The Cardinals as a favorite? Hell hath frozen over

After defeating the tough New York Giants 24-17 last week on national television your Arizona Cardinals(overall 4-2, home 1-2)come home to battle the struggling Carolina Panthers(overall 2-4, road 1-2). First and foremost the Cardinals must begin things by finding some semblance of a running game. Last week Beanie Wells had his best game as a pro(14 carries/67 yards) and scored his first touchdown of his career. After that display I have no doubt in my mind that he will get the majority of the carries from this point out. Running back Tim Hightower will still remain the red zone option for Ken Whisenhunt's offense until Wells proves able to take tough hits and secure the football. Fumbles still remain a trouble spot for the Arizona backfield. Last week the O-line showed up pretty well in protecting Kurt Warner(only 2 sacks allowed), but it still needs to find some kind of balance in protecting Kurt and blasting Defensive lineman off the line of scrimmage for Wells and Hightower. No matter what any so-called "expert" says if Warner is given time he is one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the league. Carolina's defense will pose a challenge for the passing game since they are allowing an NFL low 149 passing yards per game. Although that stat may be misleading since their last three opponents have been Washington, Tampa Bay and Buffalo, respectively. All pathetic teams when it comes to chucking the pigskin down field. But still any team that has a motivated Julius Peppers(6 sacks, 25 tackles) roaming the D-line should worry their opponent. Also working in the Panthers favor are their Linebackers Jon Beason and Thomas Davis. The atheletic ability of these two will cause trouble for Arizona's slot receiver routes. Recent injury reports have starting safety Charles Godfrey(Right ankle)out for Sundays game. On the offensive side of the ball Carolina has had a loooooong season. Quarterback Jake Delhomme(4 TDs/13 INTs)may possibly be on his last leg as the starter in Carolina. He has yet to hook up with all-world wide receiver Steve Smith for a touchdown pass this season. Also not helping Delhomme will be the injury to his #2 receiver Muhsin Muhammad(sprained knee). This opens the door for former USC standout Dwayne Jarrett to start. Interesting side note here that says if Jarrett catches 5 balls this weekend he will set a new career high for receptions in a season with 11...WOW. Shutting down Smith is never an easy task, but with the solid performance by the Arizona secondary last week in making Eli Manning cry to daddy it's not out of the realm of possibility. Also a key to halting the passing game will be 6'7" Calais Campbell getting those mitts up in time to disrupt side arm slinging Delhomme's passing routes. Carolina will most likely rely on their 2-headed monster rushing attack with DeAngelo Williams(4.4yds/rush) and Jonathan Stewart(4.8yds/rush). Still sporting the #1 rushing defense in the NFL(67.5yds/game)the Cardinals will need to stop these two in their tracks. My hope is for the Cardinals to get an early 2 TD lead and force the Panthers to the air. Here is where DRC and Adrian Wilson(Defensive player of the Week) will go to work. Also impressive last week was the stepping up of Ralph Brown and Bryant McFadden on the final drive by NY while both DRC and Adrian Wilson were sidelined with injuries. Late news from the Arizona camp has Antrelle Rolle as possibly out for the game with a foot injury. This would be a blow to the secondary, but a good test for a team out to prove something.

Picking back up on the Cards trail....

Sorry folks. Been a long time since the last post on PHSN. The Cards lost the Super Bowl and I couldn't write about it. Great game, but the Steelers made less mistakes. This time around we find AZ off to a 3-2 start and traveling for a National TV game in New York. I'll give my pick before the game Sunday...

This week our beloved Cardinals travel to New Jersey to play the New York Giants(yeah that makes sense only on the East Coast). Someones perfect record will be on the line(NY 2-0 @ home, AZ 2-0 on road). This one starts for AZ on the defensive side of the ball. Bert Berry and Darnell Dockett need to set a tone early that Eli can cry to his daddy about after the game. By that I mean an early 15 yarder because of Eli hitting the turf late. If they can apply the pressure and Calais Campbell can clog up some throwing lanes the Giants will have to rely on the run. Since AZ is giving up 59 yards/game on the ground the advantage falls to us. My one wish is to see Adrian Wilson take out Brandon Jacobs at least one time. Those guys are both bruisers! If it's possible to contain Ahmad Bradshaw and his 6.2 yards per rush I hope DC Bill Davis can figure it out. So basically if the moon is in the seventh house the Cards will have a chance to win. On the offensive side some question marks have me worried. My top concern is if "Q" will be playing. I know most of the world only talks about Fitzgerald and thats fine with me. He definitely earned his super status during the playoff run. It all works though if they are both out there. My main concern is ball security. Beanie Wells has proven that he has no idea how to keep the ball in his hands. Wells had a few fumbles while nobody was around him last week in Seattle. Luckily none were lost, but it still should be a huge concern for Whisenhunt. Tim Hightower is still the man when it comes to red zone offense so I don't see him being taken out when Big Red sniffs the end zone. Congratulations to Kurt Warner for eclipsing 30,000 career passing yards last week. Now it's on to 35,000! The O-line has a tall task keeping Tuck, Umenyiora and Kiwanuka out of Warner's face. If they can succeed half the time I think an upset will be in the making. Overall I will be cheering my ass off tomorrow night....Will you?

