Playoffs Clinching Scenarios

[kidhawk]

[urltargetblank]http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000288772/article/nfl-week-13-playoff-scenarios-for-broncos-chiefs-seahawks[/urltargetblank]

nfl.com article discussing which teams can clinch this weekend and how. Basically what we need to do is win coupled with a Niner or Cardinal loss. There are a few other scenarios that involve ties by either us or other teams, but I didn't figure those are worth worrying about at the moment.

 

[XxxZagnutxxX]

Just win baby!

 

[SalishHawkFan]

Being as how AZ plays SF and it says we clinch with a win and either a SF or AZ tie, all they had to say was Seattle clinches a playoff spot with one more win.

 

[kidhawk]

Being as how AZ plays SF and it says we clinch with a win and either a SF or AZ tie, all they had to say was Seattle clinches a playoff spot with one more win.

Mathematically that is correct, and I imagine the just aren't counting it as this weekend's clinch since the game will not have happened yet. Personally, I'm just glad that we have been playing under the 1-0 philosophy of treating each week like a championship week. This way, clinch or not they are still going to get up for each and every game. This is how I've always felt it should be.

 

[JonRud]

Do you think Pete really treats this as just another game like any other, or does he tell the players 'Hey, we need to win this game to get HFA, this is extra huge, etc...'

Or is the approach exactly the same as when we played the Jags?

 

[MidwestHawker]

Do you think Pete really treats this as just another game like any other, or does he tell the players 'Hey, we need to win this game to get HFA, this is extra huge, etc...'

Or is the approach exactly the same as when we played the Jags?

He probably needs to take the same approach as he always does or his message won't resonate on the other weeks. It's not as though the players are unaware of how important the game is without being told.

 

[kidhawk]

Do you think Pete really treats this as just another game like any other, or does he tell the players 'Hey, we need to win this game to get HFA, this is extra huge, etc...'

Or is the approach exactly the same as when we played the Jags?

He probably needs to take the same approach as he always does or his message won't resonate on the other weeks. It's not as though the players are unaware of how important the game is without being told.

This is my belief as well. Of course the players are human, so they can't help but know which games are the supposed "bigger" matchups, but the players and the coaches will continue to preach that 1-0 mentality on the outside even if on the inside they have to know how huge this game is. If you preach something enough, it becomes second nature. That is what I think Pete is trying to do with this philosophy. If it becomes second nature, then when they hit the field and the game begins, their natural instincts take over and that 1-0 mentality becomes a part of that over time.

 

[themunn]

Being as how AZ plays SF and it says we clinch with a win and either a SF or AZ tie, all they had to say was Seattle clinches a playoff spot with one more win.

If the Cardinals win out and the Niners win every game except the Cards game, the Cards finish 12-4 and the Niners 11-5.

If we win next week but lose the remaining 4, we lose the tiebreaker to the Niners as they would have a 4-2 division record to our 3-3.
And, given the Saints and Panthers can still both finish 12-4 if we beat the Saints and they both win out (with the exception of splitting against each other), we would not be a wildcard in that scenario.

 

[Polaris]

Being as how AZ plays SF and it says we clinch with a win and either a SF or AZ tie, all they had to say was Seattle clinches a playoff spot with one more win.

If the Cardinals win out and the Niners win every game except the Cards game, the Cards finish 12-4 and the Niners 11-5.

If we win next week but lose the remaining 4, we lose the tiebreaker to the Niners as they would have a 4-2 division record to our 3-3.
And, given the Saints and Panthers can still both finish 12-4 if we beat the Saints and they both win out (with the exception of splitting against each other), we would not be a wildcard in that scenario.

So in short, they already accounted for the fact that SF and Arz play each other when they made those playoff scenarios. It's this fact that makes a Seattle clinch possible at all.

 

[kidhawk]

Being as how AZ plays SF and it says we clinch with a win and either a SF or AZ tie, all they had to say was Seattle clinches a playoff spot with one more win.

If the Cardinals win out and the Niners win every game except the Cards game, the Cards finish 12-4 and the Niners 11-5.

If we win next week but lose the remaining 4, we lose the tiebreaker to the Niners as they would have a 4-2 division record to our 3-3.
And, given the Saints and Panthers can still both finish 12-4 if we beat the Saints and they both win out (with the exception of splitting against each other), we would not be a wildcard in that scenario.

This is true. After my posting, I have gone back through the schedules and counted up the games remaining and who plays who and the scenario listed in the article is the correct one. Either the Niners or Cardinals must lose and we must win to clinch this weekend. Obviously if both the Niners and Cardinals win this weekend, we can take care of business the following week against the Niners.

 

[Polaris]

Basically, the Seahawks have a magic number of 2 (SF OR ARZ) to clinch a playoff spot, and a magic number of 2 (SF *AND* ARZ) to clinch the division.

