Hello Skins From A Seahawk

[Canfan]

Joined seahawks.net as III.

They were trashing extremeskins (darn) !!! [/sarcasm]

I told them how much better we (THN) are in that thread then posted this in their thread about how their D will fare against our offense:

Here are some facts:

Only one team has put more than 24 on you - DET in Detroit.

No one in his right mind can deny your D is a far different animal on the road (BUF game was in Canada and it was BUF). 5 teams ARZ, RAM, 49R, DET, MIA beat you in 8 tries on the road.

Opinion:

I'm gonna say we have a better offense than all those teams - even DET which has one WR, an immobile QB, and no ground game.

Trying to stay on topic, our offense has been responsible for almost all of our points. We are tough to deal with. We have hung 28+ on over half the teams we've played. You will have to stop us without the benefit of us running silent counts and a plethora of noise-induced false starts.

Both of us are hot. Your job of stopping us in our place will probably be your toughest yet. You will not be getting off the ball against a deafened offense. We will run a random mix and probably try to get your secondary involved in run support. I might be wrong but I think you are under-sized but over-quick on the D line. This plays for you at home but against you on the road - especially against a ground game like ours.

You are 3-point road favorites. I'm a little surprised. I see this more like pick 'em with a slight edge to us as the home team.

III

hello from a Seahawks fan. I am looking forward to a very good game on Sunday. Two good young teams with good futures! RGIII is a stud and if Wilson wasn't a 3rd round starting QB I would call Alfred Morris the steal of the draft!! I feel this game is too close to call, but I have a different take on it than many. Seattle's D line is actually oversized and consists of 3 D tackle sized guys with Red Bryant anchoring one end of the line. At the other end is our "speed" guy Chris Clemons who is undersized but surprisingly good against the run. The line is hard to move off the LOS and are actually well suited to contain a power runner like your excellent rookie! The downside is a lack of pass rush that is truly concerning. there is a chance that RGIII will have all day to find the open guy. Our corners are big and physical and do well on one on one matchups with large physical receivers. They have lots of problems with smaller speedy guys who can avoid the press at the line. We are particularly vulnerable to slot receivers and tight end play across the middle of the field. On the other side of the ball, we have a rookie playing right guard who is a converted D Tackle who has NEVER played the position at any level prior to the NFL. Good run blocker, but easily confused on pass protection. I expect Haslet to give him fits!

All that being said, I am still hopeful the Seahawks can overcome their road woes and come out of DC with a win. Here is to a great game and no injuries!!

[SkinsJock]

welcome to the site Canfan

we're going to see a good game here - I doubt that either defense allows too high a score

I just think that Kyle and RG3 can game plan and execute well enough to both control the TOP and most importantly, score enough points

going to be a good game to watch - The Redskins find a way to get it done .... again

[Countertrey]

CanFan... we are VERY familiar with Chris Clemons...

He will have a VERY long day on Sunday.

[SkinsJock]

CanFan... we are VERY familiar with Chris Clemons...

He will have a VERY long day on Sunday.

good point trey - the Seahawks in 2005 and 2007 were very similar to this group in that they are over-achieving and playing very well right now

playing in front of a huge Redskins crowd that has not had much to get too excited about for many years

PLUS

a Redskins team that is playing VERY sound football on offense and defense

is going to be VERY difficult to overcome


there is no way that Chris Clemons or the Sqwarks defense will be really 'ready' for RG3

[markshark84]

Joined seahawks.net as III.

They were trashing extremeskins (darn) !!! [/sarcasm]

I told them how much better we (THN) are in that thread then posted this in their thread about how their D will fare against our offense:

Here are some facts:

Only one team has put more than 24 on you - DET in Detroit.

No one in his right mind can deny your D is a far different animal on the road (BUF game was in Canada and it was BUF). 5 teams ARZ, RAM, 49R, DET, MIA beat you in 8 tries on the road.

Opinion:

I'm gonna say we have a better offense than all those teams - even DET which has one WR, an immobile QB, and no ground game.

