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blstoker
Bill Bergen for HoF!
- 14,622
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- Joined
- Apr 17, 2013
- Location
- WA
- Hoopla Cash
- $ 9,816.00
- Fav. Team #1
- Fav. Team #2
- Fav. Team #3
Positives:
CenturyLink - There have been some rough patches this season, but the Seahawks still have an unblemished record at home (5-0) as they are still one of the toughest teams to play when playing in Seattle. CenturyLink has been a haven for the Hawks for a long time and this season they are scoring 11 point per game better than on the road.
Health - This week should be different than last week as the Hawks are looking to get back a lot of players that weren't able to go in Tampa Bay. Earl Thomas and Michael Bennett are clearly the biggest names on the list, but Demontre Moore will give the DL even more depth and Justin Britt was sorely missed last week. Brock Coyle appears to have been ready for weeks, but IR rules kept him sidelined until this week - and it's good timing as Brock Coyle is out. Troymaine Pope may help give some solid depth at RB.
Michael Bennett - I don't usually like having a player highlighted in 2 sections, but I wanted to take the time to mention Bennett some more. Bennett's absence has been felt a great deal, and it hasn't been for what most people have talked about - as I just don't think the pass rush has suffered as much as others do. It's the run game that has been the biggest difference when looking at the drop off from Bennett to Clark. The Hawks are giving up 34 more rushing yards per game in Bennett's absence than they did with Bennett in there, and with Newton and Stewart running the ball today - Seattle's D will need to put a stop to the running attack of Carolina.
Negatives:
Running Game - It isn't any secret that Seattle has struggled to run the ball all season long, and though I am glad to have Thomas Rawls back, and the Seahawks have gained 279 yards on the ground in the last 2 games - Carolina is the #2 run defense in the NFL.
Greg Olson - Cam Newton's favorite target this season, Olson has not seen the drop off in performance that a lot of the rest of the Carolina offense has suffered. He's a top-notch TE who has been a thorn in Seattle's side. In last year's Carolina win @ CenturyLink, Olson caught 7 passes for 131 yard and a touchdown. Seattle will have to shut him down if they want to keep Carolina's offense stagnant.
3rd Down - Seattle has been plain bad this season when the down marker reaches 3. They are ranked 25th in the NFL in 3rd down efficiency on both offense (35.0) and defense (42.7). It was stated by the announcers that the Seahawks defense was worst in the NFL in 3 and 1 situations. Both units need to be much better at their 3rd down situations, as there may not be a team more suited to the popular strategy of taking 3 yards on first and second and deal with a short 3rd down as Carolina.
Matchups:
Kelvin Benjamin vs. Richard Sherman - After missing all of last year with a injury, Benjamin has seen some ups and downs this season. Still, he's on pace for 70+ catches, 1000+ yards and 7 or more TDs. He's had 50 yards or more receiving in all but 2 games this season and 7 straight. Sherman isn't known to follow the #1 receiver around, and even with injuries last week he didn't do it as often as I expected, so I don't see him doing it again this week - unless it becomes plainly obvious that Benjamin is having his way with the other DBs.
Carolina Front 7 vs. Seattle OLine - Seahawks fans are holding their breath to see if the performance of the OLine last week was a hiccup in the lines development as a unit or a harbinger of what this line truly is. Carolina will be without Luke Kuechly and Mario Addison - which hurts enough - but if Kawann Short is also out, they could find themselves with serious holes in the middle of their front 7.
Carolina OLine vs. Seattle Front 7 - Where Seattle's front 7 is getting healthier, the exact opposite can be said about Carolina's offensive line. Their starting LT (Michael Oher) has missed all but 3 games this season, and his replacement (Daryl Williams) will miss this game as well - making it a 3rd stringer at LT (maybe Chris Scott?). They will once again be without their Pro Bowl C (Ryan Kalil) and his backup (Gino Gradkowski) just went on IR this week, leaving them with an untested 2nd year player (Tyler Larsen, who I personally liked coming out of Utah State). All these 3rd stringers along the OLine will be an advantage to Seattle, but will they be able to capitalize on it is the question.
Overview:
Seattle was embarrassed last week, and hopefully the players take that to heart. The offense will need to find ways to move the ball against a team that has a stout running game, but whose pass defense ranks just 29th. Carolina's magic from last season seems to have disappeared, and injuries have decimated some of the most important positions on the field (LT, C & MLB). Seattle is at home - where they don't lose very often - but their lost their last matchup here against the Carolina Panthers. Seattle needs to put last week behind them and use it as motivation to play the championship football that they ascribe to.
