10/24/10 Cardinals @ Seahawks
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Arizona's rookie QB eager for first Qwest test
Both the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks are undergoing some serious transition this season, but there is one huge difference that figures to be critical in Sunday's showdown at Qwest Field.
While Seattle has turned over much of its roster, Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will be making the 132nd start of his NFL career and playing in front of a supportive Qwest Field crowd.
On the flip side, Cardinals signal caller Max Hall comes in for his second start as a pro ... and first on the road in one of the most difficult environments in pro sports for a visiting team.
You wonder if Hall has any idea what's coming from Seattle's 12th Man, which has shaken far more experienced quarterbacks than the undrafted free agent out of BYU.
"From what I'm hearing, it's a great environment to play a football game in and it's loud," Hall said in a conference call this week with Seattle reporters. "They have a really good fanbase, so it's going to be a crazy yet fun environment to play in. ... We're looking forward to it."
Hall said he's working on the standard silent count situations this week and that he's no stranger to hostile crowds.
"You know, we played Oklahoma in the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium," he said. "That was probably one of the loudest college games that I've played in. But also we played some pretty loud road games at BYU, some conference games, whether it be Utah or TCU or whatever, they were pretty loud.
"So I've had some experience doing it. I feel fairly comfortable managing it, so hopefully I can do that on Sunday."
Hall is an interesting story, a 25-year-old rookie who started the preseason in a battle for Arizona's No. 3 quarterback job with fifth-round draft pick John Skelton.
With the Cardinals looking to fill the shoes of the retired Kurt Warner, he made the team, moved up to No. 2 when Matt Leinart was released and then replaced erratic starter Derek Anderson after the Cardinals started the season 2-2.
In Hall's first start, he led Arizona to a 30-20 victory over defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans, though that win had more to do with a pair of defensive touchdowns than the rookie's 17-of-27 passing effort for 168 yards with one interception.
His best play might have been a third-and-goal play from the 1 when Hall scrambled toward the end zone, got blasted by a Saints defender and wound up losing both his helmet and the ball. But offensive tackle Levi Brown picked up the ball and scored, giving Hall a tough assist -- and a little more respect for his fearless approach.
So far, Hall's career is off to a storybook start, one he wouldn't have imagined himself after going undrafted.
"If you'd have told me that (he'd be starting by the fifth game) two or three months ago, I'd have told you, 'No way, you're crazy.' But you know, here I am," Hall said. "Things have happened that have led me to this.
"I've also put in a lot of hard work and I've done some good things, so I've done enough for the coaches and players to trust me to go in there and play. So I'm just trying to work hard, keep grinding and get better and put my team in a position to win and that's all I need to do."
Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt says Hall caught his eye by being the most consistent quarterback in training camp and preseason. And, no, he's not professing any concern over the youngster making his road debut at Qwest Field.
"I don't know really how much that affects the quarterback when they have to deal with that," he said of crowd noise. "He knows when the snap's coming, he controls that. I think it's much harder on an offensive tackle or a tight end or a player that's not close to the ball to be able to handle that.
"I think what's difficult for a rookie quarterback is just being able to manage the whole process – being able to call the play in the huddle, get lined up, get guys in the right positions – those are the things I think affect a rookie quarterback whether the noise is there or not.
"It's a hostile environment, which a lot of teams on the road are, and they do a great job in Seattle. So that'll be tough enough as it is, but I don't think it's any tougher because he's a rookie."
http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/archives/225760.asp
Both the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks are undergoing some serious transition this season, but there is one huge difference that figures to be critical in Sunday's showdown at Qwest Field.
While Seattle has turned over much of its roster, Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will be making the 132nd start of his NFL career and playing in front of a supportive Qwest Field crowd.
On the flip side, Cardinals signal caller Max Hall comes in for his second start as a pro ... and first on the road in one of the most difficult environments in pro sports for a visiting team.
You wonder if Hall has any idea what's coming from Seattle's 12th Man, which has shaken far more experienced quarterbacks than the undrafted free agent out of BYU.
"From what I'm hearing, it's a great environment to play a football game in and it's loud," Hall said in a conference call this week with Seattle reporters. "They have a really good fanbase, so it's going to be a crazy yet fun environment to play in. ... We're looking forward to it."
Hall said he's working on the standard silent count situations this week and that he's no stranger to hostile crowds.
"You know, we played Oklahoma in the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium," he said. "That was probably one of the loudest college games that I've played in. But also we played some pretty loud road games at BYU, some conference games, whether it be Utah or TCU or whatever, they were pretty loud.
"So I've had some experience doing it. I feel fairly comfortable managing it, so hopefully I can do that on Sunday."
Hall is an interesting story, a 25-year-old rookie who started the preseason in a battle for Arizona's No. 3 quarterback job with fifth-round draft pick John Skelton.
With the Cardinals looking to fill the shoes of the retired Kurt Warner, he made the team, moved up to No. 2 when Matt Leinart was released and then replaced erratic starter Derek Anderson after the Cardinals started the season 2-2.
In Hall's first start, he led Arizona to a 30-20 victory over defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans, though that win had more to do with a pair of defensive touchdowns than the rookie's 17-of-27 passing effort for 168 yards with one interception.
