| 24 September 2009
Sunday, the 1 - 1 Chicago Bears visit the 1 - 1 Seattle Seahawks at Qwest field in a battle both teams need to win to have a chance at grabbing a share of their respective division lead. An irony of the weekend is that the first place teams in both the NFC West and NFC North Divisions (San Francisco and Minnesota) are playing each other too so one of them will drop to 2 - 1 on Sunday and make it possible for either the Seahawks or Bears to grab a share of their division lead with a win and loss by the first place team in their division.
The Bears will feature Jay Cutler, the 4000 yard pro bowl passer they obtained from the Denver Broncos at quarterback. He's the best quarterback the Seahawks have faced so far this season. The Seahawks need to get their pass rush in high gear against the Bears and their young untested receiving corps. The fact that the bears have an untested set of receivers doesn't mean they're not good, they're just not household names yet. The Seahawks need to play them like they're pro bowlers and all-stars since they have a quarterback who can get them the ball anywhere on the field. Chicago also brings a very good defense to town headed by defensive linemen Tommie Harris, Adewale Ogunleye, and Alex Brown who led the Bears against the Steelers last Sunday with two sacks. Although Brown was injured with a little more than 4 minutes left in the game, coach Lovie Smith said the defensive end should be "good to go" Sunday. Brown did not participate in practice Wednesday while Harris had limited participation. Expect both be playing Sunday.
Seattle will be facing a tough defense for the second straight week in a row but this time they face a top quarterback as well. Both the Seahawk offense and defense have to bring their best game to work with them Sunday if they expect to come away with a victory in front of the home crowd this week. Seattle has been slow starting in both games they've played this season and a start like that could put them in a big hole against the Bears team who are coming in fresh from a defeat of the Steelers last Sunday in a hard fought game. To continue reading this article, please press "Read more" below.For the third straight week, the Seahawks will face a team who favors the running game as their main offensive staple. The Seahawk's defense needs to contain Matt Forte much better than than they did Frank Gore last Sunday or they're likely to see a repeat of last week's game except with Forte tearing up the field. If Tatupu can't play, Hawthorne needs to step up and "Big Play" Babs needs to start living up to his reputation starting this week. It's going to be a problem if Mebane isn't able to play this week because Red Bryant has been a drop-off in production at this point in his career and until he gets more experience, teams are going to take advantage of the weak spot created by Mebane's absence. Cole should continue to clog up the middle but the defense can't let Forte torch them up the middle this week and that starts with Cole being the unmovable force in the the middle, continues with the middle linebacker not letting himself be blocked or taken out of position, and finishes with the last line of defense at the safety position not whiffing on the last chance to make the tackle. I'm sure the Seahawks worked that trio of players on just that scenario a few times this week at practice.
Seattle has been able to generate good pressure on the quarterback so far this year. The team is tied for 3rd in the NFL in sacks with Lawrence Jackson also tied for 3rd in the individual sacks department. That should quell some of the criticism that Jackson has faced from fans this season when he didn't dazzle everyone in pre-season. The team is 12th in total defense but 3rd in total points allowed. The Seahawks are 2nd in the league in pass defense but 26th in rushing defense due to the two Gore runs last week. If you take those two runs by Gore away, they're in the top 10 in total defense as well as the top 10 in rushing defense. Actually, the Seahawks have been very good at stopping the run except for those two plays so barring a repeat of those miscues, Seattle should be able to contain Forte.
Their offense is 11th in total offense. They are 11th in passing and 13th in rushing. The Seahawks are tied for 1st in sacks allowed with only one sack given up so far this season. It's a bit of an ironic twist that their quarterback gets hurt with them leading the league in quarterback protection. With the Seahawks just out of the top ten in both total offense and defense, they should be fielding a highly competitive team to do battle with the Bears even with the injuries they've suffered and having backups playing at numerous positions. Every team is dealing with injury right now and that includes the Bears. Their star middle linebacker Brian Urlacher was injured in the first game of the season and is out for the duration. Cornerback Charles Tillman was placed on the PUP list at the end of training camp and Pisa Tinoisamoa, another starting linebacker, will also likely miss time with an injured knee from the first game. That puts the Bears defense thin at linebacker with only one starter on the field and without their top cornerback just like the Seahawks are. These two defenses are a mirror of each other injury wise so it's a pretty fair match-up from a defensive standpoint.
