The Seattle Seahawks have as good a chance as ever, or as they did in 2014, to make it back to the Super Bowl this season but as we know in sports, anything could happen!
Seattle Seahawks vs. Green Bay Packers
First up, they will face the Green Bay Packers, another NFC powerhouse who has done a lot to improve this offseason.
On this week’s Talking Touchdowns, I will take a deeper look at this week one matchup:
- The Seahawks add another talented pass rusher to an already formidable front, trading for defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson from the New York Jets. The Hawks gave up Jermaine Kearse and a second round pick in the 2018 Draft in exchange for the big man. If the Hawks front seven wasn’t already the source of nightmares for quarterbacks around the league, they sure are now. Richardson adds an interior threat to a pass rush that includes Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril and Frank Clark off the edge. Not to mention, this group had 42 sacks between the three of them in 2016.
- The Packers struggled defensively last season finishing 22nd in total defense and 31st in passing defense, so naturally they went out and used their top four draft picks on defensive players as well as adding cornerback Davon House, linebacker Ahmad Brooks and defensive end Ricky Jean Francois. When I said the Packers did a lot this off season, I wasn’t kidding…they also picked up a pair of tight ends in Martellus Bennett and Lance Kendricks. With Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams in the rotation at receiver. Aaron Rodgers is going to have arguably the best offensive core in the NFL.
- The Packers don’t have much at running back with receiver turned running back Ty Montgomery as their only option after losing Eddie Lacy to the Seahawks in the offseason which is going to force Aaron Rodgers to be a little more mobile then he’s used to. We all know Eddie Lacy has been waiting for the chance to face his former team all offseason, in fact he and former teammate Ha Ha Clinton-Dix had a playful back and forth exchange on Twitter with Clinton-Dix tweeting. “You better make sure your helmet fits and ya chin strap tight!!” and Lacy responding with “We both know that ain’t never been a problem this way.”
- My prediction for this game is the Seahawks by three. Although two of the leagues top QB’s, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers, are likely to duel it out in an old fashioned shoot out, in Lambeau nonetheless, I still believe the Packers defense and ever struggling offensive line is no match for Wilson and the dominant Seahawks defensive front.
