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The playoffs are here and the Skins are in the mix, and facing an old playoff nemesis in the Seahawks. And Seahawks fans are pretty confident about the game-with reservations of course.
Some basic team similarities are noted.
The FedEx field condition got some commentary as well.
JohnL Fan
It's going to be very interesting, for sure. In other ways, this game will emulate the Niners game...in that these teams are very similar....offensively, anyway: for obvious reasons (run/option offenses, with priority on the 'run'). I'm hoping Seattle's defense will be the difference maker in this game (and thank goodness RG3 is not 100%).
Seahawks 20
Redskins 17
Attyla the Hawk
It's a good matchup for us. I think our stout run defense up the middle is going to allow us to not crash down with our ends. Allowing us to defense the QB option easier. They also don't have good over the middle options in their passing game. That is an achilles heel that shouldn't be exposed.
And they play in the NFC East. That division was pretty much garbage. The Rams take that division no question about it. In the end, I see our defense being able to take away their bread and butter. Morris should give us trouble. But I think we'll have success taking Griffin. Ultimately, I like our ability to force teams' hands by shutting down one aspect of their game. I think we can force them into trying to run up the middle on us
peawk
I trust the staff, and truly believe they should be able to impose their will rushing on da Skins. That would mean Sweezy over Moffit, I'd guess? But, I'm still not sure it's worth it.
I dont think Sweezy getting significant time was something Harbaugh anticipated and gameplanned for. But, teams that HAVE gameplanned for Sweezy starting, have bitched slapped Sweezy on pass protection. All it takes is a stunt and/or overloaded look, and presto...a sack on Wilson. Haslett will most certainly do the same damn thing.
Some basic team similarities are noted.
redoverred
Hopefully practicing against ourselves will have us fully prepared. No need for scout teams this week!
The FedEx field condition got some commentary as well.
Pigpen17
When an offensive scheme makes Demarcus Ware look like a lost 9 year old at the circus, we had better come in more prepared. If we can do a better job at that, the rest falls right into place.
Oh, and did you guys see that field?! What a mess!
rky
That sloppy natural turf worries me. The last time the hawks faced it was in Miami.
seahawk2
My biggest concern is the grass field. Hawks are 2-3 on grass fields, beating Carolina and Chicago, but losing to Arizona, Miami and SF. Grass will slow us down. Which means our already crap pass rush will be giving RGIII all the time in the world. We only mustered 8 sacks in those 5 games and 4 of them came against Carolina.
Jacknut16
I worry about the Hawks, on the road, on that nasty grass. Trying to stop the most effective run game in the league.
I think the Hawks win in Seattle every time.
I think we lose 6-7 out of 10 in DC.
Human_Cockroach
I'm with you RKY, a defense built for speeds worst enemy is sloppy, natural grass. Not in the least concerned about the travel time ( same kickoff as the Toronto/Bills game) but the mud I saw tonight worries me quite a bit ( not saying I don't still think the Hawks win, because I do, just think it makes it closer is all).
Tfer
I've said for years that, all NFL stadiums should have FieldTurf mandated.
Zorn76
I was not impressed by Washington, to be honest. Doesn't mean next week will be easy by any means, but we do have a solid shot at beating them.
That was a 21-18 game with 3:33 left in the 4th, when Romo throws yet another unbelievably dumb INT. And so ends the Cowboys season.
I like our chances - alot. We are better offensively and defensively than the Redskins, and they only sacked Romo twice. As long as we stay aggressive on both sides of the ball, we should be OK.
D-Wreck
I think the Rams have kind of shown the rest of the NFL that like all QB's in the league you can disrupt Wilson with pressure. Not to say he won't adjust but clearly be was out of sync in the first half. So now that a tricky Foreskins D has seen this, how do we compensate? I think it would be an excellent time to bring back a few of our trick plays( the lynch flea flicker, Tate's ugly lefty throw, Sydney to Tate) and keep em guessing to buy Wilson some time! Thoughts? BTW, we need to get Rice more involved again, hopefully it was just a one game thing but it seems like when Wilson is pressured he can't find him?
DangerRyan
Beat them with quick hot routes right to where they blitz from. And also keep them off balance with more screens or a draw here and there.
I'm very confident we will adjust, but more then that I'm confident that RW will find more ways to escape the pressure and keep making plays outside the pocket.
One thing I saw from the Redskins is they blitzed the hell out of Romo last night, expect the same thing this Sunday. RW has the ability to get away from defenders and make plays, but we really need to focus on finding the hot route because the middle of the field will be open a lot if they blitz like they did against Dallas.
Frank C
One thing to remember about RGIII...he isn't playing at 100%. His knee still isn't completely healed. That will play a factor in his speed and willingness to take a hit or run down the middle of the field.
I know we have faster LBs and secondary than Dalass.
Washington does not have the front 4 that the Rams have and if they do blitz as much as yesterday, RW will make them pay. Romo is not as fleet of foot as RW.
Washington lost 3 games at home, so their home field advantage is not huge.
The think that will hurt the Hawks the most is the old away game on the east coast stygma. If the could get over that (and they did win their last two games on the road) they should handle the 'Skins.