CenturyLink - There have been some rough patches this season, but the Seahawks still have an unblemished record at home (5-0) as they are still one of the toughest teams to play when playing in Seattle. CenturyLink has been a haven for the Hawks for a long time and this season they are scoring 11 point per game better than on the road.
Health - This week should be different than last week as the Hawks are looking to get back a lot of players that weren't able to go in Tampa Bay. Earl Thomas and Michael Bennett are clearly the biggest names on the list, but Demontre Moore will give the DL even more depth and Justin Britt was sorely missed last week. Brock Coyle appears to have been ready for weeks, but IR rules kept him sidelined until this week - and it's good timing as Brock Coyle is out. Troymaine Pope may help give some solid depth at RB.
Michael Bennett - I don't usually like having a player highlighted in 2 sections, but I wanted to take the time to mention Bennett some more. Bennett's absence has been felt a great deal, and it hasn't been for what most people have talked about - as I just don't think the pass rush has suffered as much as others do. It's the run game that has been the biggest difference when looking at the drop off from Bennett to Clark. The Hawks are giving up 34 more rushing yards per game in Bennett's absence than they did with Bennett in there, and with Newton and Stewart running the ball today - Seattle's D will need to put a stop to the running attack of Carolina.
Negatives:
Running Game - It isn't any secret that Seattle has struggled to run the ball all season long, and though I am glad to have Thomas Rawls back, and the Seahawks have gained 279 yards on the ground in the last 2 games - Carolina is the #2 run defense in the NFL.
Greg Olson - Cam Newton's favorite target this season, Olson has not seen the drop off in performance that a lot of the rest of the Carolina offense has suffered. He's a top-notch TE who has been a thorn in Seattle's side. In last year's Carolina win @ CenturyLink, Olson caught 7 passes for 131 yard and a touchdown. Seattle will have to shut him down if they want to keep Carolina's offense stagnant.
3rd Down - Seattle has been plain bad this season when the down marker reaches 3. They are ranked 25th in the NFL in 3rd down efficiency on both offense (35.0) and defense (42.7). It was stated by the announcers that the Seahawks defense was worst in the NFL in 3 and 1 situations. Both units need to be much better at their 3rd down situations, as there may not be a team more suited to the popular strategy of taking 3 yards on first and second and deal with a short 3rd down as Carolina.
Matchups:
Kelvin Benjamin vs. Richard Sherman - After missing all of last year with a injury, Benjamin has seen some ups and downs this season. Still, he's on pace for 70+ catches, 1000+ yards and 7 or more TDs. He's had 50 yards or more receiving in all but 2 games this season and 7 straight. Sherman isn't known to follow the #1 receiver around, and even with injuries last week he didn't do it as often as I expected, so I don't see him doing it again this week - unless it becomes plainly obvious that Benjamin is having his way with the other DBs.
Carolina Front 7 vs. Seattle OLine - Seahawks fans are holding their breath to see if the performance of the OLine last week was a hiccup in the lines development as a unit or a harbinger of what this line truly is. Carolina will be without Luke Kuechly and Mario Addison - which hurts enough - but if Kawann Short is also out, they could find themselves with serious holes in the middle of their front 7.
Carolina OLine vs. Seattle Front 7 - Where Seattle's front 7 is getting healthier, the exact opposite can be said about Carolina's offensive line. Their starting LT (Michael Oher) has missed all but 3 games this season, and his replacement (Daryl Williams) will miss this game as well - making it a 3rd stringer at LT (maybe Chris Scott?). They will once again be without their Pro Bowl C (Ryan Kalil) and his backup (Gino Gradkowski) just went on IR this week, leaving them with an untested 2nd year player (Tyler Larsen, who I personally liked coming out of Utah State). All these 3rd stringers along the OLine will be an advantage to Seattle, but will they be able to capitalize on it is the question.
Overview:
Seattle was embarrassed last week, and hopefully the players take that to heart. The offense will need to find ways to move the ball against a team that has a stout running game, but whose pass defense ranks just 29th. Carolina's magic from last season seems to have disappeared, and injuries have decimated some of the most important positions on the field (LT, C & MLB). Seattle is at home - where they don't lose very often - but their lost their last matchup here against the Carolina Panthers. Seattle needs to put last week behind them and use it as motivation to play the championship football that they ascribe to.
