NFL Preseason Open Thread | Seattle at San Diego

I'm trying to be cool about this since it's only an NFL Preseason exhibition game but PRAISE BE TO THE FOOTBALL GODS FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL OASIS OF FOOTBALL FOOTBALL FOOTBALL FOOTALKBOLLIALIAERGTIPNHJOFJIOPAFJAJIOPH23JHIOPp"!!!~!!!!!!!

Anyway, Seattle heads to Qualcomm Stadium to face the San Diego Chargers, bringing former Alabama offensive lineman James Carpenter with them.  He's expected to start at RT tonight in his first taste of live NFL action:

Is James Carpenter up to speed? Is John Moffitt really an “ass kicker,” as proclaimed by general manger John Schneider the day he was drafted in the third round? What about Byron Maxwell, Richard Sherman and Mark LeGree? How do they fit into the secondary? And can Pep Levingston prove that he belongs in the defensive line rotation? Linebackers K.J. Wright and Malcolm Smith have impressed in camp, but can they keep it up against other NFL players?

Hard to expect a whole heck of a lot from that group, since there were no OTAs this season and the lot of them have only two weeks of professional practice under their belts.

But it will be telling to see who looks as if they belong, and who doesn’t. Carpenter and Moffitt are both listed as starters on the depth chart, while the rest of the rookies will still likely be battling for jobs as backups once the 53-man cut is made on Sept. 3.

Kickoff is at 7:00pm CST on ESPN.