The Seattle Seahawks won the home opener last year in a hard fought 13-10 win over the Cardinals.  The Falcons are 0-2 on the road this year, so the Seahawks might have a decent chance of pulling an upset here.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Seahawks have the ball:  The Seahawks need to play a lot less conservative this week if they are going to have any chance of beating the Falcons.  That being said, the Seahawks should feed the ball a lot to Marshawn Lynch early in this game.  The Falcons are allowing 112.0 yards rushing per game (only 3.6 ypc), so Lynch might actually have a good game this Sunday.  Tarvaris Jackson has been sacked 14 times already this year, so it would be smart to start using shorter drops and for him to get rid of the ball faster.  They have not been using TE Zach Miller (5 rec, 41 yards, 8.2 avg) right and this game is the perfect opportunity to get him going in the passing game.  The Falcons are likely going to try to take Sidney Rice away and force Jackson to throw to someone else.

When the Falcons have the ball:  Matt Ryan of the Falcons as already been sacked 13 times this year, and the Seahawks are going to need to blitz and hit him in the mouth a few times.  If Ryan has time to throw the ball, the Seahawks could be in some trouble.  He likes to throw a lot of short stuff to TE Tony Gonzalez and WR Roddy White.  The safeties won’t be able to cheat up and help out on those two guys because of the speed of rookie WR Julio Jones.  The Seahawks are only averaging 3.1 yards per carry so far this year, so the front seven should be up to the challenge in dealing with RB Michael Turner.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 30, SEAHAWKS 14

Young safeties Kam Chancellor (23 years old) and Earl Thomas (22 years old) have been forces at the back end of the defense for the Seahawks so far this year.  Chancellor has played in all 3 games for the Seahawks so far this year and he has 24 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 passes defensed, 1 interception and 2 forced fumbles.  Earl Thomas has also played in all three games for the Seahawks this year and he has 18 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 pass defensed.  Usually this would be a bad sign for a defense, but the Seahawks are only giving up 318.0 yards per game so far this year, and that’s not too bad.

The Seattle Seahawks’ defense carried the team to victory in the hope opener yesterday.  LB Leroy Hill led the way for the Seahawks yesterday with 11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit.  LB David Hawthorne (9 tackles and 1 pass defensed) and DE Chris Clemons (7 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) also had big time games for the Seahawks yesterday.  CB Marcus Trufant (6 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and safety Kam Chancellor (5 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception) also made big plays in this game for the Seahawks.  The Cardinals finished up with 90 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 39 passes (64.1%) for 234 yards.

Tarvaris Jackson didn’t play too well once again for the Seahawks yesterday.  He completed 18 of 31 passes for 171 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  He did rush for 20 yards on 4 carries (5.0 ypc) with 1 TD run (the eventual game winner) yesterday.  Marshawn Lynch led the way on the ground for the Seahawks in this game with 73 yards rushing on 19 carries (3.8 ypc).  Leon Washington pitched in with 29 yards rushing on 3 carries (9.7 ypc) in this game.  WR Sidney Rice led the way for the Seahawks in his season debut with 8 grabs for 109 yards (13.6 avg).  The Seahawks finished up with 122 yards rushing on 30 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 31 passes (58.1%) for 139 yards as they had possession of the ball for 28:11.  The Seahawks are now 1-2 on the year.

The Seahawks are going to try to get the season back on the right track this Sunday in the home opener against the Cardinals.  The Seahawks swept the Cardinals by a combined score of 58-28 last year!  But, the Cardinals look revived offensively with Kevin Kolb at QB.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Seahawks have the ball:  The Cardinals are giving up 123.0 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry, so look for the Seahawks to try to get Marshawn Lynch going this Sunday.  Lynch has had a rough start this year with only 44 yards rushing on 19 carries (2.3 ypc) so far this year.  If the Seahawks can get the running game going, it will help them slow the Cardinals’ pass rush.  Tarvaris Jackson will need to get rid of the ball quickly this weekend as the Cardinals are sure to be blitzing as he has already been sacked 10 times this year.  Don’t be surprised if WR Mike Williams is a big part of the game plan this weekend as he caught 22 passes for 232 yards (10.5 avg) against the Cardinals last year.  The Seahawks also need to get TE Zach Miller more involved in the passing game this weekend and WR Sidney Rice might make his season debut.

