Cardinals slip past Lions, 31-24

The Arizona Cardinals had plenty of offense in a 31-24 win over the Detroit Lions.

The Cardinals opened up a 17-0 lead heading into halftime and seemed ready to stomp all over the Lions. I think they thought that, too, because they forgot to show up for the third quarter.

The defense gave up 17 unanswered points in the third quarter, and the Lions managed to tie the game back up.

Arizona made enough plays in the fourth quarter to secure the win, but they easily could have lost the game. The defense gave up 126 rushing yards to a backup running back, and it was just a troublesome performance all around.

Quarterback Kurt Warner threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns, one each to star wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. Boldin had a big day, hauling in six catches for 72 yards.

Rookie running back Beanie Wells had a big day as well, rushing for 110 yards and a touchdown. It looks like he may be tightening his grip on the starting job.

Saturday, December 26, 2009 at 9:52 am by steve

Cardinals upset by 49ers, 24-9

The Arizona Cardinals came out flat and looked nothing like a true contender in a 24-9 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

It was a disappointing performance from a team that looked to be starting to round into championship form.

Coming off a big home win over the Minnesota Vikings, the Cardinals looked disinterested against the 49ers.

Quarterback Kurt Warner struggled to make proper reads and take care of the ball. His hip injury may be more serious than first thought.

The Cardinals are still going to win the NFC West division, but this type of inconsistency won’t get them back to the Super Bowl.

Saturday, December 19, 2009 at 7:52 am by steve

Madden Curse Strikes Larry Fitzgerald

With Troy Polamalu, Fitzgerald’s Madden 2010 cover co-star, already likely knocked out for the year, it was only a matter of time before the Madden Curse struck Larry Fitz.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, it happened during Monday night’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers, as Fitzgerald was hurt and held to his worst game in years, finishing with two catches for 22 yards.

“He had an MRI today that revealed a bone contusion and a right knee sprain,” the Cardinals said in a statement on Tuesday. “However, the knee is stable and and there isn’t any more significant damage. He’ll be evaluated as the week progresses.”

Fitz’s status for the Cardinals’ game against Detroit on Sunday is still TBD. If the Cardinals win one more game, they likely secure the NFC West, as the 49ers would need to win out to get to the same nine wins to tie them (the Niners do have the head-to-head advantage over the Cards).

The Cards weren’t only afflicted with Fitzgerald’s injury, as cornerback Matt Ware went down with what the Falcons originally feared was a torn ACL. Falcons coach Mike Smith confirmed that the team discovered that it wasn’t a torn ACL, but there’s no timetable on his return.

“We’re fairly certain that it’s not an injury that requires an operation, which is a good thing,” the coach said.

Friday, December 18, 2009 at 12:27 pm by bryan

Cardinals surprise Vikings, 30-17

After struggling last week, the Arizona Cardinals rebounded in a big way for a 30-17 win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Quarterback Kurt Warner, finally past his post-concussion symptoms, got the start and did not look rusty in the least.

Warner tossed two touchdowns to Anquan Boldin and another to Larry Fitzgerald to lead the way.

Boldin and Fitzgerald terrorized the Minnesota secondary to the tune of more than 300 yards receiving combined.

Don’t overlook the defense either, which shut down running back Adrian Peterson and frustrated quarterback Brett Favre.

Friday, December 11, 2009 at 4:17 pm by steve

Cardinals Regain Super Bowl Form in Upset Over Minnesota, 30-17

In a battle of old-time quarterbacks (the 38-year-old Kurt Warner vs. 40-year-old Brett Favre), the “youngster” got the best of his old-time counterpart, as Warner threw three touchdowns in the Cardinals’ 30-17 upset over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night.

The Cardinals’ defense, the key to last year’s Super Bowl run, came up huge in Sunday night’s game, picking off Favre twice, sacking him three times and hurrying him all night, and holding RB Adrian Peterson to 19 total rushing yards.

“It was just physical up front and making the tackle,” Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett said. “It was great team tackling.”

“They played like they were in the Super Bowl last year,” Favre said, “and we obviously have to play better if we want to be the team that’s in the Super Bowl this year.”

The Cardinals offense moved the ball almost at will, with Warner finding WR Anquan Boldin early and often. He hit Boldin for two TDs in the first half, and found WR Larry Fitzgerald for another score towards the end of the first half. Fitzgerald caught eight passes for 143 yards, and now leads the league’s receivers with 10 TDs on the season.

