Five Things To Watch in Seattle vs. San Francisco Football Game

1. The quarterback position — Seattle's offense features Tavaris Jackson, the new QB since the departure of Matt Hasselbeck. It's been a decade since the Seahawks have had a different leader taking snaps. Jackson has looked mediocre at best during the preseason.

Many Hawk fans are wondering how he will handle his first NFL start as a Seahawk. Look for the 49ers to apply pressure early on and often. San Francisco head coach John Harbaugh has named Alex Smith the starter, a former No. 1 draft pick, who has never lived up to the hype of such a high and expensive draft pick. This is going to be Smith's last year to prove he deserves the starting job.

Expect a rocky start from both quarterbacks.

2. Offensive line — Highly touted lineman Russell Okung has returned from an ankle injury and is expected to start. He will be lining up against San Francisco defensive end Justin Smith, who has a nose for sacking the quarterback.

This will be an interesting matchup. Okung needs a strong showing early in the game. Rookie James Carpenter (Alabama) has been taking reps at left guard. One of Carpenter’s strong points is that he played multiple positions in college and should be able to adapt to multiple positions on the O-line. With Robert Gallery—who Seattle acquired from Oakland—out this year with a knee injury— Seattle will feature one of the youngest offensive lines in the NFL.

Seattle's offensive line must give Jackson time to throw and room for running back Marshawn Lynch to run the ball if they want to win.

3. Defense — One of Seattle’s strategies this year has been to get younger, faster and stronger. Only two players less than 6 feet tall are expected to start on defense. They were ranked 27th last year in passing yards allowed and 21st against the run. They will have to improve those numbers dramatically if they want to contend for the NFC West title.

Seattle cornerback Marcus Trufaunt's 5-foot 11 inch height be a challenge against 6-3 214 pound Braylon Edwards. Also, the absence of a leader—middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu— might hurt Seattle.

Seattle must play tough against the pass. Expect the 49ers to try to establish the running game early with Frank Gore. Someone needs to step up and be a leader on defense.

4. Rushing offense — Seattle struggled running the ball this preseason. Head Coach Pete Carroll wants a balanced attack. This past year, the Seahawks ran 41 percent of the time. Seattle must establish the running game early or they might find themselves desperately passing the ball more than they'd like to.

Seattle will struggle early trying establish the run and be forced to throw the football more than they'd lke.

Coaching Feud? — People say there's still bad blood between Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh when they were coaching against each other in college. Harbaugh will be making his NFL debut on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks against his old rival from Stanford University. Who will be the first to let this rivalry get under their skin?

Carroll clearly has the advantage. He has more NFL coaching experience.

Facts Facts

• San Francisco has won the last two home meetings against Seattle.
• San Francisco has not posted a winning record in 8 seasons.
• Seattle ran their 4-3 defense 60 percent of the time, ranked first last year.
• Seattle has allowed an average of 249.6 yards passing a game.
• The NFC West has one of the toughest schedules this year, playing against the NFC East and the AFC North.
• Last year Seattle gave up an average of 22 points a game.