Big Boy Schedule

by: Michael Steffes

Over at the ESPN Hashmarks blog, which features both Matt Mosley, who doesn't think it feels right having the Hawks play on Thanksgiving, and former TNT reporter Mike Sando, I found something interesting.

Mr. Sando has been hard at work with his favorite Microsoft program again. He found that only five games next year feature two teams that won playoff games. The Hawks are part of three of these games.

The Patriots, the Packers, and the Giants are the three opponents. However, as you know, often teams that are up one year are down the next. The "Stealers" collapsed after winning XL. The Bears were a mess last year. It also doesn't hurt that the GB quarterback retired. So while the schedule looks tough in many ways, with a couple of breaks, it could be business as usual for the Hawks. END Read More!

Can't Get Enough?

by: Michael Steffes

I thought I would round out this Happy Scheduling Day with a Seahawk Addicts record setting 12th post of the day. Actually, I am just assuming it is a record. It is certainly top 2 or 3. But I digress....

So I thought it was only appropriate that the readers of "The Power of 12" got an adequate schedule breakdown. I tried to approach it in a bit of a different format so that you all might enjoy it as well. It is kind of a free form discussion of the schedule. Here is the link.

That site appears to be a bit short on writers there these days. I think I am the only one. If anybody is really serious about doing more regular updates over there, contact me. I might be able to get you the gig.

Also, in the name of more scheduling..please! There was this news, reported by Clare Farnsworth at the PI, that the Hawks changed their first pre-season game to a Friday night. Here is that story. Don't say I didn't warn you! END Read More!

Quarterly Reports

by: Michael Steffes

Often by NFL coaches and management, the teams schedule is broken up into and analyzed in 4 game segments. This creates four quarters in the regular season. It is pretty clear, it makes it just like a football game.

Much like a football game, teams like to get out the gate fast in the first quarter. Usually they grind out the 2nd and 3rd quarters and hope to take the air out of the ball in the 4th quarter. In schedule terms, the team want to start well, survive the grind, and then be able to rest players down the stretch. Will the Hawks be able to follow this game plan? It certainly looks promising.

If you want to read what I think about each quarter, and my predictions with in them, then.....

FIRST QUARTER
@ Buffalo, San Fran, St Louis, Bye, NYG

First off, it stinks that the team has their bye in the first quarter. Hopefully, it will not slow down momentum that the Hawks will seem to have after week 3. Buffalo reminds me of opening in Jacksonville in 05', but this is a much more experienced team. Plus, there is a chance Tubbs will still be healthy at this point (please don't jinx him) and that will help with Buffalo's run first offense. Then the team gets two winnable home games against division opponents. Those are key. Expect the Niners to have a long day during the home opener and St Louis, while they will be geared up, they would much rather face us in the dome before coming to Qwest. The Hawks then get the bye to prepare for the hardest game of the set vs. the Giants. Unfortunately the Giants get a bye week to prepare for us.

My prediction is 3-1 out of the blocks with the bye week behind us. Also two of the four 10am starts are now behind us. Personally, I would rather the team drop the game in Buffalo and then hunker down and beat the Giants, however, I suspect it will go the other way. If the Hawks do beat the Giants, expect it to spring board them to a great season.

QUARTER TWO
Packers, @ Bucs, @ 49ers, Eagles

The second quarter has some teams that project to be fine football teams. The first two games are against NFC teams that won their division last year. To me this is the hardest quarter to predict. The Hawks could win all four, or they could struggle like this section of last year. Speaking of struggles, personally, I believe that Aaron Rodgers is going to struggle. Even if it is less than I imagine, Qwest will break him on that Sunday. Plus, the Packers are a young team. Often young teams have a hard time building on unexpected success. They have to learn it is even harder the next year. Just ask the Hawks. Tampa Bay is an interesting game. It is a prime time Sunday night affair. Expect Raymond James to be rocking. However, the NFC South Champ has a history of nose diving. I think the Bucs will be Ok. In my mind that game could go either way. Playing at night limits the heat factor which dramatically improves the Hawks chances. The Niners will be out for blood. I expect that to be a game for the ages. Also, the Eagles, if healthy are fully capable of beating the Hawks. They will want revenge for last year. However, they haven't ever been to Qwest. It will give the Hawks an edge.

My prediction... 2-2. The Hawks will still be feeling themselves and their new parts out. Expect some injuries by this point in the season. With the quality of the home opponents and the two on the road being revenge games, I think 2-2 is a fair estimate. It could be better, but my honest opinion is that we drop a couple in this stretch, especially if the team gets over confident after their hot start.

