Most Dangerous playoff matchups for the Hawks?

[Jacknut16]

The way I see it these are the teams in ranking order. (these are all hypothetical scenarios, as i know we still have business with the rams, but either way we are still in the playoffs)


1) Cowboys

Say what you will about them but this team is superbowl ready. This is not some knee jerk reaction because they beat us earlier in the season, or some knee jerk reaction because they blew out a colts team who don't need a win to secure their spot in their playoffs, also with injuries on both sides of the ball. I also know that we were a different team then, and played a lot of the game with wagner, but you also have to realize that Dallas is not the same team as well. They seem to be peaking at the right time, with the BEST running game and the BEST Offensive Line in the NFL. They have a great passing game, with a pro bowl QB playing the best football of his career and an admissible defense. They have all the makings of a Legit superbowl contender/winner. As far as playoffs are concerned they are most potent match up to the hawks in quite possibly the whole NFL. Not to mention these guys make their money on the road(undefeated so far). I would rather not see them in the playoffs because they could quite possibly win this game again.


2) Detroit lions

Teams that play great defensive lines have historically been our weaknesses. As great as our win was against the cards, Linely's abominable play gave our offense a great opportunity to wear down their defense and put up massive yards on them. I don't consider that win to be a great offensive day, and a horrible offensive day by the cards, that led to a horrible defensive day for them as well. This game has a decent running game, but a terrible offense. IMO they are one of those teams that could go off if Stanford showed up to play every once in a while. They have proven they have the personnel (Tate + Megatron) to make enough plays to keep them in the game. Tate is used to playing against our guys so i think he could be a matchup problem.

3) Cardinals

Don't read too far into this win. While a great win, they will be back with Stanton. While he did perform terribly up in seattle, his team performed just as bad by not making plays on the ball. Fitzgerald was also missing from that game. They where a few plays in from making it a ball game. Give Arians some of his personnel back and allow him to learn form his former mistakes, and we can have a ball game on our hands.


4) Greenbay

Too many flaws on this team for me to call them a Superbowl caliber team. A playoff caliber team, but in no way built to win road playoff games/ win the superbowl. They have been riding Aaron Rodgers so far and have played extremely subpar on the road. The team play reflects the play of the quarterback, and that is not a good recipe. Not to mention the NFC west is their ultimate Kryptonite, and you have two teams from there making it to the playoffs. That #1 seed was their shield because no other human beings on earth are acclimated to play any kind of sport in that frozen tundra they call lambeau filed. I will give them a top ten running back with an above average running game. Their terrible defensive play will not get them far in the playoffs and they became significantly less of a threat when you take lambeau away from them. Take away their passing game with the LOB like we have before, and this will be a blowout again.

5) Not even worth mentioning as threat. I would be more worried of a comet falling out of the sky and taking out our team first before writing a paragraph on any team getting that spot in the NFC south.

Good write up, but the Cards are dead men walking vs the Hawks. You can throw whomever you want back there at QB for them, it wont matter. I expect them to lose to the 49ers this week and they might get lucky and get a win vs the Falcons or Panthers, but that defense got exposed against the Hawks, and there is no way , especially in Seattle that they beat Seattle.

Aaron Rodgers and Lacy are a far more legit threat than the Cards

Agreed that Dallas probably is our number one threat, but that was the Percy meltdown game, which had the offense useless, and Wagner got hurt in that game.

Its an entire new offense that they are going to face, and lets remember that the Dallas defense is not special.

Dallas probably isnt coming here to win again, but its in the realm of possibility.

 

[Jacknut16]

Bobby Wagner also missed most of the Dallas game as that was the game he got hurt. The offense was a mess in that that was the tipping point of the Harvin controversy.

This...

The offense is completely revamped, Kam, Maxwell, Lane, Wagner Healthy, and the Harvin distraction had the entire offense unprepared and completely worthless.

The game plan was around Harvin, and he was pouting, took himself out of the game.

Round two in Seattle will be completely different.

