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Championship!!!!
REGULAR SEASON GAME #3
ARIZONA CARDINALS (0-2) at ATLANTA FALCONS (2-0)
Sunday, September 26, 2004
10:00 AM (MST) – Georgia Dome
THIS WEEK’S GAME
The Cardinals hit the road this week as they face the Falcons in Atlanta. Arizona is looking for its first victory after falling 17-10 at St. Louis in week one and dropping its home opener to the Patriots last week at Sun Devil Stadium, 23-12. The Falcons enter the game at 2-0. They defeated the Rams last Sunday at the Georgia Dome (34-17) after opening the season with a twopoint road win over the 49ers (21-19).
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TELEVISION
Network: FOX
Play-by-Play: Curt Menefee
Color Analyst: Tim Green
CARDINALS RADIO NETWORK
Flagship: 1060 KDUS (AM)
KSLX 100.7 (FM)
Play-by-Play: Dave Pasch
Color Analyst: John Mistler
Sideline: Mike Jurecki
CARDINALS SPANISH RADIO
Flagship: KMIA (710 AM)
Play-by-Play: Gabriel Trujillo
Color Analyst: Luis Zendejas
Halftime/Analyst: Felipe Coral
THE SERIES
The Cardinals and Falcons have met 21 times dating back to 1966 with the Cardinals holding a 13-8 advantage over the Falcons. The Falcons have won the last two meetings (1999, 2001). In the last meeting of the Cardinals and Falcons, Atlanta held Arizona to 14 points while converting three Cardinals turnovers into touchdowns for a 34-14 victory on September 30, 2001 at Sun Devil Stadium. The last time the Cardinals beat the Falcons was in 1997 by a score of 29- 26 in Arizona. The Cardinals have outscored the Falcons by a score of 488- 453 through their 21 contests.
ALL-TIME SERIES RESULTS
Date Site Result
Sept. 30, 2001 @ Arizona Falcons, 34-14
Dec. 26, 1999 @ Atlanta Falcons, 37-14
Dec. 21, 1997 @ Atlanta Cardinals, 29-26
Nov. 26, 1995 @ Arizona Cardinals, 40-37 (OT)
Dec. 24, 1994 @ Atlanta Falcons, 10-6
Jan. 2, 1993 @ Atlanta Cardinals, 27-10
Nov. 15, 1992 @ Atlanta Falcons, 20-17
Oct. 20, 1991 @ Arizona Cardinals, 16-10
Dec. 9, 1990 @ Atlanta Cardinals, 24-13
Oct. 22, 1989 @ Arizona Cardinals, 34-20
Nov. 29, 1987 @ Atlanta Cardinals, 34-21
Sep. 14, 1986 @ Atlanta Falcons, 33-13
Nov. 28, 1982 @ Atlanta Cardinals, 23-20
Oct. 18, 1981 @ Atlanta Falcons, 41-20
Nov. 9, 1980 @ St. Louis Falcons, 33-27 (OT)
Dec. 17, 1978 @ St. Louis Cardinals, 42-21
Sep. 21, 1975 @ St. Louis Cardinals, 23-20
Dec. 9, 1973 @ Atlanta Cardinals, 32-10
Oct. 10, 1971 @ Atlanta Cardinals, 26-9
Nov. 24, 1968 @ St. Louis Cardinals, 17-12
Dec. 11, 1966 @ Atlanta Falcons, 16-10
LAST WEEK
Patriots 23, CARDINALS 12
September 19, 2004 – Sun Devil Stadium – (51,557)
The defending Super Bowl champions came to town on an uncharacteristically cool (89 degrees at kickoff) day at Sun Devil and the Patriots spoiled Arizona’s home debut with a 23- 12 win, their 17th consecutive victory. It came on a day when the Cardinals and the NFL honored former safety Pat Tillman, who lost his life while serving with the Army Rangers in Afghanistan. The Cardinals retired his jersey #40 at halftime and all NFL teams wore a helmet decal in his honor.