THIRD QUARTER
@ Miami, AZ, Skins, @ Dallas on Thanksgiving

This is where the grind of the season will really set in. Luckly for the Hawks they will have plenty of motivation for these games. Traveling to Miami is the longest trip the team will make all year. However in Nov. the heat will have subsided a bit.Holmgren does very well historically against Parcells, and this team is at least a year away. Arizona is coming off a short week with a divisional game the week before. The Hawks have already circled this one on the schedule. The Cards have too, but they won't have the legs to make it count. After that game the Hawks will be 3-0 in the division and looking good. Zorn coming back will be another reason to keep focused. Not to mention that the Skins Hawks has become a rivalry. However, the Skins are making their third trip to Qwest, and if the Hawks let down after the Cards and look forward to Dallas, that game could be trouble. Dallas on Thanksgiving is a very tough task. However, they players will have every reason to be up for it. Both teams should have a lot to play for. And sometimes being at home on Thanksgiving is worse than the road. The team will want to win to get the next 5 days off.

Prediction 3-1

I think it too much to expect the Hawks to go through this stretch undefeated, however this is the time of the year they really start to role. Plus, they will be thinking bye at least for a few more weeks. The important thing is that they leave this quarter of the season feeling good and gaining momentum. They should even have welcomed Deion back by now. That will provide a boost in energy to the offense.

FOURTH QUARTER
NE, @ Rams, Jets, @ AZ

The New England Sunday Night game starts off this quarter, and it will be like a playoff game. John Madden will probably soil himself. I can't wait to see it. While many think that the Patriots are too good to be beat even in the mighty Qwest, I see it a different way. Up till now the only decent team they will have faced is the Colts. The Hawks will have had ten days to prepare/rest. It will certainly be an epic battle. Too bad, that either way the will naturally let down after back to back games with Dal and NE. One thing that could keep them focused would be if the Rams were actually contending. Either way, the Rams will want to take a chunk out of the Hawks, as will the Cards the final week. With the Jets in between, this shapes up to be a difficult quarter. I think that if the Hawks are looking for a bye, that will help them. If they are fighting for the division that will help too. But anything in between and I see the patented late season flailing by the Hawks.

Prediction 2-2

Chances are two of these teams will get the Hawks. If you are more optimistic, then you haven't watched the struggles at end of the last two seasons. Either way, at this point it is more important that the team gets as healthy as possible, either by getting themselves a bye or by resting some partially injured guys.

Overall season... 10-6....NFC West Champs...3 seed.

Many of you may think this is a little light on Seahawk wins, however, 10 wins in the NFL is hard to obtain. This team has a tougher schedule and teams will be giving the Hawks their best shot. I think that 12-4 is a possibility if things break right. But for now, with out even seeing the draft picks, and assuming some key injuries, I say 10-6 is another solid, playoff season. Plus there is room to do better. Either way, lets just hope they get hot in January and give Coach one last dream ride. Read More!

Preparation Time is Key

by: Michael Steffes

After taking some time (eating lunch and relaxing), I have had a chance to review the entire schedule with my eye on how it affects the Seahawks.

The one thing have noticed is the role preparation times will play in this years performance. In fact, in most cases it benefits the Seahawks.

First, the Hawks have the bye week before one of their tougher opponents, the NY Giants. Unfortunately the Giants have a bye the week before too, but this is the only team coming off a bye the Hawks face. Those can always be tough games, and in this case it is an even playing field.

Second, the Hawks will have 10 days to prepare for the New England Patriots. This will be important, especially with the bye week so early. The reason they have this break is because they play on Thanksgiving, which is probably the quickest turnaround out there. However, as motivation, expect Holmgren to hold the carrot of a Friday through Wednesday off if they win. Then a well rested team will be greeted with a playoff like atmosphere when the lights come on that following Sunday.

Third, in one of the most important divisional games, the first game against Arizona, the Cardinals are coming off a short week. To compound the issue, they have to travel to Qwest. They play the 49ers in another important divisional match -up on Monday night the week before. This is the only Monday night game that features any teams from the NFC West. While it appears the Cardinals and 49ers get the hype again, in reality it sets the Cards up to be put behind the eight ball, facing the defending champs, in Seattle, on short rest.

I will be back on later, to break the season down in quarters and give you my predictions. END Read More!

Week 4 Bye... A Badge of Honor

by: Michael Steffes


The teams that have the week 4 bye, along with the Seahawks are the Giants, Patriots, Colts, and Lions. Clearly four of those teams are expected to be very good. 3 of them are the most successful teams over the last 5 years. Looks like the NFL might want some new blood as division winners. Too bad it won't happen. END Read More!

