Honest question from a Seahawk fan

[NastyBoy]

One more tidbit:

" Since all four games this weekend are rematches from the regular season, here's an interesting note: Since 2000, there have been eight instances when teams that faced each other once in the regular season played a rematch in the playoffs. In those games, the teams that won the regular-season meetings are a combined 8-0 in the playoff rematch"

That's an incredible stat.

[Poteet]

I keep hearing the same analysis of the game as everyone else. Very few people (including the so-called media experts) have anything new to add, except some slant on a statistic or two. I'm sure most of the people here feel the same way. But I have one thing to contribute that might be noteworthy.

First, here are a few assumptions:

1) This game will NOT be easy for the Skins because Seattle is solid, rested, and is playing at home. It will not be easy for Seattle because the Skins D won't allow it.

2) S. Alexander is excellent, but the Skins run defense is even better than last time we played so he'll probably get about 90 yards.

3) The Redskins will try and shorten the game and it will probably come down to the 4th quarter and who wants it more.

So here's my contribution...

The Seahawks do have an improved defense... however, they are built more on speed, not power and size.

So I think they will contain Portis for most of the game. However, as long as the Skins D plays as we all expect, the Hawks D-line will get worn down by the 4th quarter. Portis will grind it out (and so will Ladell and perhaps even Sellers a few times). I'd prefer 3rd and inches to a 1st down because it will mean more wear and tear for Seattle's defensive line. Our offense will focus on hammering the ball up the middle and trying to wear down Seattle. This game will be won or lost for the Redskins in the trenches. Seattle's improved defense can be negated by constant pounding. Seattle's quickness won't be able to outlast the Skins' power up front.

As far as the the poster's question, Seattle already has my respect. They are a very good team, regardless of the outcome. If they win the game, they certainly will get even more respect from all of us because nobody's been able to beat the Skins the past 6 weeks.

[James Moss]

ALL: Good discussion. Very civil.

Now then; respect? HA! We are the Rodney Dangerfield’s of the NFL.

Sports analysts are paid to offer their expert opinions. With some of them; being paid to give an opinion inflates their egos to a point where they take things a little too seriously—some even act as though they know more than a HOF coach with 3 SB rings.

When we went 3-0, the experts that had picked us to fail became very defensive. Rather than analyzing our team in a professional manner it became a matter of saving face and so we became ‘the worst 3-0 team in the NFL.’ How’s that for respect?

Sitting at 5-6 everything was just great. Oh yeah! Order had been restored and the chuckleheads on ESPN felt vindicated. Once again, it was safe to disrespect the Redskins. Winning 5 straight and making the playoffs proves them all wrong, and it wounds their egos. The longer we stay around the longer they are reminded of how wrong they were.

The TB win really angered them and now they just wish we would go away. Unfortunately for them, wishful thinking will never replace reality. And the reality is that this team is for real. A 6 game winning streak, 3 of which were on the road, including 1 road win against the number 1 defense has this team feeling very confident. They expect to win. In order for you to win, your team is going to have to create doubt in our teams mind. That won’t be easy because right now there is no doubt in our locker room. It’s become a cliché, but it’s true; we are battle tested.

Should be a good game. :applause:

[BigRay]

Well, isn't that something a Seahawk fan talking about respect. You guys are getting all the respect a little too much I think the Seahawks is a solid team but one of the elite that needs to be seen. You want to talk about a team not getting any respect turn on all the sport shows listen to all the so-call experts how they laugh when talking about the Skins in this game and you want respect .

[xsinner]

The majority of the posters on this board are claiming the Seahawks are pretenders, paper champions, losers, etc. I really can't fault you for being loyal to your team, but I'm curious what the Seahawks would have to do in the game against the Redskins for each of you to give them some respect and acknowledge they are a good team?

Simply beat the Skins legitimately and soundly without any controversies.

[WilberMarshall]

The Skins should be the ones asking for respect.

How can a team-A who is yet to beat TEAM-b in 5 attempts, lost to them again this year, never won a playoff game yet be favored by 9.5, be asking for respect?

What more do YOU want? To be favored by 21?

The game will come down to 3rd downs... the team that converts most of its 3rd down wins...

Ps. I watched the week 4 game again (just yesterday)... that game was not even close contrary to the score... to demand respect!

We should be the ones demanding and will be taking it on Saturday.

[atxskin]

Hey,I don't think the majority of us are considering the seahawks antything less than a number 1 seed,least of all our coaching staff.The focus of the entire franchise is to be mentally focused for an extremely worthy opponent.

