I think we are going to have to keep things in perspective. I"m ecstatic about the win Sunday, but most of us believe we have more than just 1 or 2 issues we have to address.
Every season teams that are contenders face what I like to call 'hump' games. They usually occur later on in the season. An example would be a team is 5-6 and playing their division rival who is in 1st place at the time. Or your team is 7-7 and playing a team they are tied with for the last playoff spot. It's a game that gets you over the hump. It doesn't neccesarilly puts you in the playoff, but it's a game that establishes your identity or spot in the ranks.
The Cards are in an unusual situation this year because we faced a hump game on opening day. I don't think I would get much of an argument from any of you what a loss Sunday against the 49ers would have meant to moral of the team and Fan spirit. It's the 1st hump game we've won since we defeated the Eagles in o.t. in week 14 in 1998. That game put us at 7-7 and we went on to win the last 2 games to earn our playoff birth.
If this were a home game Sunday, I would consider this an official hump game, but it's not. A loss would drop us 1 behind the Seahawks with an opportunity down the road to even things up with them here at home.
A loss Sunday would create another early season hump game against the RAms. A loss to both the Hawks and RAms would establish us as 3rd best in the division.
To get back to my point, what if we win Sunday? Well, it would definitely turn some heads, but I don't think any of the 'experts' will be ready to concede the West Division to us. It will be a great confidence boost for this team, and for once in a long, long, time we can place the 'hump' game on the backs of some other team.
Damn, wouldn't it be great?
Every season teams that are contenders face what I like to call 'hump' games. They usually occur later on in the season. An example would be a team is 5-6 and playing their division rival who is in 1st place at the time. Or your team is 7-7 and playing a team they are tied with for the last playoff spot. It's a game that gets you over the hump. It doesn't neccesarilly puts you in the playoff, but it's a game that establishes your identity or spot in the ranks.
The Cards are in an unusual situation this year because we faced a hump game on opening day. I don't think I would get much of an argument from any of you what a loss Sunday against the 49ers would have meant to moral of the team and Fan spirit. It's the 1st hump game we've won since we defeated the Eagles in o.t. in week 14 in 1998. That game put us at 7-7 and we went on to win the last 2 games to earn our playoff birth.
If this were a home game Sunday, I would consider this an official hump game, but it's not. A loss would drop us 1 behind the Seahawks with an opportunity down the road to even things up with them here at home.
A loss Sunday would create another early season hump game against the RAms. A loss to both the Hawks and RAms would establish us as 3rd best in the division.
To get back to my point, what if we win Sunday? Well, it would definitely turn some heads, but I don't think any of the 'experts' will be ready to concede the West Division to us. It will be a great confidence boost for this team, and for once in a long, long, time we can place the 'hump' game on the backs of some other team.
Damn, wouldn't it be great?
