This is a guest article by Curtis Allen. After the game today tune into the instant reaction live stream which will be available on here and on our YouTube channel
It is fascinating how quickly things can change in the NFL.
Three weeks ago, the Cardinals came into Seattle with both teams at 2-3 and coming off frustrating losses the week before. Neither team had a claim to a good, solid schedule of play. Mistakes, disorganization and chaos ruled their games.
If you recall, I found it difficult to put a good Watch Points post together because there was so much randomness to both teams’ play.
The Seahawks have evened out their performance greatly. After beating Arizona handily, they went to Los Angeles and proved the Arizona win was not a fluke. They then took another big step forward in beating the Giants. The defense has come alive and is finally complementing the offense.
How about the Cardinals?
After losing to the Seahawks, Arizona split their next two games.
DeAndre Hopkins is back with a vengeance. In two games he has 22 catches on 27 targets for 262 yards and a touchdown. He seems intent on making up for lost time and the offense looks vastly different with him in the game.
The defense has gone the other way. In their last two games they have given up an average of 34 points and 438 yards, after an effective five game stretch allowing an average of only 19 points and 307 yards. This has put a lot of pressure on the offense to carry the team and that has provided mixed results.
They hosted New Orleans and won by eight points on the strength of the Saints committing three turnovers.
They then went to Minnesota and flipped the scenario, losing by eight points after turning the ball over three times themselves.
The Cardinals are at a crossroads. They stand at 3-5 and their next three games are against division opponents.
It is not hyperbole to say their season is already on the line. If the Seahawks beat them on Sunday, they fall to three and a half games behind in the race for the division title. The pressure to just keep their heads above water the next two weeks against the Rams and Niners would ratchet up to high levels. They have not responded well to adversity this year. Losing to Seattle Sunday could lead to a bad downward spiral and an ugly season.
Pete Carroll is 7-5 in his Seahawks tenure in the second game of the season against Arizona, including a 2-1 mark against Kliff Kingsbury.
The team could really use the momentum of sweeping a division rival to propel them to Germany next week and into their bye week. How can they make that happen?
Control the Game Script with the Offense
This is a recycled point from Week Six but the divide has grown even more in Seattle’s favor:
-The Seahawks are the #1 offense in the NFL in First Quarter scoring, while the Cardinals are the #32 defense in the NFL in the same category
-The Cardinals are the #32 offense in the NFL in First Quarter scoring while Seahawks are #12 on defense
There is a clear advantage there and the Seahawks need to take advantage of it. There is no excuse to not come racing out of the gate while the Cardinals are still trying to lace up their cleats.
Division games are always hard-fought and the team that can build a lead holds a decisive advantage.
How important is controlling the game? Let’s illustrate it by looking at the Cardinals’ win over the Saints two weeks ago.
Arizona scored a touchdown and two-point conversion to pull even with the Saints at 14-14 with only 2:28 to go in the half. 135 seconds later, the Cardinals had a 28-14 lead thanks to Andy Dalton throwing two pick-sixes.
The Saints went from up 14-6 to down 28-14 in the time in between heartbeats. They mercifully kneeled to burn the last 46 seconds off the clock and went into the locker room with their heads spinning.
The second half featured Andy Dalton passing heavily, desperately trying to get the Saints back into the game. They only called five runs in the second half. A team with Alvin Kamara, Taysom Hill and Mark Ingram only called five runs! The Cardinals called off their blitzing dogs and flooded coverage in the backfield. The Saints offense couldn’t get any chunk plays. Nor could the defense get pressure on Kyler Murray to get him off the field. Ballgame.
That game obviously unraveled quickly on two very bad plays. Between Geno Smith’s accuracy and the sheer volume of probability, the chances are that will not happen to the Seahawks.
However, it does illustrate how getting a lead and making your opponent one-dimensional can be a tremendous weapon.
How can the Hawks do it?
Explosive plays have always been a feature of their attack against Arizona. The Cardinals have a strange propensity for giving them up. Seattle’s offense had eight explosives in Week Six. As I have mentioned before, they actually have one more unofficial explosive from that game, in the form of Ken Walker’s 11-yard touchdown run. Only the goal line prevented him from getting that extra yard to make it nine.
The Saints only managed two explosive plays against this defense and that came as we discussed above. Having the game in hand, the Cardinals chose to drop in coverage and keep the game in front of them. They only blitzed the Saints ten times in 49 dropbacks.
The Vikings, with a more even performance, returned the Cardinal defense to their normal schedule, with eight explosive plays on offense, including four explosive runs from Dalvin Cook. This bodes well for Ken Walker, Tyler Lockett, D.K. Metcalf and the tight ends.
The key to getting those explosive plays again for the Seahawks will be to play the game they came to play.
That means minimizing a weakness the Seahawks have had — being susceptible to the Cardinals’ exotic blitzing schemes. Geno Smith was sacked a season-high five times by the Cardinals in Week Six. No other team has even come close to getting that many against this reformed offensive line.
All five of those sacks came on third downs, with these yardages to go: 6, 13, 7, 12, 13. They were obvious passing situations and the Cardinals took advantage. All told, Arizona sacked Smith on five of their seven third and longs. That is 71% – an extremely high rate of success.
How high? On the season, the Seahawks only allow sacks in those situations on about 20% of their third and longs. They need improvement to keep that number down to their season average in this game. The good news is, they have already demonstrated it.
A positive development came from last week’s game against the Giants. As we discussed last week, Wink Martindale is also an advocate of heavy, creative blitzing. They blitzed 17 times but the Seahawks allowed only three sacks. One of them was on a second down that they shook off and went on to score a touchdown. The other two? They both occurred on a single other drive and the Seahawks punted. Only one of the Giants’ sacks was on a third and long play out of six such plays overall. A drastic improvement.
The offensive line the Cardinals will face is the same group of guys but a more confident, accomplished line than the one that surrendered five key sacks in Week Six.