Trying to stay on topic, our offense has been responsible for almost all of our points. We are tough to deal with. We have hung 28+ on over half the teams we've played. You will have to stop us without the benefit of us running silent counts and a plethora of noise-induced false starts.

Both of us are hot. Your job of stopping us in our place will probably be your toughest yet. You will not be getting off the ball against a deafened offense. We will run a random mix and probably try to get your secondary involved in run support. I might be wrong but I think you are under-sized but over-quick on the D line. This plays for you at home but against you on the road - especially against a ground game like ours.

You are 3-point road favorites. I'm a little surprised. I see this more like pick 'em with a slight edge to us as the home team.

III

hello from a Seahawks fan. I am looking forward to a very good game on Sunday. Two good young teams with good futures! RGIII is a stud and if Wilson wasn't a 3rd round starting QB I would call Alfred Morris the steal of the draft!! I feel this game is too close to call, but I have a different take on it than many. Seattle's D line is actually oversized and consists of 3 D tackle sized guys with Red Bryant anchoring one end of the line. At the other end is our "speed" guy Chris Clemons who is undersized but surprisingly good against the run. The line is hard to move off the LOS and are actually well suited to contain a power runner like your excellent rookie! The downside is a lack of pass rush that is truly concerning. there is a chance that RGIII will have all day to find the open guy. Our corners are big and physical and do well on one on one matchups with large physical receivers. They have lots of problems with smaller speedy guys who can avoid the press at the line. We are particularly vulnerable to slot receivers and tight end play across the middle of the field. On the other side of the ball, we have a rookie playing right guard who is a converted D Tackle who has NEVER played the position at any level prior to the NFL. Good run blocker, but easily confused on pass protection. I expect Haslet to give him fits!

All that being said, I am still hopeful the Seahawks can overcome their road woes and come out of DC with a win. Here is to a great game and no injuries!!

Good to hear from an opposing team fan that doesn't come on with the sole intent of talking smack.

I also see this game going either way. We (as skins fans) are fortunete that we play you guys in DC since SEA has been playing lights out at home this year. If this were @ SEA, I personally don't see us winning, but playing at home greatly improves our chances.

I agree that RW was the steal of the draft, but being a HUGE Morris homer that is hard for me to say. RW has had a great season. Morris has too, but this is a QB league so QBs should get the benefit of the doubt.

As far as your DL, I would generally agree that it benefits to see a "power" back, but Morris rarely runs up the middle. He most often is pitched the ball or runs sweeps to either side of the field. As far as DL and their ability to stop the run, it is most likely a footrace to get to Morris. As such, teams with better LBs generally play best against our run game. Your DBs are solid and should match up well against our WRs. A good deal of our downfield passing comes across the middle of the field (something you said was a weakness), but regardless the advantage is heavily for your DBs.

I haven't watched a ton of SEA football, but having sunday ticket I've seen at least 3 or 4 games. I am particularly nervous that RW's ability to manuver out of the pocket will create issues for us defensively -- especially since we haven't seen a mobile QB since Cam Newton in week 9 (and it didn't far well).

I personally see this game being a higher scoring affair over a lower one, but we'll see. IMHO, it will come down to how the rookies play (i.e., RGIII, Morris, and RW). SEA is arguably one of the best teams we have played at home this year and WAS is arguably one of the best teams you have played on the road this year. So, well see what happens on Sunday!

[HTTRRG3ALMO]

Probably would get booed off the site for this post lol...

Seahawks are the one team in the NFL that scares me. Mainly because of their aggressiveness which doesn't mix well with a team who has been very injury prone. As I heard someone say on a youtube comment a few weeks ago, "they play angry."

Other than that, Skins have the ability to win for sure, and even win beyond that. Their fate is in their own hands...just praying we don't get any injuries during this game.

[NYFINESTSKINSFAN]

Probably would get booed off the site for this post lol...

Seahawks are the one team in the NFL that scares me. Mainly because of their aggressiveness which doesn't mix well with a team who has been very injury prone. As I heard someone say on a youtube comment a few weeks ago, "they play angry."

Other than that, Skins have the ability to win for sure, and even win beyond that. Their fate is in their own hands...just praying we don't get any injuries during this game.

