Where-Seahawks-have-clear-edge-over-49ers

[seer-12thman]

http://mynorthwest.com/422/2303059/Where-Seahawks-have-clear-edge-over-49ers

 

[SF 16 8 80]

That's good. Wouldn't be quite fair if we held all the cards.

 

[Cmoney]

He pretty hit the nail on the head.

 

[sprhawk]

That's good. Wouldn't be quite fair if we held all the cards.

Better check that deck. Looks like we've got the winning hand and there's no need for bluffing.

Why don't you tell us all where you think you have "aces in the hole" and we will show our cards.

C
CB
DB
DL
DT
FB
FB/DT
G
K
LB
P
QB
RB
S
SS
T
TE
TE/DT
TE/LS
WR

 

[#ONE]

I'd give the Niners the edge at DLine (assuming Smith can stay healthy) and LB.

Everything else goes to the Hawks. Let me know if I'm missing something.

 

[sprhawk]

I'd give the Niners the edge at DLine (assuming Smith can stay healthy) and LB.

Everything else goes to the Hawks. Let me know if I'm missing something.

I'll fill in for the lack of a SF response.

Well yeah but there's ahhh... um... Our QB is taller than yours, so is our coach and we have rusty old rings... Joe Montana Rulz.

 

[seer-12thman]

I'd give the Niners the edge at DLine (assuming Smith can stay healthy) and LB.

I think your assessment is right on. With the Seahawks LBs and D-linemen it's hard to know just how good they will be until we see them on the field. Or who will be the starters for that matter. My feeling is the d-line will be improved and good pass rush will be there. I don't see the LB's in decline either. When PC has stated what part of the team he wants to improve during the off season he has come thru with flying colors.

 

[bobflipaburger]

Not sure I give them the whole D-line, they can have the ends with Smith and Mcdonald. But Mebane is better than whoever their NT is going to be this year.

Their guards are better than ours, O-line as a whole is pretty much a toss-up.

TE they get the advantage because they have Davis neither of us know what we have behind our starters there.

QB could be considered a toss-up.

Uhh.... They probably win at punter lol, but Ryan is still really good so it's not by much.

And I guess we don't know who's going to be returning punts for us, so that could be a win for them. But they don't have Ginn anymore so it will probably be a toss up there. Dawson vs. Hauschka is probably a wash as well.

So that's
DE, OLB, MLB, OG, TE, P for them (6)

And
HB, FB, WR, OT, C, DT, CB, S, KR for us (9)

Then toss ups at
QB, K, PR. Giacomini makes me want to put OT in here, but I'm going to give it to us.

 

[#ONE]

Not sure I give them the whole D-line, they can have the ends with Smith and Mcdonald. But Mebane is better than whoever their NT is going to be this year.

Their guards are better than ours, O-line as a whole is pretty much a toss-up.

TE they get the advantage because they have Davis neither of us know what we have behind our starters there.

QB could be considered a toss-up.

Uhh.... They probably win at punter lol, but Ryan is still really good so it's not by much.

And I guess we don't know who's going to be returning punts for us, so that could be a win for them. But they don't have Ginn anymore so it will probably be a toss up there. Dawson vs. Hauschka is probably a wash as well.

So that's
DE, OLB, MLB, OG, TE, P for them (6)

And
HB, FB, WR, OT, C, DT, CB, S, KR for us (9)

Then toss ups at
QB, K, PR. Giacomini makes me want to put OT in here, but I'm going to give it to us.

I don't get all the hate for Breno. Dude is a nasty player. He's a beast in the run game and a more than decent pass blocker. The only knock on him are the penalties. You can't bread and train a dog to be a fighting dog and then get mad when he bites someone. And like Cable told one of the hosts on KJR "Breno isn't going anywhere, so 'Get over it'!".

 

[TheBandwagon]

The general consensus is that the Niners have the best O-line in the league, which to me is part of the main reason they will continue to be a serious threat to the Seahawks. They have top five talent at every position on the O-line. The Hawks' O-line on the other hand, hasn't been together nearly as long and has had to compensate for the oft-injured Carp.
And last year the Niners I thought had the better front seven, mainly because they are more experienced. A lot of my hopes for the upcoming season lie there in the improvement of the front seven for the Hawks. The loss in Atlanta makes it clear the Hawks need to get better, especially with the pass rush but the new additions of Bennett and Avril as well as Jordan Hill and Jesse Williams, if it all works out they could close the gap completely.

But if you're gonna be rock solid at something, then OL and the front seven are about the best areas to be strong at, along with QB of course, so that's why the Niners are still easily a top five team and a legit SB contender. They've set the bar in those areas. The Hawks need to be solid in those areas too, and they are but there were some weaknesses too that hurt them in the end.

The great thing about it though is that the Hawks don't need to match the Niners where the Niners are strongest. The Hawks don't need as good of a front seven because they have a substantial edge in the secondary. They don't need to be quite as good at O-line neither because they have overall more talent at the offensive skill positions, particularly at WR since Crabtree went down. Mainly where the Niners' OL excels over all others is in run blocking. But the Hawks compensate for that with Lynch and overall I'd maybe give a slight edge to the Hawks in pass blocking.

Even though they don't need to match the Niners in those areas, they have the upside to do it anyway. I'm really hoping Carp stays healthy and locks it down at LG. And I gotta agree about Breno.

 

[sprhawk]

Breno really pissed me off early last year with all his penalties but I guess converting from TE to the line, then to the NFL, he just needed the snaps. He's gotten pretty solid and seems to have settled down. I just hope Cable can figure out what to do with Carp without losing what we've gained.