Here we are in week 17 of the NFL season and the Seattle Seahawks are one win away from posting more than 10 wins for the first time since 2005 when the team won 13 games and went onto play in the Super Bowl.

This can be a statement game before the playoffs!

If I’m being realistic about this weekend I am not going to expect any miracles, the Cardinals are just bad and Kurt Warner didn’t decide to suit up for this game against the 49ers so no one should be anticipating an NFC West Championship but this is the NFL and you really never know.

Regardless of what the Seahawks are playing for on Sunday the team has been doing nothing over the last month but making statements and the display we saw on Sunday was a statement in all caps and multiple exclamation marks.

This Sunday if the team can do the same thing I can guarantee there isn’t going to be any teams out there happy or excited about playing Seattle in the first round.

As for this Sunday here is who I will be watching for on Sunday.

1) Red Bryant

Stopping the run will be another key to a big Seahawks win once again on Sunday and Steven Jackson will be motivated as this will likely be his last game as a St. Louis Rams. He is also just 10 yards short of rushing for 1,000 yards in his eighth consecutive season. Bryant as he always is will be key in controlling the line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the ball.

Even when he isn’t the one making the tackles he is usually the one drawing double teams from the offensive line allowing players like Brandon Mebane and the line backers to get in on the running back before he causes too much trouble.

I’m sure that Jackson will get his 1,000 yard season because keeping him under 10 yards might be a little too much to ask for but keeping Jackson in check is not.

2) Doug Baldwin

It occurred to me as I watched Baldwin remind Seahawk fans of his existence on Sunday against the 49ers that we could be looking at a potential triple threat at receiver moving into the post season.

Whoever the Seahawks draw in the playoffs will obviously be watching film from this weekend and it would be huge for Baldwin to remind that there are more receivers on this team then Sidney Rice and Golden Tate.

Imagine a team that has to prepare to stop Baldwin, Tate and Rice at receiver; Marshawn Lynch at running back and not to mention the zone read/scrambling capabilities of Russell Wilson.

Even when he isn’t the one making the tackles he is usually the one drawing double teams

There is only so much a team can prepare for when it comes to game planning and adding Baldwin back into that mix could the tipping point when it comes time for playoffs.

3) Matt Flynn

This is an odd player to throw into the mix and I know that him getting into the game is not important.

I wouldn’t be surprised or the least bit upset if he doesn’t get in but should the game become lob sided or should the 49ers pull away from the Cardinals I think we should take a moment to consider the importance of reminding teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders etc. that Matt Flynn is a valuable trading asset during the off season.

Looking ahead I think the Seahawks will have no choice but to trade him and this game could be the difference in upping the price on Flynn to add another team to this already strong team.

4) Richard Sherman

Everyone take a quick minute and exhale that we have our all-pro (but not pro bowl) corner-back after winning his appeal.

Let also take this moment to reflect on another failed suspension by Roger Goodell, better luck next year Mr. Commissioner….. Sherman having a monster game would be another good sign for this Seahawks defense and it would only scare other teams more knowing that he here to stay and his partner in crime Brandon Browner will be back next week only making this team scarier and more dangerous.

5) Russell Wilson

Could we really talk about the importance of a player in an upcoming Seahawks game without talking about Wilson?

Every-time this kid takes the field he only gets more and more dangerous and winning 11 games would help his rookie of the year chances, all though I really don’t think he will be able to swing the east coast bias in his favor enough to over take RGIII.

That being said this is another opportunity for Wilson to prove to a team that he has lost too already this season that he is a different player now and he will be a force in the division for years to come.

Don’t expect any miracle when it comes to winning the division Seahawk fans but expect either the Redskins or Cowboys to be less then thrilled to have the Seattle Seahawks rolling into town for the Wild Card game.

There always seems to be one Wild Card team to make a run and at this point the Seahawks are the obvious choice.

I don’t know what to expect as the playoffs start but the Seahawk playoff buzz is back in the city of Seattle and there is no better place to be then in the Northwest for a Seahawks playoff run.

