This Happens

[Treefiddy]

Yeah, we've had a bad start to the season, and yes we've lost some games in some very bad ways. But the bright side is we're not in that horrible of a position right now. Seattle and St. Louis are both 4-4 while we're only 3-5. Pre-Whiz we were trying to figure out ways we were statistically still in the season by planning out our divisional opponent's losses mixed with us winning out for the rest of the season.

Basically, what Cowboys and Bills fans are doing right now to give themselves hope of a possibility that simply doesn't exist anymore.

What's happened in the last two weeks is alarming, but it's not the end of the world. For the last 2 years we were winning those close games at the end. You can't win them all. Here are the games that I remember being close and coming down to the last drive:

10-12-08 Dal 24 @ Ari 30 W
11-10-08 SF  24 @ Ari 29 W
01-18-09 Phi 25 @ Ari 32 W
10-11-09 Hou 21 @ Ari 28 W
11-29-09 Ari 17 @ Ten 20 L
01-10-10 GB  45 @ Ari 51 W
09-26-10 Oak 23 @ Ari 24 W
10-31-10 TB  38 @ Ari 35 L
11-07-10 Ari 24 @ Min 27 L

Aside from the dates and the actual scores, this is from memory, so I'm counting on the rest of you to pull up other games to help fill the list.

The only real alarm or change on this list is our loss to Tampa last week. Based on the previous games, we typically win the close ones at home, and lose the close ones on the road. That leaves Minnesota as expected, and Tampa Bay as unfortunate.

Yes, it certainly sucks that we're 3-5 right now with 3 losses in a row. You know what would suck worse, if we start giving up on our team and they end up like the Cowboys are. They have zero drive or motivation to do good, and as long as we keep showing up and screaming, then at least the Cards will know that we're behind them and willing them to do better.

 

[Buckybird]

Please stop the insanity of thinking ahead & a possible playoff berth!!! Have you watched this team play? Can't score offesively, can't convert 3rd downs, can't block, can't run & can't games with a suspect defense!!! Not good enough= no playoffs!!!

 

[Treefiddy]

It's not insane when we play in the NFC West. Have you seen Seattle, SF, and STL play? The entire division is Jekyll and Hide with what team shows up when and where. Whis has already proved he can pull a rabbit out of his hat back in 2008, and I'm hoping to hell that he has some more tricks in that hat because this team IS in trouble, but thinking playoffs isn't insanity in the least.

I'm not going to deny that there are a lot of things this team is doing wrong and needs to fix. I just hope that they get it fixed soon because we're still in the divisional hunt.

 

[Buckybird]

It's not insane when we play in the NFC West. Have you seen Seattle, SF, and STL play? The entire division is Jekyll and Hide with what team shows up when and where. Whis has already proved he can pull a rabbit out of his hat back in 2008, and I'm hoping to hell that he has some more tricks in that hat because this team IS in trouble, but thinking playoffs isn't insanity in the least.

I'm not going to deny that there are a lot of things this team is doing wrong and needs to fix. I just hope that they get it fixed soon because we're still in the divisional hunt.

Again, don't count on it.

 

[Cards_Campos]

Please stop the insanity of thinking ahead & a possible playoff berth!!! Have you watched this team play? Can't score offesively, can't convert 3rd downs, can't block, can't run & can't games with a suspect defense!!! Not good enough= no playoffs!!!

In all fairness...The NFC West is so bad...we are in it and in it easily. This weeks game is Ginormous. If we win we control our own destiny. The schedule isn't that daunting...and Even though I think the Coaching staff is horriffic...If they made just 1 more play in either of the last 2 games we win. In all honesty...Minn and TB are good. So we have come along.

Imagine being Seattle right now. They have been taken behind the wood shed...I mean we haven't looked that bad in a long time. They havent even had chances.

 

[kerouac9]

It's not insane when we play in the NFC West. Have you seen Seattle, SF, and STL play? The entire division is Jekyll and Hide with what team shows up when and where. Whis has already proved he can pull a rabbit out of his hat back in 2008, and I'm hoping to hell that he has some more tricks in that hat because this team IS in trouble, but thinking playoffs isn't insanity in the least.

I'm not going to deny that there are a lot of things this team is doing wrong and needs to fix. I just hope that they get it fixed soon because we're still in the divisional hunt.

