NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

"I want them to go out and play with passion and energy and execute."

Could those words, spoken by head coach Jim Mora Jr. at Wednesday's press conference, be the wake up call, the thing that starts the next decade of Seahawks football on the right foot?

Last weekend the Seahawks (5-10) didn't shoot themselves in the foot, they mutilated themselves.  Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was sacked three times and tossed four interceptions to Green Bay defenders.  Penalty flags were thrown eight times on Seattle, killing offensive possessions for the Seahawks and breathing life in to stalled ones for Green Bay.  The end result?  A 48-10 loss at Lambeau Field.

That passion, energy and execution that Coach Mora Jr. talked about Wednesday will either give the Seahawks a win at home in their final game of the season and their first one of the new decade or a lack of the three could put Seattle into the record books Sunday for all the wrong reasons.

Seattle's opponent this weekend is the electric Chris Johnson and the Tennessee Titans (7-8).

The running back has his eyes on two league records and if Seattle lets those goals become a reality, the Seahawks will forever be associated as being the team that failed at being the last line of defense standing between the second-year player out of East Carolina and the most rushing yards and most total offensive yards earned in a single season.

Johnson needs 234 rushing yards to break Eric Dickerson's total for yards on the ground (2,105) and 74 yards to better Marshall Faulk's mark for total offensive yards gained (2,429).

"He's a real patient runner," said Coach Mora Jr. Wednesday.  "He sets himself up real well by getting players to over commit and then using his speed to capitalize on guys getting out of their gap."

Johnson's shiftiness and speed have turned rushes that seemed would only go for a few yards here and there in to game-changing 80- and 90-plus-yard touchdowns.

"If he gets space, he typically makes people pay," said Coach Mora Jr. Wednesday.

The key to limit Johnson for Seattle is to eliminate the initial running lane.  Making Johnson turn a rush up the middle into one where he has to side step and bounce outside will provide Seahawks defenders a second or two more time of having Johnson in the backfield, thus a second or two more for the team to get as many players to the ball and its carrier as possible before Johnson gets to the second level and finds the space he so very much covets.  Being able to execute this strategy could be more difficult than normal for Seattle because starting linebacker Aaron Curry is doubtful for Sunday's game with shoulder and hip injuries.

Johnson's ability as Tennessee's feature back isn't the only thing that Seattle needs to focus on when game-planning ways to shut him down.

"He's also their leading receiver," said Coach Mora Jr. Wednesday.

Tennessee head coach Jeff Fisher loves to get Johnson the ball any way possible and that means having quarterback Vince Young throw Johnson screens out of the backfield and designed checkdowns over the middle of the field.

For Seattle, the team will look to continue their own recent rushing success.

Justin Forsett comes into Week 17 averaging 5.55 yards per rush over the past two weeks.  The Seahawks will let the second-year back out of California handle the bulk of the carries this weekend because veteran Julius Jones is questionable with injuries to his ribs and an ankle.

If Forsett is to build on his recent accomplishments, he'll need the offensive line to hold up.

Coach Mora Jr. credited the line at Wednesday's press conference for achieving some continuity of late and understanding what needs to be executed in order for the ground game to flourish.

To keep the Titans' defense honest and prevent them from stacking the box against the run, the Seahawks' passing game will need to carry its weight, something it hasn't done over the past two weeks.

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has thrown eight interceptions in that time span compared to just two touchdowns.

When asked Wednesday if his quarterback had been pressing and trying to force things, Coach Mora Jr. downplayed the notion.

"Matt's a great competitor and, being the quarterback, you bear the burden.

"You know, you have the ball in your hands every play.  You know, you're expected to do something with it and I think just knowing Matt and the way he is and how serious he is about this thing — at times, certainly he's going to try and make a throw.  It's confidence.  It doesn't always work out and when you're the quarterback it's magnified."

Hasselbeck faces a Titans defense this weekend that gave up 425 yards last week at San Diego, 264 of those yards came through the air.

