Position-by-Position Preview
Quarterback: Over the last month, no QB has been more impressive than Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck. His completion percentage during that stretch is 80% and he’s tossed 9 TD passes against 1 interception. It doesn’t get much better than that. On the flipside, Mark Brunell’s knee injury has really hampered his mobility and the accuracy on his passes. Those are the two things that have been Brunell’s calling card.
EDGE: Seahawks
Running Back: You’d be hard-pressed to find a better RB than Clinton Portis. He’s a tough inside runner with the speed to take every carry to the end zone. Unfortunately for Washington, he’s been losing feeling in his arms and last week was limited to just 15 carries. Ladell Betts will see plenty of action in this game, and he’s another tough inside runner, though he’s not nearly as dynamic as Portis. Mike Sellers is a good pass-catching threat out of the backfield.
You may have heard of Seattle’s RB. He’s the current MVP of the NFL, Shaun Alexander. Maurice Morris will occasionally spell Alexander, and while Morris is faster, he’s not as good a runner as Alexander is. Blocking for both is Mack Strong, the 13-year veteran with the most appropriate name in the NFL. Strong has been elected to his 1st Pro Bowl and this past week was named to the AP All-Pro team.
EDGE: Seahawks
Wide Receiver/Tight Ends: Santana Moss is a phenomenal athlete, having a phenomenal season. He’s one of the game’s best deep threats at the WR position, and his speed causes serious match-up problems for any secondary. After Moss, however, there’s not much to write home about. James Thrash (the former Eagles castoff) has been pressed into starter’s duties due to the season-ending injury to David Patten (former Patriot), but his real value is on special teams. Thrash had surgery on a broken thumb this week and is questionable. Taylor Jacobs was a highly thought of WR coming out of Florida, but has struggled in his brief NFL career. Chris Cooley is technically listed as a FB, but he rarely lines up in the backfield. He’s an excellent receiver, particularly in the red zone, as he scored 7 TDs this season (including a 3-TD game late in December against the Cowboys).
While Seattle doesn’t possess a true “burner” at the WR position, they do have 3 veteran WRs for Hasselbeck to throw to. The best WR is Darrell Jackson, who is not at 100% in his return from knee surgery that sidelined him for 9 weeks this season. “D-Jack” is a quick WR, who excels at getting off press coverage and runs precise routes. He and Hasselbeck have an excellent rapport. The starter opposite Jackson is Bobby Engram, who also missed a month this season with broken ribs. Engram had served as the team’s possession WR before this season, and responded well in his new role on the outside, leading the team in receptions (67) and yards (778). The 3rd WR is Joe Jurevicius, who stepped into a starter’s role in Week 5 and finished 2nd on the team in receptions (55) and yards (694), while also finishing 2nd in the NFC in TD receptions (10). He’s a big target (6-5, 230) who is an obvious threat in the red zone and is an excellent downfield blocker. Rounding out the unit is 2nd year WR D.J. Hackett, who is team’s designated “deep threat”. While not possessing great speed, Hackett has made a number of plays downfield this season, using his height (6-2) and leaping ability to catch passes or draw pass interference penalties. In limited action, Hackett had 28 receptions for 400 yards (14.3 avg). TE Jerramy Stevens enjoyed the breakout season many have expected from the former 1st round pick. Stevens set career highs in receptions (45) and yards (554) and caught 5 TD passes. The #2 TE is Ryan Hannam, who is one of the better blocking TEs in the league.
EDGE: Seahawks
Offensive Line: Redskins LT Chris Samuels is heading to the Pro-Bowl, but he really hasn’t had one of his better seasons. He’s very talented, but many feel he earned this honor more on reputation than performance. Perhaps the best lineman on the team is RG Randy Thomas, who is out for the season with a broken leg. Jon Jansen, Casey Rabach and Derrick Dockery are very tough lineman, but the team clearly misses Thomas. His replacement is the 43-year old Ray Brown, who is playing in his 20th season.
Put simply, Seattle has the best offensive line in the NFL. LT Walter Jones was named the league’s top offensive lineman and LG Steve Hutchinson isn’t far behind him. Robbie Tobeck was named an alternate to the Pro Bowl and while veteran RG Chris Gray has his struggles, he’s started over 100 consecutive games for the ‘Hawks. 2nd-year RT Sean Locklear was pressed into service due to an injury to projected starter Floyd Womack, and Locklear responded by solidifying the right side. Locklear normally draws the best pass-rushing DE the opponents have, and he’s done a tremendous job.
