Sea Hawkers,

It’s time for some playoff football! Now that the networks are forced to talk Seahawks football, it’s great to see how much love they’ve been giving this team. Deservedly so!

I have a feeling this is going to be another close game. Both teams have a strong running game and we all know how great Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson have been this year.

I got a good chuckle today when a Redskins fan apparently hit his breaking point and tweeted, “So sick of the hype that @espn is giving the #Seahawks.“

When was the last time ESPN actually “hyped” the Seahawks? This must have been the first time those words have ever been tweeted, because I’m pretty sure we didn’t have Twitter back in 2005.

It’s great to see so many D.C. area Seahawks fans coming together with the team coming into town. If you’re in the Washington metro area and aren’t aware, I recently found out about their group on Meetup.com. More information on gatherings in both the Seattle and D.C. area are on our events page.I

With football on the TV on Saturday, I’m sure we’ll all be watching and rooting for the Vikings to beat the Packers again in hopes that both teams will be around two weeks from now for the NFC Champioinship game in Seattle.

GO HAWKS!!!

-Brandan

nfl Playoffs on afN and dts

It’s not going to be difficult to find Seahawks football on AFN or DTS this week (or for the rest of the playoffs).

This week’s game is on AFN Sports and DTS Sports at 1330 PST/2130 GMT on Sunday and Monday morning at 0200 in Afghanistan.

Skins vs Hawks – Dange-Russ vs RG3

By Christopher Shurts
Military Sea Hawkers

Here is my breakdown for the Hawks/Skins game.

Might Birds of Prey 27, Skins 17

I have a few bits of reasoning to with this.

The Redskins have not faced off against any playoff teams except for the nail bitter, overtime win against the Ravens. Meanwhile, the Seahawks have beaten; the 49ers, Pats, Packers and the Vikings. Those are all pretty impressive teams to beat. Esspecially if you look how they beat them. They pretty much beat those teams at their own game.

Yes, the Redskins use the Zone-Read option, and they use it mighty well, but the Seahawks have faced two other teams that utilize the same scheme, unlike the Skins.

They played and beat the Carolina Panthers (not a great team, I know). They completely shut down the chance for Cam Newton to use that scheme. What’s even more impressive about that game is the Panthers have a three-headed rush attack with DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart and Newton. All together those three players compiled 64 rushing yards with Newton leading that front holding 42 of them. Newton was also held to 141 passing yards and 0 TDs.

They also demolished the 49ers who have, as of lately, been using the same Zone-Read option scheme on a completely different level than any other team in the NFL. In this game, they held Kaepernick to 244 yards and 1 TD. Keep in mind 80 of those yards and the TD were gained in garbage time after the Seahawks had solidified their victory. The 49ers rushing attack didn’t amount to much either, gaining only 82 yards between four different carriers. The leading rusher that day for the Niners was Kaep with 31 yards closely followed by Gore with 28 yards.

With previous experience the Hawks are well more prepared for this game than the Skins are. The only real experience the Skins have at defending the Zone-Read option is in practice, and we all know the defenses aren’t going lights out in fear of hurting their starting QB.

On another note. The Skins have faced only one team that has a top 10 defense. The Steel Curtain handed the Skins their scalps back to them. The Seahawks defense is on a level all its own. They are currently ranked as the #1 defense in the league. Mix that with the return of Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman winning his appeal, this unit is now whole.

I know someone is going to use the excuse, “But the Seahawks are 3-5 on the road.” My remark to that is, yes, you are right. Facts and records can’t be proven wrong, but in the previous five loses the Seahawks weren’t beaten by more than 7 points. And every last loss the Hawks had, if there had been one or two more catches in the clutch, those games might have ended in a different manner.

Russell Wilson and the recieving corps hadn’t built any sort of chemistry. They didn’t have the experience or trust for one another, because RW and Flynn had been sharing snaps for quite some time. That fact is definitely different now, as aparant by the Hawks offense seeming to click at the right moment. They all seem to be on the same page and have trust for one another. The receivers have been catching what Dange-Russ has been throwing at them and have come down with some incredible plays.

With the Hawks defense playing lights-out and the offense firing on all eight cylinders, this is a team I would not want to face at home or on the road.

Seahawks come out of this one with a solid victory.

Semper Fi! Go Hawks!

Brandan Schulze
Military Sea Hawkers
VP of Communications and Membership