So we are playing the Angry Birds. lol

[HTTRRG3ALMO]

Probably would get booed off the site for this post lol...

Seahawks are the one team in the NFL that scares me. Mainly because of their aggressiveness which doesn't mix well with a team who has been very injury prone. As I heard someone say on a youtube comment a few weeks ago, "they play angry."

Other than that, Skins have the ability to win for sure, and even win beyond that. Their fate is in their own hands...just praying we don't get any injuries during this game.

So we are playing the Angry Birds. lol

HAHA!! Doesn't seem as scary now...damn cartoons

[Redskin in Canada]

So, the QHAWK fan did not come back to debate the game.

No problem. THN is a class act and we will welcome him again if he returns.

[Silnwest]

Hello, another Seahawks fan here. I figured I would step up and discuss some football with you guys since the OP bowed out.

To say the Redskins will win by 10 or 20 sounds pretty ambitious. The Seahawks have lost by 7 only once this year (to the excellent 49ers, in which several big catches were dropped) every other loss was within 2-6 points, and I could tell you very easily how we lost those games and how it won't happen again. (I won't bore you with that unless someone asks though)

The Seahawks should win this game. Our offenses are similar in skill, but our defense is in my opinion the best in the NFL. Only one team has scored more than 24 points against us, with most other teams hovering around our average ppg allowed of 15.3. The Patriots scored 23 on us, and the packers only scored 12.

Russell Wilson wants to be down with 2 minutes left, and needing to score to win or tie the game. He lives for those moments, and I believe that at the end of the game he will be in that situation. He will score, and we will win.

RG3 is a similar player in that he has that same determination and confidence that Wilson has. Unfortunately for him, our defense will not allow him to win this game. Our corner backs will blanket his receivers, our defensive line will tackle him HARD if he tries to make a first down with his legs. Our safeties will punish anyone who attempts a catch over the middle. We will enforce our will on the Redskins.

All that being said, The Redskins are a good team, and are playing at home. Alfred Morris will get his rushing yards, and RG3 will get his as well. Our defense will keep this game close, but if our offense can perform up to the level I have begun to expect... The Seahawks will win.

Also, we have never needed to pipe in noise into our stadium, every investigation into it has proven that it doesn't happen. As Redskins fans, I would think you should understand how much passion the 12th man brings.

*edit* Also, we don't suck on the road, we're just really awesome at home. Every road game we've lost this year was heartbreaking because we were in the game until the final 5 minutes or so, but just came up a little short.

[Burgundy&Wha?]

OK Sea-chickens fans, your THREE road wins came against Carolina, Chicago, and Buffalo. Whoop-de-friggin-doo.

Last weekend you beat St. Louis by 7 -- at home. Huzzah!

In your place, you held Adrian Peterson to a pawltry 182 rushing yards. Take the rest of the week off!

Coming out of the bye, you lost to Miami on the road. D'oh!

You guys can beat your chests all you want, but the fact is all this noise started with putting up 58 against a woeful Cardinals team (in your place) that couldn't beat Nick Saban's Alabama squad.

Then you followed that up by hanging 50 on a Buffalo team that should have stayed in Canada and applied for entry in the CFL.

You lost at Detroit.

You let Frank Gore run up 131 yards in a loss at San Francisco.

AND, Green Bay beat you. You know that, though.

Stop talking trash. Our SKins will beat your Sea-Chickens and we won't hear from you anymore. Around here we call that a Win-Win.

[Silnwest]

OK Sea-chickens fans, your THREE road wins came against Carolina, Chicago, and Buffalo. Whoop-de-friggin-doo.

Last weekend you beat St. Louis by 7 -- at home. Huzzah!

In your place, you held Adrian Peterson to a pawltry 182 rushing yards. Take the rest of the week off!

Coming out of the bye, you lost to Miami on the road. D'oh!

You guys can beat your chests all you want, but the fact is all this noise started with putting up 58 against a woeful Cardinals team (in your place) that couldn't beat Nick Saban's Alabama squad.