New England opened the scoring late in the first quarter when Tom Brady capped an 8-play, 68-yard drive with a 2-yard pass to TE Daniel Graham. On the next drive, Pats S Eugene Wilson picked off a Josh McCown pass and returned it to the Arizona 30. Five plays later Brady connected with Graham again, this time on a 19-yard scoring pass on third-and-goal from the 19. On the next NE drive, the Pats fumbled at their own 45 and DE Bertrand Berry scooped it up and ran it back the NE 11. A pair of sacks backed the Cards up to the 33 but kicker Neil Rackers saved the points with a 51-yard FG. Two plays later, the Pats turned it over again when CB David Macklin intercepted Brady and gave the offense the ball at the NE 42. That set up another long Rackers FG, this one a 52-yarder that made it 14-6. Just before the half ended, Rackers attempted a 58-yarder but it was blocked. On the opening drive of the second half, the Patriots marched as deep as the Cardinals 2-yard line but were held to a 29-yard Adam Vinatieri FG that made it 17-6. Arizona’s best drive of the day came on the following possession as they moved 80 yards in 11 plays and punched it in on a 1-yard Emmitt Smith TD run. The big play came on 3rd-and-16 from the NE 47 when Josh Scobey gained 42 yards on a pass from McCown. The Pats answered with Vinatieri FGs of 28 and 24 and the NE defense did not allow Arizona passed its own 38 the rest of the way.
CARDS AND NFL SALUTE TILLMAN
Last Sunday, the Cardinals honored former safety Pat Tillman and other Arizonans who lost their lives serving in “Operation Enduring Freedom” during a special halftime ceremony. League-wide, players on all 32 teams wore a #40 helmet decal (above) in their games. All fans attending the game received a commemorative #40 lapel pin in honor of Tillman. A 7th-round pick by the Cardinals, Tillman went on to become a starter and set the team’s single-season record for tackles (224 in 2000). He gained even greater acclaim when he walked away from a pro football career to enlist in the Army in the spring of 2002. Tillman was killed in the line of duty last April while serving as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan, becoming the first NFL player to be killed in combat since the Vietnam War. Shortly after his death, the team announced that it was retiring Tillman’s jersey #40 and that the perimeter area surrounding the new Cardinals stadium – scheduled to open in 2006 – would be known as the “Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza.”
It was also recently announced that the NFL and NFL Players Association will generate funds by donating their proceeds from sales of Tillman’s jerseys manufactured by Reebok to the Pat Tillman Foundation. The jerseys will be sold at Cardinals home games, azcardinals.com, NFLShop.com, and military bases around the world. A specially designed hologram will be affixed to the jerseys to verify their authenticity.
Also, NFL Wives from all 32 teams are uniting to organize “Race for Pat,” a charity event to honor Tillman. The race is a pledge for all individuals across the country to exercise in mile/time increments to raise money for the Pat Tillman Foundation. The pledge is supported by a certain amount (i.e. $1 per mile or hour) and is paid by the individual’s chosen sponsor. The “Race for Pat” will continue through April 22, 2005, the one-year anniversary and remembrance of Pat’s death. Funds will then be collected and given to the foundation.
TAKING IT AWAY
Through two games, the Cardinals have six total takeaways. A year ago they did not record takeaway #6 until the eighth game of the year (November 2 vs. Cincinnati). Only three teams have more takeaways in ’04 than the Cardinals (Cleveland, Detroit, and NY Giants all with seven) and only the Jets, Lions, and Giants (all +5) have a better ratio than the Cardinals’ +4. The Cardinals finished 2003 with a plus-minus of -13 and recorded 23 total takeways. Among NFC teams, only the Bears (20) and Giants (22) had fewer takeaways and only the Giants had a lower plus-minus (-16). Against St. Louis in week 1, the Cards took it away three times (two fumble recoveries and an INT), had no turnovers themselves, and finished +3. Last week against New England, the Cards took it away three more times (two interceptions and one fumble recovery). Two of the takeaways led to field goals while the third came on the final play of the first half.
