Just checked the Box Score.

Wow. 9 Carries for 19 yards. WTF? While DMC avg 5.4 ypc?

Odd...

Urban 5 for 53. Nice.

Just watched the Highlight of that Long Grant run. The whole D-Line got their shit pushed in, wow.

He sure was last night, he really stepped up. Love his tackle on the Charles fumble run back. He came a long way to catch up, and nobody else had a chance.

OLB is the best it's been with the top 3 in Hali Sheffield, and Houston looking good rushing the qb. Studebaker hasn't stood out and IMO has had a bit of trouble setting the edge in the run game which is supposed to be his strong suit. Seems like some of those long runs both he and TJack are giving too much ground and there is too many bodies for Belcher to fight through. Good thing is they have adjusted well except STL which ran at will their first 2 opening drives.

Gregg i wouldn't say better just about right were you think he would be with things being new. I think he will only get better and Powe has been exceptional for a rookie playing 2 gap NT. Some inconsitancy there but overall pretty darn good. DJ and Bowe both look very good and i think both have taken steps in maturity and leadership roles as well. For DJ he's finally the vet of the group and he seems confident in that role. Bowe's focus has been outstanding.

Belcher looked really good last night. I know it was against 2's and 3's of GB but he had a couple tackles for loss and was butting heads at the LOS with the FB's and guards and holding his ground well. Stood out as a better player in that situation which he should have but still nice to see no matter what. GB always is deep at FB and TE and 2nd and 3rd OL as well. Not starters yet but not some turds like KC with Bobby Greenwood and Chris Harr types if you get my drift.

Back to LB and LOLB specific, i could see Sheffield starting over Stude with Houston getting plenty of snaps there too. It's not cut and dry with my blaming Stude on some of those runs since you can't see the endzone shot which is on the coaches tape so it can be hard to pinpoint. The LE NT and LOLB spots with Belcher at the Mike is all involved in that.

Hudson has looked really good at both C and LG with the exception of the play where Cassel got drilled. He whiffed on that one while playing C. You could hear Haley on the broadcast going nutz on him screaming "get 62 back in there". Trent Green mentioned during the game that Casey is really impressed with him and that Hudson after a few days in camp just started spending a bunch of time with Casey and asking plenty of questions. Casey isn't easily impressed with young guys so that was quite the compliment i thought.

Albert is coming along and will be fine IMO. The whole OL is not where they need to be in their slide protections and all that but sometimes that falls on a TE, Back, or the QB not getting rid of the ball, etc. He hasn't regressed by any means. He can improve though.

Richardson has regressed. Getting a ton of holding calls and whiffs too often. I think the arrival of Gaither has got in his head as well. Pissed me off early in camp when he responded to a question asked to him about keeping the job at RT and he said something about waiting around expecting them to sign someone to replace him and was surprised when camp opened that they didn't. Gaither looked really good at RT last night considering he has very little experience there. Looked pretty smooth as far as adjusting to the right side. Big thing will be his health and how that holds up.(knock on wood) With him and Albert playing together for quite a few snaps last night it was sure a pleasant site to see a nice pocket for the qb for a change...even if it was Shane Falco in @QB.

And for the first time in i don't know how long, they will cut a WR or 2 that will have a shot to stick somewhere else, either as a WR or special teamer. I know Haley likes Urban, Copper, and Colbert really well but IMO he can't keep all 3. If he cuts Tucker i'm gonna be pissed.

Copper is going to be an interesting decision. He's definitely a good special teams player, but last night ... wow. Dropped two passes that hit him right in the hands that cost us the game. If they keep Copper, they're not keeping him as a WR at all, because that's not his skill set. They should change his position to linebacker or strong safety or something.

Unless Hoffman puts in a big plea to save him, I think he's out. Like you, I'm a fan of Tucker and I'd rather see Tucker lined up as a receiver than Copper.
The question is how much the 5th receiver lines up as a receiver and how often he plays on special teams.

