Official Game Day Thread - SEA @ ARI, January 9, 2022
Jan 3, 2022 12:18:09 GMT -7
In the Cards, aris, and 3 more like this
Post by End Zone on Jan 3, 2022 12:18:09 GMT -7
SEA @ ARI Game Day Thread, January 9, 2022
Hello and welcome to the Forum’s 17th and final Arizona Cardinals Game Day Thread (GDT) of the 2021 NFL Regular Season. I hope everyone enjoyed these narrative-type GDTs starting in September 2021. I enjoyed the GDT research and the writing for the long 17-game season. I learned a lot and shared a lot along the way. I also want to tell everyone that this is my last GDT. I am focusing on other writing immediately after the SEA @ ARI game.
Last Game Recap. The Arizona Cardinals win versus the Dallas Cowboys on January 2, 2022 was huge by any measuring standard. The win changed the narrative across the NFL landscape and in the many locker rooms. The Cardinal’s win was not shocking to fans and does not portend the Cardinals future outcomes—after all, the future has not happened yet and games must be played. However, the Cardinals win does underscore a performance change that started immediately after the Cardinals embarrassing road loss versus the Detroit Lions on December 19th. Then, the Cardinals worked harder in the home game versus the Indianapolis Colts on December 25th, but still came up short due to an over-abundance of mental errors. The Cardinals team showed toughness, skill, intelligence, and energy at the Dallas Cowboys this past week. When the Cardinals play their overmatch type football, there is no better team in the NFL.
History, Seattle Seahawks versus the Arizona Cardinals. On November 21st, the Cardinals visited the NFC West Division rival Seahawks. With QB Colt McCoy filling in for injured QB Kyler Murray, the Cardinals won that game, 23-13. TE Zach Ertz was a key target, scoring 2 TDs on short passes. RB James Conner added 1 TD running. McCoy passing statistics: 44/35/328 yards/2 TDs/0 INTs. QB Russell Wilson’s passing statistics: 26/14/207 yards/0 TD/0 INTs. The Cardinals rushed for 95 yards. The Seahawks rushed for 86 yards. Perhaps the game highlight is that backup QB McCoy proved his value to the team, winning his second game of a 3-game span.
The Cardinals and the Seahawks have played 45 games between them, with the franchises each winning 22 games and 1 game ending in a tie. Total points scored: Seahawks: 1,111; Cardinals: 892. The first game played was all that way back on September 12, 1976. The Cardinals slipped by the Seahawks at Seattle, 30-24. Across the 45 games, there were 5 OT games. The Cardinals won 4 OT games, and tied 1 OT game, the famous 6-6 OT game on October 23, 2016. Both teams experienced epic execution failures in that wholly frustrating game at Arizona lasting nearly 4 hours. It is worth mentioning here as well that there is no apparent homefield advantage when these two teams meet. There have been 2 shutout games, both lost by the Cardinals. The first shutout was 38-0 played at Arizona on September 14, 2003. The second shutout was 58-0 played at Seattle on December 9, 2012. At that beat-down, infamous Arizona QBs were John Skelton (22/11/74 yards/4 INTs/2 Fumbles) and Ryan Lindley (17/8/59 yards/1 INT/1 Fumble). Oddly, CB Patrick Peterson also had 2 fumbles.
Next Game, What’s Up? The Seattle Seahawks played their final home game against the Detroit Lions on January 2nd. As is custom for the 2021 season, the Lions proved again to be worthy of NFL doormat status, falling down to the Seahawks, 51-29. The Lions are so happy that the NFL season is almost over. The NFL’s 2022 Draft is all the Lions have to look forward to. I can certainly say the same for the disappointed Seahawks, winner of just their 6th game of the season—and likely their last win in January. The Seahawks are not used having no playoff games. The 2021 season end is a bitter one for the 4th place NFC West Division team. Dang.