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We are 14 games into the regular season and the Seattle Seahawks appear to be peaking at the perfect time. Within a matter of weeks this Seahawks offense, which has been steadily improving throughout the season, has become one of the hot topics across the NFL.

This past Sunday the Seahawks dropped the Bills 50-17 just one week after rolling over the Arizona Cardinals 58-0 making them just the third team in NFL history to score 50 points in back to back weeks. Who would have thought this could happen when our defense was keeping us in games?

I know I can speak for all Seahawk fans when I say where has this been?

There was a magical flip of the switch when the Seahawks got the ball inside their own five yard line needing a touchdown with under two minutes left against the Bears in week 13.

Not only did Russell Wilson and the Seahawks drive down the field for the Touchdown once but did it again in overtime with an 80 yard drive. Since then punter Jon Ryan has probably lost 15 pounds from the exercise bike on the sideline.

The one thing that really  jumps off the stat sheet is the  running game. The zone read has been causing all kinds of problems for the defenses and can you blame them when the other option in the zone read is Marshawn Lynch. 

Wilson has also been running on broken pass plays more as well.

Against the Bills, Wilson had all kinds of room to run when all his receivers were covered which led to two of the Seahawks first half touchdowns.

Against the Bills, Wilson had all kinds of room to run

Offenses like the Bills and the Cardinals who rely heavily on the run game have no chance of catching up to a team scoring like Seattle.

The National media has been giving Wilson most of the credit and rightly so. He has grown up in a hurry and it shows on the scoreboard. However I think we need to also hand a lot of credit to Tom Cable and the offensive line.

Did you see those hole’s that Lynch was running through?

Giving a running back like Lynch that much room is the sign of a dangerous offense.

Lynch has broken the 100 yard mark each of the last two weeks on just 11 and 10 carries respectively. This is good for a couple reasons. First and most importantly we are able to rest Lynch during the second half which could be key given that he has had some back issues recently.

Secondly we are giving Robert Turbin a chance to develop and he has looked like the real deal so far.

On any given down the Seahawks can line up with three options, a standard drop back and pass, a standard hand off or a Russell Wilson run. This is incredibly hard to game plan for, not to mention that doesn’t even include Wilson’s ability to make something from nothing when the play breaks down.

Jim Harbaugh will have his work cut out for him. As will Pete Carroll who has to prepare for a similar quarterback in Colin Kaepernick.

It’s going to be a very different game then we saw on Thursday night football in October but we should be prepared for a nail biter.

No, I don’t think we are going to score 50 points on the best defense in the NFL but I have confidence we can put more points on the board this time.

The Seahawks need just one win to get in the post season with two game left. But I think we all agree that better then clinching a playoff berth this weekend would be avoiding the Niners celebrating the NFC West title in Seattle and who knows maybe we motivated the Cardinals enough to take down the 49ers in week 17.

This Division race is far from over.

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2012 has been a memorable season for the Seattle Seahawks. An 8-5 record with three games remaining with big wins against Dallas, Green Bay, New England, and Chicago has Hawk fans thinking playoffs. Now the question that remains is not how we will remember the regular season but rather what Seahawks will make us remember the regular season?

Specifically, what Seahawks will be heading to the Pro Bowl this January?

This season,it is only appropriate to start talking about the Seahawks’ success with the defense, so let’s begin there.

Defensive Stars

Earl Thomas is a shoe-in for the Pro Bowl and likely for all-pro honors. Last season every member of the secondary was a pro-bowler with the exception of Richard Sherman. This season, Sherman has become the league’s premier shutdown corner, drawing the assignment of the opposition’s top receiver week-in and week-out.

Likely the only thing that will stand in the way of Sherman and Brandon Browner is the negative press caused by the PED suspensions. If either are left off the teams, you can bet that will be the reason.

Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner have been quite the duo in the secondary.