Here's the injury report as of Wednesday from both camps noting which players didn't participate in practice or at what level they practiced. You will notice that there are a lot more Seahawks on the list than Bears. The Seahawks have 3 players listed as out, 5 not participating in practice, and one with limited participation. The Bears have 3 who are not participating and 3 more with limited participation. It's obvious that we're more banged up than the Bears are particularly with Hasselbeck in question and Cutler being healthy. The offset is that we have better receivers to throw to so maybe that will all balance out on offense too.
Mora is keeping the Bears (and us) guessing until the last possible moment whether they will be facing Hasselbeck or Wallace making them game plan for both. Knapp is continuing to work with the offensive linemen and running backs on mastering the nuances of the ZBS. Mora said last week in his press conference that he felt the offense still hadn't completely absorbed the new running game and ZBS and still had work to do. He made it quite clear he wasn't ready to give up on it and said he felt they were progressing satisfactorily. Let's hope he's right since the overall offensive scheme requires the running game to prosper to key the aerial game by setting it up for the hard play action Knapp favors in his passing attack. If we can't go with an effective passing game right out of the chute like Holmgren used to do at times with his initial scripting, we need to figure out how to get the running game in gear faster or more of these long slow starts are going to turn into more of those big pits we have to dig ourselves out of like the one we dug at San Francisco last weekend. The Seahawks haven't shown themselves to be a reliable come from behind team yet so that's a bad combination.
This is a game the Seahawks can ill afford to lose being a conference game as well as a second chance to get into at least a tie for the division lead if Minnesota beats San Francisco. The Seahawks have been a frustrating team over the years at times when opportunities present themselves to get ahead and they've not been able to take advantage of them. Once again, the likelihood is that Minnesota will beat the 49er's in Minnesota and give the Seahawks a chance to get back into the division lead this week. The question is can the Seahawks take advantage of the opportunity if it manifests itself and do their part by beating the Bears. Stay tuned on that one.
As noted, it is expected Knapp will continue to try and get the running game going earlier in the game in order to make the hard play action more effective as the game progresses. One thing to watch is will he still be sticking with Jones as the primary featured back or will James and especially Forsett start to see expanded roles? Additionally, if Wallace starts the game, it would seem that with Knapp and Mora's experience with Vick, he would be coached to scramble a bit more that he was trusted to do under Holmgren. Many analysts think Wallace could be a dangerous quarterback to deal with for opposing defenses if he were coached to keep teams honest by scrambling when the defense isn't keeping defenders in to cover his running ability and then torching them through the air when they do bring those defenders in to stop his scrambling. Where Vick couldn't hurt many teams through the air, Wallace is an accurate passer with a good arm who can connect with receivers downfield. It will interesting to see how Mora and Knapp use Wallace if he starts and if they try and play to his strengths or essentially run the same offense they did with Hasselbeck and as one reader put it, turn Wallace into Hasselbeck 2.
While injuries are still keeping important Seahawks out of the lineup for the game, as noted, the Bears also have important players out like Urlacher, Tillman, and Tinoisamoa plus others who are banged up but still practicing. It's fortunate that the game will be played at Qwest field where the 12th man can help the Seahawks overcome some of those injuries with sheer willpower. If you're lucky enough to be going to the game, remember that the team needs you to be part of those backups they have to play in place of their starters and be loud and be proud.
This game will be likely be won by the team who can better overcome their injuries although that gives the Seahawks a little more to overcome than the Bears. The Seahawks showed that they do have good depth in pre-season especially on the defense and the 12th man is awesome depth in itself. While the offense is still a concern, if the defense can keep the Bears from lighting up the scoreboard and give the Seahawk's offense a chance to get untracked, we have a reasonable chance of winning this game on our home field where we have one of the best records over the last decade and where the 12th man rules.