QB Russell Wilson played excellent football last versus the woe begotten Lions defense, 29/20/236 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs. Wilson also ran for 3 x 1st downs. He plays well with other teammates as we know, keying on WR Metcalf for 6 catches for 63 yards. WR Lockett was a Wilson afterthought, catching just 3 balls for 24 yards. Overall, the Seahawks offense converted 7 of 11 3rd downs for 1st downs. On defense, the big break for the Cardinals is that MLB Bobby Wagner sprained a knee and likely will not be activated for next Sunday. He has some bad history with Cardinals fans. He also may have played his last game with the Seahawks.
The Seahawks effort versus the Lions seemed more a ‘dead cat bounce’ than a tasty 50-burger victory. Beating a 2-win NFC team is a nice way to end a home season schedule, and that’s about it. The Seahawks are not prime time anymore. Wilson is a shadow of his former self. The former Legion of Doom defining smackdown is an echo of an echo only these days. The team has some good parts to sell off, trade, or keep. The team also has too many average-to-bad parts to make it back to .500.
With all that happening, there is a lot more earth-shaking that can be done by that NFL scourge from the northwestern part of Washington State. The Seahawks team can score many points if the right opponent takes the afternoon off (ala Cards vs. Panthers, Cards vs. Lions). Do not take this Seahawks team for granted. When Wilson is efficient, the rushing attack is working, and the defense is stingy, the Seahawks are as dangerous as ever they were in the past.
Rumors continue that major fissures are widening between team management, coaches, and players. The fans also are wading into the open debate, booing in the direction of the Seahawks owner’s glassed-in boxes as the season’s last minutes wound down. A Seattle Seahawks franchise sorting out is expected to start sometime soon after the team jet lands back at Seattle next Sunday night. A near-total team overhaul could happen before September 2022.
Injury Reports. See FLCF’s post. Moderators will post player injury data provided by the Cardinals medical or coaching staff no more than 24 hours prior to the game. It is NFL policy that, “If any player has a significant or noteworthy injury, it must be listed on the practice report, even if he fully participates in practice and the team expects that he will play in the team’s next game. This is especially important for key players whose injuries may be covered extensively by the media.” Moreover, the policy also reads, “The information must be credible, accurate, timely, and specific within the guidelines of the policy, which is of paramount importance to maintaining the integrity of the game.” Teams found in violation of the policy face the risk of being fined or forfeiting Draft picks.
Roster Information. The Cardinals team roster information (updated weekly) can be reviewed at www.ourlads.com/nfldepthcharts/depthchart/ARZ . Roster Rules 2021 (COVID-19): (1) Expansion of practice squads to 16 players, including up to 6 who have more than 2 accrued seasons; (2) The ability to protect up to 4 practice squad players per week from being signed by other teams; (3) Elevation of up to 2 practice squad players to the active roster, without removing any current players, before 4 p.m. ET the day before a game; (4) Elevation of 1 additional practice squad player within 90 minutes before kickoff in the event of a late COVID-19 positive test result; (5) Players placed on injured reserve can return after 3 weeks, rather than 6 weeks as in normal seasons; (6) Removal of the limit for how many players can be activated from injured reserve.
Odds. Everybody loves statistics. Try these on for size. HC Pete Carroll is 13-9-1 versus the Cardinals merry-go-round HCs chart going back 12 years. The Seahawks and the Cardinals have split the season series in years 2019 and 2020; and they split the season series 7 of 12 times since 2009. Per the professionals, the Cardinals are 6.5 point favorites over the Seahawks. The O/U is a conservative 48 points. I know, fans are saying, “48? No way! How can that be? The Seachickens just thumped the Lions for a Fifty Burger!” Hey folks, I am just a dumb reporter here. If you do not like the O/U, take it up with the Wise Guys.
Referee Crew Information - see www.footballzebras.com/2021/06/officiating-crews-for-the-2021-season/ . Referee assigned to today's game is #15 Shawn Smith (see newest Officials post on January 5th, below). Other officiating information: For 2020, NFL games averaged 156.4 plays; there were 40,032 total plays; 99.1% of the plays were officiated on the field without Instant Replay Booth involvement; only 364 of the plays were reviewed; the most commonly reviewed plays were pass completion (82), incomplete pass (47), and runner broke the goal line plane (44).
