Totally_Red
Air Raid Warning!
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/football/241986_hawk23.html
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Friday, September 23, 2005
Hawks face tale of tape up top
Coach calling on Trufant to step up defensive efforts
By DANNY O'NEIL
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
KIRKLAND -- The differences will stand out as soon as the players reach the scrimmage line.
On one side, Arizona's two starting wide receivers: Larry Fitzgerald is 6 feet 3, Anquan Boldin is 6-1 and they weigh 220 pounds apiece.
On the other, Seattle's cornerbacks: Marcus Trufant is 5-11, Andre Dyson is 5-10 and neither weighs 200. They're not going to grow between now and Sunday, so how they are going to measure up at Qwest Field?
"We've just got to be able to climb up and play big at the end of the play," Trufant said.
Big. It describes more than just the Cardinals' pair of receivers. It's also the size of coach Mike Holmgren's expectations for Trufant, a first-round pick in 2003.
"I set the bar very high for him," Holmgren said. "Anytime he falls short of that, fair or not fair, I will talk to him about it."
That's what brought Trufant into the coach's office in the week after the Seahawks' season-opening loss in Jacksonville.
"He just said basically that he expects a lot out of me and he wants me to play like it," said Trufant, the 11th overall pick in the 2003 draft out of Washington State.
A two-year starter, he had what Holmgren characterized as a great rookie year. Last season, he intercepted five passes, but he also played with a damaged right shoulder that required surgery in the offseason.
Last year I thought was a tough year for him because of the injury," Holmgren said on Sept. 7. "I think he's ready to bust out again this year."
Five days after Holmgren said that, the Seahawks played in Jacksonville and Trufant's performance prompted a call to the coach's office.
"I expected more from him and I told him that," Holmgren said.
Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith caught a pass over Trufant in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Trufant's positioning was perfect, and he was directly in front of Smith, but Smith still made the catch.
The Cardinals would jump at that kind of opportunity on Sunday or least they would love to let Fitzgerald leap.
"You can put it up high and he can normally outbattle a defensive back for it," coach Denny Green said. "You can put it up high for him."
That's a change for Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner. As the triggerman for the Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf," he was throwing to receivers who got open because of their speed and quickness. Now, he's throwing to a pair of guys whose advantage is size and strength.
"They're long and they're strong to the ball," Warner said on Wednesday. "You can put it in traffic, and they're going to come up with it."
Fitzgerald has caught 17 passes in two games, most in the NFL. Of his eight touchdown catches as a rookie last season, three were against the Seahawks. Boldin missed the first game against Seattle because of a knee injury, but in the second meeting he caught seven passes for 107 yards and a touchdown.
But it's not like the Seahawks will always be playing over their heads on Sunday.
"They can't throw a jump ball every play," Dyson said. "They can't just go out there and throw it as high as they can because it's all about timing."
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Friday, September 23, 2005
Hawks face tale of tape up top
Coach calling on Trufant to step up defensive efforts
By DANNY O'NEIL
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
KIRKLAND -- The differences will stand out as soon as the players reach the scrimmage line.
On one side, Arizona's two starting wide receivers: Larry Fitzgerald is 6 feet 3, Anquan Boldin is 6-1 and they weigh 220 pounds apiece.
On the other, Seattle's cornerbacks: Marcus Trufant is 5-11, Andre Dyson is 5-10 and neither weighs 200. They're not going to grow between now and Sunday, so how they are going to measure up at Qwest Field?
"We've just got to be able to climb up and play big at the end of the play," Trufant said.
Big. It describes more than just the Cardinals' pair of receivers. It's also the size of coach Mike Holmgren's expectations for Trufant, a first-round pick in 2003.
"I set the bar very high for him," Holmgren said. "Anytime he falls short of that, fair or not fair, I will talk to him about it."
That's what brought Trufant into the coach's office in the week after the Seahawks' season-opening loss in Jacksonville.
"He just said basically that he expects a lot out of me and he wants me to play like it," said Trufant, the 11th overall pick in the 2003 draft out of Washington State.
A two-year starter, he had what Holmgren characterized as a great rookie year. Last season, he intercepted five passes, but he also played with a damaged right shoulder that required surgery in the offseason.
Last year I thought was a tough year for him because of the injury," Holmgren said on Sept. 7. "I think he's ready to bust out again this year."
Five days after Holmgren said that, the Seahawks played in Jacksonville and Trufant's performance prompted a call to the coach's office.
"I expected more from him and I told him that," Holmgren said.
Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith caught a pass over Trufant in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Trufant's positioning was perfect, and he was directly in front of Smith, but Smith still made the catch.
The Cardinals would jump at that kind of opportunity on Sunday or least they would love to let Fitzgerald leap.
"You can put it up high and he can normally outbattle a defensive back for it," coach Denny Green said. "You can put it up high for him."
That's a change for Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner. As the triggerman for the Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf," he was throwing to receivers who got open because of their speed and quickness. Now, he's throwing to a pair of guys whose advantage is size and strength.
"They're long and they're strong to the ball," Warner said on Wednesday. "You can put it in traffic, and they're going to come up with it."
Fitzgerald has caught 17 passes in two games, most in the NFL. Of his eight touchdown catches as a rookie last season, three were against the Seahawks. Boldin missed the first game against Seattle because of a knee injury, but in the second meeting he caught seven passes for 107 yards and a touchdown.
But it's not like the Seahawks will always be playing over their heads on Sunday.
"They can't throw a jump ball every play," Dyson said. "They can't just go out there and throw it as high as they can because it's all about timing."
