Fan representative Deanna Carpenter endured an 0-6, zero point week, but somehow still holds a scant 3-point lead over Fanster.com’s Matt Blake, who won week 9 with only 12 points. Several players are also within striking distance, including STBNL’s Mark Weber, Chuck Powell of 98.7 The Peak and STBNL, Mike ‘Roc’ Muraco of The Fan AM 1060 and Jerry Brown of “Brownie Points” fame, who are all within 9 points of first place.

Six more tough games are on the docket for this week:

• Jacksonville at NY Jets
• Cincinnati at Pittsburgh
• Philadelphia at San Diego
• Dallas at Green Bay
• New England at Indianapolis
• Seattle at Arizona

Here’s what the panel thinks will happen in Week Ten of “Hanging ‘Em Out There”…(click chart to enlarge)

Though I think they CAN run effectively with Hightower and Wells sharing carries, I also think they can win games with a dedication to a run game that isn’t working, and here’s why: the Cardinals can get 10 yards at any time and everyone knows it. Two runs that go for one yard each? No problem. Fitz goes long, Breaston comes over the middle, Hightower blocks and comes out of the backfield short, and Patrick or Becht finds a hole. Warner hits one of them and starts all over again. But what makes the balance dangerous is when that one Wells or Hightower run goes for 8 or 15 yards on first down. It then makes that next play VERY tricky for opposing defenses.

2nd and 2 or a new 1st and 10 is like Warner’s candy corn on Halloween. He will absolutely tear teams apart given that scenario time and time again. Against the Bears, it was ever so evident. Third downs were picked up when necessary and enough runs worked that the Bears defense looked totally lost. If the Cardinals can continue to use this offensive theorem, there is nobody in the league that can stop them.

Drive # - # of Plays - Result

1st Drive - 8 Plays - Touchdown (Warner to Fitzgerald)
Run - 3
Screen - 0
Pass - 5

Warner threw two quick incompletions and then didn’t miss again until their fourth drive. The Cardinals have become arguably the best team in the NFL on their first drive of the game and this was once again picture perfect. A coach’s gameplan can sometimes be measured by the first drive of games and this is just another indicator that Whisenhunt knows what he is doing.

2nd Drive - 9 Plays - Touchdown (Warner to Patrick)
Run - 3
Screen - 2
Pass - 4

After these first two drives, I was SURE Whisenhunt had read my piece from last week. I was smiling from ear to ear as they mixed things up and ran, screened, and passed their way to two straight touchdowns. It was also very nice to see Early Doucet get a couple of grabs. With Anquan Boldin’s whining games, the Cardinals will need more and more production from him and Urban.

3rd Drive - 6 Plays - Touchdown (Warner to Fitzgerald)
Run - 3
Screen - 0
Pass - 3

Ahhh…Perfect balance. It was so beautiful to watch. Wells and Hightower both had some great runs and Fitzgerald was money as usual. At this point, the Cardinals were playing some of their best offensive football of the year. Three cheers for the hog-mollies up front - they played outstanding.

4th Drive - 10 Plays - Touchdown (Warner to Becht)
Run - 4
Screen - 1
Pass - 5

The second different tight end to catch a touchdown pass? Is this the Arizona Cardinals? Unfortunately, Warner threw an incompletion on this drive, so we’ll want to make sure he cleans that up next game. Just like the Chicago Bears defense at this point, that was a joke.

5th Drive - 2 plays - Field Goal (Rackers)
Run - 0
Screen - 0
Pass - 2

The only drive there was a high uneven run to pass ratio and it was simply out of necessity. The best defense the Bears had all half was the clock, as it stopped the Cardinals from getting a touchdown - something the Bears couldn’t do.

Half Time
Cardinals 31 - Bears 7

6th Drive - 10 Plays - Field Goal (Rackers)
Run - 5
Screen - 1
Pass - 4

Two things to note on the drive coming out of half time: first, the balance remained and was very effective yet again. Second, though the drive ended in a field goal, any 10-play drive with a 24 point lead is a good one. Well done, coaching staff. Well done.

7th Drive - 3 Plays - Punt
Run - 1
Screen - 0
Pass - 2

At this point, I think I went and made a sandwich.

8th Drive - 3 Plays - Punt
Run - 3
Screen - 0
Pass - 0

I finished my sandwich and was still hungry, so I went and got chips and made some dip. They ran three times with a 27 point lead - exactly what they should be doing.

9th Drive - 4 Plays - Interception (Leinart attempt to Fitzgerald)
Run - 2
Screen - 0
Pass - 2

I started to do my laundry until Leinart threw that pick. Leinart didn’t look comfortable and that is a little worrisome for the future. If you can’t come in confident with a 20 point lead, when will you ever be confident?

10th Drive - 4 Plays - Punt
Run - 0
Screen - 0
Pass - 4

Passing was stupid in this case. And after this drive, you will see only one pass the rest of the game because the coaches knew it. That said, the first pass (that went for a first down) was brought back because of a penalty or they may not have thrown the rest of the game. At 1st and 20, it’s hard not to pass, and then once you get sacked, almost lose a fumble, and give yourself 2nd and a mile, it’s even harder not to pass. Throw this drive out.

11th Drive - 4 Plays - Touchdown (Warner to Breaston)
Run - 3
Screen - 0
Pass - 1

What? The run set up the pass? Could this really be happening? Yes. Yes it is. Hopefully, this is a sign of more to come.

12th Drive - 3 Plays - Punt
Run - 3
Screen - 0
Pass - 0

Again, three runs with a lead late in the game. Perfect.

END GAME
Game Total - 12 Drives
Run - 30 - 46.2%
Screen - 4 - 6.1%
Pass - 31 - 47.7%

And THAT is how we do! An almost even split of run to pass and the Cardinals run away with a game against a solid opponent in a not-so-fun place to play. What’s even more is that though there was incredible balance, Warner was still able to throw five touchdown passes. What that means to me is that balance makes Warner that much more effective, especially in the Red Zone.

If the Cardinals can continue to run the ball more than 40% of the time and actually get some production out of those snaps, they will win the NFC West in easy fashion and could truly be looking at back-to-back Super Bowl trips.

As a side note, for all you fantasy folks out there who have been sitting on Beanie Wells all season, now is the time. The Seahawks at home and the Rams and Titans on the road - it is a perfect storm for this young back to go crazy. I expect Beanie Wells to have a killer next three games and should start to get a major look as rookie of the year.

This time last week many Cardinals fans were calling for Kurt Warner to be replaced after having a rough game against the Carolina Panthers. What a difference one game can make. Not only was Warner not replace he was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week after throwing 5 touchdown passes in Chicago against the Bears.

