Cardinals vs. Seahawks: 6 Keys to an Arizona Victory

The Arizona Cardinals visit the Seattle Seahawks tomorrow, and could really use a win. The Cards are coming off a one point loss to the Washington Redskins and the Seahawks lost 24-0 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Cardinals need a win to put pressure on the San Francisco 49ers and this is a perfect game to do so, against a terrible Seattle team. Aspects like pass defense and offensive line play are keys to an Arizona win, and areas in which the Cardinals have struggled mightily. Read on for six keys for the Cardinals to beat the Seahawks and start the season off 2-1 in the weak NFC West. 

Better Pass Defense

So far this season, Arizona is allowing 343 passing yards per game, including a 422 yard performance by rookie Cam Newton in the season opener. The crazy part is they're only giving up 21.5 points per game, which likely won't continue to be so low if the defense keeps playing awful. 

Defensive backs are constantly getting beat down field and particularly, rookie Patrick Peterson has been targeted by opposing quarterbacks. Peterson has all the talent to succeed right now but that doesn't stop opposing quarterbacks from going at him, and that won't change until he makes them pay for throwing his way. 

There is no reason why the Cardinals should be giving up so many yards with top tier safety Adrian Wilson and skilled corners like Peterson and Richard Marshall. I expect a big game from the secondary against the weak Seattle offense. 

Pressure Tarvaris Jackson

Tarvaris Jackson is one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the league and pressure only makes him worse. He only has 356 passing yards and looks uncomfortable in the pocket, having been sacked 10 times in two games. There's no way he can sustain a full season at this rate, and certainly not against the aggressive blitzing Arizona Cardinals.

Getting Jackson on the ground will be even easier with guard Robert Gallery out for the game, and Darnell Dockett should have a big game. The Seahawks really don't have much hope of keeping Jackson protected and, no doubt, Arizona defensive co-ordinator Ray Horton will blitz even more this game. 

Get Larry Fitzgerald the Ball

Seattle's number one cornerback Marcus Trufant (5'11") has the speed but not the size to match-up with Larry Fitzgerald and number two cornerback Brandon Browner has the size (6'4") but not the speed. It will be very interesting to see how the Seahawks play Fitzgerald. 

Regardless of who's defending Fitzgerald, Kevin Kolb will target him early and often. Fitzgerald is easily the best player on the team and I fully expect him to have a huge game against a weaker Seattle secondary. With the obvious advantage for Fitzgerald, it would be best to use four wide receiver sets, that way he has more space to make a play. 

Run the Ball More Consistently

Beanie Wells is eighth in the NFL in rushing with 183 yards and has done very well, considering he is 16th in the NFL in carries. Beanie has shown he deserves to get more touches, and the offense does much better when he gets more carries. 

For example, against the Washington Redskins the Cardinals struggled to put up points until the second half when Wells received more carries. He keeps the defense from staying back in protection, which really helps Kevin Kolb. Basically it's much easier to pass against four defensive backs than six or seven.

For the Cards to win, they need Beanie Wells to be productive and have around 100 yards rushing. The Seahawks are surprisingly good at defending the run, so something has to give. Either Seattle will break down and give up more than the 3.1 yards per run they currently allow or Beanie will have less than the 5.7 yards per run average he has now.

Protect Kevin Kolb

This has been, and will continue to be, a reoccurring issue throughout the season. We don't need Kolb to turn in to Jay Cutler or Tarvaris Jackson; both have been sacked double digit times. So far, Kolb has handled the pressure well and usually throws the ball away or scrambles away. 

Kolb has been sacked five times this season, and the line has done their job, for the most part. The Seahawks don't have an overpowering pass rush, (they have two sacks this year) so this should be a good tune-up game for the line. 

Silence the Raucous Crowd

Seattle is notorious for having one of the loudest stadiums in the entire NFL and their fans have even caused a minor earthquake. When fans get that loud, you know it's going to be a huge factor in every game. Communication is that much more important and the Cards might even want to practice the no huddle, in order to get plays off easier. 

This game will show how effective a leader Kevin Kolb is because he needs to be the loudest person in the huddle and make sure everyone knows the plays. The outcome relies on how well he executes in the huddle.