The Arizona Cardinals weren't easy to figure out last
season, when the team lost four of its final six regular-season tests before
defying the experts with three straight playoff wins and getting an eyelash
from besting the favored Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII.
The 2009 campaign has been an even more puzzling one for the defending NFC
champions. Arizona is 4-0 on the road at the season's midway point, but has
gone just 1-3 at University of Phoenix Stadium, where the club had enjoyed
considerable success in head coach Ken Whisenhunt's first two years in charge.
The Cardinals have faced five teams with records of .500 or better at the
moment, and prevailed in four of those games.
The enigma that is the Cardinals couldn't have been better illustrated by the
performance of Kurt Warner over the past two weeks. After matching a career-
worst by throwing five interceptions in a frustrating 34-21 home loss to
Carolina the previous week, the veteran quarterback bounced back with a
sensational effort that paved the way for a most-impressive 41-21 rout of the
Chicago Bears this past Sunday at Soldier Field.
Warner led an Arizona offense that was unstoppable early on, with the two-time
league MVP orchestrating touchdown drives on the team's first four possessions
as the Cardinals built a commanding 31-7 halftime lead. By the time the final
whistle blew, he had racked up 261 yards and tied a personal-best with five
touchdown passes while making good on 22-of-32 throws.
"That's part of the game," said Warner when asked about his poor showing
against the Panthers. "It's one of those things that I've been through a
number of times and unfortunately I'll probably go through it again, but so
much of this business is how you respond and how you come back."
Warner's resilience has been crucial for the Cardinals, who now own a two-game
advantage atop the NFC West after slumping San Francisco lost over the
weekend, as it's becoming clear that his play under center is vital to the
team's success. In Arizona's five victories this season, the 38-year-old has
tossed 12 touchdowns and only two interceptions while completing better than
71 percent of his throws, for a quarterback rating of 111.7. In the three
losses, Warner has been intercepted nine times, with a completion rate of 58.5
percent along with a subpar passer rating of 59.1.
QUICK HITS: Warner's other five-touchdown game came in a win over San
Francisco while with the St. Louis Rams in 1999...Wide receiver Larry
Fitzgerald caught two of Warner's scoring strikes in the win and finished with
a season-high 123 receiving yards on nine catches...Fellow wideout Anquan
Boldin, who's been battling through an ankle sprain for nearly a month, was
held out of Sunday's game...Inside linebacker Gerald Hayes was also inactive
due to back spasms, with second-year pro Ali Highsmith replacing him in the
starting lineup...Arizona, which came in ranked last in the NFL in rushing
offense (64.9 ypg), amassed 182 yards on the ground against the Bears, with
rookie Beanie Wells putting up a career-best 72 on 13 carries.
NEXT UP: The Cardinals will attempt to put an end to their home woes in this
Sunday's divisional clash with Seattle. Arizona had no problem with the
injury-riddled Seahawks back in Week 6, cruising to a 27-3 win in the Emerald
City behind a dominating defensive display. The Cards limited Seattle to 128
total yards and a paltry 14 on the ground, while Fitzgerald burned the
Seahawks secondary for 13 catches totaling 100 yards along with a touchdown.
SEATTLE: The Seahawks will be heading to Arizona with a surge of momentum
generated by Sunday's 32-20 comeback victory over visiting Detroit, a win that
came with its fair share of anxious moments.
The lowly Lions roared out to a 17-0 lead after one quarter by taking full
advantage of a number of Seattle miscues and poor decisions. The Seahawks
turned the ball over on each of their first two offensive plays, with Detroit
converting both into touchdowns, then were stopped on fourth down from their
own 38-yard line to bring about a Lions' field goal.
Seattle was able to withstand the early jolt, however, thanks to a gritty and
productive afternoon out of quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and defense that
proved to be quite opportunistic in its own right.
Hasselbeck shook off a sore throwing shoulder he injured while making a tackle
after being intercepted on the Seahawks' first play from scrimmage to set a
franchise record with 39 completions, including a two-yard touchdown
connection with T.J. Houshmandzadeh late in the third quarter that gave his
team a 22-17 edge. The standout signal-caller hit on 15 straight throws at one
point and ended the day with 329 yards, his highest output since a 337-yard
game against Chicago on November 18, 2007.
A Seattle stop unit that had mustered a mere three interceptions over the
first seven games picked off Lions rookie Matthew Stafford five times on
Sunday, the last of which was returned 61 yards for a clinching touchdown by
cornerback Josh Wilson in the closing seconds.
The Seahawks outscored Detroit by a 32-3 margin over the final three quarters
to improve to 3-5 on the season and remain within striking distance of the
first-place Cardinals in advance of this weekend's showdown.
"I didn't sense any panic on our bench when we got down 17-0," said Seahawks
head coach Jim Mora. "I felt the resolve amongst our players. I just felt like
our guys remained confident and remained focused and showed some resolve and
just continued to play."
