Week 11 offers more storylines and subplots than a spitting match between Jim Mora and Darnell Dockett:
These were the storylines that came to mind immediately. What other ones might I be missing?
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- Aaron Rodgers vs. Alex Smith. What a week this would be for Smith to enjoy a breakout game for the 49ers. It's a tough matchup, though, because the Packers have playmaking cornerbacks. Green Bay has picked off 13 passes this season, including five by Charles Woodson. The 49ers look bad for drafting Smith over Rodgers in 2005, but almost no rookie quarterback would have fared well under the circumstances Smith encountered. Rodgers had it easy early and that gave him a head start.
- Kurt Warner vs. the Rams. Warner probably remains the most popular player in St. Louis Rams history. Expect him to put on a good show at the Edward Jones Dome.
- 'Housh' and the Vikings. Receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh passed over the Vikings to sign with the Seahawks because he preferred the quarterback situation in Seattle. That was before the Vikings added a certain No. 4 to their lineup. Houshmandzadeh is coming off a big game, but he signed with the wrong team in retrospect. Come to think of it, Houshmandzadeh's former team (Bengals) and would-be team (Vikings) have combined for a 15-3 record to this point in the season. Not that football is a team sport.
- Burleson and the Vikings. Seattle's Nate Burleson visits the Metrodome as an opposing player for the first time since the Vikings traded him in 2006. He went without a reception during a 2006 Seahawks home game against the Vikings.
- Matt Hasselbeck vs. E.J. Henderson. Before Dockett was allegedly taking shots at Hasselbeck, Vikings linebacker E.J. Henderson knocked out the Seattle quarterback with a hit to the knee during that 2006 game at Qwest Field. Hasselbeck accused Henderson of dirty play. Henderson denied the charge. The league issued no fine (although subsequent rules changes would have affected the interpretation, I think).
- The Seahawks vs. Steve Hutchinson. I seem to recall hearing something about the Seahawks enjoying a Hall of Fame left side of their offensive line until Hutchinson slipped away to the Vikings a few years ago.
- Ted Thompson and Scot McCloughan. The good friends worked together in Green Bay and Seattle before both became general managers (Thompson with the Packers, McCloughan with the 49ers). They took similar approaches to the 2009 offseason. Both are operating teams with 2005 first-round quarterbacks, 3-4 defenses and lots of homegrown talent.
These were the storylines that came to mind immediately. What other ones might I be missing?
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Mike Sando
Sando joined ESPN.com in 2007 after nine seasons covering the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma (Wash.) News Tribune. He lives in the Seattle-Tacoma area with his wife and two sons.
