Hey BirdGang! Welcome back! After the win over the Niners, I hope you were like me and reading up on the Seahawks this weekend. I learned that the real name for the Seahawk is actually Osprey. Anyway, I will explain in this edition of Talking Touchdowns!

Arizona Cardinals vs. Seattle Seahawks

The now .500 Cardinals take on the 5-3 Seahawks on Thursday Night Football. While I was reading up on Seahawks, I had to read up on our special mascot, the Cardinal! I learned the male cardinal is very territorial and protects his breeding space from any male that comes his way. Perfect. So let’s preview this match-up as the both of these birds battle it out in the Arizona Cardinals’ nest.

Offense

• Still Riding that AP Bandwagon!! I broke a wheel in London, but I am back and so is AP. The 32 year old Adrian Peterson carried the ball in last weeks game, a career high, 37 times for 159 yards. The bye clearly refueled AP at least for Monday, but now he will only get three days rest before playing Thursday Night Football…Can he have another milestone night? I sure hope so.

• And as for our new QB, Drew Stanton, let me be the first to say, I 100% doubted this guy. He proved me wrong on Sunday. I am not saying he is our savior, but what I am saying is I was pleasantly surprised with his decision making minus the one interception. In his first game since 2016, Stanton was 15 for 30, threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns.

• But the real winner of the night, the Cardinals Offensive Line. After weeks of being kicked when they were down, they showed up big in San Francisco to let Drew Stanton & AP make plays. They didn’t allow one sack. Bravo, Humphries, Boone, Shipley, Watford and Veldeer. Maybe my Halloween spell really did work.

• Now, for Pete Carroll and Co. The offense starts and ends with QB Russell Wilson. He is the saving grace to this team on and off the field. Without him, the Seahawks offense falls apart. Wilson has put together another solid campaign through eight games with this 15:4 touchdown to interception ratio along with 2008 passing yards. Russell is also the team’s second leading rusher, only trailing Chris Carson by 14 yards. Back to learning about the SeaHawk aka Osprey, they are the the only raptor with a reversible outer toe allowing them to grasp footballs, I mean fish with two toes in front and two in the back. That explains why Doug Baldwin, Wilson’s key target in the passing game is always catching those balls. The wide receiver has pulled down 42 receptions for 430 yards thus far.

Defense

• A little bit more on Cardinals. Did you know they are considered the vain bird species because you can find them lurking around mirrors because they perceive their reflection as an intruder and will stay for hours trying to expel their very own reflection? That’s just what the BirdGang defense did Sunday against the Niners. The Cardinals Defense racked up five sacks and 16 quarterback hits in the victory. They attacked the QB from all angles, and hopefully can do the same against Russell Wilson. On Sunday, Linebacker Karlos Dansby became a part of history becoming only the 5th player in the history of the NFL with 40 plus career sacks and 20 career interceptions. Congrats to Karlos. BA rewarded him after the game against the 49ers with the game ball.

• SeaHawks Linebacker Bobby Wagner leads the way for Seattle with 44 tackles and an interception but don’t take your eye off defensive end Michael Bennett who’s collected 5.5 sacks.

Prediction Time!

Both male and female Cardinals sing all year long. Lets hope our red birds keep up singing a song of victory the rest of the week. Sorry Seahawks Fangirl, Christina, your men are going down 27-21.

[NFL-Cardinals-footer]

Photo Credits:

• Osprey on Pixnio by Weimer Mike 
• Adrian Peterson on Wikimedia Commons by Minnesota National Guard
• Drew Stanton on Wikimedia Commons by Jeffrey Beall
• DJ Humphries on Wikimedia Commons by Jeffrey Beall
• Alex Boone on Wikimedia Commons by Jeffrey Beall
• AQ Shipley on Wikimedia Commons by Jeffrey Beall
• Earl Watford on Wikimedia Commons by Jeffrey Beall
• Jared Veldheer on Wikimedia Commons by Jeffrey Beall
• Russell Wilson on Wikimedia Commons by Larry Maurer
• Osprey on Wikimedia Commons by Nathan S Krishnappa
• Cardinal on Wikimedia Commons by US Fish and Wildlife Service
• Doug Baldwin on flickr by Keith Allison
• Bobby Wagner on flickr by Keith Allison
• Michael Bennett on Wikimedia Commons by Jeffrey Beall
• Cardinal on Wikimedia Commons by Dominic Sherry
• Arizona Cardinals on Wikimedia Commons by Moe Epsilon

• Osprey on Pixnio by USFWS