azdad1978
Championship!!!!
QB injury, 0-3 record dim mood
Odeen Domingo
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 26, 2005 12:00 AM
SEATTLE - Untouched, Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner fell to the ground.
No other player was within 5 yards of him on the third-and-9 play with four minutes left in the second quarter.
Warner ran to his left on a broken pass play, threw an incompletion and met the grass. He got up slowly, walked to the middle of the field and dropped to one knee.
The Cardinals were down 10-9. But after Warner's right groin injury that sidelined him the rest of the game, they would never get any closer. They fell to 0-3 with a 37-12 loss to the Seahawks at Qwest Field in front of 64,843.
It was the second straight game in which the offense has not scored a touchdown.
"I've never been down 0-3 in my life," receiver Anquan Boldin said. "So this is new territory for me. We've got to get one soon, like next week."
Said receiver Larry Fitzgerald, "You can't go any lower."
The Cardinals were down 10-9 at halftime and the Seahawks hadn't scored a single point in the second half in the first two games, so there was hope.
But after Warner's injury, both the Cardinals offense and defense weren't the same.
The Cardinals defense gave up 100 more yards in the second half than the first. It allowed Seattle to score three touchdowns in its first four possessions, including the first of the half on running back Shaun Alexander's 1-yard touchdown run. That made it the sixth straight time the Cardinals gave up a touchdown to open a half.
"It seemed like everything they (the Seahawks) wanted to do (they did)," defensive tackle Russell Davis said. "In the first half, we weathered the storm. They had the first opening drive that kind of shook us up a little bit. But we came out the second half feeling good. We had a good grasp of what they wanted to accomplish. But it just got out of control."
The Cardinals defense, which had seven sacks coming into the game, had none Sunday.
The offense couldn't do anything with Warner's replacement, Josh McCown, under center. McCown completed 10 of 23 passes for 97 yards with one interception. McCown's fumble on the Cardinals' first possession of the second half helped a once-close game turn into a blowout.
Strong safety Michael Boulware rushed into the backfield on a delayed blitz, sacking McCown and forcing a fumble. The Seahawks recovered the ball at Arizona's 1 and Alexander then scored his third of four touchdowns of the game.
"It's not working," Cardinals coach Dennis Green said. "I'm surprised we haven't been able to do more. . . . The whole thing isn't working.
"We've been playing very poorly in the second half. For just some reason, it's not happening in the third and fourth quarter."
The loss means several things for the Cardinals.
Their road woes continue. The Cardinals have lost 19 of their past 20 road games dating to 2001.
Their goal to make the playoffs is hindered by history. Since 1990, only three of 75 teams that began the season 0-3 made the playoffs.
If the Cardinals lose to the 49ers in Week 4 at Mexico City, they will be 0-3 in the NFC West and a division title will look bleak.
They are one of three teams in the league with an 0-3 record. Right now, that's the one thing that matters as the team heads to Mexico City.
"I don't know if you can treat any game as 'just another game' right now," Warner said. "Every game is the biggest and most important game of our year."
What we learned
Offense
The offensive line still hasn't improved. Quarterback Kurt Warner was sacked once but was hit several times, the worse on a hit near the Seahawks' end zone. The pass fell incomplete. Those hits may have taken a toll as Warner fell down on his own late in the first half and did not return.
There isn't enough commitment to Marcel Shipp, who is the Cardinals' only chance for a decent running game. In the first half, Shipp gained 32 yards on seven carries, a 4.57 yard average.
Right now, Warner is the better quarterback for this team. Before his injury, he was 8 of 13 for 105 yards. His replacement, Josh McCown, could not get the offense running. The Cardinals had just two first downs in the first 17 minutes McCown was under center. McCown was 10 of 23 for 97 yards with an interception.
Defense
Cardinals coach Dennis Green said earlier in the week that the defense may have been scheming too much in the first two games, relying on different formations instead of just relying on toughness you need as a defense. But at least, some of that scheming worked. The Cardinals went for more conventional formations against Seattle, playing the 4-3 or nickel, and gave up 477 yards and four touchdowns.
All four of those touchdowns were rushing. The Cardinals are worse in rush defense this year than they were last year. They didn't give up a rushing touchdown until the seventh game of the season in 2004. This season, they have given up seven. This defense is susceptible to power running backs such as Alexander.
A member of the secondary has led the team in tackles in every game this season, which means opposing running backs are getting past the front seven and opposing quarterbacks are completing their passes.
Special teams
Reggie Swinton can't return kickoffs. Even Green has realized that, saying Swinton will just concentrate on punts. Swinton did a better job of settling down and just trying to gain yards. But Green wasn't impressed with Swinton's production. Bryant Johnson returned the last two kickoffs and also fielded a punt in the fourth quarter.
Kicker Neil Rackers is money. He went 4 of 4 on field goals for the second straight game and is 10 of 10 this season. He kicked a 54-yarder Sunday that could have gone for 60. He is this team's MVP right now.
- Odeen Domingo
View from the press box
Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner is one of those guys who says he never gets worried about anything. But after Sunday's game, he must be worrying. His team is 0-3 and didn't play well at Seattle. He also suffered a right groin injury late in the second half that prevented him from playing the rest of the game. The extent of the injury isn't known, but it will affect his throwing motion. In his postgame news conference, Warner's confidence looked shaken. His eyes looked tired and his speech was slower.
