Phoenix.BloggersPub

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The 6 and 3 Arizona Cardinals are heading to “Sunny” Seattle, Washington to play the Seahawks for the first time this season. The Cardinals have not had success playing at Qwest Field, losing all 5 games since Seattle starting playing there in 2002. The Seahawks have always had a real homefield advantage playing […]

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The 5 and 3 Arizona Cardinals are offically half way through the NFL season. That means it’s time for my midterm grades.

Offense: The Arizona Cardinals offense might be the most potent in the NFL. They average a league leading 29.2 points a game. They’re 3rd in the NFL in total offense, and 2nd […]

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On this weeks Voice of the Cardinals Podcast, Eli and Mark sit down and talk about another win for the Cardinals. This time it was a big victory over the St.Louis Rams on the road. They also discuss the recent talks around the NFL about Kurt Warner being considered a MVP candidate.
The future […]

This was a post by Mark on MVN.com

In what was inevitable, the Cardinals lack of power at nose tackle was utterly exposed today as the Washington Redskins picked apart the Arizona Cardinals defense. There was zero pass rush or push up the middle, Darnell Dockett was once again double teamed and held most of the day and Alan Branch and Bryan Robinson were non-factors on the D-line.

The time of possession favored the Redskins despite their total lack of a down field passing game, but with Cooley catching passes underneath and Portis running just well enough to keep the defense honest, the Cardinals couldn’t make a stop when they needed too. I’ve said it before but until Gabe Watson gets back on the field and is able to give the defensive line the interior push and hustle he provides, Dockett is going to be consistently double teamed and Bertrand Berry and Chike Okeafor will be a step late on the edge. I can only imagine what Brett Favre will do to the Cardinals defense if they continue to play like they did today.

Some observations in the loss:

1. As already noted, this team desperately needs Gabe Watson back on the field at NT. It’s not like they are getting black topped up the middle but as one of the TD runs exposed on replay, they are vulnerable between the tackles on short yardage situations. Also the lack of any interior pass rush is killing Dockett’s ability to get to the QB effectively, allowing opposing QB’s to step up against the pass rush or run up the middle as Jason Campbell did at least three times today, running for first downs on passing situations.

2. Deuce Lutui killed two drives with a bad pass blocking technique on one drive and a penalty on the other. I wouldn’t be surprised if we are less then a week away from Elton Brown possibly taking the starting spot. He plays well but those few key mistakes just kill you in a close game like we had today.

3. Steve Breaston isn’t quite there as the third receiver yet. On one key play he broke the wrong way and missed a big opportunity when Warner expected him to break up the field and in the crucial play of the game, he was physically out muscled on the interception that turned the game around. Sure it might have been pass interference but he was out played by the defense in that situation. Hopefully he learns and continues to improve, they are going to need him.

4. Way too many flags and mistakes. The most glaring was the lost touchdown on the play clock running out on 4th down to Ben Patrick. Warner was irate and said it was a quick whistle and Fox Sports didn’t even have the good sense to run a replay showing the play clock to see if he was right. Either way it shouldn’t have happened and it killed the Cardinals.

5. The defense has gone 9 quarters with out forcing a turn over, which isn’t going to win you too many ball games. I’m a big fan of Clancy Pendergast, but in this game I feel like he was out coached by the Redskins who seemed to have an answer for every thing he dialed up.

6. Punting with 2:33 left on the clock at mid field was basically the worst coaching call I’ve seen Coach Whisenhunt make since he got to the desert. I’m not sure what defense he was watching today but they had zero shot of stopping the Redskins from getting that first down and burning the clock which was exactly what they did. When I saw them go to punt formation I basically said, Game Over, and it certainly was. Just a completely chicken move on his part and one I hope I don’t see again this year.

In summary, a really annoying game that the Cardinals only have themselves to blame for losing. The Redskins are good, but not better then the Cardinals and they simply wanted it more, were better coached, and didn’t make stupid mistakes. The Cardinals deserved to lose this game and they did.

