KIRKLAND — There’s more than one way to skin a fish — or to win a football game.
For the 2007 Arizona Cardinals, defensive return touchdowns have been one of their most effective methods of getting into the end zone.
For the 2007 Seattle Seahawks, defensive scores have been a bit harder to come by.
This year’s Seahawks could become the first Seattle team since 1980, and the second in franchise history, to go an entire season without scoring a touchdown on defense.
Arizona, which will face the Seahawks at Qwest Field on Sunday, has scored at least one defensive touchdown in three of its past four wins.
“It gives you a lift and really kind of sets the tempo for the game,” Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “It certainly did that for us when (cornerback) Rod Hood intercepted the ball against Cleveland and went in for the score (in last Sunday’s 27-21 win). It immediately energized our football team, gave us tremendous confidence, and it makes a big difference.”
Despite forcing 26 turnovers — the second-highest total in the NFC — the Seahawks have yet to take one back for a touchdown this season.
Middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu returned two of his Sunday interceptions inside the Philadelphia 20, but he couldn’t get into the end zone. Defensive tackle Rocky Bernard and defensive back Jordan Babineaux recovered fumbles at the opponents’ 21-yard line in separate games. Cornerback Marcus Trufant returned an interception to the 23 in a September win over San Francisco.
But nobody could get into the end zone to record what Babineaux calls “Pick-6.”
“We’ve had plenty of fumbles with all the sacks, but you need the ball to bounce right to you,” safety Brian Russell said. “A lot of times we’ve had O-linemen out there in front of us. It just hasn’t happened yet, but with four games left, hopefully we’ll get there.”
Babineaux believes a Seahawks defender will get into the end zone at some point this season.
“I’ve got a feeling it’s coming at the perfect time,” he said.
And when is that?
“Whenever it happens,” Babineaux said with a nod and a wink, “it’ll be the perfect time.”
Dead legs: The Seahawks and Cardinals feature two of the best kickers in the NFL.
Just not this year.
Arizona’s Neil Rackers and Seattle’s Josh Brown have both had their share of struggles this season. Rackers missed a potential game-winner and six other field-goal attempts, while Brown’s five misses have — fortunately for Seattle — come during the Seahawks’ current four-game winning streak.
Special teams coach Bruce DeHaven said that he’s not concerned with Brown’s kicking mechanics. The main problem has stemmed from a lack of rhythm in the kicking game since new long snapper Boone Stutz joined the team last month.
“That operation is really fragile: the snap, hold and kick,” DeHaven said. “We try to get it off in 1.27 seconds. You don’t want it at 1.32 or 1.22. It has to be the same. And anytime you change something — not necessarily that the snap isn’t good — the timing is disrupted just a little bit.”
Rackers, who has hit 76 percent of his field goals during an eight-year NFL career, is 15 of 22 this season. He missed a long attempt in the last meeting with Seattle and failed on a last-second game-winner against Washington.
“It has been a little surprising that a couple of these kicks haven’t gone through for us,” Whisenhunt said. “Some of that is unfortunate. And we changed punters, which gave him a new holder, and he feels a little bit more comfortable with that.
“Hopefully, that will give him the confidence to be a little bit more consistent down the stretch.”
Seattle’s Brown, who works out with Rackers in the offseason, believes both kickers will come around.
“Every kicker goes through slumps,” he said. “Every kicker has a time where things just aren’t clicking, for whatever reason. It could be any one of 100 reasons. It just happens.”
The gloved one: Arizona’s Kurt Warner is a rare quarterback in that he wears gloves while playing.
He started wearing them at practice in the middle of last season and doesn’t mind using the gloves in games.
“I felt comfortable with it and then played the last two games last year with the gloves and felt good with it,” he said. “It was kind of at that point after playing those couple games that I kind of said: you know, I like this. I like the feel. I’ve gotten comfortable with it.”
Injury update: Seahawks center Chris Spencer (oblique) and defensive tackle Rocky Bernard (groin) practiced Friday and are expected to play Sunday. Offensive tackle Walter Jones (shoulder) and safety Mike Green (knee) did not practice Friday but are expected to play Sunday. Cardinals wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald (groin) and Anquan Boldin (dislocated toe) were limited in practice Friday and are listed as questionable for Sunday’s game.
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