I understand why everyone was calling for Leinart and putting a fork in Warner’s career after his 5 pick game. But fans are too impatient with their athletes. Warner did just lead the Cardinals to a Super Bowl and was an MVP candidate last season. Warner is and has always been as good as the pass protection he gets. When given time Kurt is still one of the best in the game, when he’s running for his life he looks like an old man that needs to retire. The emergence of an Arizona run game is and will continue to help Warner as the season goes on. I’m sure Warner may have another bad game along the way and everyone will call for him to hit the pine, but I also bet Kurt has multiple great games and leads the Cards to another playoff appearance. There will be times I’ll be frustrated with Warner in the final 8 games, but overall I bet I’ll be happy with his performance. Let’s all take a step back and look at the potential Warner gives Arizona as a quarterback and not panic and rush him out when he has a bad game.

On the flip side I’d also like to bring up Matt Leinart. Leinart was obviously the guy everyone was calling to replace Warner last week. Well the tides have turned not only because Kurt played great but because Matt through a pick in the 4th quarter. Leinart has been ripped apart all over the place for coming in and going 0-1 with a pick while his team had a 20 point lead. He did throw two weak passes but like we did with Warner, I think we are rushing our judgment on Matt. I’m not gonna let one bad pass in a blow out determine whether Leinart is the QB of the future or not. I don’t know if he is or isn’t but I don’t think we can tell yet.

The Cardinals like last year are a team riding a rollar coaster. They will have huge highs and extreme lows. I expect to be heart broken again at some point this year but I also expect to see some great moments. I think in the end we will see more great days from Kurt and the Cardinals than we will bad. So lets not panic and rush to judgement every time something bad happens.

Just one week after throwing five interceptions against the Carolina Panthers, Warner bounced back with five touchdown passes against the Chicago Bears. It was the second time in Warner’s career he threw for five touchdowns and he became the first player since 1969 to throw five interception and the following week throw for five touchdowns.

Congratulations once again to the Cardinals’ starting quarterback Kurt Warner, your NFC offensive player of the week.

Kurt Warner named NFC offensive player of the week [ProFootballTalk.com]

Tight end Anthony Becht celebrates his first NFL touchdown since 2007 during the Cardinals' 41-21 win over the Bears in Chicago on Sunday. (Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)

Kurt Warner rebounded nicely from a bad game a week ago against the Carolina Panthers, and he got a lot of help from his running game. The duo of Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells ran for 149 yards on the ground.

With the win, the Cardinals improve their record to 5-3, and coupled with a San Francisco loss to Tennessee, now enjoy a full 2 game lead in the NFC West with a home game against Seattle next Sunday.

Here’s six points that stood out from Sunday’s game in Chicago…

1

What a difference a week makes! Last week, Cardinals fans were willing to throw Kurt Warner on the “Jake Delhomme Scrap Heap” after his six-turnover performance that included 5 interceptions.
This week, the picks turned into touchdowns. Warner threw a career-high five touchdown passes, including 2 to Larry Fitzgerald in the win. Warner and the offense were in complete control from the outset, scoring touchdowns on their first four possessions.
Like I said last week, when Warner is good, he’s one of the best–and he was very good on Sunday.

2

Beanie Wells will be a superstar in this league. Finally, the Cardinals have a running back that “runs angry” in rookie Beanie Wells. Plus, he has speed to get into the secondary and outrun people, which is a pretty rare combination, even in the NFL. With Wells soaking in more of the nuances of this offense each week, and doing a much better job in ball security, the sky is the limit for this kid.

3

Why let up? As I stated earlier, the Cardinals offense toyed with the Chicago defense for the entire afternoon. So why, with over 11 minutes left to go in the game and the Cardinals leading by 20, did we see Matt Leinart on the field? Ten minutes is an eternity in an NFL football game, and by no means was the Arizona defense stifling Jay Cutler and the Chicago passing game.
On a third and 5, Leinart went deep to an open Larry Fitzgerald, but missed badly, and the ball was intercepted by Zack Bowman. The Bears took over on the Cardinals’ 28-yard line and scored three plays later, cutting the Arizona lead to 34-21, and all of the sudden, we’ve got a game.
Coach Ken Whisenhunt made a similar decision earlier this year during the Cardinals’ win over Jacksonville. Leading 31-3, Whisenhunt inserted Leinart in the late stages of the third quarter to give the backup some work. The offense sputtered, while Jacksonville scored twice in the quarter to pull to within two touchdowns.
I’ve never understood why NFL coaches are quick to call off the dogs when their offense is dominating, but as we saw in the Cardinals’ win in Seattle last month, they’ll let the defense go all out the whole game.

4

He’s electric. I have to admit…one of my favorite things in all of sports to watch right now is Cardinals’ safety Antrel Rolle operate with the ball in his hands. It’s almost like he’s got a force field around him and eyes in the back of his head, and we saw another example of it Sunday in Chicago.
Bears kicker Robbie Gould attempted a field goal late in the 2nd quarter that was partially blocked by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The ball traveled deep into the end zone, eight yards deep as a matter of fact, into the hands of Rolle, who had been dispatched there for just this scenario by special teams coach Kevin Spencer. Rolle weaved through Chicago tacklers for 59 yards, all the way back to the Bears’ 49-yard line. The play set up a 43-yard field goal by Neil Rackers that allowed the Cards to go to the locker room at halftime with a comfortable 31-7 lead.
I know he’s a defensive back, but I’d love to see Coach Whisenhunt find more ways to get the ball in Rolle’s hands as either a spot receiver, kick returner or Wildcat formation quarterback.

5

I’m just saying. Let the speculation begin again. Anquan Boldin was good to go on Sunday, showing no ill effects of his ankle injury during pre-game warmups. But as was explained by Fox sideline reporter Pam Oliver during the game, Whisenhunt held Boldin out over concerns about the field conditions. Boldin certainly didn’t look too pleased during the ample face time he got during the telecast on Sunday. And once again, without Boldin in the lineup, the Cardinals offense clicked.
So, I’ll throw it out there for (revisited) food for thought. Do the Cardinals need Anquan Boldin? He’s my favorite all-time Cardinal player, and arguably the toughest player in the NFL, but there’s a different look to this team when #81 isn’t on the field, and I mean that in a good way.
The trade deadline has passed, so Boldin will be here for the rest of this season, but we could be looking at another off-season where the headlines surrounding the Cardinals are dominated by trade rumors about ‘Q’.

6

Cold sweats. I guarantee Bears’ defensive back Charles Tillman will wake up several times tonight, with visions of repeated abuse by Larry Fitzgerald dancing through his head.
Fitzgerald had 9 catches for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns. On both scores, Fitz beat Tillman like a drum.

