Redskins at Seahawks, Divisional Playoffs: The Battle In Rainy Seattle

Washington Redskins (11-6) at Seattle Seahawks (13-3)
4:30 p.m. Qwest Field
NFC Divisional Playoff Game
The Washington Redskins road trip through the postseason continues as they journey to the land of clouds, coffee and Kurt Cobain. The Skins get set in the great Pacific Northwest for their game this weekend against the very well rested Seattle Seahawks. This is a team that finished 13-3. A team that had the best rushing attack in the NFL. A team that went 8-0 at home. Uh-oh.

Before I start to evaluate the seemingly invincible Seahawks, it is time once again, to rip the media. I know I’m starting to sound like right-wing goon Rush Limbaugh, but my criticisms are valid at least. To anyone that says I’m one of these East Coast biased sports fans, let this argument show that I am an equal opportunity basher when it comes to hating on large media outlets. The Seattle Times decided this week to limit the use of the word “Redskins” in its paper. Reporters can only use the term once per article or column, and can only use Redskins if it is preceded by the word Washington. How juvenile is this? I guess this is supposed to be some kind of political statement. The Times seems to think that the city of Washington is proudly demeaning the Native American people. Funny, this coming from a city whose descendents come from a long line of people who settled the Seattle and surrounding areas by methodically killing innocent Native Americans for no reason other than greed (If you haven’t read Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, you should. It is a fantastically informative book that describes the atrocities that took place in the American West in the late 1800’s). Suddenly, naming a sports franchise Redskins doesn't seem so bad. On top of the irony factor, it is just plain brainless for a major newspaper to be pulling stunts like this. First of all, the Times had no problem using Redskins in their articles during the entire season. In all their game recaps, including the game recap from the Week 4 matchup between the Skins and Hawks, the paper used Redskins often. So why the sudden change of heart? Secondly, using only the word Washington to refer to the Redskins sounds ridiculous. It makes for bad writing. Especially in a state that shares the same name. My favorite article in the Times from the past week was on Mark Brunell. Brunell played for the University of Washington. So it was hilarious to read the article that tried to examine Brunell’s career using the word Washington to describe two different places. The article was so confusing and poorly written. It really made the Times look like a second or third-rate amateur newspaper. Well done fellas.

The other Seattle newspaper, the Post-Intelligencer, also makes my list. It was nothing that the paper did that caught my attention. It was another quote from Fat Ass Chris Berman that earned the P-I a spot in this post. As I talked about in my post on Sunday, Berman was clearly ticked that the Redskins won and that Sean Taylor wasn’t going to be suspended. So I imagine that Tubby was even more annoyed when it became official that the NFL decided to let Taylor play this weekend. Here is his quote from the P-I Thursday edition:

"Seventeen thousand bucks seemed a little lower than the going rate for that," said ESPN's Chris Berman, who attended Seahawks practice at the behest of owner Paul Allen on Wednesday. "He's fortunate it's not a larger fine. It's B.S. It's a rough, brutal sport, but there's no need. You should be above that in the NFL."

Berman, get your fat ass off your high horse. Firstly, 17 K is not lower than the going rate. Bill Romanowski was fined $7,500 for a much worse and much more vivid spitting incident a few years ago. I thought Berman went to an Ivy League school where they could do math. Last I checked, 17,000 was more than 7,500. I didn't hear you complaining when Ed Reed was only fined $15,000 dollars for making contact with an offcial (which should have resulted in an automatic suspension). Secondly, what the hell is Berman doing at a Seahawk practice at “the behest of owner Paul Allen”? Berman you dope, you’re supposed to be unbiased (which we all know is not the case). What are you doing getting chummy with one team and not the other? This is unbelievable. What happened to journalistic integrity? Obviously, I’m rooting for the Redskins because I’m a diehard fan. But now I want to see the Redskins keep winning for another reason. So Chubby has to keep talking about them. Nothing would make me happier than seeing Berman anchor Super Bowl coverage while being forced to talk about the Redskins for two weeks straight. I would tape it. It would be so great.

Wait a minute? Did Mark just say the two magic words? Super Bowl? Hold on there chief. Ok, must have been a Freudian slip, I apologize. The Redskins (and I have no qualms about calling them the Redskins) are hardly in Detroit yet. In fact, most think that they have no chance to beat Seattle this weekend. And based on what I’ve seen from the Seahawks this season, I would tend to agree.

However, the Redskins are one of three teams to beat the Seahawks this season. All the dopes at ESPN are trying to convince you that it was a fluke victory. I’ll concede that the Redskins got a bit lucky down the stretch in that game, but they dominated the contest for about 50 minutes. It wasn’t like Seattle played well and had a couple of bad bounces go against them. The Redskins went into the fourth quarter with a 14-3 lead. It took a couple of defensive injuries, and some mind-boggling runs from Shaun Alexander to make the game interesting. And if it wasn’t for a fluke play (there’s that word fluke again), the Redskins would have won before overtime. But a pass by Brunell sailed right through the open hands of Clinton Portis and into the hands of a Seahawks defensive back with two minutes to go. Only a Josh Brown missed field goal and the overtime coin toss saved the Skins. So a fluke win? In some ways. But what I saw in that game is encouraging when it comes to this weekend. For most of the game, the Redskins controlled the tempo and the pace. The Skins moved the ball effectively on third down, while the Seahawks did not. So why can’t they do it again?