 

[12thManNorth]

At 10-1, do we really have to overly concern ourselves with playoff clinching scenarios ? We're gonna make the playoffs, consider that a lead pipe lock. My concern is the complete opposite since I've seen it SO many times in sports. If we wrap everything up so early we're gonna go a LONG time without playing a truly meaningful game until our 1st playoff game in the 2nd round. So many times the teams advancing far in the playoffs are those getting hot in the last couple weeks already playing games in playoff-type scenarios. I trust PC to keep them on their toes, but that to me is far more of a concern than us making the playoffs

 

[MidwestHawker]

At 10-1, do we really have to overly concern ourselves with playoff clinching scenarios ? We're gonna make the playoffs, consider that a lead pipe lock. My concern is the complete opposite since I've seen it SO many times in sports. If we wrap everything up so early we're gonna go a LONG time without playing a truly meaningful game until our 1st playoff game in the 2nd round. So many times the teams advancing far in the playoffs are those getting hot in the last couple weeks already playing games in playoff-type scenarios. I trust PC to keep them on their toes, but that to me is far more of a concern than us making the playoffs

Clinching a playoff spot is nothing if we haven't yet clinched the division. And clinching the division is nothing if we haven't yet clinched the #1 seed. There will still be plenty to play for. The 2005 Seahawks wrapped up the NFC West in week 10 of the season; it didn't affect anything going forward at all.

 

[kidhawk]

At 10-1, do we really have to overly concern ourselves with playoff clinching scenarios ? We're gonna make the playoffs, consider that a lead pipe lock. My concern is the complete opposite since I've seen it SO many times in sports. If we wrap everything up so early we're gonna go a LONG time without playing a truly meaningful game until our 1st playoff game in the 2nd round. So many times the teams advancing far in the playoffs are those getting hot in the last couple weeks already playing games in playoff-type scenarios. I trust PC to keep them on their toes, but that to me is far more of a concern than us making the playoffs

I am pretty sure it's not anything people are "concerned" about, but it is something to discuss in between games for the fans. I don't expect the players are at their lockers or team meetings excited at the prospect of clinching a wild-card this weekend. Let's not forget, this is a fan discussion board, not a team/players sounding board.

Also, I don't think we have to worry about "meaningful" games if we keep with the 1-0 mantra

 

[Polaris]

At 10-1, do we really have to overly concern ourselves with playoff clinching scenarios ? We're gonna make the playoffs, consider that a lead pipe lock. My concern is the complete opposite since I've seen it SO many times in sports. If we wrap everything up so early we're gonna go a LONG time without playing a truly meaningful game until our 1st playoff game in the 2nd round. So many times the teams advancing far in the playoffs are those getting hot in the last couple weeks already playing games in playoff-type scenarios. I trust PC to keep them on their toes, but that to me is far more of a concern than us making the playoffs

Clinching a playoff spot is nothing if we haven't yet clinched the division. And clinching the division is nothing if we haven't yet clinched the #1 seed. There will still be plenty to play for. The 2005 Seahawks wrapped up the NFC West in week 10 of the season; it didn't affect anything going forward at all.

12thManNorth's point should be well taken, however. While Clinching a playoff spot won't affect much, clinching HFA may (I don't think it will other than playing more backups, but it could). If Seattle wins their next three, they clinch HFA no matter what.

[Seattle would be 13-1 in that case, and N.O. would be at best 11-3, and Seattle would own all the tiebreaks in the NFC.]

 

[MidwestHawker]

I mean if "we clinched the #1 seed too fast" becomes a chief worry then we're in awesome shape.

Like it's a somewhat legitimate concern, but it's still a side effect of something we absolutely want to see happen as soon as possible.

 

[SalishHawkFan]

Teams that clinched early and then did poorly in the playoffs didn't do so because they had all that time to lose focus. They lost because they weren't that good to begin with and they clinched early because their division sucked, hence their overblown record playing 3 weak opponents twice each.

We don't have a weak division. When we DID have a weak division (2005) we didn't go out early like others thought we would because we were actually a GOOD TEAM.

This Seahawks team is a GOOD TEAM. I hope we clinch HFA early and rest up some of our banged up guys and lower the chances for a star getting injured. I want to see TJack playing significant time vs the Cards and Rams.

 

[Hasselbeck]

Being as how AZ plays SF and it says we clinch with a win and either a SF or AZ tie, all they had to say was Seattle clinches a playoff spot with one more win.

AZ and SF do not play until Week 17. Arizona plays Philly this weekend.

 

[Polaris]

Being as how AZ plays SF and it says we clinch with a win and either a SF or AZ tie, all they had to say was Seattle clinches a playoff spot with one more win.

AZ and SF do not play until Week 17. Arizona plays Philly this weekend.

True but the fact that AZ and SF do play each other means that both teams can't win out, and that does affect the mathematical clinching of playoff spots even now.

 

[kidhawk]

Being as how AZ plays SF and it says we clinch with a win and either a SF or AZ tie, all they had to say was Seattle clinches a playoff spot with one more win.

AZ and SF do not play until Week 17. Arizona plays Philly this weekend.

True but the fact that AZ and SF do play each other means that both teams can't win out, and that does affect the mathematical clinching of playoff spots even now.

That game is figured into the clinching scenario for this weekend, since either one of them must lose or they will tie, those are both considered. With that consideration, one of them has to still lose this weekend along with our win over the Saints to Clinch a play off spot. Of course the following week we can clinch the division and a home game, and then the final step will be to clinch home field.