Highlights from NFL.com/Fox Sports

I did a piece on how running the ball equals wins and gave some stats to back it up; I wrote about how running the ball was the key to winning the Jacksonville game and they won with a balanced run game; I have written in every drive-by-drive analysis how important the run game has been to the Cardinals’ success.

Am I the only one paying attention to this statistic? Eli Wahlstrom wrote in a piece here on Fanster that the Cardinals run game was “much improved” even while they laid an egg and he is half right. Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower look better together every game and I would even throw LaRod Stephens-Howling and Jason Wright in the mix for getting props, as they’ve both been factors lately.

However, what the 17 carries for 94 yards against Carolina doesn’t tell you is that 67 of those yards came on TWO drives, both for touchdowns. The rest of the game, balance was an afterthought and the run game was non-existent.

If I decided to publish the drive-by-drive from the game against Carolina (and I’m not sure anyone wants to see the damage), you would see that the ONLY two drives the Cardinals ran the ball as many times as they passed, they scored touchdowns. What makes this even crazier is that both times after they scored on a nice balanced drive, they came out throwing on first down of the next drive.

1st Drive of the game: 6 runs, 1 screen, 4 passes - Touchdown (BALANCE)
2nd Drive of the game: 4 passes - Punt (UNBALANCE)

Why?

8th Drive of the game: 6 runs, 5 passes - Touchdown (BALANCE)
7th, 9th, and 10th Drives of the game: 1 run, 6 passes - Punt, Punt, and Interception (UNBALANCED)

Why?

Not counting those two beautiful drives where they ran the ball effectively, they ran the ball exactly 5 times the rest of the game.

Why?

Whisenhunt even acknowledged this week that because teams are playing the deep ball with a lot of Cover 2, the passing game has suffered. But as they say, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” As soon as the Cover 2 takes the deep ball away with a dropping safety, the probability of a successful run game goes up dramatically. So why not exploit that fact?

The Cardinals have lost three times this year. In those three games they have a combined 144 pass attempts and 46 run attempts. That means the Cardinals have thrown the ball over 75% of the time in their three losses.

Compare that to their four wins where they have a combined 149 pass attempts (only 5 higher than their three losses) and 92 run attempts (double the amount than in their three losses). That comes out to be just over 60% passes to 40% runs.

75/25 Pass/Run = LOSE
60/40 Pass/Run = WIN

This team’s strategy must be different from last year’s, not because the make-up or skill level is different, but because teams prepare for the Cardinals differently. The deep ball is an opponent’s top priority, forcing the Cardinals to run a short-to-intermediate passing game and begging the Cardinals to run the ball.

And yet, Whisenhunt and Warner continue to force the pass.
Why?

The sight of receivers running free in the open field has been a rare one for the Cardinals in 2009.

Through week 8 of the season, there’s already been 81 touchdowns of 50 yards or longer, a pace well ahead of the record of 173 set in the 1998 season.

This past Sunday and Monday, there were 13 scoring plays of longer than 50 yards. DeSean Jackson of the Philadelphia Eagles has six touchdowns this season, and all of them have covered at least half the football field. Maurice Jones-Drew of Jacksonville had touchdown runs of 80 and 79 yards in the same game.

It’s a veritable big play party in the National Football League.

Unfortunately, a few invitations to said party got lost in the mail.

There’s three teams in the league who have yet to cash in on a long play from scrimmage. First, you’ve got the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who rank 29th in the league in total offense, and will be using their third starting quarterback in 2009 when rookie Josh Freeman lines up under center against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. The second team without a 50-yard play to their credit is the Cleveland Browns, who rank 30th in the league, and are so bad offensively, their best player has already been traded and their general manager has been shown the door.

The third team might surprise you.

It’s the defending NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals, a team who became known for big plays last year during their improbable run to Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa. But the big plays have been absent in 2009.

The Cardinals have run 485 plays from scrimmage in ‘09, and only two of them have gained 40 or more yards.

That’s right…two out of 485.

The two plays? Kurt Warner’s 40-yard completion to Jerheme Urban in the season opener against San Francisco and Warner’s 44-yard strike to a hobbled Anquan Boldin in a win over the Giants at the Meadowlands in week 7. Neither play went for a touchdown, rather they both led to Neil Rackers field goals.

And that’s just the passing game.

A lack of big plays in the running game have been the norm for the Cardinals in recent seasons, with aging running backs like Emmitt Smith and Edgerrin James carrying the load. But you’d think with Chris “Beanie” Wells in the backfield things would be different. Wells routinely reeled off long runs during his stellar collegiate career at Ohio State, yet his longest run (and the Cardinals’ longest) this season has been 17 yards, making Arizona the only team in the league to not have a running play net 20 yards yet this season.

So what’s the reason for the lack of big plays? There are several.

In the passing game, teams have game-planned to take away the vertical passing game of the Cardinals, and forced them to take what’s available. And what’s been available has been dump-offs to running backs and short passes to the tight ends. So far in 2009, 33.3% of the Cardinals’ completions have gone to running backs and tight ends, up from just 25.4% last season.

The Cardinals also haven’t forced the issue like they did a year ago. During their Super Bowl run, Warner would frequently throw a ball up for grabs to Larry Fitzgerald, and let him do what he does best, catch the ball at its highest point, usually wrestling it away from defenders in the process. That hasn’t happened this season. And nagging injuries that have slowed Boldin down haven’t helped either.

In the running game, Wells seemingly has a handful of runs in each game where he’s one broken tackle or one block away from breaking a long one–it just hasn’t happened yet.

Not to mention, the Cardinals’ continuing lack of commitment to the running game has been a huge factor. Arizona has run the ball only 138 times this season, 157 times fewer than the New York Jets, who run it more than any team in the league, and even 25 fewer times than Tampa Bay, who ranks 31st in rushing attempts.

There’s something to be said for “taking what’s available”. That strategy can lead to dominant time of possession statistics and long, sustained scoring drives that can deflate a defense. But “taking what’s available” is also a very polite approach in what is anything but a polite game.

It’s time the Cardinals get a little bit greedy, and start taking what they want.

Twelve of our 13 competitors picked the Cardinals to beat the Panthers, and we know how that worked out. All thirteen panelists picked the Lions to beat the Lambs (oops!).

But it was Chuck Powell of 98.7 The Peak who won the week with a solid 13 points, and once again bringing up the rear was me, with a paltry 4 points.

Our overall leader is still fan representative Deanna Carpenter, who had a 12-point week and an 8-week total of 103 points. And Bruce Jacobs of Fox Sports Radio finally climbed out of the cellar with a 12-point week.