CARDS-FALCONS CONNECTIONS
Arizona defensive end Calvin Pace is a native of Douglasville, GA where he attended Lithia Springs High School.
Arizona defensive end Peppi Zellner attended Fort Valley State earning All-America and All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors at defensive end as a senior in 1998. He also was a two-year letterman in football at Georgia Military Institute (1994-95). Zellner is a native of Forsythe, Georgia where he was an all-area, all-district selection as May Persons High School.
Arizona tackle Leonard Davis (2nd) was taken one pick after Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick (1st) in the 2001 NFL Draft.
Arizona running back Troy Hambrick attended Savannah State leading the Intercollegiate Athletics Conference in scoring (116 points) while finishing third in rushing (1,189 yards on 183 carries)
Atlanta linebacker Eric Johnson is a native of Phoenix, AZ where he attended Alhambra High School. He earned all-state honors while starting three years in the secondary and two years at tailback.
Arizona tight end Eric Edwards played with Atlanta defensive tackle Chad Lavalais on Louisiana State’s 2003 National Championship team.
Arizona receiver Karl Williams and Atlanta center Roberto Garza attended Texas A&M Kingsville. Other NFL alums who attended the school include former Washington cornerback Darrell Green, Seattle defensive tackle John Randle and NFLPA President Gene Upshaw.
Arizona center Alex Stepanovich (4th round) and Atlanta wide receiver Michael Jenkins (1st round) both attended Ohio State and both were draft selections in the 2004 NFL Draft. Both offensive players each played on the 2002 National Championship team at Ohio State.
Arizona wide receiver Bryant Johnson and Atlanta safety Bryan Scott were teammates at Penn State together. Both were draft selections (Johnson-1st round, 17th overall, Scott-2nd round, 55th overall) in the 2003 NFL Draft.
Arizona linebackers coach Frank Bush is a native of Athens, Georgia
Atlanta quarterbacks coach Mike Johnson played at Arizona State from 1985-87 and then transferred to Mesa Community College where he became a Junior College All-American.
Atlanta senior defensive assistant/secondary coach Emmitt Thomas coached with Dennis Green in Minnesota from 2000-2001 as the defensive coordinator. He also coach under Jim Hanifan as the wide receiver coach for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1981-1985.
RACKERS ROLLING
Cards kicker Neil Rackers had a tremendous preseason and has continued his roll into the regular season.
Rackers closed the preseason by connecting on 10 consecutive field goals. In the regular season opener at St. Louis he made his only try (22 yards). In the second quarter last week vs. NE, he booted 51 and 52 yarders and had a 58-yarder blocked at the end of the quarter. Heading into last week’s game, Rackers had made three field goals of 50+ yards in his career but nailed two in the same quarter against NE. The NFL record for 50-yarders in one game is three (Morten Andersen, 12/10/95) and Rackers became the first player to have two in a game since Mike Vanderjagt did for Indy on 11/24/02. Rackers, who led the NFL in preseason touchbacks with seven, already has four in the regular season including three last week against the Patriots.
FREDDIE, SET, GO
Tight end Freddie Jones led all Cardinals in receptions in week one with six (for 39 yards). In week 2 vs. the
Patriots, he added another four catches for 43 yards, including a 27-yarder on the Cards TD drive in the third quarter. Now in his third season with the Cards and his eighth in the NFL (he spent 1997-01 with San Diego), Freddie has caught at least one pass in each of the last 14 games. Presently, Freddie ranks second among active tight ends behind only Kansas City’s Tony Gonzalez.
