My Week In Seattle

Sep 4, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) drops back to pass against the Green Bay Packers during the second quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

I just spent a week in the Seattle area visiting my in-laws (yes, I married into a Seattle sports family). This is Chargers/Seahawks week. Throughout most of my visit, as we drove around the Seattle area, my father in-law had 710 ESPN Seattle sports radio on. I gathered a few things about the Chargers’ next opponent from listening to Seahawks coverage…

1. The Seahawks do no overlook anyone.

Even though the Chargers are projected to have a decent season, based on San Diego’s performance Monday night you would think the defending champion Seahawks would maybe overlook the Chargers. Perhaps because the Seahawks have a Super Bowl rematch game with the Broncos the week after they play the Chargers, they will check this off as a win before even arriving in San Diego. Not so. From what I gathered listening to local Seattle sports radio, the Seahawks respect the Chargers and are preparing carefully for them. The Chargers need to be ready.

2. Seattle’s depth behind the Legion of Boom is depleted.

We all have heard of Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor. But what made the Seahawks’ secondary a championship secondary was their depth. They will be without two key cornerbacks that create depth on defense in Jeremy Lane and Tharold Simon. This will force the likes of Josh Thomas and Marcus Burley to step up and play in nickel situations. 710 ESPN Seattle expressed this concern and the fact that our quarterback, Philip Rivers, could exploit that if he has time in the pocket.

3. Seattle’s offense does not just feature Marshawn Lynch running 100 times.

As we saw from Seattle’s beatdown of the Packers, their offense is by no means one-dimensional. We are all used to hearing about Beast Mode (Lynch) and Russell Wilson’s game managing ability. Wilson can throw and his receivers can catch and run. In addition to Lynch’s 110-yard, two-TD performance, the Seahawks also had 274 yards of offense that didn’t come from Lynch. Percy Harvin had 100 all-purpose yards in 4 rushing attempts and 7 receptions. Wilson himself can scramble if need be, as he amassed 29 rushing yards. They also have underrated pass-catchers behind Harvin in Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse and veteran tight end Zach Miller. The Chargers secondary must be aware that keying only on Harvin will get them burned. He must be contained, but at the same time the Bolts need to keep tabs on the secondary receivers.

The Chargers do have a chance to win this game. They have to prepare much better than they did against Arizona. The Bolts need to be aware of these three points. Listening to Seattle sports radio for a week made me realize the Seahawks will be ready for this game. The Chargers need to attack the injury-plagued secondary and make their offense one-dimensional. This is a great test for the Bolts to see if they can play with the league’s elite. They need to beat the best in order to be the best; this is a golden opportunity. Rivers has weapons of his own that he must utilize to test the Seahawks defense. If they learn from the Packers mistakes, the Chargers will win this game.