Seattle vs Steelers Game Guide: Starting Lineups, Matchup Breakdown, Depth Chart

There are a few injuries that will affect the starting lineups and key matchups for the Seattle Seahawks visiting the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Most storylines thus far haven't gone much beyond the obvious...a rematch of Super Bowl XL with Bill Leavy back to officiate the game. Also of note, the Seahawk offense is struggling and the Steelers will be out for blood after being embarrassed by the Baltimore Ravens last week.

A few other stories have talked about Seattle's road issues, particularly when they travel to the East Coast for a 1:00 PM eastern time start...10:00 AM on the Seahawks' clock.

Mostly, nobody is giving the Seahawks a chance to win this game. There is a small chance Seattle can leave Pittsburgh with a win, and the following pages will discuss the matchups that can make that happen.

Seattle Seahawks Starting Offense and Defense

Based upon current injury status, the Seahawks will likely be starting the following players for Sunday's matchup.  

There is a slight possibility Robert Gallery won't play.  If he can't go, James Carpenter would likely roll back to left guard.  If Gallery is in, Carpenter will share duties at right tackle.  He has not transitioned well to the right side this season, and Breno Giacomini has been slightly better.

David Hawthorne is also on the injury report, but will likely be playing.  He is backed up by rookie K.J. Wright following the parting of ways with Lofa Tatupu.  Wright started in place of Hawthorne in San Francisco and played well.

It is tempting to insert Doug Baldwin at starting wide receiver for the Seahawks. He had a very good day against San Francisco, accounting for one of the few bright spots on Seattle's offense.

LT Russell Okung		DE Red Bryant
LG Robert Gallery		NT Brandon Mebane
C Max Unger		DT Alan Branch
RG John Moffitt		DE Chris Clemons
RT Breno Giacomini		OLB Aaron Curry
TE Zach Miller		MLB David Hawthorne
WR Mike Williams		OLB Leroy Hill
WR Ben Obomanu		CB Brandon Browner
QB Tarvaris Jackson		FS Earl Thomas
FB Eddie Williams		SS Kam Chancellor
RB Marshawn Lynch		CB Marcus Trufant

Pittsburgh Steelers Starting Offense and Defense

Much has been said about the aging Steeler defense and if they can still be an elite unit in the NFL. The defending AFC Champions are defending their position, pointing to their Super Bowl appearance last February.

However, it is hard to defend their performance in that game. The offense was slow to get moving, but certainly put them in a position to win the game. It was the defense that couldn't stop the Green Bay Packers.

One of the most vocal analysts has been Warren Sapp. His summation was "I have three things: Old, slow and it's over." He also commented on James Harrison's health and Troy Polamalu's diminished speed, witnessed by surrendering a touchdown to tight end Ed Dickson.

This unit will play against an offense that can make a team look better real fast. Seattle hasn't been able to offer solid pass protection, making the unit more offensive than offense.

POS	STARTER	POS	STARTER
WR	Hines Ward	LDE	Aaron Smith
TE	Heath Miller	NT	Casey Hampton
LT	Jonathan Scott	RDE	Brett Keisel
LG	Chris Kemoeatu (Q)	LOLB	LaMarr Woodley
C	Maurkice Pouncey	LILB	James Farrior
RG	Doug Legursky	RILB	Lawrence Timmons
RT	Marcus Gilbert	ROLB	James Harrison
WR	Mike Wallace	CB	William Gay
QB	Ben Roethlisberger	SS	Troy Polamalu
FB	David Johnson	FS	Ryan Clark
RB	Rashard Mendenhall	CB	Ike Taylor

Seattle Seahawks Reserves

With the current state of injuries in Seattle, deciding the 46-man roster should not be difficult. Seattle has 47 healthy players, assuming Malcolm Smith is not available for duty.

Kris Durham could be the odd man out, as Seattle opted to suit just four wide receivers last week. 

