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Nonstopdrivel
15 years ago

Cardinals storm back into NFC picture
 

December, 7, 2009

By Mike Sando

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GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Do not anoint the New Orleans Saints or Minnesota Vikings quite yet.

The defending NFC champion Arizona Cardinals played better than anyone in the conference Sunday. And as they proved last season, timing can be everything.

Their 30-17 victory Sunday night over the previously 10-1 Vikings reestablished Arizona as a legitimate threat to make another Super Bowl run. It also demonstrated how much the Cardinals have grown since last December, when the Vikings dominated them here and Arizona limped into the playoffs.

"We're learning a lot about ourselves as a team, but if we can continue to play like we did tonight, I'm excited about where we can go," coach Ken Whisenhunt said.

The Cardinals outperformed the Vikings in every important dimension: offense, defense, special teams, coaching, intelligence and overall orneriness.

Their postseason swagger was back.

Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell didn't even notice when Brett Favre tried to get in his face after Campbell rag-dolled the Vikings' quarterback during one of three Arizona sacks.

Defensive tackle Darnell Dockett slipped under Vikings guard Steve Hutchinson to bring down Adrian Peterson for a 5-yard loss in the third quarter (Peterson averaged 1.5 yards per attempt).

Jeremy Bridges, starting at left tackle for the first time in his career, typified the Cardinals' bravado. With a little help, Bridges improbably held the Vikings' Jared Allen without a sack. The Vikings might as well have had Jared from Subway trying to distract Kurt Warner with a foot-long Veggie Delite.

"Everybody to a man this week was talking about how great their defensive line was and how much pressure they could put on us," Whisenhunt said. "For us to be able to have no sacks tonight was really a tribute to our line."

Bridges matched Allen syllable for syllable in a game-long exhibition of trash talking.

"It was one of the funnest games I've ever played in my life," Bridges said. "I'm hoarse right now. I ran my mouth the whole game."

The Cardinals' success in pass protection -- zero sacks in 32 pass attempts -- stood out as the single most surprising and pivotal development of the game. Right tackle Levi Brown, maligned ever since the Cardinals drafted him instead of Peterson, had a better game than the two-time Pro Bowl runner. But Bridges' success against Allen, who had two sacks during a 35-14 Vikings victory at Arizona last season, might have been more stunning.

"He started getting frustrated and he got a little corny with the things he was saying," Bridges said. "It got a little comical. He started to pout like a little baby, but that is to be expected. ... You have success and then you are not having it, you are going to be a little frustrated."

The Cardinals occasionally helped Bridges, leaving running back Tim Hightower to assist in protection. But there were other times when Bridges held up well enough for Warner to make big plays in the passing game. Warner, back in the lineup after missing six quarters because of a concussion, completed 22 of 32 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns. Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin combined for 15 receptions and 241 yards.

The Vikings had previously recorded at least one sack in 23 consecutive regular-season games.

Bridges called this his "Shawshank Redemption" after the Washington Redskins released him on the reduction to 53 players.

"[Allen] said he didn't know my name," Bridges added. "I said, 'You'll know by the end of the game because they're going to say it a whole lot on ESPN.' "

Another surprise: The Cardinals averaged 8.3 yards per attempt on 10 carries from their one-back, double-tight end offense. They didn't have to spread the field or resort to gimmicks in generating yards on the ground. They finished with 25 rushes for 113 yards, with Hightower breaking a 32-yard run.

As impressive as the Cardinals were on offense, their defense and special teams were at least as good. Steve Breaston's 64-yard punt return was pivotal early. Arizona also pressured Favre into his fourth and fifth interceptions of the season. Strong safety Adrian Wilson probably should have had at least one more pick.

The Cardinals felt as though Favre was still taking chances this season, contrary to conventional wisdom. His receivers' ability to make plays on the football was the primary difference in Favre's revival, their thinking went.

Only a garbage-time touchdown pass while the Vikings trailed 30-10 prevented Favre from finishing with more interceptions than touchdowns.

The Cardinals needed a strong showing on defense after watching the Titans march 99 yards for the winning touchdown against them in Week 12. They got two sacks from Bertrand Berry and improved play from Alan Branch and the other nose tackles.

"We don't always get it right," Whisenhunt said, "but a lot of times when something happens to us, we respond in the correct way."

That's probably bad news for the San Francisco 49ers. They surprised the Cardinals in the season opener, 20-16, but Arizona can clinch its second consecutive NFC West title by beating the 49ers at Candlestick Park in the Monday night game next week.

Anyone who watched the Cardinals against Minnesota would have to like their chances -- in Week 14 and beyond.


