Tale of the tape
Divisional Round: Seattle Seahawks At Atlanta Falcons
| In the year of the rookie quarterback, it’s third-round draft pick Russell Wilson who remains alive while Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III have completed their seasons. Wilson is an outstanding athlete who throws the ball well and has great recognition. However, his most outstanding characteristic may be his confidence. He won’t be afraid taking on the NFC’s best regular-season team on the road. | Quarterback | Matt Ryan has been waiting for this opportunity since last year’s postseason loss to the Giants. The Falcons got taken to the woodshed in that game and never gave New York a battle. Ryan has had a sensational year, completing 68.6 percent of his passes for 4,719 yards with 32 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. |
|---|---|---|
| The Seahawks are a tough, physical team on offense and their first priority will be to establish running back Marshawn Lynch and the power running game. Wilson likes wide receivers Sidney Rice and Golden Tate. Rice caught 50 passes for 748 yards and seven touchdowns, while the hard-nosed Tate also caught seven scoring passes. TE Zach Miller has good hands on third-down plays. | Offense | The Falcons have superior receivers who can dominate the game with their big-play ability. Roddy White caught 92 passes for 1,351 yards and 7 touchdowns, while explosive Julio Jones (79-1,198-10) has the speed to break plays from anywhere on the field. Tight end Tony Gonzalez has been playing his entire career to get to the Super Bowl and this represents his best chance. |
| The Seahawks got hit with a big blow when defensive end Chris Clemons suffered a torn ACL in the Wild-Card win over the Redskins. Clemons was the Seahawks’ best pass rusher. DE Bruce Irvin (8.0 sacks) must respond with a huge effort. Middle linebacker Bobby Wagner is the Seahawks’ leading tackler and he has the speed to range all over the field. CB Richard Sherman had a team-high eight interceptions. | Defense | The Falcons attack with speed and quickness on defense, but they can be vulnerable to the power game and that’s what Seattle will bring. The Falcons ranked 24th in total defense during the regular season. Defensive end John Abraham used his quickness and moves to register 10.0 sacks this year. Safety Thomas DeCoud had 76 tackles and six interceptions for the Falcons. |
| The Seahawks are in a bit of trouble with their kicking game as placekicker Steven Hauschka sprained left (plant) ankle and he may not be at his best for this game. Head coach Pete Carroll is looking at placekickers who can fill in for Hauschka. Veteran return specialist Leon Washington has speed and excels at finding the creases to exploit. | Special Teams | Matt Bryant had an excellent showing in the regular season, making 33-of-38 FG attempts. He was 4-of-4 on attempts of 50 yards or longer. Matt Bosher has a strong leg. He averaged 47.5 yards per punt and he dropped 22-of-63 punts inside the 20. |
The winner is
More Tales of the tape
-
NCAA Championship Game: #1 Louisville Vs. #4 MichiganRick Pitino has been here before, after making his 7th Final Four appearance, he’s now in his third go-round in the title game. He’s got plenty of experience on the big stage and he has the Cardinals playing high level basketball at the right time.
-
Super Bowl Halftime Show Vs. Neil Diamond: Who Takes The Trophy For Better Entertainment?For years, both Neil Diamond and the Super Bowl Halftime show have been giving us, let’s say, mild overproduction (read: glitzy, flashy, and potentially unnecessary). So who’s got the edge between these two cheesy industry mainstays?
-
Harbaughs Vs. Baldwins: Which Pair Of Siblings Stand Out?Harbaughs vs. Baldwins? Wow. What a battle! Let’s dig deep to see which pair of brothers has the upper hand.