Thomas’ numbers are down from last year but a lot of what Thomas does will not be seen on a stat sheet and is only evident from watching him on a weekly basis. His partner, Kam Chancellor, also has a very good chance of making another trip to the Pro Bowl.

He has built a reputation for some of the most thunderous hits around the NFL.

Chancellor is also on pace to set career highs in several defensive categories.

We will see at least two members of the secondary at the pro bowl and as many as all four. However, don’t be surprised if that’s all we see on the defensive side of the ball.

Seattle has a strong set of young linebackers who I believe have some Pro Bowls in their future, but I don’t think this will be the year. Same story with the defensive line. But if one or multiple of these players do get in they will be fully deserving.

Offensive Stars

As far as the pro bowlers on the offensive side of the ball, look to the running backs once again to represent the Seahawks in January.

Marshawn Lynch will be there as he trails only Adrian Peterson in total rushing yards and is already having a career season. Michael Robinson has a very good chance of being there as well, being Lynch’s lead blocker while also having some success as a receiver out of the backfield.

The popular vote in the Seattle area will be for Russell Wilson to make it onto the Pro Bowl roster, but don’t hold your breath.

He has been one of the most exciting players to watch in recent history for the Seahawks but it would be a long shot for him to get on  this roster with players like Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Eli Manning and not to mention RGIII out there.

The only other player I can see getting on the NFC roster is Jon Ryan as the punter as well as a possibility of Leon Washington at the kick return spot, which is also a long shot with some younger return men in the league today.

When the results come out at the end of the season I would expect any where from 4- 8 Seahawk representatives. Anything less would be an insult to how the Seahawks have performed this year and, with so many rising stars on this roster, I look forward to being well represented for years to come.

There are two more things I hope for when it comes to this Pro Bowl. The first is that I would love if the game itself didn’t make me fall asleep like it has in the last few years; and the other is that I hope the Seahawks are en route to New Orleans for the Super Bowl instead of preparing for the Pro Bowl.

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After 14 grueling weeks of NFL football the Seahawks are on the cusp of returning to the post season, and this time not as the laughing stock of the NFL like in 2010.

With 8 wins the Seahawks will turn in their best regular season since 2007 at the very least but after the success of the first 13 games finishing 8-8 would be a huge disappointment.

If the playoffs started this week the Seattle would be preparing to play the Giants at the Meadowlands in a wildcard game this weekend. But with three games to play and there are a variety of outcomes that I will be watching for as week 15 plays out.

There are a few things to note as far as tie breakers go with the Seahawks and they are both good and bad.

With wins against Green Bay*, Chicago, Minnesota and Dallas the Seahawks would have the upper hand on these teams. However the Seahawks have a 1-3 divisional record and if they need help from a tie breaker on any teams they haven’t played we could run into an issue.

There are still  two more divisional games remaining but if we are able to win those final two games within the NFC West I’m not too worried about needing a tie breaker.

Who are the teams that I will be watching closely going forward?

The first one that jumps out to me is Washington who have a few things going for them. They are arguably the hottest team in the league right now coming off huge wins against the Giants and the Ravens and are just one game back of a wild card spot.

Also, the Redskins are 3-1 in the division which would jump them over Seattle in the event of a tie.

St. Louis is an intriguing team to watch out for as well. The one thing that might end the Ram’s late season run at the playoffs is that tie against the 49ers a few weeks ago. One more loss and they would only have 7 losses but would only be able to win 8 games.

With Russell Wilson leading the way the Seahawks are on the cusp of returning to the post season.

They also have three tough games against the Vikings, Tampa Bay and of course Seattle to end the year.

That being said they are undefeated in the division and no one should be sleeping on the Rams just yet.

Dallas and Minnesota are just one game back but as mentioned before losses against the Seahawks theoretically puts Seattle two games clear of them.

Other then the wildcard picture the NFC West is still  up for grabs but the Seahawks will need some help this week. The 49ers are sitting pretty at 9-3-1 with the two seed in the NFC West.