31-17 final score. RW 2 TDs, Lynch 2 TDs. 4 Sacks and 3 INTs.
hawker84
anybody taking the skins game lightly, has not watched this team... they're explosive, and can move the ball effectively... seahawks better go into this game expecting to score a bunch of points, because IMO this is not going to be a defensive battle, RG3 at 85% is still extremely hard to contain, and is very accurate with medium to long balls... Garcon and Moss are play makers, and could give our bigger corners trouble with their quickness... the running attack does not worry me as much as the passing game.
their defense does not concern me at all, after all we all know what a liability josh wilson is, although he played well sunday, he can be beat and beat often.... stay away from hall, pick on wilson and the safties..
should be a good game, if the real hawks teams shows up , we should get the victory.
Bobblehead
My personal observation during these last several to 5 games is that as soon as Wilson applies the Read-zone and takes off with the ball, we seem to then be able to do what we want.
I think it would be good to set the tone of the game by having Wilson run sooner than later, just to keep everyone off balance.
NoCal Hawk Fan
RG3 does not look very explosive since the knee injury. Dallas was very effective dropping into coverage and forcing him to run... but that allowed Morris to kill them. Playing the 49ers recently with Kap will help us as it will probably be a similar game plan... power running game and QB that can hurt you with his legs.
squatch
I actually really dig the match up... I think they look a lot like the niners on the O side of the ball and, well, we did alright stopping them. Morris is their Gore. TOP is gonna be big, imo. We need to put points on the board and force them to play catch up with the pass game. Do all this, grasshoppa, and success is ours.
ighwatermark
Our D is #1 in the league, holding teams to 15.3 points per game, and our O is scoring 25.8 points per game. Meanwhile their D is giving up 24.3 ppg and their O is scoring 27.3 ppg. So while our offenses are pretty evenly matched, the big advantage in this game is our D.
12th_Bob
I think the Skins will plan on throwing on early downs and running outside the perimeter, it's going to take a good game from the front seven to negate all the easy stuff and force Griffin to throw outside the hashes in tight windows with rhythm. I've noticed that Washington gets a lot of big passing plays doing slants over the middle targeting in between the FS and SS, so Chancellor will need to put the wood on a few TE and WR when they get to his zone. It all starts with the Skins run game though, so bottle that up and everything gets easier after that.
Optimist Prime
Seahawks 31-20 Redskins ..
i can see Kirk Cousins having to come in at some point because Seattle will be chasing RGIII all day and will eventually catch him. RGIII was limping pretty bad in the 4th yesterday. Chris Clemons will not be as useless as a one armed Demarcus Ware , he's gonna get some licks on RG.
Redskins have a horrible secondary ...statistically 3rd worst passing D , tied second most TDs given up , given up 4th most 1st Downs .. Golden Tate and Baldwin will have good days if Rice takes up DeAngelo Hall.
Mad Dog
All playoff teams are "good". But I don't think washington is one of the better ones. Their defense is very so-so. Their offense relies on a scheme that people haven't figured out very well yet (as witnessed by our success running it as well).
But they haven't faced our speed. That is one of the things that can defeat the zone read and pistol. Pure speed.
NoCal Hawk Fan
Redskins worst in the league giving up 3rd down conversions while we have been increasing our efficiency there as the season has gone along. SKins also in the bottom 3rd of the league in defensive redzone defense. Overall we are talking about a pretty poor Skins defense.
Conversely the skins (at least statistically) are one of the best offenses in the league. But they have struggled converting 3rd downs so this will be a key for our defense in this game.
On paper looks like the Skins have a very good run defense but the opposition is runnning against them the least amount of times in the league. They are middle of the road in yards per attempt.
Defensively for us, stopping the run will be paramount because this is where the skins have been crushing people between RG3 and Morris.
Once again, looks can be deceiving when looking at the Seahawks passing attack. We throw the ball the least amount of times in the league (BY FAR) but yet are very effective, efficient, and deadly when we do. Top 5 in yards per attempt and top 10 in both completion % and TD passes per game.
Mirroring us, the Skins throw the ball the 2nd least amount of times, and like us, have been extremely effective when they do throw. THey lead the NFL in yards per attempt as when RG3 throws the ball, most of the time it is down the field which when considering they are 6th in the league in completion % that is pretty amazing. We should have the opportunity to hit RG3 at least a few times.
Both teams have been excellent in the turnover departement with the Skins holding the slight advantage. SKins simply do not turn the ball over but despite giving up yards, they can take the ball away. Both teams pride themselves in ball control.
Both teams are among the league's most penalized teams. As evidenced by the discrepency in penalties vs yardage, the Seahawks are victims of many of the 5 yard variety penalites but have largely avoided the big yardage penalties.
rottweiler
Eh, depends on when the Seahawks fly out that way, really.
If they were to go ahead and make the flight tomorrow or Tuesday, I'd go as far as to say it just might be a blowout for the Hawks.
But if the Hawks wait 'til Friday morning to head to D.C., look out. The jetlag'll hurt. And them 'Skins were crackin' them helmets pretty durned hard tonight.
Will be a very, very physical game. Could go either way, really.