BOLTS AND SEAHAWKS
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Chargers favored by 5 1/2 against Seahawks
Coming off a convincing 38-13 win at home over Jacksonville, the San Diego Chargers have been installed as 5 1/2-point favorites on the road this week at Seattle.
Here are all this week's NFL betting lines from USA Today's Danny Sheridan.
Both Seattle and San Diego are 1-1 and the Seahawks have their 12th Man crowd noise factor for Sunday's 1:15 p.m. game, but the Chargers are one of the AFC's top teams and will be a tough test for Pete Carroll's rebuilding team.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/archives/222228.asp
Coming off a convincing 38-13 win at home over Jacksonville, the San Diego Chargers have been installed as 5 1/2-point favorites on the road this week at Seattle.
Here are all this week's NFL betting lines from USA Today's Danny Sheridan.
Both Seattle and San Diego are 1-1 and the Seahawks have their 12th Man crowd noise factor for Sunday's 1:15 p.m. game, but the Chargers are one of the AFC's top teams and will be a tough test for Pete Carroll's rebuilding team.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/archives/222228.asp
news has been saying its going to be cloudy with chance of rain changing to showers. im guessing it'll be like 64 degrees and grey with misty rain.
seahawks are going to whoop ass come sunday
everybodys going to be talking about how we should be able to take the division
ipuko lol werent you saying how much the hawks blow for the past couple weeks now you're going to be at the game cheering them on? smh
seahawks are going to whoop ass come sunday
everybodys going to be talking about how we should be able to take the division
ipuko lol werent you saying how much the hawks blow for the past couple weeks now you're going to be at the game cheering them on? smh
Five things to watch in Seahawks-Chargers game
Some key things to look for when Seattle takes on AFC West power San Diego:
1) If Rivers flows, it'll be long day for the home team
The Chargers no longer have All-Pro running back LaDainian Tomlinson. Standout receiver Vincent Jackson is holding out. First-round draft choice Ryan Mathews is hurt.
But San Diego still has Philip Rivers and if the Pro Bowl quarterback gets into a rhythm against the Seahawks, look out. Rivers is averaging 316 yards passing a game in the first two weeks. He's fourth in the NFL in yards per game, third in QB rating and second in touchdowns (5) and yards per pass attempt (9.3).
Seattle has one big thing in its favor, of course. The 12th Man crowd noise makes things difficult for opposing quarterbacks and Rivers certainly struggled in his only appearance at Qwest in 2006 and sometimes loses his cool in heated situations.
In a Christmas Eve game at Qwest in his first season as a starter, Rivers was just 6 for 28 passing at one point before rallying the Chargers to a last-minute win. He finished 10-for-30 for 181 yards and two scores, both to Jackson, including the 37-yard winner with 29 seconds to go.
"I remember starting off super slow and getting some false starts early because of the noise," Rivers said this week from San Diego. "As a matter of fact, I think we missed our first 10 passes in that game and the first one we hit was a touchdown."
Rivers figures this is a different game with almost entirely different personnel on both sides.
"Two different teams," he said. "I don't make much of that other than remembering the atmosphere and the noise. We'll have to be ready to handle it -- something we didn't handle too well in Week One (at Kansas City) -- but I'm pretty confident we'll be able to handle it better this week."
One thing that is the same from the '06 game, of course, is the 12th Man. So we'll see.
2) Can Seattle run the rock?
The best way to keep Rivers and the potent Chargers' offense off the field is for the Seahawks to control the ball themselves. But that has been a weak point the first two games.
The Seahawks rank 30th in the NFL in time of possession with an average of 24:54 per game. San Diego is fourth at 33:32.
Part of Seattle's problem has been turnovers. Only two teams have thrown more than the Seahawks' four interceptions in two weeks. But the running game has to get geared up as well and that means getting into some sort of rhythm with Justin Forsett and/or Julius Jones and Leon Washington.
To this point, Pete Carroll has rotated his backs as promised, but at some point the Seahawks need to establish more consistency there and Forsett is the likely candidate.
It's worth noting that two weeks into the season, Seattle's only two rushing touchdowns have come from Matt Hasselbeck. That has to change.
3) The titanic tight end battle
With Vincent Jackson still on his suspension/holdout, the Chargers' biggest weapon in the passing game is tight end Antonio Gates, who is tied for second in the NFL in receiving touchdowns with three.
