Forget Rosen — most interesting matchup Sunday will be Seahawks’ offense versus Cards’ D
Sep 26, 2018, 10:13 AM | Updated: 10:18 am
The Seahawks signed QB Russell Wilson to a four-year extension Monday. (AP)
(AP)
The Seahawks’ upcoming Week 4 matchup against the Cardinals has been dominated by headlines about first-round rookie quarterback Josh Rosen, who will get his first start with Arizona Sunday. But former quarterback and current 710 ESPN contributor Jake Heaps says it’s the battle between the Seahawks’ offense and Cardinals’ defense that he’s most interested in watching.
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“Seahawks offense versus their defense is going to be the really fun matchup,” Heaps said, while stepping in for Brock Huard during Wednesday morning’s Blue 42 segment of Brock and Salk.
“You go from being 0-2, and now you’re 1-2. There’s a different vibe here now, everybody’s looking forward and actually excited about what can be. But now the Seahawks have a chance to go 2-2, they go into Arizona, the Cardinals have a new quarterback in Josh Rosen. And again, I think the Seahawks’ defense has been fortunate to go up against offenses that don’t have an identity. And that’s been a great thing.
“(But) what I want you listeners to pay attention to is that this head coach (Steve) Wilks came from the Carolina Panthers. He was the defensive coordinator there. What they do is a ton of exotic looks. They line up at the line of scrimmage, they go double mug with their linebackers in front of the center, and they bring pressure from all over the place. Because the Cardinals aren’t as good as what that defense was in Carolina with Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis and all those guys, they’re desperate right now. They’re going to bring a ton of pressure, they’re going to throw a ton of things out there to see what sticks, and it’s going to be up to Russell Wilson and that Seahawks offensive line to answer those calls and be able to make them pay when they go into those situations.
“It’s a great opportunity for (Seattle) to take advantage and get big chunk plays. The video breakdown I’ll post on 710sports.com later this week is going to demonstrate how Russell has handled situations like that.”
The matchup will be Seattle’s first divisional game of the season. The Seahawks avoided a 0-3 start last Sunday with a 24-13 win over the Cowboys. The game also saw the offense improve in several major categories after stumbling the first two weeks. Among the biggest improvements were third down conversions, where the team was 44 percent (compared to 17 percent in Week 1 and 38 percent in Week 2), and the run game, where they amassed 39 carries for 113 yards (compared to just 16 carries for 64 yards in Week 1, and 22 carries for 74 yards in Week 2).
Listen to Heaps’ entire portion of Blue 42 in the clip embedded above.
