Cardinals vs Seahawks: 5 questions, preview

The Arizona Cardinals take on the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at State Farm Stadium

We had a chance to chat with the site expert of FanSided’s Seattle Sehawks fan site 12th Man Rising, Lee Vowell, ahead of Sunday’s game in Glendale that brings the Seahawks for their annual visit to play the Arizona Cardinals.

We asked him five questions about the Seahawks and the game.  The Cardinals won the last meeting between the two teams on December 31st in Seattle but that was a lifetime ago.

Both teams still have some of the same personnel but a lot has changed as well since the last meeting.  The Cardinals have not defeated the Seahawks in Arizona since 2012, the rookie season and first ever-NFL regular season game for Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson.

It will be the first meeting for head coach Steve Wilks against the Seahawks.  Can he do something that Bruce Arians wasn’t able to do, beat Seattle in Glendale?  Arians was 0-4-1 in the five games he coached in the series in Arizona.

Again, some personnel has changed.  Both Arizona and Seattle are considered to be in down years, something I’m certain we will be told about numerous times by Fox announcers Dick Stockton and Mark Schlereth, who get to call the Cardinals for the third consecutive week.

So what do fans of the other side think?  What more can we learn about what they are about and going through right now?

RZ: How has the Seahawks offensive line looked so far in the first three weeks?

12th Man: The Seahawks line is still a work in progress and still in the bottom half of the league. But in week three against the Cowboys, the run blocking was much better. Seattle signed right guard D.J. Fluker this off-season to clear a path for Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny.

Seattle also brought back guard J.R. Sweezy. The Seahawks finally ran the ball a lot in week three and looked good doing it. So run blocking is better and pass blocking is not as good. It does help that Carson is Seattle’s best running back since Marshawn Lynch was healthy with the Seahawks.

RZ: Is the Pete Carroll era coming to an end soon in Seattle? Why or why not?

12th Man: Nearly every coach has a time limit in one place. But I think fans tire of seeing the same coach every season. Fans like surprises and they don’t get that with a coach who been with their team for 10 years or more.

Carroll is in year nine with the Seahawks and has clearly been successful. It would take something awful to happen for owner Paul Allen to fire Carroll. Carroll is a good coach and should be with Seattle for the foreseeable future. That said, Carroll has just two years left on his contract and is the oldest head coach in the NFL. How long does he want to keep coaching?