Likely A Meaningless Game For Seahawks
December 24th, 2010
If the St. Louis Lambs get past Troy Smith and the 49ers at home in a 1 o’clock game Sunday, that means the Seahawks will have absolutely nothing to play for against the Bucs.
NOTHING!
When Seattle lines up on the field in Tampa, they’ll know their fate. With a St. Louis win, no matter what happens against the Bucs, the Seahawks and Rams will play for the NFC West title the following week in Seattle.
This could become beautiful news for the Bucs.
Yeah, Joe knows all these NFL players are all professionals allegedly playing their hearts out, but you can’t tell Joe that a crappy team like the Seahawks playing a meaningless game on the road the day after Christmas 4,000 miles from home is going to give its all.
That ain’t happening no matter how hard Seahawks coach Pete Carroll tried to spin it to the Seattle Times.
Q: It would be human nature wouldn’t it, to have a let down?
Carroll: “That’s why you ask those questions. Yeah. That’s why you ask that. That’s what everybody thinks. We don’t want to be normal in that regard. We don’t want to be human nature. We want to be above and beyond, and that’s part of it. That’s how you separate. When you are able to do that, you are able to take the variables, the factor, the media, the hype, the buildup, the matchups, all of that stuff, and leave that aside and play the game that you’re capable of playing, that’s the challenge. And that’s one of the great challenges that I’ve come to really covet and teaching and trying to stand for, and then once you get there, it’s a very special place to be. We’re not there yet. We’re learning. We’re learning how. But these next couple weeks will have a chance to kick us into the right position where you start to deal with what it’s like to be on top and what it’s like to be a champion. It’s exciting to me.”
Nice try, Pete. Not sure what the hell you just said, but Joe’s hoping your team is as clear thinking as you are.
Joe hopes Josh Freeman gets to try and execute a fake spike on the Seahawks at the close of the first half. That would surely re-ignite Carroll’s post traumatic stress disorder.
December 24th, 2010 at 9:57 am
Detroit had nothing to play for last week.
December 24th, 2010 at 10:10 am
Joe,
Is it me, or do the first 2 paragraphs contradict each other?
If they do, just delete my post.
December 24th, 2010 at 10:24 am
I gotta agree with BigMac – the first 2 paragraphs are like the Obama healthcare plan – confused and at odds with each other!
If the Rams win before we play they will be 7-8 and if I were Pete Carroll I’d be MORE motivated to win against the Yucks!
December 24th, 2010 at 11:14 am
Just do n ot take this game lightly! I almost wish this was an away game…What is up with the Bucs at home?
December 24th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
I think they can take the Seahawks. But if the usual pattern holds true it will be another nail biter.
I got a suggestion, play with the lead and pound the rock with Blount. Freeman only has so many rabbits in his hat.
December 24th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Hey everybody. Let’s talk about playoff scenarios for a sec.
If the Giants beat the Packers on Sunday, they’ll clinch a playoff spot. That’ll leave only one spot open for us. But that’ll also mean the Packers will be eliminated, and therefore that’ll be one less team we have to worry about.
However if the Saints and Giants BOTH win, we’re out no matter what. If the Saints lose against the Falcons (very likely), and the Giants win, all we have to do is of course win on Sunday and then beat the Saints next week and we’re in.
Or should we want it to turn out this way…….
If the Packers beat the Giants on Sunday, they’ll both be 9-6 but neither team will have clinched a playoff spot. The Packers then have a tough game against the Bears in Week 17 so hopefully the Bears would win that game and finish off the Packers by putting them at 9-7. If the Giants lost to the Packers and they’re 9-6 going into Week 17, we’ll need to pray that the Redskins beat them. Do you think that’s possible? If somehow that happened, the Giants and Packers would both finish 9-7 and be out of the playoffs. That means if the Saints beat the Falcons on Monday Night this week, they would clinch a playoff spot but one wild card spot would be open for the Bucs. Also, if the Saints win against the Falcons, could they possibly sit their starters in Week 17, thus increasing our chances of a win against them?
Though even if the Saints lose to the Falcons and we beat them next week finishing 10-6 and eliminating the Saints also, the Giants and Packers could still take the 2 wild card spots ahead of us if they both went into week 17 9-6 and won their last game to finish 10-6. I believe they own the tiebreakers over us.
Sorry if any of you got confused reading that, but if you understood what I wrote, tell me which scenario you think is best and the most realistic.
December 24th, 2010 at 8:26 pm
The Bucs need to win out and let the cards fall where they may.
December 24th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
A meaningless game? Any time a team can knock somebody out of the playoffs is not meaningless, don’t think that they won’t be using that for motivation. No matter what happens in the Rams game they will be trying hard to take us out.
December 25th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Big Mac has the right scenario.
December 25th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
I also think players play for stats when they are out all together, it helps their resume. I know I know…Stats are for losers, which when you are out of the play off, well you get it.