[Hail_to_Kessel]

Have you been to both stadiums when the fans were ratcheting up the noise? I have no idea which stadium is louder, but Qwest field has a design more conducive to directing noise to the field.

Where you at the Cowboys game this year? Were you at the Bears game this year? Where you at the Giants game this year?

90 thousand people screaming and yelling. It was so loud the next day my ears were still ringing. No doubt your stadium is loud, but i find it hard to believe it's louder then FedEx due to the fact that it fits more people in it then Qwest Field.

[redman]

I already respect the Seahawks. 13-3 means you took care of business, regardless of strength of schedule.

That said, the Seahawks' schedule was, statistically, the weakest schedule in the league. It ranks 32nd out of 32 teams. So the 13-3 isn't a perfect reflection of the Seahawks' capabilities.

I think that much of the anti-Seahawks sentiment seen on this board in the past week -- aside from the fact that we're playing the Seahawks in a few days -- has been more a reaction to the talking heads and trolls who have essentially been saying that the Redskins really shouldn't even bother showing up. It's a response to the ridiculousness of being 9 point underdogs when we've got the hottest win streak in the league.

The Redskins have a chip on their shoulders because they were counted out by many, and that chip has understandably created a chip on the shoulders of us, their fans.

So the Seahawks have respect, at least from me, and not just because I live a few miles from Seattle now. The Seahawks have been one of my B-teams since I was a kid. A team that I'll root for if it doesn't affect the Redskins negatively (the Packers, Steelers, and Pats are a few others). That said, I do think the Redskins will beat the Seahawks on Saturday, because I think we want it more. The Seahawks have not faced any real adversity this year. The Redskins have battled back from the brink, doing something that many people said they weren't capable of doing. Saturday's game presents their biggest "you can't" yet.

They've risen to the challenge for each of the past six weeks, and I see no reason why they shouldn't rise to the challenge this week, given the team's heart and its leadership.

This post is spot-on for me. :applause:

[m_was54321]

Slingin' Hash--

When I was a kid at RFK, the stadium literally "rocked," moved under my feet. We're not there at Qwest yet, but we're definitely louder than your FedEx-version of pseudo-RFK.

Let's be honest- Seattle is not quite at the same level as DC when it comes to football.

Every seat at FedEx is held by season ticket holders and has one of if not the longest sell-out streaks in the NFL.

Although you may be a season ticket holder- there aren't enough people like you in Seattle to fill the stadium with season ticket holders.

Fact- there were still tickets available to the public for Sturday's game (yes- they sold out in 10 min).

If Seattle's stadium is louder (doubt it, but can't say for sure because I haven't been to Seattle's) it is only because of the design of the stadium (acoustics). Not because the fans are more "diehard".

Fact- FedEx holds 90,000. Qwest holds 67,000. Do you think 67,000 could ever be louder than 90,000?

Summary- in general (not including you) Seattle is not as serious about it's football as DC.

[Twodogs]

TwoDogs--

How can anyone grow up a Redskin fan and switch to another team? This is worse than Darth Vader.

Geographical logistics, and for years until most recently, one team was AFC and the other NFC, making it quite easy.

[jb4348]

Slingin' Hash--

I think we beat you, but I don't think we cover the spread: Gibbs.

Nonetheless, we beat you.

Come hold my hand. Please bring me to the thread where the local faithful "recognize" that even Gibbs aura will still take a bit of monumental magic: in order for one lacking-major-SB-talent team to be able to overcome another-team-who-may-lack-SB-capability in the first, real round of the playoffs..at home.

When I was a kid at RFK, the stadium literally "rocked," moved under my feet. We're not there at Qwest yet, but we're definitely louder than your FedEx-version of pseudo-RFK.

Other than a late six game streak, your team does not have a whole lot to hang its hat on.....other than its history....and Gibbs.

If Portis and Moss are shut down----and I predict no more than one touchdown between them---who else wins this game? Cooley? Brunell? Hall? Taylor? you've got to be spittin' me....

Gibbs is your only chance.

A Gibbs' coached Hawks team would run roughshod over the Colts.

I guess I am confused are you a redskins fan since you were little and got rocked at RFK. Or for some reason you jumped on the seahawks bandwagon which I never have known one to exist. Dont hate on the skins cant wait to see your comments after Sat. night

[Ellis]

The majority of the posters on this board are claiming the Seahawks are pretenders, paper champions, losers, etc. I really can't fault you for being loyal to your team, but I'm curious what the Seahawks would have to do in the game against the Redskins for each of you to give them some respect and acknowledge they are a good team?

The only way they'll get my respect is if they can walk all over our defense. Minus the Giants game earlier in the season, we've only allowed a max of 7 points by a team who defeated us.

