IMO comes down to the first 3 drives Seattle has. If they (Hasselback) can move the ball efficiently and get some points (even just 1 FG), it will give the offense the confidence it needs to play their own game for the rest of the game. If they can play their game, it means a proper mix of run and pass, which has been very effective.
It happened in the NFC championship game, and, most of the games that were hyped (in Seattle and by the Seatle fan boards) "as being big games" this year ie Monday Night, games vs. the Rams and Cowboys etc.
If they can't, look for Hassleback to start to panic ala 2000-2004, and sart throwing up bad passes trying to force things. Then we're in trouble.
I predict a close Seattle win...7pts or less.
For all the (over) analysis I have heard, its all about the Steelers mojo in winning all these games in a row on the road...and I haven't heard the fact that Seattle has won 13 of their last 14 games after starting 2 and 2. No matter who you are in the NFL,that's some serious mojo.
Getting pretty nervous...after suffering as a fan for as long as cable TV pulled Spokane stations into the house, I've been a fan, (yes, even as a kid during the Bosworth era) simply because they were the team I could watch every Sunday. A lot of malaise over the years as the team had no real direction.
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