Weather. For the January 9th game, and final game of the regular season, Glendale's weather is about as good as it gets. All golf Tee times are solid gold -- there will be no snow, no rain, no Mulligans. Expect 70s F during daytime and 50s F in the evening. This time of the year, cloudy days are increasing to about 1/3 of the month. This is peak "High Season" for tourists and snowbirds living in sunny Arizona and avoiding winter conditions in the High North states. Rain occurs on average just 1-2 days in December. It is possible that the Cardinals to open the retractable roof for this game, if outdoor conditions are fair. My last Glendale AZ forecast for Sunday is 70F high, 48F low, and maybe 35% humidity. No rain or bird droppings that day. A few clouds might mess with the sun tanning, if that’s your thing.
State Farm Stadium Information. See www.statefarmstadium.com/ for all necessary information to enjoy a great day. Additionally, see the Arizona Cardinals website at www.azcardinals.com/.
Next week’s game: PLAYOFFS BABY!
Odds and Ends. The Cardinals cannot catch the Packers and NFC Bye. So, the Cardinals will run after the NFC West title. The Rams are at home and will entertain the 49ers. If the Cardinals win and the 49ers win – the games will be played at the same hour – the NFC West title goes to the Cardinals due to conference games tie breaking criteria. The Seahawks and 49ers will mostly play spoiler roles at Sunday’s games. There is a slim chance for the 49ers to break through and make the playoffs – if the Eagles fold versus the Cowboys early that afternoon. That’s about all there is left for these guys to fight over.
Cardinals Football Trivia Q&A. Which Cardinals player graded out the highest following the Cardinals win over the Cowboys? You might be surprised. I was. Per PFF, “WR Wesley, with his 2 x TD catches, was the highest-graded player on offense at 71.6, with QB Murray next at 69.9. The rest of the top-graded players on the unit were WR Green (67.6), LT Beachum (67.0), RB Dortch (66.1), LG Pugh (65.4), WR Kirk (64.9) and C Hudson (63.1)." The Cardinals bench came through big time last week, on Offense, Defense, and Special Teams. The coaches acted swiftly and were smart from game start to finish. The Cardinals team need all hands to execute with near-perfection in the playoffs in order to succeed, win, and advance to the Super Bowl where the team will earn its first Lombardy Trophy.
Seahawks Football Trivia Q&A. Against what NFL team did the Seahawks earn their first ever win? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 13-10, on October 17, 1976. The Seahawks opened the season with 5 straight losses before finally beating Tampa Bay. What year did the Seahawks finally record their first winning season? 1978, their 3rd year in the NFL, with a record of 9-7. The Seahawks are one of a handful of teams that played in both the AFC and NFC. True or Fals? True. The Seahawks were aligned to the NFC West and the AFC West before finally landing back in the NFC West in 2002. How many playoff games have the Seahawks played in? 35. What is the Seahawks playoffs W/L record? 17-18. What Seahawk QB is the team's all-time passing leader? QB Russell Wilson, with 2,820 completions in 4,335 attempts for 33,946 yards and 267 TDs. Did the Seahawks play any games outside the United States? Yes. 2. And the team won both times. In its entire franchise history, the Seattle Seahawks have only had 2 regular season games outside of the U.S. — both of them as the designated away team. In 2012, Seattle romped the Buffalo Bills in a 50-17 drubbing in Toronto, and they dominated the Raiders by a score of 27-3 at London’s Wembley Stadium.
PutMeIn Bottom Line. Cardinals 35, Seahawks 13. The Cardinals will keep an eye on the NFL scoreboard for Rams and 49ers results. The Cardinals will not risk player re-injury and damage team chances in the playoffs. The Seahawks are playing for pride, jobs, and bragging rights, e.g., the team that wins on Sunday afternoon breaks the 22-22-1 tie and then owns the head-to-head rights until the first game of 2022. Go Cardinals. Beat the Seahawks. Winning at home is supposed to be doable and a lot more fun than recent history has proven.