ESPN.com - NFL - Take 2: Seahawks vs. 49ers Friday, November 5, 2004
Scouts Inc.
Tuesday, our scouts filed their advance advance scouting report on this
week's matchup between the Seahawks and 49ers. Now they're back with a
second look.
QB Tim Rattay, who has only played in three and one-half games this season
because of a separated shoulder, is expected to return on Sunday, which is
a gigantic boost for the 49ers. Not only did his replacement, Ken Dorsey,
play awfully in the last meeting between these two teams but he also has
failed to improve. He was completely ineffective in last week's loss to
the Bears (16-of-36 for 122 yards with no TD's and one INT) and his
coaches and teammates have clearly lost confidence in him. With Rattay
back healthy the 49ers at least have a chance to open their offense back
up.
They do have good depth at wide receiver with Cedrick Wilson, Brandon
Lloyd, Curtis Conway and Arnaz Battle to use a lot of three-and-four
receiver sets to help overcome Seattle's better personnel on defense. They
also have a weapon in TE Eric Johnson to use against a Seattle linebacker
corps that has been hobbled with injuries and can be exploited if Orlando
Huff and/or Tracy White get caught in too many one-on-one matchups.
The Seahawks will need LDE Chike Okeafor to win his battle versus ROT
Scott Gragg in the passing game on Sunday, as the team misses Grant
Wistrom badly on the other side. Seattle has remained stout versus the run
without Wistrom but misses his motor and consistent pressure that he
provided off the right edge of its defense. Since the 49ers are likely to
spread things out in this game, the Seahawks won't be able to blitz their
linebackers and safeties as much as coordinator Ray Rhodes might like. As
a result, it will rely on its front four to get pressure on Rattay.
Seattle has gotten strong play against the run from its four-man rotation
at defensive tackle, but Cedric Woodard, Rashad Moore, Rocky Bernard and
Marcus Tubbs have combined for just four sacks in seven games. Okeafor,
who leads the team with 5.5 sacks, is much more athletic than Gragg and
should be able to consistently beat him in pass rushing situations. If he
doesn't, the Seahawks will get almost no pressure on Rattay in this game.
San Francisco's poor offensive line play has been the biggest reason for
the team's absence of a running game. For starters, the loss of OC Jeremy
Newberry was killer, as he not only was the quarterback of this unit but
he also provided a lot more athleticism and consistency than current
starter Brock Gutierrez. The 49ers are inconsistent at ROG with rookie
Justin Smiley and they lack athleticism at both tackle spots with LOT Kyle
Kosier and ROT Gragg. The Seahawks might not be healthy enough in their
front seven to exploit the 49ers offensive line when it comes to rushing
Rattay but they should dominate the 49ers physically in the trenches and
should keep RB Kevan Barlow's rushing production to a bare minimum.
The 49ers lack of a pass rush is going to present a big problem for them
in Sunday's game. When the team lost OLB Julian Peterson for the season it
lost a lot of its flexibility in terms of coverage and blitzing. Now,
without Peterson and DE Andre Carter, the 49ers not only lack the
front-four pressure they need but they also lack the athleticism at
linebacker to take some risks on the blitz.
If the 49ers blitz a lot in order to compensate, RB Shaun Alexander and TE
Jerramy Stevens could play key roles in the passing game as they have the
athleticism and running skills to exploit the vacated zones. This is where
the 49ers miss Peterson the most. His versatility would have allowed them
to mask a lot of their problems matching up against the potentially
balanced and explosive Seattle offense.
Injuries at wide receiver, too many dropped passes and QB Matt
Hasselbeck's recent inconsistency has led Seattle coach Mike Holmgren to
simplify the offense and shift the emphasis to Alexander and the running
game. Alexander, who rushed for 195 yards on 32 carries last week, should
have another monster performance against a San Francisco defense that has
been ravaged by injuries to Peterson, Carter, DE Brandon Whiting and DC's
Ahmed Plummer and Mike Rumph.
Special Teams
Seattle PK Josh Brown is on fire. He is 13-of-14 on field goal attempts
and has connected on his last nine. Brown also has been excellent on
kickoffs this season and should really be a factor in keeping 49ers' KOR
Jamal Robertson in check.
Both teams have young punters that are inconsistent but have strong legs.
Seattle' Donnie Jones is averaging 40.7 yards per attempt, while San
Francisco's Andy Lee is averaging 40.8 yards per attempt. The 49ers should
have a better chance to exploit a mistake made from one of the young
punters in this game, as Arnaz Battle has some explosive potential and
Seattle is without its starting PR Bobby Engram.
