Brooks: Cardinals Can Beat Seahawks w/Stifling Defense

[evergreen]

[urltargetblank]http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000444983/article/arizona-cardinals-can-beat-seattle-seahawks-with-elite-defense[/urltargetblank]

Although I will agree that their defense is the reason you can't look past this week, I don't agree that they will be enough.

The article itself is a really good read though.

You do remember they beat us at home last year despite having FOUR turnovers, because their defense was THAT good.

As good as their defense is, it was really because RW played so badly. Go back and watch it on rewind. Az was real tough but Wilson was having his worst game ever. He was making unforced errors. We had the ball right before half and on a 3rd down where he could've run for a 1st and gotten out of bounds he threw it wide to Baldwin. Instead of scoring right before the half like we did so often, we punt. That's about the worst play he's ever made. There was a dubious call at the end of that game. He really wasn't himself for a while towards the end of they year and this game showed that.

 

[kmedic]

It's a good objective article IMO, and he does an excellent job of illustrating how we can be beat. I'm not understanding how some fans around here are thinking there is no way we can be beat. This is a 50/50 game IMO. The Cards have a great defense, and they know our offense like the back of their hand. They will have a massive home crowd factor and know full well this is their last best shot to get homefield advantage and a possible SB. They know our weaknesses on offense and will do everything they can to expose them. I agree with Brooks that we may not score more than 3 FG's. Our defense probably won't give up much either. The key will be special teams this week. Who is gonna get that big punt return to flip field position or force the fumble deep in the opponent's territory? Frankly, this years ST unit hasn't overly impressed me, particularly the return unit. Also, let's not forget Jon Ryan's adventures in the backfield. If anything crazy like that goes their way, we will probably lose.

I actually have a bad feeling about this weekend. Everyone seems to be expecting us to win given they are down to their 3rd string QB. But people forget that a team is more than just its QB...

 

[loafoftatupu]

Anytime a writer puts together a piece about beating the Hawks with a plan of stopping Lynch, making Wilson a pocket passer and bringing a 3rd string QB to the table with an offense that doesn't have a dominant run game in a prime time game you know we are in business.

No one has ever tried that before. Especially with the 3rd string QB. That Arians is a GENIUS.

 

[Laloosh]

Bucky brooks is a seahawk hater. I hate that dude. Not just because I'm a seahawk fan and he hates the seahawks. I just hate writers in general who like to have a bias against one team. This dude is it. He wrote an article about dalton being better than wilson for crying out loud. Ditch this guy and don't give him any attention.

I don't think Brooks is a Seattle hater by any stretch. He laid into Elliot Harrison for ranking Denver higher in his power rankings this week and told him why.

If I remember correctly, he wrote some pretty good breakdowns on the Seahawks defense last year and they were very positive articles (but more importantly, they were interesting). Might have to track them down if I can.

Just my opinion.

 

[kf3339]

What he states in the article is for the Cards to have a chance to win they have to keep the Hawks under 10 points scoring for the game.

10 POINTS.

When was the last time that happened? :th2thumbs:

 

[Hawks46]

I like Brooks. He's pretty good at breaking down the X's and O's, and being able to relate it to the common fan.

That said, it was kind of a Capt. Obvious article. Of course elite defense can beat the Hawks. It's a formula we've used the last two years to beat the rest of the league.

If we play mistake free, I don't see us losing. I can't see them beating us with Lindley, and I can't see him playing mistake free. Arizona honestly can't beat us being 1 dimensional, so leaning heavily on the run game won't work for them. SF did us a big favor last week by establishing the run. We're going to be on point for that now.

We may only get 4 FG's, but that will be enough. I'd be surprised if AZ scores more than 6 points. Hell, we could get a safety this game.

 

[Bigbadhawk]

What he states in the article is for the Cards to have a chance to win they have to keep the Hawks under 10 points scoring for the game.

10 POINTS.

When was the last time that happened? :th2thumbs:

Week 16 last year we were held to 10 by the Cards in Seattle in a loss. That was the last time we were held to 10 points or less.

 

[morgulon1]

I think one of the ways to sum up Seattle quickly would be to say that they are about as straightforward as it gets on both sides of the ball. They want to beat teams by leaning on talent discrepancy, not with the tricks of the trade.

That kind of plays into the hands of crafty coaches like Arians and Fisher who know exactly how to throw a wrench in things. Seattle is notoriously slow to adjust on offense, and Pete is fairly easy to trick in general.

But there's a reason Seattle is a heavy road favorite in Vegas. I just don't see how the Cardinals' offense gets anything done. They are probably looking at 150 yards of offense in this game. They would have to completely shut down Seattle's offense just to get a 50/50 chance of winning.

Ah, thanks for the comforting post Kearly.

 

[nwgamer]

I'm surprised your all focused on Ellington at QB but have yet to really mention how crippled they are without Ellington in addition to having potential ?s at QB. They're gonna have to play lights-out D to pull this off. Not this time. The fans will be fun to watch, I hope we travel strong again this year.

