NFC Divisional Game 1: Saints (#6) at Seahawks (#1)

Who'll win: Saints (#6) at Seahawks (#3)

  • Saints

    Votes: 14 14.1%
  • Seahawks

    Votes: 85 85.9%

  • Total voters
    99

SeoulSoxFan

I Want to Hit the World with Rocket Punch
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Jun 27, 2006
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A Scud Away from Hell
In the early NFC Divisional game, Saints travel to Seattle (Saturday, Jan. 11 at 4:35 p.m. ET on FOX).
 
In their only meeting this year, Seattle beat up on the Saints 34-7 at home. This would be a tough game for the Saints, who face the league's top pass defense. 
 
All eyes will be on Saints CB Keenan Lewis, who left for concussion in the third quarter. 
 
Prediction: I got Seattle chomping down on the Saints and winning by 2 scores: 27-17
 
Dec 10, 2012
6,943
Saints have a good record at being the underdogs, nothing to lose.
 
And they'll be in a dome. (Not that it helped during the regular season) 
 
I expect a ton of screens to Sproles to capitalize on the hawks' overzealousness.
 

mpx42

New Member
Apr 23, 2010
2,684
Seattle, WA
Seattle doesn't have a dome.
 
I think this is just a bad matchup for New Orleans. Seattle's secondary is super physical and in the post season especially they can get away with pushing the limits a bit. They held Brees to 147 yards in the first game, which for a guy who throws over 5,000 yards every season is pretty crazy.
 
In the first game the Saints made it really easy on Wilson by losing containment and allowing him to run out of the pocket for large gains - I think they'd be smart to play more coverage and let their pass rushers work against Seattle's poor offensive line.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
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Dec 16, 2010
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Dan to Theo to Ben said:
Saints have a good record at being the underdogs, nothing to lose.
 
And they'll be in a dome. (Not that it helped during the regular season) 
 
 
 

richgedman'sghost

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May 13, 2006
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Dan to Theo to Ben said:
Dark skies + loud = dome
There is one missing ingredient: no roof so if there is rain it will be a factor in the passing game. I don't understand your equation to be honest with you How does dark skies plus it being loud equal playing in a dome?.
 

( . ) ( . ) and (_!_)

T&A
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Feb 9, 2010
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richgedman'sghost said:
There is one missing ingredient: no roof so if there is rain it will be a factor in the passing game. I don't understand your equation to be honest with you How does dark skies plus it being loud equal playing in a dome?.
Ummmm
 

Al Zarilla

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Dec 8, 2005
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San Andreas Fault
richgedman'sghost said:
There is one missing ingredient: no roof so if there is rain it will be a factor in the passing game. I don't understand your equation to be honest with you How does dark skies plus it being loud equal playing in a dome?.
Dark reflects sound more than light, the opposite of white reflecting light and dark absorbing. Naw, I just made that up.
 

Gunfighter 09

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Jul 31, 2005
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KPWT
I have been to a couple of games in that stadium and the covers over the stands to make quite a difference in how loud it is in there. First, the sound reverberates back down on to the field off of the roof. Second, because it is fucking miserable in Seattle in the winter, and will likely be miserable next weekend (35ish degrees and pouring rain) the fans staying relatively dry, allowing them to keep the volume up for the full 3.5 (playoffs) hour game. All while the teams are getting soaked and near frozen. It is the perfect stadium for a home field advantage, where only the players (and ~15% of the fans) are affected by the elements and it is ungodly loud.  I sat in the uncovered end zone for a late season game there and it was fucking horrible, soaking wet, cold and I felt completely deaf by the end of the game. 
 

Stitch01

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Jul 15, 2005
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Saints won't get as embarassed as last time, but this is still an awful matchup for them and I can't see how they win the game
 

E5 Yaz

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Mystic Merlin said:
If he can play effectively, that is.
 
And, judging by his experience with the Vikings, he's good in a dome
 

ThePrideofShiner

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Jul 16, 2005
10,687
Washington
Two big pieces of injury news for the Seahawks:
 
1. Percy Harvin will play Saturday in all capacities, including kickoffs.
 
2. Tight end Luke Willson has also been cleared (high ankle sprain vs. Rams) and will play, which is important because he is their 'speed' tight end.
 
