After a disappointing blowout loss to the New York Giants at Qwest Field, the Seattle Seahawks head to Glendale to take on the Arizona Cardinals this weekend. The 41-7 margin was the second worst home loss in the history of the Seahawks organization. The Cardinals, Seahawks and St. Louis Rams are all bunched atop the NFC West stands heading into the weekend and this matchup will go a long way toward separating the pack.
Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is expected back after missing last weekend with a concussion. Backup Charlie Whitehurst started in place of the injured Hasselbeck and was largely ineffective against the Giants. The Seattle Times' Danny O'Neil is report Hasselbeck has been cleared and will practice with no limitations.
Hasselbeck participated in Seattle's walk-through on Wednesday morning, will practice without limitation and is expected to return as Seattle's starting quarterback Sunday in Arizona.
Good news for a team that needs something to go right on offense. O'Neil took a look at the offense in his weekly look back, noting the problems go much deeper than the quarterback for the Seahawks.
Everyone who thought Matt Hasselbeck was holding this offense back should have seen on Sunday that Charlie Whitehurst isn't the instant cure. Seattle's offense has been an albatross for a good chunk of this season, and that's not going to change until the offensive line gets solidified. Seattle has started five different offensive-line combinations this season after starting six different combinations all of last season.
In injury news, Brandon Mebane is finally expected back from a calf injury and should practice today. Russell Okung is also progressing and is well on his way back from an ankle injury that's kept him sidelined.
The Cardinals are coming off a heartbreaking loss to Brett Favre and the Vikings. Favre threw for a career-high 464 yards, leading the Vikings to a furious 14 point fourth quarter comeback over the Cardinals.
Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald continues to be among the NFL's elite, but a quarterback situation that's less than ideal -- hello, Derek Anderson and Max Hall -- is hurting the wide receiver's production. Fitzgerald has only surpassed the 100 yard mark once this season -- last week against the Vikings. For the year, he's caught 42 balls for 510 yards and four touchdowns. With Anderson at the helm this week, anything is possible -- and that's not a good thing.
The Seahawks battle the Cardinals this Sunday at 1:15 p.m. on Fox.