Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Following a 32-20 loss at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals face a quick turnaround in preparation for Thursday’s game against the division-leading Seattle Seahawks. Carson Palmer threw for 294 yards and and two touchdowns after an abysmal start versus San Francisco. It doesn’t get any easier for the passing game this week.
Seattle’s vaunted defense features some of the biggest and most physical CB’s in the NFL. All-Pro Richard Sherman stands 6-foot-3, as does his fellow CB Brandon Browner. Sherman and Browner are feisty, physical defenders that Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald and the rest of the Cardinals’ passing game will have to deal with on Thursday evening at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
Sherman and Browner each have 5 pass deflections to their credit, while Sherman has 3 interceptions on the year, the second highest total in the league.
After practice on Tuesday, the veteran Palmer said his team will have to match Seattle’s physical play.
“They’re going to grab and hold and they’re going to play very physical,” he said. “They’re very long, you’ve got to fight back.”
Arizona will certainly have their work cut out for them if they hope to shake and rattle Seattle’s defenders. Coming off a mediocre performance on Sunday at San Francisco, Palmer will have to be much more efficient and not force passes to his receivers in order for Arizona to have a shot at defeating Seattle.
If All-Pro wideout Larry Fitzgerald is unable to play Thursday, which is not out of the question considering how he was hobbling post-game on Sunday, then Palmer’s margin for error becomes increasingly thinner. I would expect to see Bruce Arians take a few shots downfield or “home run” plays as he likes to call them. That’s the type of coach Arians is; an aggressive coach who doesn’t mind airing the ball out multiple times during the game. However, he may want to be careful Thursday against an always hungry Seattle secondary.
I expect to see an aggressive passing attack from Arizona in this game. I also expect that they will continue to throw the ball to their running backs in hopes they catch a few blockers and turn a screen pass into a huge gain. All in all, I expect to see an offense hungry to find the end-zone on Thursday evening.