Then you followed that up by hanging 50 on a Buffalo team that should have stayed in Canada and applied for entry in the CFL.

You lost at Detroit.

You let Frank Gore run up 131 yards in a loss at San Francisco.

AND, Green Bay beat you. You know that, though.

Stop talking trash. Our SKins will beat your Sea-Chickens and we won't hear from you anymore. Around here we call that a Win-Win.

We beat the Rams at home by 7 huh? Who else has beaten the Rams within our division this year I wonder... oh that's right nobody. The Rams are a good team, and you guys will find that out next year when they use all the draft picks you gave them for RG3. They will become a winning football team next year, with an amazing defensive line and a good young quarterback. (They also beat you guys earlier in the year...)

Adrian Peterson got 182 yards huh? How did we let a bum like him gain so many yards on us.... its not like he is the best running back in the NFL and has been since he entered the league. Who won that game despite that again?

That Miami loss friggin hurt, and I won't try and defend that one. We played like crap, and lost to a crappy team. Just like you guys lost to the Panthers earlier in the year, those kinds of games happen.

Yes we put up 58 on Arizona and 50 on the Bills. Uhh, I'm sorry? I still think thats pretty impressive, even if both teams are pretty horrible. Although the Cardinals are a top 10 defense.

If you want to watch that Detroit game, you will see that Stafford played out of his mind. It was pretty ridiculous how well he played. They didn't know they were gonna be the Lions of old instead of the 2011 lions at that point of the season though.

Once again, Frank Gore what a bum getting 131 yards against us. That dude is a monster, just like Marshawn is a monster against the 49ers. Both players always get their yards.

Green Bay beat us huh? The score board says we won, but I agree with you that it was a bad call to end the game with. I honestly wish that we could have replayed that game with good officiating, because we would've won anyways. There were a lot of bad calls in that game, but because the last one was the most important, it is the only one that ends up counting.

Sea-chickens? That's not even terribly clever. Was that really necessary? I like the Redskins, although I don't get a chance to watch them very often. I won't post around here again if we win the game, until we play again some other season, but if we lose I'll come back and give you guys some props. I'm not saying the Redskins can't win, because they are a very good football team. I just think that if the Seahawks plays a solid football game, they should win.

Here's to a good game on Sunday, and hopefully there won't be any bad calls or injuries!

[welch]

This is odd because I know almost nothing about the Seahawks. I pay attention to the NFC East. Saw the Seahawks on Sunday against the Rams.

Impressions:

- Seahawks rookie QB is no slouch, Looks smaller and s,lower than Griffin, and does not seem to have Griffin's arm, but the kid is very good.

- Seattle, as a team, looks thinner and quicker than a typical NFC East team. More like a dome-team. Don't know if Seattle is as good outside on grass in the cold.

- Redskin run defense is fine, but the Skins cannot cover anyone. (The defensive backs that will take the team to the Super Bowl are probably in college). Haslett compensates by blitzing all he time, running different players to disguise it. I don't know if that will work against Seattle.

- Redskin offense should do well against anyone. Morris somehow finds the hole...great at cutting to just the right spot. At QB, this might be the week that Griffin takes off the knee brace. If so, he is the best QB playing...he and Long might be the model QBs of the future.

[Silnwest]

This is odd because I know almost nothing about the Seahawks. I pay attention to the NFC East. Saw the Seahawks on Sunday against the Rams.

Impressions:

- Seahawks rookie QB is no slouch, Looks smaller and s,lower than Griffin, and does not seem to have Griffin's arm, but the kid is very good.

- Seattle, as a team, looks thinner and quicker than a typical NFC East team. More like a dome-team. Don't know if Seattle is as good outside on grass in the cold.

- Redskin run defense is fine, but the Skins cannot cover anyone. (The defensive backs that will take the team to the Super Bowl are probably in college). Haslett compensates by blitzing all he time, running different players to disguise it. I don't know if that will work against Seattle.

- Redskin offense should do well against anyone. Morris somehow finds the hole...great at cutting to just the right spot. At QB, this might be the week that Griffin takes off the knee brace. If so, he is the best QB playing...he and Long might be the model QBs of the future.

