azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Missed opportunities
Odeen Domingo
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 10, 2005 12:00 AM
The chance for a Cardinals victory was there Sunday, but the football kept ending up in the wrong hands.
The Cardinals turned the ball over six times, taking away at least 14 points from them and resulting in 10 Carolina points.
The result was a 24-20 Cardinals loss to the Panthers at Sun Devil Stadium in front of 38,809. The Cardinals did just about everything they needed to do to win, racking up 366 yards and a 20-10 lead after three quarters. But turnovers and their inability to sustain longer drives did them in.
"You just keep banging your head on the wall trying to figure out where to go from here after you have experienced the things we have experienced," Cardinals fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo said. "There's no one word that can explain how heart-wrenchingly painful to be up 20-10 and think you're going to score again, and then end up being down 24-20 in a blink of an eye."
The Cardinals' fourth turnover was the game changer. Up 20-10 late in the third quarter, the Cardinals were looking to put away the game. On a second-and-9 play from the Arizona 35, Anquan Boldin made a reception, but after an 10-yard gain was stripped of the ball by Panthers safety Thomas Davis. Carolina's Ken Lucas scooped up the ball and returned it to the Arizona 5 with 27 seconds left in the quarter.
"I tried to make the safety miss, but the ball got away from my body and it got punched out," Boldin said of the fumble. "That was a bad play on my part. It probably was (a swing of momentum to the Panthers' favor). They weren't doing anything on offense at the point. I put that all on my shoulders."
The Cardinals defense held the Panthers to 237 yards and 10 points before that but couldn't hold the Panthers from gaining 5 yards for a touchdown. After Stephen Davis' 1-yard touchdown, the Panthers, all of a sudden, were in the game as they cut the Cardinals' lead to 20-17.
"We didn't take good care of the ball," said Cardinals coach Dennis Green, whose teams is 1-4 heading into their off week. "I think any time you turn the ball over three times - they made two big plays, one on defense and one big play on offense and we didn't do a very good job when we had the lead."
The Cardinals weren't able to get the ball moving on the ensuing possession and punted. Scott Player's punt sailed out at the Panthers' 6 with 11:54 left in the game.
But the Panthers moved down the field using nine plays to get to the Arizona 4.
Because of injuries before and during the game, the Cardinals were down to their sixth and seventh options at cornerback with rookie free agent Lamont Reid on one side and backup safety Quentin Harris on the other. So the Panthers went to the air.
Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme connected with Steve Smith for a 4-yard touchdown and and the Panthers took a 24-20 lead.
The Cardinals had two more chances to retake the lead.
The first drive ended with Marlon McCree's second interception in the end zone.
With 1:14 left and the ball on their own 42-yard line, the Cardinals couldn't get a first down as McCown's 9-yard scramble to convert a fourth down was a half-yard short.
McCown was 29 of 46 for 394 yards and two touchdown passes.
Boldin finished with 10 catches for 158 yards and Larry Fitzgerald caught nine passes for 136 yards.
The first of McCown's intercepted passes resulted in the first points of the game. Carolina defensive end Al Wallace picked off a pass tipped by teammate Julius Peppers and the Panthers converted that into a field goal late in the first quarter.
After throwing two first-half touchdown passes, McCown could have thrown a third to end the first half and extend a 17-10 lead. But Lucas tipped McCown's pass to Fitzgerald in the end zone and the ball fell into McCree's waiting arms.
View from the Press Box
The one-on-one jump ball pass the Cardinals like throwing to Larry Fitzgerald in the end zone backfired on Sunday. Josh McCown tried to throw it late in the second quarter. But both Fitzgerald and Panthers cornerback Ken Lucas were jostling each other for position. Lucas ended up tipping the pass, which was intercepted by Marlon McCree. Lucas and Fitzgerald both were looking at the ball in the air and both had their hands on the other's body, which is why no penalty was called.
- Odeen Domingo
What we learned
Offense
For the second straight game, receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald showed they are are legitimate playmakers. For the second straight game, both receivers caught more than seven passes each, had 100 receiving yards and one touchdown. The last time two Cardinals' receivers went for 100- yards in two straight games was in December 1962. Sonny Randle and Bobby Joe Conrad combined for that against Dallas, and Randle combined with Taz Anderson for 209 yards the following week against Philadelphia. Against the 49ers at Mexico City in Week 4, Boldin had 116 yards and Fitzgerald had totaled 106 yards.
