New England at Seattle

This line looks like an error? The New England Patriots laying just 4.5 to the lowly Seachickens? What? The Patroits put together an incredible two-game run with Matt Cassel posting 400+ yards and a QB rating of 100+ in each one, putting him in very elite company. Despite the fact the offense was moving, the Pats lost one of the games because the defense, once a stronghold of the team, is no longer even average. Last week, Cassel settled into more familiar form, and finished the game vs. the Steelers with a QB rating of 39.4, posting no TD's and two INT's. I think the Pats will be able to move the ball on the Seahawks, for sure, but Cassel has now gotten an over-valued rating. Aside from the two-game explosion where he threw for six TD's and just one INT, the rest of his season shows seven TD's to nine interceptions which is hardly Brady-like numbers. What seems to get overlooked here is the fact that Cassel has been sacked 38 times this season. The Patriots defense is another area that has been overlooked with the two games Cassel had. The Pats have surrendered 95 points in three games or 31.7 ppg! The season shows that the Pats defense allows a QB rating of 90.13. To put that in perspective, those numbers are shared by Brett Favre, Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers and Eli manning, all possible Pro Bowl candidates! The Seahawks aren't winning games, but have become much more competitive since getting key personnel back from injury. They lost big to the Cowboys last week which means no one wants to touch them this week. But that loss will motivate them to over-perform here. They played Washington to a FG at home, Arizona to within 6 points on the road (in a place where the Cardinals have been lighting up everyone), and lost by just 2 points at Miami. So one thing is for certain - this Seattle team hasn't quit. The Pats have become overrated at this point, because they are the Pats, but they are going to get a game from the Seahawks. I'll take the points here.