In 1865, retreating Confederate forces torched Atlanta to deny supplies to invading Union forces under the command of General William Tecumseh Sherman. In keeping with strong southern traditions of delusional paranoia, denying responsibility, and misattributing of blame, the city's residents blamed the northerners for the conflagration.
It would be sweet if the Falcons were to self-destruct today against Seattle, because that would create a perfect repeat of what happened in Atlanta during the Civil War.
But that's unlikely. Our opponents today are not outnumbered, underfed, and ill-equipped chumps like the Confederate forces of the 19th century.
If Seattle is to win, the Seahawks will have to torch Atlanta themselves.
Atlanta is 7-1 at home this year. They rested last week while Seattle battled Washington. They are strongly motivated to end a recent history of one-and-done playoff appearances.
The Falcons field one of the league's most potent offenses.
During the regular season, Atlanta was 7th in points scored, 8th in overall yards gained, 29th in rushing yards, and 6th in passing yards.
Seattle was 9th in points scored, 17th in overall yards gained, 3rd in rushing yards, and 27th in passing yards.
This is Ground Cable versus Ryan Air.
Quarterback Matt Ryan completed a league-high 68.6% of his passes, a stunningly efficient figure matched only by Peyton Manning this year, and rarely exceeded in the history of the NFL. "Matty Ice" threw for 4,719 yards, 32 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions.
Ryan threw five of those picks on one uncharacteristically bad day at home against the Cardinals. (Incredibly, Arizona still lost. It doesn't matter how many turnovers your defense grabs if your offense can't move the ball and score.)
How did the Cardinals shatter Matty Ice's composure? Relentless blitzes prompted Ryan to make several ill-advised throws.
Can Seattle imitate Arizona's defensive success against Atlanta?
Probably not. An injury has ended the season for our best pass rusher, Chris Clemons, leaving rookie Bruce Irvin with big shoes to fill. Clemons played most defensive downs and can stop opposing runners. In limited action, Irvin has been an inconsistent pass rusher and a liability against opposing rushers. (He also took a cheap shot on Robert Griffin III after the whistle last week. Uncool.)
Seattle signed a personal trainer who hasn't played in the NFL since 2007 as a backup defensive end/pass rush specialist.
If we're going to put any pressure on Ryan, it's probably going to come from linebacker and defensive back blitzes.
However, the players at those positions will have their hands full covering Pro Bowl wideouts Julio Jones and Roddy White and All-Pro tight end Tony Gonzalez, a future Hall of Famer and the best receiver ever to play his position. Running back Jaquizz Rodgers, the team's fourth leading receiver, has caught more balls than any Seahawk this year.
Apparently, Seattle plans to put Richard Sherman, our best cornerback, on Julio Jones; the two men are roughly the same size. Big Brandon Browner is slated to cover Roddy White, a much smaller man. Strong safety Kam Chancellor will be assigned to Tony Gonzalez.
I hope this is misinformation. Sherman on Jones makes sense, but the rest of it doesn't. Chancellor is a great tackler, but not a good cover guy.
This is what I would do:
1) Play at least nickel defense. Atlanta isn't much of a threat to run the ball, anyway, but my scheme keeps Chancellor free to play the run or to help linebackers cover running backs who go out for passes. Ratchet up to dime or bandit defenses as necessary to thwart multiple-receiver sets and to apply pressure Matt Ryan.
2) Keep Sherman on Jones.
3) Assign nickel corner Marcus Trufant to cover White, with generous support from free safety Earl Thomas.
4) Put Browner on Gonzalez, because he's big enough to handle a tight end. Browner shouldn't press Gonzalez.
5) Place a linebacker or a defensive end across the line of scrimmage from Gonzalez on every down. That defender's job is to hit Gonzalez to disrupt his route timing, but then to peel off to rush the passer, play the run, or provide containment as circumstances dictate.
So much for Seattle's defense.
What about our offense?
Russell Wilson and his men face an Atlanta defense that ranked 5th in points allowed, 24th in yards allowed, 21st in rushing yards allowed, 23rd in passing yards allowed.
Atlanta yields yards liberally, but yields relatively few points, in part because they generate turnovers. The Falcon and Seahawk defenses finished the regular season tied for 5th in the NFL with 31 defensive turnovers. Atlanta and Seattle's offenses also tied in turnovers surrendered, with 18.
Fortunately, Seattle's offense can succeed by doing what it does best: protect the ball and chew up the clock with a run-oriented attack.
Some nice returns from Leon Washington would help. Clutch punting is always appreciated.
The Diehard salutes Steven Hauschka on a great season, wishes him a speedy recovery, and welcomes Ryan Longwell to the team.
Go, Hawks!
Burn Atlanta again.
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