Bears/Seahawks Preview

Photo Credit: Seahawks.com

Matchup: Chicago Bears at Seattle Seahawks

Site: CenturyLink Field (Seattle, Washington)

Kickoff: 1:25pm

After getting off to a turbulent start on the road in back-to-back weeks the Seahawks finally make their triumphant return home. The 2015 Seahawks home opener will take place Sunday afternoon as we take on the Chicago Bears. The Seahawks may be 0-2 but they are in much better shape than the 0-2 Bears. Chicago was dismantled at home last week, losing 48-23 to the Arizona Cardinals. Seattle leads the all-time series with the Bears 10-6. Our last meeting with Chicago came in December 2012. The Seahawks drove down the field 97 yards to take a late fourth quarter lead, then won the game in overtime after taking the opening series down the field for a touchdown. That win propelled the Seahawks to 4 straight wins to close the 2012 season with an 11-5 record. The winds of change have blown tremendously over the past week as both the Bears and Seahawks will look considerably different than they would have if they played each other last week. This I was I will be watching for in week 3.

This week my hope is that we can get the running game back to normal. Marshawn Lunch has struggled out of the gate but this week’s matchup could give him a perfect opportunity to get back on track. The Chicago defense has allowed an average of 124 rushing yards through their first two games and they have yet to face a talent across the line of scrimmage as dominant as Lynch. In my opinion the Seahawks will be making a big mistake if they decide to throw the ball on first down. Be sure to keep track of the number of times we rush on early downs because it would not surprise me to see Lynch get between 25 to 30 carries. In the passing game the Seahawks must take advantage of the height differential between our receivers and Chicago’s secondary, in particular cornerback Kyle Fuller. Fuller is the Bears number one cornerback so he will likely be drawn to Doug Baldwin. Both of Chicago’s safeties are only 6 feet tall so it may be wise to run tight end Jimmy Graham down the middle of the field to go up against Antrel Rolle and Adrian Amos. Seattle will be in magnificent shape if we can put up between 350 and 375 total yards of offense.

My main focus on defense is glaringly obvious; the return of strong safety Kam Chancellor. Our defense has not played its style of football yet this year, as we have allowed an average of 30.5 points per game. Chancellor’s return hopefully brings the “boom” back to the Legion. This is the perfect week for Chancellor to come back as the defense faces the 19^th best passing offense in the league. Head coach Pete Carroll said on Wednesday that Chancellor is in incredible shape and it is his hope that he will be ready to play on Sunday. It would not surprise me to see DeShawn Shead start over Chancellor but Kam may see some playing time. With Chancellor back and possibly up to game speed there should be little to no worry in regards to the Seahawks being able to maintain a lead. Plain and simple, with Kam Chancellor back so is my complete confidence that our defense can play shutdown football.

As far as skill positions go, the Chicago Bears enter this week somewhat in disarray. Wide receivers Alshon Jeffery, Eddie Royal, and Marquess Wilson are all listed on the week 3 injury report but my focus will be squarely on quarterback Jimmy Clausen. Clausen will start in place of Jay Cutler who injured his hamstring last week. With the exception of his rookie year in 2010, Clausen is a career backup who has seen limited snaps in the regular season. Clausen does however have experience playing in front of the 12’s at CenturyLink Field. He led a terrible Carolina Panthers team into town in December of 2010 and the Seahawks defeated them 31-14. In that game Clausen went 18/34 for 169 yards and one interception. This week could not have been a more unlucky draw for Clausen and the Bears offense. They will be going up against a fired up Seahawks defense. The mediocre Chicago offensive line has allowed two sacks in each of their first two games and the pressure will be on to keep Clausen clean on Sunday. Pro Bowler Kyle Long will have my eye in particular. Long made only his second career start at right tackle last week and he will be lined up there again against the Seahawks. I would not be surprised to see the Seahawks get to the quarterback at least three times. I believe it could be a very long day for Clausen this week.

The talk along the Seahawks offensive line so far this season has been the terrible play of center Drew Nowak. The best chance the Bears have at making an impact on defense is to attack the middle of Seattle’s offensive line and it all starts along the defensive line, specifically at nose tackle. My X-Factor Player to Watch for the Bears is the man that will go directly against Nowak, rookie defensive tackle Eddie Goldman. Goldman has been thrusted into a starting role after the suspension of starting nose tackle Jeremiah Ratliff during the preseason. Goldman was selected in the second round of this past year’s draft but has made little impact on the field thus far. In his first two games he has combined for only 3 tackles. Upon watching Bears film Goldman seems to struggle penetrating the line of scrimmage. He does a decent job working his assignment but does not do anything overly special to be a game changer. If he has great success against the Seahawks offensive line, Nowak in particular, it may be time for the Seahawks to seriously consider a personnel change.

