Seahawks virtually assured of #1 Seed Now ...

[longsh0t]

SF won't lose. They have a pretty easy last 2 games.

Just gotta win one more and we'll end their false hope.

@Arizona is easy? who has beaten them at their place besides us?

it really doesn't matter. Seattle will win one at the very least. i see them winning out. even if the Seahwks bench RW in week 17, the D will carry the team.

sidenote: if the opportunity presents itself, it will be interesting to see if the Hawks bench Lynch week 17 and the Hawks give Christine Michael extended time

I'd love to see Michael and Willson both get more playtime in the next few games.

 

[A London Hawk]

What happens between SF and the Cards if (unlikely I know) the Niners go 0/2 and the Cards go 1/2?

 

[Polaris]

What happens between SF and the Cards if (unlikely I know) the Niners go 0/2 and the Cards go 1/2?

San Fran will win any head to head tiebreak with the Cards based on Division record. Also the Cards will only have 6 conference wins in this case which means they will lose tiebreaks with any Divisional team they don't have head to head tiebreaks with (Carolina is the only one of these that matters)

 

[kidhawk]

What happens between SF and the Cards if (unlikely I know) the Niners go 0/2 and the Cards go 1/2?

To answer your question, the Niners get in via tiebreakers.

You guys do realize that the Niners will clinch the wildcard the second we beat the Cardinals to clinch the division, don't you?

 

[Polaris]

What happens between SF and the Cards if (unlikely I know) the Niners go 0/2 and the Cards go 1/2?

To answer your question, the Niners get in via tiebreakers.

You guys do realize that the Niners will clinch the wildcard the second we beat the Cardinals to clinch the division, don't you?

Pfft. San Fran clinches a wildcard the moment they beat Atlanta so as I see it, it's no big deal.

 

[kidhawk]

What happens between SF and the Cards if (unlikely I know) the Niners go 0/2 and the Cards go 1/2?

To answer your question, the Niners get in via tiebreakers.

You guys do realize that the Niners will clinch the wildcard the second we beat the Cardinals to clinch the division, don't you?

Pfft. San Fran clinches a wildcard the moment they beat Atlanta so as I see it, it's no big deal.

They don't play until Monday....they don't get to clinch their own playoff spot. When we beat Arizona Monday, the Niners have nothing left to play for

 

[MidwestHawker]

What happens between SF and the Cards if (unlikely I know) the Niners go 0/2 and the Cards go 1/2?

To answer your question, the Niners get in via tiebreakers.

You guys do realize that the Niners will clinch the wildcard the second we beat the Cardinals to clinch the division, don't you?

Pfft. San Fran clinches a wildcard the moment they beat Atlanta so as I see it, it's no big deal.

They don't play until Monday....they don't get to clinch their own playoff spot. When we beat Arizona Monday, the Niners have nothing left to play for

Playing for the 5 seed instead of the 6 is still a pretty big deal. It's better to be visiting the NFC East champ than visiting the NFC North champ, and the 5 gives you some chance of not having to go into Seattle in the divisional round.

 

[Polaris]

Playing for the 5 seed instead of the 6 is still a pretty big deal. It's better to be visiting the NFC East champ than visiting the NFC North champ, and the 5 gives you some chance of not having to go into Seattle in the divisional round.

This. If San Fran can't get the division, they definately want to avoid the "seed of death" which is what the #6 NFC seed is going to be.

#6 seed--> Travel to the NFCN Champ in January (uggh) --->Travel to Seattle (<image censored>)

 

[kidhawk]

Playing for the 5 seed instead of the 6 is still a pretty big deal. It's better to be visiting the NFC East champ than visiting the NFC North champ, and the 5 gives you some chance of not having to go into Seattle in the divisional round.

Honestly, if a team is playing NOT to come to Seattle when we have home field throughout the playoffs, then they've already lost. 5 seed/6 seed the differnce is infinitesimal.

 

[Polaris]

Playing for the 5 seed instead of the 6 is still a pretty big deal. It's better to be visiting the NFC East champ than visiting the NFC North champ, and the 5 gives you some chance of not having to go into Seattle in the divisional round.

Honestly, if a team is playing NOT to come to Seattle when we have home field throughout the playoffs, then they've already lost. 5 seed/6 seed the differnce is infinitesimal.

Probably true, but if I were another NFC team fan, I'd want to put that off (travel to Seattle) for as long as possible in the (probably vain) hope that someone will take care of that problem for me. At the very least (again with the above assumption), I'd want such a hard trip to be for all the marbles.

 

[kidhawk]

Playing for the 5 seed instead of the 6 is still a pretty big deal. It's better to be visiting the NFC East champ than visiting the NFC North champ, and the 5 gives you some chance of not having to go into Seattle in the divisional round.

Honestly, if a team is playing NOT to come to Seattle when we have home field throughout the playoffs, then they've already lost. 5 seed/6 seed the differnce is infinitesimal.

Probably true, but if I were another NFC team fan, I'd want to put that off (travel to Seattle) for as long as possible in the (probably vain) hope that someone will take care of that problem for me. At the very least (again with the above assumption), I'd want such a hard trip to be for all the marbles.

