azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Against the fifth-ranked defense in the league, the Cardinal offense was able to post 23 first downs, 378 yards offense, and convert eight-of-16 third down situations, but an inability to convert early red-zone (inside the 20-yard line) possessions into touchdowns instead of field goals spelled the difference in a 33-19 loss to NFC West-leading Seattle in front of 43,542 fans at Sun Devil Stadium.
While Seattle improved to 6-2, the Cardinals dropped to a frustrating 2-6. “I don’t think there’s a team that’s 2-5 of 2-6 that doesn’t feel the same way,” stated Cardinal head coach Dennis Green. “If you’re going to beat a good team, you’ve got to play good football. You’ve got to do good things at the right time. It (game) just wasn’t very good.”
Twice the Cards drove within shouting distance of the goal line in the first half, but drives to the six and eight-yard lines were stymied and the club had to settle for field goals.
“There is less room for error down there,” said Cardinal quarterback Kurt Warner of not being able to punch the ball into the end zone. “We have to find a way to get the ball in the end zone when we are down there to take the pressure off everybody else.”
Green was more direct in his blame not scoring touchdowns near the goal line. “Not running the ball,” he stated simply. “That would probably be number one. Number two would be dropped balls. Until you put pressure on people and make them have to play man coverage, if they are able to defend a 15-yard area with seven people it makes it more difficult.”
Returning to the starting lineup for the first time since he suffered a groin injury against the Seahawks Sept. 25, Warner connected on 29 of 48 passes for 334 yards, but two of his three interceptions resulted in 10 Seattle points.
“We just made too many mistakes,” offered Warner. “I threw three interceptions and the other team scored off them. We are not going to win too many games making that many mistakes.”
Seattle’s Shaun Alexander continued his performance as arguably the top tailback in the league this season with 173 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns, including a back-breaking 88-yard run in the third quarter. Seahawk quarterback Matt Hasselbeck passed for one touchdown and ran for another in an efficient performance of 13 completions in 20 attempts for 158 yards.
Green had high praise for Alexander afterwards. “I think that right now he’s playing like the best back in the National Football League. He has very good balance. He was probably playing like the best back in the game last year and he’s continued along that pace this year.”
The Cards got on the board midway through the first quarter on their opening possession. On his first play from scrimmage in five weeks, Warner found receiver Bryant Johnson on a quick slant for a 21-yard gain to midfield. Arizona then converted on fourth down to keep the drive going as Marcel Shipp powered for the yardage on a fourth-and-one at Seattle’s 43-yard line. The drive stalled, however, and Neil Rackers connected on his 23rd consecutive field goal, this one from 23 yards for a 3-0 Cardinal lead.
The Seahawks responded a 12-play, 63-yard drive for a 26-yard field goal by Josh Brown to knot the score at 3-3 with one minute left in the opening quarter.
The Cards gave the ball right back to Seattle, however, when Warner’s pass intended for Fitzgerald was intercepted by Marcus Trufant at the Cardinal 48-yard line. The Seahawks drove 41 yards in six plays for a touchdown, a four-yard pass from Hasselbeck to Joe Jurevicius for a 10-3 Seattle lead at the 13:00 mark of the second period.
Arizona cut the deficit to 10-6 with another 12-play drive of over 60 yards (61), but once again had to settle for a 31-yard Rackers field goal.
The Arizona defense forced the first punt of the game, holding Seattle near midfield to take possession at their own 20-yard line with 3:31 to play in the first half but were themselves forced to punt.
The Cards had pinned Seattle at their own 11-yard line, but a penalty forced a re-kick and the Seahawks gained nearly 30 yards in field position with their drive start at the 40-yard line instead of the 11. A 46-yard completion to tight end Jerheme Urban to the 13-yard line set up Seattle’s second touchdown of the game as Hasselbeck scored on a one-yard run around right end to give his club a 17-6 halftime advantage.
On the first play of the second half, Alexander took started right with a hand off, then cut back and outraced the Cardinal secondary 88 yards for a touchdown, the longest run by an opponent in franchise history. That play pushed Seattle’s lead to 24-6 and Alexander’s rushing total of the day to 161 yards as he finished the game with 173 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.
