Atlanta Falcons: View from Seattle: Seahawks busting myths?
Did Marshawn Lynch and the Seahawks bust some myths at Washington? (Mark Slocum/AP)
The Seahawks won 24-14 at Washington on Sunday and, according to Danny O’Neil of the Seattle Times, busted three “tired, outdated or just flat-out wrong” myths in the process.
Here’s O’Neil’s take with the AJC’s comments:
I. Seattle is wasting a championship-caliber defense.
This was the chorus in September after the Seahawks scored fewer than 20 points in four of their first five games. . . . Well, Seattle’s offense has come a long way since then, its relentless ground game combining with an increasingly aggressive game plan for its effective young quarterback to create an efficient, above-average NFL offense.
Comment: Can’t fade that analysis. Those 42 points the Seahawks hung on the 49ers speak volumes even when accounting for a blocked field goal for a touchdown. Sure, the Cardinals had eight turnovers in a 58-0 defeat but it’s rare for any NFL team to give up that many points (and the Falcons didn’t exactly light it up against Arizona). Seattle also put up 50 points on Buffalo–yeah, the Bills are bad but, again, NFL teams only get shredded like that every once in a while.
It’s worth noting, however, that two Seattle’s scoring outbursts came at home (more on that below). Seattle’s offense huffed and puffed to a 20-13 victory against the lowly Rams in the regular-season finale. And the Seahawks managed just 24 points against Washington’s lackluster defense in spite of holding the ball for more than 34 minutes and getting two turnovers.
II. Seattle is not built to come back from big deficits.
This is a logical assumption given the Seahawks’ propensity for running the ball. . . . But Sunday was the third time this season Seattle found itself down by double digits, and the second consecutive time it came back to win. The Seahawks trailed the Patriots by 13 points in the fourth quarter and scored two touchdowns in the final nine minutes to win in October. At Washington, the Seahawks were more methodical, running their way back into the game.
Comment: O’Neil notes that the Seahawks scored first in 13 of its 16 regular-season games so there’s not much to go on. But coming back from down 14-0 in a playoff road game is legit. Of course, the Falcons have been making comebacks all season.
III. The Seahawks can’t win on the road.
There was a time you could make this argument. That, however, was in November when Seattle had lost five of six games on the road, and each of Wilson’s interceptions had occurred away from Seattle.
And while it’s true Seattle hadn’t won a road playoff game since 1983, it’s also true that 44 of the 53 players on Seattle’s roster weren’t alive when that streak started. So while it’s easy to make road games seem like this franchise’s bogeyman, it’s not exactly accurate after Seattle won at Chicago on Dec. 2 and beat Buffalo in Toronto two weeks later.
Comment: It’s not so much when the streak started as the fact the Seahawks had lost playoff road games in 2006, ‘07 and ‘10. But probably shouldn’t put too much stock in the past after that victory at Washington. (Also, if history is the focus, then note that the Seahawks won at least one playoff game each of the last five times they qualified for the postseason while the Falcons . . . well, you know.)
Still, Seattle’s victories at Chicago and Toronto can’t quite erase the memories of ugly flops at Arizona, St. Louis, Detroit and Miami. It’s one thing for the Seahawks to win at Washington, which barely won the mediocre NFC East; they’ll have to reach another level to win at the Georgia Dome, where the Falcons have been tough under coach Mike Smith.
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Jiminy
January 9th, 2013
3:23 am
Atlanta just needs to have one good playoff performance, just one, and they’ll be super bowl favorites. That said, go Hawks, looks like we need another year but hey who knows.
411monk
January 9th, 2013
7:00 am
Here’s the one truth, no one knows who will win this game. Here’s my assumption, it will be a close game. Seattle hasn’t been blown out all year. Even in their losses it was close. The Falcons are at home pretty tough to blow out a home team. Plus the Falcons have squeezed out close games also. It’s gonna be a close game, should be exciting.
SaukMtnMan
January 9th, 2013
8:45 am
Kudos to the Falcons for securing the #1 seed. The team played the schedule it was given and won 13 games. And the Falcons, like the Seahawks, play well at home, finishing 7-1 while the Seahawks are only 3-5 on the road.
However, the Falcons did have the weakest schedule in the NFL while the Seahawks finished with the highest strength of victory, beating three of the remaining playoff teams; the Packers, the Patriots, and the Niners…yes, all in Seattle. So for as poor as Seattle’s road record is, they did go on the road and beat two ten win teams in Chicago and Washington as well. Seattle’s worse loss of the season was 13-6 at San Francisco on a Thursday night: a seven point spread on a short week.
