We're two preseason games down the line and the Seahawks look excellent. They showcased the resilience and quality of their depth in a drubbing of the San Diego Chargers in preseason week 1, dominating virtually every 2s and 3s matchup worth rehashing (I won't rehash them). TJax is back in the fold and looks excellent spelling Russell Wilson. For what seems like the first time in a long time, the Seahawks QB situation is in a good place. In preseason week 2, the Hawks played most of their 1s against the Denver Broncos' 1s, and bested them in every phase of the game. Manning completed a lot of passes on the edges, but considering he's still Peyton Manning, I'm ok with that. The Broncos overall struggled with third down conversions, red zone efficiency, and untimely turnovers. Seattle won the psychological battle, and it showed early and often, culminating in a 40-10 victory where even the Hawks roster bubble players seemed to cruise against the Broncos' bench warmers.
At this point, we're sitting pretty. No significant injuries "besides" Percy Harvin. Both our lines look excellent. A healthy, improved Russell Wilson should win us quite a few of the toss up games too, particularly the clumsy road games we've always found a way to lose in the past. We play both the south divisions this year, and it is the opinion of this writer that we'll go as far as our home schedule is favorable. Winning the west division is crucial to getting a leg up in the competitive NFC, as our home field advantage is brutal. Our rival Niners, the rising Rams, the Packers, Bears, Vikings, Saints, Falcons, and Giants, are all legitimate threats to challenge for the NFC championship game.
Our home schedule opens with the Niners in week 2, a good litmus test. We also feature Jacksonville, Tennessee, Tampa Bay, the Vikings, and the Saints before closing our schedule with two divisional home games against the Cardinals and Rams. Those last two games should be intriguing and effective freebies, either letting us play catch up to the Niners, or giving us breathing room to rest for the playoffs. I would say our home schedule sets up nicely for another 8-0 record. The Saints are the most talented roster on that list, but we'll play them on a monday night following a bye week. Very favorable circumstances, considering they'll be coming off a high-stakes thursday night game against Atlanta. The most difficult match-up is arguably the Vikings game, which incidentally follows our own road game in Atlanta; a perfect trap considering how high emotions should be returning to the Georgia Dome, win or lose.
Speaking of the road schedule, it's a rough one. Fortunately, it's structured in a way that we bounce back between home and away a lot in doubles, which I believe is good for morale. We open against the Panthers in week 1, a perfect early test as it's a long travel and a tough defense. We have back to back games against the Texans and Colts in their parks in weeks 4 and 5, back to back divisional road games against the cards and rams in weeks 7 and 8, the aforementioned Falcons game, and finally back to back games against the Niners and Giants in weeks 14 and 15. The travel time will wear our boys down, but as long as we avoid serious injuries, the strength of our depth will shine through. I still think we're vulnerable against the back ends of those back to backs, particularly to the Colts, Rams, and Giants, but this team should end the season a game or half game above the Niners as long as we can seal the deal on most of the divisional contests. The schedule isn't loaded with gimmes, but a lot of our games are lined up great.
The predictions:
NFC:
1. Packers (13-3)
2. Seahawks (12-4: losses to the Colts, Rams, Niners, Giants)
3. Falcons (12-4)
4. Giants (10-6)
5. Niners (11-5)
6. Saints (11-5)
The last men standing should be the Seahawks and Niners, and we'd be home for the NFC championship.
AFC:
1. Patriots (12-4)
2. Broncos (11-5)
3. Colts (11-5)
4. Bengals (11-5)
5. Baltimore (10-6)
6. Houston (10-6)
The last men standing should be the Patriots and Broncos, making for another "best of the best" match up in Foxboro.
