Last week’s Thursday Night Football game featured two teams with winning records
Atlanta Falcons Hats , but it turned out to be a blowout as the Pittsburgh Steelers walked all over the Carolina Panthers.This week, the 4-5 Seattle Seahawks take on the 4-4-1 Green Bay Packers and we’re going into this game without many expectations. That’s because Thursday night games we’ve expected to be great haven’t lived up to that hype, while games we expected to put us to sleep have been pretty exciting. When it comes to Thursday Night Football this season, it’s best to go in with no expectations.The Seahawks, who play at home tonight, are 7-1 on Thursday Night Football under Pete Carroll. Seven of the nine Thursday night games so far this season have been won by the home team with the road team winning only in games against teams that currently have two wins (the Eagles beat the Giants in New York and the Broncos beat the Raiders in Oakland). If you go into tonight with any expectation, it should be that the home team — the Seahawks — will win.Here are five things we’ll be watching for when the Seahawks and Packers meet on Thursday Night Football (Fox/NFL Network, 8:20 p.m. ET).1. Russell Wilson has been on fire while Aaron Rodgers hasn’t been Aaron RodgersIn the three games since the Seahawks’ bye week, Wilson has thrown eight touchdowns, one interception, has a 71.5 completion percentage, and a 123.5 passer rating. Wilson is heating up, and it comes at a good time as the Seahawks have a tough road ahead to make it to the playoffs. In his past six Thursday games, Wilson is 6-0 with 12 passing touchdowns and only three interceptions for 111.9 rating. Wilson needs one more win to tie Dave Krieg as the Seahawks’ winningest quarterback in the regular season with 70. Will it come tonight?We typically think of Aaron Rodgers as an annual top three quarterback. But Rodgers hasn’t been as special as usual this season. His 61.1 completion percentage ranks 13th in the league, he ranks 11th in touchdown passes with 17, and his passer rating of 100.0 ranks 14th. Those don’t sound like Aaron Rodgers-type numbers. He does only have one interception, which is tied with Drew Brees for the best in the NFL among starting quarterbacks. How will Rodgers look tonight, on the road
Atlanta Falcons Womens Hoodie , after a short week of preparation? In a tough NFC North, the Packers can’t afford to lose many more games if they want to make it to the postseason. We never count Rodgers out, but this year may be different.2. Legion of Whom?The Legion of Boom has been depleted in Seattle. Gone are Richard Sherman, Brandon Browner, and Kam Chancellor. Meanwhile Earl Thomas is on Injured/Reserve after a contentious offseason. So what is the Seahawks defense without those players?In summary: just better than average. They rank 12th in yards per game, ninth in points per game, seventh in interceptions (though three of their 10 came from Thomas before his injury), 15th in forced fumbles, and 18th in sacks. Their +8 turnover differential is tied with the Rams for the fourth best in the league.Eight of the Seahawks’ 23 sacks have come from Frank Clark. The defensive end has five sacks, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery in his past four games and is aiming for his third game in row at home with a tackle for loss.3. Jimmy Graham faces his former teamThe Packers don’t often make a splash in free agency, but they did when signing Jimmy Graham to be Rodgers’ new top tight end. Graham spent the prior three seasons with the Seahawks as one of Wilson’s favorite targets and was named to the Pro Bowl twice during that time.Graham has five touchdown receptions in his last four road games against NFC West teams and ranks second in receiving touchdowns against NFC West teams since 2010, falling behind only Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who has 19 receiving touchdowns in 51 games against the division.Graham is off to a solid start this season with 33 catches for 439 yards and two touchdowns. He’ll be looking to add onto that against his former team tonight.4. The Griffin brothersAs we keep an eye on the Seahawks’ revamped defense, that includes brothers Shaquill and Shaquem Griffin. Shaquill has 32 total tackles, five passes defensed, and two interceptions this season as a starting cornerback for the team. Shaquem is the one-handed rookie linebacker who was the talk of the 2018 NFL combine. He doesn’t play much, in fact his Gillette commercial gets more run than he does on-the-field. But he’s an inspiring player and has a phenomenal story
