Caution... Optimism ahead...

I have a pattern that I follow after a Seahawks loss. For the first day (usually a Monday), I am inconsolable. The sky is falling, the world is ending, and depression just runs rampant. Then, I look for that light of hope. That single ray of optimism that will light my way until the next weeks game. This week, I found… the schedule.

We know that the hawks are not an elite team the way they’re playing right now. We know that unless something kickstarts them, they are most likely looking at a division title, and an early exit from the playoffs. Some people are worried about the team and it’s record being subpar enough to cause a major rule change, eliminating the automatic playoff bid for division winners. After looking at the schedule for the rest of the regular season, this is not a worry I share.

Week 10 San Francisco at Seattle
Week 12 Seattle at Saint Louis
Week 14 Arizona at Seattle

These three games, division games, should be easy wins. The division is down. The teams, especially the teams below the Hawks, are weak. The only game that should cause any concern is the Arizona game, but that will be in the Q, and should feature either an injured Kurt Warner, or the Timmy combination of Rattay and Hasselbeck. I see 3 wins.

Week 16 Baltimore at Seattle

Our sole remaining game against the AFC. Again, at the Q, and if any of you watched MNF last night, we shouldn’t feel bad about losing 21-0 in Pittsburgh, when Baltimore is down 35 – 0 before the end of the first half. I don’t see Baltimore escaping the Emerald city with a win. That team is bad.

Week 11 Chicago at Seattle
Week 17 Seattle at Atlanta

These should be wins as well. Both of these teams have major issues at quarterback, both are very down in their division, both are more than beatable. Neither of these teams should be in any kind of playoff race, both should be jockeying for draft position. The Chicago game is something of a revenge game for the Hawks as a team, and the Atlanta game is something of a revenge game for the DB coach. Unless Seattle is comatose before the games, I see 2 wins here.

Week 13 Seattle at Philadelphia
Week 15 Seattle at Carolina

These are the two games that make me nervous. These teams are most likely both going to be involved in wild card/division title races. They’re both schizophrenic teams that will play very tough one week, and very poorly the next. Seahawk fans have been conditioned to think that teams like these will for some reason play their best against Seattle. The fact that both games are on the east coast doesn’t help much at all. I’m hoping for 1 win out of these 2 games.

Looking at these teams, considering these factors, hoping for the change in offensive philosophy by the Walrus, I don’t see Seattle doing worse than 11-5. Anything under 10-6 should be a supreme disappointment.

With that kind of streak (7-1 or at worst 6-2) going into the playoffs, with a home game to start… who know what can happen!

The REAL problem with Running Up the Score

Let’s face it. Many teams have run up the score. Even our beloved Hawks have been a little guilty of that at times. We’re always hoping that our team will “Hang 50 on ‘em”. The occasional embarrassment of one’s opponent is not something that is solely practiced in New England. The problem is the image that develops from this practice.

New England has long considered itself to be the class of the NFL. Stories of Tom Brady, Tedy Bruschi, Adam Vinatieri, and even turnaround stories like Corey Dillon’s have led the public to believe that this club was the model organization, a standard for which all other teams should strive. We’d hear occasional stories about Richard Seymour stepping on an opponents helmetless face, Rodney Harrison’s dirty hits, and Asante Samuel’s contract issues, and we’d push them aside. The good seemed to far outweigh the bad in Beantown. And that’s why it’s hard for us to accept this “class act” doing something as bush league as rubbing an opponents face in their shortcomings. It’s difficult to see and believe this dastardly act from the NFL’s Finest.

But we should have seen it coming.

In addition to the above issues, just this season the Patriots have drafted Brandon Meriweather, one of the main culprits in the Miami/Florida International brawl last season. Their best safety, Rodney Harrison, served a 4 game suspension for substance abuse. They signed proven malcontent Randy Moss, completely contradicting the “character first” mindset they claim. Their coach was involved in a video camera scandal, then claimed that it was a mistake, merely a different interpretation of the rules. And now, the Patriots are doing everything in their power to humiliate the rest of the league, as if the final scores will somehow vindicate them. They need to be stopped.

The only problem is that no team seems up to the task.