"We're going to the F---ing SuperBowl!"

Sunday January 18th, 2009. A day I will recall on my deathbed. Not for the obvious reasons of witnessing the first ever trip to the Super Bowl for the Cardinal franchise or the nations first real glimpse of the greatness that is Larry Fitzgerald. No I will remember it for the energy that resulted from four quarters of excellent football. Fans of both teams had moments during the game that had them envisioning their club representing the NFC on February 1st in Tampa Bay. In the end the greatness of one Quarterback and the will of a disrespected and underrated Defense helped garner the first ever NFC Championship for the Arizona Cardinals.

Everything in Arizona starts with it's offense so we'll begin this post on that side of the ball. For the second straight game the Cards had more rushes to pass attempts(29-28). Edgerrin James continued his path towards Canton with 73 yards on 16 rushes. His 33 yards gained during the opening touchdown drive set the tone for AZ. For the 3rd straight game Larry Fitzgerald topped the century mark (9 catches-152 yards-3 TD). Staking the Cardinals to a commanding 24-6 lead at halftime by scoring three TD's in the 1st half. Fitz also broke Jerry Rice's playoff yardage mark(419-409)in three games. Eliminating any talk of him having an extra game to set the record. This game also marked the return of injured wide-out Anquan Boldin. His numbers weren't out of this world(3 catches-34 yards), but his presence on the field definitely helped free up Fitz for his big 1st half. His strange absence in the final drive caused an even bigger stir after the game. Guiding the ship was 37 year old QB Kurt Warner. His numbers were typical(21-28, 279 yards, 4 TD's, 145.3 rating)of a Warner playoff performance. The final drive that went 72 yards in 14 plays was a masterpiece orchestrated by a virtuoso QB. Capping it was rookie Tim Hightower taking a screen pass 8 yards into the end zone and carrying the Cardinals all the way to Tampa.

Anchoring the "Bend don't break Defense" was strong safety Adrian Wilson(7 tackles, 2 sacks, 1FF, 1 PD). Linebacker Karlos Dansby also had a solid day(6 tackles, 1 PD) hitting Brian Westbrook(12 rushes, 46 yards) early and letting the Eagles know they were going to fight for yardage all day on the ground. Through the air was where Donovan McNabb(375 yards, 3 TD's) burned the Cardinal D. Hitting Kevin Curtis(4 catches, 122 yards)for a 50 yard completion and Desean Jackson(6 catches, 92 yards, 1 TD) for a 62 yard TD strike to give the Eagles a lead early in the 4th quarter. Tight End Brent Celek had a career day (10 catches, 83 yards, 2 TD's) after only having 27 catches during the regular season. AZ Safety Aaron Francisco had an interception off McNabb in the 1st half, but fumbled it back during the return. The pressure brought by Darnell Dockett and Antonio Smith had the Eagle QB scrambling early in the game, but the 2nd Half was completely different. Three and outs were Warner and Co. specialty in the 3rd quarter leading to the Defense being on the field for the better part of the period. After taking the lead on Jacksons long TD pass(which was in and out of DRC's mitts for a pick) the Cardinals season came down to one last chance to score. We'll call it "THE DRIVE".

"The Drive" began on the Arizona 28 with 10:39 left in the season. The fans in the stands were still stunned from the Eagles taking of the lead 25-24. Coming out of the TV timeout the crowd had a murmur of excitement as the huddle broke. The first play from scrimmage was a 1 yard loss by Edge. The next to plays were a 15 yard pass to Fitz and a 9 yard reception from TE Leonard Pope. Following a rush by Edge and Hightower netting zero the playoff run came down to a 4th and 1. With multiple receiver options the AZ coaching staff gave the ball to the rookie Hightower who went around right end and gained 6 yards for the first down. Now sitting on the Philly 41 the Cards dialed Fitzgerald's number once more for an 18 yard gain. The next five plays went: Edge 3-yard rush, Fitz 6-yard reception, Hightower 5-yard rush, Edge no gain, Hightower rush 1-yard gain. Now facing a 3rd down from the Philly 8 the Cards used a RB screen to Hightower and he bowled his way into the end zone. Grown men cried. Children cried. I screamed my head off. The ensuing 2-point conversion was caught by back-up tight end Ben Patrick. It had started with the Cardinals down by one and 14 plays- 7:52 later the Cards were on their way to the franchise first Super Bowl berth. Kurt Warner was 5-5 for 56 yards on "The Drive". All that followed was another stop by the Cardinal defense and the confetti parade that rained down on the field.

This win was for all the Cardinals over the years: Ricky Proehl, Tim McDonal, Vai Sikahema, Aeneas Williams, Eric Hill, Timm Rosenbach, Ernie Jones Rich Camarillo, Ron McKinnon, Johnny Johnson, Eric Swann, Jay Novacek, David Boston*, Kwamie Lassiter, Ron Moore, Neil Lomax, Rob Moore, Tom Tupa, Roy Green, Joe Nedney, Pat Tillman, Frank Sanders, Steve Beuerlein, Simeon Rice, Larry Centers and last, but certainly not least Jake Plummer.

