Well, its hard to find many people out there who think we can pull of a win in Seattle. It's going to be a tough game, with us being banged up, far from home, and facing a rested opponenent. Still, this team has proved full of guts so far, so here's what I see as some keys to pulling out a win:
No short fields for the Seahawks. It'll be too much to ask of even our defense to stop them repeatedly if they have less than 50 yards to go. This means succesfull third down conversions, no turnovers, and solid special teams play.
Sustained drives on our part. Almost goes without saying, but we have to move the ball more than we did last week. We need to get back to the efficiency we showed in the Dallas and Giants games. Some shots down the field are good, but we've got to grind up some clock and end drives with points.
Keep the Seattle playmakers bottled up. It won't be easy. Alexander is relentless, Hasselback has evolved into a cool-headed leader, and Jurivicious is a veteran who has the savvy to beat us down the middle of the field. We've got to frustrate these guys as much as we can, and for the duration of the game, not just early.
Thoughts on the other games:
I think the Bears have been running their mouths way too much this week, while most other teams in the playoff field have been talking respectfully about their opponents. They have an inexperienced QB, an offense that's inconsistent at best, and won't have any fierce 'Bear weather' behind them this weekend. They're primed to be upset by the Panthers, who took apart the Giants at the visitor-hostile Meadowlands.
The Colts shouldn't have forgotten how to play during their second preseason, and I think the players are going to want to make things easy for Dungy. The Steelers preyed on Bengal mistakes last week - they won't get as many gifts from Indy.
New England - Denver looks to be close. Denver is desparate for a playoff win, having been early doormats the past few years, but the Pats have come together at the right time. Plummer needs to be disciplined to keep the Broncos in the game against the New England D.
