For the last few years the Seahawks have been the pride of the NFC West, winning the division crown each of the last two seasons and winning a Super Bowl and two NFC Championships in that span. Now there is hushed whispers that the dominance of the Seahawks seems to be ending not because of age or inconsistency but because of struggles to keep every player on the roster paid well enough to keep them around. The team is still in contention for the division title however even after a terrible start to the year. A win against the Cardinals this Sunday could be just the catapult the team would need to make it three straight division titles.
Same Old Seattle Defense
The start of the season for the Seahawks following their Super Bowl XLIX loss to the Patriots made it mirror the torrential downpours that frequent the city. The stout defense that came into the season as many expert’s pick to be the best unit in the league started the year giving up an average of nearly 31 points a game in losses to the Rams and Packers. Since the return of “Bam Bam” Kam Chancellor at the strong safety position the defense has found the glue they need to control the offense of their opponents and let corners like Richard Sherman and the rest of the Legion of Boom bump and run with the receivers down the field. To this point the Cardinals wide receivers have been able to shape the game for Arizona and let Carson Palmer deliver strike after strike down the field. This scheme is Seattle does not allow for that to happen however. If the Cardinals are going to have any success in the passing game they may have to reliquish the deep ball that they love so much in the scheme and focus on dinking and dunking to tire out the Seattle defensive backs and keep both Chancellor and Earl Thomas III away from making plays on a jump ball.
Arians Struggles In The Wild West
Head coach Bruce Arians has done great things in his coaching career going back to his days as an assistant coach. The job he has done in Arizona to this point cannot be described as anything less than spectacular. To this point he has led the Red Birds to victory 27 times and been beaten on 14 occasions. However the coach might be the first one to admit that he needs some work in regards to winning within the division. In the NFC West Arians has eight losses in just under three years. The Seahawks particularly have been a thorn in the side of Arians as he has only bested them once to this point. The last time Arians beat the Seahawks since taking the job in Glendale was in the realm of the 12th man back in December of 2013. This is a tall challenge for Arians as the Seahawks look to be revamping themselves for a push to try and make sure they have a game in January but Arians has led the team to victory in that venue before. The team has to hope that it is some of the 2013 magic that Arians brings out and not 2014 where they failed to even score a touchdown on the Seattle Seahawks.
Beast Versus Badger
The offense for the Seahawks has been surprisingly limited since the arrival of Jimmy Graham from the New Orleans Saints in an offseason trade. The team only scores around 21 points a game and the passing game ranks near the bottom of the league with barely over 200 yards per game. The saving grace this season however has been the running game that ranks in the top five this season. And it hasn’t been entirely Marshawn Lynch as the former Cal Bear has struggled to stay on the field with constant nagging injuries this season. He has though shown signs of finally breaking out of those issues and creates a very dangerous backfield between himself, the number two back in Thomas Rawls and quarterback Russell Wilson whose scrambling has grown to near Michael Vick circa 2006 levels of maneuvering. However that running game will be met by a defensive unit in the Cardinals that ranks a stellar fourth against the run and only surrenders roughly 90 yards a game on hand offs. Tyrann Mathieu and Deone Bucannon have proven themselves to be talking machines this season and have dominated to this point. The former safety now linebacker Bucannon especially has created a name for himself with his 56 total tackles considering he is quite undersized to be a middle linebacker in this era of the NFL. If those two can get behind the line of scrimmage or meet the runners of Seattle after two yards, look for Beast Mode and company to revert back to Normal Mode.
The battle in Seattle is never an easy venue for teams in the NFC West but the Cardinals are just healthy enough now to be a serious threat to the Seahawks at their house. If John Brown is able to use his speed out on the edge with quick slants and force Sherman to play closer it could open up pick route opportunities for the bigger receivers like Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald down the field. Look to catch the matchup of these two elite squads on NBC on Sunday Night Football at 6:30 PM.
Cardinals – 22 Seahawks 17