Kickoff at Qwest Field is scheduled for 4:15pm Eastern.

It's the last game of the season.  Although it has been a disappointing season, to say the least, I am excited to watch this Sunday's game.  The Chicago Bears (6-9) will be visiting the Detroit Lions (2-13) this Sunday, January 3 — 12:00 PM.  I am excited because this very well may be the last time we see some of the pretenders who call themselves coaches.

It would be easy to assume that this game is a gimme, however Detroit is a much improved team.  They have won 2 more games than last year, albeit against two teams with (4-11) records.  But that means that they beat two teams better than themselves.  The other thing to remember is that any team in the NFL can beat any other team any week.  Just for instance, the Bears (6-9) beat Minnesota (11-4) last week!

Additionally the Bears have only twice won back-to-back games when they had a 3-game winning stretch against Pittsburg, Seattle, and this weeks opponent Detroit.  Since they won last week, this might be a difficult win for them to attain.  Chicago has only one road game win all season and that was at Seattle.  Being a road game definitely will not play into the Bears hands.

Lastly, the Bears are missing their premier cornerback in Charles "Peanut" Tillman due to broken ribs. The all four safeties have been limited in practice throughout the week.

So, what do the Bears need to do to win?

• Avoid penalties – The Bears do not play well in domed stadiums.
• Roll Cutler out of the pocket – Jay is not comfortable standing still.
• Score a minimum of 3 touchdowns – Detroit averages 15.9 points per game
• Play defense like this is the last defensive stand for Lovie Smith – hopefully it will be
• Run the ball well – Kahlil Bell and Matt Forte need to have their best games of the season.

I won't be able to watch the game live this week as I have a previous engagement I have to attend.  So, I will be watching the game taped, and watching the score live from my phone.  Good luck to the Bears.  See you on the other side of the game!

Where: Cleveland Browns Stadium
Jaguars lead the Overall series 8-3
Weather: High of 20 degrees Low of 16 degrees 60% chance of Snow

The Jacksonville Jaguars come to town to take on the red hot Cleveland Browns this Sunday where the will be white out conditions. The Browns are looking to end there season with four victories in a row and the Jaguars still have a slim chance at making the Playoffs as a wildcard team. The Browns beat the Jaguars last year in a game that came down to the last play of the game in Jacksonville. It is going to be very tough to pass the football for both teams and whoever is able to control the line of scrimmage will be successful on Sunday. The Jaguars are 16th ranked in Offense and 22nd overall on Defense. Mel Tucker the Browns former D Coordinator is now the Coordinator of the Jaguars. The Jaguars are coming in after back to back losses to the Colts and Patriots.

Key Matchups

Maurice Jones-Drew vs Browns D
The Browns Defense needs to end the season on a good note and what a way to do that then to keep one of the elite backs in the game under a hundred yards rushing. The Browns will need to play one of there best games of the year to contain this beast.

Battle of the Lines
Both offense and defensive lines are going to determine the outcome of this game, field control is going to be very important for this 2009 season finale.

Derek Anderson Vs Derek Anderson
D.A. probably isn’t going to throw the football that much this Sunday but when he does he is going to have to be very careful not making any mistakes. Any Mistake in this Sundays game could be costly for either team.

Sources tell Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com that there is a belief in some circles that Mike Shanahan, rumored to have the Redskins head coaching job all but locked up, might be interested in the Texans head coaching position if current head coach Gark Kubiak gets fired.

Shanahan would be reunited with his son Kyle who is currently the Texans’ offensive coordinator while also working again with Texans G.M. Rick Smith who used to be part of his coaching staff while in Denver. The Texans have not come out and guaranteed Kubiak’s return and his status for next year is still very much in doubt.

Finally, it has arrived. I hate writing this and I hate feeling this way, but Sunday's season finale against the Indianapolis Colts screams relief. Around 4 PM Sunday evening, there will be no more games left in what's been an extremely disastrous 2009 season for the Buffalo Bills.

