CardinalLaw
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Inside Slant When you whiff in your first three games while scoring one offensive touchdown, it takes only the slightest sign of success to turn gloom to giddiness.
The challenge for the Cardinals, then, as they host Carolina on Sunday after ending their suffering with a rout of San Francisco in Mexico City, is keeping it in perspective.
First, San Francisco isn't very good.
Although it was exciting for the Cardinals to score 31 points, it doesn't take an astute NFL personnel guru to understand that the matchups were very favorable against a weak opponent playing a makeshift secondary. The Cardinals also were playing a makeshift secondary because of injuries, but the 49ers wideouts aren't the greatest, and Arizona's deficiencies in the secondary were mitigated by a fearsome pass rush by Bertrand Berry, Chike Okeafor and Ross Kolodziej.
The Cardinals appropriately celebrated the moment, but now must move past it. Dealing with the glow of a victory is a new experience.
"I think we just feel better about playing a better game," said coach Dennis Green. "That's really the key. We are glad we are playing better and we hope to duplicate the style of play that we think is more indicative of the type of team we can be."
Having backup quarterback Josh McCown gunning the ball to Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald (where was Bryant Johnson?) for big yardage, and finally anointing running back Marcel Shipp the starter and letting him pound away with body-punch rushes, indeed caused the unit to more closely resemble that which was expected of it.
But again, it comes with a bit of an asterisk given that San Francisco was a weakened and weaker foe.
Repeat that against the Carolina defense and then let the discussions of a Cardinals' turnaround begin.
The Cardinals will have several advantages working for them when the Panthers visit Tempe, Ariz., where the midday desert heat remains close to triple figures.
The Panthers played on Monday night and have a short week followed by a long flight into the heat.
It is a wonderful opportunity for the Cardinals to seize the momentum from the big win in Mexico, beat a high-quality opponent and then hit their bye week before returning against a beatable foe, Tennessee, at home.
But first, the task at hand: Carolina.
"They are an extremely good football team," Green said. "They are talented and very physical on defense and physical on offense, so we know we'll have our hands full.
"This is an important week for us. This needs to be a slingshot for us. These two games surrounding the bye week are important. The ability to win coming into the bye and the ability to win coming out of the bye can be a slingshot for you."
SERIES HISTORY - Sixth meeting. The Carolina Panthers hold a 3-2 lead in the series over the Arizona Cardinals after winning the past two games. In their last meeting, on Nov. 21 last season, Carolina's Nick Goings rushed for 121 yards and three first-half touchdowns in a 35-10 rout of the Cardinals, who went into the game with a chance to even their record.
NOTES, QUOTES
—WR Anquan Boldin is the subject of a documentary by NFL Films and the NFL Network on "Six Days To Sunday." He was tailed by a crew for a week leading up to the game in Mexico City against San Francisco last Sunday, in which Boldin caught eight passes for 116 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown pass from Josh McCown.
The crew followed Boldin on the practice field and had a wireless microphone on him during the game for the documentary.
The program airs at 9 p.m. (MST) on Friday on the NFL Network.
—It is difficult to determine where K Neil Rackers is of greatest value to the team. With his NFL record-setting 16 for 16 field-goal kicking through the first quarter of the season, he has accounted for two-thirds of the team's scoring. But his league-leading 14 touchbacks have given the defense a boost in field position.
Rackers is NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after his franchise- and career-record six field goals (40, 45, 48, 23, 43, 24 yards) last weekend, one short of the NFL record. It was the third consecutive game Rackers has had four or more field goals.
His seven touchbacks against the 49ers were the most in the league since Jason Hanson's seven on Oct. 17, 1993.
Rackers leads the NFL in kicker scoring with 50 points. His 54-yard field goal at Seattle two weeks ago is the longest in the NFL this season. His two 55-yarders in 2004 also led the NFL. Rackers becomes an unrestricted free agent at season's end, and while the Cardinals have expressed interest in locking him up contractually, Rackers won't discuss his future until after a season that is shaping up as memorable - and profitable.