Although it feels repugnant to have to root for Minnesota, let's hope The Vikings take care of the 49er's so we can end up in a tie with them for possession of first place in the West. Hopefully, the Colts handle the Cards in Arizona too which would leave them a game back from us and the Niners. It all starts with us defeating the Bears on Sunday.
Time to get it on Addicts. We need this one to keep pace. What do you guys think? Are we going to have much of a chance against the Bears? Will the Seahawks be able to compete with all their injuries? Are our backups good enough to take the Bears with their backups? Can the 12th man help pull it out?
Watch for the 2nd week of the Bold Prediction Contest coming out tomorrow and get your entries ready. It will be the same predictions as last week plus a bonus prediction worth double points. Also, I'm writing an article on the game with a different slant that will present the other side of the coin concerning all the injuries Seattle has suffered. Look for that Friday along with the contest.
Hasta,
BillT
written by Tez96, September 24, 2009
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written by Jake A, September 24, 2009
Also, I read the whole article and I thought the injury comparison was a point to make. Every team has injuries and the back ups need to step up.
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written by HawkFan12, September 24, 2009
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written by MontanaMike, September 24, 2009
Honestly, how can you make one of the first Posts and verbally abuse and attack the man who just wrote a great article with knowledge and passion? I hope you get banned you pathetic troll! The sites only as good as the people participating, if it's slow then it's up to us to help out and make it better. Don't be a Rush Limbaugh and spew criticizm unless you, yourself have a plan, or in this case can do better. Then i challenge anyone else to do better. I'll read it and won't slam on you.
That said great article Bill, i agree that Seneca is way underutilized and see him as a better Vick(one who can actually throw too). Remember the pre-season how we looked like crap one week and the next we were a completely dominate team. All bandwagon fans can jump off here because we lost a game!
I would like to see a little more Teel, but the proper way is not to push him out too soon and ruin him like the did with frye.
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written by MontanaMike, September 24, 2009
Ok, maybe i overeacted before i drank my coffee. My apologies for being overly harsh.
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written by huskyhawk12, September 24, 2009
i read it all. then again im in web design at school right now
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written by S.TTBM, September 24, 2009
One of the things that bothered me most about the Niners game was the routes the WR's were running: rather than sending our $8 million a year WR out 10-15 yards downfield as Holmgren would have done (never mind Burleson), we were sending all our WR's on 2-5 yard patterns. It looked to me like a Junior College offense, not an NFL offense.
I understand that our line is suspect in pass pro, more so without Lock at LT, so we needed to get the ball out quickly, but COME ON! You cannot win in the NFL by running 5-yard pass patterns---especially if you dont use the legal picks and misdirections the Pats have made commonplace--which we didnt. Holmgren did this crap last year with our scrub O-line and WR corps, and look how well that worked!
I kept wondering why we didnt do what the Cards did to Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl--send our WR's 10-20 yards downfield, clearing out the underneath and middle, and relying on a rb or TE to get open against a LB (James anyone?). We had a log jam of targets within five yards, and no one was getting open.
The other thing that bothered me no end was Nate Burleson's three dropped passes. I had hoped he was stepping his game up, but it appears thus far that he is still the same frustrating dressed-up number 3 WR he's always been. All the more reason Housh needs to double his production in a hurry. I hate to say it, but Im glad we have Branch returning. We need him.
When we needed a reception, there was no one to turn to: used to be when we needed a catch, Jackson or Engram would either get open, or catch the ball in traffic: nowadays, its simply an incompletion.
The biggest issue though, is that the Niners are not a great team: in fact, they are only an everage team. They have a decent defense and a poor offense. And they ran a very basic offense too. And we still looked confused and overpowered on defense. This does not bode well.
To me, it looked like the team was not well prepared to play. Too many missed assignments, too much confusion. And even when guys seemed to be executing well, it looked like our offensive and defensive schemes just werent any good.
When Holmgren ran practice, he relied on the players to keep themselves in shape. Mora makes his guys run. However, Holmgrens teams usually looked sharp executing his plays--while thus far, Mora's team has looked very sloppy on both sides of the ball. I dont like it.
