Cardinals Behind Seattle Lines: Five Questions With an Enemy Blogger
Filed under: AZ Cardinals, Seahawks, NFC West, Phoenix, Seattle
This week I sat down with albaNY Hawker of 12 Seahawks Street, an independent column that covers the Seattle Seahawks.
Dan Benton: "Hawker, as always, it's an absolute pleasure to chat with you again. We had so much fun last year, I decided we should do it again.
The first question is very simple, but I've been waiting a year to hear you answer it. Who was the best team (according to divisional record) in the NFC West last year? (Oh yea, it's going to sting slightly.)"
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Posted Sep 14th 2007 11:48AM by Dan BentonFiled under: AZ Cardinals, Seahawks, NFC West, Phoenix, Seattle
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Welcome to another successful installment of Five Questions with an Enemy Blogger, where each week, via email, I will be exchanging hot questions and [sometimes] answers with a rival blogger about their team and the upcoming matchup.This week I sat down with albaNY Hawker of 12 Seahawks Street, an independent column that covers the Seattle Seahawks.
Dan Benton: "Hawker, as always, it's an absolute pleasure to chat with you again. We had so much fun last year, I decided we should do it again.
The first question is very simple, but I've been waiting a year to hear you answer it. Who was the best team (according to divisional record) in the NFC West last year? (Oh yea, it's going to sting slightly.)"
albaNY Hawker: "It must be very difficult to be an Arizona Cardinal fan and have to cling to little statistical triumphs such as this. Why not ask which team in the division ranks first alphabetically by name of State? You'll kick our [butts] at that one every freaking year! Sure, the Arizona Cardinals were what, 4-2 within the division last year? Good for you, did they give you a banner to hang in your fancy new stadium for that, or just a gold start to put on those pitful paint-by-numbers helmets? Of course, this is not kindegarten, it's the NFL, where teams are ranked by overall record and divisional championships. So to paraphrase your former coach, "The Cardinal were who we THOUGHT they were, and if you want to crown their asses, then crown 'em!" I'm sure the NFC West Champion Seattle Seahawks with let you borrow one of their crowns, they've gotten one each of the past three seasons!"
DB: "Since I didn't get a chance to speak with you after week 14 of last season, what in the world happened to Seattle? (Feel free to give the Cardinals well earned credit.)"Hawker: "Sure. While we're at it, let's give Tonya Harding credit for beating Nancy Kerrigan too! The Seahawks were decimated by the injury bug last season, but to the Cardinals credit, they took advantage of the situation. The victory was built off a Shaun Alexander fumble and a sack given up by Walter Jones, each of which is an event that happens with the same regularity as a Cardinal fan actually having relations with a woman who isn't a relative. And even with all those fortuitous occurrences happening in your team's favor, the Seahawks were still within a yard of a critical first down that would have surely lead to the game winning score. But, as I said above, even though the victory would have clinched the third consecutive divisional crown for the Seahawks, the Cardinals were the better team on that day, and your team deserves the credit for the victory. (psst...Dan, Shaun, Walt and Matt are fully recovered and healthy. Payback [is coming]!)"
DB: "Switching gears and getting a little more serious, what scares you about the 2007 Arizona Cardinals?"Hawker: "Seriously, and this isn't just smack-talk, but what scares me most about them is the same thing as last year, which is that the Seahawks will take them lightly and wind up losing a game they should have otherwise won. Every year I listen to the pre-season pundits, and it seems that the Cardinals have signed Hercules, Paul Bunyan and Santa Claus during the off season, and there seems to be general cause for concern. Then I watch a pitiful performance like the one turned in against the 49ers on MNF, and I realize it's just the same old Cardinals. One serious area of concern for the Seahawks though is our Special Teams unit, which dodged a bullet last week giving up two big punt returns that were eventually called back due to penalties on Tampa Bay. So if the Seahawks concentrate on taking care of business, and have another near-penalty-free performance in all three phases of the game, I'm really not scared of the Cardinals at all. Oh wait, you did sign former Seahawk Joe Tafoya in free agency, so I guess you did sign Santa Claus."
DB: "What advantage(s) do you think the Seahawks have on Arizona going into this weekend?"Hawker: "From an intangible point of view, the Cardinals are coming off a loss and a short week of practice, which should work to the Seahawks advantage. Then there's recent history, where the Seahawks have generally finished at the top of the division, and the Cardinals, well, not so much. But let's break it down by position and squad.