—For the first time since Jan. 2, 2000, the Cardinals had two receivers with 100 yards receiving in a game - Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. Boldin caught eight passes for 116 yards and a touchdown in Mexico City against San Francisco. Fitzgerald had seven catches for 102 yards and a touchdown, the first by the offense in nearly 11 quarters.
The last receiving duo to reach 100 yards each was Frank Sanders and Rob Moore, in the finale at Green Bay six seasons ago.
—Was it fuzzy match? A translation issue? Or just some creative numbers management by somebody? Reports out of Mexico had ticket sales for the Cardinals-49ers game moving slowly, with at least 25,000 unsold going into the week of the game. The league announced that it would take several of the low rows at Azteca Stadium out of inventory "to improve sight lines," reducing capacity to roughly 85,000.
And then the league announced a record-setting attendance of 103,467 on game day, when there appeared to be not an empty seat in the house.
BY THE NUMBERS: 7 - QB Josh McCown, who had career-highs passing in the win over the 49ers - surpassing his highs set against the 49ers in an overtime loss last season - now is 7-7 in his past 14 starts for the Cardinals, who are 7-13 overall (0-6 when he is not in the lineup) in their past 20 games.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "He threw the ball well and made some great throws. He loves to throw the ball high to Larry Fitzgerald and he loves to throw the ball inside to Anquan Boldin. He made those kinds of throws and completions." - Cardinals coach Dennis Green on QB Josh McCown's career-highs of 32-46 passing for 385 yards in the team's first win of the season, against San Francisco in Mexico City.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
It's a good thing the Cardinals re-signed veteran CB Robert Tate last week. Starter Antrel Rolle had suffered a knee injury that likely will end the season of the rookie first-round pick. The other starter, Robert Macklin, suffered a hamstring injury that forced him to leave and leaves him questionable vs. Carolina. CB Raymond Walls, starting in place of Rolle, came out because of a groin strain and might not play against the Panthers.
Tate came in and made a key interception, forced a fumble and had several pass breakups.
Rookies Eric Green and Lamont Reid are the likely starters this weekend, with Tate offering more backup support.
Look for the team to sign a CB for depth this week, and to very likely place Rolle on injured reserve.
PLAYER/PERSONNEL NOTES
—CB Antrel Rolle, the team's first-round pick and the eighth player chosen overall in the April draft, had knee surgery in Miami that revealed more meniscus damage than initially believed. He could be finished for the season. The most optimistic prognosis is an eight-to-10-week recovery period.
"He had a scope and some repair work done that will pretty much end his rookie season," coach Dennis Green said.
—CB Eric Green, a rookie third-round pick, is expected to move into the lineup against Carolina in the wake of widespread injuries that caused the team to re-sign veteran Robert Tate last week and will likely cause it to sign yet another corner this week.
—CB Robert Tate was re-signed after being released in the final cut. He had appeared in every game last season and was a key player in nickel packages. He was cut this year because the team was forced by injuries at that point to keep more offensive linemen than it normally would have. Tate had an interception and forced a fumble in the win over the 49ers after three days of practice.
GAME PLAN
The Cardinals successfully cranked up the passing game against San Francisco behind backup QB Josh McCown, starting in place of injured Kurt Warner. Duplicating that against Carolina's defense will be quite a challenge, yet coach Dennis Green says, "I think we realize we have to throw the ball more."
That might be taken as an admission that the running game behind a shaky offensive line can't be trusted. Yet for the long-term good of the team, it really needs to continue to develop the run. It has to run against the Panthers. Too often the Cardinals go pass-heavy, even before their losses get out of hand, and fail to establish any offensive rhythm.
The passing game obviously has impressive athletes who can pile up big numbers, but it will be made even better if a defense has to take RB Marcel Shipp as a serious threat. The only way to get him there is to run him at least 15-20 times.
First-time starter Fred Wakefield was impressive in his debut at RT in Mexico City in place of injured Oliver Ross, who is not expected back yet this week from his hand injury. Rookie G Elton Brown took a big step forward in his development against the 49ers Bryant Young.