Despite being the focus of opposing defenses, Gates has caught 10 passes for 133 yards and will be foremost on the Seahawk defenders minds. For one thing, he's hard to miss at 6-4, 260 pounds. For another, he's one of the top red-zone producers in the league with 62 career TDs, tied for second most in NFL history by a tight end.
But it'll be interesting to see how much Seattle uses its own tight ends in this game as well. Jacksonville tight end Mercedes Lewis caught five balls for 70 yards last week against the Chargers, so don't be surprised if John Carlson gets plenty of looks on Sunday.
He's already leading the team with eight receptions, but hasn't had a big bust-out game yet. It's just a hunch, but this might be a game where Carlson comes to the fore.
4) Look left ... at the tackles
There's a reason left tackle is a critical position in the NFL, so it's again worth watching that spot Sunday as both teams field second-year backups who are filling in.
Tyler Polumbus makes his third start in place of first-round draft pick Russell Okung and he'll be severely challenged by a Chargers' 3-4 defense that likes to bring heat from its outside linebackers.
Polumbus has been a most-pleasant surprise to this point for the Seahawks and he might catch a bit of a break with the Chargers' outside backers facing some injury problems. Three-time Pro Bowler Shawne Merriman is battling an Achilles' problem that is limiting him to 20-25 snaps a game.
And 2009 first-round draft pick Larry English had a foot problem flare up in practice Friday and is listed as questionable.
San Diego has a near carbon-copy of the Polumbus situation with Brandyn Dombrowski starting at left tackle in place of holdout Marcus McNeill. Like Polumbus, Dombroski is a second-year pro who started eight games last season and was thrust into the left-tackle role this year due to circumstances.
McNeill finally signed on Saturday, but must sit out another three games due to his holdout situation. So it'll be Dombrowski dealing with the 12th Man and Chris Clemons coming off the corner on Sunday.
5) Can Golden shine again?
For a guy who has played only 16 snaps of offense in two weeks, Golden Tate has received a lot of attention. And for one simple reason. The guy has made spectacular plays throughout training camp and again when he finally got in last week in Denver.
Two punt returns for 84 yards and a 52-yard reception will open some eyes. And after being inactive in Week One, the second-round draft pick forced his way back into the plans with his big plays against the Broncos.
Tate will be the punt returner from the get-go this week, replacing Forsett and Walter Thurmond. He'll get some action at receiver as well, though with Mike Williams healthy again and Deon Butler playing well, it remains to be seen how the youngster from Notre Dame fits in.
One thing you can be sure. He's ready to shake and bake when he gets his chance.
"I like style points," Tate said with a smile.
He also understands his limitations.
"I know my past and my past isn't running over people, especially at this level," he said. "I just don't see myself running through too many people, being 5-10 and 200 pounds."
Tate was a running back in high school and clearly has the ability to make people miss. But first he's got to get his hands on the ball. How much that happens Sunday will be interesting to see, indeed.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/archives/222618.asp
Some key things to look for when Seattle takes on AFC West power San Diego:
1) If Rivers flows, it'll be long day for the home team
The Chargers no longer have All-Pro running back LaDainian Tomlinson. Standout receiver Vincent Jackson is holding out. First-round draft choice Ryan Mathews is hurt.
But San Diego still has Philip Rivers and if the Pro Bowl quarterback gets into a rhythm against the Seahawks, look out. Rivers is averaging 316 yards passing a game in the first two weeks. He's fourth in the NFL in yards per game, third in QB rating and second in touchdowns (5) and yards per pass attempt (9.3).
Seattle has one big thing in its favor, of course. The 12th Man crowd noise makes things difficult for opposing quarterbacks and Rivers certainly struggled in his only appearance at Qwest in 2006 and sometimes loses his cool in heated situations.
In a Christmas Eve game at Qwest in his first season as a starter, Rivers was just 6 for 28 passing at one point before rallying the Chargers to a last-minute win. He finished 10-for-30 for 181 yards and two scores, both to Jackson, including the 37-yard winner with 29 seconds to go.
"I remember starting off super slow and getting some false starts early because of the noise," Rivers said this week from San Diego. "As a matter of fact, I think we missed our first 10 passes in that game and the first one we hit was a touchdown."
Rivers figures this is a different game with almost entirely different personnel on both sides.