Julio Jones Jersey Limited , so we’re always looking to see what he does next.Shaquill’s two interceptions both came in Week 2 in a primetime game against the Bears. He’s thrived in the spotlight before and this should be a big-time game for two teams looking to make a push toward the playoffs.5. Both teams’ fanbases expect to winSeahawks fans are far more confident in both the direction of their season and tonight’s outcome, though both teams’ fanbases do expect to win today, according to fans surveyed as part of SB Nation’s FanPulse polling. 69 percent of Seahawks fans are confident in the direction of the team heading into Week 11 while only 34 percent of Packers fans feel the same way about their squad.Acme Packing Company FanPulse: Packers by 1Field Gulls FanPulse: Seahawks by 4Odds: Seahawks -3Grid View The Falcons didn’t draft Isaiah Oliver in the second round to have him sit. Then again, they didn’t draft Jalen Collins to sit, either, and due to a combination of being outplayed by Robert Alford and his well-publicized suspension. There are no guarantees, even for a tall, rangy, physical second round selection who seems to fit the Dan Quinn mold.Of course, life is a little easier if your primary competition is out of the way, and the Falcons just decided to put their trust in Oliver and add cap space when they cut ties with Alford. He’s fresh off a poor 2018, but he had a pretty good career in Atlanta and, following a typically classy goodbye message, shouldn’t lack for suitors on the open market. That leaves Oliver as the obvious candidate to start opposite Desmond Trufant, with Damontae Kazee, Brian Poole, and a potential draft pick competing for the slot cornerback role. With Kazee potentially moving over, new additions on deck
http://www.atlantafalconsteamonline.com/julio-jones-jersey ;, and Oliver stepping into a bigger role, there’s some uncertainty here. But much of that is yet to come. Oliver is the only one with a clear, certain path to playing time going forward, and he’ll have to be pretty good immediately for this defense to function at the height of its powers in 2019. I am a big-time Oliver fan and questioned why the Falcons didn’t give him more playing time in 2018, especially now that Alford is gone, and I think despite his lack of experience he’ll fare just fine. In 14 games with two starts, Oliver was burnt several times but also pitched in an interception, seven pass deflections, and stretches of genuinely quality coverage. He doesn’t lack for athleticism or size, and he won’t even turn 23 until the end of September. The reasons the Falcons were interested in him are no secret—he has the potential to be one of the better #2 cornerbacks in football if it all comes together—but obviously expecting him to be better than the 2017 version of Robert Alford is still going to be a lot for the second year man, even if he should have little trouble being better than 2018 Alford, and he will likely be less boom-or-bust no matter what he does. In summary, Oliver is going to start, and Oliver has the chance to be special. If he can get there as soon as this season, Dan Quinn’s defense might just be going places.
Last week’s Thursday Night Football game featured two teams with winning records Atlanta Falcons Hats , but it turned out to be a blowout as the Pittsburgh Steelers walked all over the Carolina Panthers.This week, the 4-5 Seattle Seahawks take on the 4-4-1 Green Bay Packers and we’re going into this game without many expectations. That’s because Thursday night games we’ve expected to be great haven’t lived up to that hype, while games we expected to put us to sleep have been pretty exciting. When it comes to Thursday Night Football this season, it’s best to go in with no expectations.The Seahawks, who play at home tonight, are 7-1 on Thursday Night Football under Pete Carroll. Seven of the nine Thursday night games so far this season have been won by the home team with the road team winning only in games against teams that currently have two wins (the Eagles beat the Giants in New York and the Broncos beat the Raiders in Oakland). If you go into tonight with any expectation, it should be that the home team — the Seahawks — will win.Here are five things we’ll be watching for when the Seahawks and Packers meet on Thursday Night Football (Fox/NFL Network, 8:20 p.m. ET).1. Russell Wilson has been on fire while Aaron Rodgers hasn’t been Aaron RodgersIn the three games since the Seahawks’ bye week, Wilson has thrown eight touchdowns, one interception, has a 71.5 completion percentage, and a 123.5 passer rating. Wilson is heating up, and it comes at a good time as the Seahawks have a tough road ahead to make it to the playoffs. In his past six Thursday games, Wilson is 6-0 with 12 passing touchdowns and only three interceptions for 111.9 rating. Wilson needs one more win to tie Dave Krieg as the Seahawks’ winningest quarterback in the regular season with 70. Will it come tonight?We typically think of Aaron Rodgers as an annual top three quarterback. But Rodgers hasn’t been as special as usual this season. His 61.1 completion percentage ranks 13th in the league, he ranks 11th in touchdown passes with 17, and his passer rating of 100.0 ranks 14th. Those don’t sound like Aaron Rodgers-type numbers. He does only have one interception, which is tied with Drew Brees for the best in the NFL among starting quarterbacks. How will Rodgers look tonight, on the road Atlanta Falcons Womens Hoodie , after a short week of preparation? In a tough NFC North, the Packers can’t afford to lose many more games if they want to make it to the postseason. We never count Rodgers out, but this year may be different.2. Legion of Whom?The Legion of Boom has been depleted in Seattle. Gone