1Nov/097:05 PM

Six points: Prosperity? Not the Cardinals!

By Vince Marotta

A week ago, the Arizona Cardinals went to the Meadowlands, a place where they had been embarrassed by not one, but two different teams over the years, and beat a legitimate NFC contender in the New York Giants.

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.