Anybody else feeling uneasy about this game?

[jhawk91]

I'm nervous for sure..........Panthers are playing good ball right now.

Their win streak came against:

A 7-9 New Orleans team
A 2-15 Tampa Bay team (by 2. At home.)
A 7-9 Cleveland Browns team that started Johnny Manzel
A 6-10 Atlanta Falcons team
And the corpse of Ryan Lindley

The only good team they've beat all year is Detroit. In week 2.

In the last three meetings, Cam Newton has led 28 drives against Seattle. Only one of them resulted in a TD.

Anything can happen and all that, but they are certainly the weakest team left in the playoffs.

This is pretty much what I am feeling. Besides general nervousness I have before just about any game, nothing about this game makes me extra nervous. Carolina has played all scrubs in their supposedly big "run" that they had. Anything could happen but if Seattle shows up and plays like they have, they should win it.

 

[Seahawk Sailor]

No. Maybe just a tiny bit, but overall no, I'm not terribly uneasy about this game, and it's a really weird feeling.

We win this one 11 times out of 12. 4 times out of 12 it ain't even close. But yes, upsets happen. Yes, any given Sunday. Or Saturday. And yes, the Panthers are "playing with house money". So let's break that down a bit.

They were playing with house money last week. They were in the playoffs, against odds saying they shouldn't be. Can't argue that much with a losing record. We know; we've been there before too. And won too. Against the Panthers' hated division rival. It was... seismic.

But now that euphoria is gone for the Panthers. Now they're just another playoff team. They've won and advanced. Now they play for the chance to advance to the NFC Championship game. Now they have just a couple games to win for a chance to win it all! This game sends them to the big time! It ain't no house money no mo!

But to do that, they have to go on the road, to the #1 seed 12-4 National Champions with one of the best teams in the league, the best defense in the league, and one of the loudest, toughest places to play in the league. They have to play a damned good team that not only embraces pressure and high stakes, prime time games, but thrives in them. And usually wins them. Soundly.

And that's where the "house money" comes back to bite them. Hey, we did good, fellas. We gave it to 'em. Nobody expected us to win in the playoffs and we did. And nobody expected us to win at all against the Champs, and we put up a good fight. Attaboys all 'round on a season we did far more than we should have. And then the fourth quarter starts and things start going downhill.

The Seahawks defense has been on the field far less than any other team in the league. They're already statistically not only the best this year, but in contention for the best all time. Another Super Bowl win would provide a damn strong argument for them as one of the very elite all time, and they know it all too well. They're under pressure, sure, but this team thrives under pressure. They rise to the occasion and play better than they should.

And the Panthers know this. Yes, they'll put up a hard fight. And the game won't be easy. I'd say think similar to the first Cardinals game, a 19-3 game that we dominated statistically, and while it wasn't really ever in doubt, it was close for most of the game, and until the end, could have gone either way. But in the end, playing with house money will give way to "nobody expected us to go as far as we did", and the Seahawks will pull away.

Am I feeling uneasy? Hell yes. At least a bit. I'm a Seahawks fan who's been along for the ride for 39 years now. I'm always uneasy. Nervous. Ancy. Verklempt. But I'm pretty confident about this one because we should win this one easily, and this team, unlike many Seahawks teams in the past, almost always wins the games they should.

 

[Mol3m4n]

we should be playing loose as this game is house money, we have no title to defend, no record to defend and no pressure of being at home.... The Panthers team you will be facing is going to be about as loose as a football team you will see, we have nothing to lose, that my friends is a dangerous team to go against.

Your team has the same thing to lose as our team--a chance to play in the NFC Championship game.

I don't get all this "we have nothing to lose" BS from Panther fans either. Carolina was the #2 seed in the NFC last year, it's not like there are no expectations for this year's team. Sucking for most of the season doesn't make those expectations go away. This wasn't some perennially downtrodden team that went 2-14 last year and is just happy to have gotten this far. They were in the divisional round last year. Guys like Rivera and Cam absolutely have pressure on them.

There were no expectations for the Carolina Panthers after having the entire offensive line revamped and a brand new receiving core. Many analysts expected us to have a 3 win season.

 

[Zebulon Dak]

No. Maybe just a tiny bit, but overall no, I'm not terribly uneasy about this game, and it's a really weird feeling.

We win this one 11 times out of 12. 4 times out of 12 it ain't even close. But yes, upsets happen. Yes, any given Sunday. Or Saturday. And yes, the Panthers are "playing with house money". So let's break that down a bit.

They were playing with house money last week. They were in the playoffs, against odds saying they shouldn't be. Can't argue that much with a losing record. We know; we've been there before too. And won too. Against the Panthers' hated division rival. It was... seismic.

But now that euphoria is gone for the Panthers. Now they're just another playoff team. They've won and advanced. Now they play for the chance to advance to the NFC Championship game. Now they have just a couple games to win for a chance to win it all! This game sends them to the big time! It ain't no house money no mo!

But to do that, they have to go on the road, to the #1 seed 12-4 National Champions with one of the best teams in the league, the best defense in the league, and one of the loudest, toughest places to play in the league. They have to play a damned good team that not only embraces pressure and high stakes, prime time games, but thrives in them. And usually wins them. Soundly.

