In my opinion the Seahawks made a mistake in not going straight from Washington to Atlanta right after defeating the Redskins last week. They would have saved thousands of miles of traveling and all the time & energies that are were wasted along with that, not to mention the jet lag and dehydration that is associated with such cross country travel... And to make things even worse the NFL scheduled the game in the morning... The only way the NFL could have made it worse than it already is, is if they would have had to play yesterday... And while all this was going the Falcons have been resting & preparing, and all that extra rest & preparation can never be under estimated especially this late in the season... It's not always a given that it is the end all to winning NFL playoff games (see Broncos yesterday), but I'm of the belief that it never hurts to prepare & practice as much as possible never hurts either...
Were my eyes deceiving my last week as I watched a hobbling Griffin (before he was completely left for dead out there by Shanny), completely shred the vaunted? Seahawks Secondary?? I saw a secondary that was tired, slow to react, out of position, banged up hobbling, against a receiving corps that isn't near as dangerous as what they are about to face this morning with the Falcons Jones, White, and Gonzalez. This is a matchup that the Falcons should be able to exploit at will for the entire game, as long as Ryan isn't playing on one leg...
The Seahawks will also be attempting to overcome the loss of DE Chris Clemons, Pro Football Focus #1 rated pass rusher (26.5 rating) in the NFL, which should help Ryan and those receivers an extra few seconds to get even more separation than they would have been able to otherwise with Clemons healthy and playing... And if that wasn't bad enough they lost their starting kicker last week who was perfect inside of 50yds...
yes, Arizona that beat New England at Forboro and Buffalo they had to fly across the entire county to Canada and play the game.
Yes Seattle started off shaking last week in Washington. But they recovered and if Lynch doesn't fumble at the one yard line and Wilson doesn't over throw a wide open receiver in the 2nd half, then Seattle wins by 24+
I know I know, IF IF IF
Don't get me wrong... I've been a huge Seahawks guy all season, just think this is a really tough spot for them today, that's all... I think all these players and coaches are literally only a handful of plays one way or another from either winning the games outright to especially covering the spread... I would just rather my money back the team that has more time to rest and definitely a lot more preparation than the other... Because I do believe it's that extra preparation that usually makes the difference in getting those few extra positive plays that are the difference between cashing and not eating...
Your right about Lynch fumbling at the goal line.....probably not going to happen. I guess you should also add that Ryan will probably hit a few of those wide open WRs that RG couldn't last week. I still think the travel has to wear them down a little. Plus playing a physical game last week on that shitty field also can only be a negative.
Atlanta's defense is ranked 5th in points allowed. This game will be much closer than the Seattle fans think. I like what Seattle has done this year and it looks like they will be a top team for years to come but, their good season ends today. Atlanta has too many weapons on offense and all Ryan has to do is not make any mistakes and they win the game.
