Super Bowl Update

By Kshell

This playoff match up features the leagues two hottest teams as the Seattle Seahawks(11-5) who have won five games in a row travel to Washington D.C. to take on the Washington Redskins(10-6) who have won seven in a row. Both teams feature a strong rushing attack, older coaches who have re-invented themselves and more importantly electric rookie quarterbacks. The Redskins will be hosting their first playoff game since the Bill Clinton era back in 1999. While the Seahawks will be looking to win their first playoff road game since the Ronald Reagan era back in 1983.

The focus of this game will be on the rookie quarterbacks Russell Wilson of the Seahawks and Robert Griffin III of the Redskins. Griffin was supposed to be all that as the Redskins traded a lot to acquire him. Whereas Wilson was the 6th quarterback taken in the draft. Wilson, many figured would back up Matt Flynn. While Wilson had other plans this year. After a slow start Wilson ended up having an incredible season that has him in contention for rookie of the year.

 He finished the year 252-393(64.1%) passing for 3,118 yards(7.9 YPA) with a rookie record 26 touchdown passes to only 10 interceptions. He has a quarterback rating of 100.0 which is a Seahawks record. He also ran for 489 yards(5.2 YPC) with four touchdowns. Wilson has been red hot in the second half as he is 123-183(67.2%) passing for 1,652 yards(9.03 YPA) with 16 touchdowns to only two interceptions. He has posted an incredible 120.3 quarterback rating during that time. He has also ran for 361 yards(6.2 YPC) with four touchdowns. Wilson might be the NFL's best quarterback during that stretch.

His receivers are Sidney Rice who led the team with 50 receptions for 748 yards(15.0 YPC) with seven touchdowns. Rice has been pretty consistent this year as the #1 threat for this offense. Golden Tate had a very big year. He was most famous for this this catch on Monday Night but he also had a pretty good year. Tate caught a career high 45 passes for 688 yards(15.3 YPC) with 7 touchdowns. He also threw a touchdown this year to Rice. Doug Baldwin has been coming on strong lately has 29 receptions for 366 yards(12.6 YPC) with three touchdowns. Then tight end Zach Miller has 38 receptions for 396 yards(10.4 YPC) with three touchdowns. Anthony McCoy the other tight end has caught 18 passes for 291 yards(16.3 YPC) with three touchdowns. The Seahawks don't have a go to guy but spread the ball well. Which will come in handy on Sunday as the Redskins rank 30th out of 32 teams against the pass allowing 281.9 yards per game with 31 touchdowns to 21 interceptions.

The Redskins are led by what many think will win the rookie of the year. Robert Griffin the third who won the heisman last year and ended another seattle football teams season defeating the Huskies 67-56 in last years Alamo Bowl . I have a feeling this years game won't be as high scoring. Griffin is coming into this game a little banged up though. Griffin had an incredible season passing 258-393(65.6%) for 3,200 yards(8.1 YPA) with 20 touchdowns to only five interceptions. He has a quarterback rating of 102.4. What makes Griffin even more impressive is the fact he has ran for 815 yards(6.8 YPC) with seven touchdowns.

Just like Wilson, Griffin doesn't have a primary go to receiver. This year the Redskins leading receiver is Pierre Garcon who has caught 44 passes for 633 yards(14.4 YPC) with four touchdowns. The Redskins also have Santana Moss who has caught 41 passes for 573 yards(14.0 YPC) with eight touchdowns. Leonard  Hankerson has caught 38 passes for 543 yards(14.3 YPC) with three touchdowns. Josh Morgan caught 48 passes for 510 yards(10.6 YPC) with two touchdowns. The Redskins will probably have a tough time against the Seahawks secondary which features three guys who have played in the pro bowl with another Richard Sherman who was snubbed for political reasons.

Both teams love to run the football. The Seahawks are led by pro bowl running back Marshawn Lynch who is going to his second straight pro bowl. Lynch made a big splash in his very first career playoff game two years ago against the Saints. When he busted a 67 yard touchdown run which many consider the greatest run in NFL history. Lynch after signing a new contract this offseason leads the Seahawks rushing attack which ranks 3rd in the NFL.  Lynch finished third in the NFL in rushing yards rushing for 1,590 yards on 315 carries(5.0 YPC) with 11 touchdowns. He also caught 23 passes for 196 yards(8.5 YPC) with a touchdown. His backup is Robert Turbin who ran for 354 yards on 80 carries(4.4 YPC). He had 19 receptions for 181 yards(9.5 YPC). The Seahawks rushing attack will go up against the Redskins rush defense which ranks 5th in the NFL against the run.