Again, the Bills will have their noses pressed firmly up against the glass watching the playoffs. It's fitting their final opponent this decade would be the Colts. These two teams are polar opposites. They've been going in different directions for the vast majority of this decade. It wasn't so long ago that the Colts found themselves at the bottom of the barrel. But along came Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy, Marvin Harrison and Dallas Clark. Dwight Freeney arrived, along with Edgerrin James, Reggie Wayne, Joseph Addai, and Robert Mathis.

The Colts will be sad to see this decade come to an end. Once upon a time, Indianapolis endured consecutive 3-13 seasons in 1997 and 1998. But in 1999, the Colts won 13 games accomplishing the feat for the first time since 1968. Since '99, the Colts have won at least 10 games 10 times. 8 times this decade, the Colts have won at least 12 games. They've been consistently dominant, reaching the pinnacle in 2006 with a Super Bowl title.

Head coach Jim Caldwell has guided the Colts to a 14-1 record, but he's come under scrutiny for his actions last week against the Jets. With their pursuit of perfection still in tact, the Colts led the Jets 15-10 late in the third quarter when Caldwell elected to pull Manning and replace him with rookie Curtis Painter. Caldwell also sat Wayne, Addai and Clark, and the Jets took advantage of two turnovers by Painter and seized victory, 29-15.

On the surface, it seems like a big deal to some that the Colts cheated everyone a chance to see another undefeated team head into the playoffs aiming for 19-0. The fans booed when Manning came out of the game and now the 1972 Miami Dolphins safely remain football's only perfect team. But the Colts are sound-minded bunch who know what the end game and the end game is being the last team standing with the Lombardi Trophy in Miami. Their eyes are fixated on a Super Bowl title, not an undefeated season. Nine times out of ten, the right choice is not going to be the popular one, but if Indianapolis wins another Super Bowl I'm pretty sure all will be forgiven and Colts fans will shower Caldwell and company with approval.

While the Colts continue to trend up, the Bills have been steadily trending downwards. This will be the 10th straight season Buffalo will miss the playoffs and a lengthy, organizational rebuilding process is about to commence and when that rebuilding is fully complete is anyone's guess.

The season began horribly in New England and it's been a plume ride straight to the bottom ever since. Buffalo blew a double-digit lead in New England on Monday Night. They held Drew Brees and Matt Schaub scoreless, yet were blown off the field in both games. The run defense has been the worst in the NFL. The offense has used three different quarterbacks while ranking 29th in passing offense and 30th overall. Buffalo has racked up a team record 18 players on injured reserve.

So the 5-10 Bills drag themselves (or whatever's left of them) across the finish line on Sunday. They'll try to prevent the Colts from going 8-0 on the road and 15-1 overall this season, a feat the Colts have never accomplished. Manning will probably make an exhibition-like appearance and then the reigns will be turned over to Painter. Can the Bills pull out a win against the Colts' B or C team?

For the Bills, this could be the last time we see many of these players. Terrell Owens, who joined the 1,000 receptions club last week against Atlanta, is a free agent. Fellow wide out Josh Reed is also a free agent. An extensive evaluation, hopefully followed by a roster purge, likely means very few jobs will be guaranteed heading into a tumultuous offseason at One Bills Drive.

Final Prediction: Bills 20, Colts 17. I'm hard pressed to give you any concrete basis for this prediction, other than the Bills will probably come out and play hard one last time in front of the home crowd. Hopefully they send Owens out on a high note. If this team gets beat by Curtis Painter, we'll be up opening up a Pandora's Box of unknown problems in Buffalo.

Broncos coach Josh McDaniels says he is benching Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall for the team's critical season finale against Kansas City. McDaniels wouldn't directly address the reasons for his decision, although he mentioned accountability and said several other players will play Sunday with injuries worse than Marshall's who tweaked his right hamstring at practice Wednesday. Marshall said he didn't want to get into a war of words with McDaniels, but he did note that his coach never played in the NFL to realize how difficult it is to play hurt.