EDGE: Seahawks
Defensive Line: The Redskins defensive line took a serious hit this week when LE Renaldo Wynn broke his arm against Tampa. He’s a solid, veteran run-stopper who they’ll sorely miss against the likes of Shaun Alexander. Opposite Wynn is former Seahawk Phillip Daniels, who led the Redskins in sacks (8). He’s an every-down end and his battle with Walter Jones should be fun to watch. DE Demetric Evans will start for the Redskins in place of Wynn. Inside, the Redskins tandem of Cornelius Griffin and Joe Salave’a dominated the Buccaneers offensive line. Salave’a, a blue-collar journeyman, and Griffin could give the interior of the Seahawks line some problems. This isn’t a very deep or recognizable group, but they do a good job of occupying blockers for the linebackers to make plays.
Seattle lacks an obvious pass-rushing threat, but they possess a deep, and healthy, group. LE Bryce Fisher led the ‘Hawks in sacks (9), but he was nursing some injuries late in the season and hasn’t had much of an impact down the stretch. He’s also not as good against the run. On the other side, Grant Wistrom doesn’t post high sack totals, but he’s very disruptive and creates opportunities for others to get to the QB. Inside is where the Seahawks are the deepest. Newcomer Chuck Darby is the quiet leader of the group, as his presence has had a profound impact on 2nd-year DT Marcus Tubbs, who was M.I.A. for much of his rookie campaign. Tubbs has bounced back to post 5.5 sacks. The 4-man rotation at DT includes Rocky Bernard, who had a monster season, posting 8.5 sacks, the 2nd-highest total for NFC DTs. Craig Terrill, Joe Tafoya and Rodney Bailey also will factor into the rotation. EDGE: Seahawks
Linebackers: It was an interesting season for LaVar Arrington. During the 1st part of the season, he found himself either inactive or unused. Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams couldn’t trust the undisciplined Arrington enough to get him on the field. In the second half of the season, Arrington has turned it all around, moving back into the starting lineup and living up to the play-maker billing he had coming out of Penn State. Marcus Washington was flat-out robbed of a Pro-Bowl berth this season. He’s disciplined, a great tackler and makes just as many plays as Arrington. The fulcrum is Lemar Marshall, who stepped into the starter’s role when Antonio Pierce departed for greener pa$ture$ in New York. He’s played very well, and the defense hasn’t skipped a beat. Warrick Holdman provides depth at both outside positions.
Seattle’s linebackers have been a bit of a bugaboo the last few years. After shedding themselves of a few “high salary/low productivity” guys (Chad Brown, Anthony Simmons), the Seahawks currently start two rookies at the LB position. 2nd-round pick Lofa Tatupu was a much-maligned draft pick that has turned out to be the steal of the entire draft. He’s stepped in and commanded the defense and was named a team captain for the playoffs. Fellow rookie LeRoy Hill has gone from being inactive in Week 1 to posting 7.5 sacks, which ranked 2nd behind “Rookie of the Year” Shawne Merriman’s 10 among rookies. Hill is starting in place of Jamie Sharper, who was placed on IR with a staph infection in his knee. The other starter will either be D.D. Lewis, who is questionable with a foot injury. If Lewis cannot start, Kevin Bentley will get the nod, and he’s been adequate in that role thus far. Providing depth, and good special teams play, are Niko Koutouvides and Isaiah Kacyvenski. The latter matriculated at Harvard. Just thought I’d throw that in there. EDGE: Redskins
Secondary: One of the more intriguing subplots to this week’s game is the return of CB Shawn Springs to the Pacific Northwest. Springs was a former 1st round draft choice of the Seahawks, and when he left as a free agent in 2004, he didn’t exactly go quietly, comparing playing in Seattle to playing in Egypt. The fans will be sure to welcome him back this week. Starting on the other side of Springs is rookie CB Carlos Rogers, who has had a solid rookie season. In the earlier match-up, Matt Hasselbeck picked on Rogers quite a bit. The rookie has grown up considerably since then, but I’d look for Seattle to throw at him a lot this week. Veteran Walt Harris started in place of an injured Springs, and while he’s no longer suited to start on a weekly basis, he’s a decent nickel back. Backing up the CBs are two physical safeties. Ryan Clark is the SS, and while he’s not the biggest guy playing that position, he hits like he is. Opposite him is Sean Taylor, he of the spitting incident fame. A freak of nature, Taylor uses his physical gifts to punish and instill fear in his opponents. Both Clark and Taylor are suspect in pass coverage, an area the Seahawks will look to keep both early on. Pierson Prioleau, Matt Bowen, Abe Jimoh and Omar Stoutmire provide depth in the defensive backfield.
