- The Seattle Seahawks will face their first divisional test of the young season when the three-time defending NFC West champions head to University of Phoenix Stadium this Sunday to take on the upstart Arizona Cardinals.
Although the Seahawks figure to face some tough competition in order to maintain supremacy in a seemingly-upgraded NFC West, Mike Holmgren's club appeared ready to answer the challenge judging by last week's season-opening victory over Tampa Bay. Seattle got a stifling performance from a hard-hitting defense and a methodical one from its offense to hand the Buccaneers a 20-6 defeat.
Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was an efficient 17-for-24 for 222 yards and one touchdown for the Seahawks, while star running back Shaun Alexander totaled a workmanlike 105 rushing yards on 27 attempts.
Seattle picked up another signal-caller in the days leading up to this game, acquiring deposed Browns starter Charlie Frye on Tuesday. Although Frye will likely serve as the No. 3 quarterback this Sunday, his addition may enable the versatile Seneca Wallace to help out a banged-up receiving corps in the near future.
While the Cardinals are confident they'll improve off last year's five-win season under the direction of new head coach Ken Whisenhunt, the young team proved that it's not quite ready for prime time in Monday night's loss to division-rival San Francisco. The 49ers rallied for a 20-17 triumph, with Arnaz Battle's one-yard touchdown run on an end-around with just 22 seconds remaining providing the winning points.
Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart struggled in his first career Opening Night start, as the second-year triggerman completed just 14-of-28 throws for a mere 102 yards and was intercepted twice. The former Heisman Trophy winner did connect with wideout Anquan Boldin for a five-yard touchdown that gave Arizona a brief 17-13 lead in the fourth quarter.
Seattle will be shooting for back-to-back wins to start a season for the fourth time in the last five years. The Seahawks won their first three games, including a 21-10 decision over the Cardinals in Week 2, en route to a 9-7 campaign in 2006.
Arizona, on the other hand, has started 0-2 in three of the previous four years.
SERIES HISTORY
The all-time series between the Seahawks and Cardinals is knotted, 8-8, with the teams splitting a home-and-home last season. Seattle was a 21-10 winner at Qwest Field in Week 2, and Arizona returned the favor with a 27-21 home victory in Week 14. The Hawks swept 2005's home-and-home, including a 33-19 win at Sun Devil Stadium.
Holmgren has a 7-3 record against Arizona in his career, with all of those games coming during his tenure with Seattle. Whisenhunt will be meeting both Holmgren and the Seahawks for the first time as a head coach.
WHEN THE SEAHAWKS HAVE THE BALL
Seattle did an effective job of mixing the run and pass in the Tampa Bay win, with Alexander recording his 36th career 100-yard game and Hasselbeck completing better than 70 percent of his throws while not committing a turnover. The quarterback will be without one of his top receivers in D.J. Hackett, who will miss a few weeks after suffering a high ankle sprain in the opener. Speedy Nate Burleson caught two passes for 41 yards after Hackett went down and will line up opposite No. 1 wideout Deion Branch, who was held without a catch last week, on Sunday. Hasselbeck also has a pair of reliable veterans at his disposal in tight end Marcus Pollard and slot receiver Bobby Engram. Pollard led the Seahawks with five catches in Week 1, while Engram had a team-best 64 yards on three grabs.
Alexander was wearing a brace on his left hand during Seattle's practice on Wednesday, although the former league MVP did not miss any time. That could mean a little more work this week for backup Maurice Morris, who hauled in a 34-yard touchdown pass from Hasselbeck to seal last Sunday's win.
The Seahawks will be going up against an Arizona defense that was outstanding through most of Monday's tough loss. The Cardinals' new 3-4 look was able to effectively neutralize San Francisco's strong running game, with 2006 NFC rushing leader Frank Gore held to just 55 yards on 18 carries. Although Arizona yielded only 194 yards on the evening, 86 of those came on the Niners' game-winning late drive.
The unit boasts two outstanding playmakers in linebacker Karlos Dansby and Pro Bowl strong safety Adrian Wilson. Dansby amassed 11 tackles and forced a fumble with a sack of 49ers quarterback Alex Smith on Monday, while the physical Wilson finished with 10 stops.
WHEN THE CARDINALS HAVE THE BALL
Whisenhunt will try to ease the pressure on Leinart by feeding the ball to running back Edgerrin James (92 rushing yards, 1 TD in Week 1) early and often. The ex-Colt averaged just 3.5 yards on 26 carries against San Francisco, but those numbers don't really seem that bad considering the Cardinals' woes in the passing game. Since Seattle's run defense ranked just 22nd in the NFL last season (126.8 ypg) and wasn't anything special in the Tampa game, that may be a wise philosophy. Arizona will miss the interior presence of center Al Johnson, who sprained his left knee in the opener, but does have an experienced backup in Nick Leckey (11 starts in '06) and signed ex-Steeler Chukky Okobi earlier in the week.
Still, the Cardinals are going to need an improved showing out of Leinart if they want to win on Sunday. The young quarterback appeared rattled and confused for a good portion of Monday's loss, although he shouldn't receive all the blame for his offense's struggles. Arizona's All-Star receiving tandem of Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald were held in check by San Francisco corners Nate Clements and Walt Harris, with Boldin mustering just 22 yards on four catches and Fitzgerald snaring only three passes for 20 yards.
Leinart also faced considerable pressure throughout the game and could be running for his life again when he faces a Seahawk defense that can really get to the quarterback. Seattle had five sacks in Week 1 and knocked Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia temporarily out of the game in the third quarter. Disruptive outside linebacker Julian Peterson (7 tackles) had two of those takedowns, while veteran end Patrick Kerney (5 tackles) had 1 1/2 sacks in his Seattle debut.
The Seahawks also forced Tampa running back Cadillac Williams out of last week's contest with bruised ribs, and induced three fumbles. Standout middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu caused two of them and ended the day with eight tackles.
FANTASY FOCUS
Alexander is basically a must-start every week, but keep in mind that he failed to rush for 100 yards in both meetings with Arizona last season and had only one touchdown over those games. Hasselbeck should find success against a Cardinals secondary that still needs to prove itself, but none of the Seattle receivers particularly stand out as good plays. The Seahawks defense piled up an impressive point total last week and has a chance to do so again if Arizona doesn't show more on offense.
For the Cardinals, look for rebound games out of both Boldin and Fitzgerald on Sunday and a solid fantasy day from James, who had 115 rushing yards and a score in Arizona's home win over the Seahawks last year. It would also be a shock if Leinart can't improve significantly off last week's poor numbers, although he's still too risky to start at this point.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
What we all witnessed out of the Cardinals in the dawn of the Whisenhunt era isn't likely what we'll typically see out of this team over the remainder of the season. It's hard to believe that Arizona's defense, one of the worst in football last year, can be consistently as good as it showed in the San Francisco game, and it's equally as unbelievable to think Leinart will remain as bad as he looked on Monday night. The Cardinals should be able to move the ball effectively against a Seattle stop unit that will give up some yards, and Arizona's defense is capable of preventing Alexander from running wild. But in what should be a close game, go with the team with the better quarterback. Hasselbeck is less likely to make a costly mistake under center, while the Seahawks are also more equipped to come up with a tide-turning play on the defensive end.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Seahawks 24, Cardinals 20
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