This team can sure throw the ball. For the second straight game, quarterback Josh McCown threw for more than 380 yards. He threw 385 yards in Week 4 and topped that Sunday with a 394-yard performance, a career high. The Cardinals' much-talked and much-hyped passing scheme has finally come to fruition.
But because the Cardinals can't run the ball, it they cannot protect a lead late in games. Holding a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals ran just twice for 13 yards and completed just 1 of 4 one of four passes. The incompletions helped stopped the clock. And because the Cardinals aren't confident in the running game, it they couldn't gain tough yards on the ground and stop run down the clock.
Late in games, opposing teams also will be able to shut down Fitzgerald and Boldin if the Cardinals aren't able to run the ball as the season continues. In the fourth quarter, McCown completed just 4 of 11 passes intended for either Fitzgerald or Boldin. One completion went for a first down. One incompletion resulted in an interception.
The Cardinals' offensive line can pass protect. The Cardinals shut out the vaunted Panthers defensive line. Right tackle Fred Wakefield was able to contain Julius Peppers , who has yet to record a sack this season, for most of the game.
Defense
The Cardinals' five down-linemen scheme can stop the run. But with help from the linebackers. The linebackers shot the gaps faster Sunday than they did all season. The defensive scheme can protect inexperienced cornerbacks but only in zone coverage. The Cardinals got in trouble Sunday when rookie Eric Green, rookie free agent Lamont Reid and backup safety Quentin Harris44 had to cover the Panthers' receivers 1-on-1 one-on-one.
Special teams
Neil Rackers continues to be the most consistent players on the Cardinals. His field goals of 39 and 49 yards Sunday extended his club record for consecutive kicks to 18. He is a perfect 18 for 18 this season.
His first kick against the Panthers tied the game at 10 in the second quarter and his second extended the Cardinals' lead to 20-10.
-Odeen Domingo
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/1010cards1010.html
Odeen Domingo
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 10, 2005 12:00 AM
The chance for a Cardinals victory was there Sunday, but the football kept ending up in the wrong hands.
The Cardinals turned the ball over six times, taking away at least 14 points from them and resulting in 10 Carolina points.
The result was a 24-20 Cardinals loss to the Panthers at Sun Devil Stadium in front of 38,809. The Cardinals did just about everything they needed to do to win, racking up 366 yards and a 20-10 lead after three quarters. But turnovers and their inability to sustain longer drives did them in.
"You just keep banging your head on the wall trying to figure out where to go from here after you have experienced the things we have experienced," Cardinals fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo said. "There's no one word that can explain how heart-wrenchingly painful to be up 20-10 and think you're going to score again, and then end up being down 24-20 in a blink of an eye."
The Cardinals' fourth turnover was the game changer. Up 20-10 late in the third quarter, the Cardinals were looking to put away the game. On a second-and-9 play from the Arizona 35, Anquan Boldin made a reception, but after an 10-yard gain was stripped of the ball by Panthers safety Thomas Davis. Carolina's Ken Lucas scooped up the ball and returned it to the Arizona 5 with 27 seconds left in the quarter.
"I tried to make the safety miss, but the ball got away from my body and it got punched out," Boldin said of the fumble. "That was a bad play on my part. It probably was (a swing of momentum to the Panthers' favor). They weren't doing anything on offense at the point. I put that all on my shoulders."
The Cardinals defense held the Panthers to 237 yards and 10 points before that but couldn't hold the Panthers from gaining 5 yards for a touchdown. After Stephen Davis' 1-yard touchdown, the Panthers, all of a sudden, were in the game as they cut the Cardinals' lead to 20-17.
"We didn't take good care of the ball," said Cardinals coach Dennis Green, whose teams is 1-4 heading into their off week. "I think any time you turn the ball over three times - they made two big plays, one on defense and one big play on offense and we didn't do a very good job when we had the lead."
The Cardinals weren't able to get the ball moving on the ensuing possession and punted. Scott Player's punt sailed out at the Panthers' 6 with 11:54 left in the game.