Seattle’s secondary was supposed to be their strength this season, even with the departure of Ken Lucas to the Panthers in free agency. CB Marcus Trufant starts on the right side to protect an ailing shoulder, and the team signed CBs Andre Dyson and Kelly Herndon to battle for the LCB spot. Dyson won the job in camp, but has had a hard time staying healthy. His best performance came against the Eagles when he returned an interception and a fumble for touchdowns, but that was the last game he played after suffering a high-ankle sprain. Herndon has also battled a hamstring injury late in the year, and his play when healthy was so-so at best. All 3 are healthy now, and fortunately for them, Washington doesn’t have the WRs to exploit this weak spot. The safety position also took a loss this year when Ken Hamlin was lost for the season following a brawl in a Seattle nightclub. Hamlin was finally coming into his own in his 3rd season, and his future at this point is unknown. He will be raising the “12th Man” flag before the game, though, and you can bet that the crowd will be even more bonkers upon seeing him. FS Marquand Manuel, a veteran the team added during the 2004 campaign, has been starting in place of Hamlin and provides excellent support against the run. He’s actually more disciplined than Hamlin was, but lacks the athleticism of #26. SS Michael Boulware is still adjusting to the position. He was a LB in college, and the team drafted him to play the SS position. He excels against the run, and while he’s not yet there in terms of coverage, he does make plays at the right time. In his brief career, he’s managed to snare 9 interceptions. DB Jordan Babineaux earned the nickname “Big Play Babs” this year. He forced a key fumble in a win in St. Louis, intercepted a pass to set up the winning field goal against the Cowboys and is developing into a key player in the Seattle secondary. He’ll play mainly on special teams, but is versatile enough to play any position in the secondary. EDGE: Redskins
Special Teams: John Hall was once known as a guy with unlimited range on field goals, but for some reason, he’s lost some power in his leg. Derrick Frost is a rookie punter, which is the same as saying he’s inconsistent. Frost has a powerful leg, but for every 50-yard rainmaker he boots, he’ll shank one. His 14-yard punt late against the Bucs certainly caused some tense moments on the Redskins sidelines. Antonio Brown is a quick punt-returner, but tends to take some risks in fielding punts. KR Ladell Betts isn’t going to run away from many people, but he might run over them.
Seattle’s special teams unit has been a sore spot the last few years, but they don’t worry about K Josh Brown. After Brown doinked a potential game-winning kick off the left upright in Washington, he’s made some key kicks from long distance to win games. Brown has a strong leg, but doesn’t get as much depth on his kickoffs as many would like. P Tom Rouen was re-signed after Leo Araguz struggled to start the season. Rouen is a veteran and has enjoyed some good games since his return. PR Jimmy Williams is primarily asked to call fair catch, and KR Josh Scobey has busted out some very fine returns the last few weeks. One problem the Seahawks have had is penalties. They’ve committed 22 penalties on special teams, many of which have nullified great returns by Scobey. Then again, those penalties are usually why a returner gets good yardage. EDGE: Seahawks
Coaching: Joe Gibbs is 17-5 in the post-season, has 3 Super Bowl rings and in only his 2nd season since returning from a long, NASCAR-induced hiatus, has the Redskins on the verge of going to the NFC Championship game. Helping Gibbs out is Gregg Williams, the highest paid defensive coordinator in the NFL. Williams’ system is working, and the Redskins success this season will fall mainly on how far the defense can take them.
Mike Holmgren’s tenure in Seattle has been marred by the team’s inability to win a post-season game. Despite having the NFC’s best record since 2003, the national media isn’t ready to lavish too much praise on the Seahawks until they prove they can win when it matters. EDGE: Seahawks
Mac’s Pick: SEAHAWKS 31, Redskins 13
Why the Seahawks Will Win
- The Seahawks are 100% healthy, with the only question mark being LB D.D. Lewis. Meanwhile, the Redskins lost a key member of the defensive line, have one healthy WR, a gimpy QB whose success has been due to his mobility and a RB that has two injured shoulders and loses feeling in both his arms.
- Washington had to travel 3,000 miles to play this game, and they get to go into the loudest outdoor stadium in the NFL. The entire city is going bonkers in Seattle, and they take pride in disrupting opposing offenses.
- Its pick your poison time for Gregg Williams. Want to stack the box to neutralize Shaun Alexander? Hasselbeck has the weapons to pick your secondary apart. If you sit back, Alexander and that offensive line will control the clock and move the chains all day long.
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