew by his reaction that it was a serious injury as soon as it happened, and sure enough he was carted off the field. I never like to see injuries but I LOVED the show of support he received from his team mates. They stood together in a group and clapped when he was put onto the cart, and then when the medical staff cleared they approached Woods to offer their well wishes for his recovery. VERY classy. I'm sorry for the injury but I'm proud of the Chiefs for the support they gave him. As the Chiefs backed off, many Seahawk players approached Jerome also to offer support for his recovery. We don't always see sportsmanship like that so I want to make a point to applaud the players on both sides of the ball for remembering that the players are people first, football players second.

We got to see Rypien in the fourth quarter. He still throws a good ball and he can still take a lickin'! Gotta love it; gotta pull for him!

On a weeeeeird note, the game was sponsored by...(ready for this?)...the United Methodist Church.

Since when do church denominations sponsor football teams?!?!

It struck me funny when I saw the first commercial "Chiefs football is brought to you by the United Methodist Church..." and then again each time another commercial was aired! I'm a member of a local UM church so it's not as if I have any kind of negative bias but I still think it's a little on the odd side!

My apologies to those of you who wrote during the game hoping for a response during a commercial break. We had a lightning storm this weekend that damaged some equipment at my ISP. Aaaauuugggghhh!! They worked on it all day and still were not able to get the system up and running by Sunday morning. I apologize for not returning your mail promptly and will get to the replies as soon as I am able to!

Overall, this week's game makes me feel a lot more optimistic! (Go ahead, Sharpclaw. Say, "I told you so!") Let's see what next week brings!

If you have comments, send them in and I'll get them posted here!!