State of the Arizona Cardinals as They Prepare for the Seahawks

First things first:

How does a team that is trying to get its running game going decide to rush the ball a total of 16 times versus the Texans?

This after having initial success on their very first drive that ended in a TD. Tim Hightower bolted for an 11-yarder, and Beanie Wells dashed for a nine-yarder.

Coach Ken Whisenhunt insists the Cardinals didn't take their foot off the throttle in any way. Coach says they were run-pass check plays and that he would have been angry with Kurt Warner if he had not checked out of the run since the Texans were stacking the box, expecting them to run with a 21-0 lead. 

Warner acknowledged that he would take a one on one matchup for Anquan Boldin or Larry Fitzgerald over forcing the run any day and that next time they just need to be more productive.

I'm not buying it. If you pass and fail, as the Cardinals did in the second half, that 21-0 lead means nothing, as the Texans proved. If you only rush the ball twice in the second half, you are helping the opposing team by not milking the clock.

Not only that, but it was also a missed opportunity to get rookie No. 1 pick Beanie some substantial action—I thought that was why Arizona drafted him. To date he has 23 rushing attempts in four games.

That said, during the bye week the Cardinals' focus was on consistency. I can almost guarantee you that their focus this week is play-calling balance and getting Wells more involved. Not at the expense of Hightower, however, who is having another fine year and will continue to be a key player in the Cardinals offense.

Second-year DE Calais Campbell is developing into one of the best players on the team.

When he is not honing his craft as a sack artist, Campbell is doing what we usually refer to as "the little things," which in reality are the big things. He recorded his second blocked field goal of the season against the Texans— pretty impressive stuff.

Still, not nearly as impressive as running down lightning-fast Jacoby Jones on his 62-yard punt return that would have been a TD if Campbell hadn't caught him. How does a 6'8", 290-lb. guy do that exactly? "It's angles, all angles," Campbell said. "I may look fast, but it's angles."

The Cardinals are excited to have TE NFL&id=4282&line=154902&spln=1" target="_blank">Ben Patrick back after serving his four-game suspension. 

He is an athletically gifted player who has yet to put the whole package together. The team felt good enough about his overall progress to give Leonard Pope his walking papers during final cuts this season though, which means he is the sole remaining true pass-catching TE left on the roster.

With the ups and downs the offense has endured thus far, adding another talented receiver is always welcome. If his blocking is adequate, he may even be able to help out in the rushing attack as well.

Arizona has its work cut out against a rejuvenated Seattle team.

The Cardinals and Seahawks have some similarities. Unfortunately, with these two teams you can't predict how either will perform. They have both handled Jacksonville easily and been hammered by the Colts. They have athletic defenses that have the ability to dominate but don't always succeed in doing so.

Both squads are searching for their identities in this young season and are simply inconsistent.

When Matt Hasselbeck is playing, even Seattle's defense comes alive. Without Hasselbeck under center, Seattle went 0-3 and gave up 82 points. With him, they are 2-0 and have given up ZERO points.

Oh, and did I mention their offense works really well too? After watching from the sidelines for two-and-a-half games with an injury, Hasselbeck returned to toss four touchdowns in his return as the Seahawks throttled the Jaguars 41-0.

The 'Hawks dominated the Cards for years, and Arizona made amends last season by taking both games. Seattle can't be too happy about that. Both teams need to win to keep pace with San Francisco, who has beaten them both and sit atop the standings.

As a Cardinals fan, I just hope Arizona can come out and match Seattle's intensity. If they can manage that, they have the horses to beat Seattle in their house, but it won't be easy.

This article also appears on NFLTouchdown.com.

Chris Farmer covers the Arizona Cardinals for NFL.com's BlogBlitz.

He also writes for FantasyFootball.com, as well as his own blog, Undrafteds.com.