If the offense can keep up their early-game success, they can put a ton of pressure on the Cardinals offense and this will help the defense tremendously…
Get After Kyler Murray
The Seahawks’ pass rush really righted their ship in Week Six. They sacked Murray six times. That game was a real breakthrough.
What makes it even better? The sacks came in a wide variety of ways. Uchenna Nwosu got a coverage sack, Ryan Neal got one on a safety blitz, Darrell Taylor had a strip sack, Quentin Jefferson got one on a fourth down and Poona Ford and Shelby Harris beat their men inside.
What makes it even better than that? The Seahawks accomplished their six sacks on only two – count ‘em, two! – blitzes. More than that, they also recorded thirteen pressures, including ‘just missed’ sacks that Bruce Irvin should have had. The Valhalla of getting a real pass rush with only your front four was reached.
Playing an opponent for a second time, it can be a struggle to replicate the success of that first game in specific areas. What makes us think the Seahawks’ defense can regularly get pressure on Murray again Sunday?
First off, the Cardinal game was not a one-time thing. The following week against the Chargers, they sacked Justin Herbert three times and recorded nine pressures on only seven blitzes. The Giants game? They sacked Daniel Jones five times and recorded eleven pressures on only three blitzes.
One game can be a fluke. Two games can be brushed off with weak opponents. Three games in a row? That is a pattern. And it is an excellent one at that.
Secondly, the Arizona offensive line is currently a disaster zone. Guard Justin Pugh is out for the season. Top center Rodney Hudson has already been ruled out for Sunday by Kliff Kingsbury. Left Tackle D.J. Humphries was inactive against Minnesota with a bad back and has been rested in practice this week. Even if he plays Sunday, that may be an opportunity for Nwosu and Irvin to be very disruptive on the blind side.
How have the backup Cardinal linemen been doing? We can encapsulate their recent performance in one clip from Week Six.
Click the link and watch Bryan Mone on backup Center Sean Harlow, who so far this season is rated in the 40’s by PFF.
Minnesota had a field day last week with Murray. They sacked him four times and recorded nine pressures on only three blitzes. The offensive line struggled to keep up and the Cardinals were forced to become one-dimensional, running the ball with their backs a grand total of three times for five yards in the second half of the game.
Murray also narrowed his vision even further, targeting Hopkins nine times in the second half. About half of Hopkins’ yards came in garbage time, as the Vikings were defending a deep strike and readily allowing underneath throws.
When Murray was not getting sacked or pressured, he was running for his life and making bad throws into a seven-man backfield. An interception he threw in the second half turned into a Vikings touchdown. A muffed punt by the Cardinals was turned into another Viking touchdown and put their defense just too far behind the eight-ball. Game over.
Kyler Murray and the offense this year have been very uneven. Murray has been spotted yelling at his head coach on one play and on the next, throwing for a brilliant touchdown. They are disjointed, missing key players and playing like wounded animals. Lethal yet inconsistent. Explosive yet erratic.
If the offense does their job to get a handle on the scoreboard early, you can expect that kind of disparity to grow further. The defense will be able to pin their ears back and get after Murray while keeping defenders in the middle of the field.
That is, if they keep one of the NFL’s top receivers from taking the game over…
Defend DeAndre Hopkins
Incredibly, between injury and suspension, the Seahawks have only faced Hopkins as a Cardinal in two of the five available games since he came to Arizona.
His numbers in those games were extremely productive — 15 catches on 20 targets for 10 first downs and a touchdown.
This year he has been targeted 27 times in two games — by far the most of any Cardinal player in that stretch. As I wrote above, when Murray felt threatened and needed to get the offense moving, Hopkins was his go-to target.
A third game with the pairing this year will be very interesting to see how they play together. The rust (if there ever was any) is off and they will be able to really gameplan the offense in a way they could not in Week Six.
Where will Hopkins line up? Against the Saints, they split him almost evenly between the left side and the right. They changed their tactic against Minnesota, lining him up only on the left side all game. Or put another way, on the side opposite Patrick Peterson. Hopkins burned Chandon Sullivan, Harrison Smith and Cameron Dantzler all equally.
It is likely fair to say that several defenders therefore will get the pleasure of drawing one the NFL’s toughest assignments.
One thing that has given Kliff Kingsbury’s coaching ability some positive shine is his ability to move Hopkins around and get favorable matchups. This year, he has split Hopkins out wide and then had him motion towards the quarterback and when the ball is snapped, he is ‘stacked’ behind the slot wide receiver or tight end. The defender must make a quick decision to pass off his primary receiver or pick up Hopkins. That half second of decision makes the corner turn his back to Kyler Murray and opens up all kinds of cuts and back-shoulder throws.
When teams line up off the line of scrimmage and give Hopkins a cushion, Murray and Hopkins simply take the free six or seven yards with a quick slant throw.
Tariq Woolen, Coby Bryant and Mike Jackson will get a real workout in this area on Sunday. While the rookies have been tested time and again and answered the bell, this is a supreme challenge to keep a player under wraps. Particularly one who has come out of the gate so terribly hot. This is the matchup to watch Sunday.
But again, everyone will have a part in defending Hopkins. These plays I described for Hopkins do not make Murray process very much. If the pass rush can do their job, Murray will not get as many chances to make easy throws and that can put a lot of strain on his ability to effectively move the ball down the field.
If I only read one opponent summary before a game its this one man. There is depth and layered analysis not found in the Seattle Times or anywhere else. Last week’s insight on how the Hawks played the Giants similar to the Cardinals was spot on(I think even Shelby Harris referenced it) And again here, you could’ve copy and pasted the first Cardinals game summary, but you also understand(like Carrol said in his Kiro interview) that AZ will adapt game to game. I think they will play conservatively first half and pivot off of what they see from AZ.
It be interesting how the Hawks playing more nickel and dime fare with the TE and routes down the middle. It seems DBs have been more on their spots on zones with those particular routes.
