Late Afternoon Game Notes

Late afternoon games are final. After a little dinner break, my notes and observations:

• Arizona at San Francisco. Frank Gore ripped off one long TD run in the opening moments of the game. After that, not a lot of explosiveness in the ground game, but he did manage to rack up 55 receiving yards. It looks like the Martz era could boost Gore's value. Good news for Larry Fitzgerald owners: After a pre-season where Kurt Warner keyed exclusively on Anquan Boldin, seeing Fitz haul in Warner's sole TD pass of the game had to be a relief. Also worth noting: Despite Edge's 100 yard game, Tim Hightower still poached a goal line carry. Expect to see Hightower's role increase throughout the season.
• Dallas at Cleveland. Blowout. Dallas looked very good and Cleveland looked just the opposite. There were a few plays where the Dallas offensive linemen just stood up and looked bewildered, since there wasn't anybody to block. Romo could have measured his time in the pocket on a watch without a second hand. Both Marion Barber and understudy Felix Jones looked very good, punching in for 3 rushing TD's between the two of them. As bad as the Cleveland D looked, the offense might have been worse. There were a number of near misses between Anderson and Braylon Edwards that could have gone for big yardage. And Jamal Lewis just looked old. Cleveland needs to regroup in a hurry.
• Carolina at San Diego. I seem to remember this guy... Really talented running back... Ridiculous wheels, sick cuts and a nose for the endzone... I think he played for the Chargers. What was his name? For a mortal running back, 97 yards is nothing to sniff at. But for LT, failing to reach the end zone in the home opener with just shy of 100 yards is just plain weak. If Philip Rivers can get his act together and toss 3 touchdowns, LT should have 4. Just sayin'. Highlight of the game was Jake Delhomme's thread the needle, pro-bowl skill challenge, bullet on the final play of the game to Dante Rosario in the back of the end zone. Game over. Load the bus. Delhomme had a very respectable outing, especially given the absence of Steve Smith.