Thanksgiving

by: Michael Steffes

The Hawks have been given the distinct honor of playing in Dallas on Thanksgiving. This puts them at a serious disadvantage because of traveling on the short week. It is slightly mitigated if the Redskins are bad this year, which I expect. Also, it benefits in that they have the Patriots 10 days later in a prime time game, which may be the Hawks best showing of the year.

If the Hawks can win in Dallas, come home and beat New England, it will be hard for them to be ignored as a Superbowl contender. Assuming both of those teams live up to expectations.

Let me catch my breath, and then I will come back and break it down and give my predictions. Thanks. END Read More!

2008 Schedule

by: Michael Steffes


Here is the schedule, analysis to follow....



END Read More!

Seahawks / Giants.... Week 5

by: Michael Steffes

According to Mike Garaflo of the NJ Star Ledger, in this report, the Seahawks will be playing in New York early in the season. He thinks it will be week 5, right after the Giants bye. The Giants lost to Dallas at home following their bye last week. It seems like a good spot to play the champs to me.

Some other leaks have found there way to press as well. The Packers and Bears both will have another prime time Monday night affair in December. That should be thrilling to everyone who likes teams with good quarterbacks (sarcasm off).

Also, it would appear that the Eagles will be hosting the Browns on Thanksiving night. That way we can see how classy the Philly fans are on Thanksgiving, as opposed to booing Santa Claus near Christmas. Maybe they will slaughter a giant turkey. Both of these reports are from ProFootballtalk.com. Read More!

Schedule...What To Look For?

by: Michael Steffes

With the schedule coming out later today, all is quiet on the NFL front. As the schedule talk has built up, many of you have chimed in with what you look for. I thought I would break down the schedule with what the team will look at, as well as what the fans look at. So here we go. To check it out.....

For The Team

1) Where is that bye week? It always benefits the team to have the bye week as late in the season as possible. Usually it seems the NFL obliges contenders on this. However, remember in 2006 the Hawks had a week 5 bye and they seemed to fade down the stretch, losing several games at home and backing into the playoffs when the Niners lost in week 16.

2) Schedule by Quarters... The team breaks the schedule up into 4 quarters. They evaluate each of these quarters on difficulty. Things that make a quarter more difficult would be two east coast trips, or 3 out of 4 road games. I think the Hawks would like their schedule to get harder as it goes this year, as they are trying to assimilate some new pieces on offense.

3) Short weeks.... Who does the team play on a short week? Do they play an important divisional game after a Mon. nighter? Do they go on the road after a Mon. nighter? Last year it was the Bears at home. It worked out OK, but for the first quarter, Ced Benson looked as good as he had in his short career. A lot of that was probably due to the Mon. night hangover. Ask any gambler, the team coming off a Mon. night rarely covers the next week.

AS A FAN

1) I want a special game to get excited for. Whether it be Thanksgiving in Dallas, or Buffalo in Toronto. I just want the league to acknowledge that this is a team worthy of special attention. Whether or not that happens is a wait and see proposition. Thanksgiving in Dallas is a terrible game to have from a competitive edge stand point, but it would be great as a fan.

2) Prime Time Home Games. For sure! Actually, these are the games I usually have a hard time attending, but it doesn't matter. I love having prime time games under the lights. For one, it makes fantasy football more fun cause I can actually watch my players. I get to watch teams I normally don't see too much of on Sunday. But most of all, by that 5pm start I am in a frenzy. It is like a delayed gratification thing. Finishing the week on Mon night is the best!

3) The weather games. Do we have to go east in December? Are we playing in the heat in September? I think weather can make games really exciting. For the Hawks it usually presents problems. I think the schedule makers will do the Hawks a favor by giving them NY early, and Miami late. Or Buffalo early (Unless it is in Toronto) and Tampa late. However, I am more concerned about heat these days than weather. I know that the team didn't look particularly good in GB last time we saw them, but typically, with Defense being the strength, the team will be more successful playing in cold/wind/wintery mix because it is a defensively oriented team.

There is my schedule breakdown. Come by and discuss the schedule as it is released at 11 am PST during the live blog. Read More!

Preseason Games Announced

by: Michael Steffes


According to this report by Clare Farnsworth, the Hawks have their preseason schedule set.

The Hawks will open the preseason in Minnesota, followed by games with the Bears, Chargers and Raiders. The Chargers game will again be a Mon. nighter.

Usually I am only able to get live broadcasts of the Raiders and Chargers game each year. So I may recruit someone to provide game coverage of the others. I will know more when the TV schedule is announced as the NFL Network will be showing games as well. END Read More!

