Anmelden » Having clinched a playoff spot and all but locked into

the fifth seed in the NFC L.J. Collier Jersey , the Seattle Seahawks will close out the regular season in a relatively stress-free matchup against the troublesome Arizona Cardinals. The Cards, lifeless and led by Steve Wilks, who seems destined to be one-and-done at the helm, have often represented a problem for the Seahawks in Seattle; if that remains the case, it is unlikely to matter much at all.Here are the Week 17 seeding scenarios, before we get into the preview:Offensive and Defensive PrimersSince these two teams last met, Arizona’s undergone a change at offensive coordinator, firing the grossly inept Mike McCoy and promoting Byron Leftwich. Though the Cardinals’ offense haven’t improved much, Leftwich, a Bruce Arians disciple, is doing some things right, mainly, giving David Johnson more opportunities. The biggest issue facing Arizona’s offense is their inability to protect Josh Rosen. Pro Football Focus’ Cardinals Twitter account perfectly highlighted the importance of pass protection for Rosen this week:Their defense, under Wilks, remains unchanged since the first meeting—you can read more on his scheme here.Numbers that Matter34.8: The Seahawks, essentially locked into the fifth seed, are free to manage their personnel as they see fit in Week 17. I wouldn’t be surprised to see backups play a fair amount, especially at running back. With a deep backfield, there’s no need to give Chris Carson 15+ touches a week before a playoff game. Rashaad Penny, expected to return from his knee injury this week, should be the biggest benefactor. Through 16 weeks, Arizona is facing a league-high 34.8 touches a game from opposing backs, and are the 27th ranked run defense in DVOA. In the first meeting between these two teams, Seattle had exactly 34 carries. Both the matchup and the situation should give the Seahawks a chance to give Penny an extended run, getting him back into game shape and more importantly, resting Carson ahead of the playoffs. 25.3: Among the laundry list of problems facing the Cardinals’ offense is their inability to convert third downs and extend drives. They’re 30th in run success rate and 32nd in pass success rate on third downs. Rosen and Arizona are converting third downs just 25.3% of the time http://www.theseahawksfanshop.com/Phil-Haynes-Jersey , the second lowest mark in the league—and have the second most three-and-outs. The Cardinals’ offensive line, which is 25th in the league in adjusted sack rate, is completely overmatched on third downs, where opposing defenses can tee off on Rosen—who has taken the 10th most sacks (16) on third down. Third downs aren’t going to get any more pleasant for Rosen and Arizona in Week 17, facing a Seattle defense that excels at getting off the field. They rank 11th and 6th in success rate against the run and pass respectively, and opponents are converting just 36.14% of third downs against the Seahawks (5th in the league).Despite no longer boasting a deep NASCAR package, Seattle has remained a great pass rushing team on third downs, with the 4th best pressure percentage in the league, at 42.2%.The Cards’ offense is going to put on an ugly showing, they’re going to get themselves into third and longs, and the Seahawks will be able to rush freely. With playoffs on the horizon, it could mean a throwback to the preseason, with rookies Rasheem Green and Jacob Martin playing a considerable amount on the edges. Matchups to WatchSeahawks’ defense vs. David Johnson: There isn’t much in this game in terms of matchups, if only because we don’t know exactly how Seattle will manage the starters’ snaps. However, one thing I’m curious about and will be watching closely, is how they combat the versatile Johnson. The most interesting thing about Pete Carroll’s outstanding coaching job this season has been the way he’s deployed first Delano Hill, and then Akeem King, as matchup dependent defenders in K.J. Wright’s absence. They were leaned on against George Kittle, and then last week, Travis Kelce. Wright has traditionally been used to defend running backs, but will Carroll and the Seahawks test this new wrinkle against one of the game’s best receiving backs?Since Leftwich took over as OC, Johnson’s been split wide more often, and his targets have risen over one more per game. On the season, he’s caught 11 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown lined up at receiver—with another 36 receptions coming out of the backfield. With Tedric Thompson set to return to the field, Hill could return to his role as the third safety, roaming around the box and picking up Johnson in coverage. Opponent to Know I’m going to do something a little different in this space for Week 17 and forgive me Ugo Amadi Jersey , because it’s completely self-indulgent. Arizona’s trip to Seattle to close out their season may be Larry Fitzgerald’s final NFL game; if it is, then my favorite football player of the last decade will be retiring following the season. What can one say about Fitzgerald that hasn’t already been said by everyone surrounding the sport over the last ten-plus years? Whether it was Cris Collinsworth gushing over yet another stunning Fitzgerald performance on Sunday Night Football, or Richard Sherman talking about how difficult it was to trash talk the veteran because he was just so damn nice, or Bobby Wagner giving his respect for letting up on a potentially devastating block, everyone in and around the NFL respects Fitzgerald for the living legend he is. Fitzgerald is one of the greatest receivers of all-time, a receiver with insanely reliable hands, a result of his grandfather