Random Thoughts: The Seahawks will wear all navy this week just like they always do at home. The Bears will wear white jerseys and navy blue pants… This week the Seahawks are the national afternoon game which will be seen by the majority of the country. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms have the call for CBS. Due to cross-flexing this game is on CBS instead of FOX, who would normally have the broadcast rights to this all-NFC matchup. Due to a weakened slate of games on CBS this week the NFL decided to cross-flex it to appeal to a wider audience… This week’s referee is Carl Cheffers… I HATE the week 3 home opener. Since I became a season ticket holder our home opener has been scheduled in week 3 twice. In both of those years the Seahawks entered the game 0-2… How’s this for symmetry. This game will take place on September 27^th. Flashback 6 years to the 2009 season. The Seahawks hosted the Chicago Bears in week 3 of the season on September 27^th but unfortunately lost 25-19. That game also marks the only time the Seahawks wore these little beauties:

Photo Credit: Mynorthwest.com

As cool as they were at the time, well, let’s just say I’m glad we’ve done a Nike overhaul since… Hawks Nest before the game for the first time this season. See ya’ll there.

Prediction: After the immense frustration of weeks prior, the Seahawks will make sure this is an absolute bloodbath. Marshawn Lynch will run for two touchdowns, Tyler Lockett will return a punt for a touchdown, and Russell Wilson will throw touchdown passes to Doug Baldwin and Jimmy Graham. The Seahawks will get their season back on the right track with a huge blowout victory.

Seahawks 38, Bears 10

Review: Seahawks 34, Bears 6

Photo Credit: seahawks.com

The Seahawks took the field Friday night against the Chicago Bears and looked as if they just picked up right where they left off last week against San Diego. The Seahawks, led in large part by their powerful starting offense, beat the Bears 34-6 improving their record to 2-1 on the preseason. The Seahawks conclude the home portion of the preseason defeating their opponents by a combined score of 75-20 and after the game Head Coach Pete Carroll made it be known that the Seahawks “are as ready as I can get them.” With the first round of roster cuts coming up next, let’s take a look at the positives I took from this game.

Wilson is Ready for the Regular Season: With quarterback Russell Wilson at the helm, the Seahawks got off to a red-hot start and by the time Wilson exited the game in the third quarter the Seahawks had built a very comfortable 31-0 lead. After a strong performance last week, Wilson outdid himself this week going 15/20 for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns. Wilson added 23 yards and a touchdown on the ground as well. Throughout the first half Wilson stayed poised as he kept plays alive and made accurate throws. The offensive line also did a very nice job keeping Wilson upright as he was only sacked once and for the most part, Wilson was able to stand in the pocket comfortably. Russell Wilson looked to already be in mid-season form and his play over the past two weeks has gotten me even more excited about the potential effectiveness of our offense all season long.

Lynch is Ready for the Regular Season: Marshawn Lynch played for only one series on Friday night but he too showed that he is ready for week 1. Lynch capped off a 7 play, 61 yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run giving the Seahawks an early 7-0 lead. If you were to pick one player that does not necessarily need to play in the preseason, it is Lynch. However, seeing him carry the ball reaffirms my confidence as a fan that Lynch is ready for the regular season and does not need to be out on the field and risk getting hurt. He has perfected his craft and although it is nice to see him get some carries to perhaps shake the rust off, it is not at all necessary for him to play.

Thomas Returning Punts? It Will Probably Happen: During mini-camp when Coach Carroll said that Earl Thomas was going to get the first opportunity to return punts, many fans scoffed at the idea; they didn’t want to see our All-Pro free safety get hurt in situations where the opponent is running full speed trying to take your head off. Three weeks into the preseason and it is looking more and more like Thomas will be our punt returner when the Seahawks play the Packers in two weeks. Thomas’s play on special teams Friday night greatly boosted his chances at getting the return job. Thomas returned two punts, one of which a 59-yard return in the closing minutes of the first half. Earl Thomas has the explosiveness that no other candidate for the punt return job has and I believe this one punt return against the Bears has earned him the job once the regular season starts. Having Thomas return punts is high risk/high reward in my eyes. The risk is the aforementioned risk of injury. The reward is explosive runs for large gains and great field position; something that will make it much easier for Russell Wilson to lead touchdown drives.

