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Inside Slant
Once again, the Cardinals are free to have visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads without the nasty anxiety of postseason play.
Their ninth loss, to the Redskins last weekend, sewed up the Cardinals' 17th non-winning season in 18 years in Arizona, though they should get some relief Sunday when they visit woeful Houston, against which the Cardinals might actually be favored in a road game.
Yet coach Dennis Green always has hope.
"We've got three more games to go," he said. "We can't be 8-8, but we can be 7-9, and 7-9 is a lot better than 4-12."
While that's true, it is time to take a hard look at where the Cardinals are as Green's second season draws to a close.
The player personnel without question is much improved, but it had only one way to go. Green's two drafts have produced players who play and contribute. The Cardinals have landed high-end talent like receiver Larry Fitzgerald, but also solid players in the middle to low rounds, the true mark of good talent evaluation.
The talent signed in free agency has spiked. They've persuaded Pro Bowl defensive end Bertrand Berry and former NFL MVP Kurt Warner to come to the desert to be part of a hoped-for turnaround.
They've identified and re-signed their own quality players before they could get away - receiver Anquan Boldin, a former Pro Bowler; kicker Neil Rackers, the current leader in the Pro Bowl voting, and strong safety Adrian Wilson, who has followed a Pro Bowl-caliber season in which he was snubbed with an even better year.
So why can't they win?
The finger now turns to the coaching staff, where Green has not been shy about making changes the way he often has given a quarterback the quick hook. He did not fire any coaches during this season as he did in his first with the franchise, but there likely will be heads rolling in January, most notably that of special teams coach Kevin O'Dea.
The Cardinals have lost four close home games, including last week's to Washington, when their late lead held up for all of 11 seconds while Antonio Brown was taking the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
It was the third kickoff returned for a score against the Cardinals this year, all leading to losses. Punt coverage also has been shoddy.
As Green put it, "We had way too many guys on the wrong side of the ball. Their guy never broke stride. I think we just did a poor job. Probably when that happens, six out of 10 guys did a poor job. The kick was low and short, but six out of 10 guys did a poor job."
Then, as if to relieve O'Dea of the heat, Green added, "We haven't had a set unit because we've had so many injuries. We've got different guys in there every time, and you want them to work well together. But I think that was the third one this year. All of them hurt."
And whether it is injuries and/or coaching, the Cardinals still cannot run the ball when they need critical yardage. Rookie back J.J. Arrington's attempt on a critical late fourth-and-2 at the Washington 29 resulted in a 1-yard gain and the loss of the ball - and the game. Arrington now is taking criticism for not being tough enough. He is small, and he is a rookie. And the Cardinals offensive line has backups starting at all three inside positions because of injuries. Yet the problem is bigger than all of that - they haven't run the ball consistently well since 1998.
This team was the preseason pick in most corners to win the NFC West.
"St. Louis, Carolina, Jacksonville and this one are all pretty much the same - one more stop, take away one return, score a touchdown instead of a field goal - all four of those games are exactly alike," Green said of pivotal games that could have swung the season.
"I think this was the type of game that if we did a little better job coaching, we could've won. If we'd maybe made a few more catches, we could've won it. If we had a little bit better protection - it's all of us together who have to produce. One less field goal and one more touchdown, one less touchdown on their part - collectively, we needed one more thing."
Green was brought in with two years to prepare the franchise for a move to a new stadium next season in Glendale, Ariz., where the team will have no more hot-weather, bleacher-seat excuses for the crowds of 35,000 at Sun Devil Stadium. They'll have a palace of a stadium with every fan amenity. But after a first look, the Cardinals will be back to crowds of 35,000 quickly if they don't give fans a reason to come back.
From ownership's perspective, Green's leash must be growing shorter. Another year in 2006 like 2005 and 2004, and the coaching revolving door likely will spin again.
That one more thing that they need to save their professional necks is to win.
As right guard Fred Wakefield put it after the Washington loss, "This is the fourth game that we feel like we went out there and gave it away."
That comes back on the coaches.
SERIES HISTORY - First meeting.