After Rackers kicked his third field goal of the afternoon with a 51-yarder to inch the Cards a bit closer at 24-9, the Card defense held Seattle and forced a punt following a 53-yard kickoff return by former Cardinal Josh Scobey.
Warner threw his second interception of the day, however, and Seattle converted the turnover at the Cardinal 17-yard line into a field goal at 27-9 lead with 6:48 to play in the third quarter.
The Cards responded with their most impressive drive of the game. Taking over on their own 20-yard line, Warner drove the club 80 yards in 14 plays, capped by a six-yard touchdown strike to Bryant Johnson in the back of the end zone to cut the deficit to 27-16 with 35 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Following a Seattle punt, Warner connected with tight end Eric Edwards for 79 yards, but an illegal block in the back put the ball at the Seahawk 26-yard line for a 63-yard net gain. However, Rackers was again forced to salvage the drive with his fourth field goal of the game, this one a 44-yarder to bring Arizona to within 27-19, and it seemed the momentum might begin to turn in the Cardinals’ favor.
Seattle extended its lead to 33-19 with a methodical, clock-eating 12-play, 93-yard drive as Alexander covered the final 14 yards for a touchdown.
“You are down two touchdowns, and if you can stop them, get a three-and-out and take the ball over and score a touchdown, you’re right back in the ball game,” said Green. “I’m disappointed. That’s down to crunch time and they were very good at it and we were very poor at it.”
Notes: Kicker Neil Rackers extended his Cardinal record for consecutive field goals to 26 with three-pointers from 23, 31, 50, and 44 yards … rookie LeRon McCoy, active for just the third time this season, caught the first three passes of his pro career (25 yards) … tight end Eric Edwards’ 63-yard reception in the fourth quarter was the longest by a Cardinal since Anquan Boldin’s 71-yard touchdown catch in the 2003 season-opener at Detroit, a span of 38 games … Larry Fitzgerald posted his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season with a team-leading eight receptions for 102 yards … in his first pro game, receiver/kick returner J.J. Moses averaged 25.3 yards on seven kickoff returns.
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While Seattle improved to 6-2, the Cardinals dropped to a frustrating 2-6. “I don’t think there’s a team that’s 2-5 of 2-6 that doesn’t feel the same way,” stated Cardinal head coach Dennis Green. “If you’re going to beat a good team, you’ve got to play good football. You’ve got to do good things at the right time. It (game) just wasn’t very good.”
Twice the Cards drove within shouting distance of the goal line in the first half, but drives to the six and eight-yard lines were stymied and the club had to settle for field goals.
“There is less room for error down there,” said Cardinal quarterback Kurt Warner of not being able to punch the ball into the end zone. “We have to find a way to get the ball in the end zone when we are down there to take the pressure off everybody else.”
Green was more direct in his blame not scoring touchdowns near the goal line. “Not running the ball,” he stated simply. “That would probably be number one. Number two would be dropped balls. Until you put pressure on people and make them have to play man coverage, if they are able to defend a 15-yard area with seven people it makes it more difficult.”
Returning to the starting lineup for the first time since he suffered a groin injury against the Seahawks Sept. 25, Warner connected on 29 of 48 passes for 334 yards, but two of his three interceptions resulted in 10 Seattle points.
“We just made too many mistakes,” offered Warner. “I threw three interceptions and the other team scored off them. We are not going to win too many games making that many mistakes.”
Seattle’s Shaun Alexander continued his performance as arguably the top tailback in the league this season with 173 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns, including a back-breaking 88-yard run in the third quarter. Seahawk quarterback Matt Hasselbeck passed for one touchdown and ran for another in an efficient performance of 13 completions in 20 attempts for 158 yards.
Green had high praise for Alexander afterwards. “I think that right now he’s playing like the best back in the National Football League. He has very good balance. He was probably playing like the best back in the game last year and he’s continued along that pace this year.”