Voice of the Cardinals host Eli Wahlstrom interviews former Arizona Cardinal, Washington Redskin, and 4 time Pro Bowler Ken Harvey. Eli and Ken discuss the up and coming game between the Arizona Cardinals and Washington Redskins, along with strategy and predictions for the game. Mr Harvey also talks about the his past memories with […]

Voice of the Cardinals host Eli Wahlstrom interviews former Arizona Cardinal, Washington Redskin, and 4 time Pro Bowler Ken Harvey. Eli and Ken discuss the up and coming game between the Arizona Cardinals and Washington Redskins, along with strategy and predictions for the game.  Mr Harvey also talks about the his past memories with the Cardinals organization and his future job with the Redskins.

Ken Harvey was drafted with the 7th pick overall by the Phoenix Cardinals where he played 6 seasons before heading to the Washington Redskins for 5 season where he was voted to four Pro Bowls. Ken recorded 89 sacks in his 11 year career including a career high of 13.5 in 1994. Ken was named one of the 70 greatest Washington Redskins of all time. 

To Listen To the Interview Click Here

Kurt Warner has been named the NFC’s Offensive Player of The Week. As most of us already know, Kurt had a perfect QB rating 158.3 and threw for 361 yards and 3 touchdowns.

But on top of being named NFC Offensive Player of the Week, Warner is also nominated for the FedEx air & ground player of the week. If Warner wins, $1000 goes to the Safe Kids USA Foundation in Kurt’s name.

So make sure you click on the link below and vote for Kurt instead of those other bums, Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers. Just kidding, but seriously Kurt had a better week than those guys and you should go take a second and vote for the Cardinals quarterback.

Click Here For Link

On this weeks edition of Voice of the Cardinals radio, we have guest Charles Golden on from Revenge of the Birds
to talk about the recent success of the Arizona Cardinals. We discuss
topics such as last weeks win against the Miami Dolphins and do a
little preview for the up and coming game against the Washington
Redskins.

To Listen To The Show Click Here

I’m feeling really really good right now and I know I’m not the only
one. There’s been a few occasions where the Cardinals have blown out a
team in their history but none have been as sweet as this one. This
31-10 dismantling of the Dolphins was just a thing of beauty, and just
what Arizona needed.

I mentioned in my most recent post that this game was a “Make or
Break Game” for the Cardinals. I know not everyone agreed with that
statement but if the Cardinals lost to the Dolphins it would have been
a bad omen of things to come. Most importantly perhaps it would have
devastated the fan base (There’d be no more sell outs which means no
more home games on TV which means no more fans). Well what happened was
the opposite Thank God, the people of Arizona are now packing things up
and jumping on the bandwagon instead of the usual quitting on the team
before the season gets going.

Not only did the Cardinals win in convincing fashion but the rest of
the NFC West is falling apart. The St.Louis Rams look like the worst
team in the NFL right now losing by more than 4 touchdowns for the
second straight week. The not so impressive San Francisco 49ers beat
the Seattle Seahawks pushing them to 0-2 for the season. I know I’m not
alone in my thinking when I say this has to be the year Arizona wins
the division. Right? How could they possibly lose it this year?

The Big 3 were amazing of course. I know this was the Miami Dolphins
and a JV secondary that was extremely over matched, but Warner, Boldin,
and Fitzgerald showed why they are 3 of the best in the game at their
positions. Kurt Warner had a perfect QB passer rating of 158.3 being
the first Cardinal to do that since Jim Hart in 1975. Anquan Boldin
scored 3 touchdowns being the first Cardinal wide receiver to do that
since Rob Moore in 1997, and Larry Fitzgerald finished with 6 catches
for 153 yards. They didn’t even really play in the 4th quarter either.

