2011 NFL Playoffs: 10 Reasons Why the Seahawks Can Beat the Saints
Who here has played the Madden video game franchise before? If you have, then you've most likely seen the computer simulate a season where a division winner made a run in the playoffs even though they finished the year 7-9 or 6-10. You would sit there telling yourself "This is a video game! It could never happen in real life."
Well following last nights' win against the St. Louis Rams, the Seattle Seahawks had the dubious honor of being the only team to win a division with a sub .500 record. The team with fifth worst point differential in the league will be hosting the defending champion New Orleans Saints on Saturday afternoon, in a game that most people believe will be a laugher.
After all, can you really blame people for believing this game is destined to be a 38-10 wipeout? The Seahawks have uncertainty at quarterback, the worst rushing attack in the NFL, and already lost to the Saints earlier this year by 15 points.
However, I am here to tell you that the Seahawks can surprise everyone and defeat the Saints and be the first sub. 500 team to play in a divisional playoff.
1) Home Field Advantage
1 of 10
Perhaps the biggest single advantage is the Seahawks, at its loudest, have perhaps the best home field crowd in the NFL. During their hayday of the mid to late 2000's, Qwest Field was an extremely intimidating place to play in, and had easily the most false starts for an away team in the league.
Viewers could see the young Rams wattle under the pressure and passion of this crowd last night, and its something the Saints need to be weary of. They had the opportunity to enjoy this last year when the Cardinals and Vikings came to town in the 2010 playoffs.
While the Saints have better talent, it will be put to the test with over 70,000 fans screaming at them.
2) Uncertainty at Quarterback
2 of 10
Usually, it's a big disadvantage to not know who will be throwing you the ball in six days; an issue only magnified more when you consider it's the playoffs.
But after seeing Charlie Whitehurst hold his own in a big time game last night has to give the team confidence in him for now and in the future. Optimally, the team would go with Matt Hasselbeck, the best quarterback in team history. His injuries though cast doubt to his potential availability.
While this would normally be a big problem for the Seahawks, it could also turn out to help them. The New Orleans Saints will have to game plan for not one, but two quarterbacks now, since no one knows who will be at the helm on Saturday afternoon.
In a sport that now has so much focus on watching film, team meetings and pre-game planning, this is just another wrinkle for the road team.
3) Injuries To The Saints
3 of 10
Losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers really wasn't a problem for the Saints, seeing that they had already clinched a playoff spot. However, for a team that didn't even play its starters the entire game, the Saints racked up a ton of injuries, one of which to one of the best safeties in the NFL.
Malcolm Jenkins injured his knee and is set to undergo an MRI on Monday and there are concerns damage may have been done to his knee cap. Jenkins has been heralded as the defensive MVP, so his loss could be crushing.
The Saints also have nagging injuries to some of their best players including Marques Colston, Pierre Thomas, Chris Ivory, Anthony Hargrove and David Thomas.
With various injuries to almost all of their skill positions, it could make life quite tough for the Saints.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
4) Seattle's Improved Running Game
4 of 10
One of the biggest weaknesses of the Seahawks this year has been their running game, that even after last night ranks second to last in the league with just 89 yards per game. However, they managed to gash an pretty strong Rams defense last night running for 141 yards on 35 carries.
If the Seahawks are going to win, they'll need this rushing attack to keep the men in blue on the field and Drew Brees and his offense off of it.
5) Drew Brees' Lack Of Consistency
5 of 10
Drew Brees is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league who will be going to yet another Pro Bowl. There's no doubt that without Drew Brees, the Saints would be watching the playoffs and not traveling to Seattle this week to defend their crown. He threw for over 4600 yards and 33 touchdowns after all!
While the stats he has compiled are extremely impressive, Brees has been uncharacteristically careless with the ball in 2010. While the struggles of Eli Manning and his 25 interceptions are well documented, most people don't discuss the fact that Brees was second in the NFL with 22.
A quarterback with less pedigree than Brees would probably be booed by his fans. But I guess winning a Super Bowl will earn you a little leeway with the fans.