NOTES, QUOTES
—Though the team came up short against Washington in another close home loss, cornerback Antrel Rolle played about 20 snaps in nickel packages after missing eight games to a knee injury. He asked the team not to place him on injured reserve on the chance that he might make it back late in his rookie season, and he worked hard in rehab to keep his end of the deal after the Cardinals agreed to honor his wish.
"I just tried to go out there and be the best nickel back I could be," Rolle said Sunday. "I am just trying to do what I can to help this team to victory."
Rolle had his first career interception and is expected to play more Sunday at Houston.
"They sort of threw me in the fire," Rolle said of his nickel duty. "I came back and they told me that I was going to play nickel. I am thinking that I don't know what a nickel does. A lot of the guys helped me, and I spent a lot of extra time with the coaches, and I pretty much have it down. I tried to go out there and freestyle a little bit and make some plays."
Rolle, who started the first three games before being injured, made the interception on the Redskins' first offensive possession.
"I haven't had a ball in my hands in a while so I didn't know what to do," Rolle said. "That was a big confidence booster for me. It carried me the whole game, and it'll carry me the rest of the season."
—Kicker Neil Rackers, the leader at his position in Pro Bowl voting, successfully lobbied the coaching staff to activate him after he'd missed a game to a calf injury. He made his only two mid-range field-goal tries, moving him to 34-for-35 for the year.
Rackers could not handle kickoffs, though, and that might have cost the Cardinals a win. Backup Nick Novak delivered a low kick that was returned for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown after Rackers' second field goal had given the team a late lead.
Rackers is the league leader in touchbacks on kickoffs, and it's a good thing he generally keeps the ball out of a returner's hands - it was the third kickoff returned for a touchdown vs. the Cards' special teams this season.
—If wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald gets another 149 yards receiving in the closing three games and teammate Anquan Boldin gets another 194, they'll be the league's sixth set of teammates ever with 1,300 yards receiving in the same season.
—Here's a number that might daze you: Despite having lost five of their top seven defensive linemen for the season, going a couple of weeks without injured playmaking outside linebacker Karlos Dansby and losing Rolle for two months before he returned last weekend, the Cardinals rank ninth in the NFL by allowing only 17.5 first downs a game.
—Quarterback Kurt Warner, through his First Things First Foundation, presented a Mesa, Ariz., single mother with a new home on Tuesday.
First Things First teams with local organizations like Housing for Mesa that find unsuspecting candidates who are working hard to better their lives and those of their children by taking the necessary steps to buy a new home. The new homeowners are rewarded with every amenity a first-time homeowner would need to turn the house into a home just in time for Christmas.
The recipient is a public school teacher who recently went back to school to get her teaching credentials.
—It's easy to make jokes about the Cardinals always being in the holiday spirit with their giving - and they now have 17 non-winning seasons in 18 years in Arizona as proof.
But punter Scott Player and 17 teammates hosted 25 teens from Homeward Bound for the third annual "Shop-O-Rama" at a Phoenix Target on Monday.
The homeless teens each received $250 from the players to spend on themselves or family members for the holiday season.
Homeward Bound is a non-profit organization that provides transitional housing to homeless youth. It also provides educational and emotional support for 86 families in metro Phoenix.
—And, the Cardinals' annual "Teddy Bear Express" - consisting of players, wives, cheerleaders, Big Red mascot and front office personnel - Tuesday visited Phoenix Children's Hospital and Banner Children's Hospital in Mesa to deliver red Cardinals teddy bears to children in the pediatric units.
BY THE NUMBERS: 2 - Number of rushing touchdowns by the Cardinals in 13 games.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "(Antrel Rolle) got his hands on the ball a couple times. He was physical a couple of times. It was good to see a guy work his butt off to come back in and play. Same thing with Neil Rackers. Both guys could have taken the easy way out, but both wanted to get back on the field and play." - Cardinals coach Dennis Green, on the return of Rolle, a rookie first-round pick, from an eight-game absence with a knee injury, and Rackers, who'd missed a game to a calf strain.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
Rookie running back J.J. Arrington was finally showing signs of being the weapon the Cardinals thought he was when they drafted him in the second round in April until he went belly-up on a critical fourth-and-2 against the Redskins when he gained a yard and did not appear to fight hard for the first down late in a one-score game. Now, there are criticisms of his toughness making the rounds in the Phoenix-area news media.