And yes, Atlanta’s passing offense has got to be among the league’s elite; definitely Top Five. The match up between Atlanta’s trio of Gonzalez, Jones, and White should fare well against the Seattle secondary, but I do not think it will be a dominating performance. I believe the Falcons will be able to move the ball better through the air than the Redskins, but the real concern for the Falcons is the running game.
Seattle is going to run the ball, and run it some more, and then shove it down the throats of the Falcons defensive line. The ‘Hawks were third in the NFL in rushing and just gouged the Redskins D, which was fifth in the NFL in rushing defense, for 224 yards, on the road. Seattle had the rock for thirty-five minutes.
While Atlanta does have a very potent passing offense, the rushing offense is not prolific by any means. Two 100 yard games in a 16 game schedule is not something to hang your hat on. Marshawn Lynch had ten such games and nearly doubled the yardage of Turner.
I believe Seattle is going to set the table by holding onto the ball. They can drive against any defense, on the road. If they hold onto the ball for 35 minutes, and shut down Matt Ryan, perhaps holding him to 250-275 yards, I think Seattle will win the game.
Seattle had trouble converting in the red zone last week going only one of six. Obviously, turnovers are something both teams are extremely good at generating. It’s a no-brainer, but if Atlanta’s D can force Wilson into two or three picks, Atlanta should prevail, but if Seattle’s running game gets untracked and motors for 250 yards, which is entirely possible, Ryan will not have much time to work his magic. I think the field conditions in Atlanta are more suitable to running the ball than that horrible surface in DC. If Seattle can ring up long drives and convert them into TD’s, Ryan will be forced to make decisions that could cost them. Seattles D is smothering and he did have a five pick game on his resume this year. Richard Sherman had eight INT’s himself, and the other three guys in the secondary (Browner, Chancellor, and Thomas)? They all went to the Pro Bowl last year.
Its’ playoff football Atlanta. How in the world are there still 8000 tickets for sale? An assumption that the Falcons will demolish the Seahawks? And then show up for the NFC Title Game versus the Pack or the Niners? It’s possible, but I am scratching my head, because in most markets, that game, ANY playoff game, is sold out.
I think this game will be an extremely physical game. I think Seattle will run for over 200 yards, Atlanta will expose Seattle’s secondary for 350, and the final score will be Seattle 28-Atlanta 27 in a game that could go down as a classic.
Polk County Falcon
January 9th, 2013
9:35 am
Remember the Giants game !!!
GO HAWKS!
January 9th, 2013
10:15 am
Prediction: Sherman will be Matt Ryan’s #1 receiver. Sherm moves like a ghost coast to coast. Grave dig it!
GW
January 9th, 2013
10:30 am
Not a Falcons fan, Packers fan. I am not sure why everyone is acting like Seahawks played so great last week. They were losing most of the game to a one legged QB. Skins defense was holding them and ran out of gas cuz RG couldn’t do anything on offense. If Cousins would have came in, Skins prob win game!!
GW
January 9th, 2013
10:33 am
Seattle couldn’t even get in the end zone from inside the 10 after RG fumbled the ball late in 4th and the Skins were deflated. Seahawks very lucky to get by that round. If Falcons show up and have fan support and come out fast, DOWN go the Hawks!!
Interesting
January 9th, 2013
12:44 pm
The falcons have bad yardage stats on D, but thats not what matters. They were 5th in the league in points allowed. Its a bend but dont break D. Plus, Seattle is pretty boring on O. Nothing they do will surprise the Falcons. Even though they will know the play, the question is whether they can stop the run, which they havent always done.
Also, there arent 8000 tickets available. I could get two together an hour after they went on sale. There are 8000 tickets on the secondary market, which just means stubhub.
Angry Bird
January 9th, 2013
1:04 pm
Neither of us wants to see Green Cheese or the None’rs in the Super Bowl…so whomever wins this one better go all the way…I hope your D has been running wind sprints every day they have had off…chasing Wilson will wear them down real quick…just ask other teams D players…they will attest to this…as I said yesterday…I hope its a tight good football game…like playoff games are supposed to be
Interesting
January 9th, 2013
1:25 pm
I hope Wilson runs a bunch. A. He isnt nearly as big of a threat running as Seattle fans are hyping (ran for 480 on the year, 92 of those came in one game against Buffalo). B. Spoon will take him out of the game just like he did RG3. Unless your QB is built like Cam Newton or Big Ben, Running QB is a bad idea with Spoon.
warfalcon
January 9th, 2013
1:27 pm
ONE GAME AT A TIME,NO MORE BAD GAMES,LETS GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Interesting
January 9th, 2013
1:28 pm
also, 3 of his 4 rushing TDs came in that game against Buffalo.
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The 12th Falcon
January 9th, 2013
8:38 pm
Atlanta fans at the Georgia Dome need to be a very Loud Crowd !
rise
UP
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Say what
January 10th, 2013
7:54 am
Yo, SaukMtnMan, the game is sold out. The local, and not terribly supportive, press engaged in some yellow journalism about secondary market tickets. These types of tickets are available for all playoff games.