I think, AZ’s beat up offensive line will allow for our continued interior pressure and lead to good sack numbers in this one. The shift away from 2-gap principles for Harris/Poona/Q has been key. Hopefully we can keep Murray in the pocket while hunting for them.
I am getting the popcorn ready for the Woolen Hopkins matchup on the left side!
Should be a good one. Keep up the good work.
Eduardo
Cha’s Seahawks gameday previews are the best on the internet
Agree completely. Great stuff!
💯 For me Cha’s preview adds such insight in what to watch for in the game to make it a better experience.
And the work you do on the Seahawks, analyzing college recruits and determining who would be the best fit for our football club is the best on the internet.
Thanks to both of you for all the time/effort you put in.
Thank you 👍🏻
Wrote up a massive scouting notes piece for tomorrow earlier. Lots of info.
For me as an European with little previous knowledge of football, this is a great place to get an education on the topic. Cha’s previews and Rob’s articles are best you can find.
100% the best, Rob’s right.
Thanks cha.
Yep 100% agree with all of the above
Here here! I always make sure to read Cha’s preview before every game even if I can’t watch the whole game live.
Thanks everyone. I am cherishing every comment.
No doubt. When you are referencing the rating for 1st quarter scoring vs 1st quarter defense and then evidencing it with a Saints?Vikings v. AZ game, you are really earning your props.
Budda possibly out is also something to watch. They are a different team with him on the field and I suspect their propensity to blitz should factor in with him in street gear.
Keep up the good work fellas.
Go Hawks.
Great write-up Curtis. I hope we have a decisive win today but worry about the injury gremlin that lives in AZ. I see that Conner is expected to play today as well.
Steve Mariucci just predicted that Kyler Murray will break Kurt Warner’s week 9 Cardinal record for touchdown passes and throw 6 today.
My prediction? K9 will break Thomas Rawls Seahawks rookie rushing record of 209 yards.
And he will look like Curt Warner doing it.
Wow, it’d be nice if “Mooch” would reveal what strain he’s smoking cuz it’s better than anything I’ve indulged in.
Great writeup..
charbonnet is a special runner. He very often makes the first person miss
Really worried about two things this week. First is over confidence. Really hope the team is not reading the press clippings of how great they are and that they stay focused / hungry.
Second is injuries. Seems like whenever the Hawks play in Arizona bad things happen on the injury front.
If the Hawks stay focussed and healthy they should win this game.
Wasn’t the previous game vs Arizona when they first switched up the DL alignments?
And now they’ve had several weeks to work that new scheme. I like the outlook for our pass rush in this game. I think Murray’s gonna be harried a lot today, resulting in visible frustration and hopefully some mistakes.
I think Seattle get 1-2 INT today.
Btw that’s how you mitigate DHop too — you force the issue with Murray, move him off his spot (preferably up into the pocket or to his left) and don’t give them time to implement their plays.
James Conner is back, but I wonder how ready he is with ribs that are still sore and no game time in the last few weeks.
I am trying to put a reason as to why SDB is a much better site for Seahawks fans than anywhere else. Is it Rob, Curtis, Robbie and Alex analysis or is it the in-depth review of draft eligible college players.
I am getting severe nausea from Field Goals and KIRO. They are more concerned about appeasing the fans by demanding that the Seahawks get more respect. Salk is saying that Seattle should win most of the NFL awards like MVP., Rookies of the year,Coach and GM of the year. Let’s ignore the fact that Seattle is already 3.5 games behind Philadelphia as the best team in the NFL.
SDB is about how do the Seahawks improve to become an actual Superbowl contender. The 2022 Seahawks have proven to be a fun surprising team and what needs to happen to get us there?
Thanks,
Ryan
I think the best thing about this place is we stick to the football
We don’t dabble in drama or spend our entire time analysing what other websites are doing
Best Seahawks community online for sure IMO
Well, there are those occasional comments about GoT and HoD
That is a very important discussion 😂
DROY…..possible
OROY…..Walker and Lucas? Possible
Coach…still think it’s Daboll and the fighting Siriani’s to lose.
GM….possible
MVP….?….if allen keeps being allen and hurts gets the team to something like 14-3 or better surely it’d have to be those two. Now if Seattle gets to about 13 wins? All bets are off. If they (and Geno,) essentially double where they are at now: 10 wins. 4000 yards. 26 tds. 6 picks. Though an awesome year for Geno that doesn’t jump out as MVP numbers.
Comeback player of the year….after watching a short Eisen clip about perseverance this one actually seems possible.
For me it’s about consistently calling good things good and making sure challenges are illuminated with equal vigor.
That does not happen in other areas.
💯💯💯💯
I’ll give an example:
I’d guess any number of those sites/people are still unwilling to come out and fully admit that the Adams trade was shit and that it would be best if he was just cut. On this site, it’s been stated correctly for 2 years now he should be gone. Meanwhile, I’m listening to Michael Lombardi with Cowherd last week and mentions Ryan Neal and that his play has been good. Then he says “he’s the player that replaced Jamal Adams and he’s a better player than Adams”, very matter of fact.
There’s no blue and green glasses being worn by Rob, cha, Robbie, Adam and plenty of the posters. Likewise, if most of the people here are wrong about something like say Geno, they say so and they’re happy because it benefits the Seahawks and after all, we all want the team to win.
💯💯💯💯
Yep
I am very happy to have been so wrong about Geno this year and the 2022 Draft picks are looking to exceed my optimistic expectations. I am actually looking forward to the 2 Rams games, and I wouldn’t have said that 2 months ago.
Me bashing other Seahawks sites to say that this site is superior, should be irrelevant and is petty.
While we are waiting for the Hawks to play later today, I keep hoping that Detroit kicks GB’s butt!
3 picks, zero points scored halfway through the 3rd against the Lions’ D
Bwa ha ha
How about that Hutchison interception! Pretty cool!!!
It is not nice to laugh at Arod’s misfortune even though he is thoroughly unlikable.