PLAYER/PERSONNEL NOTES
—CB Antrel Rolle, the Cardinals' first-round draft pick, will see more playing time this week. He has not yet been announced as a starter but it would not be a stunner if he returns to the lineup against the Texans. Rolle returned from an eight-game absence (knee) for 20 snaps in nickel packages against Washington last week and made his first career interception.
—QB Kurt Warner ranks third in the league with a 99.5 third-down passer rating and sixth with a 94.4 fourth-quarter rating. Although his streak of 300-yard games was broken against the Redskins, he is averaging 288.7 passing yards a game.
—WR Larry Fitzgerald needs four catches to become the fifth receiver in team history with a 90-catch season.
—WR Anquan Boldin is another 100-yard receiving game from breaking the franchise record of four in a row that he shares with David Boston and Rob Moore. Although Boldin missed two games to a knee injury, he is averaging just over 100 yards receiving in the 11 games in which he has appeared.
—WR Bryant Johnson, the No. 3 receiver and the forgotten man behind Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, needs six catches for his second consecutive 40-catch season.
—SS Adrian Wilson leads NFL defensive backs with six quarterback sacks and is in position to become the first player from the secondary to lead the team for a season, something even the man who made the safety blitz famous - Hall of Famer Larry Wilson - never did.
—K Neil Rackers (calf) successfully lobbied the coaching staff to activate him last weekend for short-range field goals after he'd missed the previous game with the injury. He went 2-for-2 and is now 34-for-35 for the season. Rackers is five field goals from tying Olindo Mare and Jeff Wilkins for the NFL single-season record.
—WR Carlyle Holiday was promoted to the 53-man roster from the practice squad.
—DE Anton Palepoi was re-signed. He was signed in November, appeared in two games, and was released Nov. 29.
—FB Jarrod Baxter, a third-stringer, was released.
—T Dante Ellington, a third-stringer, was released.
GAME PLAN: With five of the top seven defensive linemen lost for the season, including Pro Bowl DE Bertrand Berry, the defense is getting good mileage out of the safety blitz. SS Adrian Wilson has six sacks and Texans QB David Carr often is a sitting duck.
QB Kurt Warner is having no trouble finding wideouts Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, but the real key has been the recent emergence of the tight ends and running backs as receivers. His ability to move it around makes the attack less predictable. And while still feeble, the offense is facing the Texans' defense, which should be a feel-good exercise in self-esteem for a downtrodden offense.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
—Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald, second in the league with 86 catches and third in the league with 1,151 yards receiving, vs. Texans CB Dunta Robinson, attempting to build on stellar 2004 rookie reputation. Fitzgerald is having a Pro Bowl year, in part because the Cardinals can't run and are forced to pass, but in greater part because he has established himself as one of the league's premier receivers. Robinson burst onto the scene last season as a big-time tackler and blitz-sacker, which he has continued into 2005. But after making six interceptions as a rookie, he has only one this season, largely because the Texans defense is so poor overall that foes can go away from him and have easy success elsewhere. Fitzgerald and QB Kurt Warner are not likely to be dissuaded by Robinson's reputation, though.
—Cardinals SS Adrian Wilson, who leads the league in sacks among defensive backs with six, vs. Texans QB David Carr, who too often brings a sack lunch to work on Sundays. In 14 home starts since the start of 2004, Carr has 17 touchdown passes and nine interceptions for a 64.8 completion percentage and 91.0 passer rating - when he is left standing to deliver the ball. But Wilson, who is having a big year after being shunned for the Pro Bowl in 2004, has a chance to become the first defensive back to lead the Cardinals in sacks for a season because Pro Bowl DE Bertrand Berry suffered a season-ending injury last month. Wilson, a fierce hitter in run support, is growing into a solid pro after suffering through undisciplined team-defense responsibility mistakes early in his career.
