The Seattle Seahawks fans have already set the Guinness World Record for “Noise at an outdoor stadium” as of December 2013, with the “12th Man” getting so loud at times, that they have registered as a 1-2 on the Richter Scale three times since January 2011.
It’s about to get even louder.
Tonight, the Seahawks begin their quest to repeat as Super Bowl Champions, at home in CenturyLink Field, and another earthquake is not unrealistic.
They open their title defense by hosting the Green Bay Packers, what many will see as a watered down version of the Denver team the Seahawks chewed up and spit out to the tune of 43-8 with over 100 million people watching.
The short version? Green Bay is likely in for just as long of a night, and the odds that they come out on top may be even longer.
Here are some things to watch for, and a few ways the game could unfold tonight:
- Opening Day Notes and Trends:
In the last 10 years, the defending Super Bowl Champions have played in (usually hosting) the opening game of the season. It’s also worth noting that 8 out of the 10 years, the previous year’s champs have won the first game in their quest to defend their title.
This will be Seattle’s first time playing in the “NFL Kickoff” game, and Green Bay’s second, having beaten New Orleans in an offensive showcase between the past two Super Bowl winners to start the 2011 season.
Green Bay has not won their first game of the season since that night, and if they lose tonight, will fall to 0-3 when opening against NFC West opponents since Aaron Rodgers took over at QB to start the 2008 season. Head coach Mike McCarthy is 5-3 overall on opening day since being hired in 2006.
In comparison, Seattle has split their opening day record at 1-1 with Russell Wilson under center since 2012, and are 2-2 overall on opening day since Pete Carroll was hired in 2010.
By all accounts, this is a new game and a new season, and both teams have the power to start their season 1-0, and only themselves to blame if they begin 0-1. So much has changed since the last time these two teams met, that there have been two new Super Bowl Champions crowned, the referees will be different and unionized, and MD Jennings and Golden Tate no longer play for either side.
This is something new, and new things don’t happen in the past, so stop living in it if you haven’t yet joined us in present day.
- The Hard Way or the Losing Way:
Truthfully, there might not actually be a choice here. A blueprint to beating Seattle exists, but it’s virtually impossible to follow. It requires a conservative offensive game-plan with a flawless game-manager at QB, a very strong and consistent running game, and the defense has to force the offense to sustain long drives, no big plays or easy points allowed. Sounds easy, right? Not exactly. Having the right game-plan AND executing it, is only half of the battle.
The Seahawks played 11 games against that same blueprint last season, winning eight, so there’s no guarantee either way. They can beat you your way, or they can beat you when you try to mirror their way of doing things. Seattle is no fluke, they are built for the long-haul and they are built for success. If you want to beat them, you’re going to have to earn it, and with the beatings they have laid on teams in the last 12 months, even an earned victory may not feel so great.
The bigger issue? Green Bay is built to be a pass-first team. They are absolutely more balanced with Eddie Lacy than they ever used to be, but that does not change the fact that they prefer to put the ball in the air, which is exactly what Seattle hopes that they will do.
Through 8 regular season games and 2 postseason games at CenturyLink, Seattle allowed just 1 passer (Drew Brees) to eclipse the 300 yard mark last year, winning all 9 of 10 contests. As good as Rodgers is with thirty-four 300 yard passing games in his career, he will have a tough time against a rabid defense that gets as rabid as it can without, you know, actually foaming at the mouth.
Allowing a league-low 274 yards per game last year, Seattle simply makes you earn every yard. Rodgers has faced defenses like Seattle’s before, but his track record is not great, going just 1-5. In his only win against a top defense, Rodgers and McCarthy had to go ultra conservative, limiting Rodgers’ touches and in doing so, the amount of hits he took. Green Bay accumulated just 256 yards of total offense, attempting just 8 more passes than rushing attempts. The defense allowed 375 yards and zero points, the result a 9-0 victory that was a lot closer than the score indicated, but a win is a win.
However, that was a mid-season game going on four years ago against Mark Sanchez, an aging LaDanian Tomlinson, and an in his prime Darrelle Revis and what many would call an incomplete defense. This is opening night, at the greatest home field advantage in all of sports, against Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, and the Legion Of Boom, fresh off a Super Bowl Victory. Not exactly comparable.
- Will To Win VS What Did You Say?!
The Packers have well-advertised their intention to bring a fast, no-huddle offense in to Seattle. It sounds great on paper, and the Packers have the weapons to follow through with it, but I wouldn’t count on it. This could be as much misdirection as it could be misguided. McCarthy must know that tactic won’t work well, especially with a high buzzing threatening to burst eardrums, coming from fans screaming so loud, that it causes local officials to think an earthquake has just begun. Unless they have been practicing using only hand signals in complete silence with 747’s flying low patterns, I don’t expect to see a lot of no-huddle, unless they’re in a deep hole.
A fully-healthy offensive line would make it easier but not easy, and now the Packers will be operating with rookie center Corey Linsley snapping the ball to Rodgers, of which they have exactly zero game experience together. Case dismissed. If that doesn’t rule out the no-huddle by itself, it also doesn’t rule out that McCarthy has lost his mind. Confidence in your players is one thing (even if it is a rookie making his first career start, in the loudest stadium on planet Earth, against the defending champions and their #1 ranked defense…), lunacy is quite another.
Their rather amazing defense aside, Seattle is an efficient, ball-control, clock-killing offense run by Wilson and Lynch, and no one does it better. Their ability to score not necessarily a lot of points but at least consistent points against seemingly any defense, while also draining precious seconds off the clock, creates a lot of pressure on the opposing offense to keep up, and find a way to make up points if they fall behind. Add to that a finally healthy and game-changer in Percy Harvin, and Seattle has multiple ways to kill your chances before you even get the ball. With a league-leading +22 turnover differential (39 takeaways – 17 giveaways), Seattle is almost impossible to claw the ball away from, and the rate they take the ball away is even more impressive.
You have to do what you can with what little you get. That’s that. They make you choose between a slow death and a very quick beating, but if you’re patient and don’t make any foolish mistakes, there’s a small chance you can survive and achieve victory.
It sounds impossible, and for Green Bay, I don’t like their chances. They need to stick to the run, avoid mistakes, and protect Rodgers so he can make plays in the infinitesimal opportunities the Seattle defense provides. All while hoping the defense holds up their end and doesn’t let Marshawn Lynch run wild with nose-tackle B.J. Raji out for the season. None of that sounds like the Green Bay we’ve all come to know and expect, but I do believe in miracles, and Al Michaels will be doing the play-by-play tonight, so there you go.
Against Seattle, nothing comes easy. They had to fight hand, tooth, and nail to get to the top, and now that they’ve secured their place as kings of the mountain, they’re going to make their challengers do exactly the same thing.
Good luck Green Bay, against Seattle, you’re going to need four quarters’ worth.
Seattle vs Green Bay will air on NBC stations nationwide Thursday evening, with kickoff scheduled for 8:30PM/EST.
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