E: Cardinals squander opportunity against Seahawks

I'm not sure exactly how Ken Whisenhunt addressed his team before taking the field Sunday in Seattle, but my guess is the word "opportunity" certainly came up more than once.

With the Rams blowing a late lead in Tampa and the pathetic 49ers all but out of the NFC West with a last-second loss to Carolina, the Cardinals had a chance to springboard into first place against a team they've owned in recent years.

Well, that "opportunity" turned to frustration the second the Cards stepped out of the locker room at rainy Qwest Field.

The conditions weren't nearly as sloppy as the Red Birds play and that falls on the shoulders of Ken Whisenhunt.

Every unit played their part in gift-wrapping a win for a team I'm still far from convinced is the best in the NFC West.

It's apparent the Cards' road each Sunday will be rougher than in the past, but they certainly aren't doing their best at avoiding the potholes along the way, either.

Max Hall (4-16, 36 yards, INT) absolutely deserves some of the blame, but he didn't get much help from his receivers who couldn't create much separation against Seattle's corners and desperately need to get Steve Breaston back from injury.

Speaking of Breaston...can we officially close the book on Andre Roberts returning punts? Sorry, it's just not working. Initially, I understood the coaching staff's decision to keep Breaston off return duties to stay healthy, but he's already gotten hurt not returning punts, so what's the difference? This team is in desperate need of playmakers and at worst, you know Breaston understands the return do's and don'ts at the level; Roberts clearly doesn't.

Derek Anderson provided a nice spark, but you're lying if you weren't sitting on your couch wondering when he'd gift wrap an interception in the red zone or get one of his receivers injured stretching for one of his errant throws (see Stephen Williams).

Bill Davis' defense again played well despite being backed up against their own goal line following special teams fumbles, but eventually wore down playing 24 more snaps than the offense and being on the field for nearly 15 more minutes. Granted, they didn't do themselves any favors keeping several drives alive with inexcusable off-sides infractions.

I suppose this all goes back to opportunity.

In the NFL if you give a team an inch, they'll take a mile.

Sunday the Cards saved the Seahawks the trouble and just gave them the mile and more importantly an inside track to the playoffs.