INJURY IMPACT
DT Darnell Dockett, who had a boot on his left foot early in the week, did not practice Wednesday, and he is doubtful for Sunday's game at Texas. The Cardinals already have lost five of their top seven defensive linemen for the year. Their best defensive player, Pro Bowl DE Bertrand Berry (torn pectoral), had surgery and is on injured reserve. Berry joined fellow defensive linemen DT Kenny King, wrist; DT Russell Davis, biceps; DE Calvin Pace, cut arm, and NT Langston Moore, shoulder, with season-ending injuries. OLB Karlos Dansby (toe), the next-best playmaker on the defense to Berry, did not practice Wednesday and is doubtful for the Houston game.
The offensive front is similarly decimated, although Gs Elton Brown (knee) and Jeremy Bridges (ankle) are coming back from injuries. The starting guards are likely to remain Adam Haayer on the left side and Fred Wakefield on the right at Texas. C/G Alex Stepanovich's shoulder required surgery, and he is on IR. He started every game at center as a rookie. After a slow start this year, caused by a preseason hand fracture that required surgery, he started not only at center but also at right guard and left guard to cover for injured players. With LG Reggie Wells (ankle) also out for the year, the starting interior offensive line this weekend is expected to be Haayer at left guard, Nick Leckey at center and Wakefield at right guard. The team also missed starting RT Oliver Ross for four games. Only LT Leonard Davis has been on the field every game among the offensive linemen. The result has been predictable. The team can't rush.
Not all of the injury news is bad. K Neil Rackers(calf) returned last week and made two short field goals. CB Eric Green was upgraded to probable after working out Wednesday. CB Antrel Rolle, a rookie who was the team's first-round pick in April, came back after missing eight games with a knee injury. He was on the field for 20 plays in nickel situations against the Redskins and made his first career interception. Rolle is expected to play even more at Texas. Rackers did not kick in practice in Wednesday but is expected to be active on Sunday.
Once again, the Cardinals are free to have visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads without the nasty anxiety of postseason play.
Their ninth loss, to the Redskins last weekend, sewed up the Cardinals' 17th non-winning season in 18 years in Arizona, though they should get some relief Sunday when they visit woeful Houston, against which the Cardinals might actually be favored in a road game.
Yet coach Dennis Green always has hope.
"We've got three more games to go," he said. "We can't be 8-8, but we can be 7-9, and 7-9 is a lot better than 4-12."
While that's true, it is time to take a hard look at where the Cardinals are as Green's second season draws to a close.
The player personnel without question is much improved, but it had only one way to go. Green's two drafts have produced players who play and contribute. The Cardinals have landed high-end talent like receiver Larry Fitzgerald, but also solid players in the middle to low rounds, the true mark of good talent evaluation.
The talent signed in free agency has spiked. They've persuaded Pro Bowl defensive end Bertrand Berry and former NFL MVP Kurt Warner to come to the desert to be part of a hoped-for turnaround.
They've identified and re-signed their own quality players before they could get away - receiver Anquan Boldin, a former Pro Bowler; kicker Neil Rackers, the current leader in the Pro Bowl voting, and strong safety Adrian Wilson, who has followed a Pro Bowl-caliber season in which he was snubbed with an even better year.
So why can't they win?
The finger now turns to the coaching staff, where Green has not been shy about making changes the way he often has given a quarterback the quick hook. He did not fire any coaches during this season as he did in his first with the franchise, but there likely will be heads rolling in January, most notably that of special teams coach Kevin O'Dea.
The Cardinals have lost four close home games, including last week's to Washington, when their late lead held up for all of 11 seconds while Antonio Brown was taking the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
It was the third kickoff returned for a score against the Cardinals this year, all leading to losses. Punt coverage also has been shoddy.
As Green put it, "We had way too many guys on the wrong side of the ball. Their guy never broke stride. I think we just did a poor job. Probably when that happens, six out of 10 guys did a poor job. The kick was low and short, but six out of 10 guys did a poor job."
