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Arizona Cardinals: ‘SNF’ vs. Seahawks Must Be Statement Game

By Shaun Church

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OK, Arizona Cardinals. You’re 6-2 and have a two-game lead in the NFC West leading up to your huge Week 10 battle with the Seattle Seahawks. You have faltered in the past against Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and Co., but this time things are different.

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Why? Because Carson Palmer is healthy and has been protected by one of the NFL’s best offensive lines all season. The MVP candidate missed both Seattle games a year ago, but the last time he played the Seahawks, he led a fourth-quarter, game-winning drive despite having thrown four interceptions in the game.

He did not care.

The only thing that mattered was driving the length of the field right then and there, and when he hit Michael Floyd at the left pylon for the game-winner, more than just the air was taken out of CenturyLink Field.

Palmer hit the Legion of Boom where it hurts. No one threw on the LOB and beat them—especially not with the quote-unquote 12th man shaking the stadium.

But Palmer did.

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Since that time, the Seahawks rose to the top of the NFL and peaked. And like all NFL teams who reach the pinnacle of the league, they have started their decline. For a variety of reasons, Seattle is not the same team it was the last time Palmer faced it.

The Seahawks are on a bit of a role since starting the season just 2-4, winning their past two games. There is a bit of a developing trend with the 2015 ‘Hawks, though.

At 4-4, Seattle has played four teams with current losing records and has beaten them all; it has also played four teams with current non-losing records and lost to them all.

Trends matter in the NFL, and Seattle is very beatable—home or away, location is not relevant.

When you look at the in-depth stats, courtesy of ColdHardFootballFacts.com, all signs point to the Cardinals winning this game. Of all the stats to look at, CHFF’s Hog Index tells the most important story. Here is stats-god Kerry Byrne’s explanation of the Offensive and Defensive Hog Index:

"“The Offensive Hog Index is our effort to quantify which team has the best offensive line in football. This isn’t rocket science, folks. The Offensive Hog Index simply looks at each team in three major, easy-to-understand categories and ranks them by average in these categories. The top offensive line is that which posts the highest average rating across the board.”"

The Hog Index—both offensive and defensive—takes yards per rush attempt, negative pass plays (sacks plus interceptions) and third-down percent to get an overall average. The Cardinals are one of two teams in the top 10 in both the offensive and defensive stat, the other being the Todd Bowles-led New York Jets.

How a team plays up front on both sides of the ball will oftentimes tell the story of how it won or lost a game. This season, it has indeed been the story of the Cardinals. Both fronts have been tough on opponents, getting push in the offensive run game and protecting Palmer while halting the opponents’ run game and pressuring the quarterback into generating turnovers.

Seattle’s offensive line is depleted this season. In trading his All-Pro center to the Saints for tight end Jimmy Graham, general manager John Schneider showed how little he knows about building a championship team.

He has done a fantastic job finding defensive talent throughout his six draft seasons, but when talking about the offensive line, he has failed his franchise quarterback.

Schneider’s first-ever draft pick with the Seahawks was left tackle Russell Okung. While he has the potential to be a perennial Pro Bowler, the six-year pro has yet to put it all together on the field due to a lengthy injury history.

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Even this week, Okung is questionable to play with an ankle injury.

Schneider did not draft Unger and hasn’t drafted a lineman in the first round since Okung in 2010 and 2011 draft bust, tackle James Carpenter. With the leader of his offensive line out of town, quarterback Russell Wilson has an oft-injured first-round pick at left tackle; a second-year, second-round pick at left guard; an undrafted center and right tackle; and a seventh-round pick at right guard to protect him.

That has led to Wilson being sacked an NFL-high 31 times through Week 9.

Just the opposite is happening in Arizona. Steve Keim’s first pick as general manager was starting right guard Jonathan Cooper. He then signed underrated free-agent left tackle Jared Veldheer, who continues to show he is one of the best blindside blockers in the NFL.

Oct 4, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals guard Mike Iupati (76) looks on prior to the snap during the second half against the St. Louis Rams at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Then Keim stepped it up and signed All-Pro left guard Mike Iupati last offseason, and all he has done is bludgeon defenders en route to helping the Cardinals have one of the best rushing attacks in the league this season.

When all is said and done Sunday night, Arizona should have no problem beating up Seattle in its own backyard. Make no mistake: This game will be a bloodbath. Both teams are coming off a bye week and are motivated to start the second half on the right path.

The Seahawks want to regain their dominance of the division. The Cardinals want to take that dominance from them. Something must give.

Arizona must dominate this game to tell Seattle and the rest of the NFL it is not the same old franchise you grew up watching fail week-in and week-out.

This must be a statement game for Arizona, and it all starts up front. Led by Veldheer, Iupati and Cooper along the offensive line and Calais Campbell, Rodney Gunter and Frostee Rucker along the defensive line, the Cardinals must take care of business up north.

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