We await this weekend’s football games like we would a root canal. Anxious, terrified, and just wanting it to be over.
Boy-band ‘do or no, Nick Foles scares me
Realpolitik talk: Both the Huskies and Seahawks must win this weekend if they have any hope of postseason play. I’m not going to get into the numbers, just accept this as fact and keep reading.
On Saturday night, the Huskies host the the Arizona Wildcats and their frightening passing attack. Given the Huskies’ secondary issues, this would be awful enough, but it’s even worse because the Dawgs won’t have either of their starting safeties. Free safety Justin Glenn is out for the season after breaking his leg against Notre Dame, and strong safety Nate Williams won’t play after suffering a concussion in the same game. Two backups and even a true frosh will mix in at safety.
This just as Arizona seems to have found a quarterback: Soph. Nick Foles, who was 25/34 with 3 TDs and 0 interceptions in the ‘Cats win at OSU last weekend. That’s a 165 quarterback rating. Yipes.
Meanwhile the Seahawks are responding to their must-win status by rushing injured QB Matt Hasselbeck into action. Hasselbeck says he can throw despite his broken rib, which would be fine if he were a baseball player. Unfortunately, football is a contact sport, and the man protecting Hass’s blind side is a third-stringer who is also playing hurt.
The Jaguars, the Hawks’ opponent on Sunday, will overwhelm the left side of the Seahawks line, they will hit Hasselbeck, and only then will we really see how well that rib is healed.
Both teams will have to rely on their betters on other side of the ball to get them the win. In the Huskies’ case, they’ll need Jake Locker and the offense to control the ball, put up touchdowns, and limit Arizona’s possessions. The Seahawks need their defense to create turnovers and hopefully points.
And I need a stiff drink.