His best play might have been a third-and-goal play from the 1 when Hall scrambled toward the end zone, got blasted by a Saints defender and wound up losing both his helmet and the ball. But offensive tackle Levi Brown picked up the ball and scored, giving Hall a tough assist -- and a little more respect for his fearless approach.
So far, Hall's career is off to a storybook start, one he wouldn't have imagined himself after going undrafted.
"If you'd have told me that (he'd be starting by the fifth game) two or three months ago, I'd have told you, 'No way, you're crazy.' But you know, here I am," Hall said. "Things have happened that have led me to this.
"I've also put in a lot of hard work and I've done some good things, so I've done enough for the coaches and players to trust me to go in there and play. So I'm just trying to work hard, keep grinding and get better and put my team in a position to win and that's all I need to do."
Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt says Hall caught his eye by being the most consistent quarterback in training camp and preseason. And, no, he's not professing any concern over the youngster making his road debut at Qwest Field.
"I don't know really how much that affects the quarterback when they have to deal with that," he said of crowd noise. "He knows when the snap's coming, he controls that. I think it's much harder on an offensive tackle or a tight end or a player that's not close to the ball to be able to handle that.
"I think what's difficult for a rookie quarterback is just being able to manage the whole process – being able to call the play in the huddle, get lined up, get guys in the right positions – those are the things I think affect a rookie quarterback whether the noise is there or not.
"It's a hostile environment, which a lot of teams on the road are, and they do a great job in Seattle. So that'll be tough enough as it is, but I don't think it's any tougher because he's a rookie."
http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/archives/225760.asp
The only thing going good for Max Hall is Seattle's weak pass defense, but even that won't help him that much, considering Jay Cutler threw for 200+ yards against Seattle's D last week and Seattle still managed to get the W.
I think Seattle's rank #2 run D will shut their run game down, which will make AZ one dimensional, which will set Earl Thomas and/or Marcus Trufant or any of the other ball hawks, up for possibly more INT's. I hope so anyways lol
I think Seattle's rank #2 run D will shut their run game down, which will make AZ one dimensional, which will set Earl Thomas and/or Marcus Trufant or any of the other ball hawks, up for possibly more INT's. I hope so anyways lol
You don't call this average?
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LyncMa00.htm
You're delusional... Just because he's on your squad don't make him out to be something he isn't...
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LyncMa00.htm
You're delusional... Just because he's on your squad don't make him out to be something he isn't...
man stats don't tell the whole story. Lynch gets TOUGH yards. Lynch is the type of back that can get the ball late in the game and get the ball every carry to keep the clock going. that's going to lower your average per carry but it could mean the difference between winning and losing a game. That doesn't show up in stats.
Against chicago, there were sevral plays lynch got hit for what should have been a loss of yards, but muscled his way forward for a gain of 2, 3 or 4 yards. That shit doesn't show up in stats.
This is what has been missing from Seattle since alexander and mac strong have been gone. Power. Getting the tough yards. This means everything to seattle right now.
plus, seattle finally has a 1-2 punch combination in Lynch & Forsett, something you need in today's NFL, which in turn opens up the passing game. It's no coincidence Matt Hassleback looked like shit every game this year until lynch joined the team and suddenly hassleback had his best game of the season.
lol @ lynch being average. Average backs don't fight and get the tough yards man, they go down.
Against chicago, there were sevral plays lynch got hit for what should have been a loss of yards, but muscled his way forward for a gain of 2, 3 or 4 yards. That shit doesn't show up in stats.
This is what has been missing from Seattle since alexander and mac strong have been gone. Power. Getting the tough yards. This means everything to seattle right now.
plus, seattle finally has a 1-2 punch combination in Lynch & Forsett, something you need in today's NFL, which in turn opens up the passing game. It's no coincidence Matt Hassleback looked like shit every game this year until lynch joined the team and suddenly hassleback had his best game of the season.
lol @ lynch being average. Average backs don't fight and get the tough yards man, they go down.
Totally unfair to judge a player by what's on paper. Paper is for wiping your ass, not giving honest assessments as to the quality of a player and/or person. Like 2 0 sixx said, not everybody can get them tough yards. I'm super happy with the Lynch pick up. I really think a nice balance of ball distribution between him and Forsett could lead to happy things for the Seahawks.
My brother made a funny comment the other day. It was something like "Our running games going to be great with Lynch and Forsett. Lynch carrys guns and beats women, but Forsett is super religious. They'll balance each other out nicely." There was a lot more to it, but I lol'd at that part.
My brother made a funny comment the other day. It was something like "Our running games going to be great with Lynch and Forsett. Lynch carrys guns and beats women, but Forsett is super religious. They'll balance each other out nicely." There was a lot more to it, but I lol'd at that part.
you're hella dumb
you wanna talk about stats and talk about his whole career... but the stats you posted show that he had 2 1,000 + yard seasons his first 2 years in the league
yeah he had a little less than half as many yards last year, but he had less than half as many carries
Cardinals fans are hella dumb... we know damn well you Cards fans just started watching football when yall made it to the Superbowl last year
you wanna talk about stats and talk about his whole career... but the stats you posted show that he had 2 1,000 + yard seasons his first 2 years in the league
yeah he had a little less than half as many yards last year, but he had less than half as many carries
Cardinals fans are hella dumb... we know damn well you Cards fans just started watching football when yall made it to the Superbowl last year