Seattle Seahawks Dust Off the Welcome Mat For Tennessee Titans
By Rob Shumate
Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Seahawks make their way back to Seattle this week with their proverbial tails between their legs after giving a win to the Indianapolis Colts. I still maintain that Seattle was the better team last week, but sometimes balls bounce, whistle’s blow and lapses in judgment create windows of opportunity and the Colts pounced on those chances. Now they can take refuge in the confines of CenturyLink Field with 67,000 of their closest friends screaming their lungs out. And let’s not be selfish, how about we invite another team over to play? Thanks Tennessee, for accepting our invitation.
Seattle should be primed for a win this week after narrowly losing their first game of the season last week. They take on a Titans team that has shown marked improvement since last season but also are nursing crucial injuries and still trying to figure out their identity.
The Titans, unfortunately, have lost their starting QB for the next several weeks. In all honesty, I would have preferred for the Seahawks to play them at full strength, I think it is a better test for the team. Also it would have been nice for local boy made good, Jake Locker, to get his chance to finally show his NFL skills to his hometown. Enter Ryan Fitzpatrick, 3 year starter in Buffalo with a penchant for putting up decent yardage but also holds onto the ball like a hot potato and throws it like a wounded duck at times, giving defenses plenty of opportunity to change the game. Pin those ears back boys and let’s create some opportunities.
Tennessee was expecting their star running back to help carry the load for the team, but Chris Johnson has not put on the performance many were anticipating. Right now he is averaging a bit over 3 yards-a-carry, but with an explosive player you never know when he might bust out of the doldrums and bring his ‘A’ game. I anticipate Seattle to clog the middle a lot to keep him frustrated, which will force Fitzpatrick to be a factor.
Defensive and offensive rankings have Tennessee at 11 and 15 overall, respectively. I am confident that our defense can neutralize their offense. The concern really lies on the offensive side of the ball. It is not that we can’t put up numbers, we can. We just haven’t been consistent enough to know what we are getting from week to week. Mr. Lynch had a very good game against Indianapolis, but our passing game has been very schizophrenic. We can place some of the blame on the injury bug for creating a new game of what I like to call “Who is protecting Russell Wilson this week?” I know that our offense is better than what it has shown so far and this is the week to prove that we can sustain offensive prowess for 30 minutes (give or take a few minutes).
Despite the odds makers giving a 14.5 point spread in Seattle’s favor, 26% of Tennessee fans polled predict a Titans win (as of 11 Oct 3pm ET on the Titan Sized website). Well good on you, you should be hopeful that your team will win…just don’t do it against my beloved Seahawks, a week after a heartbreaking loss, with an improving offensive line, a running back that is hitting his stride and 67,000 rabid ‘friends’ ready to sacrifice their vocal cords for a win. Go Hawks!