Field Gulls
We’re just a couple of hours away from kickoff between the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers. These teams have met three previous times since 2019, with the Steelers taking two out of three. That one Seahawks win, thought? A 28-26 victory at Pittsburgh during Week 2 of the 2019 season. Could history repeat itself and we see the Seahawks get a huge road win in a hostile environment? If not, then this place might panic for a little bit.
Last week’s predictions were a bit of a disaster, but we’ll review them anyway.
Bold prediction: The Seahawks never trail from start to finish
Well, they lost, so by definition this is a fail. They also didn’t score first, so I was doomed in the opening quarter.
Seahawks offense prediction: Cooper Kupp is Seattle’s leading receiver in catches
Not even close.
Seahawks defense prediction: Seattle forces multiple takeaways
Two is multiple, right? Should’ve been three if not for Riq Woolen’s horrendous misplay in the end zone on that final drive.
49ers prediction: Jake Moody misses at least one field goal
Not only did he miss a chip shot, he had another kick blocked, and now he’s with the Chicago Bears.
Game prediction: Seahawks win by a close-ish margin
It was close, but the Seahawks didn’t win.
Maybe this isn’t a bold take given Pittsburgh struggled against the run last week (Breece Hall had 107 of the New York Jets’ 182 on the ground), but I’ll consider it bold enough when it’s a road game for the Seahawks and they’re facing a superior defensive line anchored by Alex Highsmith, Cameron Heyward, and T.J. Watt. If I really wanted to be bold I’d pick both to clear 100 but that’s not bold that’s delusional.
Walker has been subject to a lot of criticism for his ineffective play and injury history, but I think the talent is still there even if the blocking isn’t. I must admit that Charbonnet looks like the better back for Klint Kubiak and John Benton’s zone blocking scheme, so it’ll be interesting to see if Zach does look like a genuine RB1.
At the moment, I back Charbonnet as more likely to have more carries, more effective runs, and maybe more consistently explosive runs to reach the century mark. Pittsburgh’s defense is good on paper but it’s not particularly young and their vulnerabilities were shown right away. If the run game doesn’t work on Sunday then the squirming among this fanbase will really increase.
Seriously, whatever Klint Kubiak was cooking last week should result in a health-and-safety violation and a cessation of the restaurant until things get cleaned up. There is no way after that offseason and that preseason you can only have two PAs called (and one attempt) against the 49ers. No way.
Mike Macdonald will have surely gotten into Kubiak’s...