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Nonstopdrivel
15 years ago

Wrap-up: Cardinals 30, Vikings 17 

December, 6, 2009

By Kevin Seifert

Last month, I watched Arizona beat the daylights out of Chicago. Sunday night, the same thing happened to Minnesota. The Vikings got smacked around on every level during a 30-17 loss, and, worse, finished with three of their defensive starters out of the game.

That list included middle linebacker E.J. Henderson, who was carted off the field with what appeared to be a serious left leg injury. More on that in an upcoming post.

I cant think of one thing the Vikings did better than the Cardinals on Sunday night. They were outmuscled on both lines of scrimmage, netting 62 rush yards while never sacking Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner in 32 pass attempts. Their top-ranked special teams gave up a 64-yard punt return in the first quarter, setting off a 30-3 scoring run by the Cardinals.

Most surprisingly, the Vikings were outschemed by an Arizona defense that had quarterback Brett Favre confused all evening, forcing his first two interceptions since the end of October. Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson dropped two other possible interceptions as Favre struggled through his worst game of the season, making it difficult to completely discount the stamina issue we first considered last spring.

(For those who forgot: Favres performance has dipped precipitously after his 11th game in each of the past four seasons. Sunday night was game 12 of 2009.)

The loss left Minnesota two games behind New Orleans for the top record in the NFC, meaning it will be very difficult for the Vikings to clinch home-field advantage in the playoffs. Keep in mind that the Cardinals (8-4) are only two games behind the Vikings. Should the Vikings fade over the final four games -- and their schedule isnt easy -- the Cardinals would win the head-to-head tiebreaker for playoff positioning.

Remaining on the Vikings schedule is a home game against 9-3 Cincinnati, night games at Carolina and Chicago, and the season finale against the New York Giants at the Metrodome. Its important not to hit the panic button after any loss, but the Vikings definitely have their work cut out for them to sustain a dream season.


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dfosterf
15 years ago

(For those who forgot: Favres performance has dipped precipitously after his 11th game in each of the past four seasons. Sunday night was game 12 of 2009.)



The chickens came home to roost last night, and not just Arizona ones. :thumbleft:
zombieslayer
15 years ago
Favre looked lost that game. He threw two passes that were INTs that were dropped, so he's lucky it wasn't 4 INTs.

Peterson couldn't do anything either. Is the Arizona D really that good or did the Vikings puke that game?
My man Donald Driver
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DakotaT
15 years ago
Minnesota's porous secondary was exposed because Arizona's O-line manned up and took the Vikings feared foursome to the woodshed.

That is not a championship defense.
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zombieslayer
15 years ago

Minnesota's porous secondary was exposed because Arizona's O-line manned up and took the Vikings feared foursome to the woodshed.

That is not a championship defense.

"DakotaT" wrote:



True. But the question I have is just how good is the Cardinal D? They made Favre and Peterson look like rookies last night. Was that Favre and Peterson both laying eggs or is the Arizona D really that good? If it's the latter, then it may be Arizona as the only team that can stop the Saints for the NFC Title.
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2010 will be seen as the beginning of the new Packers dynasty. 🇹🇹 🇲🇲 🇦🇷
DakotaT
15 years ago

Minnesota's porous secondary was exposed because Arizona's O-line manned up and took the Vikings feared foursome to the woodshed.

That is not a championship defense.

"zombieslayer" wrote:



True. But the question I have is just how good is the Cardinal D? They made Favre and Peterson look like rookies last night. Was that Favre and Peterson both laying eggs or is the Arizona D really that good? If it's the latter, then it may be Arizona as the only team that can stop the Saints for the NFC Title.

"DakotaT" wrote:



I think the play calling was predictable. The Vikings had some play action going on that if Peterson would have been given the ball, there would have been some big gainers.
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Nonstopdrivel
15 years ago

But the question I have is just how good is the Cardinal D?

"zombieslayer" wrote:



I can't answer that question, but I do know a bunch of us were oo'ing and ah'ing in the chat room last night over the Cardinals' impressive tackling. They were consistently wrapping up and driving through their targets, and it was just fun to watch. It was the best tackling I've seen from any NFL team all season. The Cardinals made a strong pitch to become my second-favorite team last night, and that's not even taking into account the fact that Warner is the quarterback.
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zombieslayer
15 years ago
Yeah. I noticed that. AP was consistently being taken down by one and only one tackler. It was unreal.