MOST CATCHES, ACTIVE TE’S
474 Tony Gonzalez, Chiefs
369 Freddie Jones, Cards
321 Ken Dilger, Bucs
297 Kyle Brady, Jaguars
236 Marcus Pollard, Colts
ODDS & ENDS
• Dennis Green is looking to up his career record against the Mora family to 3-2. He was 2-2 against
the father of Falcons head coach Jim Mora. The younger Mora becomes the third second-generation head coach Green will have faced. He was 1-1 against David Shula (1-0 against Don) and 2-0 against Wade Phillips (never faced Bum). Those are the only three father-son head coach sets in NFL
history.
• This week’s game will also feature two members of the NFL’s record set of five quarterback-brother tandems. Arizona’s Josh McCown is the older brother of Browns rookie QB Luke while Falcons back-up Ty Detmer is the older brother of Eagles #2 QB Koy. The other three sets: Eli & Peyton Manning; Matt & Tim Hasselbeck; and Brock & Damon Huard.
• Arizona RB Emmitt Smith has faced the Falcons seven times in his career and averages 99.3 yards per game and 4.9 yards per attempt against Atlanta. He also had a huge game in the Georgia Dome on 1/30/94 when he led the Cowboys to a 30-13 win over Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVIII. In that game, he rushed 30 times for 132 yards and 2 TDs en route to Super Bowl MVP honors.
• Cards DE Bertrand Berry recorded his first sack with the team last week when he got to NE’s Tom Brady in the third quarter. Berry posted 20 sacks over the last three seasons for the Broncos, including 11.5 a year ago. Berry also recovered a Brady fumble and returned it to the NE 11 to set-up a 2nd quarter FG.
• Arizona defensive lineman Ross Kolodziej also had a sack of Brady. It was the first sack of his career.
• Cards LB James Darling intercepted Tom Brady in the second quarter of last week’s game. It was his first pick as a Cardinal and the fourth of his career.
• This week will mark the first time the Cards face Falcons QB Michael Vick. Vick is one of four #1 overall draft picks the Cardinals face in 2004. The others: Orlando Pace (Rams), Drew Bledsoe (Bills)
and Eli Manning (Giants).
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=2228
ARIZONA CARDINALS (0-2) at ATLANTA FALCONS (2-0)
Sunday, September 26, 2004
10:00 AM (MST) – Georgia Dome
THIS WEEK’S GAME
The Cardinals hit the road this week as they face the Falcons in Atlanta. Arizona is looking for its first victory after falling 17-10 at St. Louis in week one and dropping its home opener to the Patriots last week at Sun Devil Stadium, 23-12. The Falcons enter the game at 2-0. They defeated the Rams last Sunday at the Georgia Dome (34-17) after opening the season with a twopoint road win over the 49ers (21-19).
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TELEVISION
Network: FOX
Play-by-Play: Curt Menefee
Color Analyst: Tim Green
CARDINALS RADIO NETWORK
Flagship: 1060 KDUS (AM)
KSLX 100.7 (FM)
Play-by-Play: Dave Pasch
Color Analyst: John Mistler
Sideline: Mike Jurecki
CARDINALS SPANISH RADIO
Flagship: KMIA (710 AM)
Play-by-Play: Gabriel Trujillo
Color Analyst: Luis Zendejas
Halftime/Analyst: Felipe Coral
THE SERIES
The Cardinals and Falcons have met 21 times dating back to 1966 with the Cardinals holding a 13-8 advantage over the Falcons. The Falcons have won the last two meetings (1999, 2001). In the last meeting of the Cardinals and Falcons, Atlanta held Arizona to 14 points while converting three Cardinals turnovers into touchdowns for a 34-14 victory on September 30, 2001 at Sun Devil Stadium. The last time the Cardinals beat the Falcons was in 1997 by a score of 29- 26 in Arizona. The Cardinals have outscored the Falcons by a score of 488- 453 through their 21 contests.
