Answering that burning question, when will Seattle play the teams we already know they'll play?

And here we go.

Week 1: 10 @Buffalo, Avoiding the weather

Week 2: 1:15 San Francisco, Good setup for a spanking

Week 3: 1:05 Saint Louis, Welcome home Josh Brown (Brutusformer friend)

Week 4: Bye, early Bye, not too fond of that

Week 5: 10 @NYG, Destroy the champs to move to 4-0

Week 6: 1:15 Green Bay, Savor revenge, move to 5-0

Week 7: 5:15 @Tampa Bay, Good for them

Week 8: 1:15 @San Francisco, 7-0 a real possibility

Week 9: 1:15 Philadelphia, This should be shortly after McNabb is put on IR

Week 10: 10 @Miami, Next

Week 11: 1:05 ARZ, This game could be epic

Week 12: 1:15 WAS, Watch Seattle spank the old, crumbling Redskins

Week 13: 1:15 @Dallas, DAMN RIGHT! I'm already hyped for this

Week 14: 5:15 NE, 4th game of a really tough stretch

Week 15: 10 @StL, A patsy to refresh against

Week 16: 1:05 NYJ, Another snoozer

Week 17: 1:15 @ARZ, This could be for the division

Two tough stretches: 5-7, 11-14. Man, Thanksgiving indeed!

Okay, this doesn't matter much, no matter how the NFL hypes it. What does matter, though, is that Seattle completely avoids bad weather stadiums in bad weather months. In the Divisional Round against the Packers, Seattle's fast, but small defense was defanged by the falling snow. They couldn't explode off the snap, sapping the pass rush, and the aggression that made them so formidable stuffing the run became a liability. Without solid turf to plant and cut, misdirection ate up Seattle's front seven. This is a real break, and could mean wins in the standings. Now the Hawks have to step up and earn home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

So the NFL contacted SBN and wants us to link to his press conference (already in progress). I will say this: I greatly appreciate the NFL broadcasting key events on its website. I think it's very progressive of it--something that the NFL has long been ahead of the curve at. I've never had particularly strong feelings about Favre. I will forever remember watching him play like a man possessed the day after his father died. My former roommate Ian and I were simply in awe. True, non-hyperbole, non-conventionalized, awe. I think sentimentality sets in some age older than I. So watch this now, laugh, crack wise, rolls your eyes, but remember, no matter how frothing some of his supporters were, Brett Favre was a once-in-a-lifetime player.

More than half of the Seahawks 2008 schedule was affected by yesterday's free agent frenzy. Let's center in on the NFC West for now.

Brown Out

The hated, but adorable in a kitten sort of way, Rams signed Josh Brown. Brown is a good kicker, but is joining a terrible team with little foundation for future success. Old, thin, Jim Haslett...you get the point.

Niners Sign Justin Smith: 6/45, 20 guaranteed

Smith didn't sack Matt Hasslebeck on a botched block by Rob Sims in week 3, but he enabled Mike Meyers to. That little horror show was Smith's only highlight from week 3. Not long ago, Smith was considered a well rounded defensive end, capable of providing pass rush and stuffing the run. By all indications Smith dropped off considerably in 2007.

Traditional Stats: 2 sacks, 3 Stuffs, 78 tackles, 3 Pass Defenses, 0 FF

FO Line Stats: 32nd Ranked Adjusted Sack Rank, 27th ranked on rushes behind left tackle, 7th ranked on rushes around left end

Without a wealth of tape, I eschew judgment, but Smith will be 29 by week 4, is leaving one of the worst defenses in football and is coming off the worst season of his career. It's not that I think he won't rebound on a new team with better surrounding talent, it's just that I question throwing money at a declining veteran. The front three was an otherwise talented D's greatest sore spot. Talented, but far from effective (28th). Nevertheless, The Niners defense just improved and it's not farfetched to think they can crack the top 15. A top 15 ranked defense, a bottom 5 offense--that should be good enough for a 6-10 season. Maybe.

Niners Sign Isaac Bruce: 2/6

I don't think I need to say, the difference between the Niners offense and competence was Isaac Bruce. Mike Martz, already paying dividends.

Rod Graves is the Worst GM in Football

I wrote this spring and summer of last year.

The player destined to sign with the Cards developing offensive line didn't and probably won't. Something about wanting to get paid to play. Sell-out.

Enjoy yourself Cards fans.

We're still picking through the combine...hooray. Expect to hear the phrase "value added" a lot. And talk about player's "hips". I'm sure this is very cool to attend, but I'll be happy when it's over and we can assess its effect on draft boards. I'll update this with a quick recap later on.

I know people love Mock Drafts, so I'll post my own in about an hour. It will be periodically updated as we wend our way to draft day.

Briefly, as I'm not going to fill up a bunch of nothing with words.