But the Cardinals’ defense was the story of the game, as they likely had flashbacks of All-Day’s 165 rushing yards from last season’s 35-14 blowout at the hands of the Vikings.

After this game… they’ll have defensive coordinators scouring these tapes, looking for the secret to shutting down A.P.

“I’m pretty sure everybody is going to talk about what Brett Favre did wrong,” Dockett said, “how Brett did this wrong and that wrong, but not talk about how our defense stood up today. We’re going to stay humble, though, because we are going to play that team again.”

Warner said the victory showed “that we can play with anybody, we can play with the big dogs. The key for us is to show up that way every week.”

Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 12:30 am by bryan

Warner bothered by post-concussion symptoms

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner continues to be bothered by post-concussion symptoms.

Warner removed himself from a win over St. Louis a couple of weeks ago after taking a blow to the head.

At the time, Warner said the hit was not serious and just wanted to be cautious in light of all the talk about head injuries in the NFL.

However, he was downgraded for last weekend’s game against the Tennessee Titans and ultimately did not play.

It now seems more likely than not that Warner will also miss Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Friday, December 4, 2009 at 3:03 pm by steve

Warner Practices Wednesday, Still Day-to-Day

After being a late-scratch from Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans due to post-concussion symptoms, QB Kurt Warner practiced with the team on Wednesday, but still considers himself day-to-day.

“These last few days have been a whole lot better, a lot more clear,” he said. “I haven’t felt that sensation the last couple of days. Again, progress. We are watching everything and making sure we continue to move forward. I am definitely feeling signs and seeing signs that I am improving.”

Warner took all the first-string reps at practice last week, before ultimately sitting out the contest against the Titans and having backup QB Matt Leinart replace him in the starting lineup.

Now, Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt hopes to avoid being forced to wait until kickoff on Sunday night to name a starting QB.

“It’s really about Kurt and where he is as far as improving and how comfortable he is with his health status,” the coach said.

“I’m very optimistic, with what I feel right now and where I am improving, that I’ll be out there Sunday,” Warner said. “I don’t want to give anybody a false impression. I don’t want to make any statements that I’m definitely going to be out there, but I’m progressing and believing that I’m going to be there Sunday night.”

Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 10:43 pm by bryan

Cardinals stunned by Titans, 20-17

The Arizona Cardinals were stunned on the final play of the game in a 20-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

The Cardinals came into the game without quarterback Kurt Warner, who was still dazed from a blow to the head last week.

That meant backup quarterback Matt Leinart was pressed into starting duty, and the youngster struggled throughout the game.

However, a kickoff return for a touchdown helped give the Cardinals the lead late in the fourth quarter.

However, their defense was unable to close the door, giving up a 99-yard, game-winning touchdown drive that culminated in the winning score as time expired.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 7:28 pm by steve

Leinart Starts, Cardinals Shocked by Titans, Lose 20-17

With Kurt Warner still feeling the effects of a concussion that he suffered last week, Cardinals fans got a rematch of the BCS Championship Game from 2006… with largely the same results.

Matt Leinart started for the Cardinals and guided them to a 17-13 lead in the fourth quarter, before the Cards’ defense ultimately faltered and allowed the Tennessee Titans to steal away a 20-17 victory on Sunday.

Young led a 18-play, 99-yard touchdown drive in the game’s final 2:37 to steal away another victory from a Leinart-led team, just like his Texas Longhorns beat the USC Trojans in that legendary BCS Championship game a few years back.

“I thought Vince played great,” Leinart said. “He made plays in that last series, so hats off to him. I thought our defense played phenomenally, he just made some plays.”

The Titans haven’t lost since Young took over for Kerry Collins after their Week 7 bye, and managed to reel off a fifth straight win against a team that looks to be cruising towards the playoffs. The Cardinals have a two-game lead over the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC West lead, and don’t appear to be in serious jeopardy of losing their foothold in the division race in the next five weeks.

More alarming for the Cardinals should be the rate at which the Titans outgained them – a total of 532 yards for the Titans vs. 292 yards for the Cardinals. For a team that’s hoping for back-to-back Super Bowl appearances, having a defense that allows over 500 yards of total offense is usually not the Super Bowl recipe.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009 at 11:25 pm by bryan