The line is playing better and the unit is ready to make a more serious dedication to running the ball.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
—Cardinals RT Fred Wakefield, a former DE making his second start on offense, vs. Panthers DE Julius Peppers, the second player chosen in the 2002 draft. Peppers is big, strong and athletic. Wakefield is not. Wakefield no longer is a defensive player because he lacks the quickness upon which the team wants to build, yet he will now be asked to block one of the best in the game at the position Wakefield once played, left end. Wakefield, on the field because Oliver Ross has a hand injury, survived his first pro offensive start without much scar tissue. The quarterback was kept clean and the running game was there when the team needed it. Wakefield was not a liability. But this time, against a premier player, one very capable of becoming an offense wrecker, it's a sizable challenge for the lead-footed Wakefield.
—Cardinals MLB James Darling, a versatile but not dazzling veteran, vs. Panthers RB Stephen Davis, who may still be gaining yardage at age 50. Davis has long been a menace to the Cardinals defense, dating to his early days with Washington when he terrorized the Cards in their NFC East matchups. Now at 31, he's still a load for defenders, especially those like the Cardinals who aren't league leaders at stuffing the run. Darling is not an overpowering physical specimen, but he is smart, he knows Davis well, and he knows the importance of not allowing the Panthers to run at will.
INJURY IMPACT: Panthers QB Jake Delhomme must be looking at the beat-up Cardinals CBs with glee. If his line can keep DEs Bertrand Berry and Chike Okeafor away from him, Delhomme should take advantage of the loss of starting CB Antrel Rolle, who had knee surgery last week and may be finished for the season. On the other side, starting CB David Macklin has a hamstring injury that might keep him out. That leaves rookies Eric Green and Lamont Reid, along with veteran Robert Tate, who turns 32 in another week, for coverage.
QB Josh McCown, after a shaky start, mitigated the loss of injured starter Kurt Warner (groin) with career-high passing statistics in a win over San Francisco. Warner is not expected to return until after the Oct. 16 bye. McCown, who goes into the Carolina game 7-7 in his last 14 starts, could with another strong performance set up a quarterback controversy when Warner is physically ready to return.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/cards/home.htm
The challenge for the Cardinals, then, as they host Carolina on Sunday after ending their suffering with a rout of San Francisco in Mexico City, is keeping it in perspective.
First, San Francisco isn't very good.
Although it was exciting for the Cardinals to score 31 points, it doesn't take an astute NFL personnel guru to understand that the matchups were very favorable against a weak opponent playing a makeshift secondary. The Cardinals also were playing a makeshift secondary because of injuries, but the 49ers wideouts aren't the greatest, and Arizona's deficiencies in the secondary were mitigated by a fearsome pass rush by Bertrand Berry, Chike Okeafor and Ross Kolodziej.
The Cardinals appropriately celebrated the moment, but now must move past it. Dealing with the glow of a victory is a new experience.
"I think we just feel better about playing a better game," said coach Dennis Green. "That's really the key. We are glad we are playing better and we hope to duplicate the style of play that we think is more indicative of the type of team we can be."
Having backup quarterback Josh McCown gunning the ball to Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald (where was Bryant Johnson?) for big yardage, and finally anointing running back Marcel Shipp the starter and letting him pound away with body-punch rushes, indeed caused the unit to more closely resemble that which was expected of it.
But again, it comes with a bit of an asterisk given that San Francisco was a weakened and weaker foe.
Repeat that against the Carolina defense and then let the discussions of a Cardinals' turnaround begin.
The Cardinals will have several advantages working for them when the Panthers visit Tempe, Ariz., where the midday desert heat remains close to triple figures.
The Panthers played on Monday night and have a short week followed by a long flight into the heat.
It is a wonderful opportunity for the Cardinals to seize the momentum from the big win in Mexico, beat a high-quality opponent and then hit their bye week before returning against a beatable foe, Tennessee, at home.
But first, the task at hand: Carolina.
"They are an extremely good football team," Green said. "They are talented and very physical on defense and physical on offense, so we know we'll have our hands full.