The Seahawks, more than any other team in the league, need to play the game in their tempo. The Hawks offense must establish a rhythm to be effective. Watching Seattle drive down the field is watching football poetry in motion. They get in the huddle, get to the line of scrimmage, get a chunk of yards, and get right back to work. There is no wandering aimlessly around before the snap. They don’t fool around in the huddle. The offense moves as a collective unit. Very efficient, very effective, very dangerous. When they set the pace, they become impossible to stop.

The Redskins were able to jump out to a 14-3 lead because they kept Seattle out of their rhythm. The Skins offense kept Seattle’s off the field for a good amount of time in the first half. The Skins nearly doubled up on time of possession and allowed the Hawks to run only 21 plays (the average per half is around 32-35). The Redskins did this by converting on five third downs of eight yards and longer. Santana Moss was a huge factor on third down, as the Seahawks defeneders refused to cover him. Moss can't disappear like he did against Tampa last week.


2 catches for 18 yards isn't going to cut it this week.

The Skins also knocked Seattle off their game by stopping the Hawks on first down. Like any great running team, and like any team running the West Coast Offense, the Seahawks must get four or five yards on first down to be successful. Seattle gained the most yards in the NFL on first down this season. However, get the Seahawks into third and more than five, their offense tends to stutter. They are strictly average when it comes to converting on third downs. And the Redskins defense is one of the best in the league on third downs. Take the win over Tampa as an example. The Taylor touchdown return was on a third down. Two of the three sacks on Chris Simms were on third downs. On the Bucs last four third downs of the game, the Redskins defense forced three incompletions and a one-yard run (on a third and two).

However, in order to get the Seahawks to third and medium or third and long, the Redskins are going to have to figure out how to stop Alexander on first and second. How can Washington accomplish this? To be honest, I don’t know. Maybe Gregg Williams can experiment with a 12-man defense this week. Heck, Lavar hardly plays as it is. Would anybody really notice if he ran on the field at the last minute? It’s worth looking into.


How can the Redskins stop this man? Well, let's see...um, you could...uh, why not put...no, that won't work...hmmm...can you get back to me on this?

Seriously though, there is a reason that Alexander is NFL MVP. There’s a reason that he scored an NFL record 28 touchdowns this year. There’s a reason he ran for 1,880 yards this season. He’s pretty darn good. And the left side of the offensive line is even better. Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson are starting in the Pro Bowl this season, and they happen to be starting for the Seahawks this weekend. The Seahawks offense is unconventional in one main way. They run left. And they run to the left a lot. Most teams in the NFL run to the right side, or typical strong side, of their offensive line with regularity. Seattle usually runs to the left. Even though the Seahawks keep the right side as their strong side, they love running left to the weak side. And they do it better than any team in the NFL. And that is because of Jones and Hutchinson. You can leave both of those guys on an island, and they are going to win the battle. They don’t need strong side help to seal off their blocks. Teams are afraid to run to the weak side because all it takes is one mistake by one player, and the play is going to go backward (Whereas, on the strong side, you can have a player miss a block and still have an effective run). But the reward of running to the weak side is that there are usually less defenders. So if Jones and Hutchinson stick their men, then Alexander has a huge hole to hit with only the safety to beat. And even if he doesn’t beat the safety, he still manages to get to the second and third level of the defense and pick up a chunk of yards.

The Redskins played well against Alexander the first time. Again, Alexander only got going after a couple of injuries to the Redskins front seven. But anytime you can limit Alexander to 98 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, you got to feel good about your chances. However, unlike the last few teams the Skins have faced during this six game winning streak, Seattle’s offense isn’t one-dimensional.

Against Dallas, New York and Tampa, the Skins wanted to force the ball into the hands of the quarterback. They didn’t want the running game to beat them. If you force Matt Hasselbeck to make plays, you might be playing into the hands of Seattle. Hasselbeck, like the rest of the Seahawks offense, had an outstanding year. And Hasselbeck did it despite having limited talent to throw the ball to. Hasselbeck’s best receiver, Darrell Jackson, got hurt in the game against Washington, and didn’t play most of the season. Matt’s remaining targets are Bobby Engram, Joe Jurevicius and tight end Jerramy Stevens. Not all that scary. But when teams were forced to put eight, or even nine in the box to stop Alexander, those receivers ran wild through defensive backfields. Seattle, like any great offense, keeps you guessing. They pass out of run formations. They run out of passing formations. They’ll run left, not right. They’ll lull you to sleep with Alexander and then go deep to Engram. It is an unpredictable offense, and unstoppable once they get going.

