SEATTLE -- The Seattle Seahawks have lost just twice at home since the start of the 2012 season. So any team that comes here faces some long odds of escaping with a victory.
That's especially so when you are the Detroit Lions (0-3), and you are the last winless team in the league.
Detroit does catch a break, though, with Seattle ruling out star tailback Marshawn Lynch for the game. That means the Lions will see a healthy dose of former Michigan tailback Thomas Rawls.
Seahawks beat writer Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times joined us to break down what the Lions can expect from Rawls, and the deafening crowd that will be behind him.
MLive: The Clink is famous for volume. What's that place like in prime time, and why is it so hard on opposing teams?
Bob Condotta: It's simply really loud and raucous, and the Seattle fan base is pretty sophisticated at knowing when and when not to cheer. Observers often remark how the Seattle crowd is one that is participating as much as it is spectating. The fans know when it's third and long for the opponent to really get into it, and they do.
The stadium was also constructed in a manner to accentuate the noise. Owner Paul Allen wanted to replicate the atmosphere of the Kingdome as much as he could when the new stadium was built in its place 15 years ago and had studies done on roof angles and all of that to capture the noise as much as possible. The stadium is also relatively small --- it's on the same footprint as the Kingdome was --- so the noise is kept in pretty well.
MLive: Seattle is still one of the heavyweights in the NFC, but sits at just 1-2. What's gone wrong so far?
Condotta: The Seahawks opened with two rough road games in St. Louis and Green Bay. So that was one of the biggest things. The Rams just really match up well with the Seahawks --- Seattle has now lost there three of the last four years and the one win came in 2013 in a contest that the Rams statistically dominated and went down to the last play.
The defense was also without strong safety Kam Chancellor for the first two games. And the offense is breaking in a remade line that features two first-year starters and another starting at a new position. Seattle was also just sort of sloppy, allowing a long punt return for a touchdown against the Rams, for instance, and with some ill-timed penalties really costing them against the Packers.
MLive: What kind of difference did Kam Chancellor make in his return to the field last week? Does that pass defense have any weaknesses? Or is Matthew Stafford in for another long day?
Condotta: Statistically he made a huge one as Seattle went from allowing a combined 61 points in the first two games, to zero in Chancellor's return. But playing a home game against a bad Bears team and Jimmy Clausen contributed, too. Three founding members of the Legion of Boom are still around and in their prime --- Chancellor, Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman --- so the secondary should be still among the best in the NFL. But without Chancellor the first two games there was sort of a domino effect that helped lead to some uncommon statistics.
This game will be a really good test of just where the Seattle defense really is. The Seahawks have a new starting right cornerback in Cary Williams and have gone to Marcus Burley at nickelback to replace the injured Jeremy Lane. The Lions will be a good test of how good the Seattle secondary is now that it's basically whole again.
MLive: Thomas Rawls is a guy people from this area know because of his days at Michigan, where he was pretty underwhelming. Then he signs with Seattle and goes off for 100 yards in his first extensive NFL action. How's he gone from Point A to Point B?
Condotta: One of the biggest things is Rawls appears to be a perfect fit for the Seahawks' system, which emphasizes zone blocking and patience from the running backs to let things develop. One of Rawls' big runs last week was a 21-yarder when he cut to the backside and into the open, the kind of thing Lynch has made a living off of for years.
The team liked Rawls' physicality and vision, and had a need for a young running back to step up this year after growing impatient with Christine Michael, who was eventually traded to Dallas, and after Robert Turbin was hurt in the preseason. Lynch is battling several injuries, most notably a hamstring, and won't play against Detroit.
MLive: The Seahawks haven't lost a home game to Detroit since 1999. They continue that run if ...
Condotta: ... they get pressure on Stafford and play an efficient game on offense. The Seahawks have struggled out of the gate this year --- they have yet to score an offensive touchdown in the first half --- and if they let what I would assume to be a pretty desperate Lions team hang around, then things could get dicey. But if Seattle plays a fairly mistake-free game and gets the running game going enough to move the ball consistently, it should be able to win another one at home.
Bob Condotta covers the Seahawks for the Seattle Times. You can find his work here, or follow him on Twitter at @bcondotta.
Source : http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2015/10/beat_writer_breakdown_seahawks.html
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