Here’s how things shook out in week eight…(click chart to enlarge)

With a chance to go two games up in the NFC West and establish themselves as one of the dominate teams in the NFL the Cardinals played their worst game this season. I don’t think it’s anything to panic over but it sure is discouraging to see the Cards play like they did today after such a nice win.

The two strengths of the team we’re what cost Arizona. The run defense that was number one in the NFL gave up 270 yards rushing and Pro Bowl quarterback Kurt Warner had 6 turnovers. Hard to win any game with those two stats.

Kurt Warner: Thanks to one of Kurt’s worse statistical games of his career the calls for Matt Leinart have started once again. I’ll admit part of me wanted Whisenhunt to pull Warner and put Leinart in but I’m glad he didn’t. There’s no reason to start a quarterback controversy when your team is 4-3 and in first place in the NFC West. If it was some rookie quarterback that threw 5 picks I’d put up more of a fuss. But Kurt gets a longer leash with me. He did lead the Cards to a Super Bowl last year. At the same time if we see this kind of production from Warner and the passing game over the next few weeks then we might need to give Leinart a try. But lets be more patient and see if our Pro Bowl quarterback can get this offense going.

Play Calling: Kurt obviously isn’t playing his best ball right now but the play calling might have something to do with that. Warner isn’t a dink and dunk quarterback and that’s what he’s being asked to do. This kind of offense actually seems more suited for a QB like Leinart. Warner is more suited for an offense like Arizona had last year where the passes were going down the field. To be honest I really don’t know who to blame in this situation. I know a lot of Cardinals fans are quick to blame Warner and a lot are quick to blame Whisenhunt for the play calling. If I was guessing I’d say they’re both at fault. Before last game it was easy to blame the offensive line because they’ve given Kurt no time to get the ball down field, but yesterday Warner had time in the pocket and still dumped it off to Hightower all game. Maybe that’s part of Whisenhunts plan and Kurt is just doing what he’s told. I wish I had some game film to break things down more but for the moment I’m just guessing. Warner said in his post game press conference that a lot of the issues with not getting Fitzgerald the ball down field have to do with defenses putting a Saftey on top of him. But they did that last year so I don’t know. Hopefully Whisenhunt and Kurt can get in some kind of rhythm soon.

The Defense: So much for being the best run defense in the NFL. Arizona allowed 270 yards rushing which is about 200 more than usual. DeAngelo Williams and Jonothan Stewart are studs but there was still no excuse for the sloppy tackling. As for DRC getting burned by Steve Smith… Well that’s just what DRC is, all or nothing. I’m use to that being Rod Hood that gets burned by Smith, but this time DRC was the goat. I’m still feeling good about the defense I just think they’re a little inconsistent. They’re improving so I’m not too worried. I chalk yesterday up to a bad game.

Run Game: Lost in all the frustration of yesterday was the great job Arizona did running the ball. 17 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown is much improved from other games. Both Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower are improving with every time they step on the field. Thanks to the Cards run game, Warner actually had time to throw the ball because the defense had to respect the run. But unfortunately yesterday that didn’t really matter. But that’s a big positive to take away from this game. Back to back games where the run game has looked good.

Anquan Boldin: Boldin got his ankle rolled up on again which could knock him out for next weeks game. Having many high ankle sprains in my life I’d say benching him for a week might not be the worst thing to do. It will get worse and worse the more he plays with it. I’d rather have Anquan sit out a game rather than have him beat up at the end of the season. Also I think he deserves a congratulations becoming the all time leading receiver in Cardinals history passing Larry Centers for most receptions. So Congrats Anquan.

I’m pretty disappointed right now because of what could’ve been had Arizona won yesterday. But things still look good for the Cardinals so I’m not going to panic. First place in the division with an easy schedule left is something to smile about. I’m just hoping to see improvement as the team gets closer to the playoffs.

There were thousands at the game, watching on television and yes, tweeting about, and all were thinking the same thing. What the hell is wrong with the Cardinals?

Here’s what some Twitterers were saying yesterday about the Cardinals’ ugly performance.

On Kurt Warner

On Mike Gandy

On DRC

…and of course, I have to include one of my own

It was viewed by many (including myself) as a “statement game”.

If that was a statement game, so was today’s 34-21 loss to the mediocre Carolina Panthers.

This week’s statement to those who elevated the Cardinals to the NFC’s elite was, “remember, we’re the Arizona Cardinals.

Carolina jumped on the Cardinals from the opening kickoff, taking the ball right down the field on the Cardinals and scoring on a 15-play, 74-yard touchdown drive that took 7:38 off the clock.

It went downhill from there, and the Cardinals missed a golden opportunity to open a 2-game lead over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West.

Here’s six points that stood out from Sunday’s debacle at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.

1

Kurt Warner was downright awful. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. When Warner is good, he’s among the best. When he’s having an off-day, he’s one of the worst. Warner turned the ball over six times on Sunday, throwing 5 picks and fumbling once. One of his interceptions was returned for a touchdown by Julius Peppers that made the score 28-7 midway through the 2nd quarter.
One of the biggest story lines heading into this game was that Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme had become the most generous player in the league. Delhomme had thrown 18 interceptions in his last 7 games.
But today, it was Warner who was the generous one. It kinda makes you wonder if just shaking hands with Delhomme before the game gave him the “turnover cooties”.
In three home losses this season, Warner has thrown 9 interceptions. Is it any wonder why the Cardinals are 1-3 in Glendale this year?

2

Can announcers stop calling the Cardinals’ offense high-powered? High-powered, high-octane, wide-open, high-flying. These are four accurate descriptions of the Arizona Cardinals’ offense…from 2008! This year’s version is actually pretty tame and conservative. On Sunday, the Cardinals ran 65 plays. Their longest play from scrimmage was a 19-yard pass from Warner to Larry Fitzgerald.
The Cardinals have only 2 plays all season long that have covered 40 yards or more. That doesn’t exactly scream “high-powered”.
I’m not sure if this is all part of head coach Ken Whisenhunt’s plan to make the Cardinals more like the power offense run by the Pittsburgh Steelers when he served as that team’s offensive coordinator, or if it’s just the fact that Warner can’t throw the ball down the field anymore?
The Cardinals still do have the league’s best trio of receivers in Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston. Last year they averaged 14.9, 11.7 and 13.1 yards per catch, respectively. Today that trio averaged 9.7 yards per catch, even in a game where the Cardinals trailed big nearly from the outset. What’s the sense of having weapons if you’re not going to use them? You don’t buy a Ferrari, and only drive back and forth to the corner convenience store, do you?