HaHaHa!
I’m not laughing at ARod (just chuckling) and rooting for Dan Campbell and the Lions to take the win.
I am definitely laughing now with Detroit up 9 now. My supervisor is a big Packers fan and is none too pleased right now.
I hope they hang on and don’t blow it
I am laughing at Rodgers, but Tom’s a nicer person than me so…
I’m screaming on everyone redzone interception. R E L A X…
The only bummer is that after all the years of them being good and whipping up.on us in GB, they finally suck and we don’t get to play them.
You can’t take away my memories of us gifting them a million picks in a playoff game and them crying about how “they beat our butts,”….and yet that’s not what the box score said when the game was over.
I’m laughing. Dudes a goofs through and through.
Taylor inactive?
Is this the hip injury?
I remember how slow and staggering he looked, while trying to return the fumble a couple of weeks back.
Seems like this could potentially be an issue that isn’t improving.
Bills at Jets is enormously entertaining. Jets DEs Jermaine Johnson and Micheal Clemons are ballers.
Tied at 17 with 2 minutes left in the game. Jets are driving from the doorstep of the red zone.
Myers has been money this year
Dammit!
So close to the sack
Gonna cost us points too
We need a game wrecker up front
Yep
We need to quit wasting TOs too, be it bad challenges or this or whatever
We just wasted a TO to concede a TD
and during the timeout they cooked up Mafe covering Nuk
Opening drive defense is looking like it did against Atlanta. Dreadful.
Mafe on Hopkins, huh?
I see the defense has gone back into hot knife through butter mode
Whatever
I missed the early discussion about what is best about this site. I do look at field gulls after games, but that is my only other real comparison.
The thing I like best is that Rob deletes the @hole conversations before I read them.
Second best thing, Rob and Curtis analysis.
Third best thing, a lot of home experts that chime in and add to the discussion.
All because of a sack that should have happened. Whatever our scheme is you simply cannot cover Hopkins with a linebacker. End of discussion, change your scheme if this is the case
So much for early scoreboard pressure.
And if we get the sack, they punt cuz it’s 3rd down and we have a chance at a 10-0 lead. There’s a shot at said pressure.
Cardinals are a different team with Hopkins. Without a game wrecker in Murray’s face today, the redbirds might put up a lot of points
This game already has ‘one of those days’ vibes
Celebrated a little too much last week.. this is a trap game
yep.
Feels like we are due for a clunker.
We aren’t good enough to just run away with the division.
The Cardinals are a tough matchup for us, as well. For some reason, we can’t block them.
💯💯
Was just about to say, hopefully they wake up.
Nice block, rookie. Jeez…..
Nice coverage on ST at least
Seattle getting out coached yet again…sigh…
Not the best start, the O looks slow.
So does the defensive coaching re: trying to cover their #1 weapon with Mafe.
Gonna say it now. This is a must win game if we have any hope of winning the division. I’m fairly certain we drop next week in Munich just because it seems like the time shift and impending bye will be in everyone’s mind.
Hurtt had better scheme a LOT better than he did on the first drive or we’re Wild Card, at best.
Hang on guys, it’s gonna be a rough ride. But I think we pull it out.
And there ya go. Come on Seattle.
Saved by their own mistake
Mayhap the football gods smile upon us yet
A prototype 6’3 QB catches that snap…
Dang, Seattle can’t even field a pint appropriately…
Why not catch the damn ball at 30 and let it roll for 10 more yards?
Is Deejay Dallas allergic to a fair catch?
Geno ice
That was a nice pass to Fant under extreme pressure. Geno is amazing.
Helluva a play and the decision to run with no one open was excellent as well.
Yes Geno’s play is quite impressive, so calm.
I think we need some quick WR screens/sweeps to take advantage of them blitzing so much.
Times like this I wish we had a screen game
💯
They have shown a few run counters in the past. I think the remedy is a double dose of Walker.
Lil razzle dazzle for ya
I like that double-pass play. The Cards have been uber-aggressive so far on defense. Use it against them and make them think twice.
Keep smashing, K9! Need the D sucking wind…
Who let the dog out!
There’s one explosive for K9
YES! DK!
That was a thing of beauty DK
I’m choosing to ignore the Metcalf pushoff. Nice drive!
Great footwork DK!
Great reaction DK after that should-have-been INT.
That was a nice touchdown!!! Feeling like the Seahawks are a little more in control now.
Big TD for Seattle. Arizona are playing like they want the win. Seahawks will have to earn the victory if it’s to be theirs today
I think the Cards are gonna burn out and we are going to blister them
That extra point reminded me I should fear all kicks in this stadium as well as injuries
Well said, sadly.
Nice catch by DK. Lucky XP by Meyers. A ton of poise and pocket presense by Geno on that drive. Let’s go Seahawks!
Oh, just wanted to say. Detroit beat GB!!!! Yay!!!! Now, back to our regularly schedule program…
OMG did Barton just make a play
There it is!
That’s INT #1
Oh ffs
Damnit that could have been game changing
Come on the rook needed it.
Redeem yourself Diggs.
What a liability Diggs has become
Awesome blow up there by Woolen
Good job Diggs. That’s what we get for what we’re paying you. You just cost your team a shot at another TD.
so pointless, too.
what was he doing/thinking?
Bloody hell Diggs!
Barton chasing ghosts out there lol
Barton has made contact with ball carriers, a big step.
His awareness is comically bad.
Gotta get off the field, D!
Boy the Cards are good at shooting themselves in the foot. And again that shows what a hit Lucas and Cross are.
Hey TomLPDX you may be right about Arizona imploding
Looking that way
Fingers crossed
Wow!
An actual punt return?
nevermind
Now take advantage of the field position Hawks
The Cardinals are a powder keg.
Seahawks need to light the match.
🔥🔥🔥
Thank God for Arizona helping give moment back after that stupid penalty by Diggs
Diggs was all eyes on QB, to the point that even after the play he seemed unaware of the collision.
