Week 6 at Seattle Seahawks.... piece of cake, right?

Chrome_Seahawk said:

Actually, we seem to think that because we have a tall safety who brings some boom to his hits, that Gronk may think twice about making some catches...It has happened with Witten and Finley so far. Gronk will definitely be a factor though...there's no doubting that.

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The problem with this sort of theory is that Gronk has played against elite safeties in the past, and getting intimidated has never been an issue. It's much more likely to be an issue with Hernandez, who'd be coming back from an injury and might not be 100% mentally confident in his ankle. Also, those same safeties will be getting pummeled in the running game, so they're probably not going to be feeling as fresh by the time the 4th quarter comes along.

dannydyn said:

Hi everyone, first post here.

I do not take this game lightly one bit. The Pats are heading into the hell of all stadiums, against the number 1 defense in the league.

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seahawks are hardly the #1 defense in the NFL.


Your #1 NFL Team Opponent Yards per Game ( which means very little)
Opponent Yards per Play #1
Opponent Plays per Game #8
Opponent First Downs per Game #5
Opponent Third Downs per Game #15
Opponent Third Down Conversions per Game #15
Opponent Fourth Downs per Game #7
Opponent Fourth Down Conversions per Game #8
Opponent Average Time of Possession #8
Opponent First Downs per Play #8
Opponent Third Down Conversion Percentage #19
Opponent Punts per Play #3

They might be 5th, but not close to being the #1 defense.
FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | 2012 DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY RATINGS
and they only played Green bay that might be close to Pats offense , but they are only averaging 24 pts a game. Not plating well.
So seahawks haven't played a elite offense so far.

Chrome_Seahawk said:

Actually, we seem to think that because we have a tall safety who brings some boom to his hits, that Gronk may think twice about making some catches...It has happened with Witten and Finley so far. Gronk will definitely be a factor though...there's no doubting that.

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Finley couldn't catch a cold never mind a Football so hitting him hard isn't going to help his catching problems Witten is not long back from surgery, Gronk is bigger & stronger than both - he's been head hunted and hit hard a lot so far but guess what? 9/10 when someone tries to bring the boom...they bounce off him and that 15 yard gain is all of a sudden a 30 yard TD.

BlueTalon said:

Will you guys chill out just a little bit? You're acting as though the entire Seahawks fanbase is claiming the Pats are going to be rolled over in Seattle, and that isn't the case at all. Some of the more representative examples of what the majority of people are thinking:

Sure, you guys tapped into a homer thread, and read a lot of homer quotes, but every quote I included here is from that very same thread.

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I've been on 2 different forums and different threads, that is why I'm baffled because both forums and all threads are full of Seahawks fans disrespecting the Patriots and pumping their own tires more than I've ever seen a team pump their own tires.

CityOfChampions said:

I've been on 2 different forums and different threads, that is why I'm baffled because both forums and all threads are full of Seahawks fans disrespecting the Patriots and pumping their own tires more than I've ever seen a team pump their own tires.

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They did the same to us. But Im surprised the Charger fans were so nice this time.

What does Vegas say? I'll take their word.

pherein said:

seahawks are hardly the #1 defense in the NFL.

and they only played Green bay that might be close to Pats offense , but they are only averaging 24 pts a game.
So seahawks haven't played a elite offense so far.

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I agree with you, yards allowed is not a good metric for judging a defense (or offense). I have a lot of respect for Football Outsiders' metric systems. So forget numbers, let's just say the Seahawks defense is very good, and possibly among the best.

On the other hand, the same thing applies to opponents' offenses. Saying the Green Bay offense is "averaging 24 pts a game" doesn't put anything in context -- unless you were to compare Green Bay's average in the four other games they played, and compare that to what they produced in the Seattle game.

I don't know if Gronk is smart enough to realize that he's about to get hit.

Sciz said:

I don't know if Gronk is smart enough to realize that he's about to get hit.

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He probably says "ouch" 5 minutes later

CityOfChampions said:

I've been on 2 different forums and different threads, that is why I'm baffled because both forums and all threads are full of Seahawks fans disrespecting the Patriots and pumping their own tires more than I've ever seen a team pump their own tires.

