The Seahawks injury report was released on Thursday and drew a very positive reaction from the Arizona Cardinals fans around the Valley.
Word is that the Cardinals chances just got better, but have they really gotten better? Offensive linemen Okung, Unger, Sweezy have all been ruled out of the game for Sunday night and that would mean that getting sacks will not be a problem.
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The main problem why this can be a negative rather than positive with the injuries, is now the opportunity for Russell Wilson to improvise on a broken play just got greater.
The last four games Wilson has rushed for 183 yards on 32 attempts and most of that yardage is the result of broken plays.
In their first meeting the Cardinals allowed Wilson to make the dynamic play at the most crucial time of the game. Third and long and whiff missed tackles were the difference in that first ball game. The defense got a season high 7 sacks, but a combination of lack of offensive production and a tired defense from chasing Wilson all day allowed for those sacks to be irrelevant to the outcome.
Cards will get multiple sacks in Sunday’s game as well but the timing of those sacks along with corralling Wilson when they get their hands on him will be pivotal. Formula for the Cards to win, is to keep Russell Wilson in front of them and force him to throw from the pocket. The Seahawks passing game will not wow anyone, and has only produced one 300 yard game all year, and in 15 games they failed to get 200 yards passing seven times.
The quarterback numbers not that much different from all the other read-option runners in the league, but the difference for Wilson has been his ability to improvise and make the game wining play when his team needs it.
Stopping the run is the Cardinals trademark and should continue this week. The Cards cannot win this game by defense alone, they will need a few field goal’s from sustained drives early, along with at least one touchdown that has to happen in the second half of the game for momentum purposes to finish. Its pretty simple, contain Russell Wilson on third and long and sack him when he is in your hands, and the game is there for the winning. Cards win 16-10, Go Cards.