The Redskins lead the NFL in rushing led by another rookie of theirs Alfred Morris. Morris finished the year second in the NFL in rushing yards with 1,613 yards on 335 carries(4.8 YPC) with 13 touchdowns. Morris is another late round find by head coach Mike Shanahan. Morris who was only a 6th round pick out of Florida Atlantic came out of nowhere to lead the Redskins rushing attack. Teams have to focus so much on Griffin the Redskins are able to run Morris. The Seahawks defense ranks 10th against the run has struggled the second half of the season against the run. The Redskins will hope to pound the run and keep their weakness(pass defense) off the field. If the Seahawks are able to shut down Morris look for them to win this game rather easily.

The Seahawks have a big advantage in the special teams department.  Leon Washington is going to the pro bowl for the Seahawks as a kick returner. On kickoff returns he averaged 29.0 yards per return including a 98 yard touchdown.  On punt returns he averaged 8.7 yards per return on 41 returns(356 yards). Kicker Steven Hauschka on the year is 24-27(88.9%) on field goals. Punter Jon Ryan is averaging 45.6 yards per punt on 65 punts and a net average of 40.8 yards per punt. He has 30 inside the 20 and only 3 touchbacks.

The Redskins on the other hand are poor in special teams. Their return average on kickoff returns is 23.5. On punt returns with new punt returner Richard Crawford the Seahawks have to worry as he is averaging 19.5 yards per return on eight returns. Their punter Sav Rocca has a 43.9 yards average on punts but only 37.2 net average. He also has just 22 punts inside the 20 on 68 attempts. Look for the Seahawks to use this field position to get a cheap score.

Pete Carroll has done a wonderful job reshaping this roster. This is a much different team than the group he led to the playoffs two years ago. Two years ago was an aging team on it's last run which Carroll squeezed a playoff win out of. This group is the youngest team in the playoffs and is looking to go on a run. Carroll has a chance to snap that 29 year streak of not winning a road playoff game and hopefully lead this team to the Super Bowl title.

This Seahawks team led the NFC in point differential with a plus 167 trailing only Denver and New England. According to Bill Barnwell's DVOA rankings the Seahawks are the best team in the NFL and 6th best team since 1991. The Seahawks finished 9th in offensive points and 1st in defensive points allowed. The bulk of this roster was either drafted by Carroll and John Schneider or acquired by them. I don't think Carroll receives enough credit for the job he is doing in Seattle.

Prediction: Seahawks 23, Redskins 17

I've learned over the years as a Seattle fan that it is never easy. I expect the game to come down to needing a stop against Griffin which is going to be stressful. Ultimately I feel like the Seahawks will win this game due to Wilson lighting up their weak secondary. The Redskins love to blitz which I feel like Wilson will hit some big plays on that as will Lynch running.

I think defensively with Brandon Browner back and Richard Sherman the Seahawks can leave those two corners on an island. Sherman should be up for defensive player of the year. He recorded eight interceptions while also leading the league with 24 pass deflections. He also forced three fumbles and scored two touchdowns this year. With those two on an island and former pro bowl safety Kam Chancellor playing over the top look for the Seahawks to allow pro bowl safety Earl Thomas to roam. This is where Thomas is most dangerous as he is so fast and quick he can read run then quickly recover for the pass. I expect Thomas to make a big play whether that be a key sack on third down, forcing a fumble or simply picking off a pass.

The Seahawks have a great opportunity as a franchise to go on a run this postseason. This will be the franchises seventh trip in the last 10 years but the first trip without Matt Hasselbeck. This is a new era of Seahawks football as Mike Holmgren, Hasselbeck, Walter Jones and Shaun Alexander are no longer around. The only Seahawk who has been here this entire run is Marcus Trufant who had a key interception return for a touchdown to end the Redskins season back in 2007. This team is growing and will only get better. I also know that in the NFL there is no guarantees so for all we know this could be it. I think the Seahawks have what it takes to get it done but it will be a nail biter like all their true road games have been this year.

By Kshell

The Seattle Seahawks are currently sitting right in the mix of the playoff race at 5-4 on the season. A big reason for the Seahawks optimism is the improved play of rookie quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson came under scrutiny after the Seahawks 2-2 star where he wasn't playing that well. Even I had jumped off the bandwagon and suggested that Pete Carroll go with Matt Flynn. Since that poor game in St. Louis the play calling has allowed Wilson to open it up a little bit more. Wilson since that game has played well vs Carolina, was terrific against New England, played bad vs the 49ers(tons of drops), played well vs Detroit and again was terrific vs Minnesota. Wilson currently leads all rookie quarterbacks with 13 passing touchdowns(yes more than Luck and RGIII). Wilson has rewarded Carroll's faith in him and the Seahawks are looking like a dangerous team.

