***TNF IN THE SWAMP: SEATTLE @ SAN FRAN***
***SEATTLE SEAHAWKS @ SAN FRANCISCO 49ers***
OHHHH BABY OHHHH BABY yet another rivalry prime timer on tap for tonight ladies and gents!!! The Swamp has been green lately and your favorite slimeball is in the zone! If you know/follow me at all judging tonight's game at a first glance you would assume I'd be all over the Niners, but not so fast my friend!
Swamp is playing with chalk tonight as the Seachickens are reeling and this is a great spot for them to right the ship! Let's be honest here, the Hawks haven't been too good this season yes, but they are still STACKED with talent and now PISSED off. Blowing two 4th Quarter leads to two undefeated teams hurts, but at the same time it is understandable as they were against top teams. The Niners on the other hand I do like in certain spots this year and have been following them, and needless to say...this is not one of those spots. I do like them next week in St. Louis as I think they match up much better but I will talk about that more when the time comes. Tonight, I think the Niners give it all they got but it simply will just not be enough as the Hawks defense is way too talented and will stifle this limited and undermanned 49er offense. Niner QB Colin Kaepernick has been playing better as of late but it was also against two below average and wounded defenses in the Giants and Ravens. Tonight they face a ProBowl filled and veteran defense who would love nothing more than to beat up on their favorite rival. These guys own Kaepernick and I am somewhat scared for the poor kid tonight because I believe it will be a nightmare both throwing and running the ball. RB Carlos Hyde is not 100% and should probably sit this one out, in which case don't be suprised if he does so early on after getting beat up on early. Niner WRs Boldin and Smith are both banged up as well, not that Kaepernick can get them the ball much down the field anyways, but still, it doesn't help him any that his guys are not at full strength. Speaking of throwing downfield, Kap has had time in the pocket to do so the past couple of weeks but tonight will be a different story and he will play nervous and will surely result in making costly mistakes. Once he feels the pressure he will look to run by default and the Hawks will be ready for it.
On the other side of things, the Hawks offense has had its issues as well. QB Russel Wilson looks like he has finally started to build a rapport with stud TE acquisition Jimmy Graham. Graham has voiced his displeasure with the offense's lack of usage with his talents since joining the team this offseason and it looks as though Head Coach Pete Carroll has made an effort to get him more involved which is smart, obviously. Seattle also returned their fearless RB Marshawn Lynch last week who has been banged up lately. Tonight I think he will play but also rotate more with their young RB Rawls AKA Baby BeastMode which will be effective having fresh legs and giving the oldman some rest. The X-Factor that the Hawks have nowadays is rookie WR Tyler Lockett returning punts and kicks for them, and with the amount of punts they will most likely see tonight I think this guy might make something happen. If Carroll is smart which I like to think he is, he will also use this kid more at WR tonight, his speed can be killer against the Niner secondary. However, the Niner defense is their greatest strength believe it or not and I think they actually come motivated and give Wilson some trouble. They will chase him around early and may even shut down the run a bit to keep this one somewhat close in the first half, and then along with little to no production from their offense will unfortunately just get worn down by the time the second half rolls around. Swamp foresees a lopsided Hawks win as they come focused and use this spot against a wounded and nearly broken rival to get back on track. They know they must do exactly that if they plan on being in the mix this season as they are quickly using up all their get-out-of-jail-free cards. Swampy foresees a 27-13 type of game here. SEACHALK -6.5