And that's where the "house money" comes back to bite them. Hey, we did good, fellas. We gave it to 'em. Nobody expected us to win in the playoffs and we did. And nobody expected us to win at all against the Champs, and we put up a good fight. Attaboys all 'round on a season we did far more than we should have. And then the fourth quarter starts and things start going downhill.

The Seahawks defense has been on the field far less than any other team in the league. They're already statistically not only the best this year, but in contention for the best all time. Another Super Bowl win would provide a damn strong argument for them as one of the very elite all time, and they know it all too well. They're under pressure, sure, but this team thrives under pressure. They rise to the occasion and play better than they should.

And the Panthers know this. Yes, they'll put up a hard fight. And the game won't be easy. I'd say think similar to the first Cardinals game, a 19-3 game that we dominated statistically, and while it wasn't really ever in doubt, it was close for most of the game, and until the end, could have gone either way. But in the end, playing with house money will give way to "nobody expected us to go as far as we did", and the Seahawks will pull away.

Am I feeling uneasy? Hell yes. At least a bit. I'm a Seahawks fan who's been along for the ride for 39 years now. I'm always uneasy. Nervous. Ancy. Verklempt. But I'm pretty confident about this one because we should win this one easily, and this team, unlike many Seahawks teams in the past, almost always wins the games they should.

THIS.

 

[LudwigsDrummer]

we should be playing loose as this game is house money, we have no title to defend, no record to defend and no pressure of being at home.... The Panthers team you will be facing is going to be about as loose as a football team you will see, we have nothing to lose, that my friends is a dangerous team to go against.

I get the house money part, but Seattle is better in the run game, the defensive game, and I'll take our ST's and QB.
Tip of the cap to you if your team beats Seattle at home this Saturday.
I say Seattle covers.

 

[BlueBlood]

31-6 Hawks

 

[scutterhawk]

Anyone who has no concerns is not a football fan.
SC

Not a football fan? lol, really?, that's absurd.
If you're not feeling the confidence then that's on you to shoulder and carry.
These Seahawks have proven to be fighters of the highest caliber, and I have come to believe in their abilities to face off against the best of the best, and come out on top.

 

[scutterhawk]

we should be playing loose as this game is house money, we have no title to defend, no record to defend and no pressure of being at home.... The Panthers team you will be facing is going to be about as loose as a football team you will see, we have nothing to lose, that my friends is a dangerous team to go against.

Yep, they could very well be playing loose, and they will lose.
The Seahawks are the better (by far) team, and their aspirations to repeat will fuel them.
There are almost always some uneasy fans prior to nearly every game around here, I just don't happen to be one of them.

 

[olyfan63]

we should be playing loose as this game is house money, we have no title to defend, no record to defend and no pressure of being at home.... The Panthers team you will be facing is going to be about as loose as a football team you will see, we have nothing to lose, that my friends is a dangerous team to go against.

Love it, that's the perfect GIF for the situation! Great find!

 

[scutterhawk]

Not worried. They are in for a treat. We will roll! I won't be surprised by a shut out. Carolina blew their wad last week. They're going to be a smear on our windshield.

LOL, Yup, sometimes we're the windshield, this time they're the bug...By Jove, I believe that's a song title :lol:

 

[RiverDog]

I mean, I feel uneasy the same way I feel uneasy that my opponent might hit his miracle card and draw out on me in poker. There are no guarantees in any NFL game.

That said, we win this the vast majority of the time, so obviously you don't have to fear it as if a bad result is at all likely.

Good analogy, but I'll be a little more graphic. It's like watching your opponent try to draw to an inside straight. It will happen about 10% of the time, given how many and what the known cards are that are out of the deck. I'd honestly say that we should beat the Panthers 9 out of 10 times in our house.

I'm always nervous going into a game regardless of the opponent. Anything can and does happen in this league, which is why it appeals to me.

 

[Reaneypark]

Not nervous, just excited. And teams with nothing to lose, usually do lose.

 

[NINEster]

we should be playing loose as this game is house money, we have no title to defend, no record to defend and no pressure of being at home.... The Panthers team you will be facing is going to be about as loose as a football team you will see, we have nothing to lose, that my friends is a dangerous team to go against.

You have none of those things because your team is not very good. And house money? a couple of bucks maybe.

Talk matchups. Tell me how your offense is going to hang the 20 they will need, at minimum, to beat this defense.

All NFL teams are dangerous to go against. Lots of bad teams play with house money and still lose. Loose? what does that actually mean?

Talk some actual ball, please. I am tired of all the emo reasons some fan thinks his team will win.

I could have sworn I've heard that expression used on .NET to describe the way Carroll gets his guys to play.

Anyways, bigcat forgot one small little detail:

It's been since 2004 that a SB champ won a playoff game the following season.

That's a rather interesting stat. The Seahawks winning this weekend would be no small feat historically.

 

[UK_Seahawk]

No. This Hill business is getting way out of control on people's fear meters. The team will execute without him just fine against Carolina.

I'd feel more confident if I knew for certain Dodds was back.