Cards roll into NFC Championship game

When will the guys who get paid to do this get it through their thick heads? The regular season means nothing come playoff time. For a young man like myself to have such wisdom beyond my years must mean something. Even if I was ridiculed for the first 28 years of my life for being a fan of the Red Birds. On Saturday evening the Arizona Cardinals left no doubt in any football fans mind that they are a team to be reckoned with after a thorough dismantling of the Carolina Panthers 33-13. Many players could be called out as the star of this game, but one man stands(or should I say leaps)above all the rest. Larry Fitzgerald followed up his playoff debut 6 catch-101 yard-1TD performance against the Falcons with an awesome 8 catch-166 yard-1TD mockery of the Panthers secondary. With Anquan Boldin inactive due to a cranky hamstring the expectations were that double teams on Fitz would leave one of Arizona's younger receivers open. Fugeddaboutit. Kurt Warner(21-32-220 yards, 2TD) had the confidence to heave it deep into a double covered Fitzgerald for the second week in a row and for the second week in a row Fitz came down with it. While Edgerrin James and Tim Hightower combined for 133 yards on the ground Warner used 8 different receivers to place the Cardinals in their first ever NFC Championship game. While the 33 points are the sexy number that will probably catch most peoples eye don't forget about the even bigger number of 5. As in five interceptions thrown by Jake Delhomme on his 34th birthday. I guess in ol' Jakes mind it's better to give than receive. Adding to his turnover nightmare was a fumble recovered by Antonio Smith setting up Arizona in the red zone while the score was 7-7. After that it must be a blur for folks wearing blue because by the score was 30-7 and Steve Smith still didn't have a reception. Adding to his already blossoming resume was another playoff interception for rookie CB Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie. For a secondary that only snagged 13 interceptions on the regular season that makes 7 in two playoff games. Praise needs to be heaped on Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt for coming up with a game plan that has tripped up two teams thus far in the playoffs. In this contest the telling numbers are the Time of Possession 39:50-20:10 in favor of Arizona. Also causing confusion on Carolina's sideline was the split of 43 rushes to only 32 pass attempts by the Cardinals. Also enjoyed the week long bullshit spewing by the so-called "experts" about how the Panthers were Super Bowl bound. How's that crow taste? Yeah I'm talking to the entire FOX pre-game crew. Wish you could take back those words of doom for the Cards? Hell no! No take backs when it comes to the NFL's version of a whipping boy. You doubted their right to be in the playoffs and they are 1 win away from a berth on the biggest sporting stage in the world. As I said last week if you weren't with us from the beginning there is no room on the band wagon. Now exit stage left.

Desert Storm...Arizona defeats the ATL 30-24

Eat a dick all you haters. Peter King of Sports Illustrated gets first dibs. The Fitz and Brooks show on KNBR is next in line. The Cardinals came out today and shut down the ATL 30-24 to advance to the 2nd round of the playoffs. If you happened to turn on a TV, Radio or Internet connection this week you heard all the talk of how the Cards defense was going to get burned by Michael Turner. How the cool rookie QB Matt Ryan was going to quietly pick apart Arizona's secondary. How the Cardinals one dimensional offense was going to be exposed. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. I personally enjoyed watching the resurgent(scratch that)pissed off Edgerrin James turn out 73 yards on 16 carries. Rookie Tim Hightower added a 4-yard TD run in the 3rd quarter to go along with his 10 touchdowns during the regular season. Once again Kurt Warner rose up to the playoff challenge and had a solid game with 271 yards and 2 TD passes. The only blip on the radar was an interception in the 2nd quarter that bounced off WR Jerheme Urban's shoulder leading to an eventual Falcon score. The scoring started early for the Cards when Larry Fitzgerald caught a 42-yard TD pass on a flea flicker to put them up 7-0. The other TD pass was a 71 yard crossing route that Anquan Boldin took to the house to extend the lead to 14-3. Trailing at halftime 17-14 did nothing to the fire that had been lit under the Cards ass from the opening kick off. A fumble by Matt Ryan was returned for a TD by Antrel Rolle and the Cards never trailed again. Defensive studs include Ralph Brown and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (phew that name always tires me out) who each had an interception against the NFL's offensive rookie of the year. Roderick "Clit" Hood added 6 tackles and 2 pass defenses. The D-line held the Falcons to 60 total rushing yards. Y'all get a game ball from me. I hope the Cardinals enjoy themselves tonight because after tomorrow they either get the Carolina Panthers or defending champion New York Giants. Both opponents will be difficult, but I am secretly rooting for NY. It would be sweet to watch Kurt Warner burn the team that benched him for a whiney little twat named Manning 4 years ago. A message to all main stream media: Please keep off the Arizona band wagon. All you loud mouth pricks had nothing good to say for the past few months and we don't want to hear you try and back peddle now. Get out of the way. The storm is coming.