What do the names Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Tony Romo and Cam Newton have in common? They all lost to Russell Wilson. Wilson has came a long ways since the beginning of the year. Some of that is due to the running game of Marshawn Lynch who has ran for 881 yards this year on 4.8 YPC with four touchdowns. Lynch is second in the NFL in rushing yards which has allowed Wilson to grow as a quarterback. The defense has also allowed Wilson to grow as the defense currently ranks third in points allowed and fourth in yards allowed. Due to that the Seahawks were able to survive Wilson's growing pains the first four weeks when they were only 2-2. Wilson in the last four weeks Wilson's play as improved greatly.

Wilson on the year is 145-234(62.0%) passing for 1,639 yards(7.0 YPA) with 13 touchdowns to 8 interceptions. He has also rushed for 155 yards and has a quarterback rating of 87.2. Now in the previous four weeks he has been exceptionally well. In those four games Wilson has been 66-109(60.6%) passing for 824 yards(7.6 YPA) with eight touchdowns to only two interceptions. He has ran for 63 yards and has a 100.9 quarterback rating.

The play of Wilson lately has been refreshing to watch as has the play of wide receivers Sidney Rice and Golden Tate. Sidney Rice this year has caught 32 passes for 421 yards(13.2 YPC) with four touchdowns. In the last four weeks he has caught 15 passes for 222 yards(14.8 YPC) with three touchdowns. Golden Tate has 24 receptions for 283 yards(11.8 YPC) with five touchdowns. In the last four games Tate has caught 14 passes for 139 yards(9.9 YPC) with two touchdowns.

The Seahawks offense only averaged 17.2 points per game in the first five weeks. In the past four games the offense is averaging 21 points per game. The play of Wilson has stopped fans from chanting "put in Matt Flynn" and appreciate that the Seahawks are growing as a franchise. The Seahawks are the type of team who is going to improve as the season goes on mainly cause they stuck with Wilson. Carroll sticking with Wilson will pay dividends like it did for Mike Holmgren when he stuck with Matt Hasselbeck. If the Seahawks make the playoffs fans should give the credit to Carroll for not pressing the panic button after the week four loss to the St.Louis Rams. Wilson's play recently has proven that the franchise is going in the right direction and that Wilson is the quarterback for this franchise for years to come.

By Kshell

The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Green Bay Packers 14-12 on one of the more wild finishes in Monday Night Football history. We've all seen the catch by Golden Tate by now and I'll get into that play specifically in a moment as he hauled in the 24 yard game winning touchdown pass from rookie Russell Wilson. The shame in this controversy is so much of this game has already been forgotten which is what I'll be going over. The Seahawks more importantly are now 2-1 on the season and 18-8 all-time on Monday Night Football while being 14-5 all-time at home. This was a huge home win for Pete Carroll who has built this Seahawks defense into an elite defense. So in this upcoming post I'll just go over some observations of the game.

-  After looking at the replay of the final play it had appeared that the Packers M.D. Jennings had intercepted the pass. It was also obvious Golden Tate had committed an offensive pass interference.

Now I'll say this I think if the real refs had done this game the same call would have been made. It was in live action and it had appeared that Tate had caught it simultaneously with Jennings. The rule states that the offensive guy is rewarded the catch and that can't be reviewed. I also don't think the real refs would dare call an offensive pass interference as they  never call pass interference on Hail Marry plays either. I think this was a lot tougher call than people want to admit. I also believe had the Packers won this way there would be 1/10th the outrage. Nobody seemed to care after the Super Bowl XL loss or Vinny Testaverde scoring that phantom touchdown to beat the Seahawks in 1998.

-  It was a nice coming out party for the most scrutinized pick in the 2012 draft Bruce Irvin. Irvin as most of you know many said the Seahawks wasted a first round pick on. Well in this game he got after Aaron Rodgers quite a bit recording two sacks which gives him 2.5 for the year.

Irvin was brought in to create pressure on the quarterback and so far this year he has done just that. I also liked his flare for the moment as he did the "discount double check " dance after his first sack. I think Mel Kiper Jr did the Seahawks a favor as well by famously doubting the Irvin pick. Reading Irvin's twitter you can tell that fuels him which is nice.

Irvin is that pass rusher that Aaron Curry was supposed to be for the Seahawks. The Seahawks haven't had a pass rusher like him since Julian Peterson when they led the NFL in sacks back in 2007. Watching Irvin grow in this defense is going to be fun to watch for years to come.

- Chris Clemons was another great pick up by the Seahawks in the Carroll regime. He has recorded 11 sacks the last two seasons and recorded four on Aaron Rodgers in the first half alone. Clemons tied a Seahawks record for most sacks in a game with four other guys with four sacks.

For the year now Clemons has five sacks and with the addition of Irvin he can get even more sacks. The last two years he has been the only primary pass rusher for the Seahawks. With Irvin now in the fold Clemons will have help creating sacks which makes an already top 10 defense even more scary. This defense really doesn't have a weakness on their roster which is headlined by the pass rush of Clemons and Irvin as they sacked a hard quarterback in Aaron Rodgers eight times in the first half.