Murray really chewing out Hopkins after that third down…
The cardinals are doing a good job of marching themselves back toward their goal line. At this rate they will be starting their drive out in the car park.
Those two rookie CB are already really good and difference makers.
Murray is like “I’m giving up Call of Duty time over this shit!”
That was ugly
Awful play calling on 3rd and 4th down
Too tricky
Haynes blew his assignment. Just absolutely whiffed
Haynes with the big wiff there to blow the play up.
What in the world is this play call???
So go for it on 4th and 3 and call the exact same play as you did last week?
You don’t think Arizona would have seen the tape and be ready for that?
SIGH
Waldron needs to chill with these low percentage success play designs. Completely shat the bed on 3rd and 4th down.
Hate the sweep to Homer on 3rd down.
Damn, that was a stupid play call! Back to the well once too often–they just ran that play last week! Way too soon to try it again! They need to let Geno naked bootleg that one!
If your QB is making nearly all great decisions, shouldn’t you give him the chance to pick up 3rd and 4th and 3?
Haynes with the Jamal Adams’ patented arms extended after giving up the bad play.
Definitely this. Just standing around watching.
i can’t believe how some people criticize every little missed play while the team is playing way above everyone’s expectations
2 missed plays in a row and both on the play caller, not the players.
Well… now you can believe it!
And I might add, a huge missed opportunity considering we got the ball uin their territory.
It’s just what people do
When things go well you watch the replay and/or sit back and smile
When something goes wrong you want to shout about it
Chill
In fairness, we also praise a lot of little things
Either way, it comes from a place of love
Well said, Blitzy. We’re fans of the Seahawks, first and foremost.
Absolutely brutal 3rd & 4th down calls
On a cold day, I like my blanket Woolen!
That works on 2 levels……..as in “blanket” coverage. Good one man
Tariq!
Woolen with the big play!
Woolen!
Man is he good
Woolen!
man, what a gem Woolen is
Fantastic coverage by Woolen
Woolen is killing it.
Next time he’ll undercut that and pick it
He was kicking himself cause he had a good enough jump on it to get two hands up.
I thought so too. We both read him the same way
Brilliant play by Woolen there. That a stud
Woolen v Hopkins. Nice play
If Woolen can hold up against Hopkins today it will be another great sign.
Offense feels very conservative today
No doubt. Take a shot downfield already.
Really? There have been a few trick plays today…that doesn’t say conservative to me.
as we are struggling to get guys open down the field – strikes me that we are missing Goodwin a little. Wish Eskridge was better.
Dammit Tyler! Went down too early
Tyler denying himself YAC every week is driving me crazy.
I’m so tired of Lockett giving himself up
Me too. Fight for yards Tyler.
Goddamn Locket quit giving yourself up constantly and know where you are!! You owe us a big play now
Fighting for a few extra yards in not Lockett’s strength, unfortunately.
What a play by Dareke!
Well that was a stressful four hours at work.
What did I miss?
Phil Haynes missed a block.
Diggs is grossly overpaid for the performance he gives the team
Shaky start on defense, but then got better. Offense started ok, but then has gotten in its own way.
Austin Blythe has NOT been blown up this week so far
Tariq Woolen is the truth
Alright defense. Let’s turn up the heat to close out the half!
Ugh
Can’t remember the last time Seattle pinned a team deep and didn’t immediately let them off the hook…
Mike Jackson went through Nuk to make that play
Great stop by him there.
C’mon, D. Get of the field and give the O a chance….
Are you f*cking kidding me?
Horrific defense
This wasn’t a snap to have Onujiogu playing.
Jeezus Jordyn that was a hit
Murray has twice as much yardage scrambling as he does passing.
Wild
From ugly to FANTASTIC in four seconds!
Ryan Neal!!!!
It was! Just nudged it what a play!
Hahahahaha I love it!
Whoo Hoo! Murray trying too hard and now the seahawks defense comes through.
Ryan Neal best safety on the team and it isn’t even close
Awesome job, come on!
Extend Neal now.
Like, right now. At halftime.
PLEASE and for the love of GOD just cut the peacock post June 1. PLEASE Pete!
Seems like guys play better *before* they are extended.
Terrible defensive series saved by Murray’s bad play after a bad play drop on the previous play
Thank you Ryan Neal from saving me from having to buy a new TV.
Robbie, as a lifelong Seahawks fan you should know better than to have any heavy objects around while watching a Hawks gam
We’ve GOT to get Murray sacked a few times in the 2nd half.
Seattle playing scared on offense, sitting on their hands. Enough trickery, let ’em play!
Can only imagine they want to avoid chaos because that’s what Arizona’s D with all the blitzing specialises in
But someone is going to need to make some plays eventually
Yes, Seattle doesn’t trust their line vs AZ, but the tricky stuff is ridiculous–and it isn’t working. You got to at least try to get the ball to Lockett and Metcalf down field. They need to give those guys a chance to make a play. Eskridge, Parkinson, and Fant aren’t going to win the game for us.
For a makeshift O-Line they’ve got in, Murray’s uni is WAY TOO clean. Owosu isn’t nearly enough to get pressure.
Our pass rush still needs more 100%
Murray had all day on that crosser from his own end zone to Moore.
Because they are rushing Bruce Irvin, who is 50years old and runs a 9.0 second 40…he’s not running past anyone…
Ryan F Neal.
Good to be ahead at half!
Weird first half
I hate playing this team and have for a long time.
You and me. I hate the Cards.
We must do better, totally winnable game.
Why do almost all Seahawks / Cardinals games seem like something out of Bizaro world?
Cuz they are. It’s why I hate playing this team.
Ha Ha! My thought exactly. Plus the injury gremlin living under the turf. I hate playing the Cards.
The DL isn’t playing badly. Cards have 77 yards rushing and Murray’s responsible for 53 of them, sowe’re shutting down the run. So much for Conner’s return.