"This is an important week for us. This needs to be a slingshot for us. These two games surrounding the bye week are important. The ability to win coming into the bye and the ability to win coming out of the bye can be a slingshot for you."
SERIES HISTORY - Sixth meeting. The Carolina Panthers hold a 3-2 lead in the series over the Arizona Cardinals after winning the past two games. In their last meeting, on Nov. 21 last season, Carolina's Nick Goings rushed for 121 yards and three first-half touchdowns in a 35-10 rout of the Cardinals, who went into the game with a chance to even their record.
NOTES, QUOTES
—WR Anquan Boldin is the subject of a documentary by NFL Films and the NFL Network on "Six Days To Sunday." He was tailed by a crew for a week leading up to the game in Mexico City against San Francisco last Sunday, in which Boldin caught eight passes for 116 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown pass from Josh McCown.
The crew followed Boldin on the practice field and had a wireless microphone on him during the game for the documentary.
The program airs at 9 p.m. (MST) on Friday on the NFL Network.
—It is difficult to determine where K Neil Rackers is of greatest value to the team. With his NFL record-setting 16 for 16 field-goal kicking through the first quarter of the season, he has accounted for two-thirds of the team's scoring. But his league-leading 14 touchbacks have given the defense a boost in field position.
Rackers is NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after his franchise- and career-record six field goals (40, 45, 48, 23, 43, 24 yards) last weekend, one short of the NFL record. It was the third consecutive game Rackers has had four or more field goals.
His seven touchbacks against the 49ers were the most in the league since Jason Hanson's seven on Oct. 17, 1993.
Rackers leads the NFL in kicker scoring with 50 points. His 54-yard field goal at Seattle two weeks ago is the longest in the NFL this season. His two 55-yarders in 2004 also led the NFL. Rackers becomes an unrestricted free agent at season's end, and while the Cardinals have expressed interest in locking him up contractually, Rackers won't discuss his future until after a season that is shaping up as memorable - and profitable.
—For the first time since Jan. 2, 2000, the Cardinals had two receivers with 100 yards receiving in a game - Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. Boldin caught eight passes for 116 yards and a touchdown in Mexico City against San Francisco. Fitzgerald had seven catches for 102 yards and a touchdown, the first by the offense in nearly 11 quarters.
The last receiving duo to reach 100 yards each was Frank Sanders and Rob Moore, in the finale at Green Bay six seasons ago.
—Was it fuzzy match? A translation issue? Or just some creative numbers management by somebody? Reports out of Mexico had ticket sales for the Cardinals-49ers game moving slowly, with at least 25,000 unsold going into the week of the game. The league announced that it would take several of the low rows at Azteca Stadium out of inventory "to improve sight lines," reducing capacity to roughly 85,000.
And then the league announced a record-setting attendance of 103,467 on game day, when there appeared to be not an empty seat in the house.
BY THE NUMBERS: 7 - QB Josh McCown, who had career-highs passing in the win over the 49ers - surpassing his highs set against the 49ers in an overtime loss last season - now is 7-7 in his past 14 starts for the Cardinals, who are 7-13 overall (0-6 when he is not in the lineup) in their past 20 games.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "He threw the ball well and made some great throws. He loves to throw the ball high to Larry Fitzgerald and he loves to throw the ball inside to Anquan Boldin. He made those kinds of throws and completions." - Cardinals coach Dennis Green on QB Josh McCown's career-highs of 32-46 passing for 385 yards in the team's first win of the season, against San Francisco in Mexico City.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
It's a good thing the Cardinals re-signed veteran CB Robert Tate last week. Starter Antrel Rolle had suffered a knee injury that likely will end the season of the rookie first-round pick. The other starter, Robert Macklin, suffered a hamstring injury that forced him to leave and leaves him questionable vs. Carolina. CB Raymond Walls, starting in place of Rolle, came out because of a groin strain and might not play against the Panthers.
Tate came in and made a key interception, forced a fumble and had several pass breakups.
Rookies Eric Green and Lamont Reid are the likely starters this weekend, with Tate offering more backup support.
Look for the team to sign a CB for depth this week, and to very likely place Rolle on injured reserve.
