Seahawks defense must do one job to beat the Packers
To get back to .500, the Seahawks defense has one job. And it isn’t stop Aaron Rodgers.
The Seahawks badly need a win against the Packers to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. We expect the Hawks will be able to run the ball all night long. We also believe that the offensive line will need to help Russell Wilson stay clean and stay out of dicey situations. Like not throw a pick six or fumble inside our own ten yard line. And the defense must contain one particular player for the Packers.
No, I’m not talking about Aaron Rodgers. It’s true that he’s looked almost mortal for much of the season. He’s had three games with just a single touchdown throw. Yes, that’s a bad game for Rodgers, one touchdown. He’s still Aaron Rodgers, even if he is playing on one knee.
No, you don’t stop Rodgers. You play to contain him, to minimize the havoc he can unleash on your defense. The thing is, even the best quarterbacks need someone on the other end of their pass. So far this season, that someone has overwhelmingly been Davante Adams.
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Adams has caught nine of the Packers 17 touchdown passes. No other player has caught more than two. They have other dangerous receivers, to be sure. Marquez Valdes-Scantling is a burner with 4.37 speed. We know Jimmy Graham would love to score on his former team. But no one on the Pack is nearly as dangerous as Adams. He’s scored in all but two games, and went off for 83 and 133 yards in his two scoreless efforts.
Adams is averaging 12.7 yards per catch, and he isn’t exactly a speed merchant, not with a 40 time of 4.56. The one thing he does is catch the ball, a lot. He’ll likely be matched up against Tre Flowers, not an enviable position for the rookie. Tonight would be a very good night for Flowers to break out, along with free safety Tedric Thompson.
Keeping Adams out of the end zone would be a major boost to the Seahawks chances. In last year’s loss to Green Bay, Adams had three catches for 47 yards. The star receivers that night were Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. But Nelson has gone to the purgatory of Oakland, and Cobb is inactive tonight. This year, Adams is Cobb and Nelson rolled into one. Contain him, and Seattle will be on their way to a big win.