How are the Hawks going to beat the Cardinals?

[ringless]

The only team more overrated than the Lions is the Cardinals.

They beat the Chargers by a point at home.
They beat the Giants on the road by 9
They got blown out by the Broncos
They beat the Skins at home by 10
They beat the Raiders by 11
They beat the Eagles at home by 4
They beat the Cowboys WITHOUT Romo on the road
They beat the Rams at home by 17 (impressive)
They beat the Lions by 8.

I'll give them credit for 9 wins thus far as they deserve it, but I'm not impressed by the teams they beat or the manner by which they beat them. I don't look at the Cards and think, "oh that's a scary team". Their D has been playing well, and they all believe they can win, that's dangerous in this league.

If we get Unger or LJP in a C this week, I'll be feeling pretty confident about a win. I also think we can go into AZ and win. Which means we would only need +1 on their other games:

@ATL (not easy place to go)
vs KC
@ STL
@ SF

Our schedule is no cakewalk either, but I still think our best shot at making the playoffs is through the NFC West.

Does anyone remember the KC Chiefs last year? They started 9-0! What did they finish? 11-5 with a 1st round exit after losing the division.

This will be AZ this year; i'm just not sure if it will be SF or SEA winning the division.

Well when the Chiefs started 9-0 last year they hadnt played one team with a winning record.... While we have beat The Cowboys, Eagles, Chargers, Lions, and 49ers. You put WITHOUT romo in caps... But you didnt put WITHOUT Palmer in Caps in 4 of our games? I consider winning 7 games of 9 by two possessions pretty strong play.

This team has only allowed 34 points all year in the 4th quarter... 17 of those came from Denver. (half) They are only allowing one more point per game than the Seahawks last year.

I think that Seattle and AZ both have extremely tough sledding ahead of them in the next 6 games. No doubt, but I would think the bigger concern for Sea right now is SF. You guys are tied, and gaining 3 games in 6 is unlikely, especially with the schedule. Obviously this week is going to be a hard fought week no matter who wins. Arizona knows Seattle is a deep, talented team, who just won a Superbowl. They know they can go for the kill right now. But Seattle needs it more, and I think it will show. This is close to an elimination game. They have to win, and I am sure they will find a way to win

 

[lukerguy]

While we have beat The Cowboys, Eagles, Chargers, Lions, and 49ers. You put WITHOUT romo in caps... But you didnt put WITHOUT Palmer in Caps in 4 of our games?

I would say the team has beat good teams on a few occasions, but like the Chiefs of last year, the team hasn't beat anyone great.

The Eagles are not great. The Cowboys are far from great without Romo. The Chargers are not great. The Lions are the most overrated team in the league, and the 49ers were far from great when you got to them early in the season.

Outside of the Cardinals, The elite teams in the NFL are the following:
Patriots, Packers, Broncos, Cowboys (with Romo), Chiefs, Seahawks, 49ers

In fairness, the only opportunity the Cards had to beat an elite team so far was against the Broncos, and you didn't have your starting QB. It's not your problem Romo was out when you played them.

I'm saying 9-1 is impressive; very impressive, but we are all going to find out very quickly if AZ is a serious contender. I personally think without Palmer, this team will have no chance against the powerhouses of the league.

home and @ SEA, @SF, @STL, KC @ ATL- 4 of your last 6 games on the road.

I still predict 12-4 or 11-5.

 

[TeamoftheCentury]

Makes it tough when half your team is injured.

The Cardinals are in that boat as well, and without their starting QB.... We are missing a lot of players as well, and before you say Stanton and Palmer are equals, keep in mind Palmer was the 9th highest rated QB in the league this year.... He only threw two picks all season. Stanton threw 2 in 8 passes. Seattle had a lot of injuries last year and still found a way to win it all. It is something all teams go through.

Every team deals with injuries. It's being overly simplistic to just throw that back at us. Perhaps you don't know enough about the Hawks to know just how significant the injuries have affected games. But, I'm telling you... there's no way the Cardinals injuries compare to what this team has and is dealing with in terms of the amount of key injuries. Be grateful the Cardinals are not dealing with what the Hawks have this season. Further, it's not merely the injuries in and of themselves. It's the week to week matchup problems it presents and how a teams' schedule unfolds as it's dealing with the missing key players.

