Bold ( or not so bold ) Predictions

Here are my predictions for divisional winner, Superbowl, & MVP. These are as good as gold...take 'em to the bank, invest in them, bet the farm on them...do what you will..but don't quote me on this!!

NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys

NFC NORTH
Greenbay Packers

NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons

NFC WEST
Seattle Seahawks  

Wild card teams: San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles

AFC EAST
New England Patriots

AFC NORTH
Cincinnati Bengals

AFC SOUTH
Houston Texans

AFC WEST
Denver Broncos

Wild card teams: Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills

SUPER BOWL PREDICTION
San Fransisco 19  Houston 24

MVP
Peyton Manning 

NFL Week 1 Predictions

Wednesday 

 Cowboys @ Giants

Sunday

Colts@ Bears

Falcons @ Chiefs

Eagles @ Browns

Redskins @ Saints

Rams @ Lions

Patriots @ Titans

Jaguars @ Vikings

Bills @ Jets

Dolphins @ Texans

Seahawks @ Cardinals

49ers @ Packers

Panthers @ Buccaneers

Steelers @ Broncos

Monday

Bengals @ Ravens

Chargers @ Raiders

**Predicted WINNER will be in PINK

Seahawk's Season Prediction 2012

WK	DATE	OPPONENT	RESULTS	RECORD
1	Sun, Sep 9	@ Arizona	WIN	1-0
2	Sun, Sep 16	vs Dallas	WIN	2-0
3	Mon, Sep 24	vs Green Bay	LOSE	2-1
4	Sun, Sep 30	@ St. Louis	WIN	3-1
5	Sun, Oct 7	@ Carolina	LOSE	3-2
6	Sun, Oct 14	vs New England	LOSE	3-3
7	Thu, Oct 18	@ San Francisco	LOSE	3-4
8	Sun, Oct 28	@ Detroit	LOSE	3-5
9	Sun, Nov 4	vs Minnesota	WIN	4-5
10	Sun, Nov 11	vs New York	WIN	5-5
11	BYE WEEK
12	Sun, Nov 25	@ Miami	WIN	6-5
13	Sun, Dec 2	@ Chicago	WIN	7-5
14	Sun, Dec 9	vs Arizona	LOSE	7-6
15	Sun, Dec 16	@ Buffalo	LOSE	7-7
16	Sun, Dec 23	vs San Francisco	WIN	8-7
17	Sun, Dec 30	vs St. Louis	WIN	9-7

FIVE TEN AND FIVE EIGHTHS

I have never been more excited about Seahawk’s football, and that is saying a lot. Sports Center starts and the 3 lead stories are all about the Seahawks!!!  The Seahawks? We are the 15 second, 2 play highlight and the end of sport center. There are no discussion or analysis, certainly no debates or features about our team. We are the Buffalo Bills or the Pacific Northwest. And as Seahawk fans we are used to it, we expect it, the national media has never acknowledged our town as a sports town orgiven our players respect…. in the past.

With the emergence and utter dominance of Five-ten and five-eighths AKA as Russel Wilson, we my friends are relevant! I admit that I was a little hesitant to start Wilson over Flynn, but I’m glad we have a coach in Pete Carroll with the balls it takes to make that decision, and a General Manager in John Schneider with the vision and decisiveness to go after a quarter back many were writing off as simply to small the play in the NFL.  Russell Wilson may measure at 5’10” & 5/8, but what he has shown us this preseason is immeasurable. His ability to lead is immeasurable. His ability to escape the pocket , gain 20+ yards and avoid being hit is immeasurable. His ability to not only grasp but thoroughly understand and command a brand new offense in just his first preseason is immeasurable. Measure him we will, not with a ruler or in inches , but in wins and losses.

Wilson has completed 67.3 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and one interception in his 3 preseason games. He has averaged 8.9 yards per attempt in addition to gaining 150 yards rushing. Those are the measurables that matter to me.   His measurables like his plays down field, accuracy, yards passing and rushing and well as his immeasurable, his mobility, poise, leadership, maturity, mental acuity that make Five-ten and five-eighths completely irrelevant.  I won’t even temper my excitement with the fact that this is only the preseason. SO WHAT?  He has been consistent in practice and on the field, and when he did it against the first team defense of the Kansas City Chiefs last Friday I became a believer. 

