Shot Huard Round Seattle

Don’t look for a quarterback controversy in Seattle.

Seahawk Coach Mike Holmgren has benched starting quarterback Jon Kitna and replaced him with Brock Huard for Sunday, but the coach isn’t keeping Huard on a short leash.

“I’m thinking of it as a permanent change,” Holmgren said, “as permanent as things can get in this business.”

It’s a change Holmgren said he has been considering since the opener, when the Miami Dolphins shut out Seattle, 23-0.

“I really feel like I’ve played within the system and done what was asked,” Kitna said.

Such as throwing four touchdown passes and eight interceptions? Or finishing the first five games with a 64.9 passer rating?

San Diego Charger Coach Mike Riley, searching high and low for something to get excited about, has focused on third-string quarterback Jim Harbaugh, who was 27 for 40 for 348 yards and two touchdowns last week against the Rams.

“Jim went in there and executed and played well and kept battling and gave us some life,” Riley said. “I liked how he played, and I think that’s the best thing for us right now.”

It may be the only thing.

This is the first time the San Francisco 49ers have played an Oakland Raider team in 21 years. The Raiders won the last matchup, 23-10, in Oakland in 1979.

When the Raiders moved to Los Angeles in 1982, their first opponent was the 49ers, the Raiders winning, 23-17, in San Francisco.