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I respectfully disagree. That Seahawks.net thread is not dissimilar to this thread. Here, there are people "pumping their own tires", talking about what they consider to be Patriot strong points, and how they will defeat/dismantle the Seahawks, "disrespecting" the Seahawks, etc.

There are ALSO voices of reason saying this isn't going to be that easy, etc. It would be unfair for me to characterize this thread as homeristic without acknowledging the voices of reason.

Also, you gotta understand the context. There is a general expectation that the Patriots are going to go to Seattle and beat the Seahawks. Those threads are optimistic/homer reactions to that general expectation.

jmt57 said:

:welcome:


Would love to hear more insight about the Seahawks from the perspective of someone who follows them closely and knows them well over the course of the week. Intelligent football conversation is always welcome here regardless of rooting interest.

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Ask and you shall receive. As you can tell from the moniker, I'm a Seahawks fan ... but I'm far from the smack-talking ignorant type. I'm a bit older than many, so I've seen a lot of NFL football over the years -- so experience has tempered my perspective a bit. I'm a long time Hawks fan -- not just one of those who stepped on the bandwagon circa 2005 or so. I go back to the Zorn and Largent days, around 1980 or so to give you an idea of how long I've followed this team. I listen to sports radio religiously, read about everything I can get my hands on, etc. My circle of friends pretty much knows me as the Seahawks guy -- BUT, I know a lot about a lot of other teams as well. In fact, a few years ago I actually wrote a bit for Scout.com.

So all that said, I'd love to enter in to a little Quid Pro Quo with you Pats fans if you don't mind. I'll give you my insights/knowledge of the Hawks if you give me yours (minus the actual playbook that is -- heck, I'm not even sure Pete himself knows what he's going to call from one minute to the next. LOL!) So, ask away if you'd like.

Hawkscanner said:

Ask and you shall receive. As you can tell from the moniker, I'm a Seahawks fan ... but I'm far from the smack-talking ignorant type. I'm a bit older than many, so I've seen a lot of NFL football over the years -- so experience has tempered my perspective a bit. I'm a long time Hawks fan -- not just one of those who stepped on the bandwagon circa 2005 or so. I go back to the Zorn and Largent days, around 1980 or so to give you an idea of how long I've followed this team. I listen to sports radio religiously, read about everything I can get my hands on, etc. My circle of friends pretty much knows me as the Seahawks guy -- BUT, I know a lot about a lot of other teams as well. In fact, a few years ago I actually wrote a bit for Scout.com.

So all that said, I'd love to enter in to a little Quid Pro Quo with you Pats fans if you don't mind. I'll give you my insights/knowledge of the Hawks if you give me yours (minus the actual playbook that is -- heck, I'm not even sure Pete himself knows what he's going to call from one minute to the next. LOL!) So, ask away if you'd like.

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Please do. Other than the Green Bay game and three minute highlights most of us have not seen the Seahawks this year. Folks like you that follow them closely year round are going to know a whole lot more about them than any of us here.

Hawkscanner said:

Ask and you shall receive. As you can tell from the moniker, I'm a Seahawks fan ... but I'm far from the smack-talking ignorant type. I'm a bit older than many, so I've seen a lot of NFL football over the years -- so experience has tempered my perspective a bit. I'm a long time Hawks fan -- not just one of those who stepped on the bandwagon circa 2005 or so. I go back to the Zorn and Largent days, around 1980 or so to give you an idea of how long I've followed this team. I listen to sports radio religiously, read about everything I can get my hands on, etc. My circle of friends pretty much knows me as the Seahawks guy -- BUT, I know a lot about a lot of other teams as well. In fact, a few years ago I actually wrote a bit for Scout.com.

So all that said, I'd love to enter in to a little Quid Pro Quo with you Pats fans if you don't mind. I'll give you my insights/knowledge of the Hawks if you give me yours (minus the actual playbook that is -- heck, I'm not even sure Pete himself knows what he's going to call from one minute to the next. LOL!) So, ask away if you'd like.

