Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers could be affected by bad weather

Seattle – Normally the only howling a team has to worry about at CenturyLink Field comes from the fans. But for today’s NFC title game between the Packers and Seahawks, the howling winds could be as much an issue as the crowd.

Temperatures are generally mild, but the forecast calls for rain throughout the day – this is Seattle, after all – with wind gusts close to 50 miles per hour. During warmups, the rain was being driven across the field and the number 12 flags and banners that are omnipresent throughout the stadium were flapping with postseason intensity.

What does that mean for the football game?

That the quarterbacks may have to move aside and let the running backs determine the outcome. And while Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson present an intriguing matchup, Marhsawn Lynch and Eddie Lacy can also be a championship-caliber head-to-head.

In fact, the two running backs have more in common that the two quarterbacks.

“We’re both physical backs and we don’t care who’s in front of us,” Lacy said this week. “When you come to hit us, you’ve got to come. You’ve got to try your hardest to get us down.”

Lacy had just 34 rushing yards in the Week 1 game against the Seahawks. He left the game to be evaluated for a concussion after a vicious collision with Kam Chancellor. But he also left an impression on the Seattle coaches and players.

“He's a fantastic football player,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said of Lacy this week. “We loved him coming out and just being a brute in college, and he's continued that. He's got great style about him. He's a big?bodied guy. He bounces off guys. He has a fantastic knack for spinning and making guys fall off the tackle. He runs with a great attitude. It's exactly like we would cherish.”

In fact …

 “We've got our guy that does the same,” Carroll said, “and we love that about him.”