But the pass rush just isn’t cutting it. We can’t generate any inside pressure, so the DTs are lining up in the B and C gaps which may help contain Murray laterally, but it concedes too much inside and Murray has too much time.
LOL Cards fans take on Murray’s terrible body language… 😂
Anyways, let’s just play solid fundamental football, get the win, and get out of there without any injuries.
These announcers are better than what we’ve had the last couple of weeks especially moose Johnston. However when the play by play guy says 4 man rush and the seahawks are clearly blitzing an extra guy you feel like saying “are you watching the game?”
Hey guys can we please not tease the jinxster djinns in this stadium?
Bloody hell Geno make a decision
x2
So much for the ridiculous MVP chatter. Geno is still Geno, even if he’s exceeded expectations.
Not much blocking either. Everyone got penetration, even the DTs on that last couple plays…
Oh ffs that’s just anemic
Look it’s 2nd and 2 just run Ken Walker he has nine carries
Agree. I liked throwing on 1st down but yeah 2nd and 2, just give the ball to your stud running back get a first down to get things moving.
Something about both these teams defenses is the kryptonite for the opposing offense. Neither unit can do much of anything today.
The second sack is on Haynes. We have a hole at RG. But Geno should get rid of it faster.
That guy at the Senior Bowl who told me that Sauce Gardner should be the first cornerback picked is looking pretty smart right now.
Finally! Uchena gets another with an assist from Neal
Onujiogu tackling better than Diggs.
And Framingham State goes nuts.
That was two forward passes
Took em long enough to get it right but at least they did
and four missed tackles. Thank god for the penalty
That’s clearly 2 forward!
A truly innovative offensive mind.
Derp derp
2 forward passes in the same play? This isn’t practice in the NCAA, Kingsbury.
We could keep it three-and-out for the rest of the game and win it 10-7.
Thanks, Geno……. SMH.
That play was going nowhere even if Walker catches it.
Poor, poor decision.
Sonofabitch
He telegraphed that by turning around and talking to Walker before the play even happened
This is what sitting on your hands gets you. Playing not to lose makes you not win.
And the Real Geno is back. Sigh. I was almost ready to believe in the guy. This game is a real stinker.
Geno gotta work on those little rainbow passes. Was pardoned the 1st one, not this time.
Lazy pass
Brutal.
Have they forgotten KW3 is still able to run?
For all the beautiful throws Geno’s made this season, I can give him this mistake.
Please don’t let Geno turn into a pumpkin 🙏
Well said
Geno is having his worst game of the year, except maybe San Fran.
They are making Geno threw a lot it appears rather than pounding the ball..
Apparently, we don’t believe we can run the ball against their DL I guess.
He aint perfect. Lets see how the offense responds.
maybe we should sign Dalton this off season
Can the Seahawks quite screwing around and pass downfield? Like past the first down marker? This looks exactly like previous years offenses. Moving laterally instead of downfield.
Even if that pass was successful there were lots of defense in front of him.
We’ll see what Geno is made of on this next drive. Will he revert back to pumpkin form? Or, will he take it personal and sharpen up?
Feed the dog!
Time for Waldron to adjust and adapt in the second half just like it looks like Arizona’s Defense has.
Would like to see more TE uses and Walker runs
Are we collapsing?
Looks that way
Boooooooooo. Lockett!
Appears so. Geno took this O out of its rhythm. They can get it back but not sure that the D can hold Murray scoreless the rest of the way.
It’s the play calling. Arizona defense is fast.
The catch and the foul
If this was college he is sitting down until 2nd half of next week
See Locket you can take a hit and still make a first down!
Finally a pass downfield = and thanks for holding on Lockett.
Tough, gutsy response by Geno and the Hawks on this drive.
Now that’s a nice play. Run more of those
Is finally getting some rhythm back
DK the technician
For the love of gods, get the first down. Head downhill!
Yeah that was a rookie mistake but it got it right the next play.
I don’t understand some of these play calls
Is stop forcing it Gino
Should have been picked….
Yep
All Lockett does…
There we go! Some redemption
Damn, Geno can battle, I give him that! Ice water in his veins too, that was a tense drive, and he converted 4 third downs!
Great bounceback drive, but both Geno’s TDs today have come after dropped picks, could be a very different day.
💯
Not his best day but credit for capitalizing too
Yes Lockett. See they just need to make plays downfield.
Every time the Seahawks go sideways they are beat = because the Arizona defense is faster than our line.
There it is. Geno bounced back.
Way to come back. Lockett and DK are gold for us. I’m sorry to say this but Geno isn’t what he seemed to be. We’re lucky he didn’t throw 3 INTs so far.
He’s human. He can have a bad game and still be what he seems.
And like I said above credit to him for capitalizing on the is capitalizing on their missed opportunity twice
And it’s not really a bad game
More like an off game
Joe Burrow had a 3 pick game this, A-rod did today, let’s see where Geno is sitting at the end of the year and then make a judgement!
That last ne was just a passed defensed with a lucky vertical bounce for the INT threat. But the TE had the defender blocked out throwing dead into a big body. Not an unreasonable decision IMO
If Geno overcomes this with some solid play that will only add to his prowess.
Being able to win when you’re not at your best is a necessary trait to be successful in the NFL.
Nice push off and catch by Tyler. Huge touchdown!
Geno has played well, but man I can never remember 7-8 easy interceptions (on the year) just being dropped by the defense. He’s riding a good combo of playing well and being absurdly lucky.
This isn’t Geno hate – he’s played great. Again, just amazed how many absurdly easy interceptions are dropped. He could easily have 10 INTs this year.
Boo whooo Budda Baker did little ‘ol Tyler Locket push you that far off and back?!
Coming out that injury timeout, why don’t they run the ball. Lucky that INT was missed. Pete, pound the ball.
Walkers yards per carry are crap right now but I’d love to have him and the running backs get closer to 50/50 of the snaps going forward.
Just burn as much time as possible on the clock.
