Flagg's Shorttake analysis:
Alexander is a great runner, but he's soft and tends to shy away from contact once he's been hit hard. Guess what? He's gonna get hit hard. A lot.
Okay:
When Seattle has the ball:
Seattle has a great set of weapons. Alexander is an excellent runner with a nose for the end zone. Hasselback is a great passer who makes quick reads. K-Rob is all talent and paddle hands. DJax is top notch, and Engram is always underrated.
Mack Strong is a solid blocking FB, occasionally running and catching the ball so that you need to respect him, and the Hawks have 2 TEs who can hurt you 2 ways in Mili and Stevens. Stevens is 6'7" and MUST be accounted for. Fortunately, he is also pretty soft, and tends develops alligator arms after a big hit. He's started to come into his own recently, though still not performing to his ability and expectations.
Along the OL, the left side is STELLAR, while the right side is pretty sub-par to approaching average. Tobeck is a top 1/3 OC at least, and Hutchinson and Jones at OG/OT are a brutal pair runblocking and more than good enough in pass protection. Seymour should have all he can handle. He MUST keep Hutch from getting his mitts on any of the LBs on the second level. He and Wilfork/Traylor will share this responsibility to a certain extent, depending on the gap attack/control strategies that BB/RC decide to use for this game.
I really want to see Ty Poole back and healthy for this game. The Seahawks can hurt you with their 3 WR sets, and the Pats will need all the DB depth they can muster. We're going to see plenty of Samuel and Gay in this game as it is - lets hope it isn't as starters (though I think Samuel is almost ready.)
I think Hass can be had mentally. He's good at quick reads, but I don't think Saint Louis, Arizona, New Orleans, or San Francisco have defensive systems that disguise reads quite like New England. He's not real mobile, though he holds his own. I think a little pressure and disguised reads behind it will cause him to lose his cool a bit. He's only thrown 2 INTs so far this year - I'd lay even money that he at least equals that in this game, depending on our DB health status.
If I am BB/RC:
As my base set, I play Rodney and Geno in the box flanking Bruschi, with a 3 man line and McGinest and Phifer at the OLB positions. Reid plays centerfield. You're maximizing your coverage options while still having enough beef to play the run, and enough speed to disguise coverages all day long.
When the Patriots have the ball:
The Hawks use a rotation system at DT. Moore is okay, Woodward is pretty good, and Tubbs is a comer, but raw. Behind them, Orlando Huff is a quality and underrated MLB, but is dinged up right now. The hawks use a R/L rather than a W/S system - Anthony Simmons is a talented 'backer on the left side. On the right side SHOULD be Chad Brown, but he's out with an injury. In his place is Isaiah Kacyvenski, an adequate replacement who plays smart ball and gets the most out of somewhat limited physical talent. There is NO DEPTH at the LB positions, but they are getting adequate play from the positions as of right now.
As a whole, the run defense is statistically excellent, allowing only 84.5 ypg. However, that is on a league 3rd lowest 21.2 attempts per game - they've been leading their opponents for most of the games. They've allowed 4 ypc to opposing runners.
The Hawks are vulnerable in the flats in the passing game, particularly away from Anthony Simmons' side, something which plays right into Brady's strengths. If Faulk is ready to go, this should be a nice welcome back performance for him. If Bethel is back, he should help open up the flats with his mere presense. Patten can do this to a lesser extent, as well.
Now, their pass defense is quite good. They have the 5th highest pass attempts per game against, but only allow a touch over 200 ypg in passing. Trufant and Lucas are excellent corners, and Bobby Taylor is close to an NFL best 3rd CB, bringing a great deal of experience to the position. There is some serious dropoff after that, however. Kenny Hamlin has developed into a solid, if not spectacular, player at safety, though the other saftey spot has been pretty shakey. Michael Boulware is challenging to take Bierria's spot there. The pass rush has been adequate against some truly horrible offensive lines. 12 sacks is above the NFL average, but considering all the SURE passing situations they've found themselves in, not a particularly big number.
If I'm BB/CW:
I make sure I go deep at least twice in the first quarter, but focus on playing first down to first down. The flats in the passing game and the middle in the running game are both accessable to good playcalling. The key will be the adjustments made after seeing Seattle's defensive game plans. I expect to see a coverage defense as opposed to a pressure defense. If that's the case, take a chance or two deep and pound away, look for your mismatches in the passing game.