Grading The Defense: Cardinals vs Seahawks

by Andrew602 on Oct 21, 2009 3:19 PM MDT in 2009 Season Comment 11 comments

Before we completely move on to our next game, let's take a look at the job the defense did this past Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. It quite possibly was the best game the defense has had in a long time, and while they've had their ups and downs, now's the time that we dish out the grade. Limiting Matt Hasselbeck throughout the game is a feat upon itself, but completely limiting the Seahawks as a whole deserves much more credit. The Cardinals held Hasselbeck to a 34% completion percentage and 32.5 QB rating. The Cardinals also didn't allow a third down conversion, which brought their season average to 3rd overall. Against the pass, they held top receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh to 4 catches for 34 yards. Finally, by holding the Seahawks to 14 rushing yards, they continued thier number one spot, allowing only 59.6 rushing yards per game. Key contributors after the jump...

	First Downs	3rd Downs	Total Yards	Pass Yards	Rush Yards	Total Plays	Yards Per Play	TO	TOP
Seahawks Offense	7	0-11	128	114	14	46	3.1	2	17:10

Key Contributors:

Calais Campbell - Campbell was already nominated for Cardinal of the week, and now makes the list for his impressive performance against the Seahawks. He took advantage of an injured line, and bullied his way into the back field to disrupt Hasselbeck. Campbell only had one sack, but should've received credit for the forced fumble as well. Campbell had a QB hit and had two tackles for a loss also. His only error was not blocking a field goal. ; )

Adrian Wilson - Wilson takes pride in his defense and was upset at their 32nd ranked pass defense heading into this game. He only had 4 tackles but it was enough to lead the team. Wilson also hit Hasselbeck twice and was in his face at other times. At one point, Wilson easily threw 2nd year tight end, John Carlson out of the way, to tackle the running back.

Clark Haggans - Through out the game Haggans was speaking his mind, letting fellow Cardinals know how pumped up he was. He brought down Hasselbeck once for a sack, and was also at the end of several tackles during the game. The linebackers also redeemed themselves by not giving up the short pass and allowing the Seahawks to get back into the game.

Cardinals Defensive Grade: A+

The Cardinals will need another performance like this on Sunday night, when they play a well-balanced New York Giants club. Pressure on Eli Manning and stopping the run will be key for the win. Why did you grade the Cardinals defense the way you did?

Poll

How would you grade the Cardinals defensive effort on Sunday?

A+

140 votes

A

60 votes

B

16 votes

C

2 votes

218 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 11 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Really?

C? Show yourself!

Hey, hey, hey hey hey, watch the language, ok? I have a family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Oct 21, 2009 5:55 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

A+

What more can you ask for? The only big play given up was the fake punt and that’s not really on the defense.

I’ve been on DRC all year long and the past two weeks he’s been the corner everyone hoped he would be. As long as he continues to play within the defensive scheme and let his athleticism to occur natually he’ll be a shut down corner.

I don’t think it’s any secret that success breeds success, so for the ofense to go out and put up a game like they did two weeks in a row only fired up the defense to hold up their end as well. Props to Whiz for milking the clock a bit more this week with a big lead, even though they didn’t put up many points. It just shows that the organization is gelling more and more.

by CaliforniaCardFan on Oct 21, 2009 6:59 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

We curb stomped Seattle in almost every way we possibly could.

Defensively, Offensively, it was one of the most complete games they ever played.

Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.

No band-wagoner fans allowed, pick a team and stick with em, throughout the good and the bad.

by JoeCB1991 on Oct 21, 2009 9:02 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I gave them a C

Yes they stopped the run, and yes they stopped the pass, but most importantly….against who? The Seahawks???? Put them in a game against a team with a defense, and a half way decent offense and you get the results we have seen earlier this year…..losses. If Seattle was that great of a team, why weren’t they in the playoffs last year? Answer is, they were as the Cardinals were for most of the year an average team at best. And being that they are professionals…..on any given Sunday you might just get lucky.

Turn in that kind of performance against a quality opponent, and I will consider ranking it higher than a C

by TomKatAZ on Oct 21, 2009 11:38 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

The grade is for their effort against the Seahawks, not for the entire season.

And if I recall, the Seahawks were just coming off a 41-0 spanking of the Jaguars at home. It’s not like the Seahawks are the Rams or Browns.

Hey, hey, hey hey hey, watch the language, ok? I have a family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Oct 22, 2009 9:03 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Still a C

Even discounting the rest of the season…..given the opponent….C…..the Seahawks are a WEAK offensive team at best.

by TomKatAZ on Oct 22, 2009 9:25 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

so against an inferior opponent there is no chance of receiving an above average grade?

Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

by Bezekira on Oct 22, 2009 9:49 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah I don't get it

Were they supposed to allow 20 yards and force 5 turnovers?

Hey, hey, hey hey hey, watch the language, ok? I have a family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Oct 22, 2009 9:52 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

On top of that...

His “season long” argument doesn’t make much sense either. The Cards are #1 in football by a large margin in Rushing Yards/Game, and #1 in Yards Per Carry. That includes games against Gore, Jones-Drew, and Slaton, no quality of opponent arguments there. The pass defense is still 31st in YPG, but a far less disturbing 19th in Yards Per Attempt, a stat that takes into account the increased number of passes against us after we build big leads. For the season as a whole they rank 16th in YPG and 8th in scoring defense. They have been at least above average as a whole this year on D.
Of course, this is all moot since the question was an extremely simple one; How would you grade the Cardinals defensive effort against the Seahawks.
The Cards didn’t choose their opponent, they went out and played the one they were assigned, and the Defense was dominant. They allowed 128 total yards, and 42 of those came on a fake punt, a special teams play that really isn’t on our defense. So, 86 total yards allowed by the D, and the only points on a FG set up by that fake punt. If you don’t think that was a dominant effort, regardless who we were playing, you are an idiot, flat out.

by manphibian on Oct 22, 2009 11:55 AM MDT up reply actions 1 recs

Answer to CA Card Fan

What more can I ask for???? how about consistency week in and week out, show me that kind of defensive effort against every opponent….not just the crappy teams in our division.

by TomKatAZ on Oct 21, 2009 11:40 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Yep, I agree. Luckily we’re not playing Peyton and the Colts every week. The grade was for the game against the Seahawks, not the season. For the season…a solid “B” taking in to the great run stopping game and an inconsistent pass defense.

Limit the big plays in the passing game and it’s in the “A” range.

by CaliforniaCardFan on Oct 24, 2009 7:32 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs