FanPost

Arizona Cardinals 2019 Season in Preview Part 4/16

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

The Seattle Seahawks come to the nest in week 4 to take on a high flying Cardinals team and contrary to what I have been saying in the first 3 parts, it will not be pretty. The Seahawks team still has everything in my opinion to contend for a championship and will win many hearts along the way like they did when the won the Super bowl against the Denver Broncos.

The Offenses:

The Cardinals offense will face a true base 4-3 defense for the first time and it will be full of growing pains. The Cardinals do not have to worry about the big names on that defense anymore but they have found tons of role players and are still very good. I can promise you that this will be the first time in the season that David Johnson will not be able to run the ball effectively leading to the Cardinals throwing it often.

The Seahawks pass defense is not as it once was led by the likes of Kam Chancellor, Earl Thomas, and Richard Sherman but it does not let you gang up on it by continuously passing the ball. The Cardinals will have to open up the running game by passing the ball to have any hopes in this game.

Pete Carroll has an amazing record against rookie coaches and quarterbacks so I believe that Kyler Murray will be under pressure all game long. It is actually amazing what Josh Rosen was able to do in his first start against the Seahawks in week 4 at home because I do not believe that any rookie QB has even done that to the Seahawks.

If Kyler Murray turns the ball over early, I believe that the offense will fall apart because they will not be able to execute their run game as well either. Also, Bobby Wagner is playing for an amazing contract and is the best ILB in the NFL period. I believe that the best way to keep Wagner out of the game is by attacking T.J. Collier and using play action less.

The Seahawks are actually an underrated offensive team and I believe that the Cardinals will have a rough game defensively against them. I think that they will use Tyler Lockett to open up the entire offense as there is nobody in the Cardinals secondary with the capability to guard him.

They will use him to open up the run game as well as the Cardinals will find themselves in man coverage which Joseph's defenses have struggled in. The play action game will also open as a result and then Rashad Penny and Tyler Lockett will take over the game. Russell Wilson will teach Kyler Murray a couple things about game management with the way he plays in this game.

Edge: Seahawks

The Defenses:

The Cardinals defense is scheduled to be excellent but there is going to be a great struggle between weeks 4-6 as the Cardinals go against Julio Jones, Lockett, and A.J. Green. I believe that the Seahawks are still a top 5 defense and they will be able to shut down the Cardinals run game through Jaren Reed and Bobby Wagner. They will expose Kyler Murray to some physical hits as they normally do to QBs.

I believe that this will statistically be Kyler Murray's worst game statistically of his rookie season and this will be a momentum breaker. I believe that the way the Seattle team is to use deep passes of play action as safety is a big question. I believe that there is going to be a lot of pressure coming the Cardinals way and look for somebody like Poona Ford to expose this interior offensive line.

The Cardinals defense has historically played well against Russell Wilson but I think that this will be different because we are missing P2. The Seahawks are going to attack that initially to open up the entire offense and then it is going to be easy sailing through the run game and PA passes. I believe that the edges, Budda Baker, and Jordan Hicks hold the keys to the Cardinals defense and even if one of those are functioning between weeks 1-6, the Cardinals will be exposed.

Edge: Seahawks

Special Teams:

The Seahawks have yet another new kicker but they look for some stability with Jason Myers who was a pro bowler for the Jets last year. They also have the Australian Michael Dickson at punter who was one of the top punters in his rookie year. The most important part is that they have Tyler Lockett who is the second most explosive punter in the league to Tyreek Hill. The Cardinals have an inconsistent Zane Gonzales and the great Andy Lee who is coming to the end of the road. Although I am high on Kirk and Isabella, they do not even rival Lockett at returner.

Edge: Seahawks

Score Prediction:

This is going to be a real downer of a game and I think that luck has always been a part of this rivalry. The Cardinals have not beat the Seahawks in the State Farm stadium for a long time and tons of injuries have happened in these games. I bet that the kickers are going to miss tons of kicks and that will be the only funny thing to see.

Cardinals: 17

Seahawks: 31

<em>This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Revenge of the Birds' (ROTB) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of ROTB's editors.</em>