The Seattle Seahawks will be without WR Deion Branch for the next two weeks with a foot sprain.  He is the leading receiver for the Seahawks this season as he has caught 22 passes for 343 yards (15.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Seahawks will really need Bobby Engram, Nate Burleson and TE Marcus Pollard to step up to make up for the loss of Branch.  Also, look for either Ben Obomanu or rookie Courtney Taylor to get a big chance as the #3 WR on the Hawks.

14 year veteran fullback Mack Strong decided to hang up the spikes after injuring his neck in Sunday’s game against the Steelers.  He carried the ball 4 times for 19 yards (4.8 ypc) and caught 9 passes for 72 yards (8.0 avg).  Strong finishes his 14 year NFL career with 909 yards rushing on 230 carries (4.0 ypc) with 5 TD runs and he also caught 218 passes for 1,456 yards (6.7 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  This will likely hurt Shaun Alexander’s production as Strong was often his bodyguard as a lead blocker.

The Seahawks looked completely pathetic against the Steelers yesterday.  The final score was 21-0 but it was a much worse beating than the scoreboard showed as the Steelers punched them in the mouth all day long.  Matt Hasselbeck was awful as he completed 13 of 27 passes for 116 yards with 0 TDs and 1 INT.  Seneca Wallace finished up the game and he completed 1 of 3 passes for 6 yards and he also had 1 carry for 11 yards.  Shaun Alexander had a rough game too as he carried the ball 11 times for 25 yards (2.3 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 7 yards (2.3 avg).  The Seahawks only had possession of the football for 19:15 of the game.  The Seahawks finished up with 38 yards rushing on 13 carries (2.9 ypc) and they completed 14 of 30 passes for 106 yards.

The Seahawks defense just couldn’t get off of the field as the Steelers had some long, time consuming drives in this game.  Linebacker Julian Peterson (10 tackles, sack) and safety Deon Grant (8 tackles) both did their jobs so you can’t blame them for the result.  The Steelers rushed for 163 yards on 41 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 22 passes for 179 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=271007023

This will be the first meeting of these two teams since Super Bowl XL which was won 21-10 by the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Both teams are sitting on top of their divisions with matching 3-1 records.

The Seahawks will likely try to stay balanced on offense but they might try to attack the Steelers Front Seven with Shaun Alexander in the running game.  He has rushed for 353 yards (3.9 ypc) so far this season but the Steelers will likely be without NT Casey Hampton and his backup Chris Hoke due to injury.  That means the Steelers will likely start Nick Eason at nose guard and the center to be able to handle him one on one.  That means the guards of the Seahawks will likely be able to get to James Farrior and Larry Foote which will severely hamper the run defense of the Steelers.  The Steelers will also likely without strong safety Troy Polamalu (abdomen) which means they will start Anthony Smith and that’s a big dropoff.  Look for the Seahawks to also come out with a lot of 3 WR sets with Deion Branch (20 rec, 329 yards), Bobby Engram (17 rec, 250 yards) and Nate Burleson (12 rec, 166 yards) and challenge the Steelers secondary.

The Seahawks will likely stick 8 men in the box to stop the Steelers running game but the Steelers won’t change.  Willie Parker has rushed for 405 yards (4.4 ypc) and Najeh Davenport has rushed for 151 yards (7.2 ypc) so far this season.  The Seahawks will bring heat in the form of blitzes as they have 13 sacks this season led by linebacker Julian Peterson (5 sacks) who is a big time playmaker.  The Steelers must give Roethlisberger time to throw the ball because QBs only have a 67.6 Rating against the Seahawks’ defense this season.  The Seahawks will likely double Santonio Holmes (14 rec, 285 yards) which should open up some of the field for TE Heath Miller (13 rec, 197 yards) who is having a solid season.

PREDICTION:  The Steelers are hurting because of injuries so the Seahawks should have solid success on offense.  But, the Steelers will probably be inspired at home.  Look for this game to be won by the team that has the ball last….by a field goal.

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The Seahawks have went through a lot of kickoff returners due to injury but they have all been pretty productive.  Alvin Pearman returned 3 kickoffs for 71 yards (23.7 avg) before injuring himself which will cause him to miss the rest of the season.  Rookie cornerback Josh Wilson returned 3 kickoffs for 99 yards (33.0 avg) so far this season but he will miss the next 1-2 games because of injury.  That probably means that Nate Burleson sill get a chance to return kicks for the time being.  He has returned 2 kickoffs for 35 yards (17.5 avg).  Burleson has been solid returning punts as he has 145 yards on 14 (10.4 avg) punt returns.