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I know overall the hawks run d is very good, are they any weaker at defending the outside runs vs up the middle? I'm trying to jar my memory as to what RB's they've faced so far that might compare to woodhead/bolden trying to get outside.

My general concensus is that we need to stuff their running game and let Wilson try and win it with his arm. Gronk has leveled guys bigger than him so I am not too concerned about that. My big concern is our secondary not getting burnt alot

BlueTalon said:

I respectfully disagree. That Seahawks.net thread is not dissimilar to this thread. Here, there are people "pumping their own tires", talking about what they consider to be Patriot strong points, and how they will defeat/dismantle the Seahawks, "disrespecting" the Seahawks, etc.

There are ALSO voices of reason saying this isn't going to be that easy, etc. It would be unfair for me to characterize this thread as homeristic without acknowledging the voices of reason.

Also, you gotta understand the context. There is a general expectation that the Patriots are going to go to Seattle and beat the Seahawks. Those threads are optimistic/homer reactions to that general expectation.

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I wouldn't feel so defensive about it as it isn't necessarily a criticism, at least from me. Read a bunch of threads around here and you would probably think we were the Browns with the way we lay into our coaches and players, and this is after a 10 point win over a win over a pretty good Denver team.

Thirdbasekid24 said:

I know overall the hawks run d is very good, are they any weaker at defending the outside runs vs up the middle? I'm trying to jar my memory as to what RB's they've faced so far that might compare to woodhead/bolden trying to get outside.

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Also a hawk fan here. Huge UM fan as well, so have a soft spot for Brady!

To answer this, it seems to depend on the package we have in. I've seen some games with this defense where outside running finds some success, but not often. To be honest, not many games come to mind where an opposing team has had sustained success running the ball. If the pats win this, they win it because Brady finds a weakness in our defense and our offense doesn't have the horses to keep up.

Quick thoughts on the game:
I expect Wilson to throw the ball around 25 times this game as well. You all will obviously try to take away Lynch and that might cost a little in terms of defensive integrity. If the Wilson that played in the second half against Dallas or even in last game shows up, that shouldn't be an issue. Wilson looked good in the pocket last game. He needs a repeat performance.

Can't afford the offensive stagnation we had in the Rams game. If we go three and out multiple times in a row against your offense, we lose. Have to have long drives.

Need a big play from defense or special teams. I can't help but feel that we are slightly outgunned. If we win, I would expect a splash play from outside our offense.

Have to play clean. The penalties we get are stupid. Too many personal fouls. Holds on big plays. I would say a big portion of the reason why we are so pathetic offensively is just poorly timed penalties. Against Carolina, it literally felt like the refs were trying to hose us. Every big Lynch run, you started looking for a flag and the refs never dissapointed. Some of the calls were straight bogus as well. Oh well, payback for GB I suppose.

Need Bruce Irvin and Chris Clemons to come up big. Clemons is 6th, Irvin is 12th in the league in sacks, while seeing limited time, so hopefully we can keep Brady nice and uncomfortable.

CLink is going to be loud. Very loud. As in, playoff loud. Cortez Kennedy, our DT who just got inducted into the HoF, will be raising the 12th man flag for us and it will be electric! I hope a few of you can enjoy the atmosphere of Clink live come sunday!

Seattle is going to be tough. Real tough. Their defense is fantastic, the best we will have faced this year.

Also, is it me or has the level of play in the NFL really improved? I mean, there are only a few crappy teams in the NFL this year, and they all seem to be in the AFC.

Hey guys been reading the forum for a long time but new at posting! I'm going to the Seattle game this week (4th NFL game) I have 7th row tix. Was wondering if any of you have advice on getting autographs. Also is anyone else going to the game?

UtGhost25 said:

Hey guys been reading the forum for a long time but new at posting! I'm going to the Seattle game this week (4th NFL game) I have 7th row tix. Was wondering if any of you have advice on getting autographs. Also is anyone else going to the game?

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Ill be there, way up in section 315. I'll wave to ya! Do you know about the patriots pregame party? https://www.facebook.com/events/444255675625898/

I'll be directly to the right of the tunnel where the Seahawks come out, hope to see my fellow Pats fans there!