 

[volsunghawk]

Objectively, yes, Dallas is the biggest challenge.

Subjectively, I think Dallas is the most guaranteed win the Hawks could have. If Seattle gets the #1 seed, no way does this team allow the Cowboys to come in and beat them twice at home. Not with the way they're playing right now.

 

[kf3339]

1. Seahawks vs. themselves
2. Seahawks vs. themselves
3. Seahawks vs. themselves
4. Seahawks vs. themselves
5. Seahawks vs. themselves
6. Seahawks vs. themselves

Not to sound like a total homer.. but seriously.. I feel like the only thing stopping this team in January would be their own mental errors. The dumb dead ball penalties.. the blown protections.. etc.

If they play a clean game? Forget about it.

And LOL at those saying the Lions. Fun fact: Matt Stafford has never won a game on the road against a team with a winning record. Drew Stanton is a scarier draw than fat cheeks

^This. If we keep playing like we are now no one is going to beat us. This is especially true if we get HFA thru the playoffs. This team is just too focused to lose.

 

[12thManNorth]

Was just playing around with ESPN's playoff machine, and if Sea, GB, and Dallas all win this week like they're expected to, no matter what happens in the Zona/SF game, Zona will be the 5 seed.

This would mean Detroit at Dallas and Zona at ATL/Car. Assuming Dallas wins that game, that means Dallas goes to Green Bay in round 2, and we host the winner of the Arizona game.

I agree in that Dallas is our biggest threat, but the good news is that if the heavy favourites in these games continue to win, there's a reallly good chance we won't be seeing Dallas at all these playoffs.

Although Dal would certainly have a shot versus GB, I just don't see them marching into Lambeau and winning there in mid-January

 

[NJlargent]

As everyone else says, I think Dallas is our biggest threat. However, I also disagree with the thought that Dallas is going to win in Lambeau. I still think GB wins that game. That said, I think the NFCCG is definitely going to be GB/Dallas winner at our house. Either team is easier than the Niners were last year so I am feeling good.

 

[Rickomatic]

As everyone else says, I think Dallas is our biggest threat. However, I also disagree with the thought that Dallas is going to win in Lambeau. I still think GB wins that game. That said, I think the NFCCG is definitely going to be GB/Dallas winner at our house. Either team is easier than the Niners were last year so I am feeling good.

Dallas is good this year, and Tony Romo is playing well right now. But, remember. He's Tony Romo. I predict he Cougs it in Green Bay.

 

[hieroglyphics]

I have a really, really hard time believing Dallas is going to be able to win 3 weeks straight against Detroit, Green Bay and Seattle.

Seattle basically is being given a two week bye with the current lineup of facing the winner of Arizona-Atlanta.

 

[AROS]

I still believe Romo is going to "Romo It" in the post season as he always does. Until I see evidence to the contrary I am sticking to my belief that...Wait for it...

NOBODY HAS IT BETTER THAN US!

(Harbaugh dig, heh)

 

[Hawk n Load]

Maybe it's just because I've been a devil's advocate my whole life, but I think I might have to place Detroit above Dallas. The Lions are a lot like the Rams in that they play dirty, and can make a game ugly. But they also have an offense with real weapons, and you never know when those weapons will go off. That's the sort of team that could keep a game close, then wake up at just the right time at the end to steal one.

In a vacuum (like in power rankings, I might put Dallas first, but given the Cowboys' earlier win in Seattle, I think there's no way they will surprise Carroll's boys.

Despite four quality potential playoff opponents and a fifth "any given Sunday" team from the South with a chip on their shoulder, I really am amazed at how well the Hawks are stacking up. Then again, you have to play the games...

 

[blazen2392]

It seems the road to the superbowl is going to be SIGNIFICANTLY much easier this time.


The four scenarios i narrow it down to are.

Falcons/Panthers then GB
Arizona then GB
falcons/panthers then Dallas
falcons/panthers then Dallas


any team that occupies any of these two spots are vastly inferior to the teams that occupied them last year.

