meeting with the Seahawks is quite different from the one that hosted in Arizona in Week 4. Kyler Murray has grown from dodging contact at all costs to becoming the threat he previously was running the football; David Johnson is no longer a vital cog to the offense; and Patrick Peterson Doug Baldwin Color Rush Jersey , who has struggled, was suspended for the last meeting. These Cardinals also just snapped a six-game losing streak. A pair of changes to Arizonar17;s lineup since Week 4 will be featured in this weekr17;s matchups:Seahawksr17; run defense vs Kenyan DrakeEarly on in 2019, it appeared as though new Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury had salvaged Johnson after a lost season; the well-rounded tailback averaged 17.6 touches per game through the first six weeks of the season. However, since an ankle and back injury began to plague Johnson he has been a non-factor, something that coincided with the arrival of Drake via trade. In the six games Drake has played with Arizona, the former Dolphin has avergaed 18.2 touches per game, and despite the small sample size as a lead back, he ranks 10th in rushing DYAR and 5th in DVOA. Draker17;s best performance came last week, when he rushed for 137 yards and four touchdowns. Now, Seattle will need to look to Poona Fordr12;who makes multiple splash plays per week against the runr12;as well as the steady Jarran Reed and Al Woods, and Jadeveon Clowney, Quinton Jefferson and Rasheem Greenr17;s stout play on the edge to contain the Cardsr17; dynamic tailback. Though Drake has been a revelation for Arizona, his directional splits offer an interesting insight. On rushes to the left, Drake averages 2.8 yards per carry on 20 runs; to the offenser17;s right or up the A-gaps, he averages 5.4 yards per carry on 67 attempts. Per Sports Info Solutions, Drake is also averaging 7.7 yards per carry running off tackle. So, while the Seahawksr17; defense continues to struggle against the run (22nd in rushing defense DVOA but 13th in weighted defense), they are well built to defend against Draker17;s strengths. Clowney, Jefferson and Green can set the edge stronglyr12;and disengage to make a playr12;while Ford, Woods and Reed are excellent moving laterally. With Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright and Mychal Kendricks all banged up, the defensive line must win at the line of scrimmage and at the point of attack to allow the linebackers to flow cleanly to the ball, rather than being forced to chase Drake all over the field. This will be of even greater importance without Quandre Diggs, who did marvelously filling against the rushing attack of Christian McCaffrey last week, to clean up behind them. Tyler Lockett vs a broad view, Lockett is a challenging task for Murphy, one of the gamer17;s best slot receivers against a rookie cornerback. In comparing traits, it is a really tough ask for him. Murphy has struggled in a pair of ways which compound with one another: Sticking with receivers releasing off the line, and closing at the catch point. Your browser does not support HTML5 video.It is a tough combination in any matchup, but particularly brutal against a wideout in Lockett who could find space in a phone booth. In previous years, particularly at CenturyLink Field, the Cardinals have proven to be a bogey team for the Seahawks. However, with Seattler17;s offense threatening through so many options, and a terrific matchup for their best skill position player, they should be able to score with ease on Sunday. A strong game from their defensive front will set up a massive Week 17 showdown against the 49ers. With a half dozen games to go in the 2019 regular season, the offensive line of the Seattle Seahawks has underperformed relative to expectations for the year. Those expectations were set very high back in the summer, when starting left tackle Duane Brown stated the group of linemen the Hawks had assembled had the potential to be the best offensive line in football. It may be true that the group had that potential, but to this point in the season that has not been the case C. J. Prosise Color Rush Jersey , as the unit ranks at or near the bottom of the league in several offensive line metrics from multiple different providers. Offensive line rankings for Seattle Seahawks from the various available metricsProviderMetricRankingProviderMetricRankingIn short, itr17;s not been pretty, and that is in spite of the fact that the team returned four starters from the 2018 unit that fans felt performed well. Duane Brown, Justin Britt, D.J. Fluker and Germain Ifedi combined to start 55 of 80 available games over the course of the 2018 season, and hopes were high for high level play for the group. Add in that Ethan Pocic and George Fant returned in depth roles as well, and there was certainly reason for optimism.However, between a biceps injury to Brown, a season ending knee injury for Britt, a hamstring injury suffered by Fluker and a lower leg injury that kept Mike Iupati from starting in Week 1, the anticipated continuity simply hasnr17;t been there. Only Ifedi has started all ten games on the offensive line for the Hawks, and thatr17;s something many fans would prefer not to be the case. Thus, it becomes apparent that the group could see significant changes, if not a complete overhaul, heading into 2020, and to that end wer17;ll take a look at the group by position. TackleThe tackle position currently has the most question marks for the group through the offseason and into next year. While left tackle Duane Brown is under contract through 2021, his play so far this season appears to show some slippage as he continues to age. At 34 her17;s the fourth oldest offensive tackle to have started at least five games this season (Only Andrew Whitworth, Jason Peters and Donald Penn are older), and his PFF grades are the lowest they have been since his rookie season. In short, Brownr17;s not performing at the level her17;s used to. Part of it could easily be explained by the biceps injury, but at times