Arizona at Seattle

The mighty Seahawks struggled in game one. We were on Detroit in that game as we thought the Hawks would come out flat and the Lions pumped up. It played out perfectly with Seattle barely escaping the outright loss as a big road favorite. They were flat from start to finish. But a sign of a good team is finding a way to win - even when things are not going as planned. Now, with that one history, and the scare still in the minds of Seattle players and coaches, I look for a big bounceback performance from the Super Bowl runner up. My computer simulation for this game predicts a big 11 point win by Seattle. I agree. The line is artifially low based on last week's outcomes for both teams. Seattle scored just 9 points. But, they are much better than that. They were the highest scoring team in the league last season and outside of the loss of an offensive lineman, they haven't gotten worse. They were simply flat last week and in a bad spot. They have added Deion Branch and I am hoping he makes is debut here as he has a lot to prove. Arizona's pass offense is potent but they will have a much stiffer test this week as compared to last week vs. San Francisco (last in defense in 2005). Arizona was one play away from a loss at the hands of the lowly Niners. They allowed 27 points to the league's worst offense from last year. Not real good in your home opener. That kind of defense is not going to cut it on the road in Seattle. This place will be pumping for their home opener and there will be no letdown again for Seattle. Last season Shaun Alexander went off for 280 yards and six touchdowns in two meetings last year. Look for him to have a big, big game here. I don't often call a -7 favorite a contrarian play but I believe that is what we have here. Go Hawks.