Playing New Orleans in their house will be the greatest challenge the team has faced yet. If we win, or even lose a close game, it shows that we may have a shot at winning the West this year (likely, they'll only need 8 or 9 wins).

If we get slaughtered, it could be the start our yearly 5 or 6 game losing streak.

The keys:

- Get pressure on Drew Brees; he will tear us up otherwise.
- Contain Reggie Bush.
- And avoid the one thing that cost us the Arizona game: Turnovers.

Lawson is fast enough to cover receivers and has the strength to crush running backs, so I don't understand why they don't use him as a DBs in their nickel package. If they insist on using a five DB package all game long, why keep Lawson, one of our best athletes, out of the game if he's healthy?).

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Nolan decided that since the Seahawks change formations so quickly, it was best to avoid using many substitutions. By sticking with nickel defense, he shut down the passing game, while allowing Seattle to easily run the ball on us. Analysts are baffled by Nolan's strategy. But I still wonder: would we have still won the game if we went with our usual strategy of constantly substituting players?

This is a one man show for the most part (I do get help from family on certain site related projects), so bare with me on the delays.

I've been in Hawaii the last week, so I didn't have time to select the photos and write commentary for our the home opener album. We're pretty late already, but we did get some awesome shots, so it will be worth the wait.

I've got to work most of today, but within the next few days, the fans and tailgaters will get their due photo props.

As I tore the Game 1 tickets from the pack, I was excited to check out where my upgraded seats would be for the season.

All I had for this game was an average 5.0 Megapixel Cannon, but I will be bringing a high-grade camera (with telephoto lens) to future games, so consider this a test run for the Ninerzone.com Photo Journal Project. This project is dedicated to bringing readers a fan's perspective of the game. Future installations of this project will include all aspects of the experience, from top parking lot BBQ setups to unusual fan gear.

Things change quickly, but the coaches and blogosphere have spoken: Shaun Hill is the third wheel in a two-QB competition. In the first preseason game, O'Sullivan and Smith both showed periods of strong play, while Hill struggled (connecting on 10 of 20 throws, for 4.2 yards an attempt) against third stringers (granted, he had to play with his own third stringers).

Here are my thoughts on the two, based on observations from the preseason games and sifting through the blogosphere:

J.T. O'Sullivan:

Positives:

• The quick release, very accurate on short passes.

In the first preseason game, it looks like the 49ers will play O'Sullivan against the Raiders' first team, Alex Smith against the second team, and Shaun Hill against the practice squad players in the fourth quarter. Given the current situation, this move makes perfect sense.

While Smith has shown glimpses of strong play in camp, he is still working on learning his fourth offense in four years, and what he needs most is familiarity and confidence with whatever offense he is running. Throwing him in against the Raiders' first team defense (which is solid from what I hear), seems unwise until he is fluent with the Mike Martz's complex offense.

Our resident graphic designer noticed that most of the printable schedules out there have small type, requiring you to walk close to see which game is up next.

So she created it, and we're giving it away: the ultimate, easy-to-read 49ers schedule for your fridges and bulletin boards.

The Niner Insider provided the latest training camp stats for the three-headed QB competition:

JTO: 15-of-19 with good command and touch on deep passes.

Smith: 10-of-21, little command and his daily interception to Dashon Goldson.

Hill: 3-of-6. Three-of-six. That's says it all. Hill isn't getting much action and when he does, he doesn't shine.

Based on the above obseravtions, O'Sullivan killed the competition today. Not only does he enjoy familiarity with Martz's offense, but he displays that quick-release throwing style that Martz loves in his quarterbacks.

Some Seattle Seahawks (2-2 against the 49ers in the last 4 games) fans, seem to think that they will continue to get a free meal ticket in the NFC West.

Mike from Seattle writes: Sando, It seems to me that the NFC West is going to struggle controlling the line of scrimmage against the Hawks. With the addition of Wahle (and Solari) on the OL and added depth at DL, they only got better. How do other teams compete? Rams added Long on DL, Cards OL is improving, and the 49ers are just praying. What are your thoughts?
[From Mike Sando's NFC West Mailbag]

Until reading a recent Matt Barrows post, I had forgotten about the NFL's solution to the issue of teams (I won't mention any names) stealing defensive play signals. Much like the ear pieces Californian drivers must sport, the NFL approved the use of a communication device for defensive players, so that quarterbacks are no longer the only players who get to where helmets with radio receiving headsets.