Seattle Preview

This Sunday the Seahawks play the Giants at Qwest Field.

If this game were in NY (or NJ), it would not be a fair fight.  Seattle is banged up.  Once again the Giants face an OL that is in tatters.  If Russell Okung does not play, there is little protection and run blocking that will be available to help their cause.  Add that Hasselbeck is out with a concussion, and it just gets worse for the Seahawks.  Perry Fewell knows how to be opportunistic on defense and prey off of weakness- what that means is that our secondary will be able to victimize Charlie Whitehurst, who is making his first NFL start and who also has never thrown a regular season pass.  This does not mean that Seattle’s offense is going to be pathetic and not show up.  What it means is that if the Giants keep the game in front of them, they will win.

Earlier this week Pete pointed out that the Seahawks are a completely different team at home (3-0) vs the road (1-3).  The Giants have suffered through the crowd noise, so the quick summary is that the Giants have to remain composed and avoid the mistakes that killed them vs the Titans.  Wonder on the key to the game: “As long as the Giants do not play stupid, they win the game.”  And that remark was made before Hasselbeck was out. 

Seattle’s defense is a better unit than its offense.  I watched the OAK-SEA game from last week, and the thing that jumped out at me was that the Giants WRs will be a big notch up from the corp of receivers from Oakland.  Louis Murphy did not even play!  Heyward-Bey has plenty of potential, but Nicks is light years ahead of him.  The Giants have enough weapons to expose the Seahawks defense.  

So where is the Achilles heel?  Special teams.  Leon Washington can win the game for the Seahawks if the Giants do not play smart.  A few turnovers, the crowd, and Leon Washington running wild is the perfect cocktail to leave Seattle hanging around.  Step on their throat, blitzkrieg this team, run over them and put them away, get your business done and move on.  How mature are the Giants?  The ones who were all business in Texas or the ones who let the Titans press their buttons?  It is the former.  There is no line on the game because of the Seattle QB situation.  The point spread was -6.5 earlier in the week, assume it is -9.