Jackson vs. Pryor (Round 3): This competition should be over. In my opinion, one play on Friday night completely took Terrelle Pryor’s name out of contention to be Russell Wilson’s backup. With 5:06 remaining in the game, a Bears defender went unblocked on a blitz and Pryor threw up a duck that was easily intercepted by Bears cornerback C.J. Wilson. It was a terrible decision by Pryor to throw and that kind of decision making gives Tarvaris Jackson a significant leg up on Pryor to win the backup quarterback job. Coach Carroll constantly preaches that it is “all about the ball” and Pryor seemed to be inept in that moment. He could have taken the sack or throw the ball out of bounds for intentional grounding and the Seahawks would have been penalized but kept possession of the ball. Instead the ball was intercepted and the Bears took over on offense. It is now a question of whether Pryor will stay on as our 3^rd quarterback or will he be cut before the regular season starts. He will have one last chance next week to prove he is worthy of a roster spot. If I were Pryor however, I would seriously be questioning my job security after a performance like the one he had against Chicago.

Lane Shines: The defensive player of the game this week was without a doubt cornerback Jeremy Lane. Lane led all Seahawks defenders with 6 tackles including 3 passes defensed and a 41-yard interception return that cost the Bears a goal-to-go scoring opportunity. On one of his passes defensed he showed outstanding vertical ability, out jumping the receiver and nearly picking off his second pass of the game. Lane and fellow cornerback Tharold Simon have been battling to be the primary nickel corner and Lane has taken big step in securing that job. After an average first half of the preseason, Lane’s performance against the Bears fully re-assures my confidence that if Richard Sherman or Byron Maxell were to get hurt, the Seahawks and the Legion of Boom will be in good hands.

Thoughts on Chicago: I have one point to make in regards to the Chicago Bears. If Jay Cutler gets hurt, the Bears are screwed. With Cutler in the game on Friday night the Bears passed the ball 79% of the time. This will be a heavy passing offense and if Cutler goes down the Bears will have no choice but to have either Jordan Palmer or Jimmy Clausen lead this dominantly passing offensive unit. When completely healthy I believe this offense is good enough to stay competitive and win games. If any of the Bears skill position weapons (Cutler, Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery) go down, the Bears will be a very vulnerable team.

Random Thoughts: I got the uniform combinations right once again. Navy/navy for the Seahawks, white/navy for the Bears… CenturyLink Field had two banners ready to be unveiled this week but they held off on both once again. All three of our 2013 banners will be unveiled before we play the Packers… Nice to see the majority of the crowd booed referee Bill Leavy at the beginning of the game, re-affirming that the majority of Seahawks fans have not put Super Bowl XL entirely behind them… The Seahawks are selling beer in souvenir cups that look like a total rip off. The cups look like they hold anywhere from 8-10 ounces of beer. In other words, they seem tiny. They cost the normal beer price though… Elysian Fields before the game once again this week. I Actually got to have a couple of beers. It was a fun and festive atmosphere, even more so than last week… If you are around downtown Seattle I highly recommend Chuck’s Hole-in-the-Wall BBQ on James Street. I made a second appearance there for lunch on Friday and the brisket/pulled pork/chicken combo platter did not disappoint… Not as many Bears fans in attendance as I thought there were going to be so that was nice… I understand the NFL bag policy but the fact that I could not bring in a sweatshirt I had bought earlier in the day which was in a white plastic bag is kind of ridiculous. It’s just a sweatshirt and it’s just a bag… If you walk through Pioneer Square you can see light post banners advertising NFL Kickoff 2014. I simply cannot wait for a week from Thursday. It is going to be a rocking party all day long!

The Seahawks have until 1pm Tuesday to cut their roster from 90 players to 75 players. Check back later this weekend for a new post as I predict which 15 players will not be on the team when we play Oakland next week. Thanks for reading. Go Hawks!

Bears/Seahawks Preview

Photo Credit: seahawks.com

Matchup: Chicago Bears at Seattle Seahawks

Site: CenturyLink Field (Seattle, Washington)

Kickoff: 7:00pm

The third game of the preseason is always the most important. It is the opportunity for the starters to play into the second half and this game gives fans possibly the best preview of how their regular season will play out. In this year’s edition of the “dress rehearsal” game, the Seahawks host the Chicago Bears at CenturyLink Field. The Bears are a perfect 2-0 in the preseason and are coming off a 20-19 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Seahawks are 1-1 and are hoping to build upon last week’s dominant performance over the San Diego Chargers. Since the starters will play the majority of this game I expect a lot out of the Seahawks this week. Here is what I will be focusing on.

