The Seahawks

In my 2005 pre-season predictions, I gave up on Seattle because of their inconsistency. In this year's predictions, I continued in that vein. (Since I picked Arizona to win the division both years, I have to find some vindication somewhere.) They are off to a decent start this year at 3-1, but the signs don't look so good. Last week, they had a big win over the Giants. But what few seem to have commented on is that it was an ominous win. Looking beyond the 35-0 nothing start to the game, you realize the rest of the way it was 30-7 in favor of New York, and 27-0 for the Giants in the 4th quarter. Take away the first quarter and the Giants win that game by two scores. That does not speak of a team that can close out a game.

Go back a week to the Cardinal game. A respectable win, right? 21-10. Take away the first quarter and the game is 10-7 Arizona.

Those are two less than stellar teams, and they win only because they jump out to a fast start then manage to hang on the rest of the way. Seattle has put up a lousy 17 points total in the second half of games this season, compared to a total of 38 in the first quarter of games.

What happens when the face a good team? They lay an egg in Chicago and don't even have a good first quarter. None of this bodes well for the Seahawks. While they may end up winning a weak division, they won't go far in January if they can't put opponents away.