Defensively, the Seahawks are average. Their defense is much improved from last year, but that’s not saying much. They have a lot of young guys, including rookie middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu, in the lineup. A brain surgeon like Joe Gibbs should be able to figure out a way to confuse the young kids. Plus, they are a very small defense. Their linebacking core is about 3 inches and 25 pounds lighter than the NFL average. The backfield is also smaller and lighter than normal. They give up a lot of yards (19th in terms of yards allowed). But they are in the Top 10 in red zone defense. This leads to the Seahawks defense being known as a bend-but-don't-break unit. And their speed allows them to get after the quarterback real well. They led the NFL with 50 sacks. But, it is a defense that the larger, more physical Redskins should be able to move the ball on. They just have to figure out how to score. So without more delay, here are the keys to the game for both teams.

For the Redskins:
1. Pound the middle. Attack the middle of the Seattle defense. This will accomplish three things. First, it will get yards. Portis and Ladell Betts should have a field day up the middle against this undersized defense. Second, it will set up the long pass. The Seahawks defense does have a tendency to get burned on the long ball. Finally, it will control the clock and keep Seattle’s offense off the field.
2. Control the clock. I know I just said it. But it is worth mentioning again. If the Redskins control the clock, they can wear down the smaller Seattle defense, and they keep the Hawks offense off the field. Simple enough.
3. Stop Alexander on first down. The Redskins defense is going to have to pick their poison. I would advocate moving Taylor up in the box to stop the run. I know Williams doesn’t like playing eight at the line. Too bad. The Seahawks are too good up front. I know that leaves the Skins vulnerable downfield on first down, but if they let Alexander get five yards a carry on first down, they’ll have no chance to win.
4. Keep the Hawks guessing. I said earlier that the Hawks offense is balanced and unpredictable. They run and throw very well. The Redskins defense has to be equally unpredictable. Instead of allowing Seattle to force the defense into a guessing game, force the Seattle offense to guess what the defense is going to do. The Skins did this effectively in the first meeting, and they need to do it again.

For the Seahawks:
1. Set the tempo. I already went over this. The Seahawks offense is based on rhythm. If they get into the flow of their offense, no one is going to stop them
2. Watch the overload blitzes. Lately, Gregg Williams has been throwing a lot of overload blitzes at offenses. The best way to beat an overload blitz, or most blitzes for that matter, is a screen pass. But Alexander is not a great receiver and Seattle does not run screen passes all that well. So the Hawks are simply going to have to anticipate and pick up an overload blitz whenever Williams sends one. They have a good enough offensive line to do this, its just a matter of reading the defense correctly.
3. Stop the Skins on third down. When the Seahawks have the ball, first down is the most important down. But third down is more important when the Skins have the ball. The main reason Seattle lost the first meeting, other than Josh Brown’s doinked field goal attempt, was the inability of the defense to stop the Skins on third down. The Redskins were 13-18 on third, and most of those came in third and long situations. Seattle needs to force three and outs and get their offense on the field as quickly as possible.
4. Don’t call a tight game. This is for Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren. Ever since leaving Green Bay, Holmgren seems to have lost his touch down the crucial stretches of games. If you thought Gibbs got conservative with fourth quarter leads, Holmgren is even worse. Holmgren has been fortunate that Alexander and the offensive line are so good that they can melt away the clock. But if they have a late lead, the Redskins defense is too good to allow Alexander and company to shorten the game. Holmgren is going to need to stay aggressive.

The last factor to talk about will be the weather. The media is making this a bigger deal than it actually is. Apparently, it has been raining for 25 straight days in Seattle. Gee, no kidding. What’s next? A warm day in Phoenix? Snow in Fairbanks? Sand in the Sahara? It shouldn’t be too much of a disadvantage for the Redskins, who practiced in rain twice this week. Plus, Seattle has been forced to practice inside this week because their outdoor fields were waterlogged. But did anyone see Boomer Esiason on ESPN the other day? He said if it rains, then Mark Brunell is going to struggle. Boomer, you Maryland moron, Brunell grew up and played college ball in Washington (state). Then he went to Green Bay and Jacksonville, two places where weather is often a factor. Few quarterbacks in this league play better in the rain. Plus, the Redskins power game is built for bad weather.

It should be a great game tomorrow. For those who think that the Redskins are going to get blown out of the Puget Sound, I say get ready for a rude reality check. I know that the first seed in the NFC hasn’t lost their opening game since 1988. But the playoff teams this season are so even to one another. This one should be close, and very entertaining. If the Redskins hold the Seahawks to under 20 points, they should win this game. Obviously, that is much easier said than done. As I said last week, if this is the last game of the Redskins season, no Redskins fan should hang their heads in shame or even in disappointment. This has, and continues to be a wonderful run, and hopefully it will continue.