Seahawks/Huskies Preview and Predictions
October 8th, 2009 by nwsportsguyEach week I preview the weekend’s matches and attempt (albeit with frequent bias and inaccuracy) to predict the outcome. The Sounders are off this weekend, but we have two home matches on Saturday and Sunday with the Huskies and Seahawks:
Seahawks vs. Jaguars (Qwest) – Seahawks favored by 1
Quite honestly, the Hawks have looked atrocious this year, minus the season opener versus the lowly Rams. We’ve again been plagued by injuries (See the weekly Injury Report), which have decimated our QB, linebacking core and offensive line. This week, Sean Locklear, Rob Sims, Walter Jones and Leroy Hill are all out. Matt Hasselbeck is questionable to play. Lofa Tatupu and Patrick Kerney should be ready to go.
Our opponents, the Jacksonville Jaguars, are 2-2 and currently tied for second in the AFC South. Since starting 0-2, they have beat their division rival Titans and Texans. They have three key offensive weapons in QB David Garrard (FFL Sleeper), WR Mike Sims-Walker and RB Maurice Jones-Drew. I think the first two are going to provide a lot of challenges for an undermanned Seahawks secondary, while MJD should do the same for our shaky at best run defense (Remember Frank Gore in week 2? Woof).
Note: Former 1st round draft pick and University of Washington WR Reggie Williams was cut by the Jags in the off season after an arrest for cocaine possession.
Prediction: Seahawks 20, Jaguars 31
Given our injury woes, questionable (at best) secondary, tattered offensive line and iffy QB situation, I think the Hawks are going to have trouble keeping up with the Jags. The 12th man should help, but until I see otherwise, I’m bearish on the Hawks.
Huskies vs. Arizona (Husky Stadium) – Arizona favored by 3
After last week’s heart breaking, but deserved (10 chances on inches to go and no TDs? REALLY?!) loss to Notre Dame, I see the Huskies coming back in a big way. The key difference between the Sark era and that of the coach which shall not be mentioned is our ability to bounce back. When we were down to USC and Notre Dame, Locker stepped up and lead game winning and game tying drives. In the previous era, comebacks were simply unimaginable.
The Wildcats are 3-1 and have a key win against Oregon State in Corvallis. However, their other two wins came against pushovers Central Michigan and Northern Arizona. In contrast, the Huskies are 2-3, though they have lost to #5 LSU, Stanford and Notre Dame. Thus our strength of schedule is much tougher than Arizona’s and we’ve proven that we have the ability to play from behind.
Prediction: Huskies 37, Arizona 31
I see the Dawgs being the tougher team, given the teams they’ve faced thus far. Add to that we’ll be playing at home, I say advantage Huskies.
Tags: Huskies Football, Seahawks, UW
An insider's take on Seattle sports and other miscellaneous happenings, written by Northwest sports fan Chadrick Ashby.
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