What a terrible past weekend for Washington sports! First, my alma mater, the University of Washington Huskies, lost a heartbreaker to Stanford, 28-31. Then the Seattle Seahawks slipped up, lost their lead and eventually the game to the Indianapolis Colts, 28-34. And the final nail in the coffin of a bad football weekend: my fantasy football team, the Seatwn Kids (named for my hometown and nod to the Kid, Ken Griffey Jr.), who were previously number one in the league and beating all the boys might I add, lost badly, 72.56-103.06. All three of my teams went from a perfect 4-0 to 4-1 in one sad weekend.
This weekend hopefully will be different. For UW, I’ll stay out of the Washington-Oregon discussion because this is Duck country. The only thing I’ll say is the Dawgs have a 9-game losing streak against the Ducks, so I don’t hold out much hope for a win, especially after the disappointing game last Saturday. But a miracle could happen, and if it does, I won’t lie: I’ll be celebrating with the Pack! The Seatwn Kids are projected to win – my RB Ronnie Hillman got a shout out on pickups of the week, so hopefully that’s a good sign. As for the Seahawks, this Sunday they are coming home and hosting the Tennessee Titans.
Here are three things to know about the Titans going into Week Six.
1. Seattle Ties
Sunday’s game could have been memorable for Seattle fans as a homecoming for Titans QB Jake Locker. Locker is Washington grown, from Ferndale, and played for the Washington Huskies from 2007-2010. He was drafted as the eighth overall pick by the Titans in 2011, and eventually earned the starting QB position a year later in 2012. He replaced Matt Hasselbeck, who interestingly is another QB with ties to Seattle, as he was the Hawks starting QB from 2001-2010 and led the Seahawks to their only Super Bowl appearance in 2006. Sunday would have been the first time Locker played against the Seahawks in his professional career, but unfortunately he’s out due to a right hip injury he sustained in the game against the New York Jets in Week Four.
2. Defense Wins Games
The last two Seahawks games have demonstrated firsthand how defense wins games. Take the fourth quarter as a crucial example. During Week Four, it was Richard Sherman’s pick off Texan Matt Schaub that forced the game into overtime, where the Hawks eventually won with a field goal. The Seahawks gave up a total of 476 yards, yet the Texans were kept from scoring at all in the second half. Defense: Seattle the victor. But then in Week Five, it was the Colts who silenced the Hawks in the fourth quarter, scored twice – a TD and a FG – and then picked off a throw by Russell Wilson that killed any hope of the Hawks making a late surge from behind. Defense: Seattle the loser.
The Seahawks may be known for their defense, but the Titans aren’t slouches in that area either. Last week, the Titans fell 17-26 to the Kansas City Chiefs, who arguably have the top defense in the NFL currently. However, the Titans kept the Chiefs’ QB Alex Smith from throwing a single TD pass. And in all the games they’ve won this season – against the Steelers, Chargers and Jets – the Titans have only given up one TD in each game.
3. Prediction
With Locker out and second-string QB Ryan Fitzpatrick in, the Titans aren’t likely to have established a rhythm that can match the Seahawks. With one game under Fitzpatrick’s belt, the fact that he was their top passer against the Chiefs with 247 yards and one TD doesn’t mean much. The Titans didn’t score until the third quarter and Fitzpatrick threw two interceptions, which the Chiefs capitalized on and turned into points – that’s exactly the Hawks’ specialty. Plus, let’s not forget, this is a home game for the Seahawks. The 12th man has been sorely missed the last two weeks and the Hawks have something to prove coming off of a loss.
Advantage: Seahawks.
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