FanHouse Phil Loadholt

Every week we're logging each and every sack to determine who was to blame, how long it took for the sack to happen and how the sack happened. Here are the notes pulled from watching Week Two's sacks.

It's worth throwing in a disclaimer. It's not always easy to determine who was responsible for a sack, especially if there is a line twist or blitz pickup involved. But these are logged as best as can be done without knowing the line protection calls.

• The 49ers' offensive line did manage to block well enough to free up Frank Gore for 207 yards rushing, but they haven't solved their pass blocking problems at right tackle. San Francisco signed ex-Jaguars tackle Tony Pashos to give Adam Snyder some competition. Snyder started against the Seahawks but they split time at right tackle, and both gave up sacks.

The Vikings will get their exhibition season started Friday night against the Colts. While there we be a lot more passes from Jim Sorgi than Peyton Manning testing the Vikings defense, there are still plenty of things to watch if you're a Vikings fan.

Here's a look at three things to keep an eye on in the preseason opener.

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

If everything works out, the addition of first-round pick Percy Harvin and second-round pick Phil Loadholt will help ensure that it doesn't really matter who is playing quarterback for the Vikings.

If it all works out with Adrian Peterson, Bernard Berrian, Visanthe Shiancoe and Harvin, the Vikings will move the ball even with quarterbacks prone to short-hopping receivers. Putting the massive 335-pound Loadholt at right tackle on a team that already has Steve Hutchinson and Bryant McKinnie should help create even more holes for Peterson and backup tailback Chester Taylor. The defense led by Jarred Allen and the Williams wall, should continue to be one of the game's best.

Minnesota already had the best running back in the game, one of the best offensive lines, a solid tight end in Visanthe Shiancoe and a decent wide receiver corps led by Bernard Berrian.

But now they've added one of the draft's best big-play threats (Percy Harvin) and an instant starter at right tackle (Phil Loadholt). It's safe to say if Minnesota's offensive isn't productive this year, it won't be because quarterbacks Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson don't have enough weapons.

To get ready for this weekend's draft, we're looking position-by-position at who could go in the first round. Click here for the rest of the breakdowns, beginning with quarterback.


OT Jason Smith (Top 10 pick), OT Eugene Monroe (Top 10 pick), OT Andre Smith (Top 15 pick), OT Michael Oher (mid-first round), OT Eben Britton (late first round).

Last year, seven offensive tackles were taken in the first round, and there's a chance that seven o-linemen will once again go this year. Because of the dire need for tackles, it's probable that several tackles will be nabbed 10 to 15 spots ahead of where they rank on most team's draft boards.

With the draft less than a week away, it's time to start firming up the draft boards. When the draft begins, the Steelers will have multiple needs, although thankfully there is no position where the Steelers don't bring back a projected starter with some experience.

The Steelers bigger need is to plan ahead for 2010, when free agency could rip apart much of this past year's Super Bowl champs. With that in mind here are four plausible draft classes for the Steelersn as prepared by friend the Steelers draft nut, all of these include no trades. Every player is projected to go in a round where multiple draft experts still have them available on the board. There are a few spots where it is noted that it is less likely that player is still on the board when the Steelers pick in that round, but none of these are absurd stretches. Which of these classes would you prefer and why?