Schlereth: Seahawks playing a style that wins in playoffs

The Seattle Seahawks have Mark Schlereth convinced.

After Seattle dispatched the San Francisco 49ers 41-6 in the NFC Divisional Round, the NFL on FOX broadcast analyst and former Super Bowl-winning offensive lineman was effusive in his praise for head coach Mike Macdonald’s team.

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“I came away from the divisional round of the playoffs going… the Seahawks are the best team in football,” Schlereth said Monday during his weekly visit with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob.

A big reason for that is how the Seahawks’ depth has shined.

“Watch them cover kicks. Watch them play special teams. Watch them in the return game,” Schlereth said. “That’s where you find the depth of your football team. And if they are whipping the tails of the other football team, you just know they have so much more depth, so much more talent. That’s one of the things that just resonated with me with the Seahawks.

“It was just at every level, it was a butt whipping. The way they ran the football, the way they dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, the ability to have zero leaky yardage when making tackles. They don’t miss tackles. I mean, guys get hit and they get stopped right there on the spot.”

Now the Seahawks are turning their focus to Sunday’s NFC Championship at Seattle’s Lumen Field, where just like last week they will face an NFC West rival who they split the season series against. In this case, Seattle’s opponent is the Los Angeles Rams, who the Hawks came back to beat in overtime 38-37 on Dec. 18.

Even though both that game and the Rams’ 21-19 win over the Seahawks in November were very close, Schlereth is very confident that Seattle will punch its ticket to the franchise’s fourth Super Bowl appearance. The main reason is the style with which the Seahawks are playing.

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“I think right now as currently constructed, the Seahawks are a better football team, and they’re playing a style that I think wins in the playoffs,” Schlereth said. “Them at home with that crowd noise, yeah, I just think that they are the better team right now as currently constructed. So I’ll take the Seahawks by 50.”

Hear the full Wyman and Bob conversation with NFL on FOX broadcast Mark Schlereth in the podcast at this link, the video at the top of this post or the audio player below. Catch Wyman and Bob live from 2-7 p.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

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