| The fantasy football playoffs are finished, the NFL
football playoffs are just about to begin. They promise to be one of the best
in years. The Seattle Seahawks are the only playoff team with less than 10 wins
in the regular season, in fact they even have a losing record at 7-9. The New
England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears have a
first round bye and can watch 4 exciting games that will determine their
opponents in the next playoff round.
Here’s an attempt to predict the outcomes of this
weekend’s playoff games and what it means for the next round. Only one game
seems straightforward and worth putting a wager on. All the other games have
the potential to go either way:
New Orleans Saints (11-5) @ Seattle Seahawks (7-9)
In an article from last year http://www.leroyhill56.com/blog/post-134.html
I predicted that the Seahawks could push for a playoff berth with Pete Carroll.
They did so by becoming the first NFL team to reach the playoffs with a losing
record. This is however where it’s going to end for Seattle.
Regardless of whom the Seahawks are going to start,
Charlie Whitehurst or Matt Hasselbeck, the New Orleans Saints have the far
better quarterback with Drew Brees. Brees’ 22 interceptions may have been
uncharacteristic for him but he is still beating out Whitehurst and Hasselbeck
in every statistic that matters. He finished the season with a QB Rating of
90.9 and completed 68.1% of his passes for 4620 yards. He orchestrated the 3rd
best pass offense in the league, as opposed to the Seahawks who are ranked 20th.
When it comes to the running game you would find both
teams near the bottom. The Saints have the 28th best running game in
the league, averaging 94.9 yards per game, and the Seahawks are ranked 2nd
worst with 89.0 yards.
The New Orleans Saints placed their leading rushers
Christopher Ivory and Pierre Thomas on IR, which makes Reggie Bush, who missed
half of the season due to injury, the likely starter and Julius Jones his
backup.
The Seahawks were luckier with their running backs in
terms of injury but neither Marshawn Lynch nor Justin Forsett were exactly
productive. Although I prefer a running back duo that shares the workload and
can wear a defense down I don’t think the Seahawks are in a position to do
this.
Often praised for their passing game, the New Orleans
Saints can defend the pass pretty well also. New Orleans’ pass defense is
ranked 4th in league, whereas the Seahawks are once again near the
bottom at 27th. New Orleans’ entire backfield is always a potential
threat to intercept passes and SS Roman Harper is often used for blitzing.
The Seahawks have two very dangerous safeties with Lawyer
Milloy and Earl Thomas, who intercepted 5 passes in the regular season, one of
those occurred when both sides met in New Orleans in September.
Both teams struggle at defending against the run. The New
Orleans Saints rank 16th, allowing 112.3 yards per game. The
Seahawks allow 118.9 yards per game which puts them at 21st in the run defense
rankings.
DT Sedrick Ellis and RE Will Smith are New Orleans’
defensive linemen who will put pressure on a quarterback. The heart of the
defense though is MLB Jonathan Vilma who can defend the run as well as the pass
and has the ability to get to the quarterback and create some pressure.
Seattle’s LE Chris Clemons finished the regular season with
a career best 11 sacks and will put the most pressure on Drew Brees. The
linebackers are flexible and can stop the run as well as putting additional
pressure on the quarterback through blitzing.
The New Orleans Saints will throw a lot but establishing the
run as well as stopping the run will be the key to success, and both are
achievable.
The Seattle Seahawks will have their work cut out. The
Saints are better in every aspect of the game. They need to put pressure on
Drew Brees and limit his pass options. Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett need
to step up their game and generate a potent running game.
Prediction: New Orleans Saints 24 Seattle Seahawks 17
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