Cardinals stand in the way
No one dreams of vanquishing the Arizona Cardinals to secure a playoff berth, but here come the 2004 Seattle Seahawks, dreaming of just such a thing. “It comes down to this,” Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said.
“We’ve played a lot of football games. Everyone is a little tired, everyone is a little cranky, some people are a little hurt.
“But here it is.”
Arizona visits Qwest Field for a 1:15 kickoff this afternoon. Forget the champagne. It’s the Seahawks’ top defensive players who find themselves on ice these days.
“You know, the playoffs are still a possibility,” Holmgren reminded.
“Division championship, still a possibility. Then you get in the playoffs, who knows?
“It’s important to maintain your focus as long as the goals are attainable.”
Beating the Cardinals would in fact assure Seattle of its third playoff appearance in six seasons under Holmgren. And if Philadelphia defeats St. Louis on Monday night, the Seahawks would be NFC West champions for the second time.
But only if they knock off the Cardinals first. And with a 7-7 record, the Seahawks aren’t good enough to assume anything but a humble demeanor.
“Win-loss record going into the playoffs I don’t think it’s as important as momentum and how you’re playing,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said.
“Hopefully, we can pick up some steam here.”
Their defensive fallibility firmly established, the Seahawks have a choice.
They can proceed unrestricted on offense, throwing the football at their leisure, or Holmgren can eat the game clock, nostrils pinched in disgust, by feeding the ball to Shaun Alexander.
Holmgren took the pass-happy approach when the teams played in October. The results – four interceptions and a 25-17 defeat – were disastrous enough for the coach to reconsider.
“We started running the ball better after that game,” Holmgren said. “That was a positive thing. I think down the stretch, Matt has started to play better. Offensively, we started to play better.
“On the other side of the ball, with each week we’ve had more injuries. We’re losing guys. It’s not even the same team on the defensive side of the ball.”
That’s where Alexander and the ground game might prove most valuable. He averaged 5.4 yards a carry against the Cardinals last time, but his 12 carries remain a season low.
“We ran the ball well last time, we just didn’t do it enough and I think that was part of our gameplan,” Alexander said. “The 49ers had a great game in the air against them the week before and so we thought that would give us the best chance to win.”
When the Seahawks held Minnesota to a field goal after halftime on Dec. 12, their offense controlled the ball for nearly 12 minutes in the third quarter and all but nine minutes of the second half. Seattle won the game, 27-23.
Attempts to implement a similar strategy failed last week, in part because the Seahawks suffered two turnovers in New York Jets territory and a third at the Seattle 21.
The 5-9 Cardinals do not compare favorably to the 10-4 Jets, of course, and so Seattle’s margin for error appears a bit wider today. But not by much.
Arizona has already handled the Seahawks once this season, and its defense has proven capable. Hasselbeck’s sore throwing elbow, injured last week, is another potential factor.
The Cardinals lead the NFC and rank fifth among NFL teams in red-zone defense, allowing touchdowns 42.6 percent of the time.
They’ve held five opponents to 14 or fewer points, including the Jets, Atlanta and St. Louis.
With quarterback Josh McCown playing his best since returning to the lineup following an unpopular benching, the Cardinals didn’t just beat the Rams last week. They hammered them, 31-7, and kept alive their faint playoff hopes.
The Seahawks’ dreams apparently have company.