In our first weekly podcast, The Fan Voice of the Cardinals, Mark and I discussed whether or not you can have a "must win" game in the second game of the season. I don't think we are at that point yet, but this is just about a "can't lose" game, in that the Cardinals can't afford to lose a second divisional game and to start the season at 0-2, and at the bottom of the NFC West. The NFL certainly didn't do the AZ Cardinals any favors by having us start with two key divisional games and then making the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Raven's games three and four. As we discuss in our podcast, this is not a team or fan base that typically handles 1-3 or 0-4 starts real well, but thats a very real possibility at this point, which is why that SF loss on Monday night was so painful.

So on to this weeks game with the Seattle Seahawks, my pre-season pick to win the NFC West. The Seahawks opened up with a 20-6 win over Tampa Bay last week in a methodical, workmen like victory over an over matched team. Shaun Alexander had a typical effort with 27 carries for 105 yards and a TD and Matt Hasselback threw for 222 yards and a touchdown. The Seattle defense had little trouble with the weak Tampa offense and held them to two field goals as the revamped Seattle secondary appears to have improved under the coaching of new secondary coach Jim Mora Jr. The Seahawks didn't look scary, but did what good veteran teams do, which was play efficiently and beat a clearly inferior opponent.

So what are the keys to the game and what should Cardinals fans be looking at for the sold out home opener at University of Phoenix Stadium?

1. Was the Cardinals defensive lock down of the 49′ers a one game event or a sign of a dramatically rebuilt defense? As of this week the Arizona Cardinals have the second ranked defense in the NFL following a game in which they shut down Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and the rest of the 49′ers offense for 57 minutes. The defensive line held up really well against the run, the blitzing brought pressure and sacks and the corners did a good job in coverage for most of the game. Adrian Wilson and Karlos Dansby looked outstanding and if the unit stays healthy they might be able to keep games close, not give up the big plays and allow the new power offense to control the ball. If the Seahawks come out and dominate the Cardinals defense this week it will be a sign that there is a long way to go, but if the Cardinals can follow up last weeks effort with another one just like it, chances are good for a victory.

2. Shaun Alexander has made a career out of abusing the Cardinals. Is this the week the Cardinals put an end to his streak? As any Cardinals fan can attest, Shaun Alexander has totally and completely owned the Arizona Cardinals over the last 5 or 6 years. Some of his biggest games as a pro have come against the Cardinals over the years and for some reason he just seems to completely have the number of this team. However, he's coming off a year where he was injured, he's right around the big 30 in age and the Seahawks still haven't replaced the loss of Steve Hutchinson at LG in their running game. If Clancy Pendergast and the Cardinals defense can draw up a scheme to slow down or stop Shaun Alexander from the big plays and ball control running, they will have a chance. If it's business as usual and Alexander has 125 yards or more, the chances of victory are pretty slim.

3. Special teams and field position. Can the Cardinals for once work on a short field offensively and long field defensively. Once again last week, the return and coverage teams did an adequate job, which for the Cardinals means they didn't have turn overs and 20 yard shank punts. Returner Steve Breaston barely had room to breathe on his kick and punt returns and I kept waiting for the big hit that would knock the ball free, he was so exposed and over run by coverage guys on almost every kick or punt. On their home field it would be nice to see Neil Rackers pin the Seahawks deep with his kick offs, the coverage teams to pin them deep on punts and for a change get our return teams starting outside the 30 yard line once in a while. Until the Cardinals start having special teams that are able to change field position their defense is going to be under constant pressure and the offense is going to be limited in their play calling. Hopefully the special teams for the Cardinals takes a step forward this week.

4. Matt Leinart and the offense are getting a reduced game plan. Why should that be necessary and will we see the passing game come to life. One of the more distressing stories to come out of the Cardinals locker room this week following the 49′ers loss was the statement from Ken Whisenhunt that he may have put too much into the game plan and ended up confusing his QB. I think it's admirable that the head coach is taking some of the heat and blame off his second year quarterback, but we just came out of the entire off season of OTA's, training camp, pre season and then 11 days of preparation for the 49′ers and the offensive game plan was too much for Leinart? Thats a rather stunning statement and one that doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in Matt's ability to study, prepare and then implement what the coaches ask him to do. I'm all for basics and fundamentals and i'm sure they went back to the drawing board this week to create a more workable plan, but what does it say about our QB that an ambitious game plan was too much for him? Matt needs to step up in a big way this week or you are going to see some serious panic among the Cardinals fans, and the local radio chatter that Matt is more interested in his social life then game preparation, is going to get louder and louder. I don't believe thats the case, but there is that perception out there, and he's going to have to deal with it until he starts taking over games and looking like a mature NFL QB.

5. Will the O-Line take a step backwards after the injury to starting center Al Johnson. By every account Al Johnson, the free agent $7 million addition at center has been everything the Cardinals hoped he would be and more. The line looked sharp, under control and was able to provide time for the QB and lanes for the running back. However, when Al Johnson went down with a severe knee sprain in the game the coach went with rookie free agent center Lyle Sendlein out of the University of Texas. I think from watching the game that Lyle held up really well and looks to be a very good run blocking center at this point, and while the staff clearly likes him, it's going to be a big challenge to man the center position on what is already a young line that is just starting to come together. If Lyle can hold his own ,and the communication and line calls are ok, the offense should be able to put up points on the Seattle defense. We just can't have a total break down or step back from last week, so the rookie from Texas is going to be in the spot light and under the gun from Seattle i'm sure.

6. Can Boldin and Fitzgerald get back into the game plan and put pressure on the Seattle cornerbacks and secondary. This again goes back to the game plan and Leinart, but the two top playmakers on the Cardinals offense are Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. They have got to get the ball in their hands and make them a featured aspect of the offense or we are going to see a repeat of last week with 8 guys in the box stuffing the run at the end of the game and the Seahawks secondary daring the Cardinals to throw. That should never, ever happen with two receivers of this quality and ability, so while we all want to see the run game, you've got to use your weapons and i'd look for the Cardinals to go to their wide out's early and often this week.

Again, a reminder that we will be interviewing Larry Fitzgerald next week on our podcast, Voice of the Cardinals, so if you have questions you'd like us to include in our conversation with Larry, post them here so we can try to get to them.

Original post by Eli Wahlstrom

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