I still think these two teams are not as far apart as the difference in their records might suggest to those who only look at that and make their assessments. The Percy distraction was also something the Cardinals didn't have to deal with. How would the Cardinals be doing if one of their star players they were counting on decided to quit on his team by not returning to the field in a key game (and who knows how many other games)? Yeah, probably 6-4 just like the Hawks.

This is going to be a tough game. The Cardinals are no joke. They are playing disciplined football. The Seahawks are going to have to convert when they have opportunities and limit mistakes.

 

[lukerguy]

The Cardinals are a very good football team. I don't believe they are a Super Bowl contender due to the QB position, but they will slap you in the face if you decide not to bring your A game.

Seattle SHOULD win this week. If we don't beat the Palmerless Cards at home, we don't deserve a playoff spot. It's as simple as that.

 

[AgentDib]

Every team deals with injuries. It's being overly simplistic to just throw that back at us. Perhaps you don't know enough about the Hawks to know just how significant the injuries have affected games. But, I'm telling you... there's no way the Cardinals injuries compare to what this team has and is dealing with in terms of the amount of key injuries.

I agree that injuries have been a huge problem for us, but I also think you need to look closer at who the Cardinals are missing because they are just as important (or more) as the guys we have lost.

The difference is to do with depth. We looked soft without Mebane largely because Hill, Williams and Wright did not pick up the slack. Dockett and Shaughnessy are equally huge losses on their line but Campbell, Foote and Rucker are playing with no drop off. Foote alone had more solo tackles vs. Detroit this week than Williams, Hill, and Wright had combined vs. the Chiefs.

 

[HansGruber]

The Seahawks have the 3rd best defense in the NFL, the Cards are 14th best. Seahawks aren't dropping a home game to the Cards two years straight. Ain't happening. Seahawks win next Sunday!

If you go by yardage.

If you go by points, the Cardinals are the 3rd best defense in the NFL and the Seahawks are 12th.

Unfortunately, AZ is a really damn good team this year and I don't see us beating them. It's depressing to read some of the reasons people think we'll win, when I realize that it's just desperation talking. For instance, a ton of posts about our offense. News flash - our offense was pretty dang good last week, but our defense has been abysmal and is truly suffering from all the injuries. That won't change just because you're facing Stanton. He's playing really well.

I think the cards are going to win it all this year.

 

[BlueBlood]

The only team more overrated than the Lions is the Cardinals.

They beat the Chargers by a point at home.
They beat the Giants on the road by 9
They got blown out by the Broncos
They beat the Skins at home by 10
They beat the Raiders by 11
They beat the Eagles at home by 4
They beat the Cowboys WITHOUT Romo on the road
They beat the Rams at home by 17 (impressive)
They beat the Lions by 8.

I'll give them credit for 9 wins thus far as they deserve it, but I'm not impressed by the teams they beat or the manner by which they beat them. I don't look at the Cards and think, "oh that's a scary team". Their D has been playing well, and they all believe they can win, that's dangerous in this league.

If we get Unger or LJP in a C this week, I'll be feeling pretty confident about a win. I also think we can go into AZ and win. Which means we would only need +1 on their other games:

@ATL (not easy place to go)
vs KC
@ STL
@ SF

Our schedule is no cakewalk either, but I still think our best shot at making the playoffs is through the NFC West.

Does anyone remember the KC Chiefs last year? They started 9-0! What did they finish? 11-5 with a 1st round exit after losing the division.

This will be AZ this year; i'm just not sure if it will be SF or SEA winning the division.

Well when the Chiefs started 9-0 last year they hadnt played one team with a winning record.... While we have beat The Cowboys, Eagles, Chargers, Lions, and 49ers. You put WITHOUT romo in caps... But you didnt put WITHOUT Palmer in Caps in 4 of our games? I consider winning 7 games of 9 by two possessions pretty strong play.

This team has only allowed 34 points all year in the 4th quarter... 17 of those came from Denver. (half) They are only allowing one more point per game than the Seahawks last year.

I think that Seattle and AZ both have extremely tough sledding ahead of them in the next 6 games. No doubt, but I would think the bigger concern for Sea right now is SF. You guys are tied, and gaining 3 games in 6 is unlikely, especially with the schedule. Obviously this week is going to be a hard fought week no matter who wins. Arizona knows Seattle is a deep, talented team, who just won a Superbowl. They know they can go for the kill right now. But Seattle needs it more, and I think it will show. This is close to an elimination game. They have to win, and I am sure they will find a way to win

:thirishdrinkers:

Yes, an actual objective Cardinals fan. Not to say Cards fans in general arent objective its just that I dont have any experience with them.

