This is such a tough matchup. They just don't have any serious weaknesses. But if I had to draw up a plan(with my limited football knowledge) here is what I would do.
On Offense-
I have some faith that we will be able to score points....if Lacy gets going. While Seattle's defensive run the past few weeks has been impressive for sure, it has come at the expense of some mediocre at best offenses. I think the most important thing is going to be to establish the run. We can't get away from it, it's by far our best chance at winning. The Seahawks have given up more than 100 yards rushing six times this year, and they are 2-4 in those games. Our offensive line has been clicking, it had another nice game today, and I think, as Seattle's defensive line is a bit depleted, that they will have some success. If Lacy doesn't have at least a decent game, we have little to no chance of winning.
I think it also would be best to line up Cobb on Sherman a few times and see how that works. I believe he'd have more success there than Nelson would. He's small, quick and Sherman has slightly more difficulty covering those kinds of guys. MM could also try Cobb out of the backfield, and see how that goes(Maybe get a good matchup?), since we didn't really start using that formation until the Patriots game. I don't expect Nelson to have a big day, he will garner too much attention, but I think Cobb and Adams could replicate their performances that they had against the Cowboys. The good news is that Adams is way better than Boykin, so we will actually have three WR's this matchup, as opposed to week one where we essentially only had two. Antonio Gates also burned the Seahawks secondary for three touchdowns, and I'd be interested to see if MM sees anything in that, although the Seahawks shut down most other TE's they faced and we don't exactly have a great receiving TE.
Needless to say, protection is essential with Rodgers' limited mobility.
On Defense-
This concerns me more than anything else. I just don't see how we can stop their offense with our D. If Lynch doesn't run over us, Wilson will throw it all over the place, and if that doesn't work he'll just run for lots of yards. I think the best shot would be to try to stuff the run and keep Wilson in the pocket. Make their WR's beat us(which they will). But who knows, we dropped an easy INT from Wilson in week one, so we could get another. Anyway, I thought the run D did reasonably well considering we were facing Murray and a very strong offensive line. Seattle's offensive line isn't quite as strong, so if our defense actually learns how to tackle, maybe Lynch can be contained.
Unfortunately, our meeting with the Seahawks seems to coincide with the rise of Luke Willson, their TE. He had 139 yards receiving against the Cardinals and a big touchdown against the Panthers on Saturday. No doubt we will get killed over the middle again.
To sum up what I think we should do on defense, stop the run, contain Wilson, and hope for an INT, dropped pass or good play by our secondary. Hold them to field goals if they're in scoring range. If we don't stop the run, they'll control the clock and kill us that way.
Special Teams-
Hyde, if there was ever a game for another punt return TD, this is it. No blocked xps either, or missed field goals. No fumbles on returns. No muffed punts. The punting game needs to get better(I'm looking at you Tim Masthay). The special teams needs to be perfect.
Other crap-
Turnovers will be big. We cannot turn it over. Seattle matches up well enough with us that losing the turnover battle, even just by one turnover, will almost guarantee us a loss. Rodgers needs to not throw an INT this time in Seattle, Lacy can't fumble....no turnovers. If we don't turn it over and can force even just one(which I think we can do) our chances of winning go up exponentially.
One area I do think we have a huge advantage in is penalties. Seattle has been killing itself all year with penalties. It's been downright sloppy, and if they weren't so talented it would have really hurt them. They lead the league in penalties, while we are near the bottom. Need to play a clean game. Seattle will give up yards through penalties, so let's take it and not give any back. Keeping Brad Jones off the field in this case would help out a lot. He had a killer penalty in week one.
Conclusion-
Let's face it. Seattle matches up well with us. It's in Seattle. They've only lost twice there with Wilson. Rodgers is hurt. We have been inconsistent on the road. The Seahawks have the best D perhaps since the '85 Bears(Sorry '00 Ravens and '02 Bucs). In many ways, it seems a complete mismatch. That's why the Packers need to be almost perfect. We can probably afford a few minor slip ups, but nothing serious. This wouldn't be a huge upset if we did win, but it will be the toughest test by far this year, and probably of the McCarthy era. The team has got to be motivated, after getting embarrassed in week one, and being embarrassed by the NFC west for the past three years. At some point in time we will eventually beat the 49ers or Seahawks, but we are currently on a 0-6 streak against them. But I have some faith. I'm feeling a little optimistic. So I'm saying Packers 27 Seahawks 23.
