The Saints come marching in.

[seacards12]

I like our chances against the Saints but I respect the heck out of them. What we need to do, as we did with Wright, is have Malcom Smith spy the running backs most of the game. He does that and we can eliminate the threat of screens. After that we need to play extremely disciplined run D because I'm anticipating a ton of play-action from the Saints. Double Graham in the middle and man up on the outside. Our corners can handle their receivers but can our LBers and safeties handle Graham again, especially with Wright out? My guess is yes, but Jimmy will have a better game this time. Pick on their rookie LT as well.

Go Hawks.

 

[Blitzer88]

I was thinking about this last night but during the first matchup KJ Wright owned Graham and looked like an active cornerback during the game, I hope Wagner and Smith can perform the same duties close to how Wright performed the first time around.

Yeah, not having KJ is gonna hurt. He played lights out the first time we played.

 

[PryorFamily]

Here are my main reasons why I love the outcome of the weekend so far.

1) While the Saints may have gained some confidence in winning a road playoff game, the game next week at the Clink lines up great for SEA.

Saints:
a. NO is still not a good road team. They have now put 1 in the books but odds on stringing another road playoff win together are statistically
slim.
b. Saints looked like they took a physical beating in the Philly win. Injuries and simple wear and tear adds up going on the road AGAIN.
c. The noise is a factor. It has a tangible affect on an offense and offense, is the biggest weapon for NO.
d. They can talk about "opportunity" and "redemption" all they want......when you get knocked out and face the same person \ team again... you
can be confident but you STILL remember that feeling. If NO gets into a hole early it will be tough to stay confident. They were never really
down to Philly.

Seahawks:
a. Health - I would at times worry about "rust" coming off a bye. But the post bye week performance, against the same team, in the same stadium
gives me a lot of confidence that they have handled the time off and preparation well!
b. It's the playoffs. You will now see the team run on all cylinders, vanilla free, nothing held back. Harvin, Lynch, Tate.....RW running when its
there....even Willson may be ready to contribute. It's pedal to the metal and we may see a much higher point total and offensive efficiency
than we've been seeing the last 4-5 weeks. If NO secondary is banged up.....watch out.
c. 12th man. How long have we been waiting for this? Last year was the beginning but the playoff games were on the road. I think the Clink is
going to be levitating on the sheer energy that is going to be pulsing from a frenzied hoard of devoted. Earplugs or not, you simply can't avoid the affects.
as an opponent. It has a tangible power that magnifies your mistakes and crushes the will. Powerful stuff.

Here's my prediction.

I believe, based on what this coaching staff and team has shown in big game preparation, that the 1st quarter hits NO likes an avalanche and we go up 2+ scores by half. The reality sets in as does the wear and tear on NO against much fresher minds and bodies and I think Tavaris get's some playoff reps in the end.

34 - 13 Hawks.

2 TD's for Lynch
2 TD's by RW passing
2 FG by Hauschka

1 TD for Brees and 2 FG's following Red zone stops.

 

[ImTheScientist]

I like our chances against the Saints but I respect the heck out of them. What we need to do, as we did with Wright, is have Malcom Smith spy the running backs most of the game. He does that and we can eliminate the threat of screens. After that we need to play extremely disciplined run D because I'm anticipating a ton of play-action from the Saints. Double Graham in the middle and man up on the outside. Our corners can handle their receivers but can our LBers and safeties handle Graham again, especially with Wright out? My guess is yes, but Jimmy will have a better game this time. Pick on their rookie LT as well.

Go Hawks.

We didn't do any of that last time.

 

[kmedic]

How do wildcard teams with narrow victory of margins (FG or less) do in the following divisional game rounds? In general, they either win comfortably or even crush their next opponent, or they lose. Another words, they don't often win again by a narrow margin. The ones that do generally have really stout defenses like the 2010 Jets. History says that if the Saints are going to beat us they will win easily. Somehow I don't think that's going to happen in the CLink.

 

[olyfan63]

It's the playoffs.

Don't underestimate Sean Payton and Rob Ryan and their ability to game plan for the Seahawks. The Saints shouldn't have a Lombardi, but they do... because of one play, the onside kick they recovered that kept the ball out of a red-hot Peyton Manning's hands. The coaching and preparation was the margin of victory. Don't forget the Rams' fake field goal last year. It's the playoffs. Anything can happen. NO will come out and throw some stuff at us we haven't seen before, offensively, and I expect they'll have success in the first half. After we adjust, the 2nd half will be ours.

That said, Seattle has the more talented team overall and should win, if the coaches and players do their thing.

I think Seattle comes in with a passing-heavy game plan, to score early and often, but maybe waiting until after halftime to fully open the playbook, and it's a close game at halftime, with the Seahawks pulling away in the 2nd half. I think the Saints will be pesky and in the game until mid 3rd quarter at least.