 

[kjreid]

It is kind of weird, there is no easy games in the NFL. I feel uneasy about maintaining a healthy team through this game but I am really confident we will cover the spread and win by 12. it will be close and we will close it out but I don't think there is any part of the game that the Panthers can win. our run offense will not be the best but will be good enough to be their run defense, our passing game will be better, our QB will be better, our passing Defense will be better and our run defense will be better. Special teams? we have a better punter and place kicker, I give the return game a even steven.

 

[getnasty]

Like many have said I get nervous about every game. If we played this game a 100 times, i'd bet the Seahawks win 85/100 times, but theres always that chance things dont go your way.

 

[volsunghawk]

we should be playing loose as this game is house money, we have no title to defend, no record to defend and no pressure of being at home.... The Panthers team you will be facing is going to be about as loose as a football team you will see, we have nothing to lose, that my friends is a dangerous team to go against.

You have none of those things because your team is not very good. And house money? a couple of bucks maybe.

Talk matchups. Tell me how your offense is going to hang the 20 they will need, at minimum, to beat this defense.

All NFL teams are dangerous to go against. Lots of bad teams play with house money and still lose. Loose? what does that actually mean?

Talk some actual ball, please. I am tired of all the emo reasons some fan thinks his team will win.

I could have sworn I've heard that expression used on .NET to describe the way Carroll gets his guys to play.

Anyways, bigcat forgot one small little detail:

It's been since 2004 that a SB champ won a playoff game the following season.

That's a rather interesting stat. The Seahawks winning this weekend would be no small feat historically.

Seattle's already beaten the odds a bit in just making the playoffs after a SB win. Since the Pats had their playoff win over Jacksonville in 2005 to notch the last post-SB playoff win, 8 teams have won the SB and only 4 of them made the postseason.

Of the 4 that made it, 3 played at home, with only the Saints playing on the road in 2010 (haha).

So of those 3 that had a home game in the divisional round, here's how it shakes out:

2007: Colts lose at home to the Chargers. The Chargers were better than their 11-5 record that year, and you can never underestimate how Manning can show up small in the postseason. Indy's 3 turnovers doomed this game.

2008: Giants lose at home to the Eagles. Divisional rivals always play each other tough. And Eli Manning's 2 INTs and John Carney's 2 missed FGs (both under 50 yards) didn't help.

2011: Packers lose at home to the Giants: This one might have the most correlation to the current situation. The Giants were a 9-7 team who had lost 4 in a row at one point. They went in and beat a 15-1 Packers team by protecting the ball, making some big plays in the passing game (Manning to Nicks), and forcing turnovers. After 2 possessions by each team, the score was 10-10. Then, with about 4 minutes to go in the half, the wheels fell off for GB. They fumbled the ball in their own territory, which the Giants turned into a FG. Then when the Packers punted with 48 seconds left, the Giants took over on their 31 and got a couple of huge plays to score a long TD before the end of the half. Suddenly, it was 20-10. First Packers drive of the 2nd half, Rodgers fumbles on a sack in Giants territory to end a drive. Giants do nothing with it. Next Packers drive results in a FG. So the game is still close, 20-13. Early 4th quarter, Packers go for it on 4th and 5 from the Giants 39 and take a sack. Giants kick a FG. Next Packers drive, they lose a fumble near midfield and the Giants return it to the 4. TD on the next play, 30-13. Game's essentially over.

Basically, the theme I'm seeing here is that since no Manning is involved in this game, it should go as expected. Oh, and turnovers. If Seattle protects the ball and doesn't turn it over, Seahawks should win.

 

[MidwestHawker]

I mean, I feel uneasy the same way I feel uneasy that my opponent might hit his miracle card and draw out on me in poker. There are no guarantees in any NFL game.

That said, we win this the vast majority of the time, so obviously you don't have to fear it as if a bad result is at all likely.

Good analogy, but I'll be a little more graphic. It's like watching your opponent try to draw to an inside straight. It will happen about 10% of the time, given how many and what the known cards are that are out of the deck. I'd honestly say that we should beat the Panthers 9 out of 10 times in our house.

I'm always nervous going into a game regardless of the opponent. Anything can and does happen in this league, which is why it appeals to me.

Yup. There are rare games where I truly just take a win absolutely for granted and consider there to be zero chance for an upset (Jacksonville last year, Oakland this year even though I admittedly ended up getting tense late in that one)...if a team is above a rating of "completely horrible," there's always some sort of chance for something to go sideways. So until I see us clearly in control of the game I'll feel a bit of stress, but that's fine with me. Stress is still a far cry from any sort of expectation of losing.

 

[MidwestHawker]

Nice post Sailor, very well put.

 

[Seafan]

We couldn't have picked a better matchup. They beat the Lions in week two and haven't beaten a winning team since then until they got to play the Cards who were the worst playoff team in recent memory.

They split with the Saints and Falcons. They beat the Buccs by two points. They gave up 13 points to rookie Manziel and the hapless Browns.

I'm really not worried about any team coming into CLink and beating the Hawks but especially the Panthers.

The only team the Hawks have to worry about is the Hawks.