Double Coverage: Cardinals vs. Seahawks, Week 7
Oct 21, 2016, 3:24 PM | Updated: 3:25 pm
We’re back at it.
As we do every time the Cardinals and Seahawks play, part of our coverage includes an in-depth look at the Seahawks through the eyes of 710AM Seattle’s Brady Henderson, who covers the NFC West rival for MyNorthwest.com.
I asked the questions and he provided the answers ahead of the big Week 7 matchup.
*Note: Brady did the same thing for his site, asking me questions about the Cardinals. Those answers can be found here.
Adam Green: Hey Brady, been a while. A lot has changed since the Arizona and Seattle last met, as this time it is the Seahawks who are perched atop the NFC West. It hasn’t always been pretty, but 4-1 is 4-1. Unless it’s not. Are the Seahawks as good as their record indicates?
Brady Henderson: Greetings from the Pacific Northwest, Adam. It’s funny how quickly the conversation changed with the Seahawks this season. They were 1-1 after two games, coming off a thriller of a 9-3 loss in Los Angeles. Russell Wilson was playing on a sprained ankle that made him all but immobile, and as lights out as the Seahawks were defensively in that game, their offense couldn’t sniff the end zone a week after mounting only one touchdown drive vs. Miami in the opener. The circumstances were different, but it had a “here-we-go-again” feeling after the slow start last year that cost them a chance at the division. Convincing wins over San Francisco and the Jets flipped the outlook dramatically, so much so that coach Pete Carroll said – when asked – that this could be the best Seahawks team he’s had since taking over in 2010. That’s saying something considering how good the 2013 championship team was. But even during their three-game winning streak, it hasn’t always been pretty. Seattle hasn’t got its running game going, partly because of some tough matchups up front and partly because of Wilson’s injuries. And the Seahawks’ defense, mostly phenomenal this season, has had two quarters in which it’s lost its way (and its cool, in Richard Sherman’s case), the third quarter against Atlanta on Sunday being one of them.
AG: One thing people got used to was watching Russell Wilson run around, and it’s part of what makes him so dangerous. He has just 35 rushing yards this season, is that due to injury or have he and the offense changed?
BH: It’s entirely due to his injuries, first the right ankle sprain he suffered in the opener and then the left MCL sprain in Week 3. Thirty-five yards is usually a game’s worth for Wilson, but that’s all he’s managed this season as he’s been running less often and with less success (1.7 average on 21 attempts this season compared to 5.4 for his career). One play from the Atlanta game was a pretty good illustration of where he’s at health-wise, in my view. He escaped pressure and took off up the middle, picking up 6 yards and looking more spry than he has in recent weeks. But a fully healthy Wilson may have bounced that outside and done even more damage with his legs. So his mobility seems to be improving as he gets further removed from the injuries, but it’s still a ways away from what it usually is.
AG: Everyone in the Valley saw what happened with Sherman last week, getting burned some and then having a bit of a tantrum on the sidelines. Is that a sign of tension/bad things to come or was it just an emotional player reacting in the moment?
BH: More of the latter, I’d say. Sherman was upset that Seattle had allowed an easy touchdown after holding the NFL’s best offense down for two quarters. A pre-snap change in Seattle’s defensive play-call didn’t get communicated properly, which left him covering a tight end man-to-man when he should have been in zone, responsible for the area where Julio Jones ended up wide open. What really seemed to set Sherman off, though, was the reaction from defensive coordinator Kris Richard as Sherman was coming off the field following the PAT. Richard acknowledged this week that he could have been more calm in that situation while Sherman has said he has no regrets about how he handled himself. There could easily be some lingering tension there, but one would think that Richard taking some responsibility (at least publicly) would help ease some of it.
AG: The Seahawks have won the last three meetings the teams have had in Arizona, and no doubt that has been a topic of conversation with the Cardinals. Does that history of success matter to the Seahawks?
BH: I’m sure that they’re all aware of it, and I would imagine that it’s generally viewed as a feather in their caps given that those were three convincing wins on the road against a good NFC West rival. But Pete Carroll has drilled into his teams the importance of not making one game bigger than any other, even divisional matchups like this one. He calls every week “a championship opportunity,” which may sound like corny, empty coachspeak until you see how much players seem to universally buy into it. Their success in regular-season primetime games under Carroll is viewed as a testament to that approach. Seattle is 15-3 in those games since 2010, with the most recent loss coming last season to Arizona on Sunday night.
AG: Judging by the stats, Seattle’s defense is as dominant as ever. Stats don’t always tell the story, however, so is this really the case?
BH: Seattle’s defense has been dominant for 18 of 20 quarters this season, the exceptions being the fourth quarter against San Francisco in Week 3 and the third quarter against Atlanta last week. The Seahawks allowed a combined 36 points in those two quarters, which accounts for almost half of the 78 points they’ve allowed all season. Carroll explained that Seattle was sitting back against the 49ers, expecting them to throw in the second half in order to catch up. They ran instead, scoring twice on Carlos Hyde touchdown runs. Against Atlanta, breakdowns in coverage that led to two of the Falcons three third-quarter touchdowns. Part of that was not having strong safety Kam Chancellor, who’s in charge of getting the back end of the defense on the same page but missed that game (and could miss this one) due to a groin injury. But aside from those two quarters, Seattle’s defense has been lights out. It’s been getting to the quarterback, partly with more blitzing than what we’ve seen in the past, which has contributed to the 16-sack total. And it’s starting to force turnovers, with six over the last three games after getting none in the first two.
AG: All that said, how does this game play out?
BH: Trying to predict the outcomes of Seahawks-Cardinals games has been a humbling experience (and not in the way that athletes misuse that phrase while talking about their own accomplishments). The way that these teams have won on each other’s home fields (the last three times by the Seahawks and two of the last three by Arizona) has made it especially confounding. So here goes my latest wild guess: a 30-27 Seahawks victory. There are plenty of reasons to feel uneasy about Seattle’s chances in this game, one being the pressure that Wilson figures to be under. But he’s been able to take advantage of that in some of the recent meetings, and while he’s not as mobile because of his injuries, he’s been getting the ball out quickly while operating efficiently from the pocket. Chancellor’s status is another, but even if Kelcie McCray has to step in again at strong safety, I don’t anticipate the communication being an issue this week, especially on the road when that group won’t have to resort to hand signals to relay the calls. And if Palmer is out or in any way limited, I like Seattle’s chances on defense in that matchup.
