[NOboy]

In what we all can expect to be a very close match up, it often comes down to a few key phases of the game. In a game that is no doubt going to be emotionally charged, we can look at one statistic that is very often overlooked - penalties. They make or break drives, put teams into and out of field goal range and can cripple any kind of momentum that a team may have going for them. During the regular season the Falcons averaged 3.4 penalties/game, good for an average of 25.9 yds/game - far and away the best in both categories. Seattle averaged 6.7 penalties/game, good for 54.1 yds/game - putting them in the bottom third of the league. It's clear that Mike Smith's Falcons very seldom shoots themselves in the foot..

with this game being at home, i can see the falcons receivers drawing some flags from the corners. if yall watched the skins game, there were a LOT of extra curricular activity going on with them. atlanta's opponents playing in the dome get an average of 6.5 penalties for 54.1 yards. that cannot be good for seattle that likes to play after the whistle

edit: with the way that the safeties like to blow up receivers (chancellor on VD) that WILL be called in the dome guaranteed! i can see upwards of 100 yards of penalties especially with some PI's called when they get beat deep

[New England Pats]

Couldn't agree more with your point about Seattle's desire to get into the 'after the whistle' stuff. While it's a good thing to be emotionally invested in the game and play with that level of intensity, I'm not sure if Seattle is a team with enough level headed players - especially on the defensive side - to be able to control their emotions for the whole 60 minutes. Where close games only serve to heighten emotions, it has got to be a significant advantage for the Falcons come Sunday.

[NOboy]

People think Sherman will get under their skin? Roddy has a big mouth himself. Hopefully Roddy catches a couple balls on Sherman and talk smack enticing Sherman to get some personal foul calls for some cheap shots.

[SEAHAWKHARRY]

Its funny Seattle never ever gets respect..I know you have to earn it and after we beat Atlanta...we still wont get any SF OR GB will wipe us up....remember WILDCARD teams do Win SUPERBOWLS we need our A+ Game...I think they will give it there young hungry and can beat ATL

[NOboy]

Its funny Seattle never ever gets respect..I know you have to earn it and after we beat Atlanta...we still wont get any SF OR GB will wipe us up....remember WILDCARD teams do Win SUPERBOWLS we need our A+ Game...I think they will give it there young hungry and can beat ATL

Is this a serious statement that Seattle doesn't get respect? Everyone has them to go into Atlanta to win lol. Very analyst has them pulling the upset. No respect.... Hahahah I expect that from a homer

[slacker00]

Is this a serious statement that Seattle doesn't get respect? Everyone has them to go into Atlanta to win lol. Very analyst has them pulling the upset. No respect.... Hahahah I expect that from a homer

I was thinking the same thing. The #1 seed is hosting and only laying 3, ATL is the team getting no respect.

[nvrlose37]

Don't look past the loss of Hauschka here. Seahawks relied on his leg a lot and now rusty Longwell will be kicking. It may not matter so much in a dome but it definitely needs to be recognized.

I too think ATL takes care of business, Seahawks were beatable last week and had one drive in the second half against WSH D. That isn't going to get the job done here.

[rockhardfister]

On the hunt for Seahawks this weekend

[rockhardfister]

I love it! 7 out of 9 pick the Hawks. Keep up the negative media campaign. Prisco is usually spot on when comes to the Falcons. Best part is that even after we leave Seattle in the dust, we still get to be a home dog next week and in the Superbowl even though it will be played on familiar turf in NO. Only NFC team that worries me is the Packers but we may not have to worry about them. Couldnt ask for a better scenario.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/feature...straight-up/19

[slacker00]

I love it! 7 out of 9 pick the Hawks. Keep up the negative media campaign. Prisco is usually spot on when comes to the Falcons. Best part is that even after we leave Seattle in the dust, we still get to be a home dog next week and in the Superbowl even though it will be played on familiar turf in NO. Only NFC team that worries me is the Packers but we may not have to worry about them. Couldnt ask for a better scenario.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/feature...straight-up/19

Do those guys pick ATS? If not, then *yawn*.

Nothing is more boring than these sportwriter hacks who don't even figure the odds. If they picked totals, I'd be curious.


Also, did you notice that the "random pick generator" was beating all of them. lol

[rockhardfister]

Do those guys pick ATS? If not, then *yawn*.

Nothing is more boring than these sportwriter hacks who don't even figure the odds. If they picked totals, I'd be curious.


Also, did you notice that the "random pick generator" was beating all of them. lol

Nope not against the spread. I think some people backing Seattle are buying a half a point but most are taking the Seahawks ML. Thats what I would do.

[oddtodd]

NOboy. I like that you have provided a lot of good information/insights, obviously you have done a lot of research on these teams and know a great deal about both squads.

Having said that, there is too much nonsense in here to even get into all of it. First off, you go through everyone of Seattle's close games and write a sentence negating their positive accomplishments and trumping up the importance of their negative ones. I could write equivalently glowing one sentence reviews on each of those games. On the other hand, every Atlanta game is described either exceptionally, or when such a summary would be impossible, with at worst a "couldn't get it done".

How badly can you say Seattle was beaten by the double move last week when the skins couldn't even muster 100 yds? Every team is succeptible to the double move!! its an effective play that is hard to pull off. It takes time to develop. You need a lot of protection, and probably an added level of deception like a pump fake or play action. If this is seattle's biggest fear, a play that might occur twice in the game, than they're doing great.

"with this game being at home, i can see the falcons receivers drawing some flags from the corners. if yall watched the skins game, there were a LOT of extra curricular activity going on with them."
Well, that game with all the 'extra curriculars' also happened on the road. And all that was called on the *DBs was one illegal contact on Browner.

LOL!!!! at their win last week? coming back from 14 down against a team at home who had won 7 straight? 2 of which were without the much vaunted RG3. RG3 looked bad last week sure, but no worse than he did in the seasonfinale against the cowboys. Atleast until late in the third when the momentum had already swung. Even if it is tainted by that fact, the seahawks players don't think that. They will go into this game with confidence, and hold onto it throughout the contest. Going down early will inspire rather than discourage after the performance they just had.

What I think is the most important aspect of this game is how the Hawks can deal with Atlanta's screen game. This is the most consistent aspect of their offense, with Ryan completing about 90% of the passes he attempts to targets behind line of scrimmage, with a league best QBR. If seattle can control this without their safeties having to get too involved, then roddy/julio won't be seeing the one on ones deep that they like to exploit. The physicality and superior tackling of browner/sherman are very well suited to stop this sort of attack, and I think this will make the ATL offensive very inconsistent with their absolute inability to run the ball. Gonzo will be a huge factor if ATL can overcome this.

*** Even with all the things I've said that are going for the Seahawks. I am not under estimating the difficulty seattle will have in pulling of their gameplan after having to travel and play in the ET and inside a dome. Their ideal conditions would be the exact opposite.