Seattle's Super Team

"We Dat", Richard Sherman tweeted after trouncing the Saints (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

It's been five years since the Sonics relocated to Oklahoma City, but Seattle has a new Super team playing within city limits.

At 11-1, the Seahawks hold the best record in the NFL, and are two games above the next best team in the conference. However, after dismantling the Saints on Monday Night Football, the gap between Seattle and the rest of the league looks much more dramatic.

Hardly a joyful expression. (Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

The New Orleans Saints entered Seattle with a lot riding on the outcome of the game. 

The showdown between the two top seeds in the NFC would likely determine home-field advantage for the playoffs. A win by New Orleans would even their record with Seattle, but give them the tiebreaker via head-to-head victory, thus supplanting Seattle as the number one seed and earning home-field advantage.

A win by the Seahawks would solidify their stranglehold on the conference and likely force any path to the Super Bowl to pass through Seattle.

This would be especially important given both teams' impregnable home records: Russell Wilson has yet to lose a game in Seattle, while Sean Payton and Drew Brees have won 14 straight home games in New Orleans.

Consider too the fact that New Orleans plays in a dome, a controlled environment starkly different from the cold and rainy Northwest, especially in January. Weather conditions can make all the difference, especially when you rely on a high-flying passing attack to win games. The Saints would much rather stay home and indoors for the duration of the playoffs.

Lastly, the red-hot Panthers, winners of 8 straight games, are nipping at the heels of the Saints. With their victory on Sunday, Carolina remained just one game back of New Orleans, and a loss to Seattle would drop the Saints into a tie for first in the NFC South.

All together, this was an absolute must-win game for New Orleans.

Michael Bennet's TD dance expressed the feeling as a whole of Seattle.

How disappointing, then, that the outcome was decided by the end of the first quarter.

The Saints' received the opening kickoff and went three-and-out on their first possession of the game. Seattle turned their first opportunity into points, eating up 5:44 of clock-time in the process of their 11 play, 61 yard drive. Their drive stalled short of the end zone, however, and they settled on a field goal.

3-0 Seattle.

The Saints' got the ball back hoping to respond. Instead, Drew Brees was stripped of the football on second down and Michael Bennet returned the fumble for a touchdown.

Make that 10-0 Seahawks.

New Orleans then received their third kickoff of the game, only to go three-and-out once more. This would be a theme for the night. They punted to the Seahawks and watched Russell Wilson lead his offense on a 73 yard drive for a touchdown.

17-0.

The Saints had time to run three plays before the quarter ended. It might as well have been the game.

On their first three drives, then, the third-best offense in the league had mustered only 9 yards, on 9 plays, for a total of zero first downs. This had never happened before in the Sean Payton / Drew Brees era. Their first three possessions resulted in two punts and a fumble, and they found themselves down 17 points after 15 minutes of football. It was the largest first quarter deficit Sean Payton and Drew Brees had ever faced, one that would prove too deep to overcome.

(ESPN)

Sean Payton is regarded as one of the top offensive-minded coaches in all of football. Unfortunately for him, he faced one of the top defensive-minded coaches in football, Pete Carroll.

The Seahawks totally and completely dominated the Saints' offense. New Orleans entered the match averaging over 400 yards of offense per game. They were held to just 188 total yards on the day. Drew Brees was absolutely stifled, and mustered only 144 passing yards-- his lowest total since 2006.

5 of their first 8 drives were three-and-outs. Of the three that weren't, one was a kneel-down at the end of the half. Another was extended by a "roughing the passer" call on third down. The penalty gave the Saints their first fresh set of downs since their lone scoring drive in the second quarter. Three plays later, they punted anyway.

Seattle came off their bye-week ready to play, and had an answer to everything that New Orleans tried. Their defense played chippy and physical, at times going out of their way to assert themselves-- even drawing penalties in the process.

But 15 yards is a small price to pay for the number one seed in the NFC.

Players aren't the only ones intimidated. (Twitter)

Their smash-mouth style of play is a cause for concern for most offenses for many reasons.

Turnovers of course play a huge role in the outcome of the game, and Seattle's defense ranks first in the league with 27 takeaways. This tendency creates more opportunities for their offense, and with a cool and composed QB in Russell Wilson to take care of the football, they also enjoy the best takeaway/giveaway ratio in the NFL.

But pass break-ups are often overlooked and hard to keep track of, and last night a large number of passes fell incomplete due to the punishing hits the receivers took before completing the catch.

The Seahawks fans absolutely love it, as well as all other aspects of their team, and have become one of the loudest crowds opponents can finds themselves pitted against, giving Seattle-- a team that already possesses the number one defense and the number two scoring offense-- just another advantage.

When you come to Seattle, you don't just face the players on the field. You face the cold, you face the rain, and you face the 12th man.

11.5 might be more accurate. (Raider Nation)

And, as the 34-7 blowout of the next best team in the NFC showed, you just don't win.

"DOH!" (Raider Nation)

Can anyone beat the Seahawks at home? Can anyone beat them anywhere? You tell me! Comment below. 

Mid Season MVP Candidates

We are nearly halfway through the NFL season, and our sample size is large enough to posit some probable candidates for 2013's Most Valuable Player.

Let's Start with the Obvious:

Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning is enjoying one of the finest seasons of his celebrated career in Denver, and is playing as well as he ever did pre-surgery with the Colts. He has already thrown 29 touchdowns and is averaging 364 yards per game; he has thrown only 6 interceptions and is completing 71.6% of his passes; and he has the Broncos sitting pretty at 7-1 (and still in second place!).

He finds himself at the helm of one of the deadliest aerial attacks in the league. The talented receiving core of D. Thomas, Decker, Welker, and J. Thomas bring a mix of size, speed, and precision to a team that also possesses a strong ground game.

Manning is on pace for a record-breaking year, and is in fact already shattering them. After 5 games Manning had thrown for 19 touchdowns, eclipsing the great Daunte Culpepper (no joke) for the most to start the season.

Factor in their strong defensive play and Denver looks to be firing on all cylinders, but many feel they are underperforming. They have the week off to regroup, then will look to continue their success for the remainder of the season. Among others, they will face the Patriots, the Chiefs (twice), and end the season in the Black Hole in a match that will likely have strong playoff seeding implications.

Calvin Johnson

Of all the high expectations for Calvin Johnson, the steepest were those he applied himself, and though I cannot speak for Calvin, he is certainly exceeding in my book.

In week seven Megatron recorded three hundred and twenty-nine receiving yards, falling just seven short of the all-time record. Not only were the catches incredibly acrobatic, but they came in some of the game's most important moments, including an 87-yard catch-and-run, a 54-yard bomb in betwen defenders, and a 22-yard catch to set up the game-winning score.

He is averaging 117 yards per game and has Matt Stafford and the Lions in contention for first place in the division. Though they are currently a game behind the Packers, Detriot looks poised to make the playoffs either way.

Drew Brees

Drew Brees and the Saints are the least-talked about juggernaut in the league. Sean Payton's return from suspension has immediately translated into the success, and they currently sit atop the NFC south at 6-1-- their only loss coming at the hands of Tom Brady and his epic last-minute touchdown drive in Foxboro. However, that sting, and that of Payton's recent suspension, only fuel the fire in New Orleans, and have Brees playing at a level very similar to his 2008 Super Bowl season.

Brees has passed for over 2200 yards and 19 touchdowns, 8 of which went to his favorite target, Jimmy Graham. The Monster tight-end had been battling a sprained foot for the past few weeks, and his health in inextricably tied to the success of this team. However, if the past is any indication, Drew Brees will find a way to keep his team in contention with the best in the league.