Carolina at Seattle

Respect continues to elude the Seahawks. They are mere 4 point favorites at home in this one against Carolina. Part of it is due to Carolina playing such good football. They shredded a Chicago defense that appeared unshreddable prior to last week. They, like the Steelers, have upset two home teams en route to this game. They look in many ways like the 2003 Super Bowl team that kept winning road games they were supposed to lose. But, I just have to give props to Seattle. For a team to lose their best player (the leauge MVP) in the first quarter, and lose the turnover battle 3-1 and still cover a 9.5 point spread last week is nothing short of amazing. Teams that lose the turnover battle in playoff games lose the game outright 86% of the time. Not only didn't they lose (with a -2 turnover differential), but they won by 10 points! I don't have the data but I'd venture to say that's never been done before. It reinforces for me how good Seattle is. As I said last week, when you really look at Seattle, they are an exceptional footballteam. A lot of people don't want to believe it but it's true. They won by an average score of 28.3 to 16.9 this season. They rushed for 152 yards per game racking up 4.7 yards per carry while holding opponnents to 94. And, they are now sitting at 14-3. But, are they good enough to stop Steve Smith? No! No one can stop him right now. If Chicago can't, Seattle is unlikely to. But, Seattle's defense is very good at keeping teams out of the endzone. They give up yards but not points. And, unlike Chicago, Seattle can shoot it out with Carolina. I am assuming Shaun Alexander will be at full strength or close to it here and with him playing and Hasselbeck behind center, I like Seattle to win and cover this spread. Two stars on the Seahawks to make it to Super Bowl Forty.