 

[andyh64000]

I hope we play the Cowboys in the NFC Championship game. In that first game the team came in thinking the game was already won, the crowd was pathetic, Wagner and Kam were hurt, and the Harvin thing came to a head. I guarantee...We would massacre them to small fragments this next time around.

 

[RiverDog]

I agree with the consensus. Dallas can run the ball and have a veteran quarterback that knows us as well as any non divisional team in the playoffs (we've played Dallas 3 out of the last 4 years). They've beaten us at home so they won't be acting as if they are entering House of Horrors such as a team like the Packers might or teams like the Lions who have never played here before might.

Having said that, I agree with those who noted that Bobby Wagner's absence was huge. Wagner IMO is the most underrated defensive player in the league. It is no coincidence that our defenses' resurgence coincided with the return of Bobby Wagner.

 

[drdiags]

Dallas/Packers - Dallas has shown they can pound the rock here at the CLink and Dez got his, no matter how flukey. Packers would need to do better with the run game this time but offensively they are capable. Defensively both squads are not dominant but weren't sieves against the Seahawks.

Lions - Tate isn't going to back down from the LOB. C Johnson is not 100% but is dangerous like a cobra. Defensively they will be a stiff challenge to the Seahawks, though they have lost a few key pieces to injury during the season

Panthers/Falcons/Cardinals - Panthers most likely beat the Falcons. Their defense could be so much better than it has shown all year. Cardinals are hosed by their lack of a starting QB. If the Falcons beat the Panthers, they have an offensive threat that they have shown can push the defense. It is their defense that is still undergoing changes that makes them a longshot.

 

[Hasselbeck]

I have a really, really hard time believing Dallas is going to be able to win 3 weeks straight against Detroit, Green Bay and Seattle.

Seattle basically is being given a two week bye with the current lineup of facing the winner of Arizona-Atlanta.

I know we just blew the doors off Arizona, but a big part of me would rather see Atlanta just finish them off. It's incredibly hard to beat a team 3 times in one season. I don't care who their QB is.

The Falcons on the other hand.. Playing up here in the cold mist/rain .. outdoors with THAT defense? Marshawn could hit 200+ against them. It would not be fair.

Go Falcons. Go (sigh) Cowboys.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

As everyone else says, I think Dallas is our biggest threat. However, I also disagree with the thought that Dallas is going to win in Lambeau. I still think GB wins that game. That said, I think the NFCCG is definitely going to be GB/Dallas winner at our house. Either team is easier than the Niners were last year so I am feeling good.

Dallas is good this year, and Tony Romo is playing well right now. But, remember. He's Tony Romo. I predict he Cougs it in Green Bay.

There's an important distinction that nobody mentions. Yes, it's Romo, but he's getting 6-7 seconds almost every time he drops back this season. His job is made even easier by a stellar running game. Anybody look at Romo's numbers this year? Way less stats resulting from dumbass decisions, because he has a book in one hand as he scans the field. A way-worse-than-Romo level of bad QB play is necessary to fail in that environment...especially with Dez Bryant and Whitten on the other end.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

I agree with the consensus. Dallas can run the ball and have a veteran quarterback that knows us as well as any non divisional team in the playoffs (we've played Dallas 3 out of the last 4 years). They've beaten us at home so they won't be acting as if they are entering House of Horrors such as a team like the Packers might or teams like the Lions who have never played here before might.

Having said that, I agree with those who noted that Bobby Wagner's absence was huge. Wagner IMO is the most underrated defensive player in the league. It is no coincidence that our defenses' resurgence coincided with the return of Bobby Wagner.

I'm thinking Bobby was injured because he pressed too hard trying to compensate for our DL, which was getting flat out dominated, BTW. Hopefully we don't see a repeat of the same scenario, but we basically have the same personnel MINUS MEBANE against the same Dallas OL. How do we change the outcome? Maybe yell "Shazam?" I realize we have improved dramatically. Hopefully that will be the difference, but this may well be the hardest-fought win...if we pull it off.