PLAYER/PERSONNEL NOTES
—CB Antrel Rolle, the team's first-round pick and the eighth player chosen overall in the April draft, had knee surgery in Miami that revealed more meniscus damage than initially believed. He could be finished for the season. The most optimistic prognosis is an eight-to-10-week recovery period.
"He had a scope and some repair work done that will pretty much end his rookie season," coach Dennis Green said.
—CB Eric Green, a rookie third-round pick, is expected to move into the lineup against Carolina in the wake of widespread injuries that caused the team to re-sign veteran Robert Tate last week and will likely cause it to sign yet another corner this week.
—CB Robert Tate was re-signed after being released in the final cut. He had appeared in every game last season and was a key player in nickel packages. He was cut this year because the team was forced by injuries at that point to keep more offensive linemen than it normally would have. Tate had an interception and forced a fumble in the win over the 49ers after three days of practice.
GAME PLAN
The Cardinals successfully cranked up the passing game against San Francisco behind backup QB Josh McCown, starting in place of injured Kurt Warner. Duplicating that against Carolina's defense will be quite a challenge, yet coach Dennis Green says, "I think we realize we have to throw the ball more."
That might be taken as an admission that the running game behind a shaky offensive line can't be trusted. Yet for the long-term good of the team, it really needs to continue to develop the run. It has to run against the Panthers. Too often the Cardinals go pass-heavy, even before their losses get out of hand, and fail to establish any offensive rhythm.
The passing game obviously has impressive athletes who can pile up big numbers, but it will be made even better if a defense has to take RB Marcel Shipp as a serious threat. The only way to get him there is to run him at least 15-20 times.
First-time starter Fred Wakefield was impressive in his debut at RT in Mexico City in place of injured Oliver Ross, who is not expected back yet this week from his hand injury. Rookie G Elton Brown took a big step forward in his development against the 49ers Bryant Young.
The line is playing better and the unit is ready to make a more serious dedication to running the ball.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
—Cardinals RT Fred Wakefield, a former DE making his second start on offense, vs. Panthers DE Julius Peppers, the second player chosen in the 2002 draft. Peppers is big, strong and athletic. Wakefield is not. Wakefield no longer is a defensive player because he lacks the quickness upon which the team wants to build, yet he will now be asked to block one of the best in the game at the position Wakefield once played, left end. Wakefield, on the field because Oliver Ross has a hand injury, survived his first pro offensive start without much scar tissue. The quarterback was kept clean and the running game was there when the team needed it. Wakefield was not a liability. But this time, against a premier player, one very capable of becoming an offense wrecker, it's a sizable challenge for the lead-footed Wakefield.
—Cardinals MLB James Darling, a versatile but not dazzling veteran, vs. Panthers RB Stephen Davis, who may still be gaining yardage at age 50. Davis has long been a menace to the Cardinals defense, dating to his early days with Washington when he terrorized the Cards in their NFC East matchups. Now at 31, he's still a load for defenders, especially those like the Cardinals who aren't league leaders at stuffing the run. Darling is not an overpowering physical specimen, but he is smart, he knows Davis well, and he knows the importance of not allowing the Panthers to run at will.
INJURY IMPACT: Panthers QB Jake Delhomme must be looking at the beat-up Cardinals CBs with glee. If his line can keep DEs Bertrand Berry and Chike Okeafor away from him, Delhomme should take advantage of the loss of starting CB Antrel Rolle, who had knee surgery last week and may be finished for the season. On the other side, starting CB David Macklin has a hamstring injury that might keep him out. That leaves rookies Eric Green and Lamont Reid, along with veteran Robert Tate, who turns 32 in another week, for coverage.
QB Josh McCown, after a shaky start, mitigated the loss of injured starter Kurt Warner (groin) with career-high passing statistics in a win over San Francisco. Warner is not expected to return until after the Oct. 16 bye. McCown, who goes into the Carolina game 7-7 in his last 14 starts, could with another strong performance set up a quarterback controversy when Warner is physically ready to return.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/cards/home.htm
