Victory!

Despite an extremely inauspicious start to today's game, Seattle rallied to defeat, dominate and humiliate San Francisco.

It represented the most satisfying possible beginning for the new season.

The Seahawks outcoached and outplayed the 49ers.

Given the doubts I expressed in my most recent post, I hereby consume a moderate portion of crow:

The defensive line exceeded expectations by shutting down Frank Gore and putting consistent pressure upon Alex Smith. Kudos to Schneider and Carroll for seeing that Chris Clemons--a perennial backup throughout his career--deserved a chance to start.

The secondary did not need Josh Wilson today. Marcus Trufant, Kelly Jennings, and Big Play Babs repeatedly came through in the clutch.

Earl Thomas continues to impress, and it appears that the new regime has found a role that suits Aaron Curry.

And, at least for today, our receiving corps appeared to be as good as last year's, though the two drops by Mike Williams were rather worrisome.

However, some of the concerns I have expressed remain relevant.

Seattle still has no ground game. San Francisco's defensive front manhandled our O-Line, forcing the Hawks to abandon the run and become one-dimensional. Fortunately, the offensive line can apparently pass block reasonably well, and Hasselbeck rose to the occasion, expertly dissecting the 49er secondary. Only at the end of the game, while sitting on a fat lead, was Seattle able to make some headway on the ground.

Moreover, the Seahawks cannot count on the large dose of luck that came our way in the first quarter. Most coaches will not pull a Mike Singletary and repeatedly go for it on 4th down, forgoing automatic points in the form of chip shot field goals. And few NFL quarterbacks would pull an Alex Smith and botch a sure touchdown by overthrowing a preposterously wide open receiver.

Still, congratulations are due to Coach Carroll, to GM John Schneider, to every Seahawk player, and to the fans who brought the noise. This is the right way to start a season. Let's keep it rolling next week in Denver.