St. Louis isn't playing terrible football right now. They've suffered only one distinct collapse, and that was against the Lions. Outside of that game, they've either won outright (including beating a San Diego time who jackstomped us) or were in it until the end (against Oakland and Tampa Bay).

Their schedule gets harder (only three home games the rest of the way, to begin with), but theirs is clearly a team on the upswing and that is building something.

 

[BigRedRage]

super bowl bound 2010 arizona cardinals.

 

[old card fan]

blind

Yeah, we've had a bad start to the season, and yes we've lost some games in some very bad ways. But the bright side is we're not in that horrible of a position right now. Seattle and St. Louis are both 4-4 while we're only 3-5. Pre-Whiz we were trying to figure out ways we were statistically still in the season by planning out our divisional opponent's losses mixed with us winning out for the rest of the season.

Basically, what Cowboys and Bills fans are doing right now to give themselves hope of a possibility that simply doesn't exist anymore.

What's happened in the last two weeks is alarming, but it's not the end of the world. For the last 2 years we were winning those close games at the end. You can't win them all. Here are the games that I remember being close and coming down to the last drive:

10-12-08 Dal 24 @ Ari 30 W
11-10-08 SF  24 @ Ari 29 W
01-18-09 Phi 25 @ Ari 32 W
10-11-09 Hou 21 @ Ari 28 W
11-29-09 Ari 17 @ Ten 20 L
01-10-10 GB  45 @ Ari 51 W
09-26-10 Oak 23 @ Ari 24 W
10-31-10 TB  38 @ Ari 35 L
11-07-10 Ari 24 @ Min 27 L

Aside from the dates and the actual scores, this is from memory, so I'm counting on the rest of you to pull up other games to help fill the list.

The only real alarm or change on this list is our loss to Tampa last week. Based on the previous games, we typically win the close ones at home, and lose the close ones on the road. That leaves Minnesota as expected, and Tampa Bay as unfortunate.

Yes, it certainly sucks that we're 3-5 right now with 3 losses in a row. You know what would suck worse, if we start giving up on our team and they end up like the Cowboys are. They have zero drive or motivation to do good, and as long as we keep showing up and screaming, then at least the Cards will know that we're behind them and willing them to do better.

There are some that have eyes, but still cannot see. I don't care how many are tired of hearing it. "Same Ole Cards"

 

[Duckjake]

There are some that have eyes, but still cannot see. I don't care how many are tired of hearing it. "Same Ole Cards"

Yeah what you don't see in that list of "close" games is that in almost all of them the Cards were out in front, five with huge leads, and blew them to make it close.

21-0 vs Houston, 31-10 vs Green Bay, 24-10 vs Vikings, 24-14 vs Cowboys

24-6 vs Eagles

So even when they were at the top of their game with Warner they couldn't let us relax.

 

[SactownSunsFan]

LOL, I can honestly say the NFC West is completely up for grabs. If the Niners beat the Rams in San Fran and the Cards take care of the Seahawks at home, all 4 teams will be sub-500, and all within a game of each other.

The NFC West has been weak for a while now, but it could be historically bad this season.

 

[Treefiddy]

St. Louis isn't playing terrible football right now. They've suffered only one distinct collapse, and that was against the Lions. Outside of that game, they've either won outright (including beating a San Diego time who jackstomped us) or were in it until the end (against Oakland and Tampa Bay).

Their schedule gets harder (only three home games the rest of the way, to begin with), but theirs is clearly a team on the upswing and that is building something.

I agree with STL being much better. As much as several of us complained about it beforehand, we were blessed to play them in Week 1 at St. Louis while they meshed together as a team. If we can beat them here in AZ now, then we'll have an extra game up on them.

Either way, just as quickly as the Cardinals seem to have fallen, St. Louis could do the same. The NFL get crazier every single week.

 

[Treefiddy]

Yeah what you don't see in that list of "close" games is that in almost all of them the Cards were out in front, five with huge leads, and blew them to make it close.

21-0 vs Houston, 31-10 vs Green Bay, 24-10 vs Vikings, 24-14 vs Cowboys

24-6 vs Eagles

So even when they were at the top of their game with Warner they couldn't let us relax.