ALL-TIME SERIES RESULTS
Date Site Result
Sept. 30, 2001 @ Arizona Falcons, 34-14
Dec. 26, 1999 @ Atlanta Falcons, 37-14
Dec. 21, 1997 @ Atlanta Cardinals, 29-26
Nov. 26, 1995 @ Arizona Cardinals, 40-37 (OT)
Dec. 24, 1994 @ Atlanta Falcons, 10-6
Jan. 2, 1993 @ Atlanta Cardinals, 27-10
Nov. 15, 1992 @ Atlanta Falcons, 20-17
Oct. 20, 1991 @ Arizona Cardinals, 16-10
Dec. 9, 1990 @ Atlanta Cardinals, 24-13
Oct. 22, 1989 @ Arizona Cardinals, 34-20
Nov. 29, 1987 @ Atlanta Cardinals, 34-21
Sep. 14, 1986 @ Atlanta Falcons, 33-13
Nov. 28, 1982 @ Atlanta Cardinals, 23-20
Oct. 18, 1981 @ Atlanta Falcons, 41-20
Nov. 9, 1980 @ St. Louis Falcons, 33-27 (OT)
Dec. 17, 1978 @ St. Louis Cardinals, 42-21
Sep. 21, 1975 @ St. Louis Cardinals, 23-20
Dec. 9, 1973 @ Atlanta Cardinals, 32-10
Oct. 10, 1971 @ Atlanta Cardinals, 26-9
Nov. 24, 1968 @ St. Louis Cardinals, 17-12
Dec. 11, 1966 @ Atlanta Falcons, 16-10
LAST WEEK
Patriots 23, CARDINALS 12
September 19, 2004 – Sun Devil Stadium – (51,557)
The defending Super Bowl champions came to town on an uncharacteristically cool (89 degrees at kickoff) day at Sun Devil and the Patriots spoiled Arizona’s home debut with a 23- 12 win, their 17th consecutive victory. It came on a day when the Cardinals and the NFL honored former safety Pat Tillman, who lost his life while serving with the Army Rangers in Afghanistan. The Cardinals retired his jersey #40 at halftime and all NFL teams wore a helmet decal in his honor.
New England opened the scoring late in the first quarter when Tom Brady capped an 8-play, 68-yard drive with a 2-yard pass to TE Daniel Graham. On the next drive, Pats S Eugene Wilson picked off a Josh McCown pass and returned it to the Arizona 30. Five plays later Brady connected with Graham again, this time on a 19-yard scoring pass on third-and-goal from the 19. On the next NE drive, the Pats fumbled at their own 45 and DE Bertrand Berry scooped it up and ran it back the NE 11. A pair of sacks backed the Cards up to the 33 but kicker Neil Rackers saved the points with a 51-yard FG. Two plays later, the Pats turned it over again when CB David Macklin intercepted Brady and gave the offense the ball at the NE 42. That set up another long Rackers FG, this one a 52-yarder that made it 14-6. Just before the half ended, Rackers attempted a 58-yarder but it was blocked. On the opening drive of the second half, the Patriots marched as deep as the Cardinals 2-yard line but were held to a 29-yard Adam Vinatieri FG that made it 17-6. Arizona’s best drive of the day came on the following possession as they moved 80 yards in 11 plays and punched it in on a 1-yard Emmitt Smith TD run. The big play came on 3rd-and-16 from the NE 47 when Josh Scobey gained 42 yards on a pass from McCown. The Pats answered with Vinatieri FGs of 28 and 24 and the NE defense did not allow Arizona passed its own 38 the rest of the way.
CARDS AND NFL SALUTE TILLMAN
Last Sunday, the Cardinals honored former safety Pat Tillman and other Arizonans who lost their lives serving in “Operation Enduring Freedom” during a special halftime ceremony. League-wide, players on all 32 teams wore a #40 helmet decal (above) in their games. All fans attending the game received a commemorative #40 lapel pin in honor of Tillman. A 7th-round pick by the Cardinals, Tillman went on to become a starter and set the team’s single-season record for tackles (224 in 2000). He gained even greater acclaim when he walked away from a pro football career to enlist in the Army in the spring of 2002. Tillman was killed in the line of duty last April while serving as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan, becoming the first NFL player to be killed in combat since the Vietnam War. Shortly after his death, the team announced that it was retiring Tillman’s jersey #40 and that the perimeter area surrounding the new Cardinals stadium – scheduled to open in 2006 – would be known as the “Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza.”
