Hi guys, Seahawk fan here!
I've been watching football for a long time. Long enough that I was actually a die hard Packer fan before I was a die hard Seahawk fan (Seattle didn't get a team until 76). Funny how that works out. It's no surprise then that I've always had a soft spot for the Packers, even to this day. It doesn't hurt that you have classy fans as well.
Here is some info on our team as I see it. I'd love to get some thoughts about your team / players outside the big names I already know so much about. Where do you think you will struggle / excel? Why?
On to the Seahawks..
Defensively, we have an excellent secondary. Brandon Browner gets a lot of love from the media, but Richard Sherman is actually our best CB and a pro-bowl type guy. Kam Chancellor, our starting strong safety and one of my favorite players on the team, is built more like a LB and lays down the wood like one too. Whitten got decked by him in the last game and dropped numerous balls after the hit. Earl Thomas is the big name guy on our defense, and quite honestly, probably one of our best players. Our front four are stout against the run, with Mebane and Red Bryant being the centerpieces in my eyes. Keep an eye on Big Red Bryant, he is a nasty big man who loves to disrupt any and all plays.
The problem with our defense, which I think the Packers will expose quickly, is our inability to get to the passer. To address this, we signed Jason Jones in the offseason for his ability to rush up the gut. We selected Bruce Irvin in the first round, and while he had a .5 sack on Sunday (mostly due to Jason Jones coming up the middle), he hasn't shown much. Chris Clemons is our veteran DE and our best pass rusher.
On offense, you know the drill. Our OL-men are mean and nasty road graters. The fight, spit, punch, and kick their way through the game. Real hard nosed guys. While our running game is explosive, our pass protection has been anything but. You might see PC switch our RG throughout the game. The reason this is interesting is that Seattle selected a DL in the 7th round of this years draft named J.R. Sweezy and converted him to OL. The coaching staff has been really high on this kids potential. He started our first game against Arizona, played poorly (in retrospect he was pretty good for a guy who hasn't played OL before), and split reps with our previous starting RG John Moffit this Sunday against Dallas. If I were GB, I would be looking to exploit J.R. Sweezy's lack of experience.
Our LT Okung has a ton of potential but is always hurt, which has earned him the nickname Russel BrOkung. He sat out last week with a knee contusion. Elvis Dumervill kicked his *** in the preseason as well, so as a Seahawk fan I am quite worried about Clay Matthews. Expect him to have a big day if Okung comes out as slow and stiff as he did in the Arizona game.
Russell Wilson is a rookie, but has more poise than most. He isn't afraid to take a hit and doesn't get rattled. He had great accuracy in the preseason, but routinely sailed balls high during the first game, and through most of the first half on Sunday. When he finally settled down in the 2nd half our offense began to click. He is mobile and will gash your defense if you let him. The good news is that Seattle has been running a really vanilla offense with him. Russell Wilson is an extremely bright kid, so one can only assume that Seattle wants him to "manage" the game and minimize mistakes rather than carry the team on his shoulders. This is why we lean heavily on our run game, so that we do not have to rely on our rookie QB to make all the plays.
Outside of Lynch (who I'm sure you are all familiar with), our rookie Robert "The Hulk" (find a photo of this guy to see why we call him the Hulk) Turbin is a hard powerful runner just like Marshawn Lynch. Leon Washington is our special teams standout and is always a threat to return a punt or kickoff.
Receiver wise I would peg Golden Tate as our best wide out. Most Seahawk fans would point to Sidney Rice, but Tate is going to be huge this year. Doug Bladwin was our best wide-out last year, but he has been relatively quiet thus far. Sidney Rice is great, but he has trouble staying on the field. TE's Zach Miller and Anthony McCoy have both been playing good football but we've rarely run two TE sets.
While I'd love to peg this up as a win for Seattle, I think we will struggle due to our lackluster pass rush. I think GB will have some great opportunity to put a lot of points on the board.
That said, hopefully this Seahawak team will surprise some of you guys and earn some respect. They are tough as nails and fight tooth and nail through the whistle.
So here is to a good game and no injuries to either side!
Good luck, and if Seattle doesn't make the playoffs this year I'll be rooting for you guys all the way.