3

Did the Cardinals’ defense read their press clippings? After impressive performances in back-to-back weeks against the Seahawks and Giants, the Cardinals’ defense started to get a lot of recognition, and deservedly so. But Sunday, the Cardinals’ ‘d’ got pushed around all day long by the Panthers offensive front and running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, who combined for 245 yards on the ground.
The Cardinals came into the game as the number one rush defense in the league. They didn’t leave that way–which really makes you wonder. You know the Panthers are terrible when they have to rely on Delhomme to beat teams with his arm. But the Panthers came out and ran the ball right away–9 times on their opening touchdown drive. Delhomme only had to throw the ball 14 times in the game, exactly what Carolina wanted to do.

4

DRC. We’ve said before–he’s ‘all or nothing’. DRC was torched on a 50-yard touchdown pass by Delhomme and Carolina malcontent Steve Smith. We’ll let you decide if he was all or nothing on Sunday.

5

The running game. It’s too bad the Cardinals got so far behind on Sunday, because their running game actually looked good. Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower combined to average 5.4 yards per carry–and even better, no fumbles.

6

Carolina’s conservatism almost cost them. After rookie cornerback Sherrod Martin intercepted Warner, Carolina took over possession at their own 43-yard line leading 28-7. They had all three timeouts remaining. Yet they didn’t call their first timeout until there was :11 left in the half? Even a field goal would have given the Panthers a 24-point lead. What’s that old saying about putting your foot on the throat of your opponent when you’ve got them down? Carolina got away with not doing it on Sunday.

Highlights from NFL.com/Fox Sports

We’re almost at the halfway point of the 2009 NFL season (can you believe it?).

And, we’ve got another eclectic six pack of games for our expert panel to prognosticate in week 8 of Hanging ‘Em Out There on Fanster.com.

Last week, Jerry Brown, who gives us a double shot of “Brownie Points” each week on Fanster, led the pack with a resepectable 14 points. Mike ‘Roc’ Muraco of The Fan AM 1060 was 2nd with 10. Quite bluntly, the rest of the panel would have had trouble picking their nose last week, as everyone else scored in single digits, highlighted by yours truly, who scored just 3 points. (Eesh!)

Going into week 8, our fan representative, Deanna Carpenter, is still leading the pack with 91 points. Mark Weber of “The Show To Be Named Later” is second with 86 points, while Roc and Jerry are one point behind him with 85.

Here’s this week’s grid of picks…(click to enlarge)

AP Photo / Ted S. Warren

I started doing this after Week 5 and thought it would be fun to continue to do it as the season progresses and we continue to learn more about each team the Cardinals play and the Cardinals themselves.  Here are my Predictions from Week 5 if you’d like to take a look back (and hold me accountable).

Week 6 (away) - Seattle Seahawks
Past Analysis: “The Seahawks have had Arizona’s number up until recently and the easy answer here is to give each team one game.  But I don’t think the Seahawks are healthy enough to keep up in either game.  I give Arizona both.”

RESULT: Arizona 21 - Seattle 3
Spank you very much.  The Cardinals handled the crowd noise by shoving the football down their throats.  This one had to feel good if you’re a Cardinals fan.  I maintain my stance with my two-game prediction.

Record: 3-2

Week 7 (away) - NY Giants
Past Analysis: “Unless Eli Manning’s turf toe eats his entire foot, the Cardinals will have their hands full - this game goes to the Giants.”

RESULT: Arizona 24 - NY Giants 17
Didn’t matter that Eli could throw the ball because the Cardinals defense shut down the entire Giants offense.  HUGE win making the rest of the season that much sweeter.

Record: 4-2

Week 8 (home) - Carolina Panthers
I still think DelHomme is going to embarrass himself…Unless of course they hand the ball off the entire game, in which case the number one run defense in the league will destroy the Panthers.

Record: 5-2

Week 9 (away) - Chicago Bears
Well, Cutler just threw a huge wrench in his MVP status with last week’s performance and all of a sudden, the Bears look very beatable.  I’m still going to give this one to the Bears because it’s in the Windy City, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Cardinals come out of Chicago with a ‘W.’

Record: 5-3

Week 10 (home) - Seattle Seahawks

Record: 6-3

Week 11 (away) - St. Louis Rams
The Cardinals have to love the fact that they get to play the Rams twice every year…Chalk up two wins right now, no questions asked.

Record: 7-3

Week 12 (away) - Tennessee Titans
The Cardinals get to see Vince Young at quarterback long before they play the Titans, so I still don’t expect any issues with a struggling Tennessee team.

Record: 8-3

Week 13 (home) - Minnesota Vikings
This game might end up being played in Sunday Night Football after a strong Cardinals win and since the network doesn’t have Brett Favre on their agenda yet this year.  I fear now more than ever that Mr. Favre will pick the Cardinals secondary apart.  Sorry Cards…No dice.

Record: 8-4

Week 14 (away) - San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers are who we thought they were…A struggling offensive team looking for an identity starting with the quarterback position.  One can only hope that Alex Smith is still starting when the Cardinals play them again.

Record: 9-4

Week 15 (away) - Detroit Lions
The Cardinals play the Rams twice and the Lions…Good stuff.

Record: 10-4

Week 16 (home) - St. Louis Rams

Record: 11-4

Week 17 (home) - Green Bay Packers
Now, I fully expect the Cardinals to have clinched the NFC West at this point, so Whisenhunt will take little chance with his starters.  Green Bay may still be fighting for a playoff spot, so for motivational reasons, this game goes to them.

Record: 11-5

Finish: 1st Place NFC West

Cardinals not getting respect? That's fine with linebacker Gerald Hayes.

Among the impressed were longtime Cardinal fans who have been waiting for a signature win to announce to the rest of the football universe that “these are not your Grandfather’s Cardinals”.

Apparently among those not that impressed, ESPN–the Worldwide Leader in Sports.

Quarterback Kurt Warner appeared on the Valley radio airwaves on Tuesday morning with “Doug and Wolf” on Sports 620 KTAR, and wasn’t too pleased with the sports giant located in Bristol, Connecticut.

“I watched some highlights on ESPN yesterday, and they didn’t show a single offensive highlight of the Arizona Cardinals when they talked about our game,” Warner said. “It continually amazes me that after the success we had last season and going to the Super Bowl, that we still don’t get much national recognition and people still think of us as a second-rate team and organization.”

And you know what? He’s absolutely right.

The Cardinals’ history has been so bad, so forgettable, and in many cases laughable, that apparently it’s going to take more than an NFC Championship banner, a close-but-no-cigar effort in the Super Bowl, and an impressive Sunday night performance against the Giants to convince the football populous that this team is for real.

