Seattle offense vs. Kansas City defense

	SEAHAWKS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	26
	Pass	18
	Tot. Yds.	24
	Scoring	8
	Int's allowed	5
	Sacks allowed	24
	CHIEFS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	8
	vs. Pass	19
	Total yds. allowed	12
	# of Ints.	15
	# of Sacks	20
	Turnover differential	+10

The frustrating aspect of preparing for the Seahawks is the fact that the team ranks 22nd in total offense, but are atop the AFC West by two full games. With the return of WR Joey Galloway, this offense is now capable of diversifying their attack even more. RB Ricky Watters is going to be the biggest beneficiary of the more explosive receiving corps, because the team will be running a lot more four receiver sets with Watters handling the running duties as the I-back.

The interesting aspect of this matchup against the Chiefs is how willing the Kansas City will be to gamble on defense. Kansas City is playing an aggressive, risk-taking scheme that features a lot of blitz and stunt action underneath. The Chiefs are going to take risks in order to play eight men close to the line of scrimmage to stuff the run and get pressure on QB Jon Kitna.

The key to running the ball for the Seahawks will be to beat the blitz early on in the game. If Kitna can make the Chiefs pay for cheating up front, Kansas City will be forced to back off some of the pressure and use more nickel and dime personnel to keep up with the Seahawks wide-open attack.

Kansas City is confident in its corners ability to shut down any receiver duo in the league. This will be the biggest key of the game. CB's James Hasty and Chris Dishman will matchup in man-to-man coverage on WR's Joey Galloway and Derrick Mayes.

On the outside, Kansas City should be able to take the receivers out of the game. It is in the middle of the field where the Chiefs have been most susceptible and the Seahawks have been most effective. When Kansas City blitzes their linebackers and brings up SS Reggie Tongue to play closer to the line of scrimmage, they leave the middle of the field vacant and become vulnerable to the skinny post and crossing routes. Galloway will run a lot of sideline routes and look to get vertical on the outside in order to draw extra attention from FS Jerome Wood .

The critical players are WR's Derrick Mayes and Sean Dawkins and TE Christian Fauria. The Chiefs were burnt in the middle of the field last week by TE Dave Moore on a 34-yard seam route that took advantage of the vacated area in the middle of the field. The Seahawks will look to use Fauria and even Mayes and Dawkins to get their man on their back and get position streaking down the middle of the field. This is a situation where Seattle could really flourish.

Kitna has an excellent feel for the middle of the field, and he has been throwing the skinny post as well as anyone in the league this season. The Chiefs will get a lot of pressure and do an excellent job of keeping the running game in check, but they are also going to give up the big-play that could cost them the game because of their offense's inability to score points.

RB's Donnell Bennett and Bam Morris are two powerful backs that will wear down defenses, but they are not capable of making the big play. The Chiefs are averaging 3.6-yards per carry and that is exactly what they want to be doing. It will be the Seahawks responsibility to keep on their toes defensively against an offense that is fully capable of lulling you to sleep.

When studying the Chiefs run game, it became very clear that they are not scheming to create any big plays. Bennett and Morris both have poor vision and little change of direction, but they attack the hole and they seldom lose yardage. Do not expect to see the Seahawks blitz a lot on first and second downs.

Teams have been successful this season when playing base sets against the Chiefs and making sure to keep responsibility. Seattle will walk up SS Darryl Williams on a lot of run-down situations as an extra linebacker to plug the six-and-seven holes.

The Chiefs are one of the most efficient teams off the play action in the league, but they are having trouble getting the ball to their playmakers. Kansas City is pounding the ball out at teams and have been able to create a lot of man-to-man matchups off the play fake, but they have not been getting the ball down the field, instead they are picking up ten and twelve yards off the fake. This would be great for most teams, but the Chiefs do not throw the ball much, and have a tough time picking up a lot of first downs because their running attack is extremely stale. It has worked against some of the poor teams in the league, but not against good defensive teams like the Seahawks.

WR Derrick Alexander and TE Tony Gonzalez are the team's true weapons. They have six TD receptions between them, and they have not been used nearly enough. The Seahawks are going to provoke the Chiefs to go up top with the ball and test them down the field. Seattle will only use four man rushes on a lot of passing situations, because they are getting a good rush from their defensive line, and it allows the linebackers to drop into coverage.

The Chiefs will try to isolate Alexander and Gonzalez to one side of the field in order to give them single-coverage to work against. The biggest key will be QB Elvis Grbac's ability to take advantage of these matchups with limited time to work in the pocket. Grbac seems comfortable with his receivers and in this system, but he is still not making some of the throws. And when you only take few chances in the passing game, Grbac has to take advantage of these well-designed matchups.

Pete Stoyanovich has had a disappointing start to the '99 season, missing five of his first 18 field goal attempts. He has shown a great leg, but his mechanics seem to be a bit inconsistent. Daniel Pope has been somewhat inconsistent, but his excellent hang time has limited teams returns. He is averaging 42.0- yards per punt, but has only landed 11 inside the opponents' twenty-yard line. Tamarick Vanover has been nicked up for the past few weeks, but he should be returning punts this week. Vanover was averaging 10.7-yards per return before being injured.