azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll once said, “A life of frustration is inevitable for any coach whose main enjoyment is winning.”
And for Arizona Cardinal Head Coach Dennis Green and his team, an 0-3 start only provides further incentive to combat those frustrations head-on.
“You just do what you need to do to win,” Green offered Monday morning. “What do we have to do to beat San Francisco? Whatever we can do, it’s worth it. Then you worry about Carolina next week (Oct. 9).”
The Cardinals have endured a season of frustrations in just the first three weeks of the 2005 season.
In the opener at the Meadowlands against the N.Y. Giants, the Cards led 13-7 at halftime but were outscored 35-6 in the second half of a 42-19 defeat. Despite statistical advantages in first downs (20-14), time of possession (35:45-23:15) and total offense yardage (287-154), the Giants capitalized on two short drives for rushing touchdowns in the third quarter, and added both a punt return and kickoff return for scores after intermission.
Two weeks ago in the home opener vs. St. Louis, Arizona’s defense once more allowed touchdown drives to open the game and second half, but held the powerful Rams’ offense in check otherwise to remain in the game, namely on the basis of four field goals by Neil Rackers. Trailing 17-12 late in the fourth quarter, Arizona took over on its own 14-yard line with 1:53 to play and drove to the St. Louis five with :27 showing on the clock. But a five-yard sack, then false start penalty, ran the final seconds off the clock in the narrow defeat.
Last week, the Cards again were in the game at Seattle, down just 10-9 at halftime. But in the second half, tailback Shaun Alexander ran for 82 yards and three scores and the Seahawks tacked 27 points on the board for the 37-12 final, a game that saw injuries claim quarterback Kurt Warner (groin), defensive tackle Russell Davis (triceps), cornerback Antrel Rolle (knee), and tackle Oliver Ross (hand).
“At 0-3, we’re really disappointed,” Green said. We felt we’d get off to a much better start than this.”
After the loss, Green was quick to admit changes are necessary, beginning with himself.
“It’s not working,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Things I felt real strongly would work for us, right now they are not working for us. The job I felt I could do, I have not been able to do right now. I am not happy about it.”
So what, if any changes, might we see this week as the Cards prepare for a game against the 1-2 San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City?
“We’re going to do a lot of things” Green says. “I think you can be aggressive or passive.”
He later added, “What I said yesterday (Sunday) is the changes and strategy we’ve had has not worked. I have a hard time believing we’d play better in one half than another half. I’m not saying we haven’t played hard. We haven’t played smart, and we haven’t been productive.”
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=3085
And for Arizona Cardinal Head Coach Dennis Green and his team, an 0-3 start only provides further incentive to combat those frustrations head-on.
“You just do what you need to do to win,” Green offered Monday morning. “What do we have to do to beat San Francisco? Whatever we can do, it’s worth it. Then you worry about Carolina next week (Oct. 9).”
The Cardinals have endured a season of frustrations in just the first three weeks of the 2005 season.
In the opener at the Meadowlands against the N.Y. Giants, the Cards led 13-7 at halftime but were outscored 35-6 in the second half of a 42-19 defeat. Despite statistical advantages in first downs (20-14), time of possession (35:45-23:15) and total offense yardage (287-154), the Giants capitalized on two short drives for rushing touchdowns in the third quarter, and added both a punt return and kickoff return for scores after intermission.
Two weeks ago in the home opener vs. St. Louis, Arizona’s defense once more allowed touchdown drives to open the game and second half, but held the powerful Rams’ offense in check otherwise to remain in the game, namely on the basis of four field goals by Neil Rackers. Trailing 17-12 late in the fourth quarter, Arizona took over on its own 14-yard line with 1:53 to play and drove to the St. Louis five with :27 showing on the clock. But a five-yard sack, then false start penalty, ran the final seconds off the clock in the narrow defeat.
Last week, the Cards again were in the game at Seattle, down just 10-9 at halftime. But in the second half, tailback Shaun Alexander ran for 82 yards and three scores and the Seahawks tacked 27 points on the board for the 37-12 final, a game that saw injuries claim quarterback Kurt Warner (groin), defensive tackle Russell Davis (triceps), cornerback Antrel Rolle (knee), and tackle Oliver Ross (hand).
“At 0-3, we’re really disappointed,” Green said. We felt we’d get off to a much better start than this.”
After the loss, Green was quick to admit changes are necessary, beginning with himself.
“It’s not working,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Things I felt real strongly would work for us, right now they are not working for us. The job I felt I could do, I have not been able to do right now. I am not happy about it.”
So what, if any changes, might we see this week as the Cards prepare for a game against the 1-2 San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City?
“We’re going to do a lot of things” Green says. “I think you can be aggressive or passive.”
He later added, “What I said yesterday (Sunday) is the changes and strategy we’ve had has not worked. I have a hard time believing we’d play better in one half than another half. I’m not saying we haven’t played hard. We haven’t played smart, and we haven’t been productive.”
http://www.azcardinals.com/news/news_details.html?iid=3085