We questioned that move last week. When Ben Obomanu missed time after taking a hit to the helmet, it left Seattle with just three wide receivers on the field. Given that Seattle will be using just two tight ends, Durham needs to be given a roster spot, as he can also contribute on special teams.

Paul McQuistan seems to be the player Seattle should leave off the roster for this game.

POS	Second Team	Third Team
LDE	Raheem Brock
LDT	Clinton McDonald
RDT	Anthony Hargrove
RDE	Anthony Hargrove
OLB1	Malcolm Smith (D)
MLB	K.J. Wright
OLB2	Matt McCoy
LCB	Richard Sherman	Kennard Cox
RCB	Walter Thurmond
SS	Jeron Johnson
FS	Atari Bigby

WR1	Doug Baldwin	Kris Durham
LT	Tyler Polumbus
LG	Paul McQuistan
C	Lemuel Jeanpierre
RG
RT	James Carpenter
TE	Anthony McCoy
WR2	Golden Tate
QB	Charlie Whitehurst
FB
RB	Justin Forsett	Leon Washington

UPDATE:

The Seahawks have placed Dexter Davis on injured reserve and added Kennard Cox to their roster. He will provide some much-needed help on special teams with Michael Robinson and Byron Maxwell missing the game. 

Inactive Players:

QB Josh Portis

WR Sidney Rice

FB Michael Robinson

OT Jarriel King

OT Tyler Polumbus

CB Byron Maxwell

LB Malcolm Smith

Pittsburgh Steelers Reserves

The Steelers are in a little better position with reserves. Jerricho Cotchery will not be available, and the Steelers have their starting corners banged up. At this point it appears both will be able to play on Sunday, but William Gay or Keenan Lewis may need to step in and play a bit more than expected.

Uncertainty at corner will likely lead the Steelers to carry five cornerbacks in this game. Their sixth, Curtis Brown, is probable for this game. 

POS	Second Team	Third Team
WR	Antonio Brown
TE	David Johnson	Weslye Saunders
LT	Trai Essex
LG	Ramon Foster
C	Trai Essex
RG	Trai Essex
RT	Chris Scott
WR	Emmanuel Sanders	Arnaz Battle
QB	Charlie Batch
FB
RB	Isaac Redman	Mewelde Moore
LDE	Ziggy Hood
NT	Chris Hoke	Steve McLendon
RDE	Cameron Heyward
LOLB
LILB	Stevenson Sylvester
RILB	Larry Foote
ROLB	Jason Worilds	Chris Ellis
CB	Keenan Lewis	Curtis Brown
SS	Will Allen
FS	Ryan Mundy
CB	Cortez Allen

Inactive Players:

WR Jerricho Cotchery

QB Dennis Dixon

RB Jonathan Dwyer

OG Chris Kemoeatu

OT Jamon Meredith

OLB Chris Carter

CB Bryant McFadden

Seahawks vs. Steelers: Key Matchups When Seattle Has the Ball

The key for the Seattle Seahawks in this game is fairly simple to pin-point. They simply have to make blocks for Marshawn Lynch and give Tarvaris Jackson a little time to throw the ball. 

The offensive line struggled last week, particularly in the first half. The biggest disappointment was Russell Okung, who is supposed to be the cornerstone of the unit at LT. He gave up a sack last week and also threw in three penalties; he clearly did not look ready to return from another high ankle sprain.

Tarvaris Jackson struggled last week, particularly in the first half. At times he struggled making quick enough decisions, but all too often he was being hit or flushed from the pocket before his receivers could get far enough into their routes to allow him to throw the ball.

Seattle adjusted their offense enough in the second half to give him some quicker throws, but Jackson still seemed hesitant to move outside of the pocket when pressure came. His mobility is his biggest strength, and he'll need to be more prepared to move around this Sunday.

Seattle will likely struggle again on the ground. Lynch has shown tremendous ability to turn three-yard losses into two-yard gains, but that isn't going to be enough in this game. Seattle is also breaking in a new fullback, as they claimed Eddie Williams off the Cleveland Brown's practice squad to replace the injured Michael Robinson. 