- Odeen Domingo
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/0926cards0926.html
Odeen Domingo
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 26, 2005 12:00 AM
SEATTLE - Untouched, Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner fell to the ground.
No other player was within 5 yards of him on the third-and-9 play with four minutes left in the second quarter.
Warner ran to his left on a broken pass play, threw an incompletion and met the grass. He got up slowly, walked to the middle of the field and dropped to one knee.
The Cardinals were down 10-9. But after Warner's right groin injury that sidelined him the rest of the game, they would never get any closer. They fell to 0-3 with a 37-12 loss to the Seahawks at Qwest Field in front of 64,843.
It was the second straight game in which the offense has not scored a touchdown.
"I've never been down 0-3 in my life," receiver Anquan Boldin said. "So this is new territory for me. We've got to get one soon, like next week."
Said receiver Larry Fitzgerald, "You can't go any lower."
The Cardinals were down 10-9 at halftime and the Seahawks hadn't scored a single point in the second half in the first two games, so there was hope.
But after Warner's injury, both the Cardinals offense and defense weren't the same.
The Cardinals defense gave up 100 more yards in the second half than the first. It allowed Seattle to score three touchdowns in its first four possessions, including the first of the half on running back Shaun Alexander's 1-yard touchdown run. That made it the sixth straight time the Cardinals gave up a touchdown to open a half.
"It seemed like everything they (the Seahawks) wanted to do (they did)," defensive tackle Russell Davis said. "In the first half, we weathered the storm. They had the first opening drive that kind of shook us up a little bit. But we came out the second half feeling good. We had a good grasp of what they wanted to accomplish. But it just got out of control."
The Cardinals defense, which had seven sacks coming into the game, had none Sunday.
The offense couldn't do anything with Warner's replacement, Josh McCown, under center. McCown completed 10 of 23 passes for 97 yards with one interception. McCown's fumble on the Cardinals' first possession of the second half helped a once-close game turn into a blowout.
Strong safety Michael Boulware rushed into the backfield on a delayed blitz, sacking McCown and forcing a fumble. The Seahawks recovered the ball at Arizona's 1 and Alexander then scored his third of four touchdowns of the game.
"It's not working," Cardinals coach Dennis Green said. "I'm surprised we haven't been able to do more. . . . The whole thing isn't working.
"We've been playing very poorly in the second half. For just some reason, it's not happening in the third and fourth quarter."
The loss means several things for the Cardinals.
Their road woes continue. The Cardinals have lost 19 of their past 20 road games dating to 2001.
Their goal to make the playoffs is hindered by history. Since 1990, only three of 75 teams that began the season 0-3 made the playoffs.
If the Cardinals lose to the 49ers in Week 4 at Mexico City, they will be 0-3 in the NFC West and a division title will look bleak.
They are one of three teams in the league with an 0-3 record. Right now, that's the one thing that matters as the team heads to Mexico City.
"I don't know if you can treat any game as 'just another game' right now," Warner said. "Every game is the biggest and most important game of our year."
What we learned
Offense
The offensive line still hasn't improved. Quarterback Kurt Warner was sacked once but was hit several times, the worse on a hit near the Seahawks' end zone. The pass fell incomplete. Those hits may have taken a toll as Warner fell down on his own late in the first half and did not return.
There isn't enough commitment to Marcel Shipp, who is the Cardinals' only chance for a decent running game. In the first half, Shipp gained 32 yards on seven carries, a 4.57 yard average.
Right now, Warner is the better quarterback for this team. Before his injury, he was 8 of 13 for 105 yards. His replacement, Josh McCown, could not get the offense running. The Cardinals had just two first downs in the first 17 minutes McCown was under center. McCown was 10 of 23 for 97 yards with an interception.
Defense
Cardinals coach Dennis Green said earlier in the week that the defense may have been scheming too much in the first two games, relying on different formations instead of just relying on toughness you need as a defense. But at least, some of that scheming worked. The Cardinals went for more conventional formations against Seattle, playing the 4-3 or nickel, and gave up 477 yards and four touchdowns.
All four of those touchdowns were rushing. The Cardinals are worse in rush defense this year than they were last year. They didn't give up a rushing touchdown until the seventh game of the season in 2004. This season, they have given up seven. This defense is susceptible to power running backs such as Alexander.
A member of the secondary has led the team in tackles in every game this season, which means opposing running backs are getting past the front seven and opposing quarterbacks are completing their passes.
Special teams
Reggie Swinton can't return kickoffs. Even Green has realized that, saying Swinton will just concentrate on punts. Swinton did a better job of settling down and just trying to gain yards. But Green wasn't impressed with Swinton's production. Bryant Johnson returned the last two kickoffs and also fielded a punt in the fourth quarter.
Kicker Neil Rackers is money. He went 4 of 4 on field goals for the second straight game and is 10 of 10 this season. He kicked a 54-yarder Sunday that could have gone for 60. He is this team's MVP right now.
- Odeen Domingo
View from the press box
Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner is one of those guys who says he never gets worried about anything. But after Sunday's game, he must be worrying. His team is 0-3 and didn't play well at Seattle. He also suffered a right groin injury late in the second half that prevented him from playing the rest of the game. The extent of the injury isn't known, but it will affect his throwing motion. In his postgame news conference, Warner's confidence looked shaken. His eyes looked tired and his speech was slower.
- Odeen Domingo
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/0926cards0926.html
