Good morning. Better break out the winter clothes today if you’re going to the game. The forecast is for a high of 34, with a bit of a breeze. It’s football weather, and it should be an interesting game today as we enter the first week of the post-Ruskell era.
Here’s my thoughts on what Seattle needs to do for a victory over San Francisco today.
Put pressure on Smith – San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith has a history of struggling if defenses can get some hits on him, so I expect the Seahawks to continue on what they did last week against Kyle Boller, with defensive coordinator Gus Bradley dialing up several blitz packages today.
Let Hasselbeck take over – The Seahawks relied on the run game against the Rams, but they won’t have that luxury against a stout San Francisco defensive front today. Expect the short passing game to take over as the team’s primary way of moving the ball, along with the Seahawks dialing up some long passes to stretch the field and loosen up the defense.
Breakout day for Trufant – I know he’s had his struggles with the defensive penalties so far this season, but I expect cornerback Marcus Trufant to play well today. He’s looked better in practice, particularly with his footwork, and has been staying after to work the kinks out. Hopefully his hard work pays off on Sunday.
Take care of the ball – This might be one of those games where a late turnover gives Seattle the short field they need for a final score to put them over the top. With a cold, blustery weather predicted for today, ball security will be key.
My story today focuses on the Niners changes offensively with Smith and Michael Crabtree to more of a spread look on offense, and how they might even be a better team than Seattle faced earlier in the season when they lose 23-10.
TNT’s Dave Boling says a look at both rosters shows the Hawks with fewer assets than the Niners.
Greg Johns of Seattlepi.com predicts a 24-21 Seattle win. I predicted the same score today.
John Boyle of the Everett Herald says the distracted Seahawks need to focus on the Niners.
Former Kansas City president and general manager Carl Peterson tells ESPN’s Brock and Salk that Seattle should split the president and general manager positions, and says the job is a top-10 gig in the NFL.
ESPN Seattle’s Brock Huard offers these keys to the game today, saying John Carlson must get more involved in the offense. And he also calls for a better performance for Marcus Trufant.
Clare Farnsworth of Seahawks.com says Seattle has to deal with Frank Gore defensively.
ESPN’s John Clayton and Mike Sando talk about Ruskell’s departure and this week’s game in this audio link.
Eric, does this mean you’ll break out a full sweater rather than just the vest??Good morning…
Anyway, I would also point out that they have to control the 9ers running game. Granted, this is a far more balanced team now, but the ‘Hawks simply cannot allow Gore and co. to run right at them. Mebane in will certainly help, but it’s also about not allowing their line to open those gaping holes. Bryant and Cole need to hold the point off attack and jam the middle. They better the 9ers can run the ball, the better Alex Smith becomes. For me, it all starts with the d line.
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Having “Hasselbeck take over” will create a Jake Delhomme West type of situation and no one wants to see that.
Forsett needs 150 combined yards and the LBs have to get to the QB for the Seahawks to win the game.
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Dukeshire: I considered stopping Gore a given after what happened earlier this year. And yes, I’m rocking a Cosby sweater today.
Pabuwal: I can’t believe you uttered Delhomme and Hasselbeck in the same sentence. That ain’t right.
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Thats funny. Over the years I’ve seen offensive lines that could pass block but were terrible when it came to the run. So this o-line is completely the opposite, eh. Can’t be the WR’s cause Seattle has over 20M invested. That leaves Hass who passed for 315 against the Cards couple week back or 3900 in 2007 season.
yahn, time for some sleep
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I hear you and agree. Just not sure this team is good enough to take anything for granted. They need learn how to walk before they can run, so to speak.
Cosby sweater’s cool. I’m envisioning…
http://cdn.videogum.com/img/thumbnails/posts/cosbysweaters.jpg
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Delhomme and Hasselbeck are both 34 year old QBs who have had just 1 good year out of the last 4, have minimal NFL level arm strength left and are at the end of their road.
The only difference is the Seahawks don’t ask Hasselbeck to throw the ball down the field which allows him to pad his stats with dink and dunks (completion %) and YAC (Forsett).
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Oh and nothing beats the old school Cosby sweaters. I need a few of those.
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The Seahawks have been featured a lot this morning on ESPN Countdown but unfortunately only as part of the hightlights footage for several other teams.
Eric…You’re the Seahawks beat writer, so get into character. Forget the sweater, get out some paint, and beat your chest.
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Look for Hass to have a good day. QB’s have passed for over 300yds vs the 9ers in t he last 3 games. 300yds + a couple of td’s… shut the haters up.
