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Scouting the Seahawks
For the obvious similarities, the Bucs and Seahawks are the two expansion teams of the National Football League. Each found the preseason schedule difficult, but not impossible as the Bucs claimed a victory over Atlanta and the Seahawks found San Diego to their liking.
On a less positive note, the regular season has offered nothing but disappointments as both clubs have failed to come up with a victory though each has come very close on at least one occasion. The Buc near miss was against Buffalo when the fabled O.J. Simpson was caged like a prisoner in quicksand. For the Seahawks, victory finally ap¬peared theirs last week against Green Bay before the Packers scored two touchdowns in the final six minutes to take a 27-20 decision.
Today should prove the end of the victory drought for one side, but if the first five games are indicative, the route to that victory will more than likely vary. With the Bucs, the name of the game has been defense. Only once has the Tampa Bay defense collapsed. That was when injuries and ejections proved fatal against Baltimore. For the Seahawks, it is the offense that has made their games close.
While the Bucs have scored only 26 points Seattle has tallied for 85 points. On the other hand, the Buccaneers have allowed only 120 points compared to 153 by the Seahawks.
The catalyst for Seattle, is quarterback Jim Zorn. Stopping him means to the Bucs what stopping Robert F. Lee meant to the North in the Civil War. Zorn is the leader of the Seahawks, and look for plenty of traffic in the airways of Tampa Stadium. The lefthanded signal caller has passed for nearly 1,000 yards in the first five games, and is also the leading rusher for Jack Patera’s club. If Zorn played
the trombone at halftime of a Scab game, no one would be surprised the Kingdome.
The Seahawk running game has proved as proficient as the passing attack. Leading rushers after Zorn are Ralph Nelson and Don Testerman whom the Bucs saw during the preason as a Miami Dolphin. but neither player has gained more than 100 yards Overall, the Seahawks have gained fewer yards via the land than the Bucs who have also had their problems.
When Zorn takes to the air, the player he most often finds is wide receiver Steve Largent, who has two TD grabs already to his credit. The other wide receiver is equally dangerous as Sam McCullum also has two touchdown receptions, and is averaging an explosive 20.8 yards per grab.
Like the Bucs, Seattle has had some difficulty along the offensive line, but is showing improvement. The ace of the line is veteran Norm Evans, but has been slowed with injuries. Overall the Seahawk line is older than the Bucs offensive front as 10 year veteran John Demarie plays alongside the 12 year vet Evans, but Seattle also has rookie Art Kuehn starting at center. Other Seattle line starters are Nick Bebout and Bob Penchion, both of whom have been in the league for at least four years.
While the Seahawks have gone and down the field, the opponents have moved even more. However, there is plenty of defensive talent in the top draft choice Steve Niehaus and a high touted linebacking corps of Ken Geddes, Ed Bradley, and Mike Curtis.
The defensive backfield is operating with the same disadvantage that plagues all areas of both the Bucs and Seahawks -- a lack of experience. 0pponents have riddled the Seattle secondary for a nearly 65 per cent completion rate. On the other hand, the Bucs have completed less than 40 percent of their attempts.
With so many things equal, the gas could be decided by the special team The Bucs appear to have the edge here as Dave Green has performed like the Six Million Dollar Man, averaging over 40 yards per punt and kicking four of five field goals. Seattle uses former Buffalo Bill John Leypoldt for field goals and extra points while Rick Engle handles the punting. Engles has averaged around 38 yards per punting try so the edge is minimal. And that could be an indication of the closeness today’s game.
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