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.