Last week I called upon Robert Turbin to prove he can be Marshawn Lynch’s primary backup. He impressed. Turbin will likely see the bulk of the carries again this week but my primary focus on offense is Russell Wilson and the passing game. Wilson has been on the field for just over one half of play so far this preseason and his play has been very good, going 15/19 for 158 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Although Wilson has a clean stat line, many of his throws have been conservative, moving the ball in smaller chunks. This week I want to see signs of an aerial attack that could make the Seahawks offense a powerful two-headed monster come September. The speed of the Seahawks receivers is crucial to making this happen. Percy Harvin, Ricardo Lockette, and rookie Paul Richardson should all play with Wilson in the game and I want to see Wilson taking shots down the field to these targets for large chunks of yardage. With a banged up Lance Briggs and Kyle Fuller unlikely to play, and rookie Brock Vereen patrolling the middle of the secondary, the Seahawks could be in prime position to take advantage of a Bears defense that will be somewhat depleted come Friday night.

This week the Legion of Boom will play in full. The Seahawks defense has been missing strong safety Kam Chancellor for all of training camp and the preseason as he has been recovering from offseason hip surgery but this week Coach Carroll has said he expects Chancellor to play against Chicago. For how long remains to be seen. I expect Chancellor to be a bit rusty early on in the game but will settle down and it will be business as usual for the LOB. The Seahawks will still be without starting linebackers Bobby Wagner and Bruce Irvin this week but will hopefully have them back in time to play Oakland next week. Mike Morgan and Brock Coyle will likely start at linebacker once again this week. It will be crucial for the defense to play well early as the Bears are fully capable of putting points on the board. The 12^th Man will once again have to be in mid-season form to help shut down Jay Cutler and the Chicago offense.

This week I am interested to see who will see playing time after the starters are pulled in the third quarter. With the first round of roster cuts coming early next week, this game would ideally be the final chance for a select group of players to prove themselves before the first judgment day of the preseason. It is this reason why I expect to see members of the second-string units to see playing time with the starters. Once the starters are pulled in the third quarter, my guess is that we will see third-stringers and undrafted players get a chance to prove they are worthy of sticking around for at least one more week. On offense I expect to see wide receivers Phil Bates and Bryan Walters as well as offensive linemen Stephen Schilling, Caylin Hauptmann, and Garry Gilliam see their fair share of playing time in the second half. On defense, I would like to see D’Anthony Smith, Michael Brooks, Korey Toomer, Phillip Adams, and Steven Terrell get their chance to prove they are worthy of making the first round of roster cuts.

The Chicago Bears come into this game undefeated on the preseason. The strength of the Bears offense gives the Seahawks a quality test for the starters to see in an expanded preseason opportunity. The Bears are led by quarterback Jay Cutler along with two of the best wide receivers in football, Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. Although the Legion of Boom will surely have their hands full with Marshall and Jeffery, the Seahawks defense will also have to take into account a newly signed Chicago wide receiver. This week my X-Factor Player to Watch for the Bears is wide receiver Santonio Holmes. Holmes is entering his 9^th NFL season. Most recently he spent the past 4 seasons with the New York Jets. Holmes was signed over the past week and on Wednesday it was reported by ESPN that Holmes may see playing time this week. If Holmes does see game action I am interested to see how the Bears use him in their pass-heavy offensive scheme, because it will be difficult for the Seahawks to prepare for Holmes’ presence on the field; something that is currently a complete mystery.

Random Thoughts: The Seahawks will wear blue jerseys and blue pants with the Bears likely wearing white jerseys and navy pants. It has been 5 years since the Bears last played in Seattle. On that September Sunday the Seahawks wore these. Thank goodness we have graduated to our amazing Nike uniforms since… Curt Menefee and Brock Huard have the call for Q13 FOX… Bill Leavy is the referee this week. Even though we finally got our first Lombardi Trophy, I will never forget how Leavy and his officiating crew ruined Super Bowl XL… My back is feeling better so hopefully I’ll be able to handle my medicine accordingly and have a couple of beers before the game, as I am meeting up with a small group of friends… The offense will likely be introduced this week after the defense was introduced last week… I do not expect any championship banners unveiled this week but it looked like a banner was going to be revealed last week, so I could be wrong… I may have to make it a gameday tradition to visit the Lombardi Trophy at Touchdown City before every game. Seeing it before last week’s game got me pretty emotional… I could not even begin to guess who will raise the 12^th Man flag this week. My guess is a popular former Seahawks player… In two weeks we open the regular season at home. I can hardly wait!

Prediction: The Seahawks and Bears will trade touchdowns in the first quarter before the Seahawks start to pull away. Russell Wilson will throw for two touchdowns and Christine Michael will also add a touchdown later in the game. The Seahawks will improve to 2-1 with the preseason finale against Oakland looming next week.

Seahawks 30, Bears 17

Check back late Friday night/early Saturday morning for my game review. Thanks for reading and go Seahawks!