Glorified Scrimmage #1 Is In the Books

The Niners officially opened the season yesterday...sort of. Exhibition games are always a bit of a tease. Sort of like seeing a little ankle in Saudi Arabia: you know there's more where that came from, but there's also no way you're going to see it.

Cover of Saudi Soccer Cheerleaders 2007 calendar

The first quarter of an exhibition game is generally the only time any players we'll see during the regular season even step on the field. It has to be tough for them to play at full intensity since all they care about is not getting injured. There are a couple good game recaps from 49ers Webzone and Matt Maioco if you're interested. But let me sum it up even more concisely: Alex Smith looks as good as he ever has and the defense needs to learn how to tackle. Period. Full stop. Good day, sir. (I say good day!!)

There's not much more to it than that. Reading the tea leaves from a game in mid-August is pretty foolish, especially since the starting front 3 of our 3-4 was out and some dude named Gore was on the bench. Now let's all just say a quick prayer that none of our starters gets hurt before 9/10/07:

O blessed Coach Walsh, forgive Terry Donahue's sins, save us from the fires of hell where Michael Vick is headed, lead all Faithful souls to Glendale in February, and please deny those in most need of Thy mercy. Namely bitch-ass Cardinal fans. Amen.

News Rundown-
Mercury News - Smooth Start for 49ers Offense
SFGate - Not Quite Yet - SF is ok by most measures
Press Democrat - First-Team Offense Sharp
AP (via ESPN) - Broncos 17, 49ers 13 (Give that headline writer a raise. Masterful work.)
Propaganda from 49ers.com - Smith Shows Confidence in Loss to Denver