Having those two brings the concern level about the receiving corps way down.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
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Dec 16, 2010
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Interesting article on how the Seahawks play defense:  http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303754404579310500005285822
 
The Seahawks had the most pass-interference penalties in the league this season—13, or nearly one per game. Defensive pass interference, a spot foul that comes with an automatic first down, is called when a defender impedes a receiver while the ball is in the air. If the ball isn't airborne, grabbing a receiver more than five yards downfield merits a defensive-holding penalty. The Seahawks have 10 of those this season.
There is a certain brilliance to this approach: Since 2001, nine teams have committed 20 or more of these penalties (including this season's Seahawks). None of them had a losing record, and most of them won big.
So many pass-interference plays meant that many more of them went uncalled, choking the life out of opposing offenses in a pass-dependent league—a big advantage for Seattle's physical brand of defense, led by hulking cornerbacks such as 6-foot-3 star Richard Sherman.
 
 
Pereira said aggressive pass-coverage teams like Seattle "test" referees early in the game with a few potentially obvious pass-interference infractions. "They want to see what kind of tone the officials are going to set," he said, adding that he expects to see a couple of penalties called but also the usual brand of Seahawks grabbing.
Game-film analysis reveals plenty of instances in which more penalties could have been called. Facing a third-and-10 on the first possession of their Week 5 matchup with Seattle, the Indianapolis Colts called for a pass to star receiver Reggie Wayne. As soon as the ball was snapped, Wayne was engulfed in a bear hug by Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner, who proceeded to grab the Colts receiver by his shoulder pads, spin him around and force Andrew Luck's pass to fall incomplete.
 
 
Where's Bill Polian?
 

mpx42

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Apr 23, 2010
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Seattle, WA
How do you think Seattle's found five really good corners in the last three years, none picked higher then the fourth round?
 

Tony C

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Am guessing Pete Carroll had a lot to do with it, give his DB coaching background and preference for exactly the sort of big DBs they've drafted.
 

brienc

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Jul 26, 2005
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Al Zarilla said:
Contest between Seattle and Foxboro, huh?
 
I don't know about that. You would feel right at home in RI right now, it's 57 degrees, with gusty winds and off and on rain. It feels like a typical winter day in the Bay Area.
 

Spacemans Bong

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brienc said:
I don't know about that. You would feel right at home in RI right now, it's 57 degrees, with gusty winds and off and on rain. It feels like a typical winter day in the Bay Area.
I think it's finally going to rain today but during the two weeks I was in town, it was cloudy for exactly six hours and never a lower daytime high than 65. Best weather I can ever remember during the holidays in San Francisco.
 

brienc

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Jul 26, 2005
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Spacemans Bong said:
I think it's finally going to rain today but during the two weeks I was in town, it was cloudy for exactly six hours and never a lower daytime high than 65. Best weather I can ever remember during the holidays in San Francisco.
 
Nice. A trip like that sure makes the rest of the winter much easier to deal with.
 
I'm sure that if I had been there, it would have been 50 degrees and pouring the whole time.
 

Deathofthebambino

Drive Carefully
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Apr 12, 2005
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NFL Network has now shown multiple flare-ups between the Saints and Seahawks in pre-game warmups.  Jimmy Graham has been in the middle of all of them, with the most recent one being with Richard Sherman.  These two teams do not like each other, and I think this is going to be a war.  Looking forward to it.
 

Super Nomario

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Nov 5, 2000
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The Saints remind me of the Pats of recent years, where you can flood the middle of the field. Their top pass-catchers are Graham (86 receptions), Thomas (77), Colston (75), Sproles (71), and Moore (37) - all those guys do their best work in the middle. I think you dare NO to throw deep to Stills and Meachem, who are fast (both > 20 yards per reception). I'm skeptical of a) the quality of the outside guys, b) Brees' ability to throw deep and outside given his below-average arm strength, especially in inclement weather, and c) the Saints' offensive line's ability to protect Brees well enough to let the deep stuff develop, especially against a really good Seattle front. I'd love to see the Saints take it, but I see a repeat of week 13, if not so lopsided a final score. I think for the Saints to win, they need to run the ball and turn this into a 17-13 game.
 

RIrooter09

Alvin
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Jul 31, 2008
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Al Zarilla said:
Star Spangled banner one of the better ones lately. 
 
No dog in this hunt, but keep the close, exciting games going.
 
As a Niners fan aren't you rooting for a possible home game next week?
 

Senator Donut

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Apr 21, 2010
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That Barry Switzer crack was actually amusing.

And I have no doubt Jimmy Johnson wrote it, because half of the audience won't get it.


Yeah, I usually hate those Rob Riggle bits, but that Bandwagon.net sketch was very well done. I did have to explain why I laughed so hard at that Switzer zinger.
 

Senator Donut

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Apr 21, 2010
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Kevin Burkhardt and John Lynch:  I had no idea these guys are the Fox B Team
 
Whither Kenny, Moose and Goose?


Fox doesn't really have a "B" team like CBS. Last year it was Brennaman and Billick calling the other divisional game.