It was also recently announced that the NFL and NFL Players Association will generate funds by donating their proceeds from sales of Tillman’s jerseys manufactured by Reebok to the Pat Tillman Foundation. The jerseys will be sold at Cardinals home games, azcardinals.com, NFLShop.com, and military bases around the world. A specially designed hologram will be affixed to the jerseys to verify their authenticity.
Also, NFL Wives from all 32 teams are uniting to organize “Race for Pat,” a charity event to honor Tillman. The race is a pledge for all individuals across the country to exercise in mile/time increments to raise money for the Pat Tillman Foundation. The pledge is supported by a certain amount (i.e. $1 per mile or hour) and is paid by the individual’s chosen sponsor. The “Race for Pat” will continue through April 22, 2005, the one-year anniversary and remembrance of Pat’s death. Funds will then be collected and given to the foundation.
TAKING IT AWAY
Through two games, the Cardinals have six total takeaways. A year ago they did not record takeaway #6 until the eighth game of the year (November 2 vs. Cincinnati). Only three teams have more takeaways in ’04 than the Cardinals (Cleveland, Detroit, and NY Giants all with seven) and only the Jets, Lions, and Giants (all +5) have a better ratio than the Cardinals’ +4. The Cardinals finished 2003 with a plus-minus of -13 and recorded 23 total takeways. Among NFC teams, only the Bears (20) and Giants (22) had fewer takeaways and only the Giants had a lower plus-minus (-16). Against St. Louis in week 1, the Cards took it away three times (two fumble recoveries and an INT), had no turnovers themselves, and finished +3. Last week against New England, the Cards took it away three more times (two interceptions and one fumble recovery). Two of the takeaways led to field goals while the third came on the final play of the first half.
CARDS-FALCONS CONNECTIONS
Arizona defensive end Calvin Pace is a native of Douglasville, GA where he attended Lithia Springs High School.
Arizona defensive end Peppi Zellner attended Fort Valley State earning All-America and All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors at defensive end as a senior in 1998. He also was a two-year letterman in football at Georgia Military Institute (1994-95). Zellner is a native of Forsythe, Georgia where he was an all-area, all-district selection as May Persons High School.
Arizona tackle Leonard Davis (2nd) was taken one pick after Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick (1st) in the 2001 NFL Draft.
Arizona running back Troy Hambrick attended Savannah State leading the Intercollegiate Athletics Conference in scoring (116 points) while finishing third in rushing (1,189 yards on 183 carries)
Atlanta linebacker Eric Johnson is a native of Phoenix, AZ where he attended Alhambra High School. He earned all-state honors while starting three years in the secondary and two years at tailback.
Arizona tight end Eric Edwards played with Atlanta defensive tackle Chad Lavalais on Louisiana State’s 2003 National Championship team.
Arizona receiver Karl Williams and Atlanta center Roberto Garza attended Texas A&M Kingsville. Other NFL alums who attended the school include former Washington cornerback Darrell Green, Seattle defensive tackle John Randle and NFLPA President Gene Upshaw.
Arizona center Alex Stepanovich (4th round) and Atlanta wide receiver Michael Jenkins (1st round) both attended Ohio State and both were draft selections in the 2004 NFL Draft. Both offensive players each played on the 2002 National Championship team at Ohio State.
Arizona wide receiver Bryant Johnson and Atlanta safety Bryan Scott were teammates at Penn State together. Both were draft selections (Johnson-1st round, 17th overall, Scott-2nd round, 55th overall) in the 2003 NFL Draft.
