Early Bird Special: Seahawks vs Cardinals
Sunday, November 15th – University of Phoenix Stadium – Glendale, AZ
NFL Point Spread: Cardinals -9, O/U: 47
The Seattle Seahawks might have won their third game of 2009, but they looked very bad doing so. Coach Jim Mora’s bunch fell behind the lowly Detroit Lions, 17-0, before anyone’s seat was warm last weekend at Qwest Field.
CLICK HERE FOR THE BEST NFL CAPPERS PICKS FOR ALL THE WEEK 10 ACTION! —–>
Seattle needed every last ounce of help – provided mainly by Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford – to notch a shaky 32-20 win. Stafford threw five interceptions to almost singlehandedly give the Seahawks a reprieve, with the final misfire turning into a pick-six with 22 seconds left in regulation.
The Seahawks’ opponent, the Arizona Cardinals, should be licking their chops this weekend, in the second installment of the teams’ season series. Arizona owned the first matchup in Seattle back on Oct. 18, storming to a quick 14-0 lead and then coasting to a 27-3 victory. Seattle must do something radical in order to pull off a major upset in the desert.
NFL Handicapping: What The Seahawks Have To Do To Win
Find answers up front on both sides of the ball. When Arizona clocked the Hawks by 24 points roughly a month ago in the Pacific Northwest, the Cardinals soared by virtue of dominating line play. Arizona sacked Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck five times in that game, and unsurprisingly, the Seahawks never dented the end zone as a result. On the other side of the ball, Arizona’s dominance was no less pronounced. The defending NFC champions began the game with a 15-play, 11-minute touchdown drive, the ultimate sign of football superiority. The Seattle Seahawks proved how rattled they were on the ensuing Arizona kickoff by failing to cover up the ball. The Cardinals pounced on the pigskin at the Seattle 2 and scored a touchdown on the very next play. [soliloquy id=”82219″]Without the Seahawks ever taking a single offensive snap, Ken Whisenhunt’s club had accumulated a 14-0 bulge. That’s what line play does to opponents. If Seattle wants to have any remote chance of staging a revolt against the leader in the NFC West, the Hawks must win man-to-man battles in the trenches. Otherwise, an already-injured Hasselbeck will get knocked out of the game, and Seattle’s season will be effectively over… again.
NFL Handicapping: What The Cardinals Have To Do To Win
Imagine they’re still in Chicago. Looking at the Cardinals’ 2009 season, one theme jumps immediately off the page: inconsistency. Arizona played a horrible season opener against San Francisco, spanked Jacksonville in week two, and then crumbled against Indianapolis in week three. The Cards then ripped off a three-game winning streak, but in only one of those games (the aforementioned win over Seattle) did the NFC champs play a complete game from start to finish; other wins against Houston and the New York Giants were sloppy and noticeably rough-edged. Two games ago, quarterback Kurt Warner was seen throwing five interceptions against an undistinguished Carolina defense. Last week, however, Warner turned around and tossed five touchdown passes without a single pick in Chicago against the bad-news Bears. It goes without saying that elite teams play at a relatively high level on most Sundays, but Arizona’s 5-3 record is the fruit of some wild mood swings on the part of opponents. The Cardinals need to prove they can play well each time they take the field; until they do, they still won’t be given the respect an NFC champion would normally receive.
NFL Handicapping: Outlook & Pick
The Cardinals might be schizophrenic, but the Seahawks are frail, turnover-prone, and lacking in high-grade offensive firepower. Arizona could struggle and stutter for portions of this contest, but Seattle doesn’t have the weaponry that can seriously challenge the best team in the NFC West. Arizona wins this game by a considerable margin after pulling away early in the second half.
NFL Point Spread Pick: Cardinals -9 & Under 47
2 replies on “Week 10 Spreads: Seattle vs. Arizona”
The Cardinals cruised to a NFC West title last year but something tells me this will be a three team race to the end. Arizona has been terribly inconsistent and I can easily see them dropping this game to the Seahawks.
Not any more….it’s a 2 horse race now