Tights Ends

Martellus Bennett was the only top level prospect who excelled. 4.68 40, 34" Vert. He's likely solidified his spot as the number one TE off the board. Unless one of those late teens teams with a need think he's that good, Bennett will still likely fall into the second round. As will Fred Davis and John Carlson. Unfortunately, no one in the second class really established themselves. Brad Kotter ran a 4.55 40, but that doesn't make him any taller. The 6'8", 271 pound Brad Cottam probably helped himself the most, but not likely into the first day. Looks like Seattle will have to use a second round pick, maybe even trade up to grab Carlson. As is, I could see it.

Offensive Linemen

The Sam Baker Express keeps chugging down the boards. It will be interesting to see how far he's fallen when the dust clears. All in all, the combine has not shed much light on offensive linemen. Jake Long was and is the #1 tackle off the boards. As I mentioned earlier, Jeremy Zuttah probably did the most to help himself but his numbers were by no means eye-popping. Robert Felton didn't stand out--or, at least, I didn't see him and he didn't register on any leader boards. After reading about his problems with false starts, I highly doubt he'd get the Holmgren seal of approval. Roy Schuening displayed the good technique you'd expect from an ultra-polished guard, but suffered the always fun injury while running. As is, I don't see any offensive linemen who really stand out to me as Hawks. Maybe Baker.

Just an FYI for anyone who doesn't know, you can find the NFL combine here. Look, guys running! Wow. I'll update when something interesting happens. It might be a while.

U We can now know for sure, if Jake Long ever has to throw off a DB, while on his back, over and over again, he'll be able to.

Wow, Cherilus, too high, go figure.

Zuttah has gone from "who cares?" to will but probably shouldn't be drafted.

Schuenning looked good then hurt himself. Yep.

Nothing says O Line like "spindly legs".

U Mike Solari is coaching up the line prospects. Very good to see. There is hope!

I never know if I'm going to be chasing a stubborn monkey, either.

Apparently, the combine is "everything".

U Baker and Clady are both out. Sam Baker's stock should be falling, falling, falling.

U In case anyone was wondering, Seattle's picks breakdown like this: 1: 1 2: 1 3: 1 4: 1 5: 1 6: 0 7: 1 - I'm assuming Seattle's pick from Tennessee will be a 7th rounder.

U Guys jumping!

Obama gets the Teamsters. As a Teamster, I can tell you, that's completely meaningless. Half the guys I work with a Hawk Conservatives. There's no group think.

U Okay, I can't find anything interesting about this. I'll run an update later when the totals are in.

I know a lot of people want to discuss this, so here's a post to do it in. I'm totally against Seattle signing Alge Crumpler who's well past his prime and experienced an across the board drop in production last season. That, a foot injury and symbolic support of Michael Vick make me think it's very unlikely Crumpler is headed to Seattle. Let Algernon's abilities dwindle away in another lab.

I was happy to get home and read this:

Morgan, who cares? But Wahle would be a perfect fit for Seattle. Wahle is a veteran who could (would) take over starting left guard duties, moving Sims back to his more natural position at right. Wahle is consistently healthy, has the exact skill set Holmgren covets in a guard and shouldn't be terribly expensive. Guards last into their mid-thirties, so we're not talking about a washed up retread with little left to produce. Tim Ruskell should be familiar with Wahle from his days in Atlanta, a short stop that has colored many of his recent moves. A reasonable contract for Wahle shouldn't cost more than 3 million against the cap, a wholly justifiable hit for a player that would improve the Seahawks above and beyond his own contributions. With Wahle starting, the Hawks would be improving both guard positions, right guard drastically. Could count on one of the best, if not the best pass blocking offensive lines in all of football, and have a starting guard skilled at pulling - one of Sims' worst weaknesses. Further, this frees up flexibility in the draft, and makes an immediate, 2008 season impact that no available guard draftee could. Seriously, no buts, get this shit done.

The New York Giants are NFL Champions. The New England Patriots are not. Eli Manning is Super Bowl MVP.

Screw the writer's strike. That's comedy.

Congratulations to the Giants and Big Blue View.

Seriously. This shit's crazy. Discuss here.

Update [2008-2-5 14:8:13 by Shrug]: After (way too) much reflection, I've decided the Jets' win in Super Bowl III was more of an upset than this was. In 1969 the NFL was an indomitable force in American sports while the AFL was run out of a strip mall Hank Stram owned in Kansas City. It was right next to the Popeye's. Anyway, so we changed the headline.

The Hawks stay at 10th, though their VOA ranks 5th overall and 1st in the NFC. No time to add any commentary or list the notables as I'm consumed finishing a paper. Feel free to use this thread to discuss the Hawks DVOA and the individual data as it's posted.

The Hawks have a 79.2% chance of winning the division and an 83.8% chance of making the playoffs in some fashion or another, but only a 19.2% chance of earning the all important bye.

None of the individual stats are updated. For the most part, with the Hawks not playing this last weekend, they should be unchanged. But because of the constantly evolving nature of opponent adjustment, DVOA and DPAR may shift slightly. Shaun Alexander, for instance, will be negatively affected by the Bengals allowing 160 yards of net rushing and 9 rushing first downs to the Steelers.