- Yea Russell is smaller and a bit slower than griffin, but griffin is an athletic freak, and Russell is plenty fast enough. He also does a better job than Griffin at avoiding punishment, once Griffin can figure that out he will be even scarier. Russell's arm is very good as well, its a lot stronger than people give him credit for. That being said, Griffins has a rocket, and gets a slight edge here as well.

-We aren't really thinner, but we are definitely quicker. Our staff emphasizes size and speed at every position, and then trusts in our coaches to teach them everything else they lack. Our linebackers all have 4.5-4.6 speed with the old man Leroy Hill injured and then losing his job to Malcolm Smith. Our stadium is outside as well, with temperatures averaging around 40-45, but it does have artificial turf. Every time we played on grass this year we have played well though, but I am definitely concerned about the Grass at Fedex.

-Wilson has been doing great against the blitz until last week. The Rams IMO has one of the best D-lines in the NFL though, and their defensive tackles are truly amazing. The first half they got a ton of pressure on us, and then we shored that up during half-time and started shredding them when they tried to blitz. We actually have a 7th round defensive lineman playing guard, not because of injuries but just because he demanded playing time. He is an amazing run-blocker, and is coming along in Pass-pro well. He beat out John Moffit not because Moffit is a bad player, but Sweezy has just been playing so well.

-Yeah, you guys will get your yards in the run game, but it is VERY hard to pass against the hawks. We have the best secondary in the NFL, with Sherman and Browner at defensive back, and Kam chancelor and Earl Thomas at safety. Kam hits like a mack truck, and Earl has legit speed, able to cover the whole field from sideline to sideline. Our nickel back however worries me. Trufant is getting a little long in the tooth, and if you guys find success through the air it will be in the slot. If one of our rookie CB's starts at the slot though, I would feel better. Byron Maxwell, and Jeremy Lane IMO are both superior to Trufant in both the slot, and outside positions.

I have a couple questions if you guys don't mind.

-Do you think Alfred Morris is more a product of his offensive line and running qb, or is he legitimately one of the best backs in the league?

-Is RG3 really that amazingly accurate that he doesn't ever throw picks, or has he been getting some lucky bounces?

-Who gets the pressure on the d-line? Do you collapse the pocket with the lineman, or do most of your sacks and pressures come from the blitz?

[Irn-Bru]

Thanks for coming to play ball, Silnwest. We sometimes give outsiders a hard time but also appreciate it when knowledgeable fans from other teams show up to stir up discussion.

I wish I had more time for back and forth and asking you questions, but I can answer the few you put out:

I have a couple questions if you guys don't mind.

-Do you think Alfred Morris is more a product of his offensive line and running qb, or is he legitimately one of the best backs in the league?

I don't think our offensive line is particularly great, so a fair bit of Morris's success is attributable to his running. We had essentially the same offensive line and scheme last year and no running back had quite the same success, though it did make two other rookies (Helu and Royster) look pretty good. But no Redskins RB has ever had this level of success, so we are high on Morris and his talent.

-Is RG3 really that amazingly accurate that he doesn't ever throw picks, or has he been getting some lucky bounces?

I would say that he has so few picks because (a) he reads defenses very well, (b) he's accurate, (c) he doesn't force it, and (d) he hasn't thrown nearly as much downfield as other QBs.

(a), (b), and (c) are to Griffin's credit, and (d) comes from coaching/playcalling and the strength of his running ability. Surely if Griffin was playing the same kind of gameplan that Indy gives to Luck, he'd have many more picks.

Good bounces, it is hard to say. Our receivers have dropped so many passes this year, and only one that I can recall was subsequently picked off. That's good luck. His interceptions have mostly come on overthrows.

-Who gets the pressure on the d-line? Do you collapse the pocket with the lineman, or do most of your sacks and pressures come from the blitz?

Definitely from our blitzing. We have gotten a lot more pressure the past several weeks than we were getting early in the year. I think QB pressure is still one of our weak points. They have come up big in big moments, but that doesn't mean we are getting steady pressure throughout the game, which with a talent like Wilson is very worrisome.

