Sport: NFLPick Selection: Seahawks
At 4:30 pm, on Saturday, our selection is on the Seattle Seahawks minus the points over Washington. Last week, Seattle lost 44-41 at Atlanta, and failed to cover as a 2-point favorite. The Redskins, on the other hand, won and covered their fourth straight game, with a 27-6 blowout win over Dallas. Now, Washington must travel up to the Pacific Northwest to take on the same Seahawk team that knocked them out of the Playoffs two years ago, 20-10. Although Washington was very impressive last week (and the three previous weeks), it's actually a negative indicator to come into a playoff game off a 20-point (or greater) blowout win, and especially if you have to take to the road, and you're not a GREAT team. Consider that, since 1980, there have been 10 teams with a won/loss percentage of .700 or less that have won a game by 20+ points, and have then had to travel to play a Playoff game vs. a foe off a pointspread loss. None of those ten teams covered the spread. Seattle has been dominant at home at QWest Field. This season, Seattle has won seven, and lost just once, and since 2002, Seattle is 34-7 at home, trailing only New England (35-7) for having the best home record. Part of the reason for Seattle's success at home is the crowd noise. The QWest Field's cantilever roofs trap the noise inside the stadium, and the noise generated by Seattle's fans has contributed to 68 false start penalties by a road team over the last three seasons, which easily leads the league (the Vikings, a dome team, are a distant second with 57 false starts by an opponent). After the 2006 playoff game, Washington's running back, Mike Sellers, said QWest Field was so loud, the Redskins couldn't even hear themselves talk. Let's take the homestanding Seahawks here over Washington. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie. And don't miss my Wild Card Game of the Year tonight in the Pittsburgh/Jacksonville game.
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