- Switching to the offense I felt Marshawn Lynch ran hard once again especially in the first half. Lynch finished with 98 yards rushing on 25 carries(3.9 YPC) as he ran for the tough yards. It was a grind for Lynch whose longest run was only for nine yards but he was consistently getting yards against those eight man fronts.

Lynch on 4th and two got the key first down which could have set the Seahawks up for the win. Lynch this year unlike Shaun Alexander is running well despite his contract. This season Lynch has ran for 305 yards(4.2 YPC) with one touchdown. Lynch has been steady for the Seahawks which they need him to be since they have a rookie quarterback. Lynch is the face of the franchise on offense and is the leader this offensive unit desperately needs. This was yet another great personal move by the Carroll/Schneider regime in acquiring Lynch.

- The passing game once against struggled which isn't all rookie Russell Wilson's fault. Wilson was 10-21 passing for 130 yards with two touchdowns but more importantly zero interceptions. Wilson also rushed for 18 yards.

Wilson did earn his first career 4th quarter comeback as well. For the year Wilson is 43-75(57.3%) for 434 yards(5.8 YPA) with four touchdowns to one interception with 66 yards rushing. The passing game must do more going forward but the key is Wilson isn't losing the game. Wilson was throwing the ball away constantly and gave up only one sack. For the second straight week and for the 10th straight quarter he didn't turn the ball over either. Wilson will eventually have to do more but for now he is growing in this offense which is exactly what Carroll wants.

- This was a breakout game for Golden Tate who finished with three receptions for 68 yards with two touchdowns. Tate who had the breakout game and last week had the monster block on Sean Lee is proving to be a football player.

Tate had a weird game as well. He showed his big play ability with that 41 yard touchdown reception in the second quarter on a beautifully thrown play action pass by Wilson. Then he appeared to be the goat as the Seahawks were facing a 4th and 3 from the seven yard line. Wilson threw a great fade to Sidney Rice only for Tate to be in the wrong spot and jump in front of the pass only to drop the ball which many thought lost the game. Only Tate would make up for it as Wilson would lob up the hail marry despite being three Packers defenders Tate went up and wrestled the ball to at least make the officials make a judgement call. They ruled it a touchdown and for Tate who was a second round pick in 2010 this was easily his biggest moment as a Seahawks wide receiver.

- Lost in all this madness was the Seahawks defense holding Tony Romo to seven points last week and Aaron Rodgers to 12 points this week(their only touchdown was bs but the national networks won't bring that up). The Seahawks defense currently ranks 4th in the NFL in yardage, 2nd against the run and 1st in the NFL in points allowed.

They shut the mighty Packers offense out in the first half as they recorded eight sacks. Then after the failed red zone play the Seahawks offense late in the game the Packers took over from their own 7 yard line with the Seahawks having just two timeouts. One first down and the game is over. The Seahawks forced a fumble on the first play but the Packers recovered it. The Seahawks defense forced the three and out to allow the crazy play to happen. This defense has been terrific this year. Clemons had four sacks, Brandon Mebane had two and Irvin had two sacks. The defensive secondary was incredible holding Rodgers out of the end zone and to only 223 yards passing on 39 pass attempts.

Carroll has built this defense as every player on that starting except for Leroy Hill and Red Bryant(who he moved to defensive end) were acquired by the Carroll/Schneider combo. They deserve all the credit for this terrific defense which looks to be the best in the NFL. It's a shame that call is overlooking the great job this defense had done.

- Great win for Pete Carroll in his third year as Seahawks head coach. Carroll now improves to 16-19 as Seahawks head coach but remember the team was 9-23 the previous two seasons he took over. He has built this defense from 25th in the NFL in points allowed three years in a row from 2008-2010 to 7th last year to 1st so far this year.

This Seahawks first half of the schedule is tough but they are 2-1 as they head on the road for four of the next five games. I like the direction that Carroll has this franchise going in. The defense is the best defense the Seahawks have had in over a decade probably back to 1997. This defense has no weaknesses and that reflects Carroll who has hit so many home runs as team president so far with the Seahawks. From the Lynch trade, to drafting Chancellor and Thomas, to acquiring Browner and Clemons when nobody thought much of them this franchise is going places.

This game will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. Nobody will remember the blown calls both ways or that the Seahawks defense proved they are an elite defense by shutting down one of the better offenses in football. This game will be remembered on the final play of the game which is a shame as the Seahawks really played well on the national big stage. No credit will be given to the Seahawks though as the national narrative is Seattle "stole" this game which is fine. The Seahawks are 2-1 which they needed since the Arizona Cardinals are 3-0 and the San Francisco 49ers are 2-1. This was a huge win for the Seahawks and a lot happened in the first 59:52 of the game but unfortunately all anyone will remember is the final eight seconds.