Not Ready For Prime Time

by: Michael Steffes

The Seahawks were passed over for the opening weekend prime time lineup. Considering they weren't even included after playing in the Superbowl, I guess it isn't too much of a surprise. Hopefully they will be included when the Thanksgiving schedule is announced. For now here is the line up...

Thur........Giants vs Redskins
Sun Night...Indy vs Bears
1st Mon.....Packers vs Vikings
2nd Mon.....Denver vs Raiders

Good to know that this team will be able to at least garner another "us against the world" mentality, or the "we get no respect" attitude. That seemed to propel them quite well in 05' as they constantly heard that they weren't as good as their record. Meanwhile, the opening Monday night will be highlighted by that thrilling Aaron Rodgers vs Tavaris Jackson duel, then followed by a terrible GM vs a terrible owner. Thrilling!! By the way, since the Mon. night double header started 3 years ago, this is the Vikings and the Raiders second appearance in the opening night. Now that is good marketing!!! END Read More!

Scheduling Dilemmas

Well, we know that the Seahawks won't be playing in the Thursday night opener at the Meadowlands. That however doesn't mean the Hawks won't be part of the prime time lineup. In years past, there have been two MNF games, usually one featuring left coast participants. Also there is this, excellent Patriots beat writer Mike Reiss has been doing some tinkering of his own. He thinks the Pats at the Hawks would be a nice ratings draw for the opening weekend too.

So you tell me...Do you want our crack at the Patriots early, mid season, or late in the year? Something tells me it will have a Wild Card feel to it. I think it might benefit the Hawks to play them early. They are going to have several new players in their secondary, and they won't be able to scout our improved run scheme. Tell me what you think....

UPDATE--John Clayton just said on his KRJ radio program that there is a lot of talk in the league that the Pats Hawks will be played opening weekend, probably Sunday Night. Read More!

Seahawks Passed On for Opener

According to Jason La Canfora and his Redskins Insider Blog, the Redskins will be the Giants opponent to open the season on Thursday Night.

This is the first time the Thursday night opener will feature a divisional matchup. It had been reported that the Seahawks were being considered. However, with the news that the NFL will have to move the start time up to 7pm EST, to allow NBC to cover the Republican National Convention, and John McCain's acceptance speech, it is possible that any west coast team was eliminated from consideration.

Jim Zorn will certainly start his head coaching career in the spotlight. This will either be very good for him, or very bad, however, no one will say it isn't a compelling storyline.

UPDATE-- Apparently Mike Garraffalo of the NJ Ledger didn't think so highly of a Giants/Seahawks matchup anyway.

I mentioned before I expected the league to break form here and schedule a divisional game because the next-best opponent on the home slate is Seattle. Not exactly opening the season with a bang in that one

END Read More!

Seahawks Favorites to Play in Toronto

Well here is some exciting news! According Slam Sports, official partner of NFL Canada, the Hawks are the favorites right now to be scheduled as the Bills opponent in Toronto. The article reads....

The regular-season game, which won't take place until December, also is likely to feature a playoff-calibre team. The Seattle Seahawks are considered one of the frontrunners for that contest.

I personally like the idea of playing in Toronto. First off, it isn't a real road game. Second, it puts the Hawks in a dome, as opposed to being outdoors in Buffalo in December. In a league where teams are so close, little things like playing Buffalo in Toronto, or playing in the Thursday night opener could benefit the Hawks enough to make road schedule 5-3, instead of 3-5. Especially considering the Hawks are playing both Eastern Divisions this year. Those miles and trips add up.

In fact, if this comes about, I will strongly consider attending this game. As long as Canadian officials will allow me in the country. Minor incident in Whistler in my past life. I thought the stuff was legal up there! Read More!

Seahawks in Season Opener????

I have desperately waited for the Seahawks to be placed in an interesting prime time game, byt in usual fashion they are left of with the exception of a Monday or Sunday night game. Things could be changing. While I have suspected that the Seahawks may be scheduled to play in the Thur. night opener since Mon (OK, Sun night), I have waited until it was printed by someone with a touch more credibility than me.

Right here, in his ten predictions for the offseason, Profootballtalk.com blogmaster, Mike Florio suggests that the Seahawks are the most likely opponent for the Thursday night opener. Unless the NFL changes the previous format and goes with a divisional game. This probably will happen. Remember when we lost the Superbowl, we were the first Superbowl loser in a decade not put in the first Monday Night Football game. Unfortunately, the only way to ENSURE we play in the Thur night opener would be win the big one. (or blackmail the commish)

Hey, while were shooting for the moon, maybe we will get the third TGiving day game too. It is Holmgren's last year! Read More!