I’m beyond excited for this season. We went into this year looking for a game manager at QB. Someone who complimented a team centered around running and defense, but what we may potentially have found is a franchise changing quarterback. We found it in the third round of the NFL Draft, we found it through foresight, and unconventionality, we found it in five-ten and five-eighths.

GO RUSSEL WILSON!! & GO’HAWKS!!!! 

Seahawks Vs. Broncos Preseason Game 2 Preview

The Seahawks take on the Denver Broncos in their second preseason game tonight at 6PM. There are a few headlines that make this game decidedly less boring than a regular 2nd preseason game would be. First, Terrell Owens will make his Seahawks debut. While the national media is all over the T.O. story, we in Seattle know that he is fighting for a position on the team just like the other wide receivers. If Owens doesn't deliver in these preseason games, not unlike Braylon Edwards did last game, then I will not be surprised to see him get cut before the season starts. The Seahawks are in a tough position having to carry and extra lineman with both offensive linemen Carpenter and Moffit hurt, it will be a stretch to keep 6 wide receivers on the roster, and 3 QBS. Something has got to give there, so it will be exciting to see what T.O. has left in the tank, especially when his career hangs in the balance.

The Biggest off season story surrounds the Denver Broncos, with the signing of Peyton Manning. Manning missed all of 2011 after undergoing multiple neck surgeries. Today's game will be the home opener for Manning, and expect the Denver fans to be a factor. They always are, but when 44,000 + people show up for a scrimmage you can only imagine the intensity that will fill Denver Sports Authority Field when Manning takes the field for the first time in front of his home crowd. Anyone think Denver will choose to announce the starting defense tonight? LOL  I expect Peyton to be Peyton. He will drive the team down the field quickly, and efficiently when given time. Manning has yet to take a hit this preseason, and I expect that to change tonight against the Seahawk's swarming defense. Especially with key right guard Chris Kuper out of the lineup with torn triceps ( ouch!) I wold love to see Jason Jones or Bruce Irving get their first sacks tonight. That is why Seattle brought them him, to improve the pass rush and the get sacks. Looks for them to get their chances against the Broncos weakened O- line. Don't be disappointed if Manning doesn't hit the dirt , he is one of the best at getting the ball out quickly, targeting his tight ends often.While he had a great Offensive line in Indianapolis, his timing and pocket presence have always been a big part of why he was one of the least sacked QBs in the NFL.

For Seattle the keys to tonight's game are simple. You want to see how some of the wide receivers that didn't play in the first game look with both Flynn and Wilson. In particular Owens, and Baldwin. Matt Flynn was named the starter again this week, which really came as no surprise as he looked good in the first game this preseason. At this point he is in the driver's seat. If Russell Wilson wasn't a rookie then I think he could outplay Flynn this preseason and win the starting job.I still think he might outplay Flynn, but he simply won't get the chance to perform with the ones and against opposing teams first team defenses in order to take over the position. What I would like to see out of Flynn tonight is a more dynamic performance. While he was efficient and accurate last week, he didn't showcase anything that made you say " WOW!" Im looking for the WOW factor this week and iI think we may get it with T.O. in the lineup. Wilson had those moments last week, on his 39 yard TD pass and again on his 32 yard TD run. I hope to see more of the same from him.

Seattle also wants to get their pass rush going. Like I mentioned before Jones, and Irving will be a key focus on defense. I like Peyton Manning, I really do, but I want to see him on his ass this game. I wouldn't mind seeing Kam Chancellor in on some safety blitz' that were effective last season.When you have a solid defense like Seattle does you can start to implement some really cool plays/ blitz' and schemes on defense. I hope to see better tackling with the second team defense, and continued dominance at the line.

I could go on forever, but being as this is only the 2nd preseason game and I'm going to end this post as I always do.....

GO 'HAWKS!!!

OH YES, IT IS TIME!!! Seahawks Preview 2012

There are simply so many things to cover I wish I knew where to start. Let's begin with WELCOME BACK to my blog, I try my best to post a few times a week, pregame predictions, game reviews, injury reports ALL SEAHAWKS ALL DAY!! I will mix in a few stories from around the NFL, team rankings, and break down aspects of the game as I go. This blog is for everyone, but coming from a women's perspective I like to help people understand the game of football on a basic level. There is a stigma that women don't know football, but I have found that just as few men really know what happening on the field. So I like to teach the game as well as talk about it. Being as this is MY BLOG I will also, from time to time, talk about the physical attractiveness( is that a word?) of the players. If this was reversed and it was all women players the main topic of conversation every week would be who is the hottest, so don't judge me! That being said, let's get started, I'll break the team down on both sides of the ball throughout the week, up first the QB's!!!!