But the Panthers moved down the field using nine plays to get to the Arizona 4.
Because of injuries before and during the game, the Cardinals were down to their sixth and seventh options at cornerback with rookie free agent Lamont Reid on one side and backup safety Quentin Harris on the other. So the Panthers went to the air.
Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme connected with Steve Smith for a 4-yard touchdown and and the Panthers took a 24-20 lead.
The Cardinals had two more chances to retake the lead.
The first drive ended with Marlon McCree's second interception in the end zone.
With 1:14 left and the ball on their own 42-yard line, the Cardinals couldn't get a first down as McCown's 9-yard scramble to convert a fourth down was a half-yard short.
McCown was 29 of 46 for 394 yards and two touchdown passes.
Boldin finished with 10 catches for 158 yards and Larry Fitzgerald caught nine passes for 136 yards.
The first of McCown's intercepted passes resulted in the first points of the game. Carolina defensive end Al Wallace picked off a pass tipped by teammate Julius Peppers and the Panthers converted that into a field goal late in the first quarter.
After throwing two first-half touchdown passes, McCown could have thrown a third to end the first half and extend a 17-10 lead. But Lucas tipped McCown's pass to Fitzgerald in the end zone and the ball fell into McCree's waiting arms.
View from the Press Box
The one-on-one jump ball pass the Cardinals like throwing to Larry Fitzgerald in the end zone backfired on Sunday. Josh McCown tried to throw it late in the second quarter. But both Fitzgerald and Panthers cornerback Ken Lucas were jostling each other for position. Lucas ended up tipping the pass, which was intercepted by Marlon McCree. Lucas and Fitzgerald both were looking at the ball in the air and both had their hands on the other's body, which is why no penalty was called.
- Odeen Domingo
What we learned
Offense
For the second straight game, receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald showed they are are legitimate playmakers. For the second straight game, both receivers caught more than seven passes each, had 100 receiving yards and one touchdown. The last time two Cardinals' receivers went for 100- yards in two straight games was in December 1962. Sonny Randle and Bobby Joe Conrad combined for that against Dallas, and Randle combined with Taz Anderson for 209 yards the following week against Philadelphia. Against the 49ers at Mexico City in Week 4, Boldin had 116 yards and Fitzgerald had totaled 106 yards.
This team can sure throw the ball. For the second straight game, quarterback Josh McCown threw for more than 380 yards. He threw 385 yards in Week 4 and topped that Sunday with a 394-yard performance, a career high. The Cardinals' much-talked and much-hyped passing scheme has finally come to fruition.
But because the Cardinals can't run the ball, it they cannot protect a lead late in games. Holding a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals ran just twice for 13 yards and completed just 1 of 4 one of four passes. The incompletions helped stopped the clock. And because the Cardinals aren't confident in the running game, it they couldn't gain tough yards on the ground and stop run down the clock.
Late in games, opposing teams also will be able to shut down Fitzgerald and Boldin if the Cardinals aren't able to run the ball as the season continues. In the fourth quarter, McCown completed just 4 of 11 passes intended for either Fitzgerald or Boldin. One completion went for a first down. One incompletion resulted in an interception.
The Cardinals' offensive line can pass protect. The Cardinals shut out the vaunted Panthers defensive line. Right tackle Fred Wakefield was able to contain Julius Peppers , who has yet to record a sack this season, for most of the game.
Defense
The Cardinals' five down-linemen scheme can stop the run. But with help from the linebackers. The linebackers shot the gaps faster Sunday than they did all season. The defensive scheme can protect inexperienced cornerbacks but only in zone coverage. The Cardinals got in trouble Sunday when rookie Eric Green, rookie free agent Lamont Reid and backup safety Quentin Harris44 had to cover the Panthers' receivers 1-on-1 one-on-one.
Special teams
Neil Rackers continues to be the most consistent players on the Cardinals. His field goals of 39 and 49 yards Sunday extended his club record for consecutive kicks to 18. He is a perfect 18 for 18 this season.
His first kick against the Panthers tied the game at 10 in the second quarter and his second extended the Cardinals' lead to 20-10.
-Odeen Domingo
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/1010cards1010.html