However they will travel to Foxboro this Sunday to take on the Patriots who looked nothing short of scary against Houston on Monday.

A loss in New England combined with a Seahawks win on the road would even the teams up in the win column, setting up an epic prime time battle on the 23rd.

To take this optimism one step further if the Seahawks can win out they would finish at 11-5 and with the tie Breaker on Green Bay the two seed is not out of reach.

There is a big game between the Bears and Packers this week which may theoretically end that dream but at this point is still within reason.

Another race to watch will be the NFC East.

The Giants have a one game lead on the Redskins and the Cowboys but with games against Atlanta, Baltimore and Philadelphia and the Redskins holding the current tie breaker with a 4-3 division record that could go down to the wire.

All of this being said the Seahawks have three games remaining and only one against a team with a winning record. They control their own destiny in the playoffs.

I have said in past articles 9-7 may be good enough which still may be true, however I would sleep a little better at 10-6.

I will be glued to my TV all day Sunday to see how these scenarios play out this week.

If you are  Seahawks fan you will want to be cheering for Cleveland over Washington and Pittsburgh over Dallas (I know that hurts) Minnesota plays St. Louis and who ever loses that we can eliminate from our radar.

Should be a great finish to a dramatic season. Here’s to hoping we are still talking about the 2012 Seahawks in 2013.

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It’s amazing to me how rivalries come and go in the NFC West. Back in 2004 when the Seattle Seahawks finally rose to the top of the NFC West, there was no team more hated in Seattle than the St. Louis Rams. Today’s Seahawks fans look past a game with the Rams without a second thought.

In 2011 and 2012 most people will tell you that the biggest NFC West rival for the Seattle Seahawks is the San Francisco 49ers; and they are probably right. The 49ers are clearly the team to beat and that makes them hated across the division; not to mention bad blood remaining between Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh from their Pac-10 days.

That being said, and considering the Seahawks face an important home game this weekend against Arizona, I’d like to take a deeper look at what the Seahawks-Cardinal rivalry has become.

History

The biggest rivals in the division always seem to be the former champion against the new champion. The exclusion to this principle is teams linked by history (i.e historically Packers-Bears will always be rivals, even when both teams are 4-12).

In 2004 the Seahawks and the Rams played heated rival games. The Rams, who were the perennial powerhouse in this division for years, were finally over taken by the Seahawks for the division title. The Rams and the Seahawks built a strong rivalry when the Seahawks became the new powerhouse within the division. Shortly thereafter the Rams began to get old, stars left, stars retired, and eventually they were an afterthought.

The Cardinals have become a unique rival for the Seattle Seahawks over the past few years.

Bring on the Cardinals

Enter the Arizona Cardinals. First there was the draft pick in Larry Fitzgerald, a player that has receiver capabilities unmatched in the NFL and has proven that, when he has a good QB, he’s cannot be covered. Then came the signing of a legend whose career was suppose to be over. Kurt Warner was brought in as a mentor QB for young guys like Matt Leinart. The problem was that Warner couldn’t help but outplay Leinart. These two key additions, matched with the new head coach Ken Wisenhunt, made the Cardinals relevant, much like the combination of Matt Hasselbeck, Shaun Alexander and Mike Holmgren had done for Seattle.

Seattle dominated the mid 2000′s from ’04-’07 and the Cardinals countered with dominance over the Seahawks in ’08 and ’09. However, since then the two teams have played back-and-forth games with a variety of outcomes.

The last three meetings between the teams have been decided by an average of 3.3 points

Over the past 5 seasons the Seahawks have struggled when you look at their record. In head-to-head matchups during those years the Seahawks are 3-6. It is worth mentioning, however, that four of those losses came in the ’08 and ’09 seasons when the Cardinals had their short lived run as one of the NFL’s best. Since then the Seahawks are 3-2 vs. the Cardinals.