Obviously, there were bound to be some growing pains with the new schemes. But look at the Jets--they havent skipped a beat, and we have more talent on the roster player-wise than they do.
Other than last year, I dont think Ive been this frustrated since 1992. And its especially sad that this is happening with so many talented players and so much talent on both sides of the ball. In 1992 we had little talent (and the worst coaches ever)--just heart. This year we have a team that is all talent, and so far nothing to show for it. We are a team that thus far is less than the sum of our parts.
Still, to be ranking as high as we do for offense and defense, despite poor play and (to me) poor preparation and coaching, I think says that this ship can be righted. While I find myself seriously doubting we will contend for a championship this year, we do have 14 more games to go...which gives us a few more weeks to gel. Too bad we have to play some very very good teams over the next few weeks, that makes it tougher.
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written by JimAK, September 24, 2009
Yeah, they had those 3rd and 10 draws down to a science. Unfortunately, they'd only gain 4 but, by golly, the team looked sharp running the play.
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written by LouieLouie, September 24, 2009
I think that he is a much better option against the Bears than Hasselbeck with a broken rib.
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written by mang'hawks.fr, September 24, 2009
Only one sack allowed and a QB down ...
Maybe something is missing or I missed something, but after two games, one of which against STL, we have a minus 3 TO ratio and 0 int in our hands! Still no big play from our secondary, which however looked quite good versus ... SLT, but two big (rushing) plays allowed by our safeties against the 49ers.
IMO, the 12th man will make the game on Sunday, a very closed one.
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written by Hawkdude, September 24, 2009
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written by T.J., September 24, 2009
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written by Tomahawker, September 24, 2009
A funny thing - I have laugh at the length of some critic complaint comments. They are darn near 1/2 as long as Bill's material. WTF?? ^_^
Best advice to those who do not like Bill's presentation - You know you don't like it before you start - so skip it. Those of us who like will continue to read. Just cause you don't like it doesn't mean it should not be here.
PS for those of you who like to make fun of Bill's age - real nice. You should only hope you can operate a rascal when you get at that age.
GO BILL.. and GO Hawks ^_^
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written by Mattythefatty, September 24, 2009
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Rush Limbaugh has all kinds of solutions and talks about them every day. I am from Montana too and expect better from you MontanaMike.
I also disagreed with the first post and enjoyed the article, but Limbaugh is awesome and provides solutions on a daily basis backed up with historical facts.
I also agree a healthy Seneca Wallace is better than an injured Hass.
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written by HawkOn, September 24, 2009
Anywho, I think we have a good chance against the Bears at Qwest. The Hawks biggest weapon is the 12th man. Hass has never really got the job done on the road but he has always enjoyed the advantage of riding the coat tails of the 12th man during his career here. If we can cause the Bears 8-10 extra penalities, it always creates enough of an edge for another Hawks home win.
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written by Tomahawker, September 24, 2009
Br..... haaaaaaa... ha.....ha. I want some of what you're drinking. Mine isn't getting it doen for me ^_^
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written by JimAK, September 24, 2009
1. He will not stand in the pocket long enough. As soon as he feels pressure, he rolls out and then either throws on the run or tries to scramble ahead. Neither move is high percentage and sooner or later, you're punting.
2. His skills are completely different from Matt so when Seneca comes out, the entire offense is out of sync. Of course, so is the defense but they adjust quicke4r.
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written by Papahawk, September 24, 2009
The Hawks will need to score 24+ points to win this weekend. Why?
We have our offense in tact, except for the QB. Seneca is a good replacement. For one game I think the Hawks will prepare to put points on the board. The rest of the O will step up and help him get there.
The Hawks D is ravaged by injuries and is learning a new scheme. Sure, they could shut them down like week one, but I'm not counting on it.
I have this feeling that special teams will play a HUGE role in the outcome. The Bears are one of the better teams in the league with special teams. They have special returners out there. Their coverage is usually pretty good. Bruce DeHaven needs to get something done this weekend to win the special teams battle. Perhaps a trick play?
