Seahawks Predictions

Last week, the guys here at Ferry Tales were the only major blog in the nation -- seriously, do a Google search and find another (and, if you do find one, only send it to me privately so there's no public embarrassment, thanks) -- to predict a victory by the hometown Seattle Seahawks over the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints. You can see the post by scrolling down. After you read this post. Stay focused!

Unless you've been living in the dark recesses of the car-deck of the Bremerton/Seattle Ferry (see examples, above) the past week, you know that Seattle prevailed in dramatic, earth-shaking (literally) fashion, 46-31, to advance to this weekend's Divisional Playoff round against the Chicago Bears.

The 'Hawks squeezed out a 23-20 win in the Windy City earlier this year, and they'll have to do it again on Sunday (in a game where they find themselves 10-point underdogs) if they want to advance to the NFC Championship Game next weekend--a game they could end up hosting if Green Bay also beats Atlanta.

And so, with this being Thursday, and there being no Friday posts this week (look, even bloggers need a vacation day), it's time for our fearless forecasts for this weekend's game:

Predictions by Ferry Man:

Transcendent Eye: 31-17 Bears. Understand that Transcendent Eye-Man got a chainsaw-art six-foot Bear carving for Christmas, so please take this prediction with a grain of saw-dust.

Salty Sailor: 17-7 Bears. Please note that Salty Sailor spent a large portion of his life hauling squid from the ocean in nets, so his perspective is affected by all that time at sea with men.

Weather Guy: 24-17 Seahawks. Although this is a man who knows the barometric pressure in his bathroom, we think this analysis may be closer to reality. We have to be careful here, as Weather Guy could just as easily change his forecast depending on game-time conditions, but we're generally bullish on this outlook.

Mr. Alternative: Mr. Alternative is basking in the sun in Hawaii this week and is unable to make a prediction. We'll cut him some slack this week.

Ghost Writer: I am going to buck the trend here and go with the hot hand. Or at least the hot wings. Actually, that sounds great for the game on Sunday; I'll have to stop by Costco.

Anyway, the Seahawks (wings, get it?) have essentially won two playoff games in a row, as they also had to beat the Rams in a do-or-die game two weeks ago, and I think the mojo continues this week. Special teams will be a huge factor in the bad weather at Soldier Field, as both Devin Hester (Chicago) and Leon Washington (Seattle) can take a kick or punt return back for a score at any time. Ultimately, I think Chicago QB Jay Cutler's gunslinger mentality will be his team's downfall, as the Hawks will have no trouble covering the Bears small, speedy receivers.

Just like the Saints game, the Hawks will fall behind early in this one and rally again. In total, I think my fellow Ferry Men are scarred by years of being Seattle sports fans. I bring a fresh, if largely naive, perspective into this, having no long-term association with the city or its sports.

Official Ferry Tales prediction: Seahawks 23, Bears 21.