Catfish
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- Aug 14, 2006
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Being on the plus side at 6-4 in the W/L column, and heading into the second game after the bye, we face the Colts in what I believe will be a key game for the Cardinals season this year. I say that for several reasons:
1. This game is one that is going to be very meaningful to Bruce Arians, as it is his first game against the team that got him his Coach of the Year award, AND his first shot as a Head Coach in the NFL without it being an interim position. Arians is not shy about saying that this game will have a lot of meaning to him personally.
2. While this team has steadily improved overall each game this season, this is the first game after what appears to be a breakout game for Carson Palmer's offensive unit. This game should go far toward showing whether or not this was actually Palmer's breakout, or just a fluke performance in a rather dismal offensive season thus far.
3. The Colts should be a solid measuring stick against which to see if the Cardinals have attained a level among the upper tier teams in the NFL, or if they are still the same, (fall on your face), team that usually shows up for a critical game just past the midway point in the season.
4. After a 419 yard passing performance that involved nearly everyone on the pass-receiving roster, (and with Michael Floyd coming off his best game ever), the defensive emphasis may be more on Floyd this week, giving Larry Fitzgerald a shot at more single coverage than he has seen for a good while. We might just get a chance to see if Fitz can be THAT guy again.
A win at home against the Colts would give the Cardinals some much needed confidence going forward into the season. While a hard-fought loss would not necessarily take us out of the playoff hunt, a (bad) loss in a poorly played game would almost surely do exactly that. One of the culture changes sought by BA and company, is how to avoid the deflation of this team's normally fragile psyche, and this game could cause the Cards to go either way, depending on how the Red Birds play. We just avoided what could easily have been a trap game, and showing up strong against a valid playoff contender in a meaningful game could go a long way to changing the culture of the fragile psyche here in the desert.
1. This game is one that is going to be very meaningful to Bruce Arians, as it is his first game against the team that got him his Coach of the Year award, AND his first shot as a Head Coach in the NFL without it being an interim position. Arians is not shy about saying that this game will have a lot of meaning to him personally.
2. While this team has steadily improved overall each game this season, this is the first game after what appears to be a breakout game for Carson Palmer's offensive unit. This game should go far toward showing whether or not this was actually Palmer's breakout, or just a fluke performance in a rather dismal offensive season thus far.
3. The Colts should be a solid measuring stick against which to see if the Cardinals have attained a level among the upper tier teams in the NFL, or if they are still the same, (fall on your face), team that usually shows up for a critical game just past the midway point in the season.
4. After a 419 yard passing performance that involved nearly everyone on the pass-receiving roster, (and with Michael Floyd coming off his best game ever), the defensive emphasis may be more on Floyd this week, giving Larry Fitzgerald a shot at more single coverage than he has seen for a good while. We might just get a chance to see if Fitz can be THAT guy again.
A win at home against the Colts would give the Cardinals some much needed confidence going forward into the season. While a hard-fought loss would not necessarily take us out of the playoff hunt, a (bad) loss in a poorly played game would almost surely do exactly that. One of the culture changes sought by BA and company, is how to avoid the deflation of this team's normally fragile psyche, and this game could cause the Cards to go either way, depending on how the Red Birds play. We just avoided what could easily have been a trap game, and showing up strong against a valid playoff contender in a meaningful game could go a long way to changing the culture of the fragile psyche here in the desert.