itr17;s also appeared that he may have lost a step, and is getting beat to the outside and upfield more often than he has in seasons past. Whether age has finally caught up to Brown, or whether itr17;s been a combination of factors, this is certainly something to watch down the stretch. Beyond the questions about Brownr17;s performance, the two tackles directly behind Brown on the depth chart, Fant and Ifedi, are both unsigned past this year. Both young (Fant will turn 28 next July, Ifedi 26 next June) and with enough athletic potential and experience that they could each potentially sign a lucrative deal in free agency in March, neither is likely to be inexpensive. Fans have criticized the play of both at times, but both appear likely to sign contracts larger than many Seattle fans would want to give to either, whether with the Seahawks or with another team remains to be seen. Behind those two is Jamarco Jones, who has yet to take a regular season snap at tackle in his NFL career, but who flashed some potential at guard earlier this season. However, Jones has not played a single offensive snap since he was destroyed by the Atlanta Falcons defensive line in the lone drive of action he saw in Week 8. Therefore, at the present moment, the tackle position for the Seahawks for 2020 is a $12.5M question mark in Brown, with a whole lot of uncertainty beyond that. The team has preached quite a bit about continuity in seasons past, but at this point Tre Madden Color Rush Jersey , it appears unlikely there will be significant continuity at tackle heading into next year. GuardWhile Brown is the only player who has taken snaps at tackle who is under contract for next season, the guard position is a little better off. The two-year contract Fluker signed this past spring runs through 2020, while Pocicr17;s rookie contract also runs through the end of next year. Add in that Jonesr17; rookie contract could keep him with the team through 2021, and the team will at least have the option of some level of continuity should it so desire. Beyond those three, the health this season of starting left guard Iupati, who has started nine of ten games while playing offensive snaps in all ten, has been a pleasant surprise. Iupati hasnr17;t played all 16 games in a season since 2012, but with just six games left this year, her17;s threatening to do just that. However, his contract expires after this season, so therer17;s no guarantee her17;ll be back in 2020. That said, there did not seem to be a robust market for his services during this past offseason, and so it remains to be seen if he might be available again for next year on an inexpensive contract. Past Iupati, the team has spoken very highly of fourth round draft pick Phil Haynes, who brings the size, athleticism and explosiveness to potentially be a force on the interior of the line in the coming years. On film Haynes is surprisingly slow-footed for someone with his combine testing results, but he the pop in his heavy hands and his ability to move people when he locks on shows up repeatedly on the tape. Ir17;ll take a deeper look at some of his college tape in the coming days, but for now it seems safe to assume her17;ll at least be in the mix in future years. CenterCenter appeared to be a position that was settled and in the hands of Britt, but his torn ACL appears to make it all but certain he will be a cap casualty in 2020. Earlier in the season Pocic had backed up Britt, but her17;s currently on injured reserve with a back injury that has kept him off the field since Week 2. In short, while many fans fell in love with Pocicr17;s potential to take over at the center position following a respectable showing as a rookie in 2017, Pocic has played just 369 offensive snaps in the two seasons since. With Pocic eligible to come off injured reserve ahead of the Week 15 game against the Carolina Panthers, he will only be available for the final three games of the season. That means it is highly likely that Pocic ends this season having played more offensive snaps as a rookie in 2017 than in 2018 and 2019 combined. That is not all that surprising given that Pocic is far better suited to a zone blocking scheme than the man blocking scheme the Hawks currently use, and could act as a signal that the team might look elsewhere at center going forward. Past Pocic is the current starter, Joey Hunt. Hunt, though undersized, has fantastic technique that has, at times, allowed him to play bigger than he is. Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers he showed no fear of Vita Vea in spite of being outweighed by nearly 50 pounds. Hunt won some of the battles and Vea won some of them as well. Huntr17;s physical limitations were on display against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football as well. As for what the play those tweets refer to looked like, here is the play, along with clips of the 49ers micr17;d up sequence in which Niners defensive linemen scream about Hunt being unable to block them because her17;s too small. All that coming together means the center position is nothing but a series of question marks heading into 2020:Will Justin Britt and his $11.667M cap hit be released in the offseason ($8.75M in savings)How does Ethan Pocic fit into the picture with his lack of scheme fit and limited playing time since Mike Solari arrived? Are Joey Huntr17;s physical limitations too great to be anything but a backup in the NFL? There are still six more games for the team to look for answers to these questions. However, at the end of the day, the simple fact of the matter is that the team appears to have more questions than answers when it comes to the offensive line in 2020. Therer17;s obviously more than plenty of time to look for the answers, but as of right now, there doesnr17;t appear to be much clarity on who the team will turn to in order to protect the highest paid player in the NFL next year.
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RE: The Cardinals team that will roll into Seattle for a Week 16
