Anyone with any insight into the X's and O's of this game feel free to chime in. It's the biggest game of the season so far. Few of us picked this as a win going into the season. But few of us counted the Hawks out of it either. I thought if we could split with the Niners we had a good shot at taking the division. That was before the loss to the Rams. Splitting with the Niners might not be enough. We can't go 0-3 vs the division.

So that said, here's what I know about the Niners recent history: MYTH: the Giants exposed the Niners by shutting down their running game and making Alex Smith carry the team. Smith promptly threw 3 INTS in the second half and the rout was on. REALITY: the Niners rushing attack was just fine. They didn't get any yards rushing because after Smith went INT happy in the 3rd Qtr. the Niners had to abandon the run. 4.7ypc is not being stifled. 17 carries, however, is a team that is playing catch up. The Giants crushed the Niners because the Giants were able to sack the QB 6 times. Constant unrelenting pressure screwed with Smiths rythym (I give up, I can never remember how to spell rhythm). But in the first half, the game was still close. The Niners missed two FG's in the first half. Halftime score should have been 10-9 Giants.

Second half, however, the Giants take the opening kick down and score a TD. An INT gives them the ball at SF 12 and they get a FG. Then an INT gives them the ball at SF 5 but the Niners D still holds them to a FG. So suddenly, 7 minutes have passed and the score is 23 to 3. goodbye rushing attack. What did Alex Smith do? He went deep to Moss.

Yet, inexplicably, HarharBAH! then sends in Kaerpernick. For one play. He gets sacked for 11 yards and drive stalls. Don't convert on 4th down and walk away with no score.

From that point on it's rotating QB's. Smith finishes with a 24.8 QB rating. This after Smith had dismantled the Bills the week before. The week before THAT Smith barely had to throw the ball because they ran it 44 times in a 35-0 rout of the Jets. So it's not like SF has a QB controversy. They may have oline protection issues however. Smith doesn't play well when under pressure. Imagine that. Who knew?

Obviously, we should try to establish a good pass rush on Smith and keep him under pressure. Unlike Brady, who would have owned us had we blitzed, Smith will turn the ball over if he's harrassed enough. On the flip side, we cannot move ET up to blitz because Moss and Manningham are deep threats and ET needs to stay in center field to keep a lid on it. that means we will continue to get hit with the short passing game. That's fine, because once the Niners get into the red zone ET comes forward and suddenly there is no one to throw it to. Brady turned the ball over 2 times. Should have been 5. Smith will get eaten at the end of those long drives.

If I'm the Niners, I give the ball to Gore. This is where the game will be decided. Nobody runs on us. But Gore and this SF rushing attack isn't nobody. This is the true test of our front 7, much like the Pats tested our secondary. We stopped them last year, we'll stop them this year IMO. That means the Niners will probably be kicking ton o' field goals.

On the flip side, the Niners will do to us what we do to everyone else: hold us to FG's. Here's where we have the advantage. The Niners haven't been able to mount much of a pass rush all season. Wilson will find the open receivers. Additionally, while their rushing defense has been stout, they've only faced two top 10 rushing attacks and against Buffalo they gave up 4.7 ypc until they got so far ahead the Bills abandoned the run. Against the Giants they gave up a 100+ yd rusher in Bradshaw. Lynch can run against this team.

This game comes down to which side can rush against the other and whether or not we can bring a pass rush against Smith. I think neither team will be able to run the ball, but if one team does, it will be the Hawks. We've never shown we can be run against. The Niners have. As for pressure on the QB, the Niners aren't bringing it, but the Seahawks will, I'm certain of it. Expect Pete to draw up all kinds of blitz packages to keep Smith rattled. If we can force him to make mistakes, we win the FG battle.

I'm taking the Hawks to win this one ugly. 16-12.

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Richard Sherman doesn't just wanna get in your head, he wants to build a vacation home there.

Like I said in another thread, we cant let Vernon Davis beat us. He's the one guy we really have to game plan for, imo. I'm confident we can stop everybody else.

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Depends on Smith and his rhythm. Does he hold on to the ball for an extra beat looking for the deeper routes, or does he keep getting the ball out like Skelton, Bradford, and Brady did? If it's the latter, we'll get to him.

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GO HAWKS!!!

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Don't count out Gore or Crabtree!

nor their defense

I intially felt the line at 7 was spot on. After crunching the numbers, I now believe it to be low. It's the product of a HUGE Seahawk win over an elite team combined with the 9ers falling flat against the G-men. It's all about public perception.

That said, I go back to my original prediction that each team beats the other at home. All we know for sure is both teams will bring everything they have. The coaches hate each other and both teams are well aware of what's at stake. IF one team sweeps the other, that team likley wins the West, IMO.

I just hope the refs stay out of it and let these two powerhouses play power football. Hide the women and children, it's gonna' get physical.

I think the 9ers are gonna get beat this time around, no X's and O's required.

Stop the run, score a TD early, force them to play from behind to get them out of their comfort zone, and we have a very good chance.

