Daily Madden: 49ers Will Need To Do More Than Pressure Wilson To Beat Seahawks
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - Seattle's 19-3 victory over the Cardinals Sunday moved both the Seahawks and the 49ers within two game of Arizona, the NFC West leader.
That sets the stage for the Seahawks' visit to Levi's Stadium on Thanksgiving.
"They dominated Arizona," John Madden told the KCBS Radio morning crew.
"The one thing that I thought watching that game is that the 49ers can't get all excited about getting sacks on Wilson. Because I think -- and you can correct me if I'm wrong -- I think that Arizona sacked him seven times and still came out on the real short end of the stick. So putting pressure on Russell Wilson is a thing, but it's not the thing. It's not, 'well if our defensive line can dominate and put pressure on Russell Wilson and get sacks, we're going to win the game....' That's not necessarily true."
But Madden said the Seahawks have weaknesses on both offense and defense.
"Seattle is not the team that they were a year ago. But they can still make plays. Wilson can still throw it when he needs to or run it when he has to. And Marshawn Lynch can get in that beast mode and give you some strong running. They still have some tools, but they're not as good as they were a year ago. Even though the played well on defense (against Arizona), they're not as good on defense as they were a year ago." (7:10)
(Listen to the John Madden segment live weekday mornings at 8:15 and Monday and Friday mornings at 9:15 on KCBS All News 740 AM/106.9 FM.)