The New York Giants hope to get their third victory this week as they prepare to take on the Arizona Cardinals at U of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Who will come out victorious? NFL.com’s Pat Kirwan and Jason Horowitz break down this game.
Showing posts with label Cardinals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cardinals. Show all posts
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Cardinals DT Dockett named to Pro Bowl
Published: January 22nd, 2011 | Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Darnell Dockett, Kevin WilliamsArizona Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett has been named to the Pro Bowl to replace injured Minnesota defensive lineman Kevin Williams.
The Cardinals made the announcement Saturday.
Dockett, also named to the Pro Bowl in 2007 and 2009, registered 52 tackles, five sacks and one forced fumble in 15 games this season.
Dockett, 29, is a seven-year veteran whose played his entire career with the Cardinals. Arizona signed Dockett to a four-year contract extension in September. He had two years left on his previous contract, so the new deal runs through the 2015 season.
A third-round draft pick out of Florida State in 2004, Dockett has developed into one of the best at his position entering his seventh NFL season as the high-spirited leader of Arizona’s defense.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Posted in: Pro BowlFriday, November 26, 2010
Cardinals worrying about losing fans in a down season
The Cardinals knew they were in for an uphill battle this season. Replacing Kurt Warner (an almost sure Hall of Famer) and other Prow Bowl talent on both sides of the ball is never easy. I don’t think, however, Ken Whisenhunt and the Arizona Cardinals expected to be 3-7, which is good for a last place tie in the division with six games left to play.
According to Whisenhunt, though, the Cardinals don’t think they’re as bad as their standing and record. Even still, Whisenhunt recognized that teams go through rough patches or even rough seasons, but it’s nothing permanent.
If you look around the league, you see (rough times) happen to other teams. It’s important right now how we fight through this. I really believe that we’re going to come out of it. We’re going to still have our opportunities to win divisions and go to playoff games and that’s what our focus is. Do I feel like we have eroded what we have built? I don’t feel that way. I don’t think you can look at our team over the last two years and what we have done in the playoffs and be ashamed about anything with that or feel like we’ve lost anything from that. If we have to go through some tough times to get back to that point, that’s what we have to do.
The tenor of Whisenhunt’s comments seems to be a defense of the progress that he’s made in Arizona since 2007. It can’t be argued that under Whisenhunt’s guidance the Cardinals have achieved unparalleled success. The only comparison that can be made is the St. Louis Cardinals teams of the mid 1970’s. Whisenhunt made it clear that when you achieve that level of success, it’s difficult to replicate on a yearly basis.
We’ve gone to a Super Bowl. We’ve played six playoff games and won four of them. I’m not going to apologize for that. I’m proud of the fact that we’ve done that. To think that we’re going to do that every year, even though we aspire to do that, that’s tough.
It a fair point, but it’s cold comfort to the everyday football fan that wants to tune in and watch their team win. It’s especially difficult when the team hasn’t won since Week 5. Losing the fans’ trust is a concern that Whisenhunt expressed as well.
I feel as disappointed as anything that we have let some of our fans down. That’s the thing that keeps me up at night because we have worked so hard to create such great support for our team. Certainly we feel that. But we still have a chance to, if we play good football, (have it) take care of itself.
Whisenhunt and the Cardinals have a chance to snap their brutal 5-game losing streak on the biggest stage that professional football has to offer, Monday Night Football. Just to spice up the pot, the game is against Arizona’s rival the past few seasons, the San Francisco 49ers. The Niners are also having a tough go of it this season as they are 3-7 and fresh off a 21-0 beating at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Even with a win against the 49ers in Week 12, the Cardinals will face extremely long odds in their playoff push, if there’s one coming. In addition, it’s difficult to honestly say that the Cardinals could take advantage of a weak schedule, which they have. Take a look.
Week 12 – vs. San Francisco (3-7)Week 17 – @ San Francisco (3-7)The Cardinals’ opponents’ combined record is a lowly 17-43 for a .395 winning percentage. In addition, 4 of the last 6 games are at home. If Arizona is planning on making a late season playoff push, they couldn’t have asked for a more favorable schedule.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Another tough week for the Cardinals
“We’ve got to find a way,” Derek Anderson said. “This is getting old.” Indeed it is and it doesn’t seem like the Cardinals have any new solutions. There’s not much to say about the Cardinals’ latest loss, except that it was more of the same. Arizona was easily handled on both sides of the ball as they never really bothered the Chiefs all day.
For the second straight game in a row, the Cardinals started out strong on their first offensive possession. Arizona started on their own 31 yard line and quickly gained 17 yards on a Larry Fitzgerald (6 receptions, 90 yards, 1 TD) catch and run. The Cardinals kept things moving, completing passes to Steve Breaston (5 receptions, 92 yards) and Fitzgerald again. Arizona drove down to the Chiefs’ 18 yard line where they faced a 3rd and 8. Derek Anderson (25/46, 295 yards, 1 TD) missed down the right sideline to Early Doucet (2 receptions, 13 yards) with a pass that probably should have been caught by Doucet as it went through his outstretched hands. The Cards had to settle for a field goal, taking an early 3-0 lead. They would never hold the lead again.