On Offense-
I have some faith that we will be able to score points....if Lacy gets going. While Seattle's defensive run the past few weeks has been impressive for sure, it has come at the expense of some mediocre at best offenses. I think the most important thing is going to be to establish the run. We can't get away from it, it's by far our best chance at winning. The Seahawks have given up more than 100 yards rushing six times this year, and they are 2-4 in those games. Our offensive line has been clicking, it had another nice game today, and I think, as Seattle's defensive line is a bit depleted, that they will have some success. If Lacy doesn't have at least a decent game, we have little to no chance of winning.
I think it also would be best to line up Cobb on Sherman a few times and see how that works. I believe he'd have more success there than Nelson would. He's small, quick and Sherman has slightly more difficulty covering those kinds of guys. MM could also try Cobb out of the backfield, and see how that goes(Maybe get a good matchup?), since we didn't really start using that formation until the Patriots game. I don't expect Nelson to have a big day, he will garner too much attention, but I think Cobb and Adams could replicate their performances that they had against the Cowboys. The good news is that Adams is way better than Boykin, so we will actually have three WR's this matchup, as opposed to week one where we essentially only had two. Antonio Gates also burned the Seahawks secondary for three touchdowns, and I'd be interested to see if MM sees anything in that, although the Seahawks shut down most other TE's they faced and we don't exactly have a great receiving TE.
Needless to say, protection is essential with Rodgers' limited mobility.
On Defense-
This concerns me more than anything else. I just don't see how we can stop their offense with our D. If Lynch doesn't run over us, Wilson will throw it all over the place, and if that doesn't work he'll just run for lots of yards. I think the best shot would be to try to stuff the run and keep Wilson in the pocket. Make their WR's beat us(which they will). But who knows, we dropped an easy INT from Wilson in week one, so we could get another. Anyway, I thought the run D did reasonably well considering we were facing Murray and a very strong offensive line. Seattle's offensive line isn't quite as strong, so if our defense actually learns how to tackle, maybe Lynch can be contained.
Unfortunately, our meeting with the Seahawks seems to coincide with the rise of Luke Willson, their TE. He had 139 yards receiving against the Cardinals and a big touchdown against the Panthers on Saturday. No doubt we will get killed over the middle again.
To sum up what I think we should do on defense, stop the run, contain Wilson, and hope for an INT, dropped pass or good play by our secondary. Hold them to field goals if they're in scoring range. If we don't stop the run, they'll control the clock and kill us that way.
Special Teams-
Hyde, if there was ever a game for another punt return TD, this is it. No blocked xps either, or missed field goals. No fumbles on returns. No muffed punts. The punting game needs to get better(I'm looking at you Tim Masthay). The special teams needs to be perfect.
Other crap-
Turnovers will be big. We cannot turn it over. Seattle matches up well enough with us that losing the turnover battle, even just by one turnover, will almost guarantee us a loss. Rodgers needs to not throw an INT this time in Seattle, Lacy can't fumble....no turnovers. If we don't turn it over and can force even just one(which I think we can do) our chances of winning go up exponentially.
One area I do think we have a huge advantage in is penalties. Seattle has been killing itself all year with penalties. It's been downright sloppy, and if they weren't so talented it would have really hurt them. They lead the league in penalties, while we are near the bottom. Need to play a clean game. Seattle will give up yards through penalties, so let's take it and not give any back. Keeping Brad Jones off the field in this case would help out a lot. He had a killer penalty in week one.
Conclusion-
Let's face it. Seattle matches up well with us. It's in Seattle. They've only lost twice there with Wilson. Rodgers is hurt. We have been inconsistent on the road. The Seahawks have the best D perhaps since the '85 Bears(Sorry '00 Ravens and '02 Bucs). In many ways, it seems a complete mismatch. That's why the Packers need to be almost perfect. We can probably afford a few minor slip ups, but nothing serious. This wouldn't be a huge upset if we did win, but it will be the toughest test by far this year, and probably of the McCarthy era. The team has got to be motivated, after getting embarrassed in week one, and being embarrassed by the NFC west for the past three years. At some point in time we will eventually beat the 49ers or Seahawks, but we are currently on a 0-6 streak against them. But I have some faith. I'm feeling a little optimistic. So I'm saying Packers 27 Seahawks 23.
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