Seahawks vs. Redskins (and other games too)
Finally I get to see my Seahawks play a divisional-round playoff game. Finally they are a serious contender. But my football predictions are about what I think will happen, not what I want to happen. So will the Red-hot 'Skins beat my mighty Seahawks?
Everyone says that Seattle has no defense and they just outscore their opponents. Defense wins championships, and the Redskins have a better defense than the Seahawks. Washington's schedule was much tougher than Seattle's. Blah, blah, blah. You can come up with a lot of reasons to think that the Redskins might become the first six-seed in NFL playoff history to beat the one-seed. Rich Tandler came up with enough to predict Redskins 21, Seahawks 17.
Here's the #1 reason they won't: Seattle's defense at home is different than Seattle's defense on the road. That's not the biggest vote of confidence, I know, but considering that Seattle's offense is good (nay, great) everywhere, visiting Qwest field to play football is like a death sentence this year. Your defense is likely to be overmatched - Seattle is not likely to turn the ball over like Tampa Bay did, and they're easily the best field-gobbling offense in the NFC. Before you know it, you're back's against the end zone, and you're trying to keep out a team that's been there 57 times during the regular season.
Oh, and Seattle's secondary is convalescing - I'm gonna say Seahawks, 28-13.
The Steelers visit the Colts. Here's one where my mind and my heart diverge. My heart says that the Steelers can do it. They're a tough defensive team, and they can run the ball, and Big Ben is the best second-season QB in the league (no offense, Eli). But the Colts are going to win. If the Steelers win, then either something will have happened to Eli's brother before the game, or the Steelers (key to winning, Cowher, coming up:) will have gotten to Manning before he could get the ball to Harrison or even James. That's the key. If Harrison gets the ball, you've lost already. Put 11 in the box. Did I mention that maybe the Colts D-line deserves some credit? I'm just gonna sneak that in there, and maybe my brother won't notice. I'm going with the Colts, 27-14.
Patriots go to Mile High. What a great match-up. This will be one of those really tough moments in Tom Brady's career. The Broncos, like the Jaguars, have an underrated defense. And in case all you saw of the Patriots-Jaguars game was the final score, the Patriots had a very, very difficult time on offense. And the Broncos are a much better team on offense than the Jaguars. They have the best running game in the AFC, (best in the league, in my opinion), and Jake Plummer is doing some kind of late-bloomer thing that probably has something to do with not playing for the Cardinals. So the Broncos are really good on both sides of the ball, but here comes the other hand, which reminds us that New England has playoff experience oozing out of every orifice. Sorry about that mental image, but it's true. Listen to anyone who talks about football, and you'll hear how much experience the Patriots have. Third hand coming in: it says that once upon a time, the Patriots had as little playoff experience as I do, and they still won... maybe we shouldn't count the Broncos out so fast. And oh yeah: Mile High. Best home-field advantage since, well, Foxborough, MA. I'm going with the Broncos, 23-20.
And oh, yes: da Bears. Panthers are overrated. Bears are going to be able to run the ball better than most people think, and no one knows what the deal is with Rex Grossman, which is another thing going for da Bears, actually. I doubt the Panthers will beat da Bears even more than I doubted they'd beat the Giants. Da Bears, 13-3.
Backlog Bob
Everyone says that Seattle has no defense and they just outscore their opponents. Defense wins championships, and the Redskins have a better defense than the Seahawks. Washington's schedule was much tougher than Seattle's. Blah, blah, blah. You can come up with a lot of reasons to think that the Redskins might become the first six-seed in NFL playoff history to beat the one-seed. Rich Tandler came up with enough to predict Redskins 21, Seahawks 17.
Here's the #1 reason they won't: Seattle's defense at home is different than Seattle's defense on the road. That's not the biggest vote of confidence, I know, but considering that Seattle's offense is good (nay, great) everywhere, visiting Qwest field to play football is like a death sentence this year. Your defense is likely to be overmatched - Seattle is not likely to turn the ball over like Tampa Bay did, and they're easily the best field-gobbling offense in the NFC. Before you know it, you're back's against the end zone, and you're trying to keep out a team that's been there 57 times during the regular season.
Oh, and Seattle's secondary is convalescing - I'm gonna say Seahawks, 28-13.
The Steelers visit the Colts. Here's one where my mind and my heart diverge. My heart says that the Steelers can do it. They're a tough defensive team, and they can run the ball, and Big Ben is the best second-season QB in the league (no offense, Eli). But the Colts are going to win. If the Steelers win, then either something will have happened to Eli's brother before the game, or the Steelers (key to winning, Cowher, coming up:) will have gotten to Manning before he could get the ball to Harrison or even James. That's the key. If Harrison gets the ball, you've lost already. Put 11 in the box. Did I mention that maybe the Colts D-line deserves some credit? I'm just gonna sneak that in there, and maybe my brother won't notice. I'm going with the Colts, 27-14.
Patriots go to Mile High. What a great match-up. This will be one of those really tough moments in Tom Brady's career. The Broncos, like the Jaguars, have an underrated defense. And in case all you saw of the Patriots-Jaguars game was the final score, the Patriots had a very, very difficult time on offense. And the Broncos are a much better team on offense than the Jaguars. They have the best running game in the AFC, (best in the league, in my opinion), and Jake Plummer is doing some kind of late-bloomer thing that probably has something to do with not playing for the Cardinals. So the Broncos are really good on both sides of the ball, but here comes the other hand, which reminds us that New England has playoff experience oozing out of every orifice. Sorry about that mental image, but it's true. Listen to anyone who talks about football, and you'll hear how much experience the Patriots have. Third hand coming in: it says that once upon a time, the Patriots had as little playoff experience as I do, and they still won... maybe we shouldn't count the Broncos out so fast. And oh yeah: Mile High. Best home-field advantage since, well, Foxborough, MA. I'm going with the Broncos, 23-20.
And oh, yes: da Bears. Panthers are overrated. Bears are going to be able to run the ball better than most people think, and no one knows what the deal is with Rex Grossman, which is another thing going for da Bears, actually. I doubt the Panthers will beat da Bears even more than I doubted they'd beat the Giants. Da Bears, 13-3.
Backlog Bob
posted by weblogbob83 at 1:12 AM
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