 

[scutterhawk]

[urltargetblank]http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000444983/article/arizona-cardinals-can-beat-seattle-seahawks-with-elite-defense[/urltargetblank]

Although I will agree that their defense is the reason you can't look past this week, I don't agree that they will be enough.

The article itself is a really good read though.

You do remember they beat us at home last year despite having FOUR turnovers, because their defense was THAT good.

:roll: Hmm, Okay. :lol:
So, you surmise that the Seahawks Defense is what?...Inept?
Forgive me for puking on your shoes.

 

[scutterhawk]

NO................ NO THEY CAN'T.
The Seahawks Defense will have something to say about that BS conjecture.
Bruce Arians is one smart cookie, and he's gotten a long ways with what he's had to work with, but C'mon man, he's going up against the Seahawks Smothering Defense, and he's got who for Quarterback?
Not being overconfident, just realistic.

 

[endzorn]

The cardinals defense still give up a lot of yards. I think it's in the 350 range per game. Even if we can't always turn yards into points we should be able to win the field position game and I have a really hard time believing their QBs are going to flip long fields or turn them into points. They win by forcing turnovers and we win by protecting the ball and playing tight defense.

I think Hauschka earns his money this week.

 

[onanygivensunday]

What concerns me most about this match up is special teams.

We win that battle and we certainly win this game.

Arians is one sly fox. I'm not under-estimating Arizona one bit. They're currently the #1 seed and they deserve it. I have a lot of respect for Arians and Bowles.

I see the final score being something close to 13-9 or 16-10.

If the Hawks cover the spread I'll be one surprised fan.

 

[devilhawk88]

So let me do the math, the cards can beat us with their defense besting our offense so:
Cards D > Hawks O.
But inversely the Hawks D can beat the cards O so:
Hawks D > cards O.
Now comparing the two offenses I think everyone excepts that the Hawks are better so:
Hawks O > cards O.
And for defense we are imperically better so:
Hawks D > Cards D.
So tell me again how we don't win? We are worried about random variables like fumbles and special team gaffes. Why has the variable of our defense scoring off turn overs from a QB that has 7ints and 0 TD's?
We are better and I won't participate in negative self talk.
GO HAWKS

 

[Trenchbroom]

NFL has to hype this game. They are obligated to do so.

"Listen everyone! I know that you see SEA v. ARI as a laugher on SNF, but before you decide to not tune in at all, here us out!"

If these are two elite Defensive units (and they are) then I guess it comes down to one thing: Russell Wilson vs. Ryan Lindley. One is a Super Bowl winning QB with the most victories for a QB ever over his first three seasons and is a 4th qtr. comeback master. The other your 2016 2nd string QB for the Spokane Shock.

Hype away, NFL and NBC. You need it.

 

[HawkAroundTheClock]

Wasn't Brooks a scout for the Hawks at one time? The only way the Cards beat us is by flukiness - that is only thing that worries me.

I've had the same feeling. In the end, you only need one more point than your opponent. In a tight defensive struggle, even a sub-scrub QB can benefit from a questionable personal foul call, or a lucky bounce. Sometimes that's all it takes to get into FG range and put up points. Isn't that right, St. Louis Rams?

 

[Largent80]

With both defenses being good obviously the team that performs better offensively will get more yards. We certainly have an advantage at QB. Okung is out on the left end and Britt is a rookie, these are concerns vs. that defense.

I just feel that our special teams, and field position will be huge in this game. If we can get some decent returns on punts and k.o.'s it will make it that much easier for the offense.

 

[HansGruber]

I think we see a heavy dose of run from Seattle. All they have to do is protect the ball. You don't need to score every drive, so there's no reason to throw much. Protect the ball and run, run, run. AZ is weaker against the run than against the pass. Throwing the ball just gives them the opportunity they'll need for a turnover leading to a score.

As long as we're on our half of the field, it's gonna be beast mode and Wilson out of the read option.

If you punt, that's great. Let their 4th string QB have it. They don't have a run game to speak of, so they're forced to throw. Which plays right into our hand. I guarantee you're going to see AT LEAST 2 interceptions from the LoB on Sunday.

Even if Arizona plays the best defense humanly possible, they're going to lose the turnover and field position battles because they don't have a rushing attack remotely as effective as ours.

I'm expecting a game that looks like 1950's football in the first half, followed by a second half where the gulf widens and then Seattle just opens the can of whup-ass. Defensive battles favor the team with the best quarterback and best run game, and just like last week, there will be no doubts by the time the game is over.

I've actually benched the cardinals defense for my fantasy championship game in favor of SD (who plays SF). I just have this feeling that one Seattle puts up a few scores, AZ will be forced to throw the ball and that's when it will get really ugly.

 

[brimsalabim]

Ok so they will have a spy on Wilson this time since he torched them on the ground last time. After a few plays it's usually becomes apparent who the "spy" is though. Why would we not design plays to take advantage of that? Why not just send Will Tuk tto block him so Russ can roll?

 

[hgwellz12]

My LACK of concern/worry for this game is seriously starting to concern/worry me.