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Q.  How do the Seahawks compare to the 49'ers?

A.  Dr. D's opinion was that AFTER the Seahawks added* four Pro Bowl players:

• Percy Harvin
• Chris Clemons*
• Cliff Avril
• Michael Bennett

Then they were even steven with the San Francisco 49er's.

He therefore thinks that they are now about three or four stars short of the 49er's.  Hey, I do think the Seahawks are great.  But I didn't like their 12 points last week, and there were a bunch of games last year that turned on one play.

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Q.  They say Avril will play.

A.  ::shrug::  

Will he play like Cliff Avril?  If so, maybe he'd lead the Seahawks to 8 sacks in the first half, like Clemons did in the Rodgers game.  Call me after he does something for the Seahawks, not before.

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Q.  Leaving them where, on an neutral field?

A.  I'd give the Seahawks 4-6 points if they were playing in the Georgia Dome.  And take the Niners.

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Q.  Home field in the NFL is worth what, 3 points or something?

A.  CLink isn't "home field in the NFL."  It is a unique factor in worldwide sports.  They've got no business attaching the usual home field penalty and adding a point or two; it's apples to oranges.

The Sounders draw 2x the crowds of any other team in the MSL -- literally.  The #2 attendance is 50% of what Seattle's is.  And the Sounders' home record is preposterous, for their talent.

Husky Stadium invented the wave... look, East Coast bias aside, the problem is that Seattle franchises have so seldom given Seattle fans a chance to show their stuff.  CLink isn't worth 3 or 6 points; it's often worth 28.  The Seahawks' 2011 win over the Saints, 41-36 ... they lose that game 42-21 in New Orleans.  Or worse. 

I saw some stat where the Seahawks were 10-1 over their last eleven home games AGAINST THE SPREAD.  People outside Seattle don't get it.

What happens is that a crowd turns around a game, causes it to pivot.   3 points isn't the idea.  The idea is dodging bullets and building momentum.

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Q.  Why are Seattle fans so CRAZY?  It's an educated town.  Ph.D's and software programmers don't go nuts at knuckle-dragging fuwtbawl games.

A.  I think it's like that recent movie, where one day a year all crime is legal?

Masculinity is considered to be in bad taste around here.  Sit at your desk quietly, young man, stare straight ahead, and don't fidget.  You live your life, if you are a macho type of person like Dr. D, under a very real sense of being in prison.  Or at least being under house arrest.  Or at least being watched by the KGB.  Or at least being annoyed constantly by PC watchdogs.  You see where I'm going with this.  You ain't allowed to smack people in the mouth here, even if they deserve it.

;- )

Sports become a pressure-release situation, a chance to blow off some steam.

That's my theory.  You got your own.  Whatever the case, the human emotion at CLink on Sunday night will be irrational. 

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Q.  So you've got the Seahawks -4 to -6 on a neutral field... what are they at CLink, in your book?

A.  Probably Seahawks +9.5.  (Yes, I know I'm reversing the nomenclature.)

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Q.  Can +9.5 points teams lose?

A.  Sure.  Especially to great teams like the 49er's.

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