Linebacker Gerald Hayes actually likes the lack of recognition. “I’m kinda happy we’re not getting any attention,” Hayes said after practice on Thursday. “That just makes more motivated to go out there and win.”

If the Cardinals continue their recent stellar play (especially defensively) against a perceived soft schedule over the next 5 weeks, a 9-2 or 8-3 mark is entirely possible.

And if that scenario shakes out, then you’ll hear the national pundits drooling all over the Arizona Cardinals.

I guess we’re just ahead of the curve here in Arizona.

I haven’t had much time to talk about the Cardinals big win over the Giants on Sunday unfortunately. But fortunately that doesn’t take away from what a great win it was. Similar to the Cowboys game last year, the Cardinals won a game they weren’t suppose to win which changed the momentum for the season and brought their record to 4-2. This win against the Giants has also brought their record to 4-2 and like last season the Cards will be playing Carolina for their next game after the big win. Last season with a chance to get to 5-2 and solidify themselves as serious contenders Arizona lost a close game in Carolina. This season the Panthers game is at home and Carolina hasn’t been looking great. So I think things will go differently this time around.

I’ve loved the atmosphere in Arizona this week after the Sunday Night Football victory. There’s been a lot of excitement and renewed enthusiasm for the team. A big upset always fires up the fan base. As a long time Cardinals fan I’ve learned to appreciate every win Arizona gets. But now that the Cardinals have been to the Super Bowl I find myself dreaming of a newer atmosphere in Arizona. I dream that when the Cardinals go into New York and beat the Giants on Sunday Night Football that it won’t be a huge upset, but more of a “good win”. Some of my friends were talking about the game like it was the 1980 US Olympic hockey team upsetting the Soviets. Although I love their excitement I want the Cardinals to some day get to the point where we as fans think “That was a nice win and we expected them to win because Arizona is a dominant team in the league.” Slowly I think we might be getting to that point. I know I’m getting spoiled and way ahead of things but it’s an atmosphere I fantasize about. I’ll take winning the division again and making the playoffs but I’d like to see the day where teams fear Arizona.

Adrian Wilson Wins NFC Defensive Player of The Week

This was a well deserved award for Wilson. Adrian had 5 tackles two for a loss, one interception, and a fumble recovery. He did this while suffering from bad leg cramps. With the interception Wilson is now one INT and one sack short of being the 9th player in NFL history to have 20 sacks and 20 interceptions in his career. This shows the versatility the Cardinals have with Adrian Wilson at safety. So props to him on the award.

However no props goes to the NFL for fining Antrel Rolle $7,500 dollars for his clean hit on Kevin Boss and $5,000 grand to Levi Brown for his chop block. I can somewhat understand the Levi Brown chop block but he did get penalized for it so I feel that should be enough. I guess I’d have to watch the play again. But the Antrel Rolle fine was a bit much for me. I said as soon as he made the hit that he would be fined. Any hard hit in the secondary or on the quarterback made these days is a fine or a flag. I think most people feel the frustration I do about this but I’m afraid it won’t change. The NFL gets multiple thumbs down when it comes to this issue.

Things are looking good here in Cardinal land. By the way have any of you ever seen a Cardinal in Arizona? I think I’ve seen two in 20 years. But I digress. I’m happy with the progress being made by Arizona on both sides of the ball. There’s plenty of room for improvement but I’m still feeling great about this team especially with the easy finishing schedule.

I’ll be back shortly with my keys to the Carolina game.

AP Photo / Mel Evans

A big road win.  A statement game.  A culture change.  Cris Collinsworth even said it was the biggest regular season victory in Cardinals history.  Now, I don’t know about all of that, but it was a HUGE win.  When I went through the Cardinals schedule before the season started, I chalked up a win against the 49ers at home and a loss to the Giants on the road - I was wrong on both accounts, but nonetheless still have Arizona at 4-2 and on track to win the division.

There was only one offensive drive the entire game in which I had to yell at the team, so overall, I’d call that a success from where I sit as armchair quarterback.  Once again, the balance was pretty good and Beanie Wells had a pretty solid showing.  In my mind, Whisenhunt is doing all the right things and the Cardinals are on the right track.  Let’s take a look at the offensive tale of the tape.
Drive - # of Plays - Time of Possession - Result of Drive

1st Drive - 4 Plays - 2:04 - Fumble (Hightower)
Run - 2
Screen - 0
Pass - 2

Hightower hardly ever fumbles, but even the most reliable can make mistakes.  That said, this was actually one of the nicest opening drives I have seen this Cardinals team execute.  They came out of the locker room into a very hostile environment and drove the ball down the field.  Unfortunate result, but not a horrible start.

2nd Drive - 3 Plays - 1:41 - Punt
Run - 1
Screen - 1
Pass - 1

This was one of the few drives that the Cardinals used Beanie Wells as the lone running back.  Check out these statistics: in a two-back set (with a counterpart to Beanie, usually fullback Dan Kreider), Wells carried 8 times for 52 yards and a touchdown.  As the lone back, Wells carried 6 times for 15 yards.  I guarantee the coaching staff saw that pattern as well.

3rd Drive - 6 Plays - 1:44 - Punt
Run - 0
Screen - 1
Pass - 5

Up to this point, I was starting to get a little worried.  Very little time of possession and a drive in which they didn’t physically run the ball one time in 6 plays - I was praying that they weren’t getting away from the balance that is so key for this team.  Fortunately, the defense had been playing so well, I knew it wasn’t time to panic yet.

4th Drive - 4 Plays - 1:20 - Interception (Warner to Fitzgerald)
Run - 2
Screen - 0
Pass - 2

Although this wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world and though it didn’t end the way the Cardinals had hoped, I had to applaud Whisenhunt for going back to the run, even while nothing offensively was working.  This is important to set up later touchdown drives when the Giants still had to respect the run.  And once again, Wells showed us all why he will be very valuable to this team.

5th Drive - 3 plays - 1:34 - Punt
Run - 1
Screen - 0
Pass - 2

Ben Patrick caught a nice pass over the middle on this drive and it is definitely nice to see him catching balls.  If Jason Wright simply falls on the punt that careened off of a Giants player and landed “wright” in front of him (sorry, I had to), the Cardinals get the ball back deep in Giants territory.  Instead, the defense had to continue to save this game, which they did.

6th Drive - 3 Plays - 1:29 - Punt
Run - 0
Screen - 0
Pass - 3

Very interesting that the longest drive was their first drive and was just over two minutes long.  Usually, that’s a very bad sign, but truly, the drives look worse on paper than they were.  In fact, that first drive was a thing of beauty until a rare Hightower fumble.  I still was not all that worried even though there wasn’t a whole lot of offensive momentum - this is the “new” Cardinals after all.

