Seattle Seahawks
NFL Picks and Predictions Week 10: Ravens Vs. Seahawks
I haven’t posted picks since week 3. I forgot to schedule the article in week 4, and then Riley got busy and hasn’t been available, so our little competition seems to have disappeared. But lets face it, making predictions and then having people throw them in my face when I’m wrong is one of the best parts of having a sports blog. I’m going to be posting picks each and every Friday, for as many games as I have time to get to. Lets start with this week’s Seahawks game:
Reasons for optimism
This game is going to be a defensive struggle. While the Raven’s defense is better than Seattle’s overall, it is a good matchup for the Seahawks. Baltimore’s running game is pretty weak, and Seattle’s stout run defense should have no trouble shutting it down without help from safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor. This will free up that duo to help defend the pass.
In the passing game, Baltimore’s primary weapon is Anquan Boldin. Boldin is just the type of receiver that the Seahawks are built to stop. Bolding a big, tall receiver that uses his size out mussel the ball away from defenders. Seahawk corners Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman are built to cover guys like that. It’s the smaller, faster receivers like Pittsburg’s Mike Wallace that the Seahawks struggle against. … [visit site to read more]
Tags: Anquan Boldin, brandon browner, football, nfl, Previews, Ravens, Richard Sherman, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks
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Keep The Faith
The Seattle Seahawks’ record stands at 2-6, and with the Baltimore Ravens coming to town this Sunday, there’s not a lot of room for optimism. The last three weeks have seen whatever playoff chances the Seahawks had completely vanish. There isn’t a lot to get excited about. However, I urge everyone not to jump off the bandwagon or abandon ship. This team needs and deserves the full support of the 12th Man.
The last four years have been trying times for Seahawks fans. Even with the NFC West championship and the unbelievable playoff game against New Orleans last season, there have been dark clouds hanging over the Seahawks for some time. Though the Seahawks appear headed for a bleak finish, there are breaks in those clouds.
This team is full of young players with enormous potential who are only going to get better. Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor are already the best safety tandem the Seahawks have had in the last ten years. Doug Baldwin is a dynamic young playmaker at wide receiver. The offensive line is extremely young, and their progress will determine the future of the franchise. A lot of important players have their best years ahead of them, instead of in the rear view mirror. … [visit site to read more]
Tags: football, nfl, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks
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Quick Thoughts on Seahawks/Cowboys
The Good:
Marshawn Lynch – 23 carries, 135 yards, 1 TD
Lynch had by far his best game this season, and probably his best as a Seahawk. Because Lynch was so effective, the Seahawks … [visit site to read more]
Tags: Dallas Cowboys, football, Marshawn Lynch, nfl, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks, tarvaris jackson
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Penalties, Penalties, Penalties
In my last column, I discussed a key drive in the fourth quarter by the Cincinnati Bengals that resulted in a field goal to increase their lead to 20-12 over the Seahawks. It was a five play, 32 yard drive that took over four minutes. Cincinnati … [visit site to read more]
Tags: Cincinnati Bengals, defensive penalties, football, nfl, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks
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The Most Important Play
Sometimes, when you try to determine the most important play in a football game, the choice is obvious. A key turnover or a game winning touchdown in the final seconds would certainly qualify. However, sometimes the most important play is not so apparent. This was the case in the Seahawks’ loss last Sunday to the Cincinnati Bengals. The most important play in that game was a return, although it wasn’t the one you’re probably thinking of.
Brandon Tate’s 56 yard punt return for a touchdown was certainly a pivotal play. It made the score 27-12 with 3:22 left in the game. It definitely sealed the outcome, but it wasn’t the most important play in the game, in my opinion. It was his previous return, on a kickoff, that had a greater influence on the outcome.
It happened at around the nine minute mark in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks had just scored what would be their only touchdown of the game on a seven play, 84 yard drive. Even though they failed on their two point conversion attempt, the score was 17-12 and momentum was on Seattle’s side. The crowd was energized and ready to make some noise. Then came the kickoff. … [visit site to read more]
Tags: Brandon Tate, Cincinnati Bengals, football, nfl, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks, special teams
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Seahawks Pre-Game Meal
Something to chew on during the Seahawks game.
This game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Cincinnati Bangles is a matchup of two of the top defensive teams in the league. If you read this space regularly, than you know the Seahawks have the … [visit site to read more]
Tags: football, nfl, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks
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Bengals/Seahawks Podcast
The guys at CincyJungle.com invited Keith to participate in their weekly podcast to discuss today’s Bengals/Seahawks game. He couldn’t make it, so I filled in.
They asked me questions I expected (strengths/weaknesses, injuries) and some I … [visit site to read more]
Tags: Cincinnati Bengals, CincyJungle.com, football, nfl, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks
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A Must Win Game
I’ve gone on record as stating that the Seahawks’ playoff chances ended with the discouraging loss last Sunday to the Cleveland Browns. That doesn’t make the remaining ten games irrelevant. Today’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals is far from meaningless. In my opinion, it is an important indicator of the progress the team has made over the past year. I would go so far as to say that today the Seahawks are in a must win situation.
The team shouldn’t begin playing for next season, but it is important that the coaching staff and management have a clear, focused view of what the team currently has so they can properly address needs in the draft and free agency. This isn’t like last year, when the team had so many needs to address that it didn’t matter what direction the team took in the offseason. Regardless of what they did, the Seahawks were going to address an area of need.
