It is nice to see Seattle sitting atop the list of the 7-7 NFC teams "in the hunt" for the playoffs (i.e., still alive enough to move up to a wild card berth). All the teams below us on the list--Arizona, Chicago, the Giants, and Philadelphia--rank lower than the Seahawks because we have already defeated them this year. If we had beaten more teams, we wouldn't need help to make the playoffs, but at least we thumped some of the right teams.
Last week's crushing of the Bears was encouraging on many fronts..
The secondary continues to develop into one of the league's better units. Although Brandon Browner remains the NFL's most frequent pass interference offender, he also leads the team in interceptions, and has helped make Seattle's defensive backfield the 2nd most larcenous in the league.
Chicago's stout run defense exposed the limitations of the makeshift Seahawk line, but Marshawn Lynch still managed two rushing touchdowns. Lynch now has a 10-game touchdown streak, a franchise record.
However, the level of challenge will increase further tomorrow afternoon against San Francisco, which boasts the NFL's best run defense. Incredibly, the 49ers have not allowed a rushing touchdown all season; their 14-game moratorium on terrestrial scoring is unprecedented in league history.
Who will prevail in this collision between Lynch's 10-game touchdown streak and San Francisco's 14-game ground shutdown?
San Francisco, probably, though I hope the 12th Man might weigh in on the matter rather emphatically.
Another encouraging aspect of the win over Chicago was the fact that T-Jack our quarterback took up the slack when our run attack couldn't rack up enough yards because our O-Line couldn't stack up against the Bears D.
In recent weeks, Tarvaris Jackson has emerged as an effective game manager when he has adequate run support. However, Chicago's tough run defense forced the ex-Viking to do more, to complete several clutch passes to sustain some drives. T-Jack rose to the occasion and contributed significantly to last week's win
He'll need more of that mojo today because San Francisco will likely stymie our run game and put the game squarely in the place most feared by diehard Seahawks fans: on the shoulders of our starting quarterback.
T-Jack continues to hold the ball too long and take unnecessary sacks; he surrendered an especially unforgivable strip sack in the end zone last week. It made me miss the other Jackson, the guy who gives up on plays too early and throws the ball away prematurely, because that's the right thing to do when you're a quarterback standing in his own end zone behind an O-line comprised of two starters and three reserves. Nothing good can happen when you hold the ball too long in that situation.
Until yielding two late return touchdowns to Ted Ginn, Seattle was competitive against the 49ers on the road in the season opener. San Francisco is playing for a playoff bye; the Seahawks are fighting for a shot at the postseason. The 49ers wobbled against Arizona but looked good on Monday against the Steelers. It will be interesting to see how San Francisco comes out after a short week.
This is almost certainly the last home game of the season. It is almost impossible to envision a set of circumstance that would allow Seattle to host a home game in the playoffs, if we make the playoffs.
Thus, this is the 12th Man's last chance in 2011 to rebuild the reputation of Seahawks Stadium, a reputation damaged by some disgraces earlier this year. The 49ers and their odious coach deserve every decibel of sonic hell our fans can bring down upon them. Terminate with extreme prejudice.
Go, Seahawks!
Ugh!
ReplyDeleteThe result of this game was one more big piece of evidence that Seattle needs a quarterback, not a "game manager with toughness."