When the Cardinals have the ball:  The Cardinals are likely to come out throwing the ball against the Seahawks.  The Seahawks will need to blitz more this week, because if Kolb has time to throw the ball, he’s going to have a good game.  The Seahawks will likely try to double Larry Fitzgerald a lot in this game, with Earl Thomas helping out over the top.  Kolb also likes throwing the ball to WR Early Doucet and TE Jeff King, so the secondary is going to have to keep eyes on them.  Beanie Wells has rushed for 183 yards and 5.7 yards per carry so far this year, so the Seahawks are not going to be able to cheat with extra DBs with him on the field.

PREDICTION:  CARDINALS 27, SEAHAWKS 24

The Seahawks need 28-year old QB Tarvaris Jackson to step up.  He has played in both games for the Seahawks and he has completed 41 of 66 passes (62.1%) for 356 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT (80.1 QB Rating).  Jackson has also carried the ball 7 times for 25 yards (3.6 ypc) for the Seahawks so far this year.  The Seahawks have only scored 17 points in two games this year, so Jackson will need to either pick up his play or the Seahawks might be forced to give Charlie Whitehurst another chance.

The Seahawks have lost starting guard Robert Gallery for the next 4-6 weeks due to his need to have groin surgery.  Paul McQuistan will take over Gallery’s starting spot until he’s ready to return to action.  I was going to say that the offensive line was really going to miss Gallery, but they have played awful so far this year as a group.  The Seahawks are only rushing for 47.5 yards rushing per game and 2.7 yards per carry.  They have also allowed 10 sacks already this year.

The Seahawks got drilled in Pittsburgh by the Steelers yesterday.  Tarvaris Jackson was sacked 5 times yesterday, so he was a little nervous in the pocket.  He completed 20 of 29 passes for 159 yards without a TD pass or INT.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 12 yards (4.0 ypc) in this game.  Marshawn Lynch had a day to forget as he carried the ball 6 times for 11 yards (1.8 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 1 yard.  Justin Forsett pitched in with 10 yards rushing on 3 carries (3.3 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 20 yards (6.7 avg) in this game.  WRs Ben Obomanu (4 rec, 35 yards) and Kris Durham (3 rec, 30 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Seahawks.  The Seahawks finished up with 31 yards on 13 carries (2.4 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 29 passes (69%) for 133 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 21:16.

The defense had a rough go of it as the Steelers were pushing them around.  Safety Kam Chancellor (9 tackles), LB Mike McCoy (9 tackles) and CB Brandon Browner (7 tackles) led the way for the Seahawks on D yesterday.  The Steelers finished up with 124 yards rushing on 35 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 31 passes (74.2%) for 297 yards.  The Seahawks are now 0-2 on the season.

The Seahawks have placed 24-year old OLB/DE Dexter Davis on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to a hip injury.  Davis played in the season opener against the Niners but he didn’t have any tackles.  Davis has now played in 16 games in his first two years with the Seahawks and he has 13 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed.  This will hurt the Seahawks’ depth at LB and on special teams.

The Seahawks have re-signed 26-year old cornerback Kennard Cox.  Cox played in 11 games for the Seahawks last year and he had 10 tackles, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed.  He has now played in 15 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 11 tackles, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed.  The Seahawks were lucky that Cox didn’t sign with another team.

The Seahawks could be running into a buzzsaw this weekend as the Steelers are going to be in a nasty frame of mind after getting drilled 35-7 by the Ravens last weekend.  Still, the Steelers could have had a bad week or maybe the Ravens laid the framework on how to beat them.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Seahawks have the ball:  The Seahawks are likely going to try to come out running the ball against a Steelers’ D that allowed 170 yards rushing and 5.5 yards per carry last weekend against the Ravens.  Marshawn Lynch will likely have a heavy workload in this game, but Leon Washington and Justin Forsett will also likely get some touches.  The Seahawks’ O-Line is going to have to block much better for Tarvaris Jackson on passing downs, as he was sacked 5 times last weekend, against a likely heavy pass rush from OLBs James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley.  Jackson could have success throwing the ball to rookie WR Doug Baldwin, WR Mike Williams and TE Zach Miller if he has time to throw the ball.  He must know where Steelers’ safety Troy Polamalu is at all times.

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Seahawks are going to have to blitz Ben Roethlisberger a lot this Sunday.  That means that OLBs Leroy Hill and Aaron Curry are going to have to ring up some sacks this weekend.  The Seahawks didn’t have any sacks against the 49ers last week.  The front seven are going to have to control Rashard Mendenhall because the secondary is going to have their hands full in dealing with Hines Ward, Heath Miller and Mike Wallace.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 27, SEAHAWKS 13