And yeah, the playcalling was predictable on the Vikings side, but still, they couldn't execute anything last night. I was also surprised how Favre was getting fooled so often. He should have thrown 4 picks last night instead of just 2. They had his number.
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2010 will be seen as the beginning of the new Packers dynasty. 🇹🇹 🇲🇲 🇦🇷
mi_keys
15 years ago
I think it was a combination of the Cardinals playing really well defensively and the Vikings playing poorly. I think it was huge that the Cardinals overall won the battle in the trenches. They left no running room for Peterson and as people have pointed out tackled really well. They also got occasional pressure on Favre, enough to be a nuissance. They had a couple key sacks on third downs if I recall correctly. Offensively, their blocking was great and it really frustrated the Vikings defense. I don't watch every Viking game from beginning to end but I got the impression that was the first time the Vikings had been outplayed at the line of scrimmage both offensively and defensively.
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Zero2Cool (8h) : Packers. Steelers. Ireland. 2025. Reports say.
Zero2Cool (30-Dec) : Matt Lafleur on if Jaire will play again this season. "Yeah I don't know... he's been dealing with swelling."
Mucky Tundra (30-Dec) : After the way they played for most of the game yesterday, I don't see how you can sit anyone for the whole game
Zero2Cool (30-Dec) : I'd say play everyone. Going into playoffs at 7th seed on two game lose streak - yucky
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beast (30-Dec) : Play or Rest*
beast (30-Dec) : Should the Packers play or free their best players vs the Bears?
Zero2Cool (30-Dec) : Packers should be 3 - 2 in the Division. Bonkers being swept by both Lions and Vikings. yikes
go.pack.go. (30-Dec) : All crazy stuff…and good point beast
beast (30-Dec) : Packers should be 0-5 in the division, can't say I saw that coming, even 1-4
Zero2Cool (30-Dec) : Sam Darnold 35 TD's ... another one
Zero2Cool (30-Dec) : Baker Mayfield, 39 TD's ... can't say I saw that one
Zero2Cool (30-Dec) : No matter who is playing as 7th, I think we want them to win. Get rid of 2nd seed haha
go.pack.go. (30-Dec) : That would be dhazer who was rooting for Minnesota
beast (30-Dec) : Well, Commanders are currently the 6th seed and Packers the 7th
beast (30-Dec) : Who was it in Chat, that wanted the Vikings to win (because Lions fans upset them) because Packers could not lose the 6th seed?
beast (30-Dec) : If Falcons win, Packers stay as the 6th seed and Falcons lead the NFCS, if they lose, Commanders 6th and Bucs take NFCS lead
beast (30-Dec) : Win or Loss, the NFCS is going down to week 18
Mucky Tundra (30-Dec) : if the Falcons win, how does that affect the overall NFC playoff picture? Does it mean that the NFC South comes down to week 18?
beast (30-Dec) : If Commanders win, the Packers drop to the 7th seed
beast (29-Dec) : Taylor still at it!
beast (29-Dec) : Colts get the ball and fumble turn over
packerfanoutwest (29-Dec) : Jets pull Aaron Rodgers for Tyrod Taylor
Mucky Tundra (29-Dec) : Colts-Giants now a tight one
beast (29-Dec) : Still early, but Giants 14 to 3 over Colts
beast (29-Dec) : With Broncos losing to the Bengals, Colts got to control their destiny for the 7th seed... looks like they're about to give it up
Mucky Tundra (29-Dec) : I believe Pickett is starting for Philly
beast (29-Dec) : Is the Eagles QB Hurts playing? I forgot to check
Zero2Cool (29-Dec) : Watson unlikely to play today.
Mucky Tundra (29-Dec) : Good job gpg!
go.pack.go. (29-Dec) : I figured out the signature thing. I had to find a different hosting website
Zero2Cool (28-Dec) : Packers elevated S Omar Brown.
go.pack.go. (28-Dec) : I tried the [img][/img] but that didn’t work
go.pack.go. (28-Dec) : How do I upload a picture to change my signature? I haven’t done it in years lol. I have the picture but can’t get it to work
Mucky Tundra (28-Dec) : Saturday NFL games=the season is about to get serious
Mucky Tundra (28-Dec) : Greg Gumbel passed away today after bout with cancer.
buckeyepackfan (27-Dec) : 1 NFC South @ NFC West @ AFC West other 3 games,
buckeyepackfan (27-Dec) : Packers play NFC East and AFC North in 2025, plus 2 other games
Mucky Tundra (27-Dec) : Geeze Zero get it right!😋
Zero2Cool (27-Dec) : I guess 3 games. Whatever
Zero2Cool (27-Dec) : Bleh, that only impacts two games.
Zero2Cool (27-Dec) : Packers are gonna get 3rd place division schedule next year.
Mucky Tundra (27-Dec) : Kanata, seek help! lol
beast (27-Dec) : I was rooting for the Bears to win and hurt their draft pick status
Zero2Cool (27-Dec) : Forgot there was even a game last night haha
TheKanataThrilla (27-Dec) : That was terrible.
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