The Cardinals and Seahawks also have something that the Rams and 49ers do not have in the past 10 years, a super bowl appearance where they both met the same opponent with the same outcome.

These teams have not had any playoff battles in recent history, they have not had fighting issues on the field, and the two head coaches do not have any animosity towards one another. What connects these two teams is almost the similarity between them. Both teams have long histories of losing with some recent success and a Super Bowl appearance. Both teams have lost their Super Bowl teams and have since rebuilt and appear to be headed in the right direction.

The way I look at it is, the Cardinals are a quarterback away from being relevant again and when that happens expect this rivalry to take the next step and don’t be surprised when an early December match up between Arizona and Seattle is getting national attention.

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In his first season with the Hawks Russell Wilson has shown ability way beyond his years. At first glance he is a QB with a strong accurate arm who has scrambling ability.

However now that we have had seen Wilson for three quarters of a season we see that he has the poise and leadership of a veteran not to mention an unmatched work ethic to compliment is natural football abilities.

With just over three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter Wilson led the offense onto the field with 97 yards between them and a game winning touchdown (or so they thought).

He came into the huddle and gave the other ten guys in the huddle a memorable speech about the season being on the line with that drive and boy did that respond.

With the confidence and leadership showed by the man leading the offense the Seahawks drove all the way down the field on one of the premier defenses in the NFL to take a three point lead with 24 seconds remaining.

Whats Up D?

Unfortunately the Seahawks defense has struggled on the road to close out games when they had the chance and Sunday was no different.  Jay Cutler threw for 233 yards on Sunday, 165 of those yards coming from his favorite target Brandon Marshall.

You would expect the Seahawks to find a way to eliminate Marshall in some way to prevent a big gain.

However some how he managed to out-duel the Seahawks defensive backs for the ball and then escape for extra yardage putting the Bears in field goal range after a 56 yard completion.

What did happen on this play?

Pete Carroll insists that all the defensive backs were told and attempted to bat the ball down but Marshall just made a great play on the ball. I can’t deny that it was a  great play made by a great receiver but I disagree with Carroll’s interpretation of how he felt his defensive backs played it.

After looking at the replay you can see Earl Thomas playing the deepest making sure that Marshall didn’t get by him (which he did).

You also see Richard Sherman going up and clearly trying to intercept the ball instead of knocking it down (which he didn’t).

Luckily for the defense they had both quarterbacks on the roster making big plays to save the game for them. The first being Matt Flynn who made his first impact with the team at the coin toss proving once and for all that tails never fails.

All joking aside winning the coin toss is something that has eluded the Seahawks for years. The last time I can confirm the Seahawks won a coin toss for overtime was during the 2003 playoffs and those of you who have followed the Seahawks long enough know what I’m referring so we’ll just leave it at that.

Matt Flynn made his first impact with the team Sunday. Nice coin toss call buddy!

Since then the only overtime game the Seahawks  have, until this past Sunday, was in 2005 when the Seahawks benefited from multiple missed field goals by the New York Giants on their way to another big win at home.

Fortunate

The Seahawks took advantage of their fortune and kept the Bears offense planted to the sideline for good.  Seattle used a heavy dose of Marshawn Lynch and Wilson on, who used his legs on multiple key third down conversions as the Seahawks drove 80 yards down the field to win the game.

Doug Baldwin who hasn’t seen the field as much this season due to injury made a huge third down completion tip toeing the sideline and Sidney Rice ended the game with a catch in which he took a huge hit crossing the goal line.

Rice appeared to be ok leaving the field under his own power and later tweeted he had passed all the tests and would be good to go for next weeks NFC West showdown with the Cardinals.

Wilson continues to turn more and more heads leading the team to another key victory as the post season draws nearer. With four games remaining the Seahawks will play three games at home as well as three game against teams with a worse record then the hawks.

Looking at the teams behind Seattle in the playoff race I will say that it is possible they could get into the post season with a 9-7, though unlikely. A 10-6 record could get them in depending on how the other teams do.

