The Seahawks have looked anywhere from mediocre to pathetic the last couple weeks, particularly on offense, particularly in losing on the road to a Saints team you should absolutely beat 100 times out of 100. I know this is a home game, but you’re still talking about a Bills team that’s a clear cut above the Saints, with more talent than the Saints on both sides of the ball (albeit, not necessarily at quarterback), and oh yeah, this is a team that leads the league in sacks and likes to blitz on the majority of their defensive snaps. The Seahawks, with their turnstile offensive line, should be crushed in this game. They’ve proven they can’t protect Russell Wilson without incurring a ton of flags, they’ve proven they can’t run the ball with any semblance of regularity, and quite frankly, I think it’s time to really start second-guessing my faith in Russell Wilson’s abilities.
All along, I’ve been railing against the national media who likes to do nothing more than pick out the flaws in Wilson’s game. He’s a system guy. He has that tremendous defense. He has Marshawn Lynch to lean on. He’s not asked to do too much. On and on and on. And, through it all, I’ve just been waiting for him to prove them wrong. One day, Wilson will be called upon to be The Man, and he’s going to rise to the challenge, and he’s going to be one of those guys you talk about when you talk about the cream of the crop at quarterback!
Well, that time is now, and I know he’s got all the injuries and everything, but he ain’t rising up for shit! Maybe it’s all a result of him not being able to run around like he used to, but while he looked like a guy taking the next step in the second half of last year (particularly with his pocket passing, as he had one of the quicker releases in football in that span), now it just looks like he’s rushing throws and making poor decisions to boot. I know it’s not all on him; his offensive line is a joke. But, when you talk about the greats, you talk about how they make everyone else around them better. And, that’s just not happening right now for this man and this team.
All that having been said, watch the Seahawks go out there and put up 400 yards of offense. Like I said, I dunno! Who can predict how this team will look from week to week? I’m sure it doesn’t help in games against the Cards and Saints that they’re so familiar with the way we play ball. Buffalo doesn’t face us all that often, so maybe they won’t be ready for us?
On the flipside, you’d think our defense would be able to shut them down. The thing they like to do best – run the ball – is the thing we tend to shut down the best. That having been said, the Cards and Saints were both hyper-dedicated to running the ball against us, and while their yards per carry average wasn’t all that impressive, they still put their quarterbacks in manageable situations on second and third downs (something I’ve been SCREAMING for the Seahawks to do these past two weeks). Tyrod Taylor isn’t nearly as effective as Brees or Palmer, but he’s good enough, and he’s mobile. Remember Colin Kaepernick when he was good? Taylor is like a better version of that. And while his weapons might not be all there, what with injuries and whatnot, I fully expect him to move the ball just enough to keep them in the game. I would, in no way shape or form, expect a Seahawks blowout.
So, shit, why not? I guess we’ll see a Seahawks blowout! Because, again, I have no fucking idea what’s going on, with this team, this season, or anything else in the NFL. Having me predict NFL games is a fool’s errand; I’ve been obnoxiously terrible at it this year.
I don’t even care about this game, to tell you the truth. The Seahawks are so decimated by injuries that it’s not even fun to watch this team anymore. No Kam Chancellor, no Michael Bennett, no Thomas Rawls, a gimpy Tyler Lockett, a gimpier Russell Wilson … I mean, you’re talking about all of my favorite players on this team either out or playing significantly less than 100%. Who wants to watch THIS team? This team stinks! Can we fast forward to December when these guys are all back to full health?
If you want to watch exciting, fun football, watch the Washington Huskies. They play Cal on Saturday night at 7:30pm and that game is going to be a million times more exciting than whatever garbage we’re stuck with on Monday night.