[Deadskins]

Russell Wilson wants to be down with 2 minutes left, and needing to score to win or tie the game. He lives for those moments, and I believe that at the end of the game he will be in that situation. He will score, and we will win.

Not against us he doesn't, because we will go on a long, methodical, time eating drive to seal the deal, and he will never get the opportunity.

[Deadskins]

Every road game we've lost this year was heartbreaking because we were in the game until the final 5 minutes or so, but just came up a little short.

The same has happened to us in every loss this year, though not just on the road.

[Silnwest]

Russell Wilson wants to be down with 2 minutes left, and needing to score to win or tie the game. He lives for those moments, and I believe that at the end of the game he will be in that situation. He will score, and we will win.

Not against us he doesn't, because we will go on a long, methodical, time eating drive to seal the deal, and he will never get the opportunity.

That's probably my biggest fear for this game. If you guys get the ball with a lead and 5 minutes left, I feel like your run game is strong enough to keep the ball out of Wilson's hands. It won't be easy on the Skins, because we have some defenders who can Will a win just like Wilson can, but Griffin and Morris have that as well.

If Wilson can get the ball at the end of the game and needing to score though, he will.

[Deadskins]

We beat the Rams at home by 7 huh? Who else has beaten the Rams within our division this year I wonder... oh that's right nobody. The Rams are a good team, and you guys will find that out next year when they use all the draft picks you gave them for RG3. They will become a winning football team next year, with an amazing defensive line and a good young quarterback. (They also beat you guys earlier in the year...)

They beat us kind of like you beat the Packers. It was a replacement ref aided victory.

Adrian Peterson got 182 yards huh? How did we let a bum like him gain so many yards on us.... its not like he is the best running back in the NFL and has been since he entered the league. Who won that game despite that again?

We held AP to 79 yards and also beat the Vikings. Our secondary may be decimated by injuries and a suspension, but we are #5 against the run.

[Deadskins]

The defensive backs that will take the team to the Super Bowl are probably in college.

Psst Welch, we're going to the SB this year.

[Deadskins]

-Is RG3 really that amazingly accurate that he doesn't ever throw picks, or has he been getting some lucky bounces?

I would say that he has so few picks because (a) he reads defenses very well, (b) he's accurate, (c) he doesn't force it, and (d) he hasn't thrown nearly as much downfield as other QBs.

(a), (b), and (c) are to Griffin's credit, and (d) comes from coaching/playcalling and the strength of his running ability. Surely if Griffin was playing the same kind of gameplan that Indy gives to Luck, he'd have many more picks.

I'd have to agree with you on a, b, and c, but take exception to d. He leads the league in YPR, so he must be throwing the ball downfield (though we are getting more YAC this year.) He has less attempts than other QBs because usually we are rocking the running game and just don't need to pass as much as other teams. Running the ball also helps us control the clock, and keep the D off the field. I think if he had as many attempts as Luck, his completion % would be about the same, as would his throws/INT ratio.

[The Hogster]

Seahawks fan guy wrote:

I have a couple questions if you guys don't mind.

-Do you think Alfred Morris is more a product of his offensive line and running qb, or is he legitimately one of the best backs in the league?

-Is RG3 really that amazingly accurate that he doesn't ever throw picks, or has he been getting some lucky bounces?

-Who gets the pressure on the d-line? Do you collapse the pocket with the lineman, or do most of your sacks and pressures come from the blitz?

I don't think Alfred Morris is a product of his line or RGIII. Alfred Morris is a unique talent. He's got some Terrell Davis type ability. He's not an explosive back who will go 70 yards and outrun everyone. But, he compensates with a special combination of power, vision, and patience. He runs people over and doesn't go down on first contact. He sees the correct hole almost all the time and hits it without hesitation. And, he allows the plays to develop like an experienced vet.

The zone read concept helps as it freezes the defensive end most times, but you don't rack up 1600+ yards without being special.

As for pressure, this is an attacking defense that blitzes to apply pressure.