While Brees could easily torch the Seahawks for 400 yards and four touchdowns, the Seahawks have the chance to play against a Brees who is having an off year by his standards. Using their great home crowd, if the Seahawks could pick off at least two passes, they could very well have a shot to win.
6) Leon Washington's Return Game
6 of 10
There is perhaps no bigger momentum changer in football than a big kick or punt return. A team like the Chicago Bears feasts off of what Devin Hester provides them. The Seahawks has also benefited from this with Leon Washington ranking third in the league in kick return yards with three touchdowns to boot. While not as dominant at punt returns, he's still averaged over 11 yards including one return for over 80.
With a Saints team that can score a lot of points, Washington may well have the chance to return four or five kicks. If he can provide the Seahawks with short fields throughout the game, he could help turn the tide in his teams favor.
7) Saints Traveling To The West
7 of 10
One constant that occurs in this league is that the team that travels across the country to play game struggles, especially if the team is from the west playing a 1 pm game on the east coast.
While the Saints will travel west, the fact remains they'll have to fly to the northernmost NFL city to play a playoff game, a fact that should not be ignored. The Saints have played two games on the west cost this year and looked very beatable in both. The first came in week two when they barely beat the San Francisco 49'ers 25-22 with a game winning field goal. This was also the game in which Reggie Bush broke his leg
The second game was an embarrassing 30-20 loss to the lowly Cardinals who actually won without scoring a single offensive touchdown. Brees threw three interceptions and the entire team looked off.
Given this track record, people need to not discount he fact the Saints will again be playing in the west, where they've played two of their worst games this year.
8) No Pressure For The Seahawks
8 of 10
With the NFL universe laughing at them and their 7-9 record, none of them giving the Seahawks a chance on Saturday, you get the feeling Seattle will be going into the game feeling very little pressure. So what if they lose by four touchdowns? Everyone expects it.
Playing with nothing to lose, or playing with house money or whatever metaphor you like to use can often be a powerful weapon in sports. It leads to wacky plays the opposition is not prepared for. It leads to going for it on 4th-and-2 when a more conservative approach would call for a punt.
The the lack of pressure also puts a bigger weight on the shoulders of the team that's supposed to be drilling the underdog.
This is something that should not be underestimated heading into this game.
9) The Saints One Dimensional Offense
9 of 10
While many people will talk about the fact the Seahawks struggled mightily on the ground this year, the Saints were not barn burners themselves. The Saints were 28th in the league in rushing this year with just a shade under 95 yards per game.
It could well be argued this was attributed to the fact they had a number of injuries at the running back position with Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush both going down. Their third string rookie Chris Ivory even got hurt leading them to sign former Seahawk Julius Jones.
The fact remains though that no matter who's carried the ball the Saints have not been very successful at it. If the Seahawks can keep the Saints at being a one dimensional team, with three of their weapons banged up, the Seahawks could perhaps succeed at neutralizing Brees.
10) It's The NFL. ANYTHING Can Happen!
10 of 10
One of the many reasons millions of fans watch the NFL is because of its unpredictability. Anything can and often will happen in an NFL season. A team like Kansas City that looked so woeful in 2009, won its division this year and looks primed to compete for years to come.
Yet a team like the Minnesota Vikings who came agonizingly close to the Super Bowl last year, imploded just like their stadium this year. Yet that same Vikings team with a third string quarterback and facing their third straight screwed up game, beat an Eagles team that had everything to play for.
You can even look at the Saints this year. The same team that has beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons has also lost to the Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns and narrowly beat the Carolina Panthers.
The Saints might be ten point favorites heading into Saturday. But as they always say, this is why they play the game. The Seahawks have shown at times they can beat good teams like they did against he San Diego Chargers and Chicago Bears. They also are 5-3 at home this season.
Will they beat the Saints? The odds certainly say no, but as the dust settles on this game, it should shock no one if the Seahawks are booking flights for Atlanta or Chicago next week.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")