I should mention since I’m talking about the offense that the
Cardinals have had zero turnovers this season. If a team does that then
it’s obviously hard to lose, especially given how explosive the
Cardinals offense is. Kurt is not only attacking and making plays, he’s
protecting the ball and not letting the Cardinals beat themselves. So
forget Brett Farve, Kurt Warner’s the guy everyone should be talking
about!

Unfortunately on the other side of things the Cardinals defense
didn’t force any turnovers, but that doesn’t matter when your not
letting the other team score. I have to admit I was surprised that the
Cardinals were able to hold both Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams to
under 30 yards. I expected one of those guys to have a good game, but
the depth on the D-line prevailed and shut down the only threat for the
Dolphins. What’s great is Gabe Watson who is the key to the defensive
line hasn’t even played a game yet, so this defensive could still be
improving.

Some other notes… Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie hasn’t been talked
about much and that’s a good thing perhaps. He hasn’t aloud many
catches or made mistakes. You can’t say that about a lot of rookies in
the NFL. Tim Hightower scored another touchdown and continues to look
like the RB of the future. Tim still needs to learn how to carry the
ball, he fumbles way too often and it could be killer later on in the
season unless he fixes it. But still Hightower looks very impressive.

The Cardinals are now 2-0 for the first time since 1991. Well I
guess now the question is how long has it been since the Cardinals were
3-0? From my research I believe 1974 was the last time the Cardinals
were 3-0. In fact they started that season 7-0 that season and went to
the playoffs. I don’t think 7-0 will happen again but the playoffs is
starting to seem very likely this season.

A lot of people use the term “must win game” too loosely in sports.
A must win game means if a team loses their season or playoff run is
over. I don’t think a loss in week 2 ends any teams season but it can
be a “make or break game”, and that’s what I’m calling this one. Make
or Break.

• This becomes a “make or break game” for a couple of reasons. If the
  Cardinals lose the confidence of the team has to slide a bit,
  especially if they lose to the worst team in the NFL last year. That
  feeling that they might look like the best team in the division will go
  away, and all of a sudden they will be right back in the mix with a
  bunch of bad teams in a bad division.  Even though the Cardinals wins
  would be against two less than average teams, A win this week would
  solidify them as the team to beat in the NFC West this season. Huge
  game for confidence.

• Maybe most importantly the Cardinals fans would lose interest in
  the team once again if they were to lose. It’s bad enough the Cardinals
  could barely sell out their home opener. How do you think the fans
  would react if they lost to the Dolphins at home? There probably
  wouldn’t be a season full of sell outs like they had the previous two
  years. That obviously means the Cardinals wouldn’t be on TV for those
  games which would hurt their popularity even more. So a loss here could
  be detrimental to the Cardinals fan base in a fairly large way.

• The Arizona Cardinals haven’t started a season 2-0 since 1991.
  Every other team in the NFL has started 2-0 at least once since 1992
  except for the Cardinals. That stat makes me wonder why I haven’t been
  like so many other Arizonians and stop cheering for the Cardinals. But
  then I remember that a true fan has unconditional love for their team,
  and I stress the word unconditional. It’s a depressing stat but I won’t
  let it get to my head. I think the Cardinals will win their second game
  and be off and running to their season of destiny.

• Keys to the game… First the Cardinals defense needs to somehow stop
  the run. Gabe Watson and Alan Branch are still not at full strength.
  This means Bryan Robinson, Kenny Iwebema, and Calais Campbell are going
  to need to step up and contain Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown. If the
  Dolphins can establish the run then this game might get ugly. If the
  Cardinals can find a way to stop the run then I don’t think this game
  will be close. The other key to the game is protect Kurt Warner. Kurt
  is as good as any quarterback in history if you give him time in the
  pocket, but if a team can get pressure on him he becomes a sitting
  duck. If the O-line can just give Warner a few seconds it should become
  a track meet. The Dolphins cornerbacks can’t handle the Cardinals wide
  receivers.

My prediction in this one is the Cardinals win their second game in a row 31-17.