With that said, I doubt this game is close. That's not to discredit the Seahawks. But, I think the Redskins match up well against them. The zone scheme works best against faster defenders. Once you over pursue, the cutback lanes are huge. Alfred will expose that early and often.

The zone read scheme also takes advantage of speedy & greedy defenses. Your players will be going 100 MPH in the wrong direction. Good luck (i) telling who has the ball on the zone read, and (ii) catching anyone once you figure it out. And, just when you do think you've got a bead on it, here comes the intermediate slants over the middle exposing the LBs who thought a run was coming. Take that away, and there's the quick screen which Garcon and Moss can take the distance.

Take that away, and Alfred eats you up. Commit to him, and RGIII is gone around the edge. (Even with a brace, he's faster than most front 7 guys.


I also don't think you can under estimate the value of your home field advantage. You may not pipe in sound. But, the design of your stadium has been known to amplify it. Combine that with jet lag & the fact that you're way in Seattle, and you've got a real advantage. You're 8-0 there. And, 3-5 on the road. That's not by accident. You have to come here to DC where nobody cares about the Seahawks. I like our chances.

My prediction is 31-13 Skins. Our offense can and will score on your defense. Your corners are tall and rangy, which doesn't really matter with the type of offense we run. We don't throw jump balls.

[Redskin in Canada]

I have a couple questions if you guys don't mind.

-Do you think Alfred Morris is more a product of his offensive line and running qb, or is he legitimately one of the best backs in the league?

-Is RG3 really that amazingly accurate that he doesn't ever throw picks, or has he been getting some lucky bounces?

-Who gets the pressure on the d-line? Do you collapse the pocket with the lineman, or do most of your sacks and pressures come from the blitz?

1. Alfred Morris is a great RB in the best system for him. He is fast and strong. He is a one-cut RB. Different in system and style than your own RB but very similar in productivity. Morris and Lynch are only 2nd and 3rd behind the great Adrian Peterson.

2. RGIII is a very accurate passer. You do not go 16 games in this league without showing what you are made of. Some of his INTs have been deflections and bounces. Again, your own QB is not bad in this regard either. But RGIII has been slightly better.

3. Our D lacks some key players due to injuries. One of our starting OL and one OLB are on injured reserve. They do a lot of pass rushing. So, our D has relied more on disguised and not so disguised blitzes. We have a zero coverage formation ... I suspect that your coaches have seen it.

In the end, both teams are extremely similar in several aspects and the advantages of one seem to balance with disadvantages in another area. I was never a fan of Pete Carroll in his previous posts in the NFL. But I have to admit that he has done a great job in Seattle. The Front Offices are doing great jobs on both teams.

Here's hoping to a great game and no injuries.

[Silnwest]

Seahawks fan guy wrote:

I have a couple questions if you guys don't mind.

-Do you think Alfred Morris is more a product of his offensive line and running qb, or is he legitimately one of the best backs in the league?

-Is RG3 really that amazingly accurate that he doesn't ever throw picks, or has he been getting some lucky bounces?

-Who gets the pressure on the d-line? Do you collapse the pocket with the lineman, or do most of your sacks and pressures come from the blitz?

I don't think Alfred Morris is a product of his line or RGIII. Alfred Morris is a unique talent. He's got some Terrell Davis type ability. He's not an explosive back who will go 70 yards and outrun everyone. But, he compensates with a special combination of power, vision, and patience. He runs people over and doesn't go down on first contact. He sees the correct hole almost all the time and hits it without hesitation. And, he allows the plays to develop like an experienced vet.

The zone read concept helps as it freezes the defensive end most times, but you don't rack up 1600+ yards without being special.

As for pressure, this is an attacking defense that blitzes to apply pressure.

With that said, I doubt this game is close. That's not to discredit the Seahawks. But, I think the Redskins match up well against them. The zone scheme works best against faster defenders. Once you over pursue, the cutback lanes are huge. Alfred will expose that early and often.

The zone read scheme also takes advantage of speedy & greedy defenses. Your players will be going 100 MPH in the wrong direction. Good luck (i) telling who has the ball on the zone read, and (ii) catching anyone once you figure it out. And, just when you do think you've got a bead on it, here comes the intermediate slants over the middle exposing the LBs who thought a run was coming. Take that away, and there's the quick screen which Garcon and Moss can take the distance.