Prediction: Seahawks 27, 49ers 17
Scouts Inc.
Tuesday, our scouts filed their advance advance scouting report on this
week's matchup between the Seahawks and 49ers. Now they're back with a
second look.
QB Tim Rattay, who has only played in three and one-half games this season
because of a separated shoulder, is expected to return on Sunday, which is
a gigantic boost for the 49ers. Not only did his replacement, Ken Dorsey,
play awfully in the last meeting between these two teams but he also has
failed to improve. He was completely ineffective in last week's loss to
the Bears (16-of-36 for 122 yards with no TD's and one INT) and his
coaches and teammates have clearly lost confidence in him. With Rattay
back healthy the 49ers at least have a chance to open their offense back
up.
They do have good depth at wide receiver with Cedrick Wilson, Brandon
Lloyd, Curtis Conway and Arnaz Battle to use a lot of three-and-four
receiver sets to help overcome Seattle's better personnel on defense. They
also have a weapon in TE Eric Johnson to use against a Seattle linebacker
corps that has been hobbled with injuries and can be exploited if Orlando
Huff and/or Tracy White get caught in too many one-on-one matchups.
The Seahawks will need LDE Chike Okeafor to win his battle versus ROT
Scott Gragg in the passing game on Sunday, as the team misses Grant
Wistrom badly on the other side. Seattle has remained stout versus the run
without Wistrom but misses his motor and consistent pressure that he
provided off the right edge of its defense. Since the 49ers are likely to
spread things out in this game, the Seahawks won't be able to blitz their
linebackers and safeties as much as coordinator Ray Rhodes might like. As
a result, it will rely on its front four to get pressure on Rattay.
Seattle has gotten strong play against the run from its four-man rotation
at defensive tackle, but Cedric Woodard, Rashad Moore, Rocky Bernard and
Marcus Tubbs have combined for just four sacks in seven games. Okeafor,
who leads the team with 5.5 sacks, is much more athletic than Gragg and
should be able to consistently beat him in pass rushing situations. If he
doesn't, the Seahawks will get almost no pressure on Rattay in this game.
San Francisco's poor offensive line play has been the biggest reason for
the team's absence of a running game. For starters, the loss of OC Jeremy
Newberry was killer, as he not only was the quarterback of this unit but
he also provided a lot more athleticism and consistency than current
starter Brock Gutierrez. The 49ers are inconsistent at ROG with rookie
Justin Smiley and they lack athleticism at both tackle spots with LOT Kyle
Kosier and ROT Gragg. The Seahawks might not be healthy enough in their
front seven to exploit the 49ers offensive line when it comes to rushing
Rattay but they should dominate the 49ers physically in the trenches and
should keep RB Kevan Barlow's rushing production to a bare minimum.
The 49ers lack of a pass rush is going to present a big problem for them
in Sunday's game. When the team lost OLB Julian Peterson for the season it
lost a lot of its flexibility in terms of coverage and blitzing. Now,
without Peterson and DE Andre Carter, the 49ers not only lack the
front-four pressure they need but they also lack the athleticism at
linebacker to take some risks on the blitz.
If the 49ers blitz a lot in order to compensate, RB Shaun Alexander and TE
Jerramy Stevens could play key roles in the passing game as they have the
athleticism and running skills to exploit the vacated zones. This is where
the 49ers miss Peterson the most. His versatility would have allowed them
to mask a lot of their problems matching up against the potentially
balanced and explosive Seattle offense.
Injuries at wide receiver, too many dropped passes and QB Matt
Hasselbeck's recent inconsistency has led Seattle coach Mike Holmgren to
simplify the offense and shift the emphasis to Alexander and the running
game. Alexander, who rushed for 195 yards on 32 carries last week, should
have another monster performance against a San Francisco defense that has
been ravaged by injuries to Peterson, Carter, DE Brandon Whiting and DC's
Ahmed Plummer and Mike Rumph.
Special Teams
Seattle PK Josh Brown is on fire. He is 13-of-14 on field goal attempts
and has connected on his last nine. Brown also has been excellent on
kickoffs this season and should really be a factor in keeping 49ers' KOR
Jamal Robertson in check.
Both teams have young punters that are inconsistent but have strong legs.
Seattle' Donnie Jones is averaging 40.7 yards per attempt, while San
Francisco's Andy Lee is averaging 40.8 yards per attempt. The 49ers should
have a better chance to exploit a mistake made from one of the young
punters in this game, as Arnaz Battle has some explosive potential and
Seattle is without its starting PR Bobby Engram.
Prediction: Seahawks 27, 49ers 17