The Cards got on the board midway through the first quarter on their opening possession. On his first play from scrimmage in five weeks, Warner found receiver Bryant Johnson on a quick slant for a 21-yard gain to midfield. Arizona then converted on fourth down to keep the drive going as Marcel Shipp powered for the yardage on a fourth-and-one at Seattle’s 43-yard line. The drive stalled, however, and Neil Rackers connected on his 23rd consecutive field goal, this one from 23 yards for a 3-0 Cardinal lead.
The Seahawks responded a 12-play, 63-yard drive for a 26-yard field goal by Josh Brown to knot the score at 3-3 with one minute left in the opening quarter.
The Cards gave the ball right back to Seattle, however, when Warner’s pass intended for Fitzgerald was intercepted by Marcus Trufant at the Cardinal 48-yard line. The Seahawks drove 41 yards in six plays for a touchdown, a four-yard pass from Hasselbeck to Joe Jurevicius for a 10-3 Seattle lead at the 13:00 mark of the second period.
Arizona cut the deficit to 10-6 with another 12-play drive of over 60 yards (61), but once again had to settle for a 31-yard Rackers field goal.
The Arizona defense forced the first punt of the game, holding Seattle near midfield to take possession at their own 20-yard line with 3:31 to play in the first half but were themselves forced to punt.
The Cards had pinned Seattle at their own 11-yard line, but a penalty forced a re-kick and the Seahawks gained nearly 30 yards in field position with their drive start at the 40-yard line instead of the 11. A 46-yard completion to tight end Jerheme Urban to the 13-yard line set up Seattle’s second touchdown of the game as Hasselbeck scored on a one-yard run around right end to give his club a 17-6 halftime advantage.
On the first play of the second half, Alexander took started right with a hand off, then cut back and outraced the Cardinal secondary 88 yards for a touchdown, the longest run by an opponent in franchise history. That play pushed Seattle’s lead to 24-6 and Alexander’s rushing total of the day to 161 yards as he finished the game with 173 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.
After Rackers kicked his third field goal of the afternoon with a 51-yarder to inch the Cards a bit closer at 24-9, the Card defense held Seattle and forced a punt following a 53-yard kickoff return by former Cardinal Josh Scobey.
Warner threw his second interception of the day, however, and Seattle converted the turnover at the Cardinal 17-yard line into a field goal at 27-9 lead with 6:48 to play in the third quarter.
The Cards responded with their most impressive drive of the game. Taking over on their own 20-yard line, Warner drove the club 80 yards in 14 plays, capped by a six-yard touchdown strike to Bryant Johnson in the back of the end zone to cut the deficit to 27-16 with 35 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Following a Seattle punt, Warner connected with tight end Eric Edwards for 79 yards, but an illegal block in the back put the ball at the Seahawk 26-yard line for a 63-yard net gain. However, Rackers was again forced to salvage the drive with his fourth field goal of the game, this one a 44-yarder to bring Arizona to within 27-19, and it seemed the momentum might begin to turn in the Cardinals’ favor.
Seattle extended its lead to 33-19 with a methodical, clock-eating 12-play, 93-yard drive as Alexander covered the final 14 yards for a touchdown.
“You are down two touchdowns, and if you can stop them, get a three-and-out and take the ball over and score a touchdown, you’re right back in the ball game,” said Green. “I’m disappointed. That’s down to crunch time and they were very good at it and we were very poor at it.”
Notes: Kicker Neil Rackers extended his Cardinal record for consecutive field goals to 26 with three-pointers from 23, 31, 50, and 44 yards … rookie LeRon McCoy, active for just the third time this season, caught the first three passes of his pro career (25 yards) … tight end Eric Edwards’ 63-yard reception in the fourth quarter was the longest by a Cardinal since Anquan Boldin’s 71-yard touchdown catch in the 2003 season-opener at Detroit, a span of 38 games … Larry Fitzgerald posted his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season with a team-leading eight receptions for 102 yards … in his first pro game, receiver/kick returner J.J. Moses averaged 25.3 yards on seven kickoff returns.
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