Surprisingly, the Arizona defense held strong all throughout the first quarter, forcing the Chiefs to punt on their only two possessions. In the second quarter, however, Kansas City roared to life by putting up two touchdowns on consecutive possessions. The first score came on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Matt Cassel (15/24, 193 yards, 2 TDs) to Dwayne Bowe (6 receptions, 109 yards, 2 TDs). Arizona gave the Chiefs a short field and Cassel quickly went to work at the Cards’ 38 yard line. In one play, Cassel competed a 37 yard pass to Bowe after he beat Paris Lenon, which put Kansas City on the Cards’ one yard line. Arizona held tough for two downs, but on third down, the Chiefs hit pay dirt when Cassel went to his guy Bowe on a 1-yard completion, beating Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie on a quick slant. After another Cardinals punt, the Chiefs struck again. This time, the Chiefs drove 78 yards on 5 plays before Thomas Jones (15 carries, 71 yards, 2 TDs) pounded it in on a 1 yard up and over. The Chiefs took a commanding 14-3 lead and the game was never in contention after 10:14 in the second quarter.
Arizona was able to add a field goal in the third quarter and a meaningless touchdown with no time left in the game when Anderson hooked up with Fitzgerald. The Chiefs added two more touchdowns and a field goal before it was all over making the final score 31-13. Thomas Jones and Dwayne Bowe each picked up additional touchdowns on the ground and through the air respectively. Bowe has been on an absolute tear for Kansas City as of late, recording 10 touchdowns in his last six games, which is a Kansas City franchise record.
Offensively, the Cardinals were doomed after their first possession. Derek Anderson continued to show why he’s not a starting quarterback. Although his mistakes didn’t show up in the box score, he cost the Cardinals points once again. Anderson missed no fewer than five wide open targets by either firing the ball into the ground or sailing it way overhead. One was on an absolutely wide open Steve Breaston who beat his defender by about four or five steps down the seem. Anderson threw the ball about 10-15 yards over Breaston’s head.
Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells had a decent day on the ground, but they only combined for 20 carries. Hightower gained 62 yards on just 12 carries with a 16 yard long around right end. Wells, who made his return from knee swelling, gained 39 yards on just 8 carries with a 12 yard long up the middle. Hightower and Wells averaged 5.2 and 4.9 yards/carry respectively, but Arizona trailed for most of the game, which made the running attack an afterthought. It’s too bad because the running backs played quite well and Arizona proved they could run on the Chiefs. Whenever the Cards gained some ground, though, they shot themselves in the foot whether it was a false start, a holding penalty or an errant pass from Anderson. “Good football teams don’t do (that),” coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “And right now we are not playing like a good football team…[but] I think we were pleased with what we were able to get accomplished in the run game. If there is one area we can have a little bit of hope in I think that is it because we ran the football a little better.”
Defensively, the Cardinals weren’t able to continue on their stout first quarter effort. Eventually the Chiefs proved to be too much for the Cardinals’ secondary to keep up with. Dwayne Bowe time and again came wide open, usually over the middle, and poor tackling once again allowed for yards after the catch. Matt Cassel, unlike Anderson, didn’t miss once during the game. In addition, Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles eventually wore on the Cardinals up front. The Chiefs finished with 352 total yards, 159 on the ground and 193 through the air.
The rest of the NFC West lost this week so the Cardinals didn’t lose any ground in relation to the rest of the division. It seems like a moot point, though. Arizona appears incapable of snapping its 5-game losing streak. Unfortunately, things are really turning sour in Arizona. “I feel this is the lowest we can go,” Steve Breaston dejectedly explained. “You have a Monday night game, national TV, better show up there. If you don’t show up there, we’re going to be embarrassed on national TV.” The Monday night game is against the other bottom scrapper in the West, the 49ers.
INJURIES:
WR, Early Doucet (head) – possible concussionLB, Will Davis (ankle) – day-to-dayDE, Calais Campbell (ankle) – day-to-dayAROUND THE NFC WEST:
1 – Seattle Seahawks: 5-5, 0 GB, Last Week: L @ New Orleans, 34-192 – St. Louis Rams: 4-6, 1 GB, Last Week: L vs. Atlanta, 34-173 – San Francisco 49ers: 3-7, 2 GB, Last Week: L vs. Tampa Bay, 21-03 – Arizona Cardinals: 3-7, 2 GB, Last Week: L @ Kansas City, 31-13NEXT WEEK:
Arizona (3-7) will host the 49ers (3-7) on Monday Night Football. It will be the two teams’ first meeting of the season. Amazingly, if the Cardinals win and the Seahawks lose, Arizona would only be one game out of first place, though they would be 1.5 games below .500. That’s how bad the NFC West is this year.
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