Seattle Seahawks
SUNDAY 4:25 CenturyLink Field Seattle, WA
NEEDS TO STEP UP:
RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai: He can’t be a liability this week. Under normal circumstances he’d have to line up against DE Michael Bennett who’s one of the best in the game. However, since Bennett is out with a knee injury, Vaitai’s dance partner this week is back-up DE Frank Clark. Before you breathe that sigh of relief, you need to know that Clark is 2nd on the team in sacks (7.5). Seattle is also starting a back-up LOLB, so we need to be able to attack that. We can’t do that, if we have to cover for Vaitai.
WE MUST CONTAIN:
QB Russell Wilson: Got a really simple one here: Stay in your rush lanes, and limit Wilson’s sight-lines and scramble lanes. Seattle has no real run game, and their WR’s are just as yawn inducing as ours are. Their TE was a god in New Orleans, but since going to Seattle (even making allowance for injury), he’s been a shadow of his former self. If we hamper Wilson, we shut down their whole offense. Their defense is still good, but it’s getting by (in part) on a three year old reputation. Take away the QB and it’s not like that defense can score enough points to hang with us.
EAGLES STORY LINE:
One week after pummeling Atlanta into submission, we draw a team that likes to trade short-area punches. Seattle has been operating this way for years now, and we just started showing signs that we can do it again. So it can’t be expected that we can go toe-to-toe with them in their wheelhouse.
We however, pack a few nasty surprises that most brawler-type teams lack. We have probably the best Special Teams unit in the sport (that means all levels and all leagues). We also have a human spark plug (RB Darren Sproles), and an Offense evolving around a rapidly evolving QB in Carson Wentz. This team has never scored fewer than 20 points under this rookie QB, and our worst loss under him was by 7 points.
Seattle can punch teams in the mouth, but now so can we. This match-up will be different than the last one, where TIK was our coach. This is a message game. Once upon a time teams dreaded coming to Philly. They knew it meant an ass whooping. Even if we lost, you were going to leave here, bleeding from the face.
Tomorrow. 4:25. Be in character Eagles fans.
BOTTOM LINE:
If this were easy, it would be worthless. Time to take it. Tame it. EARN IT.
PREDICTION:
EAGLES 28 – Seahawks 18
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