are Richard Sherman, Brandon Browner, and Kam Chancellor. Meanwhile Earl Thomas is on Injured/Reserve after a contentious offseason. So what is the Seahawks defense without those players?In summary: just better than average. They rank 12th in yards per game, ninth in points per game, seventh in interceptions (though three of their 10 came from Thomas before his injury), 15th in forced fumbles, and 18th in sacks. Their +8 turnover differential is tied with the Rams for the fourth best in the league.Eight of the Seahawks’ 23 sacks have come from Frank Clark. The defensive end has five sacks, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery in his past four games and is aiming for his third game in row at home with a tackle for loss.3. Jimmy Graham faces his former teamThe Packers don’t often make a splash in free agency, but they did when signing Jimmy Graham to be Rodgers’ new top tight end. Graham spent the prior three seasons with the Seahawks as one of Wilson’s favorite targets and was named to the Pro Bowl twice during that time.Graham has five touchdown receptions in his last four road games against NFC West teams and ranks second in receiving touchdowns against NFC West teams since 2010, falling behind only Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who has 19 receiving touchdowns in 51 games against the division.Graham is off to a solid start this season with 33 catches for 439 yards and two touchdowns. He’ll be looking to add onto that against his former team tonight.4. The Griffin brothersAs we keep an eye on the Seahawks’ revamped defense, that includes brothers Shaquill and Shaquem Griffin. Shaquill has 32 total tackles, five passes defensed, and two interceptions this season as a starting cornerback for the team. Shaquem is the one-handed rookie linebacker who was the talk of the 2018 NFL combine. He doesn’t play much, in fact his Gillette commercial gets more run than he does on-the-field. But he’s an inspiring player and has a phenomenal story Julio Jones Jersey Limited , so we’re always looking to see what he does next.Shaquill’s two interceptions both came in Week 2 in a primetime game against the Bears. He’s thrived in the spotlight before and this should be a big-time game for two teams looking to make a push toward the playoffs.5. Both teams’ fanbases expect to winSeahawks fans are far more confident in both the direction of their season and tonight’s outcome, though both teams’ fanbases do expect to win today, according to fans surveyed as part of SB Nation’s FanPulse polling. 69 percent of Seahawks fans are confident in the direction of the team heading into Week 11 while only 34 percent of Packers fans feel the same way about their squad.Acme Packing Company FanPulse: Packers by 1Field Gulls FanPulse: Seahawks by 4Odds: Seahawks -3Grid View The Falcons didn’t draft Isaiah Oliver in the second round to have him sit. Then again, they didn’t draft Jalen Collins to sit, either, and due to a combination of being outplayed by Robert Alford and his well-publicized suspension. There are no guarantees, even for a tall, rangy, physical second round selection who seems to fit the Dan Quinn mold.Of course, life is a little easier if your primary competition is out of the way, and the Falcons just decided to put their trust in Oliver and add cap space when they cut ties with Alford. He’s fresh off a poor 2018, but he had a pretty good career in Atlanta and, following a typically classy goodbye message, shouldn’t lack for suitors on the open market. That leaves Oliver as the obvious candidate to start opposite Desmond Trufant, with Damontae Kazee, Brian Poole, and a potential draft pick competing for the slot cornerback role. With Kazee potentially moving over, new additions on deck http://www.atlantafalconsteamonline.com/julio-jones-jersey ;, and Oliver stepping into a bigger role, there’s some uncertainty here. But much of that is yet to come. Oliver is the only one with a clear, certain path to playing time going forward, and he’ll have to be pretty good immediately for this defense to function at the height of its powers in 2019. I am a big-time Oliver fan and questioned why the Falcons didn’t give him more playing time in 2018, especially now that Alford is gone, and I think despite his lack of experience he’ll fare just fine. In 14 games with two starts, Oliver was burnt several times but also pitched in an interception, seven pass deflections, and stretches of genuinely quality coverage. He doesn’t lack for athleticism or size, and he won’t even turn 23 until the end of September. The reasons the Falcons were interested in him are no secret—he has the potential to be one of the better #2 cornerbacks in football if it all comes together—but obviously expecting him to be better than the 2017 version of Robert Alford is still going to be a lot for the second year man, even if he should have little trouble being better than 2018 Alford, and he will likely be less boom-or-bust no matter what he does. In summary, Oliver is going to start, and Oliver has the chance to be special. If he can get there as soon as this season, Dan Quinn’s defense might just be going places.