If you guys can beat us by at least 10 or more points, I'll have respect.

[ChiefPowhatan17]

If you win, but it's not gonna happen. Skins will win.:logo::logo::logo:

[JoeKnowsBest]

The majority of the posters on this board are claiming the Seahawks are pretenders, paper champions, losers, etc. I really can't fault you for being loyal to your team, but I'm curious what the Seahawks would have to do in the game against the Redskins for each of you to give them some respect and acknowledge they are a good team?

The media loves you guys. They all say you will win because you have the better offense. I don't know what you're trying to say.

Most of us think the Seahawks area good team too. They aren't the number one seed for nothing. And to give you your respect, If your kicker didn't miss that field goal in week 4, we wouldn't even be able to have this discussion right now. Of coarse you could also say if Nick didn't get his kick blocked...

Bottom line: You got a great offense. We got a great defense. Wich is better?

We got more to prove than you do, and we love our Redskins, and we love the fact that we're here at this point, and we believe we can get to the championship game. It just so happans that your favorite team is in the way so we'll look for any weakness or reasoning we can find.

In the end the only thing that matters is what the team does, and who has the blessing.

Our you verses us discussions matter not.

[tsunami001]

The majority of the posters on this board are claiming the Seahawks are pretenders, paper champions, losers, etc. I really can't fault you for being loyal to your team, but I'm curious what the Seahawks would have to do in the game against the Redskins for each of you to give them some respect and acknowledge they are a good team?

Simple...just win.

[wsniper1]

If our A-offense shows up, I think we win by a TD. If not you are in for a dogfight. This team won't lay down and let you steamroll them, they have worked too hard to go out like that.

[PiGsPoRTiS]

Cooley will most definitely be a factor in this game..... another huge scoring threat would have to be Mike Sellars

[PiGsPoRTiS]

And Fed-Ex gets loud, very loud.... How can it not with 90,000 + people?

[mzaretsk]

i don't know if this has been mentioned in another thread somewhere, but after some analysis i came up with the following:

if you take out the 8 games vs div opponents, hou, and ten (weak part of schedule), you are left with seattle being just above average offensively.

                 |  Pass% PYPG YPP | YPR RYPG | TDPG YPPL YPG  PPG
Sea Offense 8gms | 59.32%  219 7.4 | 4.0  118 |  3.0  5.7 337 22.0
Leage Ave Offns  | 59.38%  218 6.8 | 4.0  113 |  2.1  5.5 331 20.6

also, this is how skins measure up offensively and defensively:

                 |  Pass% PYPG YPP | YPR RYPG | TDPG YPPL YPG  PPG
Was Offense      | 57.68%  209 6.9 | 4.2  136 |  2.5  5.5 346 22.4
Was Defense      | 54.49%  193 5.8 | 4.1  105 |  1.9  5.0 298 18.3

something about these numbers gives me a good feeling about saturday. :point2sky

p.s. props to hawks fan who said that alexander is being overrated and hassel is underrated by skins fans - right on the spot.

[SkinsTerps26]

"The Redskins have a chip on their shoulders because they were counted out by many, and that chip has understandably created a chip on the shoulders of us, their fans." This statement by SeattleSkinsFan makes perfect sense to me. Seattle talks all about not having respect, yet a 6 game winning streak after being 5-6 with 2 playoff calibur teams in your division ahead of you (dallas and giants) doesn't count for jack? Respect is opiniated. And in my opinion yes you are overrated because you have the weakest schedule in the league and ended up with the best record because of it. I also don't think seattle is a bad team. I just don't think they are the best team in the NFC until they show me they can beat some really good teams.

[SeattleSkinsFan]

I think teams like ours and say New England are peaking right now. In fact in my opinion the scariest team out there, and you may agree is the Brady led Patriots...

Agreed. The Pats looked razor-sharp last weekend.

My cube-mate at work is a Broncos fan, and he is not looking forward to Saturday.

[themurf]

Daklu - guys like you are always welcome around here. Just tell your troll buddies in Washington state to stay home.

[SeattleSkinsFan]

Regarding noise at Qwest, I was talking to a co-worker the other day who has been to several games there, and his unsolicited comment about stadium noise was, "It's not very loud."

Guess I'll find out first-hand in two days. I've been to FedEx when it's really rocking, so I'll have a benchmark to work with.

[Daklu]

Thanks to all for addressing the question posed in the original post.

The Redskins shouldn't even be here because they had the 11th hardest schedule and were at 5-6.... Then won 6 in a row against pretty good teams and then beat Tampa at Home. And beat you this year. Not last year or the year before but this year.