With the exception of the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Seahawks have been competitive this season, even in defeat. The team played poorly in the first half against the San Francisco 49ers and the Atlanta Falcons, but came back in the second half and, even though they lost both games, put the outcome in some doubt. Last season, when the Seahawks were defeated, they lost in embarrassing fashion and the games were well over when the game clock expired. … [visit site to read more]
Tags: Cincinnati Bengals, football, nfl, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks
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NFL Power Rankings
Last week I said that I was going to start working on a Power Ranking formula, and let it evolve and improve over time. Well, it’s time to debut my mathematical power rankings. The results are a bit on the weird side, but that’s expected.
This week I took into account yards per game, both on offense and defense, turnovers, and point differential. Turnovers and yards per game seem like obvious choices to me. I chose to use points because it take into account other variables that will be hard to include for a while, like special teams, third down and red zone efficiencies, and such things that tend to have an effect on the final score. Turnovers and yards also effect scoring, so think of it as counting those variables twice, since they are really important.
Lets looks the results; then we can analyze the results.
| Rank | Team | O Yd/G | D Yd/G | TO | Pt Dif | Power |
1 | New Orleans | 467.1 | 349.3 | -4 | 81 | 90.06 |
2 | Houston | 400.6 | 302.9 | 6 | 51 | 87.04 |
3 | Dallas | 415.5 | 300.5 | -1 | 21 | 84.7 … [visit site to read more] Tags: football, nfl, power rankings, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks Posted in: Seahawks | No Comments » How The Seahawks Can Beat The BanglesThis week’s game against the Bangles isn’t going to be an easy one, even with the game at CenturyLink Field. The Bangles have one of the top defenses in the league, and against a sputtering offense like Seattle’s it could end up as another really ugly game. The Bangles are starting a rookie QB, and so their offense has been almost as bad as Seattle’s. Throw in the fact that the Seahawks have the league’s best rushing defense, and you have the making of another 6-3 game. Still, here’s 6 things that the Seahawks need to do if they want to win this game. If they can manage to get them done, I think that Seattle comes out on top:
Tags: football, nfl, Previews, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks Posted in: Seahawks | No Comments » The Season Is and Is NOT OverSay what?! How can the season be over and not over at the same time?! I am not going to make the distinction of literally versus figuratively. The season IS over. Yet it’s also NOT over. This is the situation the Seattle Seahawks currently find themselves in. The season is over for the Seahawks as far as the playoffs are concerned. The team’s chances to repeat as NFC West Champions basically died in Week 1 when the Seahawks lost to the 49ers at San Francisco. I have stated my reasons why I felt this way several times, but I will do so again here. Understand that these opinions were formulated back in April. The way the schedules for the NFC West teams were laid out, I picked the 49ers to be division champions. I felt the Arizona Cardinals had the easiest schedule, followed by the 49ers, Seahawks and St. Louis Rams. However, I felt the Cardinals didn’t have enough talent to win the division even with their incredibly soft schedule, which has been proven to be true. The 49ers had a favorable schedule, as well. I didn’t pick them to win the division because their Head Coach was Jim Harbaugh. I picked them because their Head Coach WASN’T Mike Singletary. I’m not calling Harbaugh a genius or a savior; I would have had the same opinion for anybody besides Singletary, who directly lost several games for the team during his tenure. Well, almost anybody. He Who Shall Not Be Named (nee Imjay Oramay) wouldn’t have helped the 49ers, either. … [visit site to read more] Tags: Arizona Cardinals, football, nfl, San Francisco 49ers, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams Posted in: Seahawks | No Comments » The Mistake by The LakeWe are now an entire day removed form The Mistake by The Lake. I’m not referring to the city of Cleveland (this time), but rather the offensive (and I do mean offensive) performance by the Seattle Seahawks. Instead of venting my … [visit site to read more] Tags: Cleveland Browns, football, Kam Chancellor, Leon Washington, Mike Carey, nfl, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks Posted in: Seahawks | No Comments » Seahawks Fans, Please Stop Blaming The RefsOne of the themes I’ve been seeing from Seahawks fans today has been outrage about the phantom illegal block in the back call on the Leon Washington return for a TD. The call was an awful call. Everyone thinks it was awful. Even the Fox announcers said it was awful. I also get that the 7 points was enough to change the outcome of the game. I can do the math as good as anyone, but the whining needs to stop. As bad as that call was, those calls exist in ever single NFL game. It is unfortunately part of the NFL right now. The officiating is pretty bad. Thing is, I don’t think it’s all that worse today than it was 20 years ago. Today we just get see replays from every angle so we can see the mistakes multiple times in high definition. … [visit site to read more] Tags: Charlie Whitehurst, football, nfl, Recaps, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks Posted in: Seahawks | No Comments » A Break from Conspiracy CornerI am going to put Conspiracy Corner to rest for the time being. It may resurface later in the season, but I hope not. The reason for this is the dramatic improvement the Seattle Seahawks have made over the last three games. After the ineptitude of the first two games, it was hard to find any positives for this team, with the exception of the stellar play of Earl Thomas. Besides, the Seahawks may already have enough victories to eliminate them from the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes. Miami and Indianapolis are playing terrible football, and there is no reason to expect improvement from either team in the foreseeable future. Having seen the team in person for the two home games as well as the game against the New York Giants on television, I have a good feeling about this team, which I would have thought to be impossible only a month ago. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not talking Super Bowl here. However, given how a number of teams in the NFC have struggled so far this season, a wild card berth is a possibility. Perhaps not a strong possibility, but a possibility nonetheless. … [visit site to read more] Tags: football, nfl, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks Posted in: Seahawks | No Comments » Seahawks Are Traditionally Bad After ByeIntuitively, I’d like to believe that the game after the bye week should be one of the easiest games of the season to win. There’s an extra week to game plan and extra week to practice and prepare. There is also a chance to get rested and … [visit site to read more] Tags: football, nfl, Previews, Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks Posted in: Seahawks | No Comments » |