7th Drive - 7 Plays - 3:09 - Touchdown (Wells)
Run - 1
Screen - 0
Pass - 6

Here’s a great example of a good time to pass.  For the most part, the Cardinals had shown a tendancy for balance, with a mixture of running and passing.  Then, at a pivotal point in the game, they passed six times, moved the ball close to the goalline, and then finished it off with a great run.  Here’s a cool fact: Beanie Wells caught the first pass of the drive and ended it with the ball in his hands.  It is important to note too, that Wells is consistently catching balls out of the backfield.  This is an important part of what a running back needs to do in Whisenhunt’s system.  Good drive and great finish.

8th Drive - 4 Plays - 1:54 - Field Goal (Rackers)
Run - 1
Screen - 0
Pass - 3

Finishing out the half with some points and going into half time down only 4 after a pretty lackadaisical offensive first half wasn’t a bad thing in the least.

1st Half Totals - 8 Drives
Run - 8
Screen - 2
Pass - 24

HALF TIME

9th Drive - 7 Plays - 3:42 - Touchdown (Hightower)
Run - 4
Screen - 0
Pass - 3

This was the most important drive of the game (and if Cris Collinsworth is right and this was the Cardinals greatest regular season victory of all time, this was the most important regular season drive of all time as well).  This drive put the Cardinals on top in front of a hostile crowd immediately after coming out of the half.  They set the tone and ran the ball effectively, which is not easy to do against the Giants…especially in New York.

10th Drive - 5 Plays - 2:27 - Punt
Run - 0
Screen - 2
Pass - 3

One word.  Penalties.  Even though the trick play with Antrel Rolle was incredible, it wouldn’t have counted even if Fitzgerald would have made the catch because of a hold.  And then a chop block from Levi Brown took the Cardinals even farther away from the line of scrimmage.  And that is when I decided to give a little yell at the offensive line (Brown got the brunt of it).  But like I said, one yell in an entire game is a pretty good ratio.

11th Drive - 3 Plays - 1:37 - Touchdown (Warner to Wright)
Run - 2
Screen - 1
Pass - 0

This is a real-life indication that Beanie Wells is going to be an asset to this team.  Man, I can’t wait for him to really break out.  If he can keep on learning the playbook, keep catching the ball out of the backfield, and protect Warner when asked, he’ll be a huge contributor teh rest of the year.

12th Drive - 3 Plays - 1:13 - Punt
Run - 2
Screen - 0
Pass - 1

A mistake was made on this play to throw the deep ball to a hobbling Anquan Boldin.  It didn’t work and the Cardinals had to punt earlier than they wanted to.  Still, a 10-point lead is a good place to be in the fourth quarter.

13th Drive - 5 Plays - 3:26 - Punt
Run - 3
Screen - 1
Pass - 1

Nothing special here.  The Cardinals had a 7 point lead and needed to run some clock.  A three and a half minute drive late in the fourth isn’t bad with a defense that was playing as well as Arizona’s was.

14th Drive - 3 Plays - 1:00 - Punt
Run - 0
Screen - 0
Pass - 3

Dumb.  Throwing the ball three times this late in the game with the lead was just stupid.  Especially when the run game hadn’t been terrible.  This should have been rethought and Whisenhunt knows it.

15th Drive - 3 Kneel-downs - 1:08 - Kneel
N/A

2nd Half Totals - 7 Drives
Run - 11
Screen - 4
Pass - 11

END GAME

Game Total - 15 Drives
Run - 19 - 31.7%
Screen - 6 - 10%
Pass - 35 - 58.3%

Well, now you can add the Arizona Cardinals to the mix.

The Redbirds went to the Meadowlands and impressively beat the G-Men 24-17, to regain an exclusive hold on first place in the NFC West, and push their record to 4-2 on the season. Maybe more impressively is the Cardinals’ 3-0 road record.

Here’s six points that really stood out for the Cardinals during their win on Sunday…

1

The Cardinals don’t have to outscore teams to beat them. You’d expect a Cardinals road win over the Giants to include Kurt Warner throwing for 400 yards, and the score to creep into the 40s. Not so fast. The Cardinals were actually outgained by the Giants, 327 to 288. Warner threw for only 231 yards. So, how did they win?
The Cardinals’ defense is vastly improved over a year ago. Arizona forced 4 Giants’ turnovers, and harassed Eli Manning all night long. Outside of a fluky touchdown off of a tipped ball, the secondary was nearly flawless.
I’ve always wondered what the Cardinals were capable of if their defensive intensity matched their offensive firepower. Last night was a good example of it.

2

DRC. On previous posts on this very website, and our daily podcast “The Show To Be Named Later”, I’ve said that Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is all or nothing. Those thoughts were echoed by NBC’s know-it-all analyst Cris Collinsworth word for word during the telecast.
We’ve seen the good (DRC’s interception return for a touchdown to nail down the NFC West title against St. Louis last year) and the bad (his tackling effort earlier this season against Houston). We saw the good side of DRC last night in New Jersey. His first quarter interception on a long pass intended for Domenik Hixon was a thing of beauty, especially since DRC is playing with a heavily wrapped hand. In the 2nd quarter, DRC made another play, going up high to deflect a ball, that Hakeem Nicks caught in stride and took to the house for a 62-yard td and a 7-point Giants’ lead.
It wasn’t DRC’s fault, he actually made the play, the ball just took a bad bounce. Other than an ankle injury that sidelined him for a good portion of the second half, it was a very promising performance by #29.

3

Big kudos to the offensive line. Admit it. After the Indianapolis Colts’ d-line pushed around the Cards’ offensive front, sacking Kurt Warner four times earlier this year, you started looking on the schedule to see what other teams the Cardinals faced in ‘09 with strong pass rushes. Ok, that was me, and the game that really concerned me was the matchup against the Giants. There were rumblings heading into the season that the Giants’ defensive line might be the best ever. Justin Tuck is a stud, Osi Umenyiora is back from injury and Mathias Kiwanuka is a pass rushing specialist. Their constant pressure against maligned Cardinals’ tackles Mike Gandy and Levi Brown could make for a long night.
Guess what? Gandy and Brown won the battle. The Cardinals allowed only 2 sacks on the night, and really did a nice job of neutralizing Tuck and Umenyiora, who combined for only one quarterback hurry.

4

Fumbling still a problem. When the normally sure-handed Tim Hightower fumbled for the 3rd time this season on the opening drive on Sunday, you had to ask yourself the question, “now what are they gonna do?” As a rookie in 2008, Hightower fumbled only once in 177 touches. This season, he’s already put the ball on the carpet 3 times in 86 touches. Couple that with the fact that Beanie Wells (who also fumbled on Sunday) has fumbled three times in 53 chances, and the Cardinals are running out of options for a sure-handed running back.
Wells has already been forced to carry around a football with him everywhere he goes after a 2-fumble day at Jacksonville. Maybe somebody needs to write a big #34 on another ball and present it to Hightower.