Still Gritz Blitz'n
January 10th, 2013
9:47 am
Psych-It-Up ATL! Get Psyched Up! Man it’s us against the world to get this playoff monkee off our backs, The crowd come in da’ dome Angry, let seatle feel da’ anger from the ATL. Redn’Black put some smack on the seachicks,knock’em backwards toothless, let ‘em know we come w/ a high motor ready to explode on these churpers, cause no one comes in our dome(no more) w/o feel’n ATL WRATH. We physically prey on seafood,seachicks make a fine meal for (ATL)Birds of Prey.
Dan the Man
January 10th, 2013
10:09 am
Enter your comments here Hate to burst your bubble boys, but, the Seahawks will win a close one 27-24. Alittle Seahawk told me! It was a hard fought game by the Falcons, but in the end just did not have enough in the tank, kind of like the “Redskins”. Best of luck to you though, I always liked Tony Gonzales, and hope he personally has a great day, but I think Seattle is just too much to handle for the Falcons. Thats my story and I’m sticcking to it. By the way, family is from Atlanta, lived in Seattle, and mow reside in Hawaii, but have been a Seahawk fan since their inception in 1976. Looking forward to a close hardfought game. May the best team win. See all of the Seahawk fans aren’t completely idiotic, moronic jerks. See ya’ on Sunday! Good luck,… you will need it!
Joshua Brown
January 10th, 2013
12:53 pm
We need The Georgia Dome to be loud, packed, and full by 12:35 Sunday to cheer on your Atlanta Falcons #arriveby35 #RiseUp
Angry Bird
January 10th, 2013
3:04 pm
Still Gritz Blitz’n
January 10th, 2013
9:47 am
Psych-It-Up ATL! Get Psyched Up! Man it’s us against the world to get this playoff monkee off our backs, The crowd come in da’ dome Angry, let seatle feel da’ anger from the ATL. Redn’Black put some smack on the seachicks,knock’em backwards toothless, let ‘em know we come w/ a high motor ready to explode on these churpers, cause no one comes in our dome(no more) w/o feel’n ATL WRATH. We physically prey on seafood,seachicks make a fine meal for (ATL)Birds of Prey.
be careful….you will probably choke on a bone..
Angry Bird
January 10th, 2013
6:00 pm
ya’ll say the Seahawks are going down…Geography in 6th grade should have taught you Green Bay is to the north…so we will be going UP…
Rookie
January 10th, 2013
6:50 pm
General Sherman has ordered ATLANTA BURNED!!!!
It will happen this Sunday!!!
GO SEAHAWKS!!! BEASTMODE BABY!!!!
prof. jess
January 10th, 2013
6:59 pm
I will pull for the falcons but I have small wagers on the seahawks. I am willing rto lose the wagers for a win but until the falcons can get some running backs with some speed and Matt Ryan, get the led out we are going to be in for long night. Good Luck falcons you are going to need it. (It might be an Alabama–Notre Dame score).
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Seahawk's 12th Man
January 11th, 2013
12:06 pm
The Falcons’ #5 Passing Offense vs. the Seahawks’ #6 Passing Defense is even. I’ll give you that.
But the Falcons #26 Pass Defense against a Seahawk team with a 116.9 Pass Efficiency Rating the 2nd half of the year (which is #1 in the NFL)? That’s a mismatch. And the Falcons’ #29 Rushing Offense vs. the Seahawks’ #10 Rushing Defense? Another mismatch. And the Seahawks’ #3 Rushing Offense vs. the Falcons’ #21 Rushing Defense? Again, a mismatch.
Other than the Falcons #5 Offense vs. the Seahawks’ #6 Pass Defense and #1 Scoring Defense, it’s not even close, especially when you consider the Falcons have gone 5-3 since midseason while playing virtually no playoff teams during that stretch, while the Seahawks are 8-1 over that same stretch when they were outscoring their opponents by 19 points a game.
And Sunday? No disrespect to the Falcons’ truly outstanding passing game, but that’s the only thing the Falcons do well. The Seahawks will obviously beat the Falcons by about 34-17.
Angry Bird
January 14th, 2013
10:17 am
kudo’s to the Dirty Birds…you pulled it off…emotions of the fans for both teams took a tumble with a minute left in this game…shoulda coulda woulda on the 4th and 1 go for it in the first half…kick a field goal…game over…but nobody knew that…good job to your beast…Gonzales…that guy gave us fits and won the game for you…I will be rootin for the Falcons now as I hate the 49′ers…next year no learning curve for Wilson, so we should be division winners and have some more home games…go Dirty Birds..