AZ defense is better than I’d thought – nothing coming easy at all today, for an offense that has been rolling for weeks. conversion to Lockett the play of the game for us so far – we really needed it.
If the rest of our pass rush could even be league average, Nwosu would be up there in sack leaders.
Missed tackles today. So, so many missed tackles.
Tackling is absolute shit right now
BRUCE!!!
Bryant has a nose for the ball, but his tackling is less than impressive.
Seahawks pass rush getting better = maybe they wore them down?
We are so good at giving up 3rd and long it is sad
We’ve had a months worth of frustrating third and long conversions in this game
Irvin gets one
Old man Bruce power!
Bryant needs to make that tackle.
Tackling has been rubbish today
Every time a Cardinal is in the open field you anticipate the whiffed tackle
We also don’t seem to be swarming to the ball as a defense, like we have been lately.
Absolutely. The “want to” is there, but the technique is awful. Especially in the defensive backfield.
I love Shelby Harris
Yes! Way to get off the field!
Fant is a nice piece but Harris was a great grab by Schneider in that trade.
Und der Quarterback geht zu Boden !!!
Good job old man! (Shelby)
Bloody hell Dallas
Put someone else in there!
I’d like to see Eskridge get a crack at it
Me too.
Wasn’t that part of his resume’ in college?
Just waking up the fans
If we’re just going to fair catch it every time, we might as well have Lockett back there.
Derius Davis on Day 3 please for all KR/PR duties please.
pass rush has been there all day today!
Special Teams has lost their way this year. And we need a new punt returner.
Have to capitalize on this luck – won’t get the bounces like this all the time.
I would like to draft a punt returner in 2023.
Agreed!
Check out TCU’s Derius Davis
I was hoping for a safety that can tackle tother than Neal
Dallas playing with our nerves. But it’s great we stopped them again. We should get at least a FG.
I think we thing that has to be a must for the 2023 – draft someone who can return punts/kickoffs.
Way too much of an adventure right now.
It’s the old men on the line getting it done in the send half. Bruce and Shelby
Bitte mehr Laufspiele mit Kenneth Walker.
(Just practicing for next week.)
Ja, bitte!
Das nimmt Zeit von der Uhr und öffnet Geno für den Play Action 🙂
Nice play action to Parkinson
I’m loving the play action and bootlegs to the TEs.
LOVED that play
Sure is nice to watch a game without a ton of penalties.
so nice having Walker on this team
Walker ypc going slowly up…..this is the time to feed him
Old man Geno making the play..
Look at that old man go!!!!
Nice run Geno!
GENO GOT GUTS!
Hahaha Geno just foolin!
Where’s Walker?
Call there he is
Cardinals know how to tackle
I want this Walker TD!!!
Yes!
Walker TD incoming
Give it to Walker and finish them!!!
Now we’re playin Seahawks football
[Que techno music]
DU !!!
DU HASST !!!
DU HASST MICH !!!
Stop already
Yess!!! Way to go Walker!
That was an incredible drive, I withdraw all my negative statements about Geno
I still think sometimes he’s not making best decisions when throwing. But he did just perfect this drive.
Woof! Woof!
The dog is barking!
Yes that’s what I like to see. Geno still has some moves! Receivers catching balls and Walker pounding it home.
That was a gut check drive people
Exactly. Letting teams hang around is not winning football. Putting teams away? That’s what a good team does.
well – – that’s just a winning football drive right there
love the playcalling, Geno’s steadiness and willingness to take what’s there makes us a good 4th quarter team
Good teams capitalize on luck. Seahawks absolutely did that today. Big kudos.
Winning teams come up with big drives in situations like that.
Now please don’t go completely prevent soft defense
feels like this version of the Hawks will still get after the passer.
what a fun season man
It’s been awesome and I truly hope you are correct
Let’s keep the tackles from slipping away. Stick to the man until help arrives
I really think half of the offense problems have been trying to play laterally instead of downfield. I can’t blame Geno for those sort of issues, even if his sideways pass did get picked off earlier.
I love watching Geno get to the line early… evaluate what the defense is doing, then adjust the play.
He’s always been talented, but it seems like the biggest difference with him has been his confidence and ability to read a defense.
Such a cool thing to see.
it’s such a breath of fresh air
Pete Ball!
Cobe!
I don’t think that is a catch.
Looks like a catch and fumble to me
looks a lot like tyler’s catch and fumble last week….
He does start to turn, but it’s very quick. Might be one where the call on the field stands.
Looked to me he initiated but did not complete the “football move”. INC.
Not likely to hold up but a great play by Coby. When he’s not missing tackles, dude is a football pugilist.
it’s true re his tackling – – but dude is definitely a contributor to this defensive surge — you want him out there. what a great 4th round find.
What will New York want it to be?
You keep more viewers if it’s ruled incomplete
I love your cynicism
The immaculate deception, the tuck rule, I have a long history with the NFL and they’re arranging oh let’s not forget Super Bowl forty
oh, i definitely concur
They were calling those drops earlier in the season, seems like the officials have changed their minds. There was no football move.
But I hope it works out in our favor. Nice hustle defense!
Darn it.
😒
Fuck Blandino
Still time for Arizona to win on the 4.5 point spread.
we’ve mostly contained Hopkins today.
Arizona just took three minutes off the clock on this drive.
Darn, that’s two Cobe Bryant turnovers negated today…
Damn it, Uchenna. Waste of a bad snap.
Tackling is the worst
Just plain ass. I get the D is gassed but this is what you play for.
Prevent defense and a shit call by New York to keep AZ in the game and now we’re faced with a need for first downs
We better not blow this
How many first downs do we need? Four?
two and we win
Diggs was just standing watching on that TD play.
Time for Walker to bust a big run
don’t get too conservative here. short pass plays are our bread and butter for 1st downs.
Timeout on a kickoff? That’s a new one to me…
Utterly bewildering
WTF man…
And nice return Dee. What do you want me to do, dive for it?