An 11-5 record (or winning out) would definitely get them in and could have them winning the NFC West.

Running the table would put them at 11-5 which would have a chance of winning the division all though that’s an outside chance at best.

The Seahawks have gotten through the gauntlet of their road schedule and now they are right where they need to be.

In a position to make the post season with a home loaded schedule remaining, if nothing else it will be a memorable finish.

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Last Sunday the Seattle Seahawks lost their fifth road game to move their road record to 1-5 on the season. In five road losses this season the Seahawks have not lost by more than 7 points and have lost those games by an average of 4.8 points. It looks like the East coast curse is still present.

 It can be hard to find the positives in losing heart breakers on a regular basis but it is important to keep in mind the continued progression of Russell Wilson this season and his performance on Sunday may have been his best game yet.

On Sunday Wilson had an incredibly productive game completing 21 of 27 of his passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns. However even more impressive then the passing yards and efficiency was the fact the he did not turn the ball over was probably the most impressive statistic.

Last week Wilson played well against the Jets but had some ball security problems which lead to the Jets only score.  Against the Dolphins on Sunday he showed that he had learned from his mistakes in the previous game and made sure he protected the football.

The highlight of the game for Wilson was his 16 consecutive completions he made during the game.

With the continued development of Wilson it may be time to open up the passing game Darrell.

This record not only put him one short of tying the franchise record set by hall of famer Warren Moon but were the most consecutive completions made by a rookie quarterback in the 93 year history of the National Football League.

On top of his accomplishments threw the air on Sunday Wilson was also the most efficient runner for the Seahawks on Sunday. He ran the ball five times for 38 yards which is a 7.6 yard average.

This is only 8 yards less then Marshawn Lynch managed on 14 fewer carries.

There was a lot of criticism on the part of offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell on the late play calling.  The Seahawks struggled to run the ball the whole game but continued to run on first down leaving themselves with longer second and third down situations.

In the future the team might consider putting the ball in Wilson’s hand when the run game struggles. However this season the Seahawks have stuck with the run throughout the game even when it struggles and often it comes around in the second half.

Another thing to keep in mind is that there is a good chance the Seahawks could play the last four games in the regular season without Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman.

If the Seahawks want to make the post season they may need to get more aggressive on offense to put more points on the board.

It is important to keep a balanced attack with the run and pass in order to keep both sides of the offense open.

However with the continued development of Wilson it may be time to open the passing game up more as other NFL teams prepare to shutdown Lynch as the key to stopping the Seahawks offense.

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This weekend the Seattle Seahawks travel to Miami to play in the East Coast, a place where they have a well-publicized issue playing; a problem that the team has had since before Mike Holmgren retired.

Since the 2008 season, the Seahawks are 1-6 when playing in the East Coast. Records can sometimes be misleading when trying to decide how a team actually performed—this is not one of those times.

Over those seven games, the Seahawks have not only been massively outplayed, but also massively outscored. The team has been outscored by a combined 206-96.

Luckily for Seahawks fans, the only coach who has been able to win a game out east since 2008 is none other than Pete Carroll, who took the Seahawks to New York last year, where they knocked off the eventual Super Bowl champion Giants 36-25.

Marshawn Lynch will be facing one of the best running defenses in the NFL this weekend.

That being said, I have never been too concerned about the “East Coast Curse.”  The Seahawks are well known for their strength at home in front of the 12^thman, but road games are what have plagued the team ever since the Super Bowl appearance in the 2005 season.  This includes the West Coast, East Coast, Midwest and any other area of the country that isn’t the Pacific Northwest.

Another thing to keep in mind when talking about their recent record against teams in the East is who these teams were. Out of those six losses, all teams but one—the Buffalo Bills—went on to post a winning record.

The 7-9 Bills were one of the hottest team in the NFL at the beginning of that season, as they jumped out to a 5-1 record before falling back down to earth.