"Two different teams," he said. "I don't make much of that other than remembering the atmosphere and the noise. We'll have to be ready to handle it -- something we didn't handle too well in Week One (at Kansas City) -- but I'm pretty confident we'll be able to handle it better this week."
One thing that is the same from the '06 game, of course, is the 12th Man. So we'll see.
2) Can Seattle run the rock?
The best way to keep Rivers and the potent Chargers' offense off the field is for the Seahawks to control the ball themselves. But that has been a weak point the first two games.
The Seahawks rank 30th in the NFL in time of possession with an average of 24:54 per game. San Diego is fourth at 33:32.
Part of Seattle's problem has been turnovers. Only two teams have thrown more than the Seahawks' four interceptions in two weeks. But the running game has to get geared up as well and that means getting into some sort of rhythm with Justin Forsett and/or Julius Jones and Leon Washington.
To this point, Pete Carroll has rotated his backs as promised, but at some point the Seahawks need to establish more consistency there and Forsett is the likely candidate.
It's worth noting that two weeks into the season, Seattle's only two rushing touchdowns have come from Matt Hasselbeck. That has to change.
3) The titanic tight end battle
With Vincent Jackson still on his suspension/holdout, the Chargers' biggest weapon in the passing game is tight end Antonio Gates, who is tied for second in the NFL in receiving touchdowns with three.
Despite being the focus of opposing defenses, Gates has caught 10 passes for 133 yards and will be foremost on the Seahawk defenders minds. For one thing, he's hard to miss at 6-4, 260 pounds. For another, he's one of the top red-zone producers in the league with 62 career TDs, tied for second most in NFL history by a tight end.
But it'll be interesting to see how much Seattle uses its own tight ends in this game as well. Jacksonville tight end Mercedes Lewis caught five balls for 70 yards last week against the Chargers, so don't be surprised if John Carlson gets plenty of looks on Sunday.
He's already leading the team with eight receptions, but hasn't had a big bust-out game yet. It's just a hunch, but this might be a game where Carlson comes to the fore.
4) Look left ... at the tackles
There's a reason left tackle is a critical position in the NFL, so it's again worth watching that spot Sunday as both teams field second-year backups who are filling in.
Tyler Polumbus makes his third start in place of first-round draft pick Russell Okung and he'll be severely challenged by a Chargers' 3-4 defense that likes to bring heat from its outside linebackers.
Polumbus has been a most-pleasant surprise to this point for the Seahawks and he might catch a bit of a break with the Chargers' outside backers facing some injury problems. Three-time Pro Bowler Shawne Merriman is battling an Achilles' problem that is limiting him to 20-25 snaps a game.
And 2009 first-round draft pick Larry English had a foot problem flare up in practice Friday and is listed as questionable.
San Diego has a near carbon-copy of the Polumbus situation with Brandyn Dombrowski starting at left tackle in place of holdout Marcus McNeill. Like Polumbus, Dombroski is a second-year pro who started eight games last season and was thrust into the left-tackle role this year due to circumstances.
McNeill finally signed on Saturday, but must sit out another three games due to his holdout situation. So it'll be Dombrowski dealing with the 12th Man and Chris Clemons coming off the corner on Sunday.
5) Can Golden shine again?
For a guy who has played only 16 snaps of offense in two weeks, Golden Tate has received a lot of attention. And for one simple reason. The guy has made spectacular plays throughout training camp and again when he finally got in last week in Denver.
Two punt returns for 84 yards and a 52-yard reception will open some eyes. And after being inactive in Week One, the second-round draft pick forced his way back into the plans with his big plays against the Broncos.
Tate will be the punt returner from the get-go this week, replacing Forsett and Walter Thurmond. He'll get some action at receiver as well, though with Mike Williams healthy again and Deon Butler playing well, it remains to be seen how the youngster from Notre Dame fits in.
One thing you can be sure. He's ready to shake and bake when he gets his chance.
"I like style points," Tate said with a smile.
He also understands his limitations.
"I know my past and my past isn't running over people, especially at this level," he said. "I just don't see myself running through too many people, being 5-10 and 200 pounds."
Tate was a running back in high school and clearly has the ability to make people miss. But first he's got to get his hands on the ball. How much that happens Sunday will be interesting to see, indeed.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/archives/222618.asp