Seattle: Never wins a playoff game and is favored by 9.

I believe thats enough respect right there...

Well, isn't that something a Seahawk fan talking about respect. You guys are getting all the respect a little too much I think the Seahawks is a solid team but one of the elite that needs to be seen. You want to talk about a team not getting any respect turn on all the sport shows listen to all the so-call experts how they laugh when talking about the Skins in this game and you want respect .

The Skins should be the ones asking for respect.

How can a team-A who is yet to beat TEAM-b in 5 attempts, lost to them again this year, never won a playoff game yet be favored by 9.5, be asking for respect?

What more do YOU want? To be favored by 21?

The media loves you guys. They all say you will win because you have the better offense. I don't know what you're trying to say.

I'm specifically referring to respect from Redskins fans, not from the media. I could care less about media opinion, they all simply jump on the bandwagon of whichever team they draw out of their magic hat.

And the betting line, IMO, has very little to do with respect.

Let's not get all wacky here.

Daklu, I admire your objectivity and ability to have a rational discussion about the upcoming game. Having a civil debate or discussion like this is fun and helps fill the void between games.

I'll give you Dallas. I'll give you the Giants.

No chance h - e - double hockey sticks do you get the credit for beating a winning team with the Colts though.

C'mon my friend, for a guy who's clearly exhibited such objectivity, I have to believe that even YOU know that one was a stretch.

Yeah, I know. I was purposely meeting the literal meaning of the condition simply because he didn't clarify it better. I would never claim the win against the Colts counts for anything.

Originally Posted by SkinsFTW

One more tidbit:

" Since all four games this weekend are rematches from the regular season, here's an interesting note: Since 2000, there have been eight instances when teams that faced each other once in the regular season played a rematch in the playoffs. In those games, the teams that won the regular-season meetings are a combined 8-0 in the playoff rematch"

It's also interesting to note that last season, when all four Divisional playoff games were rematches won by the team that won in the regular season, the home team won all the game. (I hope I'm remembering what I looked up yesterday.) Statistic never lie, but you can sure change the look of the picture by selectively picking those you look at.

When we went 3-0, the experts that had picked us to fail became very defensive. Rather than analyzing our team in a professional manner it became a matter of saving face and so we became ‘the worst 3-0 team in the NFL.’ How’s that for respect?

Hey, I agree the media isn't giving the Skins any respect. The lopsided opinions put the Hawks in a bad spot. If we win, it's because we are supposed to. If we lose, well... we're soft.

Where you at the Cowboys game this year? Were you at the Bears game this year? Where you at the Giants game this year?

90 thousand people screaming and yelling. It was so loud the next day my ears were still ringing.

Nope, never been to either stadium as a matter of fact. I wasn't claiming Qwest is louder than FedEx, I was just wondering if the original poster was basing his opinion on a real world comparison or simply because "no place could be louder than FedEx."

No doubt your stadium is loud, but i find it hard to believe it's louder then FedEx due to the fact that it fits more people in it then Qwest Field.

The Kingdome didn't fit all that many people in it either, yet the league implemented a crowd noise rule because of Seattle fans there. There's more to on field volume than the number of people in the stands.

Let's be honest- Seattle is not quite at the same level as DC when it comes to football.

Probably true. We only have 30 years of history with football compared to the Redskins, what... 70 years? Also, I believe Seattle has a smaller (nearby) population to draw its fan base from. And finally, I suspect Seattle people are more 'outdoorsy' (in general) than people from DC, pulling people away from being die-hard Seahawk fans.

Summary- in general (not including you) Seattle is not as serious about it's football as DC.

Wrong! I think most, if not all, of the people on this board are much more serious about football than I am. I learned long ago not to get too emotionally tied to the team; it simply became too painful for me.

I freely admit I am a casual fan... I follow Seattle teams much more closely when they are doing well. Hell, the first Seahawk game I've actually sat down and watched in the past 5+ years was the Cowboys game this year. (There was nothing better on the tube.) The ending of that game also got me more excited about a Hawk game then I've been in well over 10 years.

I don't consider myself a fair weather fan (though some probably do) because I don't rip on our teams when they are not doing well; I simply don't pay too much attention to them. I also don't consider myself a band-wagon fan (though some probably do) because I don't pitch my tent with whatever teams happens to be doing well in a given year. *shrug*

Daklu - guys like you are always welcome around here. Just tell your troll buddies in Washington state to stay home.

Thanks! But... I really don't have any troll buddies in Washington state, I've posted more here than I have on the Hawks website.