I was a forced fan of football in the last '60s-early '70s. I lived in Texas, then Missouri and was married to a rabid fan. He insisted I watch every game with him.
Our teams were the Dallas Cowboys and the KC Chiefs. I didn’t absorb stats or standings. He talked, I appeared to listen.
Now, I’m a fan of the Seattle Seahawks. I really get into watching them. I actually understand the game better than my current husband. What I need is a quick tutorial on what other teams to watch and how they’re standings effect my team.
I know the 'Hawks are in the NFC West and are first in the standings, now. I have their schedule.
What else do I need to know about the other teams? I guess what I’m asking is, who should I root for when the 'Hawks aren’t playing?
I’m not sure if I’m asking my question correctly, but, hopefully someone will understand and give me some guidance.
I understand how invested football fans are, but try your best not to speak ill of the Seahawks. I promise not to talk trash about anyone else’s team.
For the most part, you want to root against divison rivals and other contenders in the NFC, and then against strong teams in the AFC to try and get the easiest path to the post-season and to win a Super Bowl. Personal biases or other less logical preferences can also influence your rooting in games. For example the Falcons vs Cardinals game can get Seahawks fans rooting for both teams. For the Falcons because the Cardinals are in the NFC West and the more they lose the better chance the Hawks have to get to the playoffs. others will root for the Cardinals because of the postseason loss last year to the Falcons.
I also find Field Gulls a great source of Seahawks information, covering all sorts of news, analysis and commentary. (It seems to be a trend for larger Seattle sports blogs to tend toward the analyical, and generally have good writing.) Another good place to read about the Seahawks imo, has been the 710 radio website.
The NFC West includes Seattle, San Francisco, Arizona, and St Louis. You want all those teams other than your Seahawks to lose as much as possible, since you get a playoff spot for winning the division. Beyond that, you want to have the best overall record in the NFC to guarantee home field advantage throughout the playoffs. You have a key matchup later in the year at home against the Saints, which may well determine home field advantage.
If you can’t get home field advantage all the way through, you want to be one of the top two teams in the NFC, so you get a bye in the first round of the playoffs, and get home field in the second round.
Failing that, at least winning the division will mean you get to host a wild card came in the first round of playoffs.
You’ll hear a term bandied about that applies here. Seattle “controls their own destiny.” That means as long as they win their own games, nothing anybody else does will affect the Seahawks making the playoffs as the #1 seed with a bye and home-field throughout.
Whoever plays the Saints, but especially whoever plays the 49’ers. The Saints could wrestle home field from you, but the 49’ers could throw you into a wildcard spot if they win your division. That will take out the first round bye (forcing you to play an extra game in the playoffs).