Also, the 12th man needs to hang in there and support this team for four quarters like it normally does. A win in this game could be HUGE for the team's comraderie, belief and "X"factor that is out there.
Stat: Bears haven't won in Seattle since 1976
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written by Hawktastic, September 24, 2009
IMO I don't see how Matt is going to play this weekend. It seems like it's more of a game being played to keep the Bears guessing, but it should be Seneca all the way.
My real worry will be if Lofa plays or not. The Heater is a great backup, but he hasn't yet developed the play reading ability that Lofa naturally excels at. At this point in the season, however, there is no reason to lose hope that it could all click for him as well.
Also, great point about the special teams. With this many injuries the special teams players are going to be running ragged having to play multiple positions throughout the day. Could be a real danger.
I sure wish I could port a mic from my computer to Qwest to help you all out on Sunday! My TV takes all kinds of abuse from me on Sundays!
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written by omarlittle, September 24, 2009
Also with Urlacher out that leaves a gaping hole in their defense that is exploitable in not only the running game but also the passing game. Wallace probably has better chemistry with Carlson than Hass so don't be surprised by a HUGE game from Carlson.
Chicago has a very suspect secondary outside of Vasher and Tillman. If Branch plays that would obviously be a big plus, and I'm sure he will.
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written by HawkOn, September 24, 2009
Yes...definately.
The man has proven over and over that he can't win the big road games. And what average NFL quarterback would not have been a success at Qwest with the 12th man turning the ball back over to him an extra 5-10 times each home game.
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written by omarlittle, September 24, 2009
Remember in 07 where Matt led us to a 10-6 record with NO help at all from Morris or Alexander? Marcus Pollard wasn't helping either. How many other QBs do you think could really have done that with zero running game, and lets face it scrubs at our skill posistions. It was a revolving door of WRs, Hackett, Branch, Burleson, and Engram all took turns as our #1. Once again how many QBs do you think could do that?
He is a top 5 QB regardless of what anyone else says. I would only rank Brady, Brees, Palmer(maybe?) and Peyton Manning ahead of Matt.
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written by Tomahawker, September 24, 2009
Remember Jerremy Stevens - Super Bowl .. all alone.. flung the ball straight up in the air while running.. again.. all alone.... Yeah, HawkOn, I know.. that was probably Hass' fault for losing that road game, too.. I can go on and on.... there have been a few such occurances year after year.
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written by KrayzeHawk, September 24, 2009
May I add though that you are a little harsh on Rush who always follows up thought with fact. Other than that, you were pretty much spot on. I love reading your comments and then reading the follow on comments by readers. I get upset at the haters, and then let it go, cause it gets me excited to know that the haters are reading about the hawks on the only true support group we have. No matter where I get stationed I have to put up with the question "Seahawks fan, Why?""What have they ever done?" I always reply "Its easy to be a fan of a winning team. Band wagon Fans do it all the time!" We can win in at home against the Bears if the Fans step up and are what we are. Loud as heck and ready to rock. Once again, thank you Bill, and thank you to the REAL Seahawk fans that see that most teams would have struggled loosing as many primary starters as we did against the 49ers. We are going to give the Bears a run for their money this week. We have to really put a lot of effort into stopping Forte, Cutler, and CO. This time, I dont know. It depends on how many starters we get back. I really think the Seahawks can get this win. It will just depend on play call and reaction. GO SEAHAWKS. Enough from this peanut gallery.
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written by HawkOn, September 24, 2009
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written by omarlittle, September 25, 2009
Your point may be true with the likes of Colston who was a 7th round pick. Brees most likely made him great. But for both Johnsons, Wayne, Harrision, Fitz they were all first round picks. They were expected to be great anyway.
One of my biggest complaints of the seahawks drafts recently is they never attempt to get a WR in the top 2 rounds. They tried with Koren but we all know how that ended. If this franchise invested in Hasselbeck as much as the colts did with Manning (all the starting and some backup skill players are first round picks) Not saying we would be a better team, but Matt would have been MVP with that help.
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written by BillT, September 25, 2009
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Just some constructive critisism, I love you guys