Well, I knew we were going to get a re-match this week. I never lost faith. The Saints have already made it a successful bounce-back season by not only making it to the playoffs, but also earning their first ever road playoff win. It wasn’t a shootout, nor was it exciting for large chunks, but a road playoff win is a road playoff win. Now the Saints have their focus on the Seahawks. As much as I have wishful thinking, I don’t have much confidence in the Saints pulling this game out. Let’s all be honest: last month, no one expected that big of a blowout. Sure, Dylan locked it in to put his money where his mouth was, but even he, the guy I’m convinced was hired to be the Seahawks hype-man, could not have thought that the Saints would put up such a dud.
The Saints could not get anything going correctly. It’s like they all forgot what it meant to be a professional athlete on a footing-ball court. The Seahawks did not impress me in the game so much as the Saints just confused me. I saw nothing more from the Seahawks than what I had seen previously: a very good defense held back by a lackadaisical offense, and I saw nothing special in how they played insofar as different from their other 15 games. The last month, I have seen some of the same, so I am convinced that if the Saints lose, it will be because they will forget how to play.
I’m not alone on this, by the way. I’ve read several
national sportswriters who have been underwhelmed by the Seahawks offense as
well. It’s not that I’m a hater either; I have been impressed with that
defense, especially since injuries and suspensions have slowed it down some.
However, I go back to the same critique that Dylan has for teams like the
Chiefs for the first half of this season: if you have no offense, it doesn’t
matter how good your defense is, you will lose. The Seahawks benefitted from
the Saints’ ineptitude last game, but I was thoroughly unimpressed with Russell
Wilson. Now a bunch of sportswriters are saying stuff like “If Wilson wins,
does that make him more valuable than Brees?” To that I say “Are you freaking
kidding me?” Wilson is a 2nd year starter that has had phenomenal
success because of his supporting cast. You know who else had a fantastic first
2 years and then fell of the radar? Mark Sanchez, Sam Bradford, Darren McFadden,
Roy Williams (Cowboys safety), and many more I’m not going to take time to
mention. Am I saying that Wilson is destined to fail? No, but let’s see him
make a career before we make him an all-time great. Brees is a first-ballot
Hall of Famer who came back from what should have been a career-ending injury
to lead a team to relevance for the first time ever, saving the hope of an
entire city in the process. Brees has a Lombardi trophy and broke Dan Marino’s
nearly 30 year record. Brees is phenomenal every year, and has been since he
entered the league. Also, Brees has had a supporting cast that is equivalent to
Tom Brady’s when Brady won 3 Super Bowls: good but not great. Russell Wilson
has been given 3 of the most explosive offensive weapons in the league (yes, I
know Harvin has been out for all but 1 game, but he’s still there). Wilson
hasn’t even finished his 2nd season. Wilson’s success has not been
because of him but because of the other starting 21. Yes, Wilson makes some
plays, but not nearly as many as Brees does in any given game.
All that being said, let’s take a look at the teams. The
Saints defense shut down what is statistically one of the best offenses in the
league last week in Philly. The Saints offense, however, slows down immensely
on the road, and last week couldn’t get flying against one of the worst
defenses in the league. The Seahawks defense is one of the best defenses in the
league, and it is certainly the best defense left in the playoffs. Their
offense, however, as I have stated, is lackadaisical. They have a beast in
Marshawn Lynch in the running game, but Wilson leaves a lot to be desired in
the passing attack. All in all, since the game is in Seattle, and Seattle does
have one of the better home-field advantages, I have to go with them for the win,
but it will be much, MUCH close than the last game. Look for Brees to try to
lead a comeback. I do, however, think that the Seahawks defense is just too
good to allow Brees to come away with a 2nd road victory in a row.
Final prediction?
Saints 20
Seahawks 24
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