Arizona Cardinals vs. Seattle Seahawks preview:
home field advantage means everything in NFC West
Try to tell the NFC West that home field advantage isn’t a big deal. Collectively this division is a combined 8-3 at home and 2-9 on the road. This one happens to be at Qwest Field in Seattle, so it’s
no secret that the 'Hawks gets the edge in this game.
Coach Pete Carroll will look to get his Seahawks control of the division. At 3-2, they can move up to 4-2 and be 2-1 against their division. Having this game at home is huge, as they seem to play with
so much more confidence in front of their home fans, despite having limited talent.
The Seahawks had a busy bye week a couple of weeks ago, trading for Marshawn Lynch and getting rid of Deion Branch. The running game showed immediate improvement last week against Chicago, but even more
importantly, Seattle proved they could win in a hostile environment, winning at Soldier Field.
Mike Williams continued his breakout season with 123 yards receiving. Justin Forsett is still a work in progress at running back. And Matt Hasselbeck has yet to get back to his 2005 form and needs to,
in order for Seattle to make a serious playoff push.
Seattle have also gotten just what they were looking for from Leon Washington. After suffering a horrific leg injury with the New York Jets last year, Washington has revamped his career, already with two
kickoff return touchdowns this season, averaging 37 yards per return.
The defence of the Seahawks has been another pleasant surprise, as Earl Thomas has made a case for himself to be defensive rookie of the year. Thomas already has three interceptions, along with 27 tackles.
Seattle is very stingy against the run, as they are second in the league with just 70 rushing yards allowed per game. That has helped their points allowed per game average, which is at 19.4, good for 12th
in the league. Their weakness is still their secondary, which has allowed 291 yards per game, 30th in the league.
Max Hall will make just his second career start after his defence did most of the work in his first career win. Despite passing for just 168 yards and an interception, as well as fumbling twice. He lucked
out on both, as both plays turned out to be positive plays for the Cardinals, including one of them being a touchdown. The Cardinals defeated the New Orleans Saints 30-20 thanks to their defence, who forced three interceptions from Drew Brees.
The difference is, now Hall will have to deal with the loud Seattle crowd, instead of the friendly confines of the desert. It will be an enormous test for the undrafted rookie, and should make the difference
in the game. While Hall has weapons like Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston at his disposal, this game will be an uphill battle for him. Making the same mistakes he made two weeks ago won’t let him luck out on the road.
Unless the Cardinals’ defence can give the same kind of effort and results they did against New Orleans, this could be a long day for the Cardinals. The Seahawks are just a better team at home, as is every
team in this division. That’s ultimately what the difference is in the end.
Prediction: Seahawks win 28-19
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