Here we go. Let’s not outsmart ourselves, please…
EXPLOSIVES!! FANT!
Amazing play by Fant!
Man they’ve just torched Arizona on that misdirection play action to the TE
And as most correctly pointed out for the 5th time today
Moose
I keep waiting for K9 to break a big one
It’s time…
I’m in
Damn! Almost. Give it K9 to finish it.
Yes, yes, yes!!!!!!!
K9!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They just waste of the time out with fat offside
Love it when you can hear the 12’s chants on the broadcast. SEA-HAWKS!
Yeah, I heard that!
That’ll do Kenny
Oroy?….hope so
That’s either 3 or 4 explosive runs for Walker today.
If we get out of this stadium without a serious injury, I’ll be thrilled
Walker is closing out another game win 😀
what the hell is with NFL coaches not saving a timeout for after the 2 minute warning?
Tom Brady just pass 100,000 passing yards.
So I guess he’s no longer under warranty?
I LOL’d
I’ve been waiting all day with that one.
So that’s what a winning team does. I’m so impressed with this team
Amen Big Mike. Amen
love this team….Walker is special, RB’s like him are almost undervalued these days….
Bijan Robinson likes this post
Superb drive.
Booyah!
this ain’t your 2021 seahawks!
No that is how you close out a football game. Walker is a stud!
Whooo Hooo! ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED???
BELIEVE
Lost in the geno smith hype train….
Walker might actually be the real reason this offense is clicking.
Geno wants to have a word….
Go look at genos stats. Seriously.
Live the geno hype train btw.
Here we go, we got this!
A tough division win with overcoming some mistakes is just what the doctor ordered.
This Seahawks team is for real.
💯
They are closing out games too. I think that’s the one thing that has really made me excited. KWIII is the closer.
What a season man.
That Colby Parkinson kick out play is money. Ran it back to back to get that TD. Same one as the long TD vs SD. Schematically beautiful, executed even better
totally. last year that’s a run into the middle of a stacked line for 1 yard. our playcalling this season is 100X better than last.
Great play call in that situation.
Nwosu could use a pass rush buddy…..but man, he’s been dynamite in these 4th quarter close out the game situations this year.
what a signing!
Has there been a better FA signing than Nwosu?
The Lynch, Avril, Bennet signings didn’t suck.
(oops, Lynch was a trade, a 6th?)
I think a 4th….
Keep eating, D. Kyler needs to take a few more sacks to keep the clock running.
Somebody that is much better than me at creating memes needs to do an old school Mortal Kombat “finish him” but with Kenneth Walker photoshoped on it.
Even LJ Collier is getting a sack!
Onions? Potatoes?
Anyone care to hazard a guess what our record with be with Wilson? I’m honestly stating 3-6. Geno has been that good, and Wilson has been that bad
You just had to say it didn’t you? Can’t we just move on
Already have. Let’s ride!
You can move on if you want but I’m not gonna forget that robot forcing his way out of Seattle for a long time
Good for you. You be you big guy
Good for you.
Sorry you can’t just revel in a win.
lol who says I didn’t enjoy the win? False equivalence much Peter?
He’s been playing hurt this season.
I dunno.
Wanna guess what this record would be without seven tds from walker in tge last five games?
Just as bad because Wilson is the worst quarterback in the history of football
The best formation there is, the victory formation
4 two score wins on the bounce
This rookie class is ridiculously good. Woolen did as good a job on Hopkins today as I have every seen any QB with little or no help most times.
Who’s gonna do the victory formation backflip with Goodwin out…?
Do you know if he’ll be back next week? He was missed today
No doubt. Sneaky solid addition
Well done Seattle
Great win! But lost in the hoopla…. Did we escape this field of horrors without an injury?
now we can say it without jinxing it.!!
I think we did! Good point
We DID!!! Not lost on me.
I held my breath on that 2nd to last Walker run.
The turf was flying up all over that place. How many knees has it destroyed?
they just said Hawks converted their last seven 3rd downs in a row….that’s great offense.
Geno with his legs for some clutch conversions in that stretch.
That really was the key when we needed it. They didn’t have anyone spying him.
That’s a tired out defense. I hate saying it, because it almost fell apart, but PeteBall worked, wearing the D down by making them run side to side for three quarters, then pounding the ball straight down their throat to close the game out.
stars are really pretty one-sided – – more so than the score.
We outgained them 421-262, and had 27 first downs to their 15.
Without that pick-6, it’s a pretty stress-free win.
10-15 on 3rd downs for the offense. 2 sacks allowed.
5 sacks for the defense. 6/14 for the Cardinals on 3rd downs.
I think the Seahawks completely outclassed the Cardinals.
Would you rather have Kenneth Walker, Noah Fant, Shelby Harris, Geno Smith, and more 1st round draft picks next year, or Russell Wilson and his $250 million contract?
Shit this is a hard one guys give me some time
Plus Charles Cross
As bad as the Jamal trade was JS redeemed himself with the Wilson trade
Hey Rob.
I will literally pay your air fare to Alabama if after 8 more games are over anyone including me brings up the former qb they get blocked.
I’ll cover half of it Peter
Lol I think I agree after this season we shouldn’t bring him up anymore
Add if Pete and John hadn’t screwed up the last 5 drafts in a row maybe it would have turned out differently.
Tom Brady looks like he wants to leave the country.
DeAndre Hopkins: 4 catches on 5 targets for 36 yards and a touchdown
no rushing touchdowns given up!
This is a killer stat
Bucs with a miracle drive and now set up on the 1 yd line!
and Rams to 3-5, feels like it’s is cocktail o’clock….
Yeah, baby! Take the L, Rams!!
Total choke
TB just took the lead vs LA! 15-13 Bucs with only 9 seconds left
Doing us a favor before we beat them next week in Munich
Have a fun flight back to LA
I think mcvey retires at the end of the year
Hopefully Donald finally