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We need a team victory. A complete game from every unit. Tough against the run, pressure on Smith, fight for the ball when it’s in the air. On the other side, grind out the rushing yards, give Hass some time, and catch the ball. Oh yeah, touchbacks by Mare, great situational punting, and penalty free returns. Hmmm……sounds about right : )
GO SEAHAWKS!!!
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OutSydeDog,
Agreed…though, I think we’ll need a different team to accomplish those things. Here’s to hoping!
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Hawks D faces A.Smith today, not S.Hill like last time.
Last time Mebane didn’t play, Terrill started. Terrill was blocked away from Gore’s two 80 yd TD runs by pulling guard, RG & C pushed Cole outta the play, Lofa got blocked by FB, and Babs took a bad angle (partly cause the umpire was in the way), and Grant couldn’t catch up. Hill wasn’t playing either, W.Herring replaced him. Gore ran for 207 yds on 16 attempts.
Last time SEA played SF, their LT was J.Staley, LG was D.Baas, C was E.Heitmann, RG was C.Rachal, and RT was A.Snyder. Last week D.Baas, E.Heitmann, C.Rachal, and Adam Snyder played, but LT was Barry Sims. Adam Snyder has practiced this week with a sore shoulder. Barry Sims has actually been an upgrade over Joe Staley at LT. Though both are not too good at run-blocking, Sims is slightly better of the two. Sims has also been arguably an upgrade at pass-blocking. Sims has allowed more QB pressures but fewer sacks and hits. I think that might be because Smith gets the ball out quicker. S.Locklear is better than Sims at run blocking but worse at pass-pro. Lock hasn’t allowed a sack but allowed 4 QB hits and 7 pressures in 5 games. Among overall performance by guards, R.Sims now ranks 9th and M.Unger ranks 53rd. SF’s RG Chilo Rachal and LG David Baas now rank 57th & 58th among guards (who’ve taken at least 25% of their teams snaps). Centers Eric Heitman ranks 10th and C.Spencer ranks 21st. Heitman is good at both pass-pro and run-blocking, Spencer is decent at pass-pro but isn’t very good at run-bocking.
Among WRs, Housh and Crabtree are comparable, Nate is better than I.Bruce (but Bruce is probably out), and Branch is better than Morgan. The problem is keeping V.Davis and F.Gore from making big plays catching the ball and running with it.
Also, N.Clements is replaced by D.Bly.
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Do you have a conclusion with all of that or just points of information?
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How about Leonard Weaver today?!?! I’m still disappointed he wasn’t retained.
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I think he’s saying we’re a better team and the 49ers are a worse team, so we might actually have a chance.
Yeah…Weaver is a baby-hutch-like sore spot for me.
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Hawks also better watch out for Delanie Walker, too. He’s played better than V.Davis. SF’s D is much better than Hawks. Hawks O is no longer that much better than SFs. This is a tough game for Hawks to win, but it’s kinda doable. If the Hawks team that played JAX shows up they’ll at least be in the game. If the Hawks team that played STL last week shows I don’t think so.
SF under Singletary reminds me of KC under Shottenheimer. Chiefs usta win the early games because they outworked everyone in TC and preseason. Then as the season wore on Marty’s team degraded with injuries. They just wore out. Then, by the postseason they never won. Look at SF’s game scores compared to Hawks:
SF 20 – AZ 16, SEA 3 – AZ 27
SF 23 – SEA 10,
SF 14 – IND 18, SEA 17 – IND 34
SF 10 – CHI 6, SEA 19 – CHI 25
SF 24 – MIN 27, SEA 9 – MIN 35
SF 35 – STL 0, SEA 28 – STL 0
SF 20 – JAX 3, SEA 41 – JAX 0
Just don’t think SF’s quite wore out yet.
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Yes, especially considering how often they have thrown to Griffith.
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Hey Bobby…you’ve been pretty quiet today. Sorry about the Huskers last night…hope you’re not too hung to watch the game this afternoon.
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Don’t think Bobby would be hung, might be more serious. Catatonic, huddled in a corner. Not only did his beloved Black Shirts come up short but with Suh’s performance, no way he falls to the ‘Hawks. Lose lose for him. And I feel for him, they battled their asses off last night.
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“Having “Hasselbeck take over” will create a Jake Delhomme West type of situation and no one wants to see that.”
Such overkill and hyperbole . . . I’m starting to wonder what Hasselbeck did to you personally?
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I’m still mad. Both my teams have broken my heart.
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