5

I hate to look ahead but… The Cardinals, who have won 3 straight, have a stretch of 5 games where they should win a minimum of 4. Only a trip to Chicago to take on the Bears on November 8th has the potential to prevent the Cards from an 8-game winning streak. The other four teams the Cardinals play during that stretch (Carolina, Seattle, St. Louis, Tennessee) have combined for a 4-21 record in 2009.

6

The unsung heroes. Hats off to defensive tackle Alan Branch, and defensive backs Michael Adams, Ralph Brown and Matt Ware. Branch, who was on the bubble to even make the team in training camp after a disappointing first two seasons in the league. Branch not only made the squad, but has been a force. He registered the first two quarterback sacks of his career against the Giants. Adams, a special teams demon, was forced into action after DRC’s ankle injury, and he produced with 3 tackles and one pass defensed. Brown was his normal steady self with 5 tackles, and Ware forced and recovered a fumble late in the 4th quarter to help preserve the win.
They say you’re only as good as your bench, and if the reserves keep playing like this, the Cardinals will be tough to beat.

ESPN’s Trent Dilfer breaks down the Cardinals’ win over the Giants

Kurt Warner and the Cardinals earned a rare victory at the Meadowlands. (Photo: Mel Evans/AP)

From the handful of Monday Night Football appearances (and losses) in the late 80’s and 90’s, to the playoff rout at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings during the 1998 season, to blowing a chance to knock off the mighty Chicago Bears on MNF in 2006, this franchise has missed golden opportunities to shine when the whole world is watching.

Even after a valiant effort on the sporting world’s biggest stage 8 months ago, many still believed that the Cardinals were a fluke–a team that qualified for the playoffs by feasting on a weak division and getting hot at the right time.

A lot of those people now have no choice but to shut up.

With the world watching Football Night in America, the Arizona Cardinals went to the Meadowlands and knocked off the New York Giants, a team that many believed was the best in football just 8 days ago, 24-17. The win for the Cardinals was their first at Giants Stadium since a 34-24 win in 1999.

The win was especially impressive because of the key injuries suffered to members of the secondary in the second half. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie suffered an ankle injury. Safety Adrian Wilson, who was a man possessed while he was on the field, battled cramps all night. The Cardinals finished the night with Greg Toler, a rookie from Division II St. Paul’s College and Michael Adams, known mostly for his special teams prowess, playing corner, yet still hung on for the win by forcing turnovers on the Giants’ last two possessions of the evening.

In the span of three hours, the Arizona Cardinals managed to open the eyes of many “haters”. Not only is Arizona back on top of the NFC West with a 4-2 record, they’ve announced to the rest of the league with their last two performances that taking their NFC crown will not be an easy task.

Highlights from NFL.com/NBC

Tonight the Arizona Cardinals get a chance to redeem themselves on Sunday Night Football after a sorry performance earlier in the year on national TV. The challengers this time will be the New York Giants. The Cardinals are the clear underdog in this one but I wouldn’t call this game a gimme for the Giants just yet. Here are a few keys to the game….

Establish The Run: Fortunately the last two weeks the Cardinals have played teams that you don’t HAVE to run the ball against to be successful. That will change this week against New York. The Giants have the best pass defense in the league which means the Cardinals can’t sit back and throw the ball all game and expect great results. In order to move the ball on offense the Cards need to take some pressure off the pass attack and run the ball. I’ve said it a thousand times, if Arizona can’t run they can’t beat good teams. They made the playoff run last year against good teams because the running game came alive. They can beat crappy teams in their division just throwing the ball but as soon as they play some good football teams they struggle because of their inability to move the ball on the ground. We’ll see a replay of the previous Sunday night football game if the Cards don’t get Hightower and Beanie going. It will be what happened in the Colts game earlier this year. Kurt Warner will drop back and those talented pass rushers on New York will take Warner apart because they don’t have to fear the run. So running the ball effectively is absolutely key number one. Everything else will open up in the game if they can do that.

Get Pressure On Eli: I know the Giants run game is what teams fear when facing New York but I don’t think it’s the reason why Arizona could lose. Last season when the teams faced each other the Cards held the Giants to 3.2 yards per carry. It was Eli Manning going 26 of 33 for 3Td’s and 0 interceptions that beat Arizona. That and the Cardinals only gaining 23 yards on the ground but I’ve already gone over that. The Cards run defense is the best in the NFL this season and I think they’ll do a nice job again tonight. I don’t expect the Giants run game to be as bad as Seattle’s but I don’t think it will kill Arizona. Like last year what could beat the Cards is Manning having all day to deliver passes in the pocket. When the Cardinals have gotten to quarterbacks this year teams haven’t really scored. When they haven’t it’s been a nightmare. The run defense and hole plugging will be there for Arizona. It’s guys getting to Eli that will shut down the Giants offense.

Protect Kurt Warner: The Giants have already said they’re bringing the blitz in this game. So the Cards pass protection needs to be on their game. That means Levi Brown can’t have numerous penalties and allow multiple sacks. He has to start playing like the first round pick that he is. Of course that will be a lot easier if the Cardinals can run the ball or don’t fall behind early. Like I said before, if Arizona can get a run game going that will take a lot of pressure of Warner and the offensive line.

Some small keys…

Anquan Boldin, Be healthy: The Cardinals proved last year they can win without Anquan but it’s much tougher. Boldin had a big game against the Giants last time they met so Anquan needs to play and play effectively.

Get play action going: Once again this all comes back to the run but if the Cards can get some momentum running the ball they should get Fitzgerald open on some passes down field.

Neil Rackers: Neil hasn’t kicked a game winning or tying field goal in the last few minutes of a game since 2007. I’m saying he’s due for a big field goal attempt.

The Cardinals have the ability to lose big like they have on a few occasions the last couple seasons. But they also have what it takes to upset teams. I don’t know if they’ll win this game but I think they’ll give it a good run.

Last week, it was “the Red Menace”, Mark Weber of “The Show To Be Named Later”, who scored 20 points to propel himself into a 2nd place tie (with yours truly), just 5 points behind overall leader Deanna Carpenter, the fan representative.

On the other side of things, Fox Sports Radio’s Bruce Jacobs did his impression of a field goal kicker, scoring three points, and fell into last place with 42 overall points.

Here’s what our panel of experts sees happening this week. (click on chart to enlarge)