Arizona linebackers coach Frank Bush is a native of Athens, Georgia
Atlanta quarterbacks coach Mike Johnson played at Arizona State from 1985-87 and then transferred to Mesa Community College where he became a Junior College All-American.
Atlanta senior defensive assistant/secondary coach Emmitt Thomas coached with Dennis Green in Minnesota from 2000-2001 as the defensive coordinator. He also coach under Jim Hanifan as the wide receiver coach for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1981-1985.
RACKERS ROLLING
Cards kicker Neil Rackers had a tremendous preseason and has continued his roll into the regular season.
Rackers closed the preseason by connecting on 10 consecutive field goals. In the regular season opener at St. Louis he made his only try (22 yards). In the second quarter last week vs. NE, he booted 51 and 52 yarders and had a 58-yarder blocked at the end of the quarter. Heading into last week’s game, Rackers had made three field goals of 50+ yards in his career but nailed two in the same quarter against NE. The NFL record for 50-yarders in one game is three (Morten Andersen, 12/10/95) and Rackers became the first player to have two in a game since Mike Vanderjagt did for Indy on 11/24/02. Rackers, who led the NFL in preseason touchbacks with seven, already has four in the regular season including three last week against the Patriots.
FREDDIE, SET, GO
Tight end Freddie Jones led all Cardinals in receptions in week one with six (for 39 yards). In week 2 vs. the
Patriots, he added another four catches for 43 yards, including a 27-yarder on the Cards TD drive in the third quarter. Now in his third season with the Cards and his eighth in the NFL (he spent 1997-01 with San Diego), Freddie has caught at least one pass in each of the last 14 games. Presently, Freddie ranks second among active tight ends behind only Kansas City’s Tony Gonzalez.
MOST CATCHES, ACTIVE TE’S
474 Tony Gonzalez, Chiefs
369 Freddie Jones, Cards
321 Ken Dilger, Bucs
297 Kyle Brady, Jaguars
236 Marcus Pollard, Colts
ODDS & ENDS
• Dennis Green is looking to up his career record against the Mora family to 3-2. He was 2-2 against
the father of Falcons head coach Jim Mora. The younger Mora becomes the third second-generation head coach Green will have faced. He was 1-1 against David Shula (1-0 against Don) and 2-0 against Wade Phillips (never faced Bum). Those are the only three father-son head coach sets in NFL
history.
• This week’s game will also feature two members of the NFL’s record set of five quarterback-brother tandems. Arizona’s Josh McCown is the older brother of Browns rookie QB Luke while Falcons back-up Ty Detmer is the older brother of Eagles #2 QB Koy. The other three sets: Eli & Peyton Manning; Matt & Tim Hasselbeck; and Brock & Damon Huard.
• Arizona RB Emmitt Smith has faced the Falcons seven times in his career and averages 99.3 yards per game and 4.9 yards per attempt against Atlanta. He also had a huge game in the Georgia Dome on 1/30/94 when he led the Cowboys to a 30-13 win over Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVIII. In that game, he rushed 30 times for 132 yards and 2 TDs en route to Super Bowl MVP honors.
• Cards DE Bertrand Berry recorded his first sack with the team last week when he got to NE’s Tom Brady in the third quarter. Berry posted 20 sacks over the last three seasons for the Broncos, including 11.5 a year ago. Berry also recovered a Brady fumble and returned it to the NE 11 to set-up a 2nd quarter FG.
• Arizona defensive lineman Ross Kolodziej also had a sack of Brady. It was the first sack of his career.
• Cards LB James Darling intercepted Tom Brady in the second quarter of last week’s game. It was his first pick as a Cardinal and the fourth of his career.
• This week will mark the first time the Cards face Falcons QB Michael Vick. Vick is one of four #1 overall draft picks the Cardinals face in 2004. The others: Orlando Pace (Rams), Drew Bledsoe (Bills)
and Eli Manning (Giants).
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=2228
