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Divisional Playoffs Saturday 14th January 2005 9:30pm |
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In case you hadn't noticed there is a game going on at Qwest Field this Saturday.
If I was a bookmaker I'd have stopped taking bets and started paying out already. Yes I'm that confident that it will be wet in Seattle this weekend.
Other than that I'm predicting nothing. The bookies have us 9 point favourites, out of the NFL experts that I've heard I guess 80% of them are saying the Seahawks will win. What could I add to that? The Seahawks should win but we might not. That's why we watch sports. That's why some of us take the support of an NFL team half the planet away to an unhealthy level of obsession.
It's a crazy thing, here are the Seahawks exactly where I want them, number 1 seed in the NFC, with a bye week, playing the banged up number 6 seed at home for a place in the Championship game. Seriously, before the season if you could write up a wish list for this weekend that's exactly what you'd put.
You might also add that apart from Ken Hamlin and Jamie Sharper we will go into the game with all of our starters who were starters back in week 1.
Certainly Mike Holmgren's recipe for play off success is a healthy team and a hot quarterback. Stand up Matt Hasselbeck. In Seattle's final four games, he put up the fourth best December quarterback rating in league history (135.5), helped by 10 touchdowns and just one interception while completing 76 percent of his throws. (Source: http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/sited/story/html/227310)
Yet we are Seahawks fans and we know that if there is a way to screw it up we will do it but we also know that this is a team like no other to come out of our relatively short history,. I've said it before, they've convinced me, I Believe but by kick off time it will sure be hard to think straight.
Although I did say at the top that I'm predicting nothing else one thing I know for sure is that at some stage the Seahawks will get screwed by the officials. I really hate the persecution complex when it comes to this type of thing but, Giants, Jets, Cowboys, Redskins. The crazy world of an NFL referee means that they will throw some very dubious flags in the Seahawks direction. We have the evidence. The truth? They can't handle the truth.
If any of this smacks of analysis then I'm sorry. This is the play offs and despite my nod to Matt Hasselbeck above it is really no place for stats or logical thinking. Sometimes it doesn't matter how good you are, it's how you feel and how much you want to win the game. Oh and home field advantage helps.
Of course I would normally provide my usual sharp insightful analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of both teams but I've been drowned under the deluge of opinions and stats. I must admit that it's blown my mind. By the end of it the only thing that made any sense to me was a photo showing that when Joe Gibbs got a Gatorade bath he looked a lot like Grandpa Simpson.
The only statistic that I haven't seen repeated this week is that at a reported worth of $1.3 billion the Washington Redskins are the most valuable team in the NFL. In fact, in sport as a whole, only Manchester United at $1.47 billion are worth more. Not that it matters a bean but I just thought I'd share that one for statistical completeness.
Let me bring this nonsense to a close by saying that it's been one hell of a season. The best ever regular season in Franchise history. Up for grabs home advantage in the NFC Championship game. Now If I'd have said that as Josh Brown's field goal clanged off the Redskins upright in week 3 I'd have been ridiculed and quite possibly certified insane.
What more can I say other than good luck to the Seahawks and remember we're all counting on you. Bring it on!
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