There is one thing the Seahawks have as an edge that no other team they will face in the playoffs will have: The intense desire to remove the taste of last season's Super Bowl out of their collective mouths. This will motivate them beyond anything else, especially when a do or die time comes, as it most certainly will, and may be as soon as this Sunday.
I remember how motivated the Sonics were in 1979 after they lost game seven in the NBA finals the year before. That loss left a real bad taste - losing game seven at home, where we rocked the house. The next season we were on the ropes against Phoenix, and were *this* close to losing and being eliminated in an early round. It was pretty dire and depressing because the Suns were no match for us but had our number and momentum. But the veterans, in particular Paul Silas, said enough was enough. Silas had a game unlike any he had had for about 5 years - he was an old grizzled vet who knew how to win - and we pulled out a desperate game six on the road, and coasted to our championship. I won't be surprised if we have a similar moment between now and the Super Bowl.