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Week 3 Sunday 25th September 2005 |
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The
team touted by the Pundits as the dark horse of the NFC the Cardinals have
so far played more like My Little Pony. The reason for their poor start
revolves around the injury to starting Center Alex Stepanovich. He
broke his hand in Pre season forcing the Cards to recruit Shawn Lynch
in his place. Lynch started against the Giants but was cut earlier this
week. Stepanovich did start against StLouis in game 2 but had to give way to
Guard Reggie Wells when the team used the Shotgun formation. Clearly
an injured Stepanovich was preferable to a fully fit Lynch. The
return of their starting Center did seem to have a positive effect on the
team as Warner racked up 327 yards through the air. However, they also
failed to visit the Endzone & gave up 4 sacks. It is worth remembering
that the Rams have lost one of their starting Cornerbacks (Jeremetrius
Butler) for the season & any encouragement Cards fans get from the
passing yardage should be toned down a little. The
Hawks have had injury problems on their O line too but Sean Locklear
has done a good job at RT for Floyd Womack so any negative impact
felt from Pork Chops absence has been minimal.
Even if the Cards Offense is still limping through games you can be sure their Defense hasn’t thrown in the towel. The unit has even chipped in with one of the two TD’s scored so far courtesy of a Karlos Dansby interception return. Arizona also has two other picks so Hasselbeck will need to choose his targets carefully. For all their aggression the Cards could not cope with Steven Jackson who averaged 5.1 yards a carry on 14 attempts last Sunday.
If
the Seahawks can replicate another 2nd quarter like last week
then the visitors could be really up against it. The Hawks defense really
stepped up & preserved the win against Atlanta last week. It would seem
logical to assume they could do so again faced with less accomplished
opponents. Victory at Qwest Field over the Cards came by just 2 points in
2004 but that was playing defense with two Defensive lineman carrying
shoulder injuries. Anyone
who remembers the game in AZ last season will remember the Cards rattling
Hass’ cage early & keeping him out of his rhythm. Expect a similar
approach this time. Summary The
Cards clearly missed Stepanovich, which is why they are rushing his return.
Such a hasty decision could prove very costly as it would only take a wily
veteran defender to tread on his partially healed hand & Arizona would
be right back where they started. Shaun Alexander could be a critical
factor in this game as the Rams enjoyed considerable success on the ground.
But, if Warner can get the time he needs Boldin & Fitzgerald
have the ability to hurt us deep. The
Cardinals Offensive line is the weakest unit on show in this game. They have
suffered a lot of disruption & will need time to settle down as a unit.
How long it will take for them to become a cohesive group again is unclear.
Sunday may just be one game too early for them.
Hawkshead pointed out that last season the 49ers came to Qwest Field 0-2 when a Seahawk was being inducted into the Ring of Honour. The result: Hawks won 34-0. Can lightning strike twice? Hope so. No
live TV coverage this week so back to the net: Radio
Commentary available via Field Pass: http://www.nfl.com/fieldpass
(Subscription required) Matt Cheesman (KingdomeUK) |
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