Winless In Seattle
Steve Sauro
Elliott SmithSeattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals
November 12th 2010 18:08
:
By The Numbers
Right off the bat I'll admit that this week's edition of 'By The Numbers' was an absolute nightmare to compile. I don't know if I had been watching the Seahawks sneak by to this 4-4 record with blue and green sunglasses on, or if I'd truly been oblivious to exactly how lucky they are to be a .500 ball club.
Either way, this matchup - on paper - is an ugly one. No way around it. In fact, this one appears so bad - we needed to break format a little bit and compare side-by-side for you to get the full effect! Let's get our abucses (or is it abuci?) out and crunch this as best we can.
Crunch time!
Total Offense
Seatte Seahawks
#30 in the NFL with 261 yards per game
Arizona Cardinals
#31 in the NFL with 256 yards per game
Well, at least there is the Carolina Panthers... Which coincidently the Seahawks play (at home) in Week 13 and the Cardinals play (in Carolina) Week 15. We'll keep you posted on those stellar matchups. Blackout!
Rushing Offense
Seattle Seahawks
#29 in the NFL with 83 yards per game
Arizona Cardinals
#28 in the NFL with 88 yards per game
Lynch/Forsett and Wells/Hightower. Probably two of the more feared RBBC's in the NFL. Or not. Gross. On one hand though, which we'll cover later, the Arizona rush defense might be the crack in the wall finally for Lynch's Seahawk career.
Passing Offense
Seattle Seahawks
#29 in the NFL with 177 yards per game
Arizona Cardinals
#31 in the NFL with 168 yards per game
Hasselbeck vs. Anderson. Hey, it could be worse... it could be Whitehurst vs. Hall. Right?! Again, gross.
Total Points
Seattle Seahawks
#31 in the NFL with 130 points scored - aka 16.2 per game
Arizona Cardinals
#20 in the NFL with 157 points scored - aka 19.6 per game
If I was being forced to make a wager on this game, I might feel confident in taking the UNDER here (opened at 42, currently at 41.5). Then again, with as bad as both of these teams are on the defensive side of the ball... there's a reason it's called gambling. See below.
Total Defense
Seatte Seahawks
#27 in the NFL allowing 383 yards per game
Arizona Cardinals
#30 in the NFL allowing 390 yards per game
See what I mean? Nearing 400 yards against your defense is beyond the term "bend, don't break". I don't even know if there is a term for this. Maybe the "making them gain more yards will tire them out" defensive approach?
Rushing Defense
Seattle Seahawks
#19 in the NFL allowing 112 yards per game
Arizona Cardinals
#28 in the NFL allowing 135 yards per game
Initially I saw the Seahawks ranked #19 and the Cardinals at #28, and I thought "Hey, we have our first real discrepancy here..." Then I saw the yardage numbers were only about 20 yards apart. Leon Washington or Stephens-Howling probably account for that in garbage time during blowouts.
Passing Defense
Seattle Seahawks
#30 in the NFL allowing 270 yards per game
Arizona Cardinals
#27 in the NFL allowing 256 yards per game
I bet even Hall vs. Whitehurst would average those numbers too... These secondaries are terrible. No if's, and's, or but's about it. At least Mike Williams (in theory) is as big as strong as Larry Fitzgerald, so the passing games won't be so one-sided as they usually are.
Sacks
Seattle Seahawks
22 sacks allowed with 33 QB hurries, while getting to opposing QB's 21 times.
Arizona Cardinals
28 sacks allowed with 50 QB hurries, while getting to opposing QB's 18 times.
The defensive pressure ranks both teams right in the middle of the pack in the NFL, while the offensive side has them ranked at #26 (Seattle) and # 31 (Arizona). All this means to me is the QB's are likely to have zero time to throw to the aforementioned Fitzgerald and Williams.
Turnovers
Seattle Seahawks
Even
Arizona Cardinals
-7
I found it. I found the statistical category that is "good" for one team and horrible for the other! Could this be a key to the game?
Game Plans
I hear this every week, but... Marshawn Lynch is likely primed to have his first "big" game as a Seahawk. They'll need it. It would be wise to use Lynch - even if he's only picking up 3 to 3.5 yards per carry early on. That 3 to 3.5 should stretch into 4 to 5 as the game wears on the Cardinal front.
Defensively it should be the same plan the Seahawks always employ when they play the Cardinals: cover Larry Fitzgerald as best you can. He'll still get his 15 catches that he always seems to get against the Seahawks, but he's not going to beat you alone this year. Plus putting Anderson to the turf a few times and forcing some bad decisions might have Wisenhunt triple guessing his revolving door at QB yet again. (Insert crowd chant: "We want Hall! We want Hall!")