While it's hidden with just the ending score; it's still the Cardinals closing the game out at the end of the game; something they haven't been as successful at doing so far this season. For the last couple of years it seemed like we had some mighty good fortune in some of the games. Heck, I remember some games where it seemed like even if we tried to screw up, we still ended up on the good side of things. If it's not a botched snap that bounces right back into Kurt's hands so he can throw a first down pass, it's the ball bouncing off a defender to give Urban a free touchdown reception.

We're not getting those lucky breaks now and we're still paying back all the close games that we were bailed out from at the end.

Perhaps a better topic for this thread is that we've had a lot of recent success winning close games (no matter how they got there), so now is the time that it has to be evened out. I just hope we don't put ourselves into the close game situations anymore for this year; because we're a Sea-Bass shank away from being 0-3 in close games.

 

[JeffGollin]

I agree with Treefiddy (although by no means should this let the Cardinals off the hook - this is a team whose lack of quality QB'ing is tantamount to playing with one arm behind its collective back).

Nevertheless, the rest of the team has risen to the occasion and - given the questionable talent thru the rest of the division - at least keeps us in the thick of the NFC West division battle.

It doesn't mean we're a shoe-in, but -providing that Anderson continues to play closer to his vest and the rest of the team doesn't get down on itself - we've got as good a shot as anybody at winning the division.

Note - Often overlooked when scoping out the competition is the matter of depth (Just looking at QB - We now can see how Seattle was only one QB away from disaster, how SF has struggled without Alex Smith and can only imagine what might happen to StL if Bradford were to go down).

Just a personal opinion, but I think the Cards are deeper at just about every position than any of the other teams in our division, and this might be just enough to put us over the top.

 

[Indiana Hoosier]

(WELLS IN THE LOCKER ROOM AFTER THE VIKINGS LOSS!-GET RID OF HIS A**!) Playoffs, Playoffs, you guys have to be kiddin, I hope we win another game.

 

[CaptTurbo]

If we make the playoffs Deion Sanders should come on TV admit his mistake that any team with Warner automatically isnt the worst playoff team ever but THIS 2010 Arizona Cardinals are the worst playoff team ever.

 

[chickenhead]

I generally view any team that is 6-6 as "in it" for the home stretch. Because of the back-loaded home schedule, if the Cardinals get there I wouldn't count them out. My major doubt is whether we can get to 6-6, though.

 

[conraddobler]

Playoffs are great right up until a pretender like we would be gets lit up, like we will if we magically get that far.

Who can really get excited about a game we'll get killed in?

To me having a chance is a pre-requisite to enjoy the game.

 

[kerouac9]

Playoffs are great right up until a pretender like we would be gets lit up, like we will if we magically get that far.

Who can really get excited about a game we'll get killed in?

To me having a chance is a pre-requisite to enjoy the game.

I go back and forth on this. When you look up in the rafters at UofP four years from now, you're not really going to care if the 2010 NFC West Championship banner is tainted by an 8-8 record or not. The ring is the thing. They've been rare enough in the Valley of the Sun.

On the other hand, is a phyrric victory where we go 8-8 and lose by 22 in the playoffs going to be worth it? I don't think that's a memory that lingers. I didn't feel a lot of sting when the Vikings blew us out in 1998, and it doesn't sting now.

 

[Treefiddy]

I go back and forth on this. When you look up in the rafters at UofP four years from now, you're not really going to care if the 2010 NFC West Championship banner is tainted by an 8-8 record or not. The ring is the thing. They've been rare enough in the Valley of the Sun.

On the other hand, is a phyrric victory where we go 8-8 and lose by 22 in the playoffs going to be worth it? I don't think that's a memory that lingers. I didn't feel a lot of sting when the Vikings blew us out in 1998, and it doesn't sting now.

I agree with K9.

The Super Bowl loss hurts more than the Saints loss did last year. Different situations I guess, but it's the truth. Plus, I'd rather win the division and get blown out in the playoffs than not win the division at all.

 

[Duckjake]

I agree with K9.

The Super Bowl loss hurts more than the Saints loss did last year. Different situations I guess, but it's the truth. Plus, I'd rather win the division and get blown out in the playoffs than not win the division at all.

Me too. The Vikings game in 1998 is a perfect example it just didn't mean much losing that game after the season we'd had to that point.

Even better would be if we got in at 8-8 or 7-9 and knocked off somebody like the Eagles or Saints in the first round. Just like San Diego did in 2008 when at 8-8 they beat the 12-4 Colts.