 

[SonicHawk]

Unfortunately there's nothing 'deep' about this team. Our starters are pretty darn good though .

 

[NorCalSeahawk]

I would guess they Hawks want to do what they did last week and pound the Cards with the run game and hope to keep the game close till the end with a chance to win against a team that is healthier and better than the Seahawks at this point in the season. This game being at home will also give the Hawks a huge edge against a so-so QB (in my book).

But, unless the offense can put some long drives together and the defense can get some stops and a turnover or two this game will be a loss. Seattle can't have any dumb penalties at home either, they seem to be getting better, but at this point in the season you can't have them anymore if you want to have a legit chance at the playoffs. I just wonder if the injuries are just to much to overcome at this point, this game really is the make or break moment of the season.

 

[IndyHawk]

We can beat them because we are NOT the Lions ..We present a different unpredictable matchup..I can see the RO working and Beast pounding..We use our TE's and use the deep ball on play action fakes..I think we will do fine..This is our season pretty much at this point..Fight or die...Go Hawks!!!

 

[SoulfishHawk]

It's real simple. Like our friend Ron Fairley said: If you score more than the other team......you're gonna' win the game.

 

[jake206]

Unless Bevell gets his head out of the ground, and replacements start playing like HOFs, the answer is no. We may beat a middling team like the Giants, but against top-tier, Hawks have to play near-perfect A game. Even then its a toss up.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

They have to play a perfect game to beat the Cards? Thanks for the laugh.

 

[TeamoftheCentury]

Every team deals with injuries. It's being overly simplistic to just throw that back at us. Perhaps you don't know enough about the Hawks to know just how significant the injuries have affected games. But, I'm telling you... there's no way the Cardinals injuries compare to what this team has and is dealing with in terms of the amount of key injuries.

I agree that injuries have been a huge problem for us, but I also think you need to look closer at who the Cardinals are missing because they are just as important (or more) as the guys we have lost.

The difference is to do with depth. We looked soft without Mebane largely because Hill, Williams and Wright did not pick up the slack. Dockett and Shaughnessy are equally huge losses on their line but Campbell, Foote and Rucker are playing with no drop off. Foote alone had more solo tackles vs. Detroit this week than Williams, Hill, and Wright had combined vs. the Chiefs.

Nah, still not even close. Not saying those guys aren't important to them. But, you bring up one position group... their DL. I know they're dealing with the loss of Palmer.

But, let's take a bit of an inventory here: The Hawks have had their prima donna WR (whatever Percy was) go AWOL before being traded for peanuts (comparatively to what was paid for him), TE injuries (Zach Miller not very replaceable), Guys in and out of the Oline again (Unger, Carp, Okung), starting FB IR'd, Mebane / other DL (Marsh), LB's (Wags, Smith), DB's (Maxie, Lane, Bam Bam). Good grief... every position group except QB and the Kickers have been majorly impacted.

What's not to understand about that being more significant than the 9-1 Cardinals missing a couple of D-lineman (and, yes, now their starting QB as well)?

 

[suppaball]

Score more points I don't care how or by who. Just score more points.

 

[OrFan]

Well, we were a couple of head scratching offensive calls away from beating KC at home, I actually think we will win this game.

Agreed. We had many games last year, during our "magical" year, that were decided by a luck break. This year we have been in every game played, just haven't gotten the breaks. Are we different than last year? Of course we are. Are we a bad team this year? It would be ridiculous to say yes.

This team has started to come together the last 4 or so games. With a lucky bounce or two they would have taken out the Chiefs in their home. I feel Arizona will get a wake up call from the Seahawks this week.

 

[Anonymous]

Not sure why I'm thinking this, but we may see Carroll take a few pages out of the Rams book of special teams.

Just like the Percy Jet sweep that miraculously made its appearance, I think we are overdue for some well-planned trickery or creative offense to be attempted. We are just too well-coached to not dig into the magic bag at some point.

Call it, "a feeling", but I don't see this team going down that easily.

 

[FargoHawk]

I think we stomp the Cardinals. I'm thinking 30-17

 

[tom sawyer]

This is our game to win or lose. We know we can do.

 

[Rob12]

How?

The 12's will be pissed and loud, Wilson will throw for 250 and three TD's, Lynch will have 110 on the ground, and our defense gets a pick six on an errant Stanton pass.

34-13, Hawks. Any other questions?