SEAHAWK'S 2012 PREVIEW 

Offense

UNDER CENTER : The biggest story here is the Quarterback competition. At this point the starting position is Matt Flynn's to lose, but should he slip, fail to execute the offense, take lead of the team, or just blow it, there is a very exciting rookie is Russel Wilson waiting to take his place with the first team offense.

 In case you don't know who Matt Flynn is, or how he became a Seahawk, he was a back up in Greenbay to Aaron Rodgers, in his two starts in the NFL he was beyond impressive. Including one game where he threw 5TD passes. That being said he's started 2 games in the NFL. Flynn was weighing going to Miami or Seattle, and while he had ties to the Dolphins decided to sign with Seattle. We didn't over pay for him like the Cardinal's did for Kolb, who has been plagued with injury and a disappointment to date for Arizona. With a relatively unknown ceiling Flynn has the potential to be the best QB in Seahawk's history. Potential. Flynn in the first preseason game Saturday was as promised. Accurate, anticipatory, in command, poised. He was 8 for 8 before throwing an interception, that had more to do with a bad play fake my the rookie RB Turbin than it did with a poor decision on his part. I didn't like the two sacks he took, I'd like to see him get rid of the ball in those situation, but he felt the pressure and moved well in the pocket. We also didn't open up the field much with Flynn, his critics say he doesn't throw the deep ball. He completed most of his passes within 10 yards, but that was what the defense was giving us. He sustained a 9 minute drive to start the game, and I was overall impressed.

Russel Wilson comes in as a rookie, drafted with the 75th overall pick in 2012. I heard one analyst say that if Wilson was 6'2" he would have been drafted in the top 5. So There you have it, he's short. 5'11" to be exact, but really WHO CARES? Have you seen the guy play? Tell Drew Brees he can't play, then tell me Russel or Flynn for that matter can't play. It really a mute point. Wilson played at the University of Wisconsin , where in just his first year in the system he led the team to the Rose Bowl and a Big 10 title. Wilson is impressive. His ability to make all the throws, including the deep ball, and the move in and out of the pocket is really what makes him special. He threw a 39 yard TD pass to Braylon Edwards in Saturdays first preseason game against the Tennesee Titans, he also ran in for a 32 yeard TD on a naked bootleg. He had one ill advised throw for an interception, but none the less was unbelievably in control for a rookie in his very first NFL game. I would love to see Wilson get his shot with the one's, but hell I'd also like to see Flynn with the one's, as any weapons we have on offense were not playing in this game. Including Lynch, Rice, Baldwin, Winslow, T.O., etc.

You have to consider however the downside of continuing to split reps with the first team offense. If Flynn is going to be the started it is imperative that he get as many reps as possible with the guys he's going to be playing with. With Rice, Owens, and Winslow already limited in practice, building a rapport with his targets is going to be tough without losing reps to Wilson. At this point what I would like to see is Flynn take over as the starter. Command the team, and have Wilson better groomed for future seasons. While Wilson may very well be ready to play this season, I don't see any harm in having him back up Flynn, and develop just as Flynn did in Greenbay. The fear in that is that Greenbay never saw their backup phenom come to fruition for their city. I worry that like Flynn, Wilson will outgrow his role as a backup in development and move on to be a starter for another team . That being said, if Flynn turns out to be like Aaron Rodgers I think I'll care a little less about losing Wilson. Only time will tell what the future holds for both these young, promising, talented quarterbacks. We will see improvement this season at the QB position and in a " run first" offense, that is really all we ask.

As far as Tavaris Jackson is concerned his position on the team is no longer guaranteed. I have come to respect Jackson for his performance last season. While he wasn't great by any means, he took responsibility for his play, and played thru a pectoral injury late in the season earning the respect of team mates, coaches, and real fans. Football is a business, and if you are not performing the tasks your job required you are subject to being fired. I like him as a thirst string veteran backup, but wouldn't be surprised if Tavaris is not on the roster come September.

This is shaping up to be the most exciting year in Seahawk football we have seen in a long time, and the Quarter back position is a big component in that. Nationally however the biggest story concerning the Seahawks is THE SHOW, T.O. coming to town. Next post I'll cover the receiving corps, including Terrell Owens, Doug Baldwin, Golden Tate, Sydney Rice, Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow, and more!!

GO 'HAWKS!!!