It can also be argued that the issue of playing on the East Coast has more to do with the time the game is played opposed to the location of the game. Four of the six losses have come at 1:00 p.m. ET, which would feel like 10:00 a.m. to Seattle.

This will be the third time this season that Seattle will play during that time slot, and so far, they are 0-2 with losses in Detroit and St.Louis.

All of these game notes and stats are just meaningless statistics and cop-out reasons to explain losses to teams that the Seahawks should be able to beat. At 4-6, the Dolphins are much better than their record indicates, but the Seahawks match up with them very well on paper.

The Seahawks have one of the most elite secondaries going up against a struggling rookie quarterback in Ryan Tannehill. They will also be sending Marshawn Lynch, one of the best running backs in the NFL, up against one of the league’s top running defenses.

At 6-4 the Seahawks find themselves controlling their own playoff destiny. With a tight NFC race, 9-7 likely won’t be good enough to make the postseason.

The Seahawks will need all the wins they can get down the stretch, and not even the “East Coast Curse” will be a good enough reason to explain a loss to the Dolphins.

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You’ve heard all about the Jets, they are consistently the lead story on Sports Center every night and have one of the most infamous backup quarterbacks in NFL history and perhaps one of the most outspoken head coaches in sports.

Things have not gone their way this year. They have lost their best defensive player Derrelle Revis as well as arguably their best offensive player Santionio Holmes to injury early in the season.

At 3-5 most people are making this into the easiest team the Seattle Seahawks have played all season.

Not so fast Seahawk fans, you are looking at two teams that have a lot of similarities which could make for very close game. After the first nine game of the season we wouldn’t expect anything less.

At 5-4 the Seahawks control their own playoff destiny with seven games remaining it all starts with on Sunday against the Jets at Century Link Field.

Here’s what I’ll be looking for.

Continued Success at Home

The Seahawks are 4-0 at home for the first time since 2005 when the Seahawks went to the Superbowl. The Jets on the other hand have only had one victory on the road this year.

The Seahawks are 4-0 in Seattle for the first time since 2005

The Seahawks have shown signs of improvement on the road but it is obvious that they are a far superior team at home. Look for the Seahawks to come out of the tunnel ready to go in front of the 12^th man this weekend.

Moving the Ball on the Ground

The Jets and the Seahawks statistically are close together in many areas. However the one area that the Seahawks may be able to exploit the Jets is on the ground.

Coming into week 10 the Jets have the 29^th ranked rushing defense and will go up against a hungry Marshawn Lynch who is only 119 yards away from going over 1,000 yards for the season.

The Seahawks come into the game with the seventh ranked rushing offense and you can bet that a heavy dose of beast mode is in the game plan against the Jets.

The running game will be key to the Seahawks overall offensive success on Sunday especially when it comes to opening up the passing game for Russell Wilson. Even with the loss of Revis the Jets still have a solid secondary who will be very hard to move the ball against without a sustained rushing attack.

Finding the End Zone in the Red Zone Offense

One thing that the Seahawks struggled with early in the season was scoring touchdowns inside of their opponents’ 20 yard line.

Too often they were settling for field goals leaving valuable points on the field. So far the Seahawks are scoring touchdowns 44.44% of the time they are in the red zone which currently puts them 25^th in the NFL.

We have been seeing steps in the right direction the past three games where they have been at 60%. Last week against the Vikings the Seahawks scored three crucial red zone touchdowns leading to a 30-20 victory.

On the other side of the football the Seahawks have been one of the best defenses in limiting the damage opposing team offenses make in the red zone.

The Seahawk defense has limited the opposition to scoring touchdowns only 42.31% of the time they get inside the 20 yard line, which ranks them eight in the NFL.

The Jets on the other hand find themselves in the bottom half of the rankings in both red zone offense and defense where they sit 20^th and 27^th respectively.

Defensive Challenges

Last week the Seahawks defense struggled to control Adrian Peterson, all though it should be noted that for the most part he was kept in check in the second half.