QUICK HITS: Hasselbeck had also held the previous club record of 36
completions in a game, set during an overtime win at San Diego on December 29,
2002. He now has 2,124 career completions in a Seattle uniform, surpassing
Dave Krieg (2,096) for tops in team history...Running back Julius Jones led
the Seahawks with 78 receiving yards on six catches in Sunday's win...Middle
linebacker David Hawthorne had two of the Seahawks' interceptions of Stafford
and was credited with three passes defensed in addition to a team-best nine
tackles...Cornerback Ken Lucas left the contest in the first quarter with an
elbow injury.
NEXT UP: Seattle begins a stretch of three consecutive road tests with this
Sunday's matchup at Arizona, where the Seahawks have lost in each of the past
three seasons. Mora's troops have also dropped 11 of their last 13 overall
away from home, including all three tilts this season. Seattle will also visit
NFC North leader Minnesota before wrapping up the trek at St. Louis on
November 29.
SAN FRANCISCO: The insertion of Alex Smith at quarterback may have opened up
the San Francisco 49ers offense, but the switch has yet to garner a victory
for the struggling team.
Smith's 286 passing yards in last Sunday's encounter with the Tennessee Titans
was the highest total for a San Francisco triggerman this season, but it was
the former No. 1 overall pick's three interceptions that loomed larger in a
34-27 home defeat.
Two of those picks came within a critical 3 1/2-minute span in the fourth
quarter, shortly after the Titans took a 24-20 lead on a short Chris Johnson
touchdown run. Safety Chris Hope stepped in front of a pass intended for Josh
Morgan on the ensuing possession to set up a Tennessee field goal, and Smith's
next attempt was snared by the Titans' Cortland Finnegan, who raced 39 yards
for a back-breaking touchdown that put the Niners at a 34-20 deficit with
under three minutes left.
San Francisco turned the ball over four times in all on Sunday, with the
errors directly leading to 24 Tennessee points.
"We have a formula in terms of how we play and how we win games," 49ers head
coach Mike Singletary said afterward. "The number one thing is we cannot turn
the ball over. That's the thing that basically killed us today."
Despite the unwanted result, one that's becoming familiar for San Francisco
after a very encouraging start to the season, there were still some positives
to take from Sunday's setback. The 49ers' 350 total yards was the team's
second-best offensive output of the year, while tight end Vernon Davis
continued to be a matchup nightmare for enemy secondaries.
Davis hauled in 10 Smith passes for 102 yards in the loss, establishing career-
highs in both categories, and his seven touchdown catches in 2009 are tied for
the NFL lead this season. The 2006 first-round selection also stands second
among NFC tight ends with a team-best 42 receptions.
San Francisco has now lost four in a row following a 3-1 beginning, with each
of the last three defeats coming by seven or less points.
QUICK HITS: Wide receiver Jason Hill, who did not have a catch this season
entering Sunday's game, had a pair of touchdown grabs and ended with four
receptions for 50 yards...Running back Frank Gore posted season-bests of seven
catches and 75 receiving yards in the loss, while adding 83 rushing yards and
a touchdown on 15 carries...Strong safety Michael Lewis left the contest in
the fourth quarter with a strained left quadricep, while rookie running back
Glen Coffee suffered a concussion while blocking on a kick return with 2:45 to
go...Veteran offensive tackle Barry Sims made his first start of the season
against the Titans in place of Joe Staley, who sprained his right knee in last
week's loss at Indianapolis.
NEXT UP: The 49ers won't have much time to dwell on their latest loss. The
team will be back in action this Thursday night, when San Francisco hosts
Chicago in a clash between slumping clubs. The Bears have also cooled off
after a 3-1 start, having dropped three of their last four tilts.
ST. LOUIS: After getting an opportunity for a needed in-season break, as well
as some additional time to savor their first victory of the season, it was
back to business for the St. Louis Rams when the team reconvened for practice
on Monday.
The Rams' Week 9 bye was a well-placed one, as the respite not only provided
the players a chance to refresh themselves both mentally and physically, but
it gave head coach Steve Spagnuolo and his staff an extended window to prepare
for what figures to be a daunting task ahead -- a matchup with the still-
unbeaten New Orleans Saints this Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.
New Orleans will be bringing a fearsome offense that leads the NFL in both
points and total yards into the Gateway City, presenting quite a challenge for
a St. Louis squad that's averaged an anemic 9.6 points over the course of its
1-7 start. The Saints may have one glaring chink in the armor, though, that
the Rams will attempt to exploit in hopes of pulling off what would be a
monumental upset.
With New Orleans having allowed 161 and 182 rushing yards, respectively, in
each of their past two games, expect St. Louis to throw a heavy dose of Steven
Jackson at their opponent come Sunday. The star running back had been running
with authority prior to the bye, delivering a season-high 149 yards and a
touchdown in the Rams' breakthrough win over Detroit on November 1 and gashing
Indianapolis for 134 yards on 23 carries the previous week.
Jackson has eclipsed the century mark in four of the first eight games of this
season and has amassed a total of 784 rushing yards, tied with Minnesota All-
Pro Adrian Peterson for fourth place in that category.
The Rams will be coming into Sunday's tilt at close to full strength, with
only right guard Richie Incognito (sprained foot) expected to be unavailable
for the game. Left guard Jacob Bell and wide receiver/return man Danny
Amendola, both of whom endured concussions against the Lions, have been cleared
and practiced without restrictions on Monday.
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