As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense. The Arizona Cardinals have neither a good offense or a good defense, which was apparent in their 36-18 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
The loss was the Cards' fourth in a row and leaves Seattle alone in the top spot in the dismal NFC West.
For the second week in a row, though, the Cards' offense wasn't embarrassing -- it just wasn't good. The defense, on the other hand, was embarrassing, and Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck used it to his advantage.
Hasselbeck threw for 333 yards and a touchdown as the Seahawks soared
over the Cardinals. Most of those yards came in the first half -- before
Hasselbeck left the game with a cracked bone in his wrist. The cracked
bone wasn't in his throwing hand, and he returned in the third
quarter to continue to dismantle the Cards' defense.
The Cardinals' defense couldn't stop Seattle in the air, and didn't do
much better on the ground. The Seahawks running game added 110 yards to
the team's 490 total yards -- with running backs Justin Forsett and
Marshawn Lynch leading the way with 93 yards collectively.
If there's a silver lining to the Cardinals' defensive meltdown it's the
fact that even though Seattle scored 36 points, they had trouble
completing drives because the Cards were somewhat tough in the red zone.
As for the Cards' quarterback situation, which has been the narrative for
the team for much of the season, Derek Anderson was average, which is
better than horrible -- which is what he's been all season.
Anderson's throws are still a bit innaccurate, which hurts receivers
because in many cases they have to break stride to catch the ball. But
they were accurate enough to earn the Cards 322 yards in the air and one
touchdown.
The Cards ground game was less impressive -- only gaining 41 total yards on the ground, 39 of which came from Tim Hightower.
Turnovers are still a problem, with Anderson -- who gave up an interception
and fumbled once -- leading the way. However, Anderson didn't exactly have time on his side
-- the Cards' offensive line gave up five sacks, which is reminiscent of
the meltdown in protection that happened towards the end of last week's
loss to the Vikings. In that loss, the line allowed four sacks in the last six plays of the game.
The Cardinals head to Kansas City to play the Chiefs on Sunday. For more info on the Cards click here.