making him practice with tennis balls as a child鈥?with just one eye open at a time. He has perhaps the greatest playoff run of all-time, an insane 30-catch, 546-yard, seven touchdown four-game stretch in 2008. He reinvented himself as the best slot receiver in the league, at age 30, posting 10 touchdowns after it looked like the end was near. And he did it all with that big smile on his face. Larry Fitzgerald was a pain in the ass when he played against your favorite team, catching everything in sight and making plays at the most unlikely of times. But, he was also a joy to watch, coming up big on the biggest stages time and time again. One of the greatest playoff performers of all-time may not be retiring with a ring, but if this is it for Fitz, in five year’s time he’ll have a gold jacket to make up for it.The Seahawks rid themselves of any angst they may have had in Week 17 by defeating the Chiefs last week. Instead, they get to close out the season against a Cardinals team that’s playing its worst football of the season at the end of a three win campaign. Seattle will get to manage their team’s health and roll into the playoffs in good shape. RENTON, Wash. (AP) — After four straight weeks of playing tight, one-score games decided in the fourth quarter, Pete Carroll enjoyed spending a Monday reviewing a rare comfortable victory.“It was a little different than the games we’ve been playing in,” Carroll said. “It was nice to see us get out ahead and hang onto it and work with the lead and play in that fashion.”Seattle’s blowout win over San Francisco on Sunday only strengthened what is becoming another late playoff push by the Seahawks, and after a day in which they got results that helped in trying to get back to the playoffs after missing last season. Seattle is currently in command of one of the wild-card spots in the NFC and its hopes were strengthened by Carolina and Minnesota suffering losses. Seattle holds the tiebreaker over Carolina and can have that in place over Minnesota with a win at home next Monday night against the Vikings.The only teams Seattle (7-5) could end up in wild-card contention with that it won’t face head-to-head are Washington and Philadelphia. But if the Seahawks continue winning, it won’t matter. They’ll be in the postseason.“These are must-win games for us. Every week, we approach it like that,” Seattle left tackle Duane Brown said after the win. “We approach every week like a playoff game and that’s the kind of intensity guys came out with from kickoff on.”Seattle’s current roll is reviving memories of 2015 Mychal Kendricks Jersey , when it was 4-5 after nine games. But this time, success is coming a different way. That season, the Seahawks leaned on the passing arm of quarterback Russell Wilson as he threw for 24 touchdowns and just one interception over the final seven games as Seattle went 6-1 down the stretch and made the postseason. Wilson averaged 272 yards passing and 31 pass attempts per game during that stretch.So far, it’s been balance and efficiency that’s defined Seattle’s offensive performance during its current three-game win streak, although his overall numbers aren’t that dissimilar. Wilson has eight touchdown passes and no interceptions during the stretch, averaging about 250 yards passing. But there’s been no fall-off with Seattle’s run game of late, meaning Wilson isn’t being forced to carry the offense.In Sunday’s 43-16 win over San Francisco, Wilson attempted just six passes in the first half. He threw for touchdowns on three of them. Seattle will take that kind of efficiency — even with reduced numbers — all the time.“I think that the development of the pass protection has been really obvious and Russ has taken advantage of that,” Carroll said, noting Wilson’s movement on a 52-yard TD pass to Tyler Lockett on Sunday. “That’s why he’s been able to be more effective getting the second looks and sliding up in the pocket and hitting Tyler on the big play was a perfect example of that. Really good protection, he gets to move to give one more beat to get Tyler a chance to get behind him and deliver the throw. I just think it’s connected with what’s going on up front, but his overall command of what we’re trying to get done communication-wise has really helped the other guys play well.”Seattle did come out of the win over the 49ers with one major injury concern after guard D.J. Fluker suffered a hamstring strain. Carroll said Fluker had a “grade 1” strain and would likely miss a couple of weeks. When Fluker was unable play last month against the Rams, it was Jordan Simmons who stepped in to start.“He seems to be moving in the right direction to be a really, really viable option for us,” Carroll said of Simmons. “He doesn’t get that much practice time, so when he does get the practice time like he did in the Rams week, he did a very good job with it. So, we’re going to count on him playing and see how that goes.”NOTES: Seattle waived LB Emmanuel Ellerbee on Monday, clearing a roster spot for LB Mychal Kendricks after his suspension was lifted. Kendricks has been practicing with the Seahawks for the past two weeks, but next Monday against Minnesota will be the first time he’s eligible to play. He could end up moving into a prominent role with K.J. Wright still out due to knee troubles, although Austin Calitro has played well. Carroll said he believes Kendricks could play a significant amount of snaps, if needed. … Carroll expects RB Chris Carson (finger), FB Tre Madden (chest) and DT Shamar Stephen (foot) to be able to play next Monday. Carson suffered a dislocated finger in the win over San Francisco, while Madden and Stephen were both inactive.