Take that away, and Alfred eats you up. Commit to him, and RGIII is gone around the edge. (Even with a brace, he's faster than most front 7 guys.


I also don't think you can under estimate the value of your home field advantage. You may not pipe in sound. But, the design of your stadium has been known to amplify it. Combine that with jet lag & the fact that you're way in Seattle, and you've got a real advantage. You're 8-0 there. And, 3-5 on the road. That's not by accident. You have to come here to DC where nobody cares about the Seahawks. I like our chances.

My prediction is 31-13 Skins. Our offense can and will score on your defense. Your corners are tall and rangy, which doesn't really matter with the type of offense we run. We don't throw jump balls.

Pete Carroll is a defensive minded coach, and runs a scheme that is different than anyone else in the NFL. Our starting cornerbacks are 6'4 6'3 and one was a 5th round draft choice while the other was a cfl player for several years before making it with the Hawks. The best way I can describe the way our cbs play is like a cb/safety hybrid. Our corners aren't high draft picks because they don't need the elite speed that usually comes with being a 1st round pick at corner back. They are rangy, and can disrupt you at the line and then drop into zone while the safeties get into proper position, with Earl Thomas being the most important player on our defense. His ability to seriously cover the whole field allows our bigger corners to intimidate the recievers, and focus on giving hard hits.

They press you at the line, and usually play zone after that, depending on what the offense is doing. It disrupts the receivers routes, and forces the quarterback to make good throws without much YAC because there is a guy waiting to tackle, or break on the ball to intercept it or bat it away. It's pretty much the ultimate bend but don't break defense. You won't get a big play from us, but you can have dinks and dunks all day long. Even if you get into the end zone, the amazing speed in our linebackers, and the excellent length of our cornerbacks make it extremely difficult to pass for a touchdown with a small amount of space.

Now as to the zone read, we have been running that at times on offense for over half of the season. Pete Carroll studied the way you used RG3 and started incorporating that into how we use RW. The players who helped Wilson learn those concepts? (Wilson never ran the zone-read in college like RG3 did) Our three starting linebackers.

Every linebacker is a rookie or 2nd year player who often played half or more of their games in college against various option, zone-read, or pistol offenses. They are extremely quick, and were learning how to defend zone read in college years ago. They have only gotten better since then while practicing against Russell Wilson.

Russell isn't as fast as RG3, isn't as big, and doesn't have as strong of an arm. However he is a better runner. What I mean is that he can pick his way through a defense and get down before someone gets a big hit on him. (which has a side effect of frustrating defenses) He also has excellent vision when running, and uses his scrambling to set up his passing. He just plain doesn't play like a rookie. He goes through his whole progression. There are a lot of starting QB's in this league who still can't do that with all the chaos going on in an NFL game.

Our defensive line scheme is different from any other in the NFL as well. We have 4 up fron that sub out based on the situation. One of our DE's is 300+ lb red bryant, who tears it up against the run. The other is Chris Clemons who you guys know, and has had 11+ sacks in his 3 seasons here. Then our D-line is huge, and we have a situational pass rusher Bruce Irvin who subs in on certain passing downs. Red Bryant won't bite on the zone-read thing, because that isn't his job in this defense. It's our linebackers that the zone-read will have to fool in order for you to have success. That won't be terribly easy.

I'm saying all this not because this will be an easy game for the Hawks, but because we will not be getting blown out. It just isn't the way this team is built. 31-13? If you guys can beat us by more than 10 I will agree to any bet you'd like. You guys can win, your a talented team. However the Seahawks are a more complete team: We are number 1 in total DVOA, while the redskins are number 9. Our offense is ranked #4, our defense is #4, and our special teams is #3. (not sure if you guys are fans of football outsiders, I've been going by their rankings for a couple years)

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/teameff2012

It won't be easy to go into your house and beat you. Your fans bring it, almost as much as the 12th man does.

[Silnwest]

*double post