Quarterback: Matt Hasselbeck is a seasoned veteran who has been to multiple Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl. Matt Leinart is a second year player who in starting only his 13th game, but he has a clear advantage in the hairline and [female celebrity] departments. ADVANTAGE: Seahawks
Running Back: Shaun Alexander is coming off his first injury shortened campaign, but is only a year removed from and MVP season. Edgerrin James has a league-wide reputation and possible HoF numbers, but most of that was built during his years with the Colts. Both men can be explosive runners if given holes to run through, which we'll get to in a bit. ADVANTAGE: Push
O-Line: A couple years ago, Seattle had arguably the best offensive line in football. After a year of tinkering with different combinations, and waiting for Walter Jones to heal up, they seem to have the right combination of youth and experience and should return to premiere form as a unit. The knock on Arizona the past few years has been that the James acquisition has been ineffective due to an inferior offensive line. One of the key departures in the off-season was veteran left tackle, and perennial malcontent, Leonard Davis, which could be addition by subtraction. All kidding aside, Russ Grimm should make a difference in creating a more cohesive and effective unit. But they're still learning. ADVANTAGE: Seahawks
Wide Receivers: The Seattle offense has been one of the most efficient in the league, yet has built its statistics and reputation with a set of relatively small an unknown receivers. The Cardinal receivers are tall and fast and very talented and OMG...I just noticed you guys have former Seahawk and fan favorite underdog WR Jeheme Urban on your roster. That alone should tip the scales. ADVANTAGE: Cardinals
Defense: The Seahawk defense features two Pro Bowl linebackers, a pair of aggressive and hungry safeties, small but quick cornerbacks and a seemingly endless rotation of under-sized and over-motored DTs and DEs. The Arizona defense was built with former Seahawk pariahs like Olando Huff and Chike Okeafor. ADVANTAGE: Seahawks"
DB: "Prediction time! Will this game be more like week two of last year, or week 14 of last year? (Who wins, and what's the score?)"Quarterback: Matt Hasselbeck is a seasoned veteran who has been to multiple Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl. Matt Leinart is a second year player who in starting only his 13th game, but he has a clear advantage in the hairline and [female celebrity] departments. ADVANTAGE: Seahawks
Running Back: Shaun Alexander is coming off his first injury shortened campaign, but is only a year removed from and MVP season. Edgerrin James has a league-wide reputation and possible HoF numbers, but most of that was built during his years with the Colts. Both men can be explosive runners if given holes to run through, which we'll get to in a bit. ADVANTAGE: Push
O-Line: A couple years ago, Seattle had arguably the best offensive line in football. After a year of tinkering with different combinations, and waiting for Walter Jones to heal up, they seem to have the right combination of youth and experience and should return to premiere form as a unit. The knock on Arizona the past few years has been that the James acquisition has been ineffective due to an inferior offensive line. One of the key departures in the off-season was veteran left tackle, and perennial malcontent, Leonard Davis, which could be addition by subtraction. All kidding aside, Russ Grimm should make a difference in creating a more cohesive and effective unit. But they're still learning. ADVANTAGE: Seahawks
Wide Receivers: The Seattle offense has been one of the most efficient in the league, yet has built its statistics and reputation with a set of relatively small an unknown receivers. The Cardinal receivers are tall and fast and very talented and OMG...I just noticed you guys have former Seahawk and fan favorite underdog WR Jeheme Urban on your roster. That alone should tip the scales. ADVANTAGE: Cardinals
Defense: The Seahawk defense features two Pro Bowl linebackers, a pair of aggressive and hungry safeties, small but quick cornerbacks and a seemingly endless rotation of under-sized and over-motored DTs and DEs. The Arizona defense was built with former Seahawk pariahs like Olando Huff and Chike Okeafor. ADVANTAGE: Seahawks"
Hawker: "After watching that unbearable snoozefest on Monday night, I will be very disappointed if the Cardinals somehow manage to remain in this game past halftime. The last time the Seahawks defense faced a Wisenhunt and Grimm lead offense, they held the opposing QB to a 22.crap passer rating, racked up 2 INTs, 1 sack and lead in almost every statistical category. That was two years ago, and this year's version of the Seahawks defense features an improved secondary, stout run stoppers and harder hitting linebackers. Of course, that was also SuperBowl XL, but as long as Bill Leavy's not officiating the game, I don't see Wisenhunt and Grimm pulling another miracle out of their [butts]....errrr...hats on Sunday.
Seahawks: 37, Cardinals 13"
A special thanks to albaNY Hawker for taking the time. It's always a pleasure to deal with his sarcasm, and I truly look forward to it twice a year. Again, you can read his Seahawks coverage on 12 Seahawks Street.Seahawks: 37, Cardinals 13"