The Seahawks have height and speed available to them at the wide receiver and tight end positions. The Steelers can do an adequate job covering the height, but Warren Sapp was on-point with the speed concerns. Seattle needs to suit up Kris Durham and allow him, Golden Tate and Doug Baldwin to challenge the Pittsburgh secondary. 

Seattle's pass blocking might not give him enough time to air the ball out often, but it should help to open things underneath for Zach Miller and Mike Williams. Look for these two to have big days if Seattle is going to move the ball on offense.

The key of this game will be the Steelers ability to pressure Tarvaris Jackson. If they do, it will likely be another long day for the Seahawk offense. But if Seattle can solidify a blocking scheme, they could pull out a huge upset.

The Steelers were quite unhappy with the Ravens and their use of chop blocks last week. Following this game, the Seahawks line may be known as the lumberjacks. They will try to cut down the Steeler line all game long.

Seahawks vs. Steelers: Key Matchups When Pittsburgh Has the Ball

While the Seattle offense will look to establish a passing game, the Steelers need to show they can run the ball. This may not be an easy feat, however.

Seattle was known for giving up a lot of yards last season, both on the ground and through the air. For that reason, most analysts are glossing over their run defense, as the unit seems to be largely unchanged.

However, what they fail to realize is it has been almost impossible to run on Seattle when they have Red Bryant in the game. In his seven starts, Seattle has surrendered 100 yards one time...and not to a single back. Arizona ran for 111 total yards last season, and Seattle is surrendering an average of under 80 yards per game.

Seattle started the Season with a 4-2 record prior to losing Bryant to injury, including wins over San Diego and Chicago. They will look to shut down the Steeler ground game and take their chances with their young secondary going up against the Pittsburgh passing game.

While Ben Roethlisberger will look to rebound from his three-interception performance last week, his wide receivers will have a challenge in front of them. 

Marcus Trufant is healthy and playing accordingly. Brandon Browner is blending size, speed and agility to be a threatening corner as well, and the combination of Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor is one of the best young safety combinations in the NFL.

While Seattle will likely leave each CB on his own side, the potential matchups are intriguing for Seattle. Trufant figures to be able to cover Hines Ward, and Mike Wallace won't have his normal mathcup advantage with a bigger Browner.

Seattle has a young defense, and they might not be ready to hang with the Pittsburgh passing attack just yet. But they do figure to make their presence known while making it difficult for the Steelers to cover the 14.5 point spread. 

Then again, these young players won't be intimidated and will expect to win.

Seattle Seahawks vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Injury Report

Seattle continues to have injury issues affecting their team. They will still be without their big free-agent signing, Sidney Rice. Robert Gallery is expected to play on Sunday.

The Steelers are in a little better position, but the following does not include players that are out for the season. Willie Colon is a significant loss for the team; Marcus Gilbert will be tested by an agile Chris Clemons in the ground game and several Seahawk pass-rushers.

Seattle Seahawks:

Dexter Davis	DE	Hip	Did Not Participate In Practice	Placed on IR
Jarriel King	T	Ankle	Did Not Participate In Practice	Out
Byron Maxwell	CB	Ankle	Did Not Participate In Practice	Out
Michael Robinson	RB	Ankle	Did Not Participate In Practice	Out
Sidney Rice	WR	Shoulder	Limited Participation in Practice	Out
Malcolm Smith	LB	Hamstring	Did Not Participate In Practice	Doubtful
Robert Gallery	G	Knee	Full Participation in Practice	Questionable
David Hawthorne	LB	Knee	Full Participation in Practice	Probable

Pittsburgh Steelers:

Jerricho Cotchery	WR	Hamstring	Did Not Participate In Practice	Out
Chris Kemoeatu	G	Knee	Limited Participation in Practice	Questionable
Bryant McFadden	CB	Hamstring	Limited Participation in Practice	Questionable
Curtis Brown	CB	Ankle	Full Participation in Practice	Probable