Better than expected:
1)Tyler Palko - Throughout the preseason has demonstrated the ability to make good things happen without soiling himself. I think he showed enough to be a legitimate backup, and it never hurts to have a left handed, very mobile QB come off the bench.

2) Dwayne Bowe - Not just making the circus catches, but also catching the ball when it hits him in the hands. If his preseason is any indication, he will join the ranks of the NFL's elite receivers this year.

3) POWe and Gregg - The makings of a great rotation of athletic ability and veteran experience.

4) Houston - Speed dial set on 11. With more coaching on technique he is going to be scary.

5) Dustin Colquitt - With a 100% competion rate in the preseason, he has QBOTF written all over him.

6) Dexter McCluster - Can't tell if he is better or if the coaching staff has just finally figured out what to do with him.

Less than Expected:
1) Tony Moeaki - Pretty slow start with the injury, showed some flashes last night.

2) Matt Cassell- I am not a Cassell hater, but he has not looked very comfortable in the pocket most of the preseason. Looked better last night.

3) Ryan Succop - Really expected him to send all kickoffs out of the endzone.

4) Steve Breaston - Thought he would have more of an immediate impact. Haven't been able to tell if he is not getting looked at, or not getting open.

McCluster has been surprising so far, when he's got 2 healthy legs, i think he's a playmaker and will help keep the chains moving.

Amon Gordon has been a surprise to me, coming from nowhere he looks like a possible contributor.

Powe isn't the fat lard I thought he was going to be and while he has some learning to do, I can see he has potential.

Bowe is improved this year....sticky hands and great effort as demonstrated on running down that fumble last night.

Gales is improved more than I anticipated and looks like he should make the roster in the role played by Shaun Smith last year.

The recieving group as a whole is better this year.

Copper also plays as the lone WR in the jumbo multi TE sets. He's the best blocker. Still i think Urban would be big enough to get that job done. Not as strong but the effort would be there. Hell, we know Bowe could do it and be a much better pass option there as well. Copper plays the lead blocker on KR's and sprung Arenas with a good block on the long run. When it comes to guys like him and battle though i agree with you that the more they regress as contributors to the offense the easier it is to move on with someone else. Especially with Tucker very capable on sp. teams and in battle's case they keep 1-2 extra LB's or a LB and DB just for his role. Also of note: McClain was covering KO's last night and led the team with 2 sp. teams tackles. I didn't expect that. Was glad to see it.

I'm not down on Breaston at all. The first 2 games Urban didn't even get any looks. Cassel started of in those games and locked in on Bowe. An early camp interview w/Breaston he indicated that they wanted him to take his time and get to know the offense. He has familiarity with Haley, Mo Carthon, and Richie Anderson from their AZ days so i think it was more they are very cautious with his knee. As far as i remember he hasn't missed much if any practice time.

Better than I expected:
Asamoah: Don't miss Brian Waters at all.
Bowe: Played very well last night.
Sheffield: Good linebacker, hope he stays healthy.
Powe: Hopefully he'll learn from Gregg.
Flowers: Nice pick last night.

Worse:
Colquitt: Shanked two punts last night.
Copper: Maybe played himself off the team.
Richardson: He's a speed bump.
Cassel: Has no accuracy. If he could hit somebody in stride, we'd get YAC.
Lewis: Got suckered bad by St. Louis for their first TD last week
Haley: WTF are you doing playing Hali in the 4th Qtr????

Albert has played well the last couple of weeks.

Impressed
Houston
Albert
McCluster
Bowe
DJ
Sheffield
Gordon

Unimpressed
Studebaker
Pisspoorcatelly
Richardson
Hudson
Urban
Torpedio

Cassel has looked better than expected.

HUm, NO. If anything, McCluster and Bowe have made him look good with terrific catches but Cassell looks average, the same as last year.

ditto that.