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Cardinals in danger of losing the season
By Scott Bordow, Tribune Columnist
September 24, 2006
This is what one mishandled snap does to a football team: Fans boo quarterback Kurt Warner as he trots off the field.
Dennis Green questions the game plan of defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast and says he’s madder than he’s ever been as the Cardinals’ coach, “and I’ve had some bad-ass days since I’ve been here, believe me.”
Edgerrin James stands in front of his locker and says he wants the ball more.
The fuse has been lit. If Arizona doesn’t win in Atlanta on Sunday, the explosion might splinter the locker room — and rupture the season.
“Right now I’m speechless,” Anquan Boldin said.
We all are, Anquan. We all are.
There have been some heart-wrenching losses in the Cardinals’ 19 years in the Valley. There have been games when Arizona looked like a Pop Warner team.
But there never has been anything like this.
St. Louis 16, Arizona 14, and if you’re still shaking your head in disbelief this morning, trust me, you’re not alone.
“It’s ridiculous,” James said. “It’s a joke.”
That it was.
The Cardinals had a first down at the Rams’ 18-yard line with 1:46 left, thanks to St. Louis quarterback Marc Bulger losing a fumble just 17 seconds earlier.
All they had to do was run a play or two, bring in Neil Rackers for the game-winning chip shot and celebrate.
Simple.
Then Warner fumbled the snap. And a team began to come apart at the seams. We’ll let others decode the hows and whys of the final 123 seconds. The more urgent matter is the bitter aftertaste the loss left.
Let’s start with Warner.
His fumble came after three interceptions — including one in the St. Louis end zone and one at the Rams’ 6-yard line — and for the first time, he was on the receiving end of the fans’ anger.
The calls for Matt Leinart began Sunday — premature though they may be — and they’re only going to get louder with every interception Warner throws.
“I’m not worried about that,” Warner said.
He should be worried, however, about his teammates losing confidence in him. Green and James both expressed their displeasure with Warner’s turnovers.
“It’s pretty obvious. You can’t have interceptions and you can’t have fumbles,” Green said.
Warner isn’t one bad throw away from losing his job. But if he has another bad game — or even a poor first half against Atlanta — it wouldn’t be a shock if Leinart got the call.
While Warner took responsibility for his mistakes — sounding, coincidentally, like an older version of Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter — Green pointed fingers at Pendergast, saying he thought Arizona shouldn’t have played as much single coverage on Rams wideouts Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce.
Green must have forgotten he’s the one who decided to start third-year journeyman Matt Ware at corner instead of veteran David Macklin. Ware was repeatedly and emphatically beaten by Holt, most notably on a second-quarter drive in which Holt caught three passes for 64 yards, including a touchdown.
The voice that sounded the loudest alarm, however, belonged to James.
He had 24 carries for 94 yards but said afterward that he believes he should get the ball even more.
“I was brought here to run the ball and help,” James said. “A lot of time I’m really not a part of it (the game plan). That’s the disappointment.
“When you don’t get the opportunities you’re not going to have success. When you’re running the ball you can’t expect to get 8 yards or 9 yards the first couple of plays. It’s a process. We can’t give up on the run.”
The bitterness and anger that seeped through the locker room will subside the next couple of days. The Cardinals will focus on Atlanta and try to forget about St. Louis.
But the scars will remain.
This is what one mishandled snap can do to a football team: Tear it apart.
Contact Scott Bordow by email, or phone (480) 898-6598
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=74952
Source:
Cardinals in danger of losing the season
By Scott Bordow, Tribune Columnist
September 24, 2006
This is what one mishandled snap does to a football team: Fans boo quarterback Kurt Warner as he trots off the field.
Dennis Green questions the game plan of defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast and says he’s madder than he’s ever been as the Cardinals’ coach, “and I’ve had some bad-ass days since I’ve been here, believe me.”
Edgerrin James stands in front of his locker and says he wants the ball more.
The fuse has been lit. If Arizona doesn’t win in Atlanta on Sunday, the explosion might splinter the locker room — and rupture the season.
“Right now I’m speechless,” Anquan Boldin said.
We all are, Anquan. We all are.
There have been some heart-wrenching losses in the Cardinals’ 19 years in the Valley. There have been games when Arizona looked like a Pop Warner team.
But there never has been anything like this.
St. Louis 16, Arizona 14, and if you’re still shaking your head in disbelief this morning, trust me, you’re not alone.
“It’s ridiculous,” James said. “It’s a joke.”
That it was.
The Cardinals had a first down at the Rams’ 18-yard line with 1:46 left, thanks to St. Louis quarterback Marc Bulger losing a fumble just 17 seconds earlier.
All they had to do was run a play or two, bring in Neil Rackers for the game-winning chip shot and celebrate.
Simple.
Then Warner fumbled the snap. And a team began to come apart at the seams. We’ll let others decode the hows and whys of the final 123 seconds. The more urgent matter is the bitter aftertaste the loss left.
Let’s start with Warner.
His fumble came after three interceptions — including one in the St. Louis end zone and one at the Rams’ 6-yard line — and for the first time, he was on the receiving end of the fans’ anger.
The calls for Matt Leinart began Sunday — premature though they may be — and they’re only going to get louder with every interception Warner throws.
“I’m not worried about that,” Warner said.
He should be worried, however, about his teammates losing confidence in him. Green and James both expressed their displeasure with Warner’s turnovers.
“It’s pretty obvious. You can’t have interceptions and you can’t have fumbles,” Green said.
Warner isn’t one bad throw away from losing his job. But if he has another bad game — or even a poor first half against Atlanta — it wouldn’t be a shock if Leinart got the call.
While Warner took responsibility for his mistakes — sounding, coincidentally, like an older version of Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter — Green pointed fingers at Pendergast, saying he thought Arizona shouldn’t have played as much single coverage on Rams wideouts Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce.
Green must have forgotten he’s the one who decided to start third-year journeyman Matt Ware at corner instead of veteran David Macklin. Ware was repeatedly and emphatically beaten by Holt, most notably on a second-quarter drive in which Holt caught three passes for 64 yards, including a touchdown.
The voice that sounded the loudest alarm, however, belonged to James.
He had 24 carries for 94 yards but said afterward that he believes he should get the ball even more.
“I was brought here to run the ball and help,” James said. “A lot of time I’m really not a part of it (the game plan). That’s the disappointment.
“When you don’t get the opportunities you’re not going to have success. When you’re running the ball you can’t expect to get 8 yards or 9 yards the first couple of plays. It’s a process. We can’t give up on the run.”
The bitterness and anger that seeped through the locker room will subside the next couple of days. The Cardinals will focus on Atlanta and try to forget about St. Louis.
But the scars will remain.
This is what one mishandled snap can do to a football team: Tear it apart.
Contact Scott Bordow by email, or phone (480) 898-6598
