(Photo Courtesy of @RGray525)
By Wyatt Lyles
Another weekend, another chance for the Seahawks to finally get a win this season. I know that it's only been two weeks, but it just seems to have lasted a lot longer than that. Hopefully, that feeling will end tomorrow with a win in their home opener against the Arizona Cardinals.
If there was ever a time for the Seahawks to finally get things going, now would be the time. With all those fans in the CLink cheering on our guys, I would hope that they wouldn't want to let everyone down. Even though they haven't exactly inspired much confidence thus far in the season, I believe that the Seahawks will indeed win tomorrow. For that to happen, though, some things are going to have to change.
First and foremost, the offense needs to find its groove. After being shut out by the Steelers last week, the Seahawks have now been shut out of 6 quarters from a possible 8. That is not good at all. There is no way you can expect to win games with those kinds of numbers. Now is the time for Tarvaris Jackson to stake his claim on the starting QB position on this team. Now is the time for him to show everyone why Pete Carroll named him starter before he even took a snap in practice.
Luckily, he will have his #1 receiver back this week. Sidney Rice will finally make his regular season Seahawks debut tomorrow after sitting out the first two games with a shoulder injury. It is very clear from Jackson's words, and his actions, that he is much more comfortable when Rice is on the field. In practice, he often looks Rice's way frequently. This is understandable since they spent a considerable amount of time together in Minnesota. So hopefully with him back on the field, the offense can finally get going.
It will take more than just Rice coming back, however. Jackson needs to start making better decisions on the field. Too often he stands around in the pocket way too long, and doesn't go through all his progressions like he should. And he can't blame the offensive line on him not having time anymore either. They did a much better job last week on giving him time. He just hardly ever looks down field. Right now, his yards per completion is average is sitting pretty at a whopping 5.4 yards. This has got to change if there is any hope of winning games. Having Rice back should help, but Jackson still needs to work with the other options he's got. Mike Williams is another 6 foot 5 guy out there who can catch most balls thrown his way. Jackson needs to use him. There's also the big tight end Zach Miller. Give this guy a chance to earn his $34 million salary and throw him the ball.
The running game has also got to get things going. They've just been completely underwhelming at this point. Marshawn Lynch was supposed to be a breakout player this year, but that hasn't happened. So far, he's got 44 yards on 19 attempts, which is good for 2.3 yards per attempt. Tarvaris Jackson, the QB, is right behind him with 25 yards on 7 scrambles. That just can't happen. Last week, the Seahawks only had 31 net rushing yards, and Jackson had 12 of them. This run game is just ridiculous. They really need to step to up if they want to help this team win.
Looking lastly at the defense, I'm hoping to see a much better overall showing from them this week. In week one, they looked phenomenal. In week two, not so much. Granted, it was against the Steelers, but still. There were times that they just look out of it. From Aaron Curry's dropped potential pick 6 to Brandon Browner just getting beat left and right by Pittsburgh receiver Mike Wallace, it just didn't look to hot. Now, they did do well in the red zone, and in goal line situations, but that's not enough in my eyes. They've got to stop the other team from even getting to the red zone. Furthermore, they haven't forced a turnover yet in the season. I'm hoping that one will finally come this week to give some help to the offense.
I realize that this post may sound a bit melancholy, but like I said, they haven't exactly inspired confidence. That being said, though, I think this game is the perfect one for the Seahawks to finally get that first win and get their own confidence back. The Cardinals are a team that while, yes, they do look good, I think the Seahawks can beat them. I really do believe that. While it will actually happen, that remains to be seen. But I'm still going to predict a win for tomorrow. Look for the Seahawks to finally get some swagger after tomorrow.
Seahawks 17 - Cardinals 14
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