We still have Marshawn Lynch,
We no longer have Tarvaris Jackson or anything like him.
Alex smith is back

We win this game.

Agreed with a lot of your points but I also would like to add that our D needs to make sure we force SF off the field on third downs. I remember vividly last season Alex Smith burning us in those situations specifically either breaking the pocket and running to the sticks or hitting a scrambling wide open Vernon Davis. This will be another stiff challenge for our safeties particularly Kam to cover the TEs. I am not worried about Moss, Manningham, or Crabtree as much. It's the Alex Smith to Vernon Davis hookup that we must stymie if we are to have any chance of winning this game.

its gonna be a tough game for us, SF 20 SEA 9

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Good analysis. Except for the part about blitzing Smith I couldn't have said it better myself. Surprisingly, the numbers say Smith is one of the better rated qbs when the opposition blitzes. I'm a Niners fan and I think that Seattle's defense might be better than ours. They definitely are in the secondary. Which is why I don't think it's necessary to blitz Smith. You could even move a safety into the box to help with the run and dare Smith to beat you with his arm. I think Seattle has the corners to win most of those battles. Yeah, we have some speed at WR but Smith doesn't have much of an arm and his deep accuracy is awful.

This is a huge game for Smith and the Niners. They definitely don't want to go up to Seattle at the end of the year already having lost to this team. And with the way Smith played last week, he's got to perform better and get a win. Seattle's defense is good but they're young. Smith is a veteran now and finally in an offensive system that he was in the year before. He's got the most weapons he's ever had at his disposal. There are no more excuses. Yes, the Seahawks are a talented up and coming division rival but he has to find a way to win this game. The back up qb is starting to steal snaps and the pressure is squarely on Smith's shoulders. I know from past experience that Smith doesn't handle pressure very well but I've got to think that the Niners defense, special teams and running game find a way to bail him out and they squeak by with a tough win. Niners 20-16.

We need to take Davis away period. We can play man coverage, because their wideouts aren't as good as New Englands at getting seperation. Alex Smith is not as good as Brady when it comes to anticipting throws which will cause him to hold the ball a little longer, giving our D-line time to either hurry him, knock him down or sack him. Only rush 5 guys allowing 2 on Davis and the others playing man on man. Making Alex more uncomfortable in the pocket. Keeping their offense to only field goals will be a key and we can do that. This is a run first team so we have the beef to handle that, puting them in 3rd and long will be the key. Wilson needs to take some shots down field and have a little bit of success to loosen up the defense for Lynch. This is going to be a 20-17 game I just don't know who the winner will be, but I am hoping for a Hawks win.

This game will be ugly.. lots of 3 and outs.. punting, ST and field position are going to determine alot of what happens with regards to play calling IMO..

I doubt either team gets above 20 points..

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Where can I find Seahawks98.com???

When it comes right down to it, Russell Wilson and our WRs are going to have the most impact on the final outcome. If they can come out and play like they did in the 4th quarter of the NE game - allowing us to keep the ball on the field and put up a few TDs at some point (and open up the running game for Marshawn by spreading out the field more), Seattle can get the advantage that forces Smith to put the game on his shoulders.

I also don't think this is the invincible 49ers defense from last year. Bradshaw running for 100 on them last week may have shown that to be true.

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My single greatest contribution to the board: "42-13" (formerly 24-14)

Like I said in another thread, with how evenly matched and mirror image the Hawks and Niners are, this game will come down to;

- field goals made
- special teams
- turnovers

Last year the Hawks lost the special teams battle, and subsequently lost both games. This is a game we need Leon to step up.

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If there is no Seahawk football in heaven, then we will never die.

Welcome to Net and it's nice to see a respectful post by an opposing fan. The Hawks will never move ET into the box to help with the run and it's not necessary. We're stuffing the run without stuffing the box. That's what makes our D so dangerous. We stuff the run almost like it's just a side effect. An afterthought. Teams just can't run on us. Period. I've seen Smith play this year and he has been beating teams with his arm. In fact, the one thing that's worried me this season is that Smith has looked so much better now that he has some deep threats. I think we need to bring pressure on Smith to stop the deep passes. Our defense is fine giving up short passes and letting the opponent drive down to the red zone, then holding them to a Field Goal. I think the key to this contest is getting pressure on Smith and creating turnovers.

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Richard Sherman doesn't just wanna get in your head, he wants to build a vacation home there.

We held Tom Brady 1-6 in the RZ including an intentional grounding call to end the half. David Akers is going to get his money's worth this week.

Navyhawkfan187,

You still active duty? I'm stationed out in Diego Garcia and excited that this one is a Thursday night game because I know that I'll be able to catch it. Even if I have to get up at 5:30 to do it!

I don't have high expectations for this game. Seahawks rarely win back-to-back HUGE games, not to mention SF was punked by the Giants just a few days ago. They are going to be out to make a statement on thursday. That said, I think a Seattle victory is possible, but not without a near-flawless performance, unfortunately.