Thursday Night Pick - Eagles at Seahawks

With his job possibly on the line, will Andy Reid stay undefeated at Qwest CenturyLink Field?

Over the hundreds of articles and thousands of hours of sports talk radio I've absorbed over the years, I've learned that no national football analyst ever knows a team as well as its local fans.  And since two of my best friends root for the Seahawks and Eagles, I wanted to get their opinions heading into tonight's game.  (Plus, it's easier than writing this whole post myself.)

Mike - Philadelphia resident since '06, likes his cheesesteaks "wit" onions, knows what a Mummer is:

Most of the pundits here in Philly are picking the Seahawks for the following reasons:

1) Homefield advantage

2) The Eagles have a history of getting beaten by the Seahawks. Pete's note: Although the Eagles have lost two of their last three against the Seahawks, Andy Reid is 3-0 in Seattle.

3) The Seahawks have an underrated defense, we're starting Vince Young and scrub receivers, and we refuse to run the ball.

4) This is an EXTREMELY short week and the eagles had to fly six hours to Seattle Wednesday.

5) Seattle is coming off a loss where they blew a fourth quarter 10-point lead, so they won't be complacent.

6) The Eagles were DESTROYED by the Patriots and are broken.

However, I have too much respect for Andy Reid to agree with the pundits.  I think (hope) the eagles have too much heart and pride to get beaten by the Seahawks after last week's blowout.  At the end of the day, the Eagles are a much more talented squad (even with the backups who are playing) and the Seahawks have a crappy offense with a mistake-prone quarterback.  Seattle is the type of team the  Eagles feast on. 

Eagles win, 24-20

Matt - Seattleite (yes, that's what they're called) born and raised, cried when Kurt Cobain died, hates it when the barista doesn't "leave some room" in his Americano:

The game will come down to Vince Young versus our DBs.  Our run defense is very solid, so I expect LeSean McCoy to have a subpar game. (Pete's note: McCoy has a foot injury and may not even play tonight.)  But our pass rush is terrible, so Young will have time to make throws or scramble out of the pocket.  It all depends on what he's able to do.

When the Hawks have the ball, I expect a steady dose of Marshawn Lynch with Tavaris Jackson taking a few shots downfield for Doug Baldwin and Golden Tate. 

Hawks win, 20-17

Pete - NFL blogger and all-around gentleman:

Mike and Matt both make great points and this is a tough game to pick, but when in doubt I always look towards the trenches.  Seattle's offensive line has been banged up and is the 2nd-worst pass protecting unit in the league, according to ProFootballFocus.com.  Trent Cole, Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins and company destroyed the Giants' porous line two weeks ago, and Seattle doesn't have the pass-catching tight ends to exploit the Eagles' sub-par linebackers like the Patriots did.  

On the other side of the ball, Seattle will smother Philadelphia's running game whether or not McCoy plays.  I'll be closely watching No. 91, defensive end Chris Clemons, who is quietly having a Pro Bowl season.  He will get to Young a couple of times tonight, but, as Matt noted, Seattle doesn't have a pass rushing threat behind him.  Ultimately I think Young will have a little more time to make plays than Jackson, and the Eagles will pull out a close one.

Pick - Eagles

Pick Against the Spread - Eagles (-3)

Update: I mistakenly wrote Jonathan Baldwin instead of Doug Baldwin when I first posted this.  There's a slight distinction between them.

Odds courtesy of USA Today.

Image found here.