Final Thoughts
I am now physically ill from having researched for this article. Seattle is on the road yet again. They are playing a division rival in what the Cardinals surely consider a "must win" situation. Keep in mind the Cardinals have a win over the Rams in St. Louis in their back pockets already. NFC West Division Champions with a 7-9 record? High possibility pending the outcome here.
Either way, this matchup - on paper - is an ugly one. No way around it. In fact, this one appears so bad - we needed to break format a little bit and compare side-by-side for you to get the full effect! Let's get our abucses (or is it abuci?) out and crunch this as best we can.
Crunch time!
Total Offense
Seatte Seahawks
#30 in the NFL with 261 yards per game
Arizona Cardinals
#31 in the NFL with 256 yards per game
Well, at least there is the Carolina Panthers... Which coincidently the Seahawks play (at home) in Week 13 and the Cardinals play (in Carolina) Week 15. We'll keep you posted on those stellar matchups. Blackout!
Rushing Offense
Seattle Seahawks
#29 in the NFL with 83 yards per game
Arizona Cardinals
#28 in the NFL with 88 yards per game
Lynch/Forsett and Wells/Hightower. Probably two of the more feared RBBC's in the NFL. Or not. Gross. On one hand though, which we'll cover later, the Arizona rush defense might be the crack in the wall finally for Lynch's Seahawk career.
Passing Offense
Seattle Seahawks
#29 in the NFL with 177 yards per game
Arizona Cardinals
#31 in the NFL with 168 yards per game
Hasselbeck vs. Anderson. Hey, it could be worse... it could be Whitehurst vs. Hall. Right?! Again, gross.
Total Points
Seattle Seahawks
#31 in the NFL with 130 points scored - aka 16.2 per game
Arizona Cardinals
#20 in the NFL with 157 points scored - aka 19.6 per game
If I was being forced to make a wager on this game, I might feel confident in taking the UNDER here (opened at 42, currently at 41.5). Then again, with as bad as both of these teams are on the defensive side of the ball... there's a reason it's called gambling. See below.
Total Defense
Seatte Seahawks
#27 in the NFL allowing 383 yards per game
Arizona Cardinals
#30 in the NFL allowing 390 yards per game
See what I mean? Nearing 400 yards against your defense is beyond the term "bend, don't break". I don't even know if there is a term for this. Maybe the "making them gain more yards will tire them out" defensive approach?
Rushing Defense
Seattle Seahawks
#19 in the NFL allowing 112 yards per game
Arizona Cardinals
#28 in the NFL allowing 135 yards per game
Initially I saw the Seahawks ranked #19 and the Cardinals at #28, and I thought "Hey, we have our first real discrepancy here..." Then I saw the yardage numbers were only about 20 yards apart. Leon Washington or Stephens-Howling probably account for that in garbage time during blowouts.
Passing Defense
Seattle Seahawks
#30 in the NFL allowing 270 yards per game
Arizona Cardinals
#27 in the NFL allowing 256 yards per game
I bet even Hall vs. Whitehurst would average those numbers too... These secondaries are terrible. No if's, and's, or but's about it. At least Mike Williams (in theory) is as big as strong as Larry Fitzgerald, so the passing games won't be so one-sided as they usually are.
Sacks
Seattle Seahawks
22 sacks allowed with 33 QB hurries, while getting to opposing QB's 21 times.
Arizona Cardinals
28 sacks allowed with 50 QB hurries, while getting to opposing QB's 18 times.
The defensive pressure ranks both teams right in the middle of the pack in the NFL, while the offensive side has them ranked at #26 (Seattle) and # 31 (Arizona). All this means to me is the QB's are likely to have zero time to throw to the aforementioned Fitzgerald and Williams.
Turnovers
Seattle Seahawks
Even
Arizona Cardinals
-7
I found it. I found the statistical category that is "good" for one team and horrible for the other! Could this be a key to the game?
Game Plans
I hear this every week, but... Marshawn Lynch is likely primed to have his first "big" game as a Seahawk. They'll need it. It would be wise to use Lynch - even if he's only picking up 3 to 3.5 yards per carry early on. That 3 to 3.5 should stretch into 4 to 5 as the game wears on the Cardinal front.
Defensively it should be the same plan the Seahawks always employ when they play the Cardinals: cover Larry Fitzgerald as best you can. He'll still get his 15 catches that he always seems to get against the Seahawks, but he's not going to beat you alone this year. Plus putting Anderson to the turf a few times and forcing some bad decisions might have Wisenhunt triple guessing his revolving door at QB yet again. (Insert crowd chant: "We want Hall! We want Hall!")
Final Thoughts
I am now physically ill from having researched for this article. Seattle is on the road yet again. They are playing a division rival in what the Cardinals surely consider a "must win" situation. Keep in mind the Cardinals have a win over the Rams in St. Louis in their back pockets already. NFC West Division Champions with a 7-9 record? High possibility pending the outcome here.
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