The Jets don’t have a high powered running back like Peterson but still have the 14th best rushing attack in the NFL and are more than capable.

It is critical that the Seahawks defense keeps the Jets running backs in check.

It is critical that the Seahawks defense keeps the Jets running backs in check. The jets have three listed on the depth chart, all of whom have seen playing time this season and have had some success.

Something else to look out for is Tim Tebow who may get some playing time at running back this week. It still remains to be seen whether this is just decoy comment by Rex Ryan or if he actually intends to do this but regardless it is still something to be on the lookout for.

The Seahawks secondary will be matched up against a wide receiver group who without Holmes are relatively unknown. However they shouldn’t this group who has shown that they can have success through the air shouldn’t be over looked.

It will be business as usual for the “legion of boom” who will once again be asked to make life hard for a young quarterback.

Its also important to mention that Pete Carroll, who coached Mark Sanchez at USC, might know more about Sanchez then most people do in the NFL.

The Seahawks defense have the capabilities to shutdown the Jets rushing and passing which is why I wouldn’t be surprised to see some unique Tebow packages.

Rex Ryan Vs. Rookie Quarterbacks

Say what you will about the Jets head coach but he is one of the best defensive minds in the game today.

Ryan loves to make life difficult on quarterbacks, especially young rookie quarterbacks.

Wilson is expected to be under heavy pressure throughout the game. This will be an interesting test not only for Wilson but for the young offensive line.

Wilson has been progressing every week and his elusiveness and athleticism make him a handful for any defense.

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Last year the Seattle Seahawks sent three out of the four members of the “Legion of Boom” to the Pro Bowl proving to the league they had one of the up and coming secondary’s in the league.

This year they have done one better adding the fourth and final member into an elite category.

All Pro’s?

At the mid way point of the season ESPN Insider John Clayton had Richard Sherman, the one member of the Seahawks Secondary not on the NFC Pro Bowl team last year, on his All-Pro team.

Earl Thomas, who was the only Seahawk to be voted in as a Starter at the Pro Bowl last year joined Sherman on this list. We also shouldn’t look past the other two players Kam Chancellor and Brandon Browner who have also had solid years so far.

Last Sunday’s Vikings game did two things for the Seahawks defensive rankings. Bumped their rushing defense out of the top 10 when Adrian Peterson ran all over the Seahawks highly ranked rushing attack, but it also jumped the pass defense into the top 10 when the Legion of Boom held Christian Ponder to 63 yards passing.

One thing that has been consistent for the Seahawks defense this year has been their ability to shut down the oppositions leading receiver which is mostly a testament to Richard Sherman who has had the job of lining up against the top receiver.

The Legion of Boom is quickly becoming the most feared secondary in NFL

The Seahawks opposition only managed to have a receiver gain more than 100 yards twice this season. Once was Wes Welker who is not your typical deep threat receiver but relies more on yards after catch. Browner also put a hit on Welker during the game that will make him think twice about catching a football against this defense.

The other was Titus Young who went for 100 yards while Sherman managed to hold Calvin Johnson to 46 yards on three catches during the game.

Quarterbacks are averaging just over 223 yards against this Seahawks secondary since the season opening loss to the Cardinals in week one. In fact they have kept five quarter backs under that number this season including Aaron Rodgers, Sam Bradford, Cam Newton, Alex Smith and Ponder.

Key Plays At Key Times

Even when teams have found a way to move the ball through the air this elite secondary has found a way to make some key turnovers.

The best example of this was in week six when Tom Brady and the Patriots were able to gain 395 yards through the air.

However two interceptions made by non other then the two soon to be all-pro’s Thomas and Sherman turned the game around.

To put this accomplishment in perspective, outside of his two interception performance Brady has thrown only one interception this season.

It seems that in the last few weeks the Seahawks offense has taken big steps and have began producing.

If the defense and the offense can come together at the same time we could be looking at a dangerous team down the stretch and the defense will continue to look to the Legion of Boom for the defensive presence.

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