Falcons understand Seahawks’ culture

I guess I’m what you would call a numbers guy. I like to use objective data as the basis for my subjective opinions. But I know some things can’t be measured. Factors such as chemistry, synergy and toughness may be baked into the objective measures of team performance but they can’t be quantified.

The Seahawks figure to have an advantage over the Falcons with the intangibles Saturday in the Dome. The Seahawks under Pete Carroll have established the kind of “brotherhood” over seven years that his former assistant, Dan Quinn, still is trying to develop in Year Two in Atlanta.

Bob McGinn, my former colleague at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, wrote a good read in December about Seattle’s spirited culture:

“Under coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider, the Seahawks have put together a team that probably plays harder on a consistent basis than any in the National Football League.

“Carroll, at 65 the oldest coach in the league, brings an energy to the locker room with his boyish enthusiasm and remarkable physical fitness that connects with today’s player.

“Working in lockstep with Carroll, Schneider specifically has targeted ultra-competitive players in both the draft and free agency. Many of their best players have chips on their shoulders that seem to have grown even larger despite Seattle’s two Super Bowl appearances in the last three years.”

Listen to Quinn talk about his team long enough and you’ll hear these same themes emerge. Just Wednesday Quinn was saying that, when the Falcons evaluate players, they give them a “CT” grade: competitiveness and toughness.

The Seahawks have proven they are competitive and tough. They led the league in points allowed per game for four straight seasons before “slipping” to third this season. (The offense frequently put them in bad spots.) They just bullied the Lions in the playoffs’ first round with power running. The first time I saw Russell Wilson live was when he quarterbacked N.C. State against Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd and it was obvious his intangibles are off the charts.

The Seahawks have won playoff games in five consecutive years. They are seeking to advance to the NFC Championship game for the third time in four years. The Falcons, with 33 playoff first-timers on their 53-man roster, can’t come close to matching that seasoning.

Does that experience matter?

“I don’t think you can replace it,” Carroll said. “That experience and that which helps you help have really solid leadership is really important, particularly for people who haven’t been there.”

The Falcons have an incentive to believe that playoff experience doesn’t matter that much. Quinn has gone to great lengths to downplay the magnitude of the game by keeping the team’s routine the same. He says he got that from Carroll.

Dwight Freeney, a 15-year vet and Super Bowl winner with the Colts, offers a nuanced view on whether playoff experience matters.

“Maybe you’re a little more comfortable with the moment,” he said. “I think you know what to expect so that will help you a little bit. Sometimes, when you haven’t been there, you will let the moment overwhelm you. It doesn’t happen all the time, but it can happen.”

It can’t happen to the Falcons against the Seahawks. I think the Falcons will win because they are the better team. But then my view (mostly) is based on the respective performance of the teams this season, matchups and talent.

The Seahawks are vulnerable. They’ve been inconsistent all season, especially on the road. But the Seahawks aren’t soft. Can the Falcons match their intensity and toughness?

“It’s going to be an absolute battle and we are prepared for that,” Quinn said.

ELAINE THOMPSON / AP At 65, the Seahawks’ Pete Carroll is the NFL’s oldest head coach, but he offers his team a youthful and infectious enthusiasm that belies his age.