Washington Redskins (+9) over SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
by Bobby Babowski of Ultimatecapper.com
WASHINGTON comes into this 2nd round playoffmatchup vs. Seattle winners of their last 6 games! The Skins arethe HOTTEST team in the NFL right now.
Joe Gibbs and company finally seem to have ittogether as this team REFUSES TO LOSE! How can you produce theWORST offensive numbers in playoff history with less than 150total yards on offense and still win the game outright? That showsthat Washington has poise, momentum, one of the BEST, if not THEBEST defenses in the entire league and a top flight running backin RB Clinton Portis.
Washington will have to get some better offensegoing for this game as 40 yards passing by QB Mark Brunell wontcut it this time. What baffles me is how the
sportsbooks
have Washington as a +9 underdog? How can the best defense infootball , who just won 6 straight no less be almost a doubledigit dog? Lets also not forget that Washington already beat Seattleearlier in the season by a field goal in OT.
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The skins were 4-4 on the road this season 5-4counting the TB win last week and now head into the 2nd roundof the playoffs about to make their 3rd straight road appearancein as many weeks.
Washington began the year strong then fell offthe map, only to regain their confidence and end up in the playoffsas we all know. Although Washington is 5-4 (inc TB) and 4-4 inthe regular season, they have however played 4 of those road gamesin the last 6 weeks winning them all!
Not including the 36-0 Giants blowout, the Redskinshave been within a field goal of 3 of the remaining road gamesthat they lost. Washington lost all 4 road games by a COMBINEDTOTAL of 11 points! Those games include losses to Dallas 14-13,Denver 21-19, KC 28-21 and TB 36-35.
What justifies the
+9spread
versus Seattle? Washington can taste nothing but victoriesright now . They are in that “feel like you cant lose mode” andIm taking the +9 to the bank. Take Wash + the points!
SEATTLE comes into this weeks 2nd roundwith one of the best teams in football, which I am still not soldon as stubborn as I am. You don’t go 13-3 by not being good, howeverI just feel that the line is WAY TOO HIGH, especially with Seattlehaving a week off and losing their last game of the season toGB (Despite the starters sitting most of the game.)
I understand that this shouldn't bother a matureplayoff team that has been there before but that’s not the casehere.
Seattle is making their first playoff appearance inalmost 7 years (Seattle played Miami at home in theplayoffs in 1999 laying 3 pointsand lost 20 - 17).
Seattle has won 12 of their last 13 and endedup the regular season with an amazing 13-3 record.
The Seahawkswere also 8-0 at home this season looking like a team possessedat times. RB Shaun Alexander, winner of the NFL's MVP award willbe ready to go but may have his hands full with that ferociousSkins D gearing up to stop the run at all costs. Washington’sGameplan is to let QB Matt Hasselback beat them, although he hada terrific season throwing for over 20 TDS and less than 10 interceptionsbut he is still making his first playoff appearance of his career.
Either way you look at it, Seattle is still theTOP SCORING TEAM IN THE ENTIRE LEAGUE and the #1 Offense in theNFL. What better match up than the best defense against the bestoffense? I know I keep repeating myself, but I guarantee you thatthis may in fact be the first time a TOP D is a 9 point dog, infact I can’t recall similar teams with similar stats playing oneanother where the BETTER D was getting more than 3-5 points! Everyoneknows that DEFENSE wins games, but don’t count out Seattle’s defense(they are not too shabby) as they played admirably all seasonlong making big plays when they counted.
Seattle's Defense has only allowed an averageof 15.5 ppg. It's ironic as the Skins Defense allowed an almostIDENTICAL number of points per game at 16 ppg. If you factor inthat the Points Per Game Allowed are the same and add in thatSeattle's offense is #1 compared to Washington's no better thanfair offense, that is the underlying factor I suppose in the largespread.
Either way, as previously mentioned, we are goingwith the Washington hot hand and the points. Seattle loses a littlemomentum-wise here with the loss in week 17 followed by the weekoff. One thing to remember is that Washington is in fact playingtheir 3rd straight road game, which we do NOT like by any means,but isn’t a large enough factor to sway our vote for them to coverthe spread.
Bobby's Pick: TAKE THE SKINS +9 | 
