Arizona Cardinals take on Seattle Seahawks in Week 1 game – NFL Preview
With fresh hopes of achieving an impressive feat in the 2012 National Football League (NFL) season, Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks are going to play their first game of the season on Sunday, September 09, at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Both sides did some hard work throughout the offseason after failing to qualify for the playoffs last season. The Seahawks and the Cardinals took considerable time in deciding their starters for the new season as the latter became the last side in the league
to name their starting quarterback.
After a long competition between Kevin Kolb and John Skelton, the latter finally emerged as the final choice of head coach Ken Whisenhunt to get the starting role.
The Seahawks also took a lot of time to finalise their starting quarterback. The competition was held between their last year’s starter Tarvaris Jackson, former Green Bay Packers’ QB Matt Flynn and rookie Russell Wilson.
As Jackson’s trade rumours began gaining strength during the offseason, Flynn emerged as a strong contender to win the role as he had performed well during the preseason. However, Wilson took the limelight as he stepped on the field during some preseason
games, forcing head coach Pete Carroll to name him the starter.
Wilson will become the third rookie quarterback in the history of the Seahawks to start first game any season for them. The rookie is excited on getting the opportunity, but he is mature enough not to get carried away. He said of his prospects:
“I don’t get caught up in it. I’m excited about the opportunity. It’s another football game in a place I’ve never played before. But it’s the same distance on the field.”
Wilson added:
“The good thing is just to be able to get on the football field with these guys again and to have the opportunity is very, very big in my life.”
Meanwhile, the Cards are facing a daunting task in facing the Seahawks offence. Although Wilson is just a rookie, he has shown signs of professionalism and good work ethics on the field.
Since the Cards and Seahawks are present in the same division, both have played a lot of games against each other in the past. Both teams are familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of each other, but knowing this much does not always help in preparing
for the next meeting.
Whisenhunt said of the regular season opener:
“When you are playing a division opponent like we are, you have an idea of how they have attacked you in the past, but you never know what they have worked on in the offseason or what kind of wrinkles they may have put in.”
It is going to be an exciting encounter, but Seahawks have a slight edge.
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