The Seahawks Must Not Overlook Match-Up With Jaguars
By Ben Rosener
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After last week’s emotional, amazing, fantastic, jubilant-to-watch trouncing of the 49ers, the Seahawks will take on the win-less, and somewhat hapless Jacksonville Jaguars.
Generally a team in the Seahawks’ position may be tipped to lose against the hapless team. After all, they have a big game in Houston the following week, and the team might feel they can take a little bit of a break after coming off said win.
They won’t take a break, mainly because that seems out of character, but also because this is not a win-less team to be over looked. This is the Jacksonville Jaguars we’re talking about.
Laugh all you want, but if there was ever a chance for the Jags to steal a game, this would be the one. Gus Bradley is the Jags’ new coach. You’ll remember he was the defensive coordinator in Seattle last season. He knows this Seahawks team. He knows how they tick. He probably knows how to beat them, or at least how to game-plan to beat them. The question is, does he have enough talent on his team to execute his game plan?
Bradley isn’t the only former Seahawks employee in Jacksonville. His offensive coordinator, Jedd Fisch, was the Seahawks QB coach in 2010, Pete Carroll’s first year on the job. Former Hawks’ assistant Luke Butkus is also on the Jags’ payroll as an offensive line coach.
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The former Seahawks defensive maestro has also plucked a few of his former players off of waivers to join him in Florida. Winston Guy and Will Blackmon, two of the casualties of Seattle’s ridiculous depth at cornerback, are both Jaguars, as is former practice squad linebacker Kyle Knox. The most notable former Seahawk is probably Justin Forsett. One of the few bright spots of the last year of the Holmgren era and the Jim Mora year, the former Cal Bear could receive a high number of snaps with Maurice Jones-Drew’s status in doubt.
Jacksonville probably isn’t going to challenge the Seahawks in Seattle on Sunday, but the Seahawks have to be careful. The Jaguars’ staff know their tendencies and will look to exploit them. Jacksonville’s familiarity with everything about the Seahawks will give them a fighting chance, but when you’re talking about playing Seattle at home, a fighting chance just isn’t close to good enough.