As a fan, I can understand this perception, and Niner fans may be thinking that way, but I seriously doubt any Niner players are thinking that way. Honestly if they believe that anyone has a chance to beat Seattle and it's not them, then what kind of faith do they have that they can beat the team that were to beat us? I think the player's mentality is much more towards gearing up to play the best and beat the best.

Personally, if I were an NFC playoff team, I'd want to be the team visiting Seattle in the divisional round, NOT the Championship round. If there's a chance that we get knocked out before the Super Bowl, I believe that chance comes after a week off. 1 week after a divisional win playing for the NFC Championship in Seattle, the crowd will be INSANE (even more so than they will during the divisional game) and the players will be as up for it as possible.

Now, I don't see us having a let down game in the playoffs, but as a playoff team, I'd want Seattle first, not last.

 

[onanygivensunday]

If San Fran can't get the division, they definitely want to avoid the "seed of death" which is what the #6 NFC seed is going to be.

#6 seed--> Travel to the NFCN Champ in January (uggh) --->Travel to Seattle (<image censored>)

Fwiw, if the season ended today, the 6th seed, the Whiners, would travel to (#3) Philadelphia... not to the NFCN division winner.

 

[NJSeahawk]

I am counting no chickens. None.

:13:

 

[BlueTalons]

The way I see the whole picture is...the Panthers are going to win the South (just look at the schedule.) That means the two wild cards will be the Saints/49ers. NO has NEVER won a road playoff game...so if that holds true...we would likely host SF in the divisional round provided they beat Philly, Dallas, Chicago, or Detroit on the road.

Very possible that we play the 49ers then the Panthers. Two of the more physical teams in the league (including us of course.)

 

[MidwestHawker]

Playing for the 5 seed instead of the 6 is still a pretty big deal. It's better to be visiting the NFC East champ than visiting the NFC North champ, and the 5 gives you some chance of not having to go into Seattle in the divisional round.

Honestly, if a team is playing NOT to come to Seattle when we have home field throughout the playoffs, then they've already lost. 5 seed/6 seed the differnce is infinitesimal.

The 5 seed has a chance, however long, to get a home game for the NFCCG. The 6 seed is guaranteed to stay on the road the whole way.

Of course the players aren't going to play in fear of Seattle but the coaches will know the score and will still play the game with every effort to win it.

 

[HawkFan72]

The way I see the whole picture is...the Panthers are going to win the South (just look at the schedule.) That means the two wild cards will be the Saints/49ers. NO has NEVER won a road playoff game...so if that holds true...we would likely host SF in the divisional round provided they beat Philly, Dallas, Chicago, or Detroit on the road.

Very possible that we play the 49ers then the Panthers. Two of the more physical teams in the league (including us of course.)

That would suck. These teams are just going to beat each other up in the playoffs.

 

[plyka]

Negatives? Pete's Always Compete mantra would be hollow. He has said so, last year when our final game vs the Rams had no meaning.

The game against the Rams last year was played with the division still on the line. If SF had lost to Arizona we'd have won the division. That was almost never going to happen, but the game wasn't meaningless.

The "always compete" thing does get in Pete's way at times and forces him into this silly idealistic mindset that doesn't leave room for reality. I'd rather rest starters week 17 if we clinch next week, but I agree that Pete probably won't do that.

I agree 100%. His idealogy or "system" is so rigid that it leaves zero room for flexibility. This is true both in the offense --they do not take enough risks, they want to shorten the game and the number of possessions, they play ultra-conservative which results in being predictable and not taking advantage of certain situations (twice they had 4th and 1 on the Giants 40, I believe it was the first 2 possessions of the game, they decide to punt instead of going for it and putting the game away in the first half of the first quarter).

It also doesn't give him flexibility in this resting issue. It is the most obvious of decisions to sit Russell Wilson, Earl, Okung and Sherman in game 17 if everything is clinched next week. If the unthinkable were to happen, and Wilson breaks his collar bone on a tackle just like Aaron Rodgers did a few weeks ago (or a myriad of other injuries) in a completely meaningless game, it would take the seahawks from being the most likely superbowl winner to having ZERO CHANCE! Can you just put yourself in that position and tell me what you would feel like? In a meaningless game? He would be the most hated person in Seattle for the rest of time, it would be known as the worst decision in the history of football.

Edit: I forgot to add the most important part, lol. But this "system" may be the reason he is winning in the first place, lol.

 

[Hawkscanner]

I am counting no chickens. None.

Scott, I am SO with you there. I'm one of those who won't fully exhale until Seattle has the lead with the clock reading 00:00 in the Super Bowl. I've seen too many things happen over the years to be 100% confident about anything. It's the NFL after all, where the unexpected can and DOES happen all the time.

 

[Seahawkfan80]

I am counting no chickens. None.

Scott, I am SO with you there. I'm one of those who won't fully exhale until Seattle has the lead with the clock reading 00:00 in the Super Bowl. I've seen too many things happen over the years to be 100% confident about anything. It's the NFL after all, where the unexpected can and DOES happen all the time.

....and no flags on the field. Hmph. LOL