Then, as if to relieve O'Dea of the heat, Green added, "We haven't had a set unit because we've had so many injuries. We've got different guys in there every time, and you want them to work well together. But I think that was the third one this year. All of them hurt."
And whether it is injuries and/or coaching, the Cardinals still cannot run the ball when they need critical yardage. Rookie back J.J. Arrington's attempt on a critical late fourth-and-2 at the Washington 29 resulted in a 1-yard gain and the loss of the ball - and the game. Arrington now is taking criticism for not being tough enough. He is small, and he is a rookie. And the Cardinals offensive line has backups starting at all three inside positions because of injuries. Yet the problem is bigger than all of that - they haven't run the ball consistently well since 1998.
This team was the preseason pick in most corners to win the NFC West.
"St. Louis, Carolina, Jacksonville and this one are all pretty much the same - one more stop, take away one return, score a touchdown instead of a field goal - all four of those games are exactly alike," Green said of pivotal games that could have swung the season.
"I think this was the type of game that if we did a little better job coaching, we could've won. If we'd maybe made a few more catches, we could've won it. If we had a little bit better protection - it's all of us together who have to produce. One less field goal and one more touchdown, one less touchdown on their part - collectively, we needed one more thing."
Green was brought in with two years to prepare the franchise for a move to a new stadium next season in Glendale, Ariz., where the team will have no more hot-weather, bleacher-seat excuses for the crowds of 35,000 at Sun Devil Stadium. They'll have a palace of a stadium with every fan amenity. But after a first look, the Cardinals will be back to crowds of 35,000 quickly if they don't give fans a reason to come back.
From ownership's perspective, Green's leash must be growing shorter. Another year in 2006 like 2005 and 2004, and the coaching revolving door likely will spin again.
That one more thing that they need to save their professional necks is to win.
As right guard Fred Wakefield put it after the Washington loss, "This is the fourth game that we feel like we went out there and gave it away."
That comes back on the coaches.
SERIES HISTORY - First meeting.
NOTES, QUOTES
—Though the team came up short against Washington in another close home loss, cornerback Antrel Rolle played about 20 snaps in nickel packages after missing eight games to a knee injury. He asked the team not to place him on injured reserve on the chance that he might make it back late in his rookie season, and he worked hard in rehab to keep his end of the deal after the Cardinals agreed to honor his wish.
"I just tried to go out there and be the best nickel back I could be," Rolle said Sunday. "I am just trying to do what I can to help this team to victory."
Rolle had his first career interception and is expected to play more Sunday at Houston.
"They sort of threw me in the fire," Rolle said of his nickel duty. "I came back and they told me that I was going to play nickel. I am thinking that I don't know what a nickel does. A lot of the guys helped me, and I spent a lot of extra time with the coaches, and I pretty much have it down. I tried to go out there and freestyle a little bit and make some plays."
Rolle, who started the first three games before being injured, made the interception on the Redskins' first offensive possession.
"I haven't had a ball in my hands in a while so I didn't know what to do," Rolle said. "That was a big confidence booster for me. It carried me the whole game, and it'll carry me the rest of the season."
—Kicker Neil Rackers, the leader at his position in Pro Bowl voting, successfully lobbied the coaching staff to activate him after he'd missed a game to a calf injury. He made his only two mid-range field-goal tries, moving him to 34-for-35 for the year.
Rackers could not handle kickoffs, though, and that might have cost the Cardinals a win. Backup Nick Novak delivered a low kick that was returned for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown after Rackers' second field goal had given the team a late lead.
Rackers is the league leader in touchbacks on kickoffs, and it's a good thing he generally keeps the ball out of a returner's hands - it was the third kickoff returned for a touchdown vs. the Cards' special teams this season.
—If wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald gets another 149 yards receiving in the closing three games and teammate Anquan Boldin gets another 194, they'll be the league's sixth set of teammates ever with 1,300 yards receiving in the same season.
—Here's a number that might daze you: Despite having lost five of their top seven defensive linemen for the season, going a couple of weeks without injured playmaking outside linebacker Karlos Dansby and losing Rolle for two months before he returned last weekend, the Cardinals rank ninth in the NFL by allowing only 17.5 first downs a game.
—Quarterback Kurt Warner, through his First Things First Foundation, presented a Mesa, Ariz., single mother with a new home on Tuesday.
First Things First teams with local organizations like Housing for Mesa that find unsuspecting candidates who are working hard to better their lives and those of their children by taking the necessary steps to buy a new home. The new homeowners are rewarded with every amenity a first-time homeowner would need to turn the house into a home just in time for Christmas.
The recipient is a public school teacher who recently went back to school to get her teaching credentials.
—It's easy to make jokes about the Cardinals always being in the holiday spirit with their giving - and they now have 17 non-winning seasons in 18 years in Arizona as proof.
But punter Scott Player and 17 teammates hosted 25 teens from Homeward Bound for the third annual "Shop-O-Rama" at a Phoenix Target on Monday.
The homeless teens each received $250 from the players to spend on themselves or family members for the holiday season.
Homeward Bound is a non-profit organization that provides transitional housing to homeless youth. It also provides educational and emotional support for 86 families in metro Phoenix.
—And, the Cardinals' annual "Teddy Bear Express" - consisting of players, wives, cheerleaders, Big Red mascot and front office personnel - Tuesday visited Phoenix Children's Hospital and Banner Children's Hospital in Mesa to deliver red Cardinals teddy bears to children in the pediatric units.
BY THE NUMBERS: 2 - Number of rushing touchdowns by the Cardinals in 13 games.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "(Antrel Rolle) got his hands on the ball a couple times. He was physical a couple of times. It was good to see a guy work his butt off to come back in and play. Same thing with Neil Rackers. Both guys could have taken the easy way out, but both wanted to get back on the field and play." - Cardinals coach Dennis Green, on the return of Rolle, a rookie first-round pick, from an eight-game absence with a knee injury, and Rackers, who'd missed a game to a calf strain.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
Rookie running back J.J. Arrington was finally showing signs of being the weapon the Cardinals thought he was when they drafted him in the second round in April until he went belly-up on a critical fourth-and-2 against the Redskins when he gained a yard and did not appear to fight hard for the first down late in a one-score game. Now, there are criticisms of his toughness making the rounds in the Phoenix-area news media.
PLAYER/PERSONNEL NOTES
—CB Antrel Rolle, the Cardinals' first-round draft pick, will see more playing time this week. He has not yet been announced as a starter but it would not be a stunner if he returns to the lineup against the Texans. Rolle returned from an eight-game absence (knee) for 20 snaps in nickel packages against Washington last week and made his first career interception.
—QB Kurt Warner ranks third in the league with a 99.5 third-down passer rating and sixth with a 94.4 fourth-quarter rating. Although his streak of 300-yard games was broken against the Redskins, he is averaging 288.7 passing yards a game.
—WR Larry Fitzgerald needs four catches to become the fifth receiver in team history with a 90-catch season.
—WR Anquan Boldin is another 100-yard receiving game from breaking the franchise record of four in a row that he shares with David Boston and Rob Moore. Although Boldin missed two games to a knee injury, he is averaging just over 100 yards receiving in the 11 games in which he has appeared.
—WR Bryant Johnson, the No. 3 receiver and the forgotten man behind Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, needs six catches for his second consecutive 40-catch season.
—SS Adrian Wilson leads NFL defensive backs with six quarterback sacks and is in position to become the first player from the secondary to lead the team for a season, something even the man who made the safety blitz famous - Hall of Famer Larry Wilson - never did.
—K Neil Rackers (calf) successfully lobbied the coaching staff to activate him last weekend for short-range field goals after he'd missed the previous game with the injury. He went 2-for-2 and is now 34-for-35 for the season. Rackers is five field goals from tying Olindo Mare and Jeff Wilkins for the NFL single-season record.
—WR Carlyle Holiday was promoted to the 53-man roster from the practice squad.
—DE Anton Palepoi was re-signed. He was signed in November, appeared in two games, and was released Nov. 29.
—FB Jarrod Baxter, a third-stringer, was released.
—T Dante Ellington, a third-stringer, was released.
GAME PLAN: With five of the top seven defensive linemen lost for the season, including Pro Bowl DE Bertrand Berry, the defense is getting good mileage out of the safety blitz. SS Adrian Wilson has six sacks and Texans QB David Carr often is a sitting duck.
QB Kurt Warner is having no trouble finding wideouts Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, but the real key has been the recent emergence of the tight ends and running backs as receivers. His ability to move it around makes the attack less predictable. And while still feeble, the offense is facing the Texans' defense, which should be a feel-good exercise in self-esteem for a downtrodden offense.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
—Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald, second in the league with 86 catches and third in the league with 1,151 yards receiving, vs. Texans CB Dunta Robinson, attempting to build on stellar 2004 rookie reputation. Fitzgerald is having a Pro Bowl year, in part because the Cardinals can't run and are forced to pass, but in greater part because he has established himself as one of the league's premier receivers. Robinson burst onto the scene last season as a big-time tackler and blitz-sacker, which he has continued into 2005. But after making six interceptions as a rookie, he has only one this season, largely because the Texans defense is so poor overall that foes can go away from him and have easy success elsewhere. Fitzgerald and QB Kurt Warner are not likely to be dissuaded by Robinson's reputation, though.
—Cardinals SS Adrian Wilson, who leads the league in sacks among defensive backs with six, vs. Texans QB David Carr, who too often brings a sack lunch to work on Sundays. In 14 home starts since the start of 2004, Carr has 17 touchdown passes and nine interceptions for a 64.8 completion percentage and 91.0 passer rating - when he is left standing to deliver the ball. But Wilson, who is having a big year after being shunned for the Pro Bowl in 2004, has a chance to become the first defensive back to lead the Cardinals in sacks for a season because Pro Bowl DE Bertrand Berry suffered a season-ending injury last month. Wilson, a fierce hitter in run support, is growing into a solid pro after suffering through undisciplined team-defense responsibility mistakes early in his career.
INJURY IMPACT
DT Darnell Dockett, who had a boot on his left foot early in the week, did not practice Wednesday, and he is doubtful for Sunday's game at Texas. The Cardinals already have lost five of their top seven defensive linemen for the year. Their best defensive player, Pro Bowl DE Bertrand Berry (torn pectoral), had surgery and is on injured reserve. Berry joined fellow defensive linemen DT Kenny King, wrist; DT Russell Davis, biceps; DE Calvin Pace, cut arm, and NT Langston Moore, shoulder, with season-ending injuries. OLB Karlos Dansby (toe), the next-best playmaker on the defense to Berry, did not practice Wednesday and is doubtful for the Houston game.
The offensive front is similarly decimated, although Gs Elton Brown (knee) and Jeremy Bridges (ankle) are coming back from injuries. The starting guards are likely to remain Adam Haayer on the left side and Fred Wakefield on the right at Texas. C/G Alex Stepanovich's shoulder required surgery, and he is on IR. He started every game at center as a rookie. After a slow start this year, caused by a preseason hand fracture that required surgery, he started not only at center but also at right guard and left guard to cover for injured players. With LG Reggie Wells (ankle) also out for the year, the starting interior offensive line this weekend is expected to be Haayer at left guard, Nick Leckey at center and Wakefield at right guard. The team also missed starting RT Oliver Ross for four games. Only LT Leonard Davis has been on the field every game among the offensive linemen. The result has been predictable. The team can't rush.
Not all of the injury news is bad. K Neil Rackers(calf) returned last week and made two short field goals. CB Eric Green was upgraded to probable after working out Wednesday. CB Antrel Rolle, a rookie who was the team's first-round pick in April, came back after missing eight games with a knee injury. He was on the field for 20 plays in